Recording: ATO Workshop for NDIS Participants & Nominees Who Directly Engage Support Workers 

By Erica Smith

Keywords | NDIS | News | Self Manager Hub | superannuation | taxation

Category | NDIS Fund Management | Build your team | News

Formats | Event

The Self Manager Hub hosted a practical workshop with the Australian Taxation Office for NDIS participants and nominees who directly engage their own support workers. 

This session was specifically for participants and nominees who directly engage their support workers and want to better understand whether a support worker is an employee or a contractor. It is also designed to help you understand your tax and super obligations when you take on the responsibility for engaging your supports. 

Topics covered 

• How to understand whether a support worker is an employee or a contractor 
• The difference between employees and contractors 
• What to think about before engaging a disability support worker as a contractor or employee 
• Tax withholding and superannuation responsibilities 
• How your responsibilities change when the worker is your employee 
• What Payday Super means for participants and nominees who directly engage support workers 
• Related tax issues affecting services-for-one, including microboards

What we  heard

What we heard clearly in the workshop is that being able to use independent support workers as contractors is really important for many people who self-manage and self-direct.

For many of us, this is how we find support workers we trust. It gives us more choice, more control, and more flexibility over who supports us, when they support us, and how that support is delivered.

But we also heard that the rules are confusing.

People with disability and our families need clearer, plain English information about the difference between employees and independent contractors. We need to understand the risks, including what could happen if a contractor arrangement is later treated as employment.

This could have serious financial, legal, and compliance consequences, so it is important that people are not left to work it out alone.

There is also a fairness issue. Larger organisations and online platforms often use contractor models. But when individual people with disability and our families use similar arrangements directly, we may face much greater risk.

That does not feel fair or consistent.

We should not be penalised for using flexible support arrangements that are essential to self-management and self-direction.

Self Manager Hub will continue to support our community to access clear, practical information so we can make informed decisions about our supports. We will also keep advocating to government so decision-makers understand how important it is for people who self-manage and self-direct to be able to directly engage the support workers we choose, in ways that are clear, fair, and straightforward.

You can access the slides from the ATO presentation here.