From 1 July 2026, Programs of Support can also be used for daily personal activities support delivered in a shared accommodation setting.
If you have never worked under a Program of Support, here is the short version of what matters to you.
WHAT IT IS, IN ONE SENTENCE
It is a set-term arrangement between a participant and a provider, where support is agreed for a period rather than shift by shift. The main practical difference is in how absences and cancellations are handled.
THREE THINGS THE NDIA IS CLEAR ABOUT
It is optional. No participant has to enter a Program of Support. If someone tells you it is compulsory in order to receive support, that is not right.
It runs up to six months. That is the limit.
The participant can leave with up to two weeks' notice. This is the most important protection in the arrangement, and it is worth being upfront about from the start.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU IN PRACTICE
If you deliver support under a Program of Support, three things change day to day.
Your service agreement needs to reflect it. The term, what is included, how leaving works. You cannot treat it like an ordinary shift by shift arrangement.
Your cancellation rules change. That is the core of the arrangement and it is where most invoicing mistakes happen.
Your records start to carry more weight. In a set-term arrangement, the record of what was delivered is what supports the invoice.
SOME ADVICE THAT IS NOT TECHNICAL
If you propose a Program of Support to a participant, explain the two weeks' notice clause before they ask.
That is the difference between an arrangement that builds trust and one that creates suspicion six weeks in. You work on your own. Your reputation is your marketing.
WHERE SPARKS SCRIBE HELPS
Two parts of the app are relevant here. Service agreements are generated in Sparks Scribe, so the term and the conditions of the arrangement live alongside the client rather than in a document on your desktop. And because your shift notes are attached to each client, the record of what was actually delivered over the period is already there when the invoice needs to stand up.
Official source: NDIA, shared accommodation and Programs of Support update.
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Sparks Scribe keeps service agreements, shift notes and invoices together for each client. 14 day free trial, no card required.