Validating Invoices

As a Plan Manager, one of our key roles is to check whether the invoices we receive are correct – this is called ‘validating’. When we receive a customer’s invoice, we ‘validate’ this to make sure it meets the NDIS criteria.

How we validate invoices

The NDIS has stringent rules and regulations in place around invoices. Any mistakes or missing information can lead to lengthy delays to the payment process.

To avoid any issues and get your invoices paid as quickly as possible, we review every invoice before submitting it to the NDIS. So when we receive an invoice we check that it contains everything it needs for the NDIS to process and pay it.

Here’s what we’re looking for during the validation process and how we’ll try and fix any issues.

The validation criteria

• Is the NDIS plan active?
  If the NDIS plan of the customer has expired at the time the service was delivered, the invoice cannot be paid until they have an active plan. In most cases, we’ll work with the NDIS and your customer to renew their plan so the invoice can be processed as soon as possible.

• Is the price right?
  The NDIS places limits on how much providers can charge for a service. If your invoice has gone over the relevant price limit, or you haven’t provided an hourly breakdown (how many hours of supports you provided and at what hourly price), we’ll ask you to reissue it with these details so it can be paid.

• Is there enough money in the NDIS plan?
  The NDIS will only pay invoices if there is enough of the relevant funding in the NDIS plan of the participant to cover the invoice. We try to avoid this situation by providing our customers with handy tools to assist in tracking their allocated spending through monthly overviews of their funds. If a customer does run out of funds, we encourage them to contact their support coordinator or LAC or NDIS Planner to get a plan review. As their services must not stop even if there are is no funding left in their current plan as their new plan will be backdated so you will be paid once this happens.

Is the invoice dated correctly?
An invoice needs to be dated correctly for it to be paid. If your invoice is dated incorrectly, we’ll contact you to let you know what needs to be fixed. There are several date issues that will result in an invoice being rejected:

• • No date at all

  • An end date that comes before the start date

  • A future dated invoice

  • A spread of dates that are unrealistic or impossible (e.g. 30 hours of supports delivered on one day)
    

• Did the service happen during the one plan?
  An invoice can only be paid using funding from a single NDIS plan. If your invoice covers a period in which the participant changed to a new plan, we’ll split the invoice into two so it can be paid.
  

• Is the formatting correct?
  There are several other things your invoices need to include to be approved and paid by the NDIS. From a valid ABN to your customer’s details, our For Providers page explains how to format your invoice correctly to ensure smooth payment.