A Melbourne NDIS provider was managing 180 participants on spreadsheets. They needed technology to scale — without knowing where to start.
A Melbourne NDIS service provider had grown to 180 participants but managed everything across spreadsheets, email chains, and a generic CRM never designed for disability services. The CEO knew they needed a technology platform but had already been burned by a failed software project two years earlier.
Our fractional CTO spent 30 days in discovery: shadowing operations, mapping every workflow, documenting NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission requirements, and evaluating 11 purpose-built NDIS platforms before making a build-vs-buy recommendation.
The recommendation was hybrid: implement ShiftCare for core operations, then build a custom integration layer connecting ShiftCare with their accounting system, the NDIS portal API, and a participant-facing mobile app. We managed the ShiftCare implementation, negotiated commercial terms, and oversaw two contract developers building custom integrations over eight months.
The organisation now supports 1,400 participants — nearly 8x the scale at engagement start. Administration time per participant dropped 71%. Annual technology costs are $210,000 lower than maintaining their previous ad-hoc systems. The CEO said: “You saved us from ourselves. We were about to spend $400,000 building something that already existed.”
The most expensive technology mistake an NDIS provider can make is building something the market already built. Our job is to know the market — so you don’t have to.
Book a free call with a CTO who has 27 years of hands-on experience — and a track record of measurable outcomes.