Growth & Marketing · 9 min read · 2026-04-27

How to Get Your First NDIS Participants

Getting your first NDIS participants is different from scaling to 20 or 50. You don't need a massive budget—you need speed, personal relationships, and a tight intake process. From our Enrichment Care experience (we went from 0 to 70 participant records in 18 months), we learned that first participants come from two channels: personal outreach to support coordinators and highly targeted paid ads. This guide walks you through the exact funnel we used and recommend for every new NDIS provider.

Sam Tsen

Founder, Provider Scale · Director, Enrichment Care (live NDIS provider)

The Cold Email to Coordinator Playbook: Your First Channel

Start with support coordinators because they control participant placement and they trust relationships. Use Mailshake (or similar) to send personalized cold emails to 20-50 coordinators in your region. Your email should: (1) Address them by name. (2) Reference their organization specifically (shows research). (3) Offer value first: 'I work with [service type]. I help participants with [specific outcomes]. Would a quick call help you understand if we're a good fit for any of your participants?' (4) Provide a low-friction next step: link to a 15-minute Calendly slot. Example: 'Hi Sarah, I saw [Coordinator Org] specializes in plan-managed participants with acquired brain injury. We specialize in community reintegration support. I'd love to understand your current gaps and see if a quick call makes sense. [Calendly link] — no pressure either way.' From our Enrichment Care experience, cold emails to coordinators convert at 5-10% to phone calls and 30-40% of those calls lead to first referrals. Your goal: 5-10 calls per week, 1-2 first referrals per week.

Meta Ads to Families: The Second Channel

Simultaneously, run a small Meta ads campaign (Facebook and Instagram) targeting families in your state searching for NDIS support. Budget: $10-20/day ($300-600/month). Target: parents/carers, ages 25-65, interested in NDIS, disability support, your specific service category. Your ad should promise a free no-pressure call: 'Book a free 30-minute chat to explore if we're the right fit for your loved one.' Direct to a landing page with a simple form (name, email, phone, participant name, service type). Expected CPL (cost per lead): $12-25 depending on targeting. Expected conversion (lead to call): 40-50%. Expected conversion (call to first participant): 20-30%. This means you'll need 50-100 leads to get 1-2 first participants from Meta ads.

Google Local SEO: The Evergreen Channel

Third, optimize your Google Business Profile and local SEO so families searching 'NDIS support near me' or '[Service type] NDIS [suburb]' find you. This takes 4-8 weeks to show results, so start immediately even though results are slow. Steps: (1) Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile (name, address, phone, hours, services list, website, photos). (2) Create a basic NDIS services page on your website. (3) Get Google reviews from your first few participants—reviews drive ranking. (4) Target local keywords in your content ('NDIS support in Sydney,' 'community participation support Parramatta'). This channel compounds over time. By month 6-12, Google will refer 5-10% of your participant leads consistently. For now, focus on coordinator outreach and Meta ads.

Your Intake Process Must Be Fast

When leads come in (coordinator calls, Meta form submissions, Google calls), your intake process must be faster than competitors. Your goal: first call within 2 hours, first in-person meeting within 48 hours, support plan drafted within 7 days. This speed differentiates you from established providers and closes 30-40% more leads. Set up: (1) A shared calendar (Calendly or Google Calendar) visible to your team. When a lead comes in, immediately slot a 30-minute call. (2) Call script: 'Hi [name], thanks for getting in touch. I'm [your name] from [service]. I want to understand what you're looking for and whether we're the right fit. Can you tell me a bit about [participant]?' Listen more than you talk. (3) If fit looks good, offer: 'Let's schedule a face-to-face intake meeting at [location/time]. At that meeting, I'll understand your needs in detail and we'll co-design a support plan.' By first call, you're testing fit and scheduling intake. By intake meeting, you're building the support plan and relationship.

Your First 5 Participants: Realistic Timeline

Month 1: Launch cold email outreach to 30-50 coordinators. Start Meta ads. Optimize Google Business Profile. Month 2-3: Expect 2-5 referrals from coordinators, 5-10 leads from Meta ads. Close 1-3 participants. Month 4-6: Word-of-mouth from first participants starts generating referrals. Coordinator relationships deepen. Meta ads improve (you optimize based on data). Close 3-7 more participants. By month 6, you should have 5-10 active participants and a repeating referral flow. The exact timeline depends on your region, service type, and how aggressively you execute outreach.

Week 1: Research 40-50 support coordinators in your target region. Create a list with name, organization, email. Week 2: Write your coordinator cold email template. Set up Mailshake account and load 50 coordinator emails. Week 3: Launch Meta ads campaign with $10-15/day budget. Optimize Google Business Profile. Week 4: Begin cold calls follow-up from Mailshake opens. Target 2-5 coordinator calls per week. Week 5+: Process incoming leads, conduct calls, run intake meetings, build support plans. When your first participants are live and invoicing, your acquisition channels will compound. By month 6, you'll have repeating inbound flow and can scale systematically with paid ads and SEO.