NDIS Cash Management Case Study: From Manual Cash to Secure SpendAble Infrastructure
The Challenge: Replacing Manual Cash Management with Secure Infrastructure
This provider is a prominent NDIS provider in New South Wales supporting approximately 250–280 clients through accommodation (SIL), employment, and community services. With a headcount of roughly 245 staff, they manage complex financial needs across 14 houses. Their legacy system relied on hard-copy cash books that were inefficient and failed to detect a support worker’s financial exploitation of a client for over 12 months.
Current use of SpendAble Card
The system currently serves over 200 users across the organization's NSW operations. Participants and support workers on their behalf use cards for real-time personal spending and online shopping , while house managers utilize site-specific cards for "Provider dollars" (household petty cash) to manage groceries and group activities. At the corporate level, the platform replaces administrative-heavy company credit cards for services like respite, which was previously an "admin-heavy" nightmare to reconcile.
The Solution: SpendAble’s Governance & Compliance Framework
Provider transitioned to SpendAble’s infrastructure to replace their "home-grown" manual processes with a secure, digital solution.
- Environmental Restraint Compliance: SpendAble allows to provide clients with greater independence and access to their own funds while maintaining organizational oversight. Some customers were getting a banking card for the first time in their life, enabling them to make their very first independent online purchase.
- Security-First Integration: The platform provides real-time transaction tracking and spending control, moving away from a system of "captive clients" to one of financial protection. Instances of inappropriate support worker behaviour and clients funds abuse are more visible, controlled and therefore promptly addressed.
- Operational Visibility: Support workers no longer handle or count physical cash, reducing administrative time and eliminating the risk of missing funds or false accusations.
Strategic Outcomes
- Rapid Implementation: The process of signing up and training for the software was noted as one of the quickest and easiest implementations for the team.
- Participant Autonomy: Clients gained the ability to shop online and use their own money in real-time, significantly increasing their financial independence.
Scalable Efficiency:
The infrastructure solved a massive administrative drain where the organization previously spent $65,000 annually just to recoup $35,000 in client funds
