AI Receptionist for NDIS Providers: Your 2am Shift Cancellations, Answered and Covered

A 2am cancellation, two ways

How it finds cover, step by step

1. The worker calls. The agent answers 24/7 on the number your workers already use. It speaks warmly and without guilt.
2. It takes the details. Worker name, mobile (read back to check it), the shift (house or participant, date, start and finish time) and the reason.
3. It checks ShiftCare. Through ShiftCare's API it looks up the shift and who is available and suitable, using your rules: house, participant, qualifications, who already knows the participant, and who should be asked first.
4. It rings round for you. It texts and calls replacement workers in order until one accepts. Workers reply by text or answer the call. No app needed.
5. It updates on-call. Your coordinator gets an SMS and email with the outcome. If no one is available, the agent calls the coordinator straight away.
6. Roster updated, if you allow it. With your approval, it can update the roster in ShiftCare once a replacement accepts. Or it stays read-only and your coordinator makes the change.

Want to see how this fits your wider after-hours setup? Read how our after-hours AI receptionist handles urgent calls, and how we approach NDIS-aware call handling.

What the call sounds like

An illustrative example. Names and details are made up.

Incidents go straight to a person

The other calls it handles

• Participants, families and support coordinators. It works out who they need and passes a clear message to the right coordinator by name.
• SIL and STA vacancies. It takes vacancy enquiries and sends them to the person who handles intake. It never promises a vacancy, a start date or a particular worker.
• General NDIS questions. General information only, plus where to find out more: the NDIA on 1800 800 110 or ndis.gov.au. It never makes eligibility or funding decisions for anyone.
• Complaints. It listens, takes the details in the caller's words and sends them to management, not to the worker involved.
• Admin. Shift reminders and confirmations to workers, replies to routine SMS and emails using answers you approve, and messages to the right coordinator by name.

It never gives medical or clinical advice. Anything outside the answers you've approved goes to a person.

Tested on test staff before it touches real shifts

1. Free 30-minute demo. You walk Niel through your houses, programs, on-call roster and how cover is found today.
2. Read-only access first. With your permission we connect to your ShiftCare account read-only. The agent can see shifts and availability but can't change anything.
3. Test staff and test participants. We build and test on test records. Your coordinators make test calls: cancellations, incidents, complaints and family enquiries.
4. Live only when you say so. It doesn't contact real workers or touch live roster data until you approve each step. Roster changes stay off unless you switch them on.

How participant and worker data is handled

More we can set up through your ShiftCare connection

Once your agent is connected to ShiftCare, the same connection can take more of the day-to-day load off your coordinators. We set up and manage each one for you, at your pace:

• Vacant shift filling. Offers open shifts to suitable workers days ahead, not just when someone cancels.
• Shift reminders and confirmations. Texts workers before their shift and flags anyone who hasn't confirmed.
• Roster updates. Puts the replacement worker on the shift in ShiftCare once they accept, only if you switch this on.
• Morning handover summary. One email for your coordinators each morning: overnight cancellations, cover found, incidents and calls to return.
• SMS and email replies. Answers routine messages from workers, families and support coordinators, and passes the rest to the right person by name.
• Incident and complaint intake. Records the details and sends them straight to your manager for follow-up.
• Compliance reminders. Reminds workers before their checks and qualifications expire.
• Your other systems. Connects to your HR and other software as they make their connections available.

Tell us what takes your team's time and we'll show you how it would work for your organisation on the demo.

Pricing

Plans start at $149/month, month-to-month, with voice minutes and SMS included. Usage is capped at the gap to the next plan up, so a busy month can never cost more than the plan you should have been on.

We'll look at your shift volume and cancellation calls on the demo and recommend the right plan. Full details are on the pricing page.

When it's not the right fit

• You want it to make clinical, behaviour support or incident decisions. It won't. Those stay with your people.
• You want it to advise participants on NDIS eligibility or funding. It gives general information only.
• You don't have clear rules for who gets offered a shift first. We'll help you write them, but it needs them to work well.
• Your rostering lives on paper or in spreadsheets only. It works best when it can see your ShiftCare roster.

Related pages for NDIS providers

• NDIS-compliant AI receptionist — participant-first call handling and NDIS Practice Standards context
• After-hours AI receptionist — how urgent after-hours calls get escalated
• After-hours answering service
• AI receptionist for occupational therapists
• Privacy Act 1988 and AI receptionists
• Pricing and plans

Questions NDIS providers ask us

Can it find cover from ShiftCare?

Yes. It connects to your ShiftCare account through ShiftCare's API, looks at the cancelled shift, and checks who is available and suitable using the rules you give us, such as the house, the participant, worker qualifications and who already knows the participant. It then texts and calls those workers in the order you choose until someone accepts the shift.

What if no one is available?

It keeps working through your list until it reaches the end, then tells your on-call coordinator straight away by call and SMS: which shift is still open, who was contacted and what each person said. The coordinator decides what happens next. It never leaves a shift open quietly, and it never promises a participant or family that a worker will turn up.

Does it change my roster in ShiftCare?

Only if you approve it. We start with read-only access, so it can see availability but can't change anything. Once you're happy with how it works, you can let it update the roster in ShiftCare when a replacement accepts, or keep it read-only and have your coordinator make every roster change.

Is participant data safe?

We handle personal information under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. Call records, summaries and transcripts are stored in our Sydney database, encrypted in transit and at rest, and only your authorised staff can see them. Our voice and AI technology partners may process call audio outside Australia to run the calls; our privacy policy lists them. We never sell caller data and never use it to train AI models. We ask for only the details needed to cover a shift.

What happens with incidents?

If a caller mentions an incident, an injury or someone at risk, it first tells them to ring 000 if anyone is in danger right now. It then takes the basic details, marks the call as urgent and escalates it to your on-call person by call and SMS straight away. It does not investigate, give advice or decide whether something is reportable. Your team handles the incident under your own policies and NDIS reporting obligations.

Do workers have to download anything?

No. Workers ring the number they already use to call in sick, and replacement workers get a normal phone call or text message. They reply yes or no by text or simply answer the call. There's no app, login or new number to remember.

How does it speak to a worker who is cancelling?

Kindly and without guilt. It thanks them for letting you know, takes their name and mobile (and reads the number back), the shift details (house or participant, date, start and finish time) and the reason, then tells them what happens next. It doesn't argue, question the reason or pressure anyone to work while unwell.

Does it answer at 2am, weekends and public holidays?

Yes. It answers every call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including overnight, weekends and public holidays. That's when most last-minute cancellations come in and when your on-call coordinator most needs the sleep.

Can participants, families and support coordinators call it too?

Yes. It takes enquiries from participants, families, carers, support coordinators and plan managers, works out who they need, and passes a clear message to the right coordinator by name. It can also answer general questions you've approved, like service areas, office hours and how to make a referral.

Can it answer questions about the NDIS?

Only general information. It can explain where to find out more, such as the NDIA on 1800 800 110 or ndis.gov.au. It never makes or suggests decisions about eligibility, funding, plans or supports for any person. Those questions go to your team or the NDIA.

Can it handle SIL and STA vacancy enquiries?

Yes. It takes vacancy enquiries for SIL, STA or respite, captures who is calling, the participant's general needs as the caller describes them, location and timing, and sends it to the coordinator who handles vacancies. It doesn't promise a vacancy, a start date or a particular worker. Your team makes those decisions.

What does it do with complaints?

It listens, thanks the caller, takes the details in their own words and sends the complaint to management, not the frontline worker involved. It tells the caller who will follow up. It doesn't argue, defend or try to resolve the complaint on the spot.

What admin work can it take off coordinators?

Shift reminders and confirmations to workers, replies to routine SMS and emails using answers you've approved, and messages routed to the right coordinator by name. Anything outside those approved answers goes to a person.

How do you test it before it touches real shifts?

We build and test it on test staff and test participants first, with read-only access to ShiftCare. You and your coordinators make test calls, including cancellations, incidents and complaints. It doesn't contact real workers or touch live roster data until you approve each step.

Is Aussie AI Agency NDIS registered or a ShiftCare partner?

No to both. We're a technology service provider, not an NDIS provider, and we're not affiliated with, endorsed or certified by ShiftCare. Our agent works with ShiftCare by connecting to your ShiftCare account with your permission. You stay responsible for your obligations under the NDIS Practice Standards and to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission; we set the agent up to support how you already work.

How much does it cost?

Starter $149/month (100 voice minutes and 50 SMS included, then $0.85/min), Business $299/month (250 voice minutes and 150 SMS included, then $0.65/min), Growth $499/month (700 voice minutes and 400 SMS included, then $0.45/min), Enterprise from $1,299/month (3,000 voice minutes and 1,000 SMS included, then $0.29/min). All prices in AUD, excluding GST. Your Australian phone number and call charges are included. Ringing replacement workers (outbound calling) is available on every plan, paid from prepaid credit at $0.60 a minute with phone call charges included. Setup is a one-off fee shown on our pricing page. Month-to-month on every plan, cancel any time. Book a free 30-minute demo first so we can scope your call volume and pick the right plan.

Who looks after it once it's live?

We do. It's a fully managed service, not a DIY tool. Our team checks every call by hand each day, fixes anything it didn't handle well and keeps improving it. If you want something changed, you tell Niel and it's done for you.