The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has launched a new national after-hours service: the After Hours Crisis Referral Service (AHCRS). The initiative is intended to provide immediate support for NDIS participants when their disability-related support arrangements break down outside of business hours.
The AHCRS is delivered by Marathon Health in partnership with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), and operates via a dedicated 1800-number for approved referrers. These referrers include emergency services such as police, ambulance, public and private hospitals, acute mental health services and justice officers, each nominated by state and territory governments.
The service covers situations where an adult NDIS participant (18 years or older) or a participant under 18 living in voluntary out-of-home-care arrangements presents to emergency services because their disability-related supports have suddenly become inadequate, ineffective or unavailable. In these crisis moments, where support arrangements fail and alternative short-term solutions cannot be activated, the AHCRS steps in to assist.
What counts as “outside business hours” for the service? The AHCRS runs during weekdays from 5 pm to 11:59 pm and again from 12am to 9 am, and operates 24 hours on weekends and national public holidays. For daytime weekday hours, regular escalation and crisis arrangements remain in place via the NDIS National Contact Centre.
Importantly, the AHCRS does not replace state and territory governments’ mainstream or emergency service responsibilities. Housing and homelessness services, family violence support and other mainstream crisis response services continue under the domain of state and territory agencies. The AHCRS is a specialist support pathway within the NDIS framework, responding to crisis when disability-related supports fail.
By creating this after-hours pathway, the NDIA aims to reduce the risk to NDIS participants when support disruptions occur at night or on weekends — times when fewer services are active and immediate assistance is harder to access. Having this dedicated line can help coordinate a timely response, stabilise the situation and link to ongoing support options rather than leaving a crisis unmanaged until standard business hours.
For approved referrers, the process is straightforward: when they encounter a qualifying situation outside business hours, they call the AHCRS dedicated 1800 number to refer the participant into crisis support. Marathon Health then works to assess the situation, engage relevant resources and facilitate the best response aligned to the participant’s needs and circumstances.
The launch of the AHCRS signals a recognition that disability support crises don’t always happen within standard working hours — and that a structured after-hours response is necessary. For many NDIS participants, the breakdown of supports can quickly escalate into health or safety risks, so providing an immediate back-up option is key.
The NDIA emphasises that existing national contact channels remain available for participants and providers during business hours, and that participants in life-threatening emergencies should always call 000. The new service is complementary, enhancing the responsiveness of the NDIS when traditional support systems fall short during off-hours.
In conclusion, the After Hours Crisis Referral Service represents an important enhancement to the safety net for people supported by the NDIS. By allowing approved emergency-service referrers to access a dedicated response during after-hours periods when disability-related supports break down, the scheme is better positioned to respond to urgent situations, reduce risk and ensure that participants receive timely, appropriate support even outside normal hours.
