DOCUMENT 13
IRT – Contact the participant or applicant
This article provides guidance for a review officer, business support officer, or participant support officer to:
- contact a participant, applicant, or their authorised representative
- complete the unable to contact process.
Recent updates
1 December 2025
Additional step included for post and email contact.
Before you start
You have completed the steps in the article IRT – Conduct a desktop review.
Contact the participant or applicant
You will need to contact the participant or applicant to clarify their request and gather additional details.
When completing an internal review, the participant or applicant must be part of the decision-making process.
When contacting a participant, applicant, or authorised representative, you must first check their preferred communication method and authorisations.
Refer to the article [Check a person’s preferred contact method](#) for further information.
When contacting a participant, applicant, or authorised representative, you must also log an Activity. Activity types include:
- SMS messages
- phone calls
- emails
- face-to-face meetings.
Refer to article [Log an activity or internal note](#) for guidance on creating case activities.
As the internal review team is a virtual team with a limited footprint, we do not include face-to-face meetings as part of the standard service offering. If a face-to-face meeting is requested, the review officer must discuss and explore other options, such as engaging with advocates/authorised representatives, interpreting supports, and organising specific times to call, it is determined that a face-to-face meeting may be necessary, seek assistance from your line manager to identify a pathway forward.
If during contact, there is a media threat, advise your line manager who will contact the Media Team and advise of any follow up action if required.
Phone
If a participant or applicant’s preferred contact method is by phone:
- Make one contact attempt. This attempt requires a pre-call SMS. Refer to article IRT – Send an SMS. If contact is unsuccessful, leave a voicemail (if possible) and refer to the article IRT – Unable to contact process.
- If contact is successful begin by:
- Stating your name, advising you are from the NDIA.
- Verifying the identity of the person you are calling. Refer to the article Understand how to verify identity documents.
- Acknowledging the type of internal review.
- Listing the documents received that will be considered as part of the internal review.
- Confirming whether the participant or applicant would like to supply further information, and if so, refer to the article IRT – Requests for further information. If they do not wish to provide further information, advise them the review will progress based on the available information.
- Confirm their preferred method of contact for the internal review outcome notification.
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Remind the participant or applicant of the support pathways available via their Local Area Coordinator, Early Childhood Partner and/or Support Coordinator, the contact centre, and local NDIS office.
- For planning internal reviews, this will support with understanding and implementing their plan. Check with the participant if they would like a plan implementation meeting.
- For access internal reviews, this will assist with connecting to mainstream supports and gathering and submitting information for their internal review.
If a participant or applicant’s preferred contact method is email:
- Send an email. Refer to article IRT - Sending an email.
- The next business day after the introduction email timeframe has lapsed, if there has been no response, make one last attempt via phone (if appropriate and based on the participants/authorised representatives circumstances), then proceed with the review based on the information available.
If a participant or applicant’s preferred contact method is mail:
- Send the Internal Review Request for Information Letter to the participant’s listed address and request a reply within 14 days. Refer to the article IRT – Sending a manual letter.
- The next business day after the request for further information letter timeframe has lapsed, if there has been no response, make one last attempt via phone (if appropriate and based on the participants/authorised representatives circumstances), then proceed with the review based on the information available.
Next Steps
- For planning internal reviews, refer to article IRT - Enacting a planning review decision.
- For access and revocation internal reviews, refer to article IRT - Enact an access or revocation review decision.
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