VIVA Collaborative
VIVA was founded on the belief that care and support should be person-centred,
community-based and innovative. As a social enterprise, our mission extends
beyond delivering services to creating systems and opportunities that improve lives
and strengthen communities.
Built something worth keeping?
Whether you are an independent support worker, a small team already working well together, or an emerging provider, The VIVA Collaborative gives you a way to keep what matters while gaining the strength of a trusted registered organisation behind you.
Keep your relationships. Keep your values. Leave more of the administration to us.
Is this for you?
Independent support workers
You value flexibility, strong participant relationships and doing things well. You are less enthusiastic about BAS, invoicing, insurance, compliance and working alone.
Small support teams
You already work well together around participants. You want to preserve the team, the trust and the continuity you have created.
Emerging or unregistered providers
You have built something valuable, but registration, governance and administration may be becoming too complex or expensive to carry alone.
Practice leaders and network builders
You have brought good people together and may be looking for a safe, transparent and sustainable home for the team you have developed.
You do not need to have everything worked out. The first step is simply a confidential conversation.
The sector is changing
Great support should not require you to become a full-time administrator.
Independent support has created some of the strongest, most responsive and most trusted relationships in the disability sector.
But running a small NDIS support business is becoming harder. Registration expectations are increasing. Compliance obligations are growing. Insurance, payroll, record keeping, scheduling, training and quality systems all demand time and money.
For many quality workers and small providers, the question is no longer whether the work matters. It is whether the business structure around the work remains sustainable.
The VIVA Collaborative offers another path.
- Growing registration and compliance expectations
- Unpaid administration and business management
- Insurance, payroll and invoicing
- Maintaining quality, safeguarding and continuity
- The isolation of carrying every responsibility alone
Why The VIVA Collaborative?
Supporting people changes lives. Supporting those who provide that support changes communities.
At VIVA, we have always believed social impact starts with people. It starts with participants living good lives. It continues with outstanding support workers who feel valued, connected and supported.
The VIVA Collaborative exists because we believe the future of disability support should not force exceptional people to choose between independence and sustainability. We have created a different path.
One where experienced practitioners, small support teams and emerging providers can keep what is important while gaining the strength of a trusted organisation behind them.
Together, we are building the future of independent support through shared governance, collective compliance and the strength of working together.
NDIS Reforms should not mean losing what made independent support valuable in the first place.
Australia needs more than large providers. Rather, it needs:
Experienced local practitioners.
Small teams who know their communities.
People who build trusted relationships over years.
Providers who understand the people they support and remain close to the work.
The VIVA Collaborative exists to preserve those strengths while providing the scale, governance, employment, systems and support needed for a changing NDIS environment.
Because we believe diversity makes the disability sector stronger.
The four promises
Great decisions happen close to participants.
VIVA works through self-managed, autonomous teams. We trust capable people to exercise judgement, contribute ideas and solve problems together - within a clear framework of governance, safeguarding, quality and shared accountability.
Do meaningful work without carrying it alone.
Become part of a team that shares knowledge, supports one another and stays connected to the purpose behind the work. You bring your experience; together, we create the conditions for everyone to succeed.
Gain the security and support of employment.
As a VIVA employee, you are backed by payroll, superannuation, insurance, salary packaging, training, quality systems and the infrastructure of a registered provider. Employment brings both support and clear responsibilities.
Build the next chapter of your working life.
Develop your practice, contribute to stronger teams and explore pathways into team development or other leadership opportunities. Growth at VIVA is about expanding your contribution as well as your career.
Autonomous teams. Shared governance. One purpose.
At VIVA, we believe the best decisions are made as close as possible to the people we support.
That is why our model is built around self-managed, autonomous teams. Teams are trusted to organise their work, support one another, respond to participant needs and continually improve the way support is delivered.
Autonomy does not mean working without boundaries. Every VIVA employee works within our values, policies, employment arrangements, clinical and quality systems, and obligations as a registered provider.
You bring what makes the support personal.
Together, we share what makes it sustainable.
Joining The VIVA Collaborative is not about pretending nothing will change. It is about recognising the value you have already created and bringing it into a stronger, shared employment model.
YOU BRING
- Trusted participant relationships
- Knowledge of the people you support
- Professional judgement and practical experience
- Local knowledge and community connections
- Ideas, initiative and personality
- Commitment to continuity and good support
- A willingness to contribute and be accountable
TOGETHER, WE SHARE
- Employment and payroll
- Registration and compliance
- Governance, quality and safeguarding
- Clinical leadership and escalation pathways
- Insurance, systems and administration
- Training, development and team support
- Shared responsibility for improvement and outcomes
A thoughtful transition
Some people come to The VIVA Collaborative as individual workers. Others have spent years building a trusted team, a strong local reputation or reliable ways of supporting particular participants.
Where a genuine team or practice transition is being considered, VIVA will take time to understand what has been built and what needs to be protected.
That may include:
- planning how workers can transition together where roles, suitability and participant choice align;
- preserving continuity for participants while making employment and service arrangements clear;
- recognising the contribution of people who have built and led strong teams;
- exploring suitable leadership, mentoring or VIVA Coach opportunities;
- considering a transparent transition recognition arrangement where it reflects legitimate workforce, knowledge or business transition value.
Participants are never assets to be transferred. Their choice and control remain central. Any transition must be transparent, appropriately consented, free from pressure and governed by VIVA’s conflict-of-interest, safeguarding and employment requirements.
No two transitions will be identical. The starting point is a confidential conversation about what you have built, what matters most and whether there is a genuine fit.
Your hourly rate is only part of the story.
Independent contracting can look attractive when the comparison starts and ends with the hourly rate. But the true comparison also includes the time, cost and risk of operating a business.
As an independent worker, you may need to allow for unpaid administration, BAS and bookkeeping, invoicing, insurance, superannuation, leave, training, compliance, cancellations, gaps between shifts and time spent finding work.
As a VIVA employee, the cash hourly rate may be different, but the total employment proposition includes paid superannuation, employee protections, salary packaging, insurance, training, systems, administration and the support of a registered provider.
When comparing options, ask:
- How many of my working hours are actually billable?
- How much time do I spend on administration, travel planning and chasing invoices?
- What do I personally pay for insurance, accounting, systems and compliance?
- Have I allowed for superannuation, leave, cancellations and quiet periods?
- What value do I place on team support, clinical guidance and not carrying every risk alone?
How the transition works
A considered pathway, not a rushed recruitment process.
Book a Coffee Conversation
We start with a confidential, no-pressure discussion about your work, your team, what you have built and what you want for the future.
Explore the fit
We talk honestly about VIVA's values, employment model, autonomous teams, expectations and accountability. You can decide whether the model feels right for you.
Understand the transition
Where participants, workers or a small practice may be involved, we map the relationships, risks, consent requirements, workforce implications and practical steps.
Complete employment and due diligence
Suitable people move through VIVA's employment, screening, reference, qualification and onboarding processes. Previous relationships do not remove the need for a proper assessment of fit, or indeed worker compliance.
Plan for continuity
If the transition proceeds, we agree a clear plan for communication, participant choice, consents, service agreements, rostering, records, team integration and any required handover.
Join, contribute and grow
New employees become part of VIVA's self-managed team environment, supported by governance and shared services and accountable for contributing to quality, culture and participant outcomes.
A conversation creates no obligation. A transition only proceeds when it is right for participants, the people involved and VIVA.
Frequently asked questions
Will I become a VIVA employee?
Does employment mean I lose all autonomy?
No. VIVA is built around self-managed, autonomous teams and decisions made close to participants. You will be trusted to use judgement and contribute to how the team works, but that autonomy operates within VIVA’s governance, clinical, quality, rostering and employment framework.
Can I keep supporting the same participants?
Can my team join together?
Will I keep choosing all my own hours and shifts?
What happens to my business or ABN?
Will VIVA take over my participants?
Is there a transition payment or recognition arrangement?
What employment benefits might be available?
What if I am only curious?
Something worth keeping. A future worth building.
The future of disability support should not require exceptional people to become exceptional administrators.
It should allow skilled, committed people to stay close to participants, exercise judgement, work with people they trust and contribute to strong local teams.
The VIVA Collaborative brings those strengths together with employment, shared governance, collective compliance and the support of an organisation built around autonomous teams.
You will not be working alone. You will not be working without accountability. You will be bringing what you have built into a team committed to doing great work – together.
Built something worth keeping? Let’s talk about what comes next.