Changing your ndis marketing services provider should not mean rebuilding your website, losing access to advertising accounts or interrupting participant enquiries. Yet a rushed handover can create exactly those problems, particularly when nobody has documented who controls each account.

If you are moving from an agency to an internal team, replacing a supplier or bringing several freelancers under one arrangement, treat the change as an operational handover. The aim is to preserve useful work, secure your assets and keep your intake team connected while responsibilities change.

Here is a practical transition plan for NDIS provider owners, with clear instructions on what to collect, what to test and when to remove access.

Start with the reason for switching

Before cancelling anything, write down what is not working. Be specific: unclear reporting, slow website updates, enquiries outside your service area or campaigns promoting supports you cannot currently deliver.

Separate supplier problems from operational problems. A new agency cannot resolve an unanswered intake phone or unclear service availability simply by changing advertisements.

Create a short transition brief covering:

• What must improve: the specific delivery or communication issues.
• What must stay: effective pages, useful reporting and campaigns worth retaining.
• Current capacity: supports and locations you can genuinely service.
• Decision-makers: who approves content, spending and technical changes.

This prevents the incoming team from replacing everything before understanding what already works.

What an NDIS marketing services handover should include

Ask for a written asset register rather than a folder of passwords. It should identify each asset, its account owner, billing contact, current users and the process for transferring or granting access.

Website and domain assets

• Domain registrar access and renewal details.
• Website hosting, backups and content management system access.
• Domain name system records and details of any connected email service.
• Theme, plugin, booking system and form software licences.
• Website files, content exports and any development documentation.

Do not assume that paying for a website means every component is transferable. Some designs, images or software may be licensed through the agency. Check the agreement and identify anything that needs a replacement licence.

Marketing and measurement accounts

• Google Ads, Meta business assets and relevant social media accounts.
• Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and Search Console.
• Google Business Profile access.
• Email marketing platforms, call tracking and customer relationship management systems.
• Reporting dashboards, campaign exports and tracking documentation.

Where the platform permits it, your business should hold appropriate owner or administrator access, with suppliers added through individual or partner permissions. Avoid relying on a shared login tied to a former employee’s phone.

Check the contract before giving notice

Review notice periods, termination arrangements, outstanding invoices and ownership clauses before setting a handover date. Also check whether cancelling one service ends something else, such as website hosting or access to a reporting dashboard.

Ask the outgoing supplier to confirm, in writing:

• The final date of service and which work continues until then.
• Which assets will be transferred, exported or retained.
• Whether handover assistance attracts additional fees.
• Which subscriptions will stop and on what date.
• How confidential information will be returned, retained or deleted under the agreement and applicable obligations.

If ownership is disputed or the terms are unclear, seek appropriate legal advice. Technical access and contractual ownership are not necessarily the same thing.

Protect enquiry pathways before changing campaigns

Your first priority is not a new advertisement. It is making sure people can still contact your organisation.

Map every active enquiry route: website forms, phone numbers, landing pages, social messages, booking links and referral forms. Record where each enquiry goes and who is responsible for responding.

Pay particular attention to agency-managed phone numbers and landing pages hosted outside your main website. Ask whether those numbers can be transferred and how long the pages will remain available.

Then run a practical test:

• Submit a clearly labelled test enquiry through each important form.
• Call advertised numbers and check routing, voicemail and after-hours messages.
• Open booking links and confirm the correct calendar receives the appointment.
• Check confirmation messages and internal notifications.
• Ask intake staff to confirm receipt rather than relying on a success screen.

Use dummy information for testing. There is no need to enter a real participant’s circumstances to confirm that a form works.

Handle participant and enquiry data carefully

A marketing transition does not justify giving every new supplier unrestricted access to participant records. Enquiry systems may contain sensitive personal information, even if they were originally built for simple contact requests.

Decide what the incoming team actually needs. Campaign reporting may be possible using aggregated enquiry outcomes rather than identifiable records. If individual-level access is necessary, limit it to the relevant role and purpose.

Use secure transfer methods, individual accounts and multi-factor authentication where available. Do not email spreadsheets of participant details around a broad handover group.

Keep disability details, support needs and other sensitive information out of URLs, advertising tags and analytics events. Check that form tracking measures an action without transmitting the contents of the submission.

Document access changes and agree on the handling of old exports and backups, consistent with your privacy obligations and retention requirements.

Preserve history before anyone rebuilds anything

Existing accounts often contain useful evidence: search terms, previous advertisements, negative keyword lists, website changes and enquiry patterns. Starting again can make comparisons harder and discard work you have already paid for.

Before the handover, save a baseline report showing:

• Recent campaign spending and active budgets.
• Enquiries by channel, with the definition of an enquiry clearly stated.
• Which services and locations each campaign promotes.
• Current conversion actions and how they are measured.
• Known technical issues and recent major changes.

Separate recorded conversions from genuine enquiries. A telephone-link click, for example, does not prove that someone completed a call.

Keep the existing website structure stable unless there is a clear reason to change it. If URLs must change, require a redirect plan and check important service pages after launch.

Use a staged transition rather than one big cutover

The safest sequence depends on your contract, platforms and technical setup. Use these stages as checkpoints, not a fixed deadline.

Stage 1: Confirm access and responsibilities

Appoint one handover lead within your business. Have the incoming team verify that access actually works, rather than just confirming that invitations were sent. Record who controls billing and recovery settings.

Stage 2: Validate the live setup

Test forms, phone routing, tracking and active campaigns. Confirm that advertisements accurately describe current services, locations and availability. Resolve critical problems before making optional design changes.

Stage 3: Transfer responsibility

Set a clear time when the incoming team becomes responsible for campaign changes and monitoring. Avoid two suppliers editing the same campaigns independently. Confirm who can pause spending if something breaks.

Stage 4: Remove unnecessary access

Once the handover is verified, remove permissions that are no longer needed. Rotate shared credentials, update recovery details and review connected applications. Keep a record of what changed.

Agree on the first month’s deliverables

A transition needs a defined finish line. Ask the incoming team for a completed asset register, a measurement check, a list of priority fixes and a practical work plan.

Specify who approves person-centred messaging and checks claims about registration, availability and service delivery. A change of supplier is not a reason to publish unverified claims or reuse participant stories without checking consent and permitted use.

If you are reviewing NDIS marketing services, ask how the handover will protect continuity before discussing a full rebuild. A sensible transition preserves useful assets, addresses genuine risks and makes ongoing responsibilities clearer.

Planning a change? book a free strategy call with NDIS Advertising to discuss your current setup and practical handover priorities.

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep my Google Ads account when changing marketing agencies?

Often, yes, if your business has appropriate access to the existing account. Confirm account control, billing and contractual arrangements before ending the relationship. Where possible, grant the incoming agency access to the existing account so campaign history remains available.

Will switching NDIS marketing services affect my website rankings?

Changing suppliers alone does not require changes to your website. Problems can arise if the transition causes downtime, removes useful content, changes URLs without redirects or disrupts technical settings. Keep unnecessary website changes separate from the initial handover and monitor important pages.

What should I do if my agency controls my domain name?

Check the registrant details, your contract and the agency’s role in managing the domain. Request a documented transfer or suitable business-controlled access through the registrar’s process. Confirm renewal and billing arrangements, and avoid changing domain settings without checking their effect on your website and email.

Should I pause advertising during an agency handover?

Not automatically. Campaigns may continue if billing, enquiry routing, access and monitoring are working. A temporary pause may be appropriate if critical systems are unreliable or responsibility is unclear. Agree on who monitors spending and who has authority to pause campaigns during the transition.