Bridge tech platform offers investors unique exposure to BIG business of NDIS

As major businesses in Australia work to capitalise on the Federal Government’s $29 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) one newly listed ASX tech play is geared up to offer investors exposure to the growing sector.

Bridge SaaS (ASX:BGE) offers direct exposure for investors to the NDIS with its all-in-one tech platform having the single objective of driving efficiencies throughout the multi-billion dollar sector and those like it such as aged or home care.

Having listed on the ASX on October 6, Bridge brings together some of Australia’s most respected names in the field including National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) former chief executive Martin Hoffman who will be joining the board of Bridge as a non-executive director.

Hoffman announced his resignation from the NDIA in June. Bridge founder and chairman Rupert Taylor-Price said Hoffman’s appointment offers enormous validation for the company and on the need for the software in the market with his ability to strategise and navigate the sector unparalleled.

Managing director Jamie Conyngham said Bridge provides software to support NDIS providers.

The Bridge platform enables providers to manage their client appointments, tasks for the day and bureaucratic documentation for compliance and claims from the government.

“If investors would like to get exposure to NDIS supporting technology, then Bridge is a great way to do it,” he said. “More money going into NDIS means more staff required in various roles.”

“The staff need software for day-to-day operations and the providers need software to make their operations more efficient.”

Major players investing in NDIS

Big business including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA), health insurer NIB Holdings (ASX:NHF) and Ellerston Capital are investing to increase their exposure to the growing NDIS sector.

CBA recently announced a partnership with the NDIA to build a new claims at point of support channel for the NDIS. NIB announced it was entering the NDIS as a plan manager.

Ellerston Capital has exposure to NDIS via its investment in Mable which connects participants with providers.

The NDIS was first introduced in several trial sites in 2013, began to be fully rolled out in 2016, and has been available in all states and territories since July 2020 with now ~17,000 providers Australia-wide.

Increased spending, Increased opportunities

The Federal Government’s NDIS spending is forecast to provide $33.9 billion to over 500,000 Australians who have permanent and significant disability in 2022-23, growing to $44.6 billion in four years and exceeding expenditure on Medicare.

“Increased spending potentially means that there will be more providers providing care to the population,” Conyngham said.

“More providers mean more potential clients using Bridge.”

Proven performer with leading advantage

The Bridge platform was started back in 2008 to streamline compliance and organisational tasks for providers in the employment services market before the recent entry into the care market.

As the federal government and organisations become increasingly concerned about security breaches when handling private citizens’ data, Bridge has already gone through the security audit and controls as part of its DEWR accreditation.

While the NDIS is a newer program and doesn’t have full accreditation yet, its work and accreditation with DEWR may further provide Bridge with an advantage as a proven, secure platform.

Room for expansion

Bridge is also seeking to enter new vertical markets including aged care and home care.

Conyngham said while NDIS looks set to continue for many years to come, the company doesn’t rely solely on the program for its revenue and is highly adaptable.

“If the NDIS did change in the future, it would be replaced by other programs for which Bridge could also be used by providers to help with efficiencies,” he said.

“Bridge is highly customisable and can help all sorts of providers with its’ core functionality.”

He said Bridge has a solid heritage in enterprise software, solving complex problems and making things simple, compliant, and secure.

So just as accounting software Xero (ASX:XRO) helps solve challenges for small and medium-sized businesses, Conygham said Bridge is working to simplify operations for providers of NDIS and other government programs.

This article was developed in collaboration with Bridge SaaS, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.