Paying your service providers

Apply for funding

Once you are approved for funding, you and your service provider will receive an authorization letter and billing number. You will then need to complete funding forms to pay your service providers or to purchase equipment or supplies.

Review and submit invoices

Service providers invoice the Autism Funding Program using the billing number provided in the authorization letter. The Autism Funding Program pays service providers on behalf of parents.

Service providers must be payable within Canada. Funds can be issued either:

• By a cheque mailed directly to the service provider at a Canadian address that is not also the address of the child's parents/guardians.

• By Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or direct deposit into a Canadian bank account.

Please note that service providers who contract their services to clients with Autism Funding are responsible for their own employment-related costs, including any costs of being payable within Canada (e.g., cost of setting up and maintaining a Canadian bank account).

You can ask service providers to share invoices with you before submitting them or ask the Autism Funding Program to make sure that all submitted invoices are signed by you before they're paid.

Manage your funding online. Use My Family Services to check your funding balance, see your invoices or send a message to the funding team.

Direct payment

Parents with children 12 years or older can apply for funding to be paid them directly and then pay service providers that qualify for funding. 

To qualify, the parent or guardian who signs the Direct Payment Agreement (PDF) must have successfully managed their autism funding for at least two years (24 months).

Families that have more than one child with autism can also use the direct payment method for their other children if they are between the ages of 6 and 12 (children under the age of six do not qualify for direct payment).

Ask to switch to direct payment. If you would like to switch to the direct payment method, let the Autism Funding Branch know at least 60 days before the end of your current funding period

Submit documents. At the end of each funding period, the parent must submit documents that show:

• Who provided services
• Proof of payment (e.g., invoices, receipts, Autism Branch approval letters, approved Justification for Equipment Forms, etc.)
• An Accountant Confirmation Form (PDF) completed and signed by a professional accountant (Certified General Accountant, Chartered Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, or Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA)

Follow the rules. Parents must comply with the terms of the agreement. If not, the agreement can be cancelled and parents will only be able to access funding using the invoice payment method.

All documentation submitted is subject to audit, which can be done any time years after payment was made. A parent or guardian is responsible for paying back any amount that was spent on expenses that do not qualify for funding.