Hello, I ran across an infuriating issue with ctrl-space autocomplete not working on Netbeans when using a Mac and it took quite a bit of time to track down the problem.
If you have multiple keyboard Input Sources configured then the OS will register ctrl-space as a shortcut to switch between them and will block this shortcut working in Netbeans. The system shortcut can be changed in System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Input Sources. I hope it helps someone, it was driving me mad! Cheers, Bob