How to become an NDIS provider

First decision: registered or unregistered?

You can deliver NDIS supports two ways, and which one you need depends on the supports you'll offer and the participants you want to reach.

• Unregistered — the lower barrier — you can support plan-managed and self-managed participants (the majority of the scheme) with no formal audit. You must still follow the NDIS Code of Conduct, privacy law and your other legal obligations.
• Registered — registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. It's required to support agency-managed (NDIA-managed) participants, and mandatory for certain higher-risk supports — Supported Independent Living, specialist disability accommodation, behaviour support, early childhood, plan management and high-intensity personal care — no matter who manages the plan.

What registration involves

Registration is handled by the NDIS Commission. In outline:

• Legal entity + ABN — your organisation set up appropriately (e.g. incorporated association or company limited by guarantee), often ACNC-registered if you're a charity. Most not-for-profits already have this.
• Apply and pick your registration groups — an online application where you select the support types you'll deliver.
• Self-assessment — against the NDIS Practice Standards relevant to those support types.
• Independent audit — by an approved quality auditor — a lighter Verification audit for lower-risk supports, or a more rigorous Certification audit (with site visits and interviews) for complex or higher-risk supports.
• Worker screening — everyone in a risk-assessed role needs an NDIS Worker Screening Check.
• Suitability + decision — the Commission assesses your organisation and key personnel, then issues a registration certificate (generally valid up to three years, with re-audit to renew).

Ongoing obligations once registered

Registration is not a one-off. You'll maintain compliance with the NDIS Practice Standards and Code of Conduct, run an incident-management system (with reportable incidents to the Commission) and a complaints process, keep workers trained and screened, meet restrictive-practice rules if you deliver behaviour support, carry the right insurances, and re-audit each registration cycle.

Setting up — registered or not

Some things every provider needs, whichever path you take:

• Insurances — public liability, professional indemnity and workers' compensation.
• Policies and agreements — privacy, safeguarding, incident and complaints policies, WHS, and a service agreement with each participant.
• Pricing — charge within the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits — the price guide caps what you can bill.
• Getting paid — registered providers claim through the myplace provider portal (via a PRODA login); for plan-managed or self-managed participants you invoice the plan manager or the participant directly.
• Getting found — families and support coordinators need to be able to find you — a clear, claimed listing where participants search is how a search becomes an enquiry.

Costs and timeframe

Budget for the audit (a Verification audit is cheaper; a Certification audit costs more, scaling with your size and scope) and allow anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for the whole process. Unregistered providers avoid the audit cost and can start sooner.