For Providers FAQs
Registration, audits, invoicing, and the claiming rules providers work under.
Does every NDIS provider have to register?
No. Registration is mandatory for some supports, including specialist disability accommodation, specialist behaviour support, plan management, and delivering to agency-managed participants. Many other providers can operate unregistered, though they still have to meet the NDIS Code of Conduct and any other laws that apply to their work.
What is the difference between a verification and certification audit?
A verification audit is a desktop review of documents, used for lower-risk, lower-complexity supports. A certification audit applies to higher-risk supports and runs in two stages, a desktop review then an onsite visit with records, interviews, and observation of how policies work in practice.
How do I start the registration process?
You apply to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, choosing the registration groups that match your services. The application sets out the evidence you need and the audit type that applies. Before applying, key personnel and workers in risk-assessed roles need worker screening clearances.
What are registration groups?
Registration groups define which support types a provider is registered to deliver. There are thirty-six groups, spread across general, professional, home and vehicle modification, and assistive technology sets. They are listed by the Commission and against support items in the Pricing Arrangements document.
Can I deliver supports while unregistered?
In many cases yes, for supports that do not require registration. Unregistered providers can be paid from self-managed and plan-managed funding, but not from agency-managed funding. Whichever path you take, the NDIS Code of Conduct applies, and honest, accurate marketing to participants is part of it.
Who needs an NDIS worker screening clearance?
Workers in risk-assessed roles and key personnel need an NDIS worker screening clearance, and sole traders count as both. Risk-assessed roles involve direct delivery of supports with more than incidental contact. A clearance is valid for five years, and each state screening unit takes the applications.
What has to be on an NDIS invoice?
Plan managers look for the participant's details, the support item code, the date and quantity of support, the price, and your business and payment details. Missing the item code or an out-of-date price is the usual reason an invoice gets bounced back for a redo.
Where do the price limits come from?
The Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits set the caps for listed supports under managed arrangements, and they update each year. Rendering your rates from the current document rather than last year's is the difference between a clean claim and a rejected one.
Can providers charge for short-notice cancellations?
Short-notice cancellation rules in the Pricing Arrangements let providers charge for a booked service when a participant cancels late or does not show, subject to the service agreement and notice periods that differ by support type. The calculator applies the current rules to a specific booking.
Can providers claim travel time?
Travel claiming rules come from the Pricing Arrangements. Time limits depend on the location's remoteness classification, non-labour costs like vehicle expenses can be claimed alongside labour time, and remote areas follow different arrangements. The travel calculator applies the published rules to a specific trip.