What registration means
A registered provider has been through four things: an application to the NDIS Commission, an independent quality audit against the NDIS Practice Standards, a suitability assessment of the business and its key personnel, and the issue of a certificate of registration. The certificate lists the registration groups they can deliver, their registration period and any conditions.
Registered providers are published on the NDIS Provider Register, so anyone can check them.
Supports that need a registered provider
Most supports can be delivered by registered or unregistered providers. You must use a registered provider for:
- Any support if your funding is NDIA managed (agency managed)
- Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)
- Specialist behaviour support, and any support that involves regulated restrictive practices
- Plan management
- Supported independent living (SIL), since 1 July 2026
- Services from an NDIS digital platform that processes NDIS payments, since 1 July 2026
What registered providers must do
Registration comes with ongoing conditions. Registered providers must:
- Meet the NDIS Practice Standards that apply to their supports and pass regular audits
- Follow the NDIS Code of Conduct
- Have systems for managing complaints and incidents, and report serious incidents to the Commission
- Make sure key personnel and workers in risk assessed roles hold an NDIS worker screening clearance
- Make sure workers complete the NDIS Worker Orientation Module
- Tell the Commission about changes such as new key personnel
What changed in 2026 and what is coming
From 1 July 2026, SIL providers and NDIS digital platforms became higher risk supports that must be registered, with new registration groups 0137 and 0138 and new SIL Practice Standards. Existing unregistered SIL providers had to apply by 1 October 2026 to keep delivering while they are assessed.
From 1 July 2027 mandatory registration expands to other higher risk supports, such as personal care and daily living supports, with all providers in scope registered by December 2030. A new provider enrolment system also starts in 2027. The NDIS Provider and Worker Registration Taskforce recommended a risk proportionate model with different levels of registration for different risks, and the final scope is still being designed.
Registered does not mean better, and unregistered does not mean worse
Registration shows a provider has met audited standards and is overseen by the Commission, which matters most for higher risk supports. But it is a cost and paperwork decision as well as a quality one. Many skilled therapists and support workers choose not to register, and self managed and plan managed participants can use them for most supports.
Whatever the registration status, look at experience with your type of disability, availability, communication, and how they handle problems.
For providers: is registration worth it?
Registration opens up agency managed participants and the supports that require it, and it will be needed for personal care and daily living supports as mandatory registration expands. It also brings audit costs, more paperwork and ongoing compliance. The government has also consulted on lower price limits for some supports delivered by unregistered providers from 1 January 2027, which is not yet final. Weigh where your work is, and where it is heading, before deciding.