The problem it is meant to fix
Under the current system many providers are unregistered, so the NDIA and the NDIS Commission cannot always see who is delivering supports or paid with NDIS funds. Meanwhile, registration is a single model with heavy audit requirements that do not always match the risk of the work.
The NDIS Review recommended that all providers be visible to the regulators, with requirements that vary by risk: very simple for low risk, straightforward supports, and more oversight for personal and complex ones. It called this proportionate regulation.
The four levels the NDIS Review proposed
Recommendation 17 of the Review's final report proposed these broad categories:
- Advanced registration: higher risk supports, such as behaviour support and daily living supports in closed settings
- General registration: medium risk supports, such as high intensity supports that need extra skills and training
- Basic registration: lower risk supports with limited one to one contact
- Enrolment: the lowest risk supports, such as equipment, already covered by general consumer law
What the Taskforce added
The NDIS Provider and Worker Registration Taskforce was set up in February 2024 to advise on how to design the model, and its advice was released on 2 August 2024. It recommended using the Review's categories as the basis for most provider registration, along with a Provider Risk Framework and arrangements for platform providers.
It also recommended a self directed registration category for participants, or their guardian or representative, who get supports by directly employing workers or engaging independent contractors. The government consulted on that category until 17 January 2025.
What is actually happening, and when
The labels above were proposals. The rollout so far uses existing registration with an expanding list of supports that must be registered:
- 1 July 2026: Supported Independent Living providers and NDIS digital platforms must be registered, with new registration groups 0138 and 0137
- 1 July 2027: mandatory registration starts expanding to higher risk supports, such as personal care, daily living supports and supports in closed settings
- 1 July 2027: a provider enrolment system starts, requiring most providers to give the NDIA basic identifying information and a validated bank account, with everyone in scope enrolled by December 2027
- December 2030: all providers in scope registered
- Mandatory registration for support coordination was considered but is paused while that service is redesigned
What it means for participants
For lower risk supports you will still be able to choose unregistered providers. For higher risk supports, such as personal care, you will need a registered provider once the rules apply to that support. The final list of supports in scope is still being worked out, so check before you assume your current worker will be affected.
What to do now as a provider
- Work out how much of your work is personal care or daily living support, since that is where registration is heading first
- Read the NDIS Practice Standards for your likely registration groups and get audit quotes early
- Make sure you and your workers hold NDIS Worker Screening clearances
- Keep your ABN, business details and bank account consistent, ready for enrolment
- Watch the NDIS Commission's reform hub for the final scope rules