Are you eligible to become a registered NDIS provider?
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission sets specific eligibility conditions, standards and pre-requisites that every applicant must meet in order to have their NDIS registration approved.
The information provided below outlines the NDIS eligibility criteria that you are required to meet in order to become an NDIS registered provider.
Any Australian business with an ABN can applySole traders and independent support workers includedA past minor offence or discharged bankruptcy is not automatically disqualifyingBook your free Consultation
Registration is now mandatory for SIL and digital platform providers
From 1 July 2026, provider registration is mandatory for all businesses delivering Supported Independent Living and digital platform services. If you are operating in these areas without registration, your application must be commenced by 1 October 2026.
Who Is Eligible To Become a Registered NDIS Provider?
Those applying to become Registered NDIS Providers need to meet certain eligibility criteria, including NDIS Registration requirements set by the NDIS Commission:
Qualifications
NDIS Providers must have relevant NDIS qualifications and/or meet experience requirements that match the disability support services they plan to deliver. The specific qualifications needed depend on the registration groups included in the Registration Application. Providers delivering professional supports such as allied health, nursing, or behaviour support must have workers who hold current registration with their relevant professional body (for example, AHPRA where nursing services are delivered).
Suitability criteria
The NDIS Provider and their Key Personnel must meet pre-determined suitability criteria. This criteria includes suitability questions such as whether the Applicant business or Key Personnel have been convicted of an indictable offence, has been insolvent or under administration, or has ever been disqualified from managing corporations under the Corporations Act 2001.
NDIS Practice Standards
All applicants must complete a self-assessment against the NDIS Practice Standards relevant to their registration groups. Your policies, procedures, and operational systems need to demonstrate compliance with these standards before your audit.
NDIS Suitability Criteria
Just as its name suggests, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission was put in place to improve and protect the quality and safety of NDIS supports and services. A major step in ensuring the safety of supports and the suitability of NDIS registered providers is that an individual or company wishing to become a registered NDIS provider must meet pre-determined suitability criteria.
Meeting the eligibility and suitability criteria is essential before lodging your application. There are three tests, and the Commissioner must be satisfied of all three. If you and all of your key personnel (that is, the board members and senior managers of your organisation) meet the following criteria, you are not ineligible to apply for NDIS Registration.
Is the Applicant suitable?
This first test applies to the applicant. In most cases, this is the company or sole trader applying for registration.
You must tell the Commission whether any of the following applies to the applicant entity.
Are the Key Personnel suitable?
This second test applies to each of the applicant's Key Personnel. Key Personnel are people responsible for executive decisions, or who have authority or significant influence over planning, directing or controlling provider activities. This typically includes the CEO, executive staff, managers and board members. If the applicant is a company, any director listed on the ASIC register will always be treated as a member of the applicant's Key Personnel, regardless of how involved they are in the business. That includes silent or non-executive directors, and a spouse or family member appointed as a director who takes no part in day-to-day operations. They must be declared, and they must meet the criteria below.
In the application form, you must provide details of every member of your Key Personnel.
Each of them must tell the Commission whether any of the following applies to them.
The Commissioner may also have regard to any other matter considered relevant. Declarations are assessed at application and throughout the registration period.
Does the business hold an active ABN?
This third test applies to the applicant. Sole traders, companies, partnerships and trusts can all apply, provided the applicant holds an active ABN.
You must hold an active ABN before you can lodge, because the application form will not accept a submission without one.
Set the entity up first. We can begin scoping and documentation with you while that is in train.
Adverse findings or enforcement action
This matter appears in both Test 1 and Test 2, and covers the same bodies in each.
You must tell the Commission about any adverse finding or enforcement action by any of the following.
The three tests are set out in Part 3 of the NDIS (Provider Registration and Practice Standards) Rules 2018: suitability of the applicant at s 9, suitability of key personnel at s 10, and the ABN requirement at s 11. Each is made for s 73E(1) of the NDIS Act 2013, which defines key personnel at s 11A. Confirm the current legislative provisions before relying on them.
Types Of NDIS Providers
What NDIS Providers Do
NDIS Providers provide a variety of services aimed at helping people with disabilities reach their goals and improve their quality of life. The function of an NDIS Provider is to ensure Participants are provided services and supports in line with their plans while upholding high levels of care, professionalism, and adherence to NDIS rules. Services may include personal care, therapies, assistive technology, transport, and home modifications. Providers can be independent or work within an organisation, providing individualised support according to Participant needs.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission) oversees the quality and safety of NDIS services and supports. They regulate offerings from both Registered and Unregistered Providers.
Registered and Unregistered Providers compared
Both can deliver NDIS services, but they operate under different rules and reach different Participants. The pros and cons below set out what each can and cannot do.
Registered Providers
Considered the gold standard among NDIS Providers. They are premium as they meet NDIS Registration requirements set by the NDIS Commission, including ongoing compliance with Commission-approved quality auditors.
Registered Providers undergo an approval process, including a suitability assessment and compliance audit. Completing the NDIS registration process requires a certain level of commitment. However, NDIS Registration broadens the scope of supports and services you can provide, and the types of Participants you can serve.
Unregistered Providers
Not registered with the NDIS and have not undertaken external auditing for compliance with the NDIS Practice Standards. Operating unregistered is lawful, but the range of supports an unregistered provider can deliver is limited, and NDIA-managed participants are out of reach entirely.
How To Become A Registered NDIS Provider
The following steps outline the process for Registration with the NDIS Commission:
Prepare your business policies
Each Applicant must have a suite of Policies and Procedures to support their Application. This suite will detail how your business works as a Provider, and will be audited prior to Registration Approval.
Prepare and submit the application
You will have to provide your organisation's contact details, business structure, registered business address and postal address, key personnel and the relevant suitability criteria of each, relevant Registration groups or classes of support, and your business self-assessment with NDIS Practice Standards.
Choose an approved quality auditor
You'll need to engage the services of an approved quality auditor before moving on to the next step. Use the Initial Scope of Audit document generated from submission of the Application to request a quote.
Complete the audit
The external auditor will review your business compliance against the NDIS Provider Requirements and NDIS Practice Standards. The results are submitted to the NDIS Commission for final assessment.
Assessment by the Commission
The NDIS Commission will assess your Application, including the audit recommendation. They will notify you of the outcome.
The 60-day rule
You must submit the Application within 60 days or it will be deleted and you will need to start again.
Verification or certification
The type of audit you need depends on the kind of services and supports your business offers. A verification audit is a desktop review of your systems and documentation. It applies to lower-risk supports such as cleaning, products and transportation. A certification audit is a more comprehensive on-site assessment required for higher-risk services such as personal care, SIL, behaviour support, and specialist disability accommodation.
How long registration takes
Preparing your documentation is the fast part — two days on our fast track, or three to four weeks on the regular timeline. After that, the pace is set by your Approved Quality Auditor and the NDIS Commission rather than by you. The Commission typically takes three to nine months from the date your auditor completes the audit.
Delays most commonly occur when policies and procedures are incomplete or when the audit raises non-conformities that need to be addressed before the Commission can finalise its assessment. Both sit in the part of the process you can control, which is why preparation is worth doing properly.
Benefits of Becoming An NDIS Provider
Becoming an NDIS Provider offers some benefits, which are:
Increased business opportunities
Tap into an expanding market of thousands of NDIS Participants seeking high-quality services.
Funded demand
Clients hold NDIS-funded plans, so the money to pay for supports is already allocated.
Positive social contribution
Play a role in enhancing the lives of individuals with disabilities by delivering necessary support.
Professional development
Improve your credentials and expertise in the disability market, resulting in career development and new opportunities.
Become a certified NDIS Provider
Avaana can help your business apply to become a Registered NDIS Provider by providing strategic advice for your business and team, assisting with preparation of your application documentation and customising required policies and procedures.
What registered providers say about working with us
Over 3,000 providers supported since 2020.
About NDIS Provider Eligibility
What are the eligibility criteria to become an NDIS provider?
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You must meet criteria set by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission — no convictions for indictable offences, not insolvent, and no adverse findings or enforcement actions against you or your key personnel. Avaana can help you understand and meet these criteria.
Who is eligible to become an NDIS provider in Australia?
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Any Australian business with an ABN that can meet the suitability requirements. An active ABN is required before you can lodge an application, because the Commission’s form will not accept a submission without one. Section 11 of the NDIS (Provider Registration and Practice Standards) Rules 2018, made for s 73E(1)(f) of the Act, requires the applicant to hold an ABN within the meaning of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999. Set the entity up first. We can begin scoping and documentation with you while that is in train. Key personnel and workers must be appropriately qualified or experienced to deliver the supports in question.
Can sole traders and independent support workers be eligible?
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Yes. Individuals and sole traders with an active ABN can apply for registration.
Can new businesses or startups become NDIS providers?
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Yes. We recommend getting business advice and application guidance before you begin, so the structure you set up suits the registration groups you want.
Do I need specific qualifications to register?
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Certain services within the registration groups require specific qualifications or accreditation with regulatory bodies such as AHPRA. We can determine whether your intended services carry a prerequisite qualification.
Are there minimum qualification or experience requirements?
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There are no hard and fast rules, given the breadth of supports funded under the NDIS. Professionals must generally be appropriately qualified and registered with their professional oversight body. Support workers should demonstrate at least six months' experience or qualifications in disability or individual support.
What criteria must a business meet to be eligible?
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Each key management person and worker must maintain 100 points of ID and pass an NDIS Worker Screening Check. Some providers also require Working with Children Checks. All businesses and key personnel must declare indictable offence convictions, insolvency or administration, adverse findings or enforcement action by a government authority, disqualification from managing corporations, findings relating to fraud, misrepresentation or dishonesty, and any other matter the Commissioner may consider relevant.
Can I register if I have a minor offence or past bankruptcy?
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Possibly. If you have committed a minor offence, or were bankrupt and are now discharged, you may still meet the eligibility criteria. We can advise how these factors are likely to affect your application.
What makes a business ineligible?
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Typically, being unable to demonstrate understanding and implementation of the Practice Standards relevant to your registration type, not being appropriately qualified or experienced, not maintaining effective policies and procedures, or not meeting the suitability requirements.
Does eligibility differ by the type of services offered?
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Yes. Professional registration groups, implementing restrictive practices and high-risk supports carry additional requirements for experience, qualifications and professional memberships. The NDIS Price Guide sets out the requirements for each registration group.
Is eligibility the same across all states and territories?
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The eligibility requirements are uniform nationally, though state-based regulations may also apply when you register for professional service offerings.
Can I register only for Specialist Disability Accommodation?
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Yes. SDA is a registration group in its own right, and SDA providers are excluded from the Core Module practice standards — they need only comply with the SDA practice standards.
What are the visa requirements?
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If you are not an Australian resident and are here to study or travel, your visa must permit you to register a business. We can help you establish whether yours does before you proceed.
Do unregistered providers need to meet eligibility requirements?
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Unregistered providers must ensure workers comply with the NDIS Code of Conduct and complete an NDIS Worker Screening Check. They must still be appropriately experienced and qualified under the state and federal regulations that apply outside the NDIS framework — AHPRA, for instance.
What conditions are not funded by the NDIS?
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The NDIS does not fund supports for time-limited, non-ongoing conditions — mobility following a lower limb fracture, for example, where the condition is likely to resolve. It does not fund chronic health conditions unrelated to a person's disability, nor medication or medical care for treating diabetes or peripheral artery disease.
How does Avaana help assess and confirm eligibility?
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Assessing eligibility and maintaining compliance is part of our registration consultancy service. Our business advisory team can also assess your financial position and business goals so you make the most of the opportunity.
How can Avaana assist in the registration process?
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We provide comprehensive support — checking eligibility, preparing the necessary documents and advising throughout. On an initial application for NDIS registration we offer a 100% money back guarantee: if you do not pass your audit based on the documentation we prepare, we refund our fees. Conditions apply.*