Registered or unregistered? Which path suits your NDIS support business

Published 13 October 2026 · For providers · Source checked 13 October 2026

Some supports can only be delivered by registered providers, and others can be delivered either way. Here is what each path allows, what it asks of you, and a third option.

What each path allows

The Commission says you must be registered to provide specialist disability accommodation, specialist behaviour support, supports or services to participants with NDIA-managed funding, plan management, assistance with supported independent living and NDIS digital platform services, and to use regulated restrictive practices.

Unregistered providers can deliver supports and services to participants except for those. Only participants who self-manage or plan-manage their NDIS funding can choose to receive supports from an unregistered provider. So the first question is not whether you would like to be registered, but which participants and which supports you want to serve.

What staying unregistered still involves

The Code of Conduct applies to unregistered providers, their key personnel and their workers. The Commission also expects all providers to have effective complaints management and incident management practices, recommends that unregistered providers make sure all workers have an NDIS worker screening clearance, and lets self-managed and plan-managed participants require one.

The NDIA’s maximum prices apply to NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants, so a plan-managed participant will expect your rates to sit within the price limits. A self-managed participant is not bound by those limits, but fair pricing under the Code still applies.

What registration adds

Registered providers can serve NDIA-managed participants and deliver the supports that require registration, and they are listed on the NDIS Provider Register. In return, registration is subject to conditions: complying with the Practice Standards and the Code of Conduct, effective complaints and incident systems, worker screening for certain roles, notification requirements, audits, and behaviour support requirements where they apply.

It also means regular external scrutiny: an initial audit, and for higher-risk supports a mid-term audit during the registration period. That is a real cost in time and money, and it is also what many participants and families look for.

A third option: under another provider’s registration

Some providers deliver supports under another provider’s registration, through facilitation or brokerage arrangements. The registered provider must claim payment, is responsible for all supports delivered under its registration, and must make sure the arrangement is transparent to participants. It can be a way to start before you are ready for your own registration, but it makes you dependent on that provider’s systems and decisions.

Questions to settle before you decide

Which supports do you want to deliver, and do any require registration? How do the participants you want to serve manage their funding? How much capacity do you have for audits, systems and record keeping? What would registration cost, and what could it open up? Are you planning to grow into supports that need it later?

If you are unsure, read the Practice Standards for the supports you would deliver, and speak to an approved quality auditor, who can tell you which type of audit would apply to you. General information only; the Commission’s pages are the authority.

Frequently asked questions

When must an NDIS provider be registered?

What does staying unregistered still involve?

The Code of Conduct applies to unregistered providers, their key personnel and their workers. The Commission also expects all providers to have effective complaints management and incident management practices, and recommends that unregistered providers make sure all workers have an NDIS worker screening clearance.

Can I deliver supports under another provider’s registration?

Some providers deliver supports through facilitation or brokerage arrangements. The registered provider must claim payment, is responsible for all supports delivered under its registration, and must make sure the arrangement is transparent to participants. It can be a way to start before you are ready for your own registration, but it makes you dependent on that provider’s systems and decisions.

What should I settle before deciding?

Which supports you want to deliver and whether any require registration, how the participants you want to serve manage their funding, how much capacity you have for audits, systems and record keeping, and what registration would cost and what it could open up.

Keep learning

Setting your rates: NDIS price limits and fair pricing for independent workers: A price limit is a ceiling, not a target. How the NDIS pricing schedules apply, when they do not, and how to set a rate you can explain.
The NDIS Code of Conduct for support workers: what it means in everyday work: The Code of Conduct applies to registered and unregistered providers and to the workers who deliver NDIS supports. Here is what each commitment looks like on an ordinary shift.
How to become a registered NDIS provider: the steps and what to prepare: Registration is an application, an independent quality audit and a suitability assessment. Here is the sequence, what to have ready, and where the costs and delays usually sit.
Responding to enquiries: a practical checklist for NDIS and aged care providers: An enquiry is a person asking for information, not a booking. How to reply quickly and respectfully, what to put in a first message, and how to decline well when you cannot help.

More in our NDIS updates and insights, our step-by-step guides, or the NDIS and aged care provider directory.

Official sources

Source checked 13 October 2026. Rules and guidance can change; verify current details with the responsible agency. How we write and check our guides.