Unregistered NDIS provider

What is an unregistered NDIS provider?

An unregistered NDIS provider is a person or business that delivers NDIS supports without being registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. They can be used by participants who self-manage or are plan-managed, but not by participants with NDIA-managed funding, and they cannot deliver supports that legally require registration. They are still regulated: they must follow the NDIS Code of Conduct, and the Commission can take action against them.

Unregistered providers are a large and legitimate part of the NDIS. Many are sole-trader support workers, cleaners, gardeners, therapists, gyms and community programs that choose not to go through NDIS registration because their participants don't need it. Under the NDIS Act, the term "NDIS provider" covers unregistered providers too, which is why the Code of Conduct reaches them.

The term comes up in three situations:

• A participant choosing a provider, usually asking "can I use an unregistered provider?"
• A new business deciding whether to register now or start unregistered.
• A plan manager or support coordinator checking whether a provider can be paid for a particular support. For the registered side, see registered NDIS provider.

Who can use an unregistered provider

It depends on how the participant's funding is managed, which is set out in their plan:

Participants can mix: someone with a plan-managed core budget and an NDIA-managed capacity building budget can use an unregistered support worker from the first, but only registered providers from the second. The NDIA's pricing arrangements set the price limits that apply to plan-managed and NDIA-managed participants; check current limits in the NDIS price guide.

What unregistered providers can't do

The Commission's about registration page lists the supports only registered providers can deliver. An unregistered provider cannot provide:

• any support to a participant whose funding is NDIA-managed;
• specialist disability accommodation (SDA), specialist behaviour support, or plan management;
• any support that involves a regulated restrictive practice;
• supported independent living (SIL) or NDIS digital platform services, from 1 July 2026.

These limits now carry heavy consequences. Under the Integrity and Safeguarding Act 2026, from 9 April 2026 it is an offence — up to 2 years' imprisonment, 120 penalty units, or both — to provide a support that requires registration while unregistered, or to hold yourself out as able to provide one. Civil penalties also apply. For example, advertising SIL vacancies without registration or a pending application could fall within it.

Rules that still apply to unregistered providers

Unregistered does not mean unregulated. The Commission regulates all NDIS providers. Unregistered providers and their workers must:

• follow the NDIS Code of Conduct — all eight elements, including fair pricing for goods (see the Commission's Code of Conduct page);
• respond to complaints; anyone can complain to the NDIS Commission about an unregistered provider;
• comply with Commission compliance and enforcement action, including banning orders;
• keep to the NDIS price limits when supporting plan-managed participants;
• meet ordinary Australian law: employment law and the SCHADS Award if it covers their workers, work health and safety, privacy, consumer and tax law.

What they don't have are the extra conditions of registration: no Practice Standards audit, no mandatory reportable incident notifications, and no legal requirement to screen workers. The Commission's worker screening page for unregistered providers recommends that all workers have an NDIS Worker Screening Check clearance anyway, and unregistered providers can get an employer ID to verify and link workers in the NDIS Worker Screening Database.

Getting paid as an unregistered provider

Because unregistered providers can't claim through the NDIA's provider portal, payment always goes through the participant's side:

• Self-managed participants pay your invoice themselves (or through their nominee) and claim the amount from their plan. They can negotiate prices with you, because the price limits don't bind self-managed funding.
• Plan-managed participants send your invoice to their plan manager, who checks it against the plan and the price limits before paying you.

Either way, your invoice is the evidence the claim is built on. It should show your ABN, the participant's name and NDIS number, the support item number, dates, hours or quantity, and the price per unit. A plan manager will usually query or reject an invoice that exceeds a price limit or names the wrong item. The free NDIS invoice generator lays one out with the fields plan managers expect.

Working under a registered provider's registration

Some unregistered businesses deliver supports as subcontractors to a registered provider, often called brokerage. This can open up participants you couldn't serve alone, but the rules sit with the registered provider: it must be the one that claims payment, it is responsible for every support delivered under its registration, and it must make the arrangement clear to participants. Expect a registered provider to ask you for worker screening clearances, insurance, training records and progress notes that meet its Practice Standards obligations.

Incidents and complaints when you're unregistered

Unregistered providers don't have to notify reportable incidents to the Commission — that is a condition of registration. But the Code of Conduct still requires you and your workers to promptly raise and act on concerns about the quality and safety of supports, and to take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation, neglect, abuse and sexual misconduct. In practice that means acting on an incident straight away, telling the participant and anyone they want involved, contacting police where a crime may have occurred, and keeping a record. Participants and families can complain to the NDIS Commission about an unregistered provider at any time.

Should a provider stay unregistered?

Starting unregistered can be a sensible stepping stone, but it limits growth. Use these questions:

If you plan to register later, build your systems to Practice Standards level from the first participant. The free Practice Standards self-assessment shows how far your records are from audit-ready, and the worker screening tracker keeps clearance expiry dates in one place even though screening is optional for you.

What changed for unregistered providers in 2026

2026 narrowed what unregistered providers can do and raised the stakes for getting it wrong:

Mandatory registration for support coordination was flagged in earlier reforms but has been paused, according to the Commission's mandatory registration page. Check that page for anything announced after October 2026.

What participants should check before using one

Choosing an unregistered provider gives you more choice and is often how participants find a worker who suits them. Because there is no audit, the checking falls to you:

1. Confirm your funding for that support is self-managed or plan-managed, not NDIA-managed.
2. Check the support doesn't require registration (SIL, SDA, specialist behaviour support, plan management or anything involving a regulated restrictive practice).
3. Ask whether workers hold an NDIS Worker Screening Check clearance, and ask to see first aid and other relevant credentials. As a self-managed participant you can require a clearance.
4. Ask for current insurance, such as public liability.
5. Agree the supports, prices and cancellation terms in writing — a service agreement is good practice even when it isn't required.
6. Check invoices list the support items, dates and hours, and don't exceed price limits for plan-managed funding.

Common misunderstandings

• "Unregistered providers can charge whatever they like." Not to plan-managed participants: the price limits apply, and plan managers won't pay above them.
• "The Commission can't do anything about unregistered providers." It can investigate Code of Conduct breaches and make banning orders.
• "Unregistered means lower quality." Not necessarily. Many skilled therapists and workers are unregistered because their participants self-manage.
• "I can deliver SIL while I think about registering." Not since 1 July 2026, unless you applied within the transition window and your application is still being decided.
• "Worker screening is pointless if it's optional." Many participants and plan managers ask for it, and it is good evidence you take the Code of Conduct seriously.