You will often see providers describe themselves as registered or unregistered. The difference affects safeguards, which participants can use them and which supports they can deliver. This guide explains registered vs unregistered NDIS providers, and how to check a provider’s registration yourself.
What does registration mean?
A registered provider has been approved by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. To register, a provider is assessed against the NDIS Practice Standards, which set the quality standards registered providers must meet.
The standards come in modules. A core module applies to registered providers of higher-risk supports, supplementary modules apply to particular supports such as high intensity daily personal activities, and a verification module applies to lower-risk supports.
What is different for workers?
Registered providers must make sure that people in risk-assessed roles, including key personnel, hold an NDIS Worker Screening clearance. Unregistered providers are not legally required to, although the NDIS Commission recommends it. Self-managed and plan-managed participants can decide whether the workers who support them must hold a clearance.
What applies to every provider?
Every NDIS provider and worker must follow the NDIS Code of Conduct, whether registered or not. It requires them to:
- respect people’s rights to make their own decisions
- respect privacy
- provide supports safely and competently, with care and skill
- act with integrity, honesty and transparency
- raise and act on concerns about quality and safety
- take reasonable steps to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation, neglect, abuse and sexual misconduct
- not charge participants higher prices without a reasonable justification
Who has to use a registered provider?
- Participants with NDIA-managed funding must use registered providers for those supports.
- From 1 July 2026, all providers delivering supported independent living (SIL) must be registered.
- Some supports, such as high intensity daily personal activities, need the provider to be registered for that group of supports.
Self-managed and plan-managed participants can otherwise choose registered or unregistered providers.
How do you check whether a provider is registered?
The NDIS Commission publishes a provider register. You can search it for a provider’s name, see whether they are currently registered, and see whether a registration has been suspended or revoked. Searching with the status “Approved” shows current registrations.
As an example, Kindora Connect Pty Ltd has an entry on the NDIS Commission’s provider register. Each entry shows the provider’s registration status, the period of registration and any conditions. It is worth reading the conditions on any provider you are considering.
The Commission also lets you check whether a worker or provider has been banned, and the NDIA’s provider finder lets you search by location and registration group.
What conditions can appear on a registration?
Registrations can carry conditions set by the NDIS Commission, such as audit deadlines or extra risk checks. Kindora Connect’s own entry, for example, lists a condition to assess its supported independent living module as part of a mid-term audit, and a condition to carry out a risk assessment for participants who choose to be supported by a single worker for daily personal activities.
How do you raise a concern about a provider?
Start by giving feedback to the worker or provider, focusing on the issue and how it affects you. If things cannot be fixed, check your service agreement for how to end it. You can also tell the NDIS Commission if a worker or provider is not following the NDIS Code of Conduct, whether they are registered or not.
What help is there for choosing workers?
The NDIS Commission’s Workforce Capability Framework describes the attitudes, skills and knowledge expected of all NDIS-funded workers. It comes with tools such as a position description builder and recruitment and selection resources, which are especially useful if you self-manage and hire your own workers.
Is registered always better?
Not necessarily. Registration adds safeguards, such as audits against the Practice Standards and required worker screening. Many participants value that. Others choose unregistered providers or employ their own workers for flexibility. The right choice depends on the supports, the participant and how the plan is managed.
Kindora Connect is a Registered NDIS Provider in Adelaide, delivering supports such as supported independent living, personal care and community nursing. See also NDIS plan management options and choosing disability support services in Adelaide.