Do NDIS Independent Support Workers Need to Be Registered?

As at September 2026, most independent support workers don't need to be registered with the NDIS Commission. Registration is required if you want to work with participants whose funding is managed by the NDIA, or if you deliver a support where registration is mandatory.

In this article, an independent support worker is someone who delivers support work through their own business rather than as an employee of a provider, whether that business is a sole trader or a company. Either way, the business is an NDIS provider. The NDIS Commission notes that an unregistered provider may be an entity, sole trader, or subcontracted employee or worker.

When you need to be registered

You need to be registered if any of the following apply:

• You want to work with NDIA-managed participants. Only self-managed or plan-managed participants can use unregistered providers. If a plan is partly NDIA-managed and partly self-managed, the self-managed portion can be used for unregistered providers (NDIS Commission participant pack).
• Your support involves the use, or likely use, of a regulated restrictive practice. The Commission gives the example of support workers restricting a participant's free access to the community due to behaviours of concern, which is implementing a regulated restrictive practice. A provider delivering these supports must be registered (NDIS Commission).
• You deliver Supported Independent Living (SIL). Registration became mandatory for new SIL providers from 1 July 2026, and existing unregistered SIL providers must apply for registration by 1 October 2026 or stop providing SIL (NDIS). The Commission's definition doesn't apply where a participant chooses and manages their own support workers, including directing, planning and rostering them. Our article on the SIL definition covers where the boundaries sit.

Registration is also required for specialist disability accommodation and behaviour support assessments or plans, plan management and NDIS digital platforms. Our article on mandatory registration covers these in more detail.

If you find work through a platform, the registration requirement sits with the platform. The Commission only classifies a platform as an NDIS digital platform if its main purpose is connecting participants with NDIS supports from their plan. Check what the platform requires of you.

What applies whether or not you're registered

The NDIS Code of Conduct. All NDIS providers must meet their obligations under the NDIS Act and the Code of Conduct, regardless of whether they're registered (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing). Section 6 of the NDIS (Code of Conduct) Rules 2018 requires you to:

• act with respect for individual rights to freedom of expression, self-determination and decision-making, in accordance with applicable laws and conventions
• respect the privacy of people with disability
• provide supports and services in a safe and competent manner, with care and skill
• act with integrity, honesty and transparency
• promptly take steps to raise and act on concerns about matters that may impact the quality and safety of supports and services
• take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to all forms of violence against, and exploitation, neglect and abuse of, people with disability
• take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct

Section 6(2) adds a fair pricing requirement: without a reasonable justification, you can't represent or charge a higher price for goods for a participant than you would for someone who isn't a participant.

Compliance with the Code is a civil penalty provision under section 73V of the NDIS Act. The Commission can take action against registered and unregistered providers and workers who don't meet it, including stopping them from working with people with disability (NDIS Commission).

Worker screening. An NDIS Worker Screening Check isn't a legal requirement for unregistered providers, but the Commission recommends that unregistered providers make sure all their workers have a clearance. Self-managed and plan-managed participants can decide whether the workers who support them must have one.

What's changing

The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 20 August 2026. Three changes are relevant to independent support workers.

Expanded mandatory registration. Registration will expand to providers of higher-risk supports, such as personal care, daily living supports and supports delivered in closed settings. The reform timeline has the rollout beginning in July 2027, with all providers in scope to be registered by December 2030. The Government has said it will publish a list of the supports considered high risk. Until that list is out, we don't know which supports will be caught. If you deliver personal care or daily living supports, keep an eye on it.

Provider enrolment. This is a separate process from registration. Providers in scope will need to enrol from 1 July 2027 so they can be paid directly, with all providers in scope enrolled by December 2027. Enrolment involves providing a minimum basic level of identifying information.

Differentiated pricing. The Government is consulting on pricing that would differ depending on whether a support is delivered by a registered or unregistered provider. The NDIA's Annual Pricing Review for 2026-27 recommended this begin on 1 January 2027 (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing). The final design hasn't been confirmed.

What to do now

• Read the Code of Conduct and the Commission's guidance for workers. It applies to you now.
• Get an NDIS Worker Screening Check if you don't have one. It's recommended by the Commission, and participants can ask for it.
• If your support involves, or is likely to involve, a regulated restrictive practice, don't deliver it unless you're registered.
• If you deliver personal care or daily living supports, watch for the Government's list of high-risk supports, which will show whether registration will become mandatory for you.