NDIS Registration for Physiotherapists

Registration is currently optional for physiotherapists delivering therapeutic supports (as of February 2026). You can work with self-managed and plan-managed participants without it but registration opens the door to working with agency-managed participants who can only use registered providers. It also signals to potential clients that your practice meets the NDIS Practice Standards.

For physiotherapists delivering therapy only, you’ll complete a Verification audit as part of the registration process. This is a desktop review of your evidence and documentation, not an expensive, week-long site audit – thankfully! However, if you also want to deliver early intervention supports for early childhood, that changes your audit pathway significantly (more on this below).

Read on to find out how to apply for NDIS registration as a physiotherapist and what you can expect from the audit and registration process.

The Registration Groups

Physiotherapy services typically fall under two NDIS registration groups:

0128 Therapeutic Supports – This covers assessment, therapy, and capacity building delivered by allied health professionals including physiotherapists. It’s the core registration group for most physios.

0135 Custom Prosthetics – If you provide or assess customised prosthetic technology, you may also want to register under this group. It’s a niche addition, but relevant for physios working in prosthetic rehabilitation. You’ll need to demonstrate experience relevant to the specific customised technology you wish to provide or assess.

Both of these registration groups sit within the Verification audit pathway. Selecting one or both keeps you in the simpler, lower-cost audit process.

Verification vs Certification

There are two types of NDIS audits: Verification and Certification.

Certification is for higher-risk services (like personal care, behaviour support, or housing). It involves site visits, record reviews, and interviews with management, workers, and participants. Different auditors will charge differently, but you should expect to pay around $8,000–$12,000 as a starting point for Certification. If you add supplementary modules such as Early Childhood Supports, this requires additional time and will increase the cost.

Verification is for lower-risk services (like therapy, cleaning, gardening and vehicle modifications). It’s a desktop audit, meaning the auditor reviews your documents remotely. Verification audits typically cost between $900 and $1,500.

For physiotherapists delivering therapy under 0128 Therapeutic Supports (and/or 0135 Custom Prosthetics), Verification is the pathway.

When Your Audit Pathway Changes

One common addition will shift you from Verification to Certification:

Early Childhood Supports (0118)

If you want to deliver early childhood early intervention services for children under 9, you’ll need to add registration group 0118 Early Childhood Supports.

Adding 0118 triggers a Certification audit against the Core Module plus the Early Childhood Supports supplementary module. Budget $8,000–$12,000+ for this audit pathway.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue this registration group! Paediatric physiotherapy is a legitimate specialty, and many physios build successful practices working with young children. But it’s good to understand the cost and complexity before you apply. If you’re unsure whether you need early childhood registration, it’s worth getting clear on what services you actually want to deliver before submitting your application.

If you’re weighing up whether to add 0118, our guide on the NDIS Certification vs Verification Audit explains the financial and operational differences.

Physiotherapy vs Exercise Physiology: Know Your Scope!

There’s often confusion in the market about where physiotherapy ends and exercise physiology begins. They’re distinct professions with separate registration groups under the NDIS: physiotherapists register under 0128 Therapeutic Supports, while exercise physiologists register under 0126 Exercise Physiology and Personal Training. Both are included in the Verification pathway.

This matters because the services you deliver and document should align with your registration group. If you’re registered under 0128 as a physiotherapist, your service descriptions, clinical notes, and participant goals should clearly reflect physiotherapy services, not services that would more appropriately sit under exercise physiology.

If you’re unsure whether a service falls within physiotherapy scope, it’s worth checking before you register. Auditors will look at whether your evidence supports the services you’re claiming to deliver under your registration group.

The 4 Requirements for Verification

To pass a Verification audit, you need to demonstrate you have appropriate safeguarding processes in place for the NDIS participants you work with. The auditor will assess four areas:

Human Resource Management — including evidence of your qualifications, NDIS Worker Screening Check, and right-to-work documentation. For physiotherapists, this includes your registration with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia, evidence of clinical supervision, and ongoing professional development.

Incident Management — A clear process for what happens if something goes wrong. For a physiotherapy practice, this might include a participant injury during treatment, an adverse reaction to manual therapy, a fall in your clinic, or a disclosure of harm. Don’t just think about generic workplace incidents.

Complaints Management — A simple, accessible process for clients to raise concerns and how you resolve them. Note: your AHPRA complaints obligations don’t replace this requirement. You need a complaints process that meets the NDIS Practice Standards specifically, separate from professional registration pathways.

Risk Management — How you identify and manage risks to your organisation and in your everyday work. Your risk register should reflect the actual risks in a physiotherapy practice (e.g. manual handling injuries, equipment safety, infection control in hands-on treatment, managing participant pain or distress), not generic risks copied from a template designed for support work providers.

NDIS Registration for Physiotherapists: Required Documents and Checks

Before you apply, gather the following evidence:

AHPRA Registration — Current registration with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia.

Clinical Supervision and Professional Development — Evidence of your involvement in supervision and CPD as required by the Physiotherapy Board.

Insurance — Professional indemnity insurance is essential. Public liability insurance is also required if you see participants in person, whether in a clinic, their home, or community settings.

NDIS Worker Screening Check — Required for all physiotherapists delivering NDIS services, regardless of your AHPRA registration.

NDIS Worker Orientation Module — Certificate of completion for you and any staff.

Infection Control and PPE Training — Particularly relevant for physiotherapy given the hands-on nature of treatment. You need evidence that you’ve considered infection control in your service environment, including hand hygiene, equipment cleaning, and appropriate PPE use.

Operational Documents — Policies and procedures covering the four areas above. These should reflect how your practice actually operates. Be cautious of generic template packs that focus on personal care and support work rather than therapy services.

Common Mistakes

Using templates that don’t reflect therapy services

Many NDIS policy template packs are written for personal care and support work providers. If your incident and risk management processes talk about community access and transport but not treatment-related injuries or clinical incidents, it doesn’t reflect your practice and the auditor will notice.

Assuming AHPRA handles complaints

Your professional registration has its own complaints pathway, but this doesn’t satisfy the NDIS requirements. You need a separate, accessible complaints process that meets the NDIS Practice Standards. Participants should be able to raise concerns directly with you, and you need to document how you receive, manage, and resolve complaints.

Generic risk registers

A risk register filled with risks about participant transport and household tasks isn’t useful for a physiotherapy practice. Your risks are different: manual handling during treatment, equipment maintenance and safety, infection control for hands-on therapy, managing participants who experience pain or distress during treatment, home visit safety. Your risk register should reflect the actual risks you face and how you control for them.

Service agreements that miss NDIS requirements

If you’re coming from Medicare, DVA, or private practice, your standard consent forms probably don’t cover everything needed for NDIS service agreements. You’ll need to address NDIS-specific elements: how pricing works under the NDIS Price Guide, your cancellation policy, how you handle different plan management types (agency-managed, plan-managed, self-managed), and what happens when a participant’s plan is reviewed or funding changes.

Overlooking home visit and community-based risks

Many physiotherapists deliver services in participants’ homes or community settings, not just in a clinic. If this applies to you, your risk management and incident management processes need to reflect it. Lone worker safety, unfamiliar environments, manual handling without clinic equipment are real risks that, if relevant to you, should appear in your documentation.

The Registration Process

Step 1: Start Your Application

Log in to the NDIS Commission Portal and start a New Application. Enter your business details and select your registration groups (0128 Therapeutic Supports, and 0135 Custom Prosthetics if relevant). You’ll complete a self-assessment against the relevant NDIS Practice Standards and may be prompted to upload your evidence documentation.

Step 2: Receive Your Initial Scope of Audit

Once you submit your application, the system generates an Initial Scope of Audit. This confirms whether you require a Verification or Certification audit. If you’ve selected only 0128 Therapeutic Supports and/or 0135 Custom Prosthetics, you’ll be on the Verification pathway.

Step 3: Engage an Approved Quality Auditor

You must engage an independent Approved Quality Auditor (AQA) from the list published by the NDIS Commission. Send them your Initial Scope of Audit and request a quote for a Verification audit.

Verification audits typically cost between $900 and $1,500 depending on the auditor.

Step 4: Submit Your Documents

Your auditor will request your policies, insurance, AHPRA registration, screening checks, and other evidence. They’ll review everything against the NDIS Practice Standards and identify any gaps. If a major non-conformity is found, you’ll have up to 3 months to provide additional evidence before the auditor can finalise your report.

Step 5: The Decision

Once the auditor completes your report, they submit their recommendation to the NDIS Commission. The Commission assesses your application and audit result, then makes the final decision on your registration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need additional qualifications beyond my physiotherapy registration?

No. Your AHPRA registration as a physiotherapist, combined with evidence of clinical supervision and professional development, demonstrates you’re qualified to deliver therapeutic supports. You don’t need NDIS-specific qualifications to register under 0128.

For 0135 Custom Prosthetics, you’ll need to demonstrate experience relevant to the specific customised technology you wish to provide or assess.

Can I charge more if I’m registered?

No, the NDIS Price Guide sets maximum prices for therapeutic supports. Registration doesn’t change what you can charge, but it does expand your potential client base to include agency-managed participants and can boost your reputation as a provider meeting the NDIS Practice Standards.

What if I want to add early childhood supports later?

You can apply to vary your registration and add registration groups after your initial registration. However, adding 0118 Early Childhood Supports will trigger a Certification audit for that module. It’s worth considering upfront whether you want this registration group, as it may be more efficient to register for everything at once rather than going through multiple audits. Chat with your auditor if you’re thinking about adding this on.

I also hold exercise physiology qualifications. Should I register under both?

If you want to deliver services as both a physiotherapist and an exercise physiologist, you should register for both registration groups. However, be clear about which professional capacity you’re working in for each participant, and ensure your documentation reflects the appropriate scope of practice.

How long does it take?

The Verification audit itself is usually completed within a few days once you submit your documents. If the auditor identifies gaps, you may need to provide further evidence. Once your audit report is finalised, NDIS Commission processing can take several weeks or months depending on their backlog.