Considering NDIS registration for your psychology practice? Here’s what the process involves.
Registration is currently optional for psychologists delivering therapeutic supports (as of February 2026). You can work with self-managed and plan-managed participants without it. However, 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 psychologists 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 (thankfully, not an expensive, week-long site audit). However, if you want to deliver behaviour support or 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 psychologist and what you can expect from the audit and registration process.
The Registration Group: 0128 Therapeutic Supports
Psychology services fall under the NDIS registration group 0128 Therapeutic Supports. This covers assessment, therapy, and capacity building delivered by allied health professionals including psychologists.
When completing your application on the NDIS Commission portal, selecting only 0128 Therapeutic Supports keeps you in the Verification audit pathway. If you want to deliver additional services, adding extra registration groups may trigger a Certification audit, which is significantly more expensive and complex.
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 $8,000–$12,000 as a starting point for Certification. If you add supplementary modules such as Behaviour Support, this requires additional time and will increase the cost.
Verification is for lower-risk services (like therapy, cleaning, and home modifications). It’s a desktop audit, meaning the auditor reviews your documents remotely. Verification audits typically cost between $900 and $1,500.
For psychologists delivering therapy under 0128 Therapeutic Supports only, Verification is the pathway.
When Your Audit Pathway Changes
Two common additions will shift you from Verification to Certification:
Behaviour Support (0110)
If you want to work as a Behaviour Support Practitioner, developing and writing behaviour support plans for participants, you’ll need to add registration group 0110 Behaviour Support. This isn’t about implementing restrictive practices, but is specifically about the clinical work of functional behaviour assessments and behaviour support plan development.
Adding 0110 triggers a Certification audit against the Core Module plus the Specialist Behaviour Support supplementary module. Budget $8,000–$12,000 for this audit pathway.
Early Childhood Supports (0118)
If you want to deliver early childhood early intervention services for children, 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. Again, expect $8,000–$12,000.
If you want all three registration groups, your audit costs will increase further.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue these registration groups! But it’s good to understand the cost and complexity before you apply. If you’re unsure whether you need behaviour support or 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 these groups, our guide on the NDIS Certification vs Verification Audit explains the financial and operational differences.
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. Read more here. The auditor will assess four areas:
Human Resource Management: Includes evidence of your qualifications, NDIS Worker Screening Check, right-to-work documentation. For psychologists, this includes your registration with the Psychology 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 psychology practice, this might include a client experiencing a mental health crisis during a session, a disclosure of harm, or a confidentiality breach, not just slips and falls.
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 psychology practice (e.g. confidentiality breaches, dual relationships, vicarious trauma), not generic risks copied from a template designed for personal care providers.
NDIS Registration for Psychologists: Required Documents and Checks
Before you apply, gather the following evidence:
AHPRA Registration: Current registration with the Psychology Board of Australia.
Clinical Supervision and Professional Development: Evidence of your involvement in supervision and CPD as required by the Psychology Board.
Insurance: Professional indemnity insurance is essential. Public liability insurance is also required unless you are delivering services 100% virtually and never see participants in person – discuss this with your auditor if you believe it applies to you.
NDIS Worker Screening Check: Required for all psychologists 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: Yes, even in an office-based therapy practice. This might be as simple as hand hygiene and mask use when unwell, but you need evidence that you’ve considered infection control in your service environment.
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 Psychologists Make
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 manual handling and ladder safety but not mental health crises or mandatory reporting, it doesn’t reflect your practice.
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 community access isn’t useful for a psychology practice. Your risks are different: confidentiality breaches, managing dual relationships, supporting clients in crisis, vicarious trauma for practitioners. 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 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.
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 0128 Therapeutic Supports as your registration group. 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, 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 psychology registration?
No. Your AHPRA registration as a psychologist, 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.
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 behaviour support or early childhood later?
You can apply to vary your registration and add registration groups after your initial registration. However, adding 0110 Behaviour Support or 0118 Early Childhood Supports will trigger a Certification audit for those modules. It’s worth considering upfront whether you want these registration groups, 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 these on, and what it might look like for your audit.
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.
