Thinking about getting NDIS registered as a speech pathologist? Here’s what to expect from the audit and registration process.
Registration is currently optional for speech pathologists delivering therapeutic supports! You can work with self-managed and plan-managed participants without it. However, registration opens the door to working alongside agency-managed participants, who can only use registered providers. It also signals to potential clients that your practice meets the NDIS Practice Standards.
For speech pathologists 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 early childhood supports, that changes your audit pathway significantly (more on this below).
Read on to find out how to apply for NDIS registration as a speech pathologist and what you can expect from the audit and registration process.
NDIS Registration for Speech Pathologists
The Registration Group: 0128 Therapeutic Supports
Speech pathology services fall under the NDIS registration group 0128 Therapeutic Supports. This covers assessment, therapy, and capacity building delivered by allied health professionals, including communication therapy, swallowing assessments, mealtime management plans, and AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) assessment and training.
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 can be significantly more expensive and complicated.
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. I’d encourage you to seek quotes from multiple auditors, but you can generally expect to pay $8,000–$12,000 or more.
Verification is for lower-risk services (like therapy, gardening, and supplying assistive products). It’s a desktop audit, meaning the auditor reviews your documents remotely. Verification audits typically cost between $900 and $1,500.
For speech pathologists delivering therapy under 0128 Therapeutic Supports only, Verification will be the required pathway.
When Your Audit Pathway Changes
Early Childhood Supports (0118)
If you want to deliver early childhood early intervention supports, you’ll need to add registration group 0118 Early Childhood Supports. This isn’t about the age of your clients, as you can provide therapy to children under 9 under 0128 Therapeutic Supports. The distinction is the service delivery model.
Early childhood early intervention under 0118 is a specific approach: working as a key worker with the child and their family or carers, delivering supports across home, community, and early childhood education settings, and building family capacity – not just working directly with the child. It’s assessed against additional practice standards covering family-centred practice and natural environment approaches.
If you’re seeing a 4-year-old for articulation therapy in your clinic, that’s 0128. If you’re working as a key worker going into homes and daycares, building the capacity of families and educators alongside the child, that’s 0118.
Adding 0118 triggers a Certification audit against the Core Module plus the Early Childhood Supports supplementary module. Again, prices vary, but you should budget $8,000–$12,000 for this audit pathway.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue 0118! But it’s good to understand the cost, complexity, and what the service model actually involves before you apply. If you’re weighing it up, 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. The auditor will assess four areas:
Human Resource Management: Evidence of your qualifications, NDIS Worker Screening Check, right-to-work documentation, insurance and more. For speech pathologists, this includes your Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP) status with Speech Pathology Australia, evidence of clinical supervision, and ongoing professional development as required by your professional body.
Incident Management: A clear process for what happens if something goes wrong – whether that’s an injury during a session, a safeguarding concern, or something else unexpected.
Complaints Management: A simple, accessible process for clients to raise concerns and how you resolve them. Note: your professional body’s complaints pathway doesn’t replace this requirement! You need a complaints process that meets the NDIS Practice Standards specifically, separate from any Speech Pathology Australia processes.
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 speech pathology practice, not generic risks copied from a template designed for personal care or transport providers.
A Note on Professional Registration
Speech pathologists aren’t registered with AHPRA—professional membership is through Speech Pathology Australia. This sometimes causes confusion about whether NDIS registration will be more complicated.
It isn’t. Auditors simply need to see evidence of your professional credentials through the appropriate body. Your CPSP status with Speech Pathology Australia, combined with evidence of supervision and professional development, demonstrates you’re qualified to deliver therapeutic supports. The process is no harder than it is for AHPRA-registered professions.
NDIS Registration for Speech Pathologists: Required Documents and Checks
Before you apply, make sure you gather the following evidence:
Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP) Status: Current certification with Speech Pathology Australia.
Clinical Supervision and Professional Development: Evidence of your involvement in supervision and CPD as required by Speech Pathology Australia.
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, and you should discuss this with your auditor if you believe it applies to you.
NDIS Worker Screening Check: Required for all speech pathologists delivering NDIS services.
Working with Children Check: Required if you work with children. Check the requirements for your state or territory.
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 areas above. These should reflect how your practice actually operates, so be cautious of generic template packs that focus on personal care and support work rather than therapy services.
Common Mistakes Speech Pathologists 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 management policy talks about manual handling and vehicle transport but doesn’t reflect the context of a speech pathology practice, it doesn’t match your business.
Assuming Speech Pathology Australia handles complaints
Your professional body 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 speech pathology practice. Your risks are different, and you need to think about the actual risks in your work and service environment. Your risk register should reflect the reality of your business and participant cohort.
Service agreements that miss NDIS requirements
If you’re coming from private practice, your standard service agreement and 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 (and 0118 Early Childhood Supports if you decide to add this on). 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 your 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, CPSP certification, 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 speech pathology certification?
No. Your CPSP status with Speech Pathology Australia, 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?
Nope. The NDIS Price Guide sets maximum prices for therapeutic supports, and 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. If you know early childhood is a significant part of your intended practice, it may be more efficient to register for both groups at once rather than going through multiple audits.
Can I write mealtime management plans under 0128?
Yes. Mealtime management assessments and plans are part of the scope of speech pathology services under 0128 Therapeutic Supports.
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.
