WHY CHOOSE A REGISTERED PROVIDER

If you have been looking into NDIS supports, you have probably noticed that not all providers are the same. Some are registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Others are not. Some are large, established organisations. Others are small, newer, or operating informally.

This page is here to help you understand what that difference actually means — not to tell you what to think, but to give you the information to make a genuinely informed choice.

To become and remain a registered NDIS provider, an organisation must meet the NDIS Practice Standards and comply with the NDIS Code of Conduct. This is not a one-off form. It is an ongoing obligation, independently audited.

Registered providers are required to:

• Undergo independent audits, conducted by an approved auditor, to verify that systems, policies, and practices genuinely meet the required standard
• Maintain documented policies covering safeguarding, incident management, medication management, behaviour support, complaints handling, and risk management
• Report reportable incidents — including allegations of abuse, neglect, and serious injury directly to the NDIS Commission
• Meet worker screening requirements, ensuring staff have appropriate background checks before working with participants
• Provide ongoing training and supervision to staff, and demonstrate this through audit evidence
• Operate under a Code of Conduct that is enforceable by the NDIS Commission, including the power to investigate complaints and take regulatory action

Unregistered providers can still deliver supports funded under NDIS plan-managed or self-managed budgets, and many do so with genuine care and good intentions. But it is important to understand what oversight does, and does not, exist.

Unregistered providers are not required to undergo independent audits. They are not required to report incidents to the NDIS Commission. There is no external body verifying that their staff are appropriately trained, screened, or supervised. If something goes wrong, the avenues for accountability are far more limited than they are with a registered provider.

This does not mean every unregistered provider is unsafe. It means that families have no independent way of knowing whether a provider’s systems, training, and safeguarding are actually as good as they sound — because nobody is checking.

The NDIS market has changed significantly in recent years. A large number of unregistered providers entered the sector, often able to offer services at a lower cost because they were not carrying the cost of audits, compliance systems, and the staffing standards that registration requires.

This is changing. From 1 July 2026, providers delivering Supported Independent Living are required to be registered with the NDIS Commission. This reflects a broader recognition — including from the Commission itself — that the level of risk involved in SIL and SDA environments requires real, independently verified oversight.

If your loved one is currently with an unregistered SIL provider, it is worth understanding what this change means for their ongoing support, and what questions to ask about how that provider plans to meet the new requirements.

Step Up Supports has been a registered NDIS provider since the organisation began. Every system, every policy, every staffing decision has been built to meet — and where possible exceed — the NDIS Practice Standards. Audits are something we treat as an opportunity to improve, not a hurdle to get past.

This is also why Step Up does not offer Support Coordination, Financial Plan Management, or property ownership, and does not direct its own clients toward its own programs. Being registered is about more than meeting a checklist. It is about removing every possible reason to put anything ahead of the person in our care.

You can verify whether any provider is currently registered with the NDIS Commission, and what they are registered to provide, through the NDIS Commission’s public provider register. It only takes a few minutes, and it is one of the most useful things you can do before making a decision about who supports someone you love.

If you would like help understanding what to look for, or want to talk through your options, we are always happy to have that conversation — even if you decide Step Up is not the right fit for your family.