How to check if an NDIS provider is registered

An NDIS provider may be registered or unregistered. A registered provider has been assessed by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and holds a current registration naming the support classes it is approved to deliver. You can check registered status for free using the business name or ABN on the public Provider Register.

Registration matters because registered providers are audited against applicable NDIS Practice Standards and have additional obligations. Registered and unregistered providers must both follow the NDIS Code of Conduct, and complaints about either can be made to the NDIS Commission. If you plan-manage or self-manage, an unregistered provider may be a lawful choice for many supports.

The official source is the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission's Provider Register. It's free, public, and you don't need to log in. Our directory shows a registration status for each provider, but the Commission's register is always the final word. Check it before you sign anything.

You only need one thing to search: the business name, or the Australian Business Number (ABN) if you have it. Business names are not unique, so match on the name, the state, and the provider groups shown to be sure you are looking at the right business.

Registration tells you a provider has been assessed against the NDIS Practice Standards and is accountable to the NDIS Commission. It does not tell you the provider is good — reviews, responsiveness, and experience decide that. It also does not tell you a provider is currently taking on clients, or that a specific worker on site today is the person who was vetted.

Ask a provider directly which registered provider groups they hold and what their registration number is, then verify it on the register. A legitimate provider is happy to answer; evasion on this question is a red flag on its own.

If a provider isn't on the register, the next question is whether they need to be. If you self-manage or use a plan manager, you can use unregistered providers for many everyday supports, like personal care, therapy, community access and cleaning. You need a registered provider for a few specific supports, and for anything paid from NDIA-managed funding. Our guide to registered vs unregistered providers explains the rule.

If a provider isn't registered and says it doesn't matter, ask which registration group covers your support, then check the register yourself. If your support really does need a registered provider, find one who is. You can filter our directory to NDIS-registered providers, and our guide on what to do if a provider isn't on the register walks through each situation.

Registration can lapse, be suspended, or be cancelled while a compliance investigation runs — and none of that is broadcast to a provider's existing clients. Check once before you sign anything, and re-check before each major stage: your first service agreement, any equipment purchases, and before you renew or extend support.

Each check takes under a minute and costs nothing. The alternative — discovering months later that the person handling your support was never permitted to — is a much more expensive way to learn the lesson.