Government issues warning as mandatory registration for some NDIS providers confirmed
Supported Independent Living and digital platform providers will have to formally register with the NDIS from July. (ABC News: Evan Young)
In short:
The government has confirmed two categories of NDIS providers will soon be subject to mandatory registration, after sitting on recommendations for more than a year.
Mandatory provider registration has split opinion in the disability community since being proposed by an independent review into the scheme.
What's next?
The new system will officially start on July 1, 2026.
Dodgy National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) providers have been told to "shape up or ship out", as the federal government confirms one of the biggest shifts to the delivery and regulation of services since the scheme began.
It was revealed in Wednesday's mid-year budget update that mandatory registration of Supported Independent Living (SIL) and digital platform providers would begin on July 1, 2026.
SIL is a NDIS housing option that often includes group homes, where funding is allocated for workers to supervise people with high support needs and help them with daily tasks, such as showering, dressing and cooking.
Platform providers are online services that help match participants with workers.
The government said the new changes would subject those providers to high quality standards and independent audits, suitability assessments, reporting requirements and worker screening checks.
There were 36,641 participants in SIL at the end of September 2025, with $4.2 billion provided for SIL supports in the September 2025 quarter, according to the scheme's most recent annual report.
Total annual payments to participants in SIL have increased from $12.3 billion to $15.9 billion over the last two years.
Jenny McAllister says the changes will set a higher bar for providers delivering services in critical, high-risk environments. (ABC News: Mary Lloyd)
NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister said stronger regulation of providers meant "a stronger, safer NDIS".
"It's likely there are some unregistered providers currently operating who wouldn't meet the high standards required of registered providers," she said in a statement.
"These providers will need to either shape up or ship out."
Currently, registration for many kinds of providers is voluntary. It is not against the law to be unregistered, though these kinds of providers do not need to go through audits and risk assessments, or formally notify authorities of "reportable incidents" such as deaths or abuses.
At the end of 2024, just 8 per cent of service providers were registered (21,387 registered vs 245,762 unregistered) with the scheme watchdog, the Quality and Safeguards Commission (QSC).
Commissioner Louise Glanville said these changes would give authorities "greater visibility and control over who operates in the NDIS market".
"We want providers to meet clear and consistent standards so participants can feel confident about the supports they receive," she said.
Ms Glanville said registration would not be "a once-off exercise" and providers would need to continuously meet quality standards "or be held accountable".
More information and transition arrangements will be provided by the QSC in early 2026, so providers have adequate time to prepare, the government said.
A contentious issue
The prospect of mandatory provider registration was raised in a review of the scheme ordered by former minister Bill Shorten, and views on it vary greatly across the disability community.
The government had been sitting on recommendations from a taskforce for a new registration system since mid-2024.
Many people in favour have wanted more rigorous checks and balances across the system, particularly to safeguard people with higher support requirements.
The disability royal commission heard that people with disability were harmed at rates much higher than other Australians, often in unregulated settings.
Those against more onerous registration have worried it could see long-time or trusted support workers leave a sector already plagued by labour shortages and introduce more red tape into a system that is already too bureaucratic.
There have also been concerns it would force them to get services from big businesses, restricting their choice and control — cornerstones on which the NDIS was built.
George Taleporos has been vocal in his support for a provider registration system that maintains participants' choice and control. (ABC News: Patrick Stone)
George Taleporos, independent chair of advocacy group Every Australian Counts, said requiring group home and platform providers to be registered was "a good move".
"But this must come with a clear government guarantee that these changes will not impact on the choice and control of people with disability and our families who live in individualised living arrangements, including people who self-direct supports and directly engage support workers," he said.
Dr Taleporos said people who used these arrangements should be able to continue doing so and not be forced "to use providers who are more costly and less able to meet our needs".
Service providers have complained about the bureaucracy and costs involved under the current registration system.
Many providers are facing increasing financial pressures, saying the amounts they can charge for services have not risen alongside the cost of service delivery.
Michael Perusco says he strongly supports better safeguarding and quality for participants. (ABC News: Ashleigh Barraclough)
National Disability Services (NDS), the peak body for service providers, said mandatory registration for SIL and digital platform providers was "a practical, proportionate step".
"Registration is a basic requirement in most other sectors without restricting choice and the disability sector should be no different," CEO Michael Perusco said.
"Providers who are committed to delivering high quality supports will adjust to a fairer regulatory approach and continue to deliver services."
Hireup, Australia's largest NDIS-registered online provider platform, also welcomed the announcement and pledged to work with the government going forward.