Does a private occupational therapist need NDIS registration?

Not necessarily. A private OT can deliver services to NDIS participants who are self-managed or plan-managed without being a registered NDIS provider. However, if a participant is agency-managed (where the NDIA pays the provider directly), the OT or their organisation must be registered with the NDIS Commission under Registration Group 0136 (Therapeutic Supports). Many solo OTs operate as unregistered providers working exclusively with self-managed and plan-managed participants to avoid the compliance burden of registration. However, registration opens access to the majority of the NDIS market, including agency-managed participants, and provides a quality signal that many participants and their families value.

Do therapists need police checks for NDIS work?

Yes. All workers delivering NDIS supports — including therapists — must have a current NDIS Worker Screening Check (or the state/territory equivalent for a transition period). This is a mandatory requirement under the NDIS Act 2013 for workers in risk-assessed roles. For registered NDIS providers, the Worker Screening Check must be completed before the worker begins delivering supports. For unregistered providers, the NDIS Commission encourages (but does not mandate) Worker Screening, though many participants and support coordinators will request evidence of screening as a condition of engagement.

Can a therapy clinic be NDIS registered?

Yes. A therapy clinic (as a business entity — a company, partnership, or sole trader) can register as an NDIS provider under Registration Group 0136 (Therapeutic Supports). The registration attaches to the business entity, not the individual therapists. The clinic must demonstrate that its governance, policies, and quality management systems meet the NDIS Practice Standards. Individual therapists employed or contracted by the registered clinic do not need separate registration — they are covered by the clinic's registration. However, each worker must still meet the Worker Screening requirements.

What is the difference between Registration Group 0128 and 0136?

Registration Group 0128 (Early Childhood Supports) covers early intervention supports specifically for children aged 0–9 years with developmental delay or disability, delivered under the NDIS Early Childhood Approach. Registration Group 0136 (Therapeutic Supports) covers a broader range of therapy services delivered to NDIS participants of any age, including occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology, psychology, dietetics, music therapy, art therapy, and other allied health disciplines. Some providers hold both registration groups if they deliver both early childhood supports and broader therapeutic services. Early Childhood supports (0128) are subject to specific quality standards related to the early childhood approach.

NDIS Therapeutic Supports Registration: Who Needs It and How to Get It (2026)

What are NDIS Therapeutic Supports?

NDIS Therapeutic Supports are services delivered by qualified allied health and therapy professionals that help participants build capacity, manage health conditions, and achieve their NDIS goals. Unlike disability support worker services (which focus on direct personal care and community access), therapeutic supports involve professional assessment, therapeutic intervention, and capacity-building activities.

Under the NDIS Act 2013, therapeutic supports are funded from a participant's Capacity Building budget (under the Improved Daily Living Activities support category) or, in some cases, from the Core Supports budget for assistive technology assessments. Therapeutic supports are not funded from a participant's Core Supports for daily personal care.

The breadth of what falls under "therapeutic supports" in the NDIS is extensive. The category includes services that would be delivered across a participant's lifetime, from early childhood interventions through to end-of-life support planning. What unites them is the requirement for professional qualifications, professional registration where applicable, and a therapeutic — rather than custodial or supervisory — purpose.

Registration Groups for Therapy Providers

Therapy providers may need to register under one or more of the following registration groups depending on the services they deliver:

Registration Group	Name	Who Typically Registers	Audit Type
0128	Early Childhood Supports	Providers delivering NDIS Early Childhood Approach services to children 0–9	Certification
0136	Therapeutic Supports	OT, physio, speech, psychology, dietetics, music therapy, art therapy, exercise physiology and more	Verification
0110	Specialist Behaviour Support	Organisations employing approved Behaviour Support Practitioners (BSPs)	Certification
0106	Support Coordination	Providers offering support coordination alongside therapy (conflict of interest rules apply)	Verification

The majority of therapy providers will register under Registration Group 0136 (Therapeutic Supports). This is the broadest therapeutic support category and covers the widest range of allied health disciplines. It requires a Verification audit — the lower-level audit type — rather than a Certification audit, which makes it significantly less burdensome to obtain than SIL or High Intensity registration.

Providers delivering early childhood supports specifically under the NDIS Early Childhood Approach must register under Registration Group 0128, which requires a Certification audit because of the additional quality standards associated with early intervention for children with developmental delay or disability.

Who Delivers Therapeutic Supports?

NDIS therapeutic supports are delivered by qualified allied health professionals and therapy practitioners. The breadth of disciplines that can deliver NDIS therapeutic supports includes:

Occupational Therapists (OTs) — Functional capacity assessments, assistive technology prescriptions, home modification recommendations, sensory processing interventions, daily living skills development
Physiotherapists — Physical function assessment and rehabilitation, exercise programs, pain management, postural support
Speech Pathologists — Communication assessment and intervention, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), swallowing assessment (dysphagia)
Psychologists — Mental health intervention, cognitive assessment, adjustment counselling, trauma therapy
Dietitians — Nutritional assessment and intervention, mealtime management, feeding support
Music Therapists — Music-based therapeutic intervention for communication, emotional regulation, social participation
Art Therapists — Art-based therapeutic intervention for mental health, trauma, and wellbeing goals
Exercise Physiologists — Exercise prescription for chronic conditions, fitness and mobility programs
Social Workers — Psychosocial assessment, counselling, carer support, complex support coordination
Rehabilitation Counsellors — Vocational rehabilitation, employment-related assessments and planning

Providers in each of these disciplines must hold both their relevant professional registration (through their national professional body — AHPRA for many disciplines, peak professional associations for others) AND, if they wish to deliver services to agency-managed NDIS participants, NDIS provider registration under Registration Group 0136.

Verification vs Certification Audit for Therapy Providers

Most therapeutic support providers require a Verification audit rather than a Certification audit. This is a significant practical difference that matters for small therapy businesses and sole traders:

Feature	Verification Audit	Certification Audit
What is assessed	Documents and evidence reviewed by auditor, mostly desk-based	Documents, interviews with workers and participants, on-site visits
Typical duration	Half day to one day	One to three days
Typical cost	$800–$2,500 (sole trader to small organisation)	$3,000–$15,000+
Standards assessed	NDIS Practice Standards Core Module (selected quality indicators only)	All relevant Core Module quality indicators plus supplementary modules
Required for	Registration Group 0136, 0106, 0117 and other lower-risk registration groups	Registration Groups 0104 (High Intensity), 0115 (SIL), 0118 (SDA), 0128 (Early Childhood), 0110 (Behaviour Support)

The Verification audit for therapeutic support providers focuses on a set of core quality indicators drawn from the NDIS Practice Standards Core Module. These include: rights of participants, feedback and complaints management, incident reporting, worker screening, governance and operational management, and the quality of the supports being delivered.

NDIS Practice Standards for Therapeutic Support Providers

Therapeutic support providers registered under Registration Group 0136 must meet the requirements of the NDIS Practice Standards Core Module. The Core Module outcomes most relevant to therapy providers include:

Outcome 1.1: Person-Centred Supports

The provider's therapeutic services are planned and delivered in a person-centred way, responsive to the participant's goals, preferences, and circumstances. For therapy providers, this means maintaining goal-directed therapy plans linked to the participant's NDIS plan goals, and regularly reviewing progress with the participant.

Outcome 1.5: Feedback and Complaints

The provider has a documented and accessible process for receiving and responding to participant feedback and complaints about therapeutic services. This must include a Complaints Policy, a Complaints Register, and evidence that complaints are investigated and resolved in a timely way.

Outcome 2.4: Incident Management

The provider has an Incident Management Policy and procedure, maintains an Incident Register, and reports notifiable incidents to the NDIS Commission within the required timeframes. For therapy providers, incidents might include falls during physiotherapy sessions, adverse reactions during therapy activities, or disclosures of abuse or neglect.

Outcome 2.6: Human Resources

All workers delivering therapeutic supports have been screened (NDIS Worker Screening Check), have relevant qualifications and professional registration (where applicable), and are subject to appropriate supervision and performance management.

Sole Trader Therapists: Specific Considerations

Sole trader therapists — individual allied health professionals operating their own practice — face specific challenges with NDIS registration that are worth addressing directly.

Important for Sole Traders

You can register as a sole trader. NDIS registration is available to sole trader allied health professionals, not just organisations. Registration attaches to the ABN — if you operate as a sole trader with your own ABN, you register that ABN. If you operate as a company, you register the company's ABN. A solo OT or speech pathologist operating as a sole trader can be a registered NDIS provider and access agency-managed participants.

The key consideration for sole trader therapists is whether the compliance burden of NDIS registration is worth it for their practice model. Registration requires maintaining policies, procedures, and records that comply with the NDIS Practice Standards. For a busy sole trader, this is a non-trivial administrative burden.

Many sole trader therapists choose to remain unregistered and work exclusively with self-managed and plan-managed participants. This is a legitimate business model — approximately 30–40% of NDIS participants self-manage or plan-manage their funding. However, it excludes the provider from working with agency-managed participants, who represent a significant portion of the market.

Sole traders who do register should ensure they have at minimum:

A written Feedback and Complaints Policy and form
An Incident Management Policy and incident recording system
Current NDIS Worker Screening Check
Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
A template Service Agreement for NDIS participants
A Privacy Policy compliant with the Australian Privacy Act 1988
Current professional registration with the relevant body (AHPRA etc.)
Continuing Professional Development records

What Records Must Therapy Providers Keep?

NDIS therapy providers must maintain records that demonstrate both clinical quality and compliance with the NDIS Practice Standards. The records required fall into two categories:

Clinical Records

Assessment reports: Documented assessments using validated tools, linked to NDIS plan goals
Therapy plans / treatment plans: Documented therapy goals, strategies, and progress measures
Session notes: Record of each therapy session — what was covered, how the participant responded, progress made, plans for next session
Progress reports: Written reports to the participant and/or their support coordinator on progress towards goals, typically at plan review time
Consent records: Documentation of informed consent for assessment and therapy
Assistive technology prescription records: If the therapist prescribes AT, documentation of the assessment and prescription

Compliance Records

Service Agreements: Signed service agreement for each participant, including the supports to be delivered, fees, and cancellation policy
Incident Register: Records of any incidents during therapy delivery
Complaints Register: Records of any participant complaints or feedback
Worker Screening records: NDIS Worker Screening Check clearances for all workers
Professional registration records: Evidence of current AHPRA or other professional registration

Progress notes for therapy sessions are commonly reviewed by auditors. Notes that simply state "participant attended for therapy session — worked on goals" are inadequate. Notes should capture the specific therapeutic activities, the participant's engagement and response, measurable progress or barriers, and the plan for the next session. The free Notes Rewriter tool can help therapy practitioners write structured, goal-linked progress notes that meet NDIS standards.

Claiming for Therapeutic Supports: Price Guide Limits and Report Requirements

NDIS therapeutic support services must be claimed within the price limits set by the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (the Price Guide). The Price Guide is updated periodically — usually annually — and therapy providers must ensure their rates are within the current limits for the relevant support item.

Key claiming rules for therapy providers include:

Support item codes: Each therapeutic service type has a specific NDIS support item code. Providers must use the correct code when claiming through the NDIS portal or invoicing plan managers.
Non-face-to-face support: Many therapeutic activities — report writing, travel time, clinical administration — can be claimed under specific non-face-to-face support codes. These are subject to separate price limits and require appropriate documentation.
Report writing: Assessment reports and NDIS progress reports can be claimed under the relevant reporting support item. The claim must be supported by the actual report.
Cancellation policy: Providers can claim a short-notice cancellation fee (typically equivalent to 90% of the agreed rate) for late cancellations or no-shows, subject to the terms in the Service Agreement.
Capital supports: OTs providing assistive technology assessments and home modification recommendations may also engage with capital supports (AT funding), which has additional claiming and documentation requirements.

Allied Health and NDIS Registration: Specific Requirements

For professions regulated under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (often called the National Law), AHPRA registration is a prerequisite for NDIS registration in the relevant therapeutic support role. AHPRA-regulated professions include occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech pathologists, psychologists, and others.

For therapy disciplines not regulated by AHPRA — such as music therapists, art therapists, and rehabilitation counsellors — professional membership with the relevant peak body is the standard evidence of professional standing. The NDIS Commission does not explicitly require membership in all cases, but it is considered best practice and is often a market expectation.

Providers should be aware that the NDIS Commission conducts regular compliance monitoring of therapeutic support providers, with a particular focus on:

Whether workers delivering therapeutic supports hold the claimed qualifications
Whether therapy is genuinely goal-directed and linked to the participant's NDIS plan
Whether service agreements accurately reflect what is being delivered and charged
Whether the provider is claiming within the NDIS Price Guide limits

Writing Better NDIS Progress Notes?

The free Notes Rewriter helps therapy practitioners and support workers transform brief session notes into structured, NDIS-compliant progress notes — in seconds. No login required.

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Important: This article provides general guidance about NDIS compliance requirements. It is not legal or professional advice. Requirements may change as the NDIS Commission updates its policies and Practice Standards. Always verify current requirements with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission or a registered NDIS consultant before making compliance decisions.