Buying an NDIS provider: registration, participants and the checks that matter

Buying an NDIS provider means buying into a regulated scheme that is being reformed. This guide covers the checks specific to small providers, such as support coordination, in-home support, therapy, plan management and supported independent living (SIL). Read it alongside our general due diligence guide, and check the current position with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission) and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), which update their guidance often.

Registered or unregistered

The NDIS Commission says a registered provider has been audited against the NDIS Practice Standards, assessed as suitable along with its key personnel, and issued a certificate of registration, generally for three years. You must be registered to provide:

• specialist disability accommodation
• specialist behaviour support
• supports to participants whose funding is managed by the NDIA
• plan management
• supported independent living
• NDIS digital platform services
• supports using regulated restrictive practices.

Unregistered providers can deliver other supports, but only to participants who self-manage or plan-manage their funding. Find out which kind the business is, which registration groups it holds, and how its participants' funding is managed.

Registration for SIL became mandatory on 1 July 2026. The Commission's Find a registered provider page lists unregistered SIL and NDIS digital platform providers that applied for registration before 1 October 2026, which may keep delivering those supports under transitional arrangements until their application is decided.

What happens to the registration when you buy

The Commission's page on buying or selling a registered NDIS business says:

• Registration follows the ABN. A registration is linked to a single ABN and cannot be transferred to a different ABN. A business that needs a different ABN must apply for a new registration. Some structures, such as a sole trader, may not allow the ABN to pass to a buyer.
• The buyer must notify the Commission. This must happen as soon as possible after the buyer becomes aware the change will happen, or after it happens, whichever is first. The notice covers the new owner's qualifications and experience, the number of participants, how they were told and supported to choose, and any effect on services.
• Suitability is assessed. The Commission assesses whether the new business and staff are suitable. Key personnel can include the CEO, executive staff, managers and board members, and it considers past convictions, enforcement actions, fraud and other events.
• Some buyers need an audit. From 1 July 2026, if the provider holds a registration group needing a certification audit and the sale significantly changes the organisation or its governance, the buyer must start a condition audit no later than 3 months after the purchase.
• Qualified staff. The Commission says the buyer should make sure the workforce has the right qualifications and experience to deliver the supports and services on the certificate of registration.

So the structure of the deal matters. Buying the shares in the company that holds the registration is a different position from buying the assets into your own entity with its own ABN, which on the Commission's guidance would need its own registration. Ask your solicitor and accountant, and contact the Commission before you sign. An active ABN does not confirm NDIS registration.

Check the compliance record

• Certificate of registration. It shows the registration groups and any extra conditions the Commission has imposed. Conditions also appear on the NDIS Provider Register, which can also be searched for providers whose registration has been revoked.
• The latest audit report. Audits rate the provider against each Practice Standard and record minor or major non-conformities. Ask what was found and how each was fixed. Providers are audited at renewal and, for higher-risk supports, mid-way through registration.
• Incidents and complaints. Registered providers must have systems for managing incidents and complaints, and must notify the Commission of reportable incidents. Ask for the registers with participant details removed, and any correspondence with the Commission.
• Compliance actions. The Commission's compliance and enforcement actions search covers banning orders, compliance notices, enforceable undertakings, suspensions, revocations and refusals to re-register. Search the business name, ABN and key personnel.

Revenue depends on participants and their plans

A provider's income comes from supports funded in participants' plans. The NDIA says every plan is individual, so what the business can bill depends on each plan.

Prices are capped. The NDIA's pricing arrangements page says the Minister's pricing determination sets maximum prices for 2026-27, published in the NDIS pricing schedules. The limits apply to NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants, and providers cannot charge more. The NDIA is updating its website for new NDIS legislation, so check the current schedules yourself.

• Participants choose. The NDIA tells participants they can add, change or remove providers at any time. A service agreement sets notice periods, but it does not guarantee future revenue.
• Concentration. Ask for revenue by participant, with names removed, and by support type. If a few participants provide much of the income, losing one could change the numbers.
• The owner's role. If the owner delivers supports personally, participants may follow them. Use our guide to add-backs and normalised profit to cost their replacement.

Staff, screening and qualifications

• Worker screening. Registered providers must make sure key personnel and workers in risk-assessed roles have an NDIS Worker Screening clearance. A risk-assessed role involves directly delivering specified supports or more than incidental contact with people with disability. The Commission says a worker screening check is valid for 5 years. Ask for the record of risk-assessed roles and check each worker's status and expiry. Your own directors will need clearances too.
• Qualifications. Match qualifications and professional registrations to the supports on the certificate. If the seller is the only qualified person for a support, plan their replacement.
• Awards. The Fair Work Ombudsman describes the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award as covering disability services, including personal care and domestic support. Its Health Services Award summary covers health professionals such as occupational therapists, speech pathologists and psychologists. Which award applies depends on the work.
• Contractors. The Fair Work Ombudsman says whether someone is a contractor or an employee depends on factors such as control over the work, financial risk and how hours are set. Registered providers using contractors in risk-assessed roles must have an appropriate contract and take reasonable steps to check clearances. A registered provider stays responsible for supports others deliver under its registration.

For employees' entitlements, see our guide to employees when a business is sold.

Vehicles, properties and leases

• Vehicles. If the business transports participants, check who owns each vehicle, whether it is financed, and its insurance and service records.
• SIL housing. Find out who owns or leases each house, who participants rent from, and how the housing and support agreements fit together. The Commission's SIL Practice Standards include a standard on tenancy, housing and support agreements. Ask your solicitor how the sale affects them.
• Premises. For an office or clinic, see our guide to assigning a commercial lease.

Participant privacy in due diligence

The Commission says participant privacy must be maintained during a change of ownership.

• Confidentiality first. Sign a confidentiality agreement before receiving information. When you enquire about a listing on BizExchange, you can ask for an NDA.
• De-identified data. Ask for participant numbers, funding types, support types, hours and revenue, without names, plans or case notes.
• Consent. Ask your solicitor what participant information can be shared, when, and with whose consent.
• Telling participants. Agree with the seller how participants and their supporters will be told and supported to choose.

Questions to ask the seller

• Which entity and ABN hold the registration, and for which registration groups?
• What did the last audit find, and have the non-conformities been closed?
• Are there any conditions, compliance actions, reportable incidents or complaints I should know about?
• How are participants' plans managed, and how much revenue comes from the largest few?
• Which supports do you deliver yourself, and who will deliver them after you leave?
• Do all key personnel and workers in risk-assessed roles have current clearances?
• Which award covers your staff, who are contractors, and when were pay rates last checked?