Turnover
Liability for support work is usually rated on revenue. The step from a sole trader on $80,000 to a company on $600,000 is the single biggest move in the table above, and it is not proportional.
NDIS PROVIDER INSURANCE
How Much Does NDIS Provider Insurance Cost?
A sole-trader support worker and a personal care company with staff are not in the same price bracket, and the gap between them is large. Here are placed premiums from our own book, anonymised and rounded up, with what drove each one.
~$400Sole trader, PI and PL placed
~$900Small team, core supports
~$2,300Company, 24/7 personal care
TurnoverThe main rating basis
Premiums and outcomes described are specific to this client and indicative only. Your own terms will depend on your circumstances and the insurer.
THE SHORT ANSWER
How much does NDIS provider and support worker insurance cost in Australia?
On our own placements, a sole-trader disability support worker taking $1,000,000 professional indemnity and $10,000,000 public liability has been placed at around $400 a year. A small provider doing core supports on roughly $200,000 revenue has been placed around $900. A personal care company on roughly $600,000 revenue, with carers supporting participants around the clock and limits of $5,000,000 professional indemnity and $20,000,000 public liability, has been placed at around $2,300. Turnover is the main rating basis, and the activities you do with participants can change the answer more than the limits do.
All figures are placed gross premiums from our book, anonymised and rounded up. They are indicative, not a quote. Workers compensation, commercial motor and personal accident cover are priced separately and are not in these numbers.
- Sole trader
- From approximately $400
- Small team
- Approximately $700 to $900
- Company with staff
- Approximately $2,300 at $600K revenue
- Main rating basis
- Turnover, then occupation
| Profile | Limits | Placed premium | What drove it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sole trader support worker | $1M PI / $10M PL | Approximately $400 | Straightforward support work, no staff |
| Support work plus allied health, children's services | $2M PI / $10M PL | Approximately $500 | Rated as a split across two occupations rather than forced into one |
| Registered provider, partnership, turnover around $380,000 | Business pack with liability | Approximately $500 | Community access with physical activities; most markets approached declined the occupation |
| In-home care startup | PI and PL package | Approximately $700 | Housework, yard work and transport to appointments; unregistered at the time |
| Provider mid-registration, not yet trading | $1M PI / $20M PL | Approximately $800 | Certificates needed for the registration auditor before trading began |
| Core supports, revenue around $200,000 | PI and PL package | Approximately $900 | One full-time worker plus casual contractors |
| Personal care company, revenue around $600,000 | $5M PI / $20M PL | Approximately $2,300 | Carers with participants around the clock, two directors and casual staff |
The pattern in that table is worth naming. Between a sole trader and a small team the premium roughly doubles. Between a small team and a company running around-the-clock personal care on $600,000 revenue it more than doubles again. Support type and staffing move the number harder than the limit does.
The occupation description
Personal care, community access, plan management, support coordination and allied health price differently. Where a provider does two of them, the better markets rate the split rather than forcing the whole risk into the dearer occupation.
Physical activities
Bike riding, bushwalking, swimming and gym sessions with participants change the rating and can remove insurers from the table entirely. On one submission for a provider doing exactly that, most markets approached declined at the occupation stage.
The limits you ask for
$5,000,000 professional indemnity against $1,000,000 is a real difference on a support work risk. So is $20,000,000 public liability against $10,000,000, though usually a smaller one. Ask for the limit your agreements name, not the biggest number available.
Staff and structure
Employees, casuals and subcontractors are each treated differently. Taking on staff also brings workers compensation into play as a separate obligation, which sits outside the premiums on this page.
Whether you are trading yet
A company that is registered but not operating can be quoted, but insurers generally will not write a start date far in advance. If your trading start is months out, the start date has to be one the market can actually accept.
~$1,700 Cheapest term returned Personal care, $5M PI / $20M PL
~$2,300 Placed Same submission
~$2,500 Dearest term returned Same submission
One submission from our book, gross premiums rounded up, indicative only.
Same risk, different answers
On a personal care submission with $5,000,000 professional indemnity and $20,000,000 public liability, the terms returned ran from approximately $1,700 to approximately $2,500. The dearest was around half as much again as the cheapest for the same risk.
The cheapest quote is not the only variable
Limit structure, the occupation noted on the schedule, and whether abuse and molestation is included all differ between those quotes. A cheaper policy that names the wrong occupation is the expensive one.
Declines are part of the picture
On some support work submissions the majority of markets approached decline before quoting, usually on the occupation or the activity mix. That is a reason to go to market properly rather than take the first answer.
Workers compensation. A separate legal obligation in your state the moment you employ someone. It is not part of a liability package and it is not optional.
Commercial motor. If transporting participants is part of your supports, the vehicle needs to be insured for that use. A private-use policy may not respond. See commercial motor insurance.
Personal accident and illness. Your own income if an injury stops you working. As a sole trader you have no workers compensation entitlement covering yourself, which is why it is the gap we raise on nearly every support worker enquiry. See disability support worker insurance.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
NDIS Provider Insurance Cost FAQs
For a sole trader with straightforward support work and no staff, we have placed professional indemnity and public liability at around $400 a year. Adding allied health work, staff, physical community access or higher limits moves it up from there. Premiums on this page are placed gross premiums from our own book, anonymised and rounded up, and they are indicative rather than a quote.
Usually one of three things: your turnover is higher, your activity mix includes something physical, or your limits are higher because a service agreement asked for them. The occupation noted on the policy also matters, because insurers price personal care, community access and allied health differently.
Sometimes the headline number is lower, and sometimes the occupation on the schedule does not match what you do. On support work risks the spread between markets on one submission can be substantial, and some insurers decline the occupation altogether, so the useful comparison is across the market rather than against one direct price.
Registration itself is not usually the rating factor. What changes the premium is what registration lets you do: more registration groups, more staff, higher turnover and different support types. If any of those change during the policy year, tell us, because the cover should follow the business rather than wait for renewal.
These are gross premiums for liability cover. They do not include workers compensation, which is a separate obligation in your state once you employ people, commercial motor if you transport participants, or personal accident and illness cover on your own life. Those are priced separately.
With all the information in, as little as 24 hours, and usually 48 to 72 hours. We have bound a personal care package the day before a signed contract started, on a submission that came in five days earlier. Complex activity mixes take longer because more markets have to be approached.
QUOTE REQUEST
Get an NDIS provider insurance quote
Tell us your expected turnover, your support mix, whether you do physical activities with participants and the limits your agreements ask for. We will come back with the terms across the market.
Specialist broker review Australian business insurance
See the Whole Market, Not One Price
On support work risks the spread between insurers on one submission can be substantial, and some decline the occupation before pricing it. Worth knowing what the range actually is before you choose.