NDIS PROVIDER INSURANCE
The NDIS Practice Standards name three covers and set no dollar figure. That surprises people who have been told there is a $10 million rule. Here is the actual wording, where it sits, and what an auditor asks you to produce.
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
What insurance is required to register as an NDIS provider?
The risk management quality indicator under the NDIS Practice Standards states that appropriate insurance is in place, including professional indemnity, public liability and accident insurance. It sits in the Governance and Operational Management module, which every registered provider is assessed against. Three covers are named and no minimum dollar limit is specified, so an approved quality auditor judges whether the cover is appropriate for the supports you deliver and asks to see current certificates of currency.
If someone has told you the NDIS requires $10 million public liability, they are quoting a service agreement rather than the standard. The Commission sets no figure. Your limit comes from the agreements you sign and the scale of what you do.
| What it means for you | ||
|---|---|---|
| Instrument | NDIS (Quality Indicators for NDIS Practice Standards) Guidelines 2018 | The quality indicators sit under the Practice Standards and are what an approved quality auditor assesses you against |
| Module | Governance and Operational Management | The module every registered provider is assessed against, whatever supports they deliver |
| Standard | Risk Management | Insurance sits inside risk management, alongside identifying and managing risks to participants, workers and the organisation |
| The wording | "Appropriate insurance is in place, including professional indemnity, public liability and accident insurance" | Three covers named. The word doing the work is appropriate, and no dollar figure follows it |
The Commission does not set a limit. Where $10 million or $20 million appears, it is because a service agreement, a host agency or a venue hire term asked for it, not because a rule says so. Read your own agreements to find your number.
The indicator names professional indemnity for every registered provider, whatever the support type. It responds to the service delivery and duty of care side rather than physical injury.
Workers compensation is a separate obligation under state law and it covers your workers. Accident insurance in this indicator is about cover being in place for injury, which for a sole trader means personal accident and illness on their own life.
For each policy, showing the insured name, the cover type, the limit and the period. Current means current on the day of the audit, not a certificate that expires next week.
If you register as a company or a partnership, the certificate has to name that entity. A certificate in a director's personal name against a company registration is the correction we see most often.
The occupation and business description on the schedule should look like the registration groups you applied for. A policy issued for something adjacent is a problem waiting for a claim.
The insured name is worth checking twice. If the registration is in a company or partnership name and the policy is in an individual's name, the certificate does not evidence cover for the registered entity. It is a five-minute fix before placement and an awkward one after.
Auditors ask for current certificates as part of the audit, so the cover generally has to exist before the registration completes rather than after.
Most markets quote to a start date within about 30 days. If your intended trading date is months away, you may need a start date the insurer can actually write to, and to plan the renewal around your real trading start.
We have quoted providers whose company was registered but not yet operating, specifically so the director had certificates to give the auditor.
Tell us your intended trading start date as well as your audit date. Those two are often weeks apart, and the gap between them decides what start date the market can actually write.
Once you are placed, the ongoing question is whether the cover still matches what you do. Adding a registration group, taking on staff, or starting community access with physical activities are all changes worth a call before your next audit rather than after it. See what drives the premium and what a sole trader needs.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
QUOTE REQUEST
Tell us the entity name on your registration, the registration groups you have applied for and your audit date. We will arrange cover with the certificates issued in the right name.
Insured entity checked against your registration, cover types matched to the quality indicator, and the scope described the way you actually operate.
