Member update - NDIS Worker and Provider Registration Taskforce Final Report

Last Friday the NDIS Worker and Provider Registration Taskforce issued its final report to government. View the report here.

The Taskforce was asked by Government to provide further advice on the NDIS Review recommendation to introduce a mandatory registration scheme for all NDIS providers. OTA provided a submission to the Taskforce, and also sat on the Taskforce’s Provider Advisory Group, and used these opportunities to highlight the regulatory burden that the current scheme places on OTs, the regulatory duplication that exists across the NDIS and AHPRA schemes, and the risks of market exit if mandatory registration is introduced. 

Key Taskforce’s key recommendations include: 

• No recommendation for mandatory registration, noting that this may impact participants who chose to seek services from unregistered providers – however they have recommended that self-managed participants be required to register in a new registration category, so that NDIS has visibility of their support providers

• Greater visibility of all providers through a fully electronic payments system

• A risk-proportionate model of regulation with 4 registration categories, which is similar to that originally proposed by the NDIS Review, including: 

- Advanced registration – for highest risk services including behaviour support and early childhood therapies, and closed settings

- General registration - for other therapy supports

- Service for One/Self Directed Support Registration – new category, as noted above 

- Basic registration – for low risk supports 

- No registration required for providers on non-disability specific supports, available in the general market. 

• Both advanced and general registration will be subject to auditing and other compliance requirements, however they recommended a redesign of the audit process to include more risk proportionate approaches (to reduce the admin and cost burden for low risk supports), for NDIS Commission to directly conduct audits for highest risk services, better training for external auditors, efforts to reduce the cost of audits, and for NDIS Commission to subsidise travel costs for audits for rural and remote providers
• Mandatory worker screening for all workers (even those with AHPRA registration)
• Improvements to NDIS Code of Conduct, Practice Standards and Incident reporting, which are co-designed with the disability sector
• Education and peer support for self-managed participants on the NDIS Regulatory scheme
• Removal of regulatory duplication – which adopts key OTA’s recommendation for recognition of the AHRRA registration scheme:  

Recommendation 11: The Taskforce recommends practitioners, including allied health practitioners, who hold professional registration, may have that registration recognised to avoid duplication and administrative burden. However, where there is a difference between the professional registration and the NDIS Provider and Worker Registration Scheme, the practitioner will need to meet those outstanding obligations to provide NDIS supports.

• Expanded scope for the NDIS Commission, and improvements to the NDIS complaints process
• Recognition that the NDIS market will need time to adapt and that smaller providers will need support (OTA specifically called for this in our submissions). 

It is important to note that these are just recommendations at this stage and do not reflect confirmed government policy on NDIS registration. Government will now consider these recommendations in the context of NDIS reforms, and OTA understands that they may move to make more amendment to the NDIS Act to amend the registration scheme in coming months. We will continue to keep members updated on any developments in this space as soon as they are confirmed, to ensure members understand what may be changing. 

NDIS Bill- Senate Inquiry 

OTA has been monitoring the Senate Community Affairs Committee that is undertaking its second inquiry into the Government NDIS Bill. The Committee was due to publish a final report on 5 August, however it has sought a four day extension of time to enable it to conduct a further public hearing on 6 August, which will feature the NDIS CEO and Scheme Actuary. We are hopeful this will provide further detail on the costs and assumptions that underpin the NDIS legislation, which we have consistently called for in our recent advocacy and submissions. 

OTA will continue to monitor the Committee’s activities and will update members when the Final Report is published. More updates can be found on the Senate Committee website here.