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NDIS Provider Insurance, matched properly

NDIS provider insurance explained: what registration audits check, what schools ask for, driving participants, abuse exclusions, costs, and one licensed or authorised broker to arrange it.

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What insurance do NDIS providers need?

Written by COVRA · Updated · Sources

Most NDIS providers look at public liability, professional indemnity and accident cover, plus workers’ compensation if they employ staff. For most registered providers, audits check that “appropriate insurance is in place, including professional indemnity, public liability and accident insurance”. NDIS rules set no dollar amount, but Queensland and NSW state schools ask NDIS providers for $20 million of public liability and $2 million of professional indemnity.

What NDIS providers commonly insure.

The covers most providers and independent support workers look at. What applies depends on your supports, your staff and your clients.

  • Public liability Claims that your work injured someone or damaged their property, such as a participant or their home1.
  • Professional indemnity Claims that your advice or services caused a loss1. Registered health practitioners, such as occupational therapists and physiotherapists, can’t practise without it2. See public liability vs professional indemnity.
  • Accident and illness Workers’ compensation doesn’t cover sole traders themselves. They can take out accident and sickness insurance privately1.
  • Workers’ compensation Compulsory for most employers. In NSW, for example, contractors can count as workers even if you don’t hire them directly3.
  • Cars For driving participants, or driving between visits. See below.

What the NDIS rules say.

The rules name the covers, but not the amounts. Amounts come from the people who buy your services.

  • Registered providers Audits use quality indicators, and one reads: “Appropriate insurance is in place, including professional indemnity, public liability and accident insurance.”4 Auditors must take the indicators into account, whether the audit is a certification or a verification5. Providers registered only for specialist disability accommodation, and individuals or partnerships registered only for early childhood supports, are assessed without it5.
  • No set amount Neither the rules nor the indicators set a dollar figure4, 5. The NDIS Commission says providers should seek professional advice on the type and amount6.
  • Unregistered providers The NDIS Code of Conduct applies to them too7. The Code itself doesn’t mention insurance7, but the Commission’s guidance says providers “should have professional liability insurance that is appropriate to the size of the organisation and the supports and services it provides”6.
  • Now registered by law Since 1 July 2026, providers of supported independent living (SIL) and NDIS digital platforms must be registered. Unregistered providers already offering them could keep going until 1 October 2026, or, if they applied before then, until the Commission decides5. Mandatory registration for support coordination is paused8, and a 2026 law expands registration to more supports from July 2027, fully in place by the end of 20309.
  • State schools Queensland state schools ask NDIS providers for at least $20 million of public liability and $2 million of professional indemnity per claim, plus workers’ compensation, or personal injury insurance for sole traders10. NSW public schools ask external providers for the same two limits11.

Queensland state schools ask for certified copies of certificates of currency10.

Where cover can fall short.

Published wordings for health and community services leave out some of the risks that matter most in disability support.

  • Abuse allegations One allied health wording excludes any claim connected with abuse, assault or violence “committed or alleged to have been committed” by the insured12.
  • Fines and penalties Both wordings we read exclude fines and penalties. One gives back some civil penalties through a statutory liability extension, up to a sub-limit, but not for reckless or deliberate breaches12, 13.
  • Health care A community services public liability wording excludes health care given by a health practitioner13.
  • Property in your care One wording excludes property in your care, custody or control, though it covers a client’s home and contents while you work there, apart from the part you’re working on12.
  • Driving participants CTP covers injury to people, not damage to vehicles14. One personal car policy must be told about business use or “people transportation”, and excludes business use unless it’s shown on the certificate15.
Costs

How much does NDIS insurance cost?

Published figures from one online broker. A guide, not a quote.

Public liability $300 to $800

A year, for a $10 million limit.16

Professional indemnity $300 to $900

A year.16

Personal accident $500 to $1,500

A year.16

Small registered providers $1,200 to $3,500

A year, for their covers combined.16

upcover’s indicative figures for 2026, published June 2026. It says a business-use endorsement on a car policy adds $200 to $500 a year16.

Workers’ compensation and contractors.

Who has to be covered depends on your state and how you work. Our guide to who needs workers’ compensation has each state’s rules.

  • Sole traders Workers’ compensation doesn’t cover you. Accident and sickness insurance is the private option1, 3. See do sole traders need business insurance?
  • NSW Contractors and subcontractors can count as workers even if you don’t hire them directly3.
  • WA: participants as employers If a self-managed or plan-managed participant engages a support worker, the worker is deemed a worker and the participant the employer. Having an ABN doesn’t change that on its own. It doesn’t apply to a worker supplied by a business that supplies support workers17.

Real cases.

A court case brought by a client, and penalties the NDIS Commission has won in the Federal Court. The wordings we read exclude most penalties like these.

  • Home care, NSWIn 2012, a carer scalded a young woman with cerebral palsy while showering her. The care service admitted breaching its duty of care, and the court approved a settlement in 201818.
  • SIL provider, NSWOrdered to pay $2.5 million in November 2025 for failing to keep participants safe in a supported independent living home19.
  • SIL provider, QueenslandOrdered to pay $2.2 million in October 2025 after a participant died on a motorway, while one support worker was asleep and the other was in another room20.
  • Group home, ACTOrdered to pay $1.9 million in January 2025 after a participant choked, where staff had no mealtime training21.

From January to March 2026, providers notified the Commission of 9,494 reportable incidents, up 13%. It issued 551 compliance notices and 47 banning orders, and revoked the registration of 228 providers and individuals22.

FAQ

Common questions.

Is insurance compulsory for NDIS providers?

For most registered providers, audits check that appropriate professional indemnity, public liability and accident insurance is in place. No rule sets an amount. For unregistered providers, the NDIS Commission’s Code of Conduct guidance says providers should hold appropriate insurance.

Do NDIS support workers need insurance?

If you’re registered, your audit usually checks for it. If you’re not, the NDIS Commission’s guidance still says providers should have appropriate insurance, and clients such as state schools can require it.

How much public liability insurance do NDIS providers need?

The NDIS rules don’t set an amount, and the NDIS Commission’s guidance says to seek professional advice on the type and amount. Queensland and NSW state schools ask NDIS providers for at least $20 million of public liability and $2 million of professional indemnity.

Am I covered driving a participant in my own car?

CTP covers injury to people, not damage to cars. A private car policy may not cover business use: one published policy must be told about business use or “people transportation”, and excludes business use unless it’s shown on the certificate.

Do independent support workers need workers’ compensation?

Workers’ compensation doesn’t cover a sole trader themselves; accident and sickness insurance is the private alternative. In WA, a self-managed or plan-managed participant can be the deemed employer of a support worker they engage.

Does insurance cover abuse allegations or NDIS Commission penalties?

Often not. The wordings we read exclude fines and penalties, and one gives back only some civil penalties, up to a sub-limit. One also excludes claims connected with abuse or violence by the insured, alleged or not. The Federal Court has ordered NDIS providers to pay penalties of up to $2.5 million.

How much does NDIS insurance cost?

upcover’s indicative 2026 figures are $300 to $800 a year for public liability at a $10 million limit, $300 to $900 for professional indemnity, and $1,200 to $3,500 a year combined for small registered providers.

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Who commonly considers it.

  • Independent support workers Sole traders working directly with participants
  • Registered providers Personal care, community access and household tasks
  • SIL and platform providers Supported independent living and digital platforms
  • Therapy providers Allied health practitioners and their teams

Covers NDIS providers look at.

Our guides to the covers NDIS providers most often ask about.

Public Liability Insurance Professional Indemnity Insurance Business Vehicle Insurance

Sources.

  1. Types of business insurance, business.gov.au, 8 November 2024
  2. Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, section 129, Queensland legislation
  3. Who needs a policy, icare NSW
  4. NDIS (Quality Indicators for NDIS Practice Standards) Guidelines 2018, sections 12 and 77, compilation No. 3, Federal Register of Legislation, 1 July 2026
  5. NDIS (Provider Registration and Practice Standards) Rules 2018, sections 7, 20, 24 and 32, compilation No. 6, Federal Register of Legislation, 1 July 2026
  6. The NDIS Code of Conduct: guidance for NDIS providers, paragraphs 39 and 50, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, April 2024
  7. NDIS Code of Conduct, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, 25 May 2026
  8. Mandatory registration, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, 8 September 2026
  9. Securing the NDIS for future generations, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 27 August 2026
  10. Fact sheet for providers: NDIS provider access to Queensland state schools, Queensland Department of Education, 2026
  11. Externally funded service providers delivering health, disability and wellbeing services to students: information and checklist, NSW Department of Education, April 2020
  12. Allied Health Combined Professional and General Liability Wording, Keystone Underwriting, April 2022
  13. Community service organisation public and products liability master policy wording (CSO-PPL-M01), VMIA (Victorian Managed Insurance Authority), 1 July 2026
  14. What is CTP insurance?, Motor Accident Insurance Commission (Qld), 13 July 2026
  15. Car Insurance Product Disclosure Statement and Policy Booklet, NRMA Insurance, 10 September 2023
  16. How much does NDIS support worker insurance cost?, upcover, 16 June 2026
  17. NDIS support workers: fact sheet, WorkCover WA, January 2026
  18. Sharp v Home Care Service of NSW [2018] NSWSC 1319, NSW Caselaw, 21 August 2018
  19. Record $2.5 million penalty imposed on NDIS provider for failing to keep participants safe, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, 14 November 2025
  20. NDIS Commission welcomes record $2.2 million Federal Court penalty for tragic death of NDIS participant, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, 10 October 2025
  21. Highest ever civil penalty imposed by Federal Court for death of NDIS participant, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, 23 January 2025
  22. Quarterly Performance Report Q3 2025-2026, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, 29 April 2026