New to this? Our step-by-step article explains why NDIA-managed participants need a registered provider. Read it here →
What NDIS subcontracting means
Participants manage their NDIS funding in one of three ways. Self-managed and plan-managed participants can use any provider, registered or not. NDIA-managed participants can only use registered providers, because the NDIA pays the provider directly.
Many good allied health practices aren't registered, because registration means audits, extra policies and ongoing costs. Subcontracting is the middle path: the registered provider carries the registration and the claiming, and your clinic delivers the support.
How it works, step by step
- Clinic agreement. Your clinic signs a subcontractor agreement with the registered provider.
- Your practitioners. Each practitioner has current professional registration (for example AHPRA), an NDIS Worker Screening Check and professional indemnity insurance.
- Participant agreement. The NDIA-managed participant (or their nominee) signs a service agreement with the registered provider.
- You deliver the support as usual, under your own clinical judgement, and send your invoice.
- The provider claims the session from the NDIA at the right item number and price limit.
- You're paid, less the provider's fee, with a remittance for each invoice.
What the subcontractor agreement should cover
- Services and professions covered, and the item numbers you'll deliver.
- Fees and payment: how the provider's fee is worked out and when you're paid.
- Records and invoices: what you send for each session, and by when. From 1 December 2026, most claims must be lodged within 90 days of the support.
- Quality and safeguards: the NDIS Code of Conduct, incidents, complaints and restrictive practices.
- Worker screening and insurance for each practitioner.
- Privacy and confidentiality of participant information.
- Ending the agreement: notice periods and what happens to current clients.
Who is responsible for what
| Task | Your clinic | Registered provider |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical decisions and therapy | ✓ | |
| Case notes and session records | ✓ | Can ask to see them |
| Practitioner registration, screening, insurance | ✓ | Checks them |
| Service agreement with the participant | ✓ | |
| Claiming from the NDIA | ✓ | |
| NDIS registration and audits | ✓ | |
| Incident reporting to the NDIS Commission | Tells the provider | ✓ |
How payment works with Active Help
Active Help claims each session at the NDIS price limit for your profession (see our price guides). You're paid in our Wednesday or Friday pay run, usually 2–3 business days after the NDIA pays, less one simple percentage of each paid claim. There are no setup, monthly, audit or exit fees.
Why allied health practices work with Active Help
NDIA-managed participants can only use registered providers, so unregistered practices usually have to turn them away. Subcontracting is how many unregistered practices keep seeing these clients. Working under Active Help's registration lets you say yes, and the clients stay yours.
- Registered NDIS provider since 2018. We know the claiming rules and the compliance side.
- Your clients stay yours. Your own clinical decisions and your own way of working.
- Paperwork done for you. Ready-made clinic and participant agreements, and worker screening linked for your practitioners.
- Paid twice a week. Wednesday and Friday pay runs, usually 2–3 business days after the NDIA pays.
- No setup, monthly, audit or exit fees. One simple percentage of each paid claim, so you only pay when you're paid.
See NDIA-managed participants without your own registration
Deliver physiotherapy, OT, podiatry, exercise physiology, speech pathology or psychology to NDIA-managed participants as a subcontractor under Active Help's registration. We prepare the agreements, claim these items from the NDIA and pay you twice a week, usually 2–3 business days after the NDIA pays. There are no setup, audit or exit fees.
Join as a clinic →Frequently asked questions
Can an unregistered provider see NDIA-managed participants?
Not directly. NDIA-managed participants can only use registered providers, but an unregistered practice can deliver the support as a subcontractor under a registered provider, which then claims from the NDIA.
Do I need my own NDIS registration to subcontract?
No. The registered provider holds the registration. Your practitioners still need their professional registration, an NDIS Worker Screening Check and insurance.
Who claims from the NDIA?
The registered provider claims each session from the NDIA and then pays your clinic, less its fee.
Do the clients stay mine?
With Active Help, yes. You keep your own clients and your own clinical decisions. We don't refer clients to you, so this works for NDIA-managed clients you already see or who come to you.
How quickly am I paid?
Active Help pays in Wednesday or Friday pay runs, usually 2–3 business days after the NDIA pays, with a remittance for every invoice.
General information only, not legal advice. See the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and the NDIS Pricing Arrangements for the current rules.