Reference

NDIS Glossary

Plain-English definitions of the terms every NDIS provider needs to know — from plan management to Practice Standards.

Active Overnight
A shift type where a support worker is required to be awake and available to provide active support throughout the night. Active overnights attract higher SCHADS Award pay rates than passive overnights and must be correctly classified in rostering to ensure accurate payroll.
Agency-Managed
Where the NDIA manages a participant's funding directly, paying registered providers on the participant's behalf through the NDIS portal.
Allied Health
Health professionals such as occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech pathologists, and psychologists who deliver NDIS-funded therapeutic supports. Allied health providers operate under Capacity Building or Capital support budgets.
Audit Evidence
The documented records a provider produces to demonstrate compliance with the NDIS Practice Standards during a registration or renewal audit. Audit evidence includes incident logs, worker credentials, service agreements, progress notes, and governance records.
Award Interpretation
The process of applying the correct SCHADS Award pay conditions to each shift worked by an NDIS support worker, including base rates, penalty rates, allowances, and overtime. Incorrect award interpretation is the leading cause of underpayment liability in the NDIS sector.
Behaviour Support Plan
A documented plan developed by a behaviour support practitioner that outlines strategies to address behaviours of concern and reduce the use of restrictive practices. Providers must implement and review behaviour support plans as a condition of registration.
Behaviour Support Practitioner
A qualified professional who develops and oversees behaviour support plans for NDIS participants who use restrictive practices. Providers must engage a registered behaviour support practitioner before implementing any regulated restrictive practice.
Broken Shift
A shift with an unpaid break of 2 or more hours in the middle, creating two separate work periods in one day. Under the SCHADS Award, broken shifts attract an additional allowance. Providers must track broken shifts accurately to remain payroll-compliant.
Bulk Payment Request
A method of submitting multiple NDIS claims to the NDIA in a single file, rather than one at a time. Bulk payment requests via PRODA or software integrations reduce administration time and are standard practice for providers with high claim volumes.
Capacity Building Supports
NDIS funding to help participants build skills and independence over time, covering areas like support coordination, employment, improved daily living, and improved relationships.
Capital Supports
NDIS funding for assistive technology, home modifications, and Specialist Disability Accommodation.
Casual Loading
An additional 25% pay rate applied to casual NDIS support workers in lieu of entitlements such as annual leave and personal leave. Casual loading must be factored into shift cost calculations to ensure accurate NDIS claiming and payroll.
Certification Audit
A comprehensive NDIS registration audit for providers delivering higher-risk supports, including SIL, behaviour support, and high-intensity daily activities. Certification audits involve on-site assessment and interviews with workers and participants.
Claiming
The process by which NDIS providers submit payment requests to the NDIA (or plan manager) for services delivered to participants, aligned to NDIS support categories and price limits.
Code of Conduct
The NDIS Code of Conduct sets out the expected behaviour of all NDIS workers and providers. Breaches can be investigated by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and may result in banning orders or registration cancellation.
Core Supports
One of the main NDIS support budget categories covering daily activities, consumables, social and community participation, and transport.
Credential Management
The tracking and verification of NDIS support worker qualifications, licences, and certifications — such as First Aid, Manual Handling, and Worker Screening clearances. Providers must ensure workers' credentials are current before rostering them to participant shifts.
Duty of Care
The legal and ethical obligation of an NDIS provider to take reasonable steps to protect participants and workers from foreseeable harm. Duty of care obligations inform incident management processes, risk assessments, and safe rostering practices.
Early Childhood Approach
The NDIS pathway for children under 9 with developmental delay or disability. Supports are delivered by early childhood partners and focus on building capacity for the child and family before transitioning to a full NDIS plan if required.
Functional Capacity Assessment
An assessment, typically conducted by an occupational therapist or other allied health professional, that documents a participant's ability to perform daily activities. Functional capacity assessments inform NDIS plan funding decisions and are used as evidence in plan reviews.
Funding Utilisation
The percentage of a participant's NDIS plan budget that has been spent against the total approved funding. Monitoring funding utilisation helps providers identify underspend before plan reviews and ensures participants receive the full supports they are entitled to.
Incident Management
The system for recording, reporting, and responding to incidents affecting NDIS participants. Serious incidents must be reported to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
Key Worker
A designated support worker who takes primary responsibility for coordinating and delivering supports to a specific participant. Assigning key workers improves continuity of care and is a quality indicator under the NDIS Practice Standards.
Line Item
An individual support item on an NDIS invoice or payment request, identified by its support item number from the NDIS Support Catalogue. Each line item must reference the correct registration group, unit of measure, and price to be processed by the NDIA.
Local Area Coordinator
A LAC (Local Area Coordinator) works with NDIS participants to develop their plan, connect them with community supports, and review their plan over time. LACs are funded by the NDIA but employed by partner organisations.
NDIA
National Disability Insurance Agency. The independent statutory agency responsible for implementing and managing the NDIS across Australia.
NDIS
National Disability Insurance Scheme. Australia's national program that funds reasonable and necessary supports for people with permanent and significant disability, administered by the NDIA.
NDIS Audit
A formal review of a registered provider's compliance with the NDIS Practice Standards, conducted by an approved quality auditor. Mid-term and registration renewal audits are required.
NDIS Plan
A personalised funding document outlining a participant's goals, supports, and NDIS funding amounts across support categories. Plans are reviewed annually or when circumstances change.
NDIS Practice Standards
The quality standards that registered NDIS providers must meet, covering areas such as rights, governance, service access, support provision, and high-intensity supports.
NDIS Provider
An organisation or individual registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to deliver supports and services to NDIS participants.
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
The independent Commonwealth agency that regulates NDIS providers, handles complaints, and enforces the NDIS Practice Standards and Code of Conduct.
Occupational Therapist
An NDIS-registered allied health professional who assesses participants' functional capacity and recommends supports such as assistive technology, home modifications, and daily living skill development. OT reports are commonly required for NDIS plan reviews.
PACE
Provider and Participant Community Experience. The NDIA's current system for managing participant plans, provider registrations, and payment requests. PACE replaced the older myplace portal and changed how providers submit claims and access participant information.
Participant
A person with disability who has been approved to access NDIS funding and has an active NDIS plan.
Passive Overnight
A shift where a support worker sleeps at the participant's premises and is only required to provide support if needed. Passive overnights have a different SCHADS Award pay structure to active overnights — misclassifying the two is a common payroll compliance risk for NDIS providers.
Penalty Rates
Higher pay rates applied to NDIS support workers who work evenings, weekends, or public holidays, as required by the SCHADS Award. Failure to apply correct penalty rates is one of the most common compliance failures identified in Fair Work audits of NDIS providers.
Plan Management
A funding option where an NDIS-registered plan manager handles financial transactions, provider payments, and budget tracking on behalf of the participant.
Plan Review
A formal reassessment of a participant's NDIS plan and funding, conducted annually or when the participant's needs change significantly. Providers contribute to plan reviews by supplying progress reports and evidence of supports delivered.
Price Guide
The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits document that sets maximum prices providers can charge for NDIS supports. Updated annually by the NDIA.
Progress Notes
Records documenting the supports delivered to a participant during each shift or session, including the participant's progress toward goals. Required for compliance and claiming.
Quality Indicator
A measurable criterion under the NDIS Practice Standards used by auditors to assess whether a provider is meeting a required standard. Providers must be able to produce evidence against quality indicators at audit — this evidence should be collected continuously, not assembled at audit time.
Reasonable and Necessary
The NDIS test for whether a support will be funded. Supports must relate to a participant's disability, represent value for money, and not be the responsibility of another system.
Registered Provider
An NDIS provider who has met the NDIS Practice Standards and Quality and Safeguards requirements, allowing them to deliver higher-risk supports and work with plan-managed or agency-managed participants.
Registration Group
A category in the NDIS registration framework that groups related support types. Providers must register under the specific groups that cover the supports they deliver, and each group has its own audit requirements and Practice Standards modules.
Restrictive Practice
Any practice that restricts the rights or freedom of movement of a person with disability. Use must be reported to the NDIS Commission and state/territory bodies.
Rostering
The scheduling of support workers to participant shifts. Effective NDIS rostering matches worker skills, availability, and qualifications to participant support needs.
SCHADS Award
Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award. The industrial award that sets minimum pay rates, penalty rates, and conditions for most NDIS support workers in Australia.
SDA
Specialist Disability Accommodation. Funding for purpose-built housing designed for NDIS participants with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs.
Self-Management
Where a participant (or their nominee) directly manages their NDIS funding, pays providers, and keeps records — giving maximum flexibility in provider choice.
Service Agreement
A written agreement between an NDIS participant and a provider outlining the supports to be delivered, costs, and terms of the arrangement.
SIL
Supported Independent Living. NDIS funding for the supports a person needs to live in shared or independent accommodation, including overnight and weekend staffing.
Sleepover Shift
An alternative term for a passive overnight shift in SIL and residential settings. The worker is on-site overnight but not required to remain awake. Correct classification against SCHADS Award provisions is essential to avoid underpayment liability.
Sole Charge
A rostering arrangement where a single support worker is responsible for a participant's care without another worker or supervisor on-site. Sole charge shifts require the worker to hold the appropriate qualifications and clearances for the supports being delivered.
Sole Trader Provider
An individual who provides NDIS supports under their own ABN rather than through a company structure. Sole traders can register as NDIS providers but must meet the same Practice Standards and worker screening requirements as larger organisations.
Specialist Support Coordinator
A higher-level support coordinator who assists participants with complex situations, working with multiple providers, mainstream services, and crisis management.
Support Catalogue
The NDIS register of all funded support items, each identified by a unique support item number, category, and price limit. Providers must reference the support catalogue when setting up services and submitting claims to ensure alignment with current NDIS pricing.
Support Coordinator
An NDIS-funded professional who helps participants understand and implement their NDIS plan, connect with providers, and build their capacity to self-manage supports.
Support Worker
A person employed by an NDIS provider to deliver direct supports to participants, such as personal care, community access, and daily living assistance. Support workers must hold relevant Worker Screening clearances and any required qualifications for their role.
Timesheet
A record of hours worked by an NDIS support worker, including shift start and end times, break periods, and shift type. Accurate timesheets are the foundation of NDIS payroll compliance — they must align with rostered shifts and feed correctly into payroll calculations under the SCHADS Award.
Unregistered Provider
A provider who has not registered with the NDIS Commission. They can only work with self-managed participants and are not subject to NDIS Practice Standard audits.
Verification Audit
A lighter-touch registration audit for NDIS providers delivering lower-risk supports. Verification audits assess documentary evidence against the relevant NDIS Practice Standards modules, without on-site assessment.
Worker Screening
A background check required for NDIS workers in risk-assessed roles. Each state and territory runs its own NDIS Worker Screening Check program.

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Official References