Speech pathologists, occupational therapist and assistive therapists will soon face less red tape when registering to provide services to clients as part of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The federal government has announced it will simplify the NDIS provider registration and audit process removing much of the regulatory burden faced by these small business operators.
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell suggests the announcement is a win for small business owners who have been campaigning for the change and follows recommendations made by her office to ease the regulatory burden.
“These welcome changes will particularly benefit small businesses delivering lower risk services such as therapies, home modifications and specialist equipment. Importantly the simplified registration process will not reduce safeguards for NDIS participants.
“We welcome certification audit requirement changes that will come into effect from 1 January 2020, and be based on the level of risk associated with the services provided to participants, rather than whether or not they are an incorporated provider.
“This is a win for the lion’s share of NDIS providers who are small businesses, especially those in fields such as speech pathology, occupational therapy and assistive therapy.
“We know small and family businesses have been struggling with the time and costs associated with being an NDIS service provider – audit costs to maintain accreditation were a major contributing factor.
“Small providers don’t have dedicated and separate administration teams to comply with government requirements.
“These changes ensure small businesses can get on with doing what they do best – providing vital NDIS services and growing their business,” Carnell concluded
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