Choosing a structure
Sole trader is cheapest to start and offers no liability separation. A private company costs more to establish and maintain, separates liability, and is what most providers choose once they employ staff or seek NDIA managed participants.
Trusts appear in family arrangements and add accounting complexity. Decide with your accountant before you apply, because changing entity mid registration means starting the application again.
ABN, company and names
Register the company with ASIC if you are incorporating, obtain your ABN, register a business name if you trade differently from the legal name, and register for GST if you expect to exceed the threshold.
Check your name against existing providers and trade marks. Renaming after your certificate is issued is avoidable pain.
Insurance and screening
Auditors ask for certificates of currency, not intentions.
- Public liability, commonly twenty million for provider contracts
- Professional indemnity where you deliver therapeutic or assessment supports
- WorkCover Victoria registration once your wages exceed the threshold
- NDIS Worker Screening Check through Service Victoria for risk assessed roles
- Working with children checks where you support participants under eighteen
Melbourne and Victoria specifics
Victorian providers also deal with state authorisation for restrictive practices, Victorian incident reporting interfaces, and local council requirements if you operate premises or a group program.
If you are in Melbourne's west, our office is at Level 1/44 Watton St, Werribee, and we work across Wyndham, Melton, Hobsons Bay and greater Melbourne.
Want This Handled For You?
We prepare the documents, the self assessment and the audit evidence, then sit with you through the audit itself. Book a call and we will tell you honestly what your pathway looks like.