NDIS Trust Index Methodology

What Is NDIS

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is Australia's largest social insurance scheme. Launched in 2013 and rolled out nationally by 2020, the NDIS supports over 600,000 Australians with disability, providing more than $49 billion in annual funding.

The NDIS registered over 26,447 disability service providers. These range from one-person sole traders to large organisations with hundreds of staff.

The Transparency Problem

The RefDat NDIS Trust Index was created to address a transparency problem: many NDIS providers operate with minimal public information. Research from RefDat (published as "The $49B Question") found that 46.7% of registered NDIS providers have no website. Many have no verifiable contact details, no registration with charity regulators, and no publicly available information at all.

Participants and families struggle to evaluate provider legitimacy and trustworthiness. The NDIS Trust Index exists to solve this problem transparently and independently.

What the NDIS Trust Index Measures

The NDIS Trust Index is NOT a quality or performance rating. It measures transparency and legitimacy. A high score means a provider publishes verifiable information about who they are and what they do. A low score means minimal public information is available.

The index does not measure service quality, outcomes, or customer satisfaction. Participants should still research providers, check references, and make their own decisions.

The 4-Pillar Framework

The NDIS Trust Index uses four equally-weighted pillars, each contributing 25% to the final score:

1. Business Legitimacy (28%)

Business Legitimacy measures the existence and registration of a provider as a legitimate business entity. Scoring factors include:

• ABN Status: Is the provider registered with the Australian Business Register?
• GST Registration: Is the provider registered for GST (indicating significant turnover)?
• Company Age: How long has the provider been registered?
• ASIC Registration: For companies and non-profits, is the organisation registered with ASIC?

Providers with valid ABN, GST registration, and ASIC records score highest. Sole traders without GST still score reasonably. Providers with no verifiable registration score lowest.

2. Digital Presence (22%)

Digital Presence measures how accessible a provider is online. Scoring factors include:

• Website Existence: Does the provider have a website?
• Domain Ownership: Is the domain in the provider's name?
• Email Address: Is a professional email provided?
• Phone Number: Is a verifiable phone number listed?
• Social Media: Does the provider maintain social media accounts?

Providers with a website, professional email, and phone number score highest. Providers with only NDIS register listings score lowest.

3. Service Activity (28%)

Service Activity measures actual payment volume and consistency over time. This data comes from publicly available NDIS payment reports. Scoring factors include:

• Payment Volume: What is the provider's total quarterly payment amount?
• Multi-Quarter Activity: Has the provider received payments across multiple quarters?
• Growth Trend: Is payment activity increasing, stable, or declining?
• Service Diversity: Does the provider serve multiple service categories?

Providers with high, consistent, multi-quarter payments score highest. Recently-registered providers with minimal activity score lower. Providers with no payment history or declining activity score lowest.

4. Organisational Transparency (22%)

Organisational Transparency measures public accountability and good governance. Scoring factors include:

• ACNC Registration: For non-profits, is the organisation registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission?
• Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR): Is the organisation registered as a DGR entity?
• Name Consistency: Does the provider use consistent business names across registrations?
• Public Accountability: Does the organisation publish annual reports or impact statements?

Providers registered as charities with ACNC score highest. Providers with consistent, professional identities score moderately. Providers with name inconsistencies or no public information score lowest.

Data Sources

The NDIS Trust Index combines data from multiple public sources:

• NDIS Provider Register: Public list of all registered providers
• Australian Business Register (ABR): ABN status, GST registration, company history
• ASIC Company Register: Company registrations, directors, financial reports
• ACNC Charity Register: Non-profit registrations, DGR status, annual reports
• NDIS Data Institute: Quarterly payment data and service information

The Research Behind It

The NDIS Trust Index was informed by research published as "The $49B Question", which analysed NDIS provider transparency across all 26,447 registered providers. Key findings included:

• 46.7% of providers have no website
• Only 31% are registered as charities with ACNC
• Registration requirements are minimal; many providers operate with only an ABN
• Geographic clustering of transparency issues (some regions have far fewer transparent providers)

"The Hotspots" Geographic Analysis

"The Hotspots" research identified geographic regions where provider transparency is particularly low. Victoria dominates the worst-performing postcodes, with 11 of the top 20. Problem areas cluster in suburban Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, not in remote regions as might be expected.

What the NDIS Trust Index Is NOT

• NOT a quality or performance rating
• NOT a recommendation or endorsement
• NOT a comprehensive review of all providers
• NOT a substitute for personal research and reference checks

Interpreting Your Score

Score Range	Meaning
80-100	High transparency. Strong business legitimacy, digital presence, service activity, and organisational transparency.
60-79	Moderate transparency. Good business registration and some public information, but room for improvement.
40-59	Limited transparency. Minimal public information; consider further research before engaging.
Below 40	Low transparency. Very little public information available; recommend thorough due diligence.

Using the NDIS Trust Index

The NDIS Trust Index should be one tool in your provider evaluation process. Use it to quickly assess whether a provider publishes adequate public information. For providers with lower scores, do additional research: ask questions, check references, verify registration, and evaluate them on service quality and cultural fit.

Data Updates

The NDIS Trust Index is updated quarterly when new NDIS provider data is released. Business registration data (ABN, ASIC, ACNC) is updated weekly from public sources.

Read More

Visit NDIS Trust Index or read our article on understanding NDIS data in Australia.