What the office asks for on day one
Every jurisdiction that publishes requirements asks for a version of the same folder — identity, clearance, insurance, qualification, training. The contents are not the same, and neither are the instruments.
Clearances — state-specific instruments, not one national check
"proof of a valid Working with Children Check" S3
Blue Card clearance details plus photo ID, both sighted at every visit: "Upon entering the school and at each visit, NDIS provider staff must provide the school with both: Working with Children Check (Blue Card) [and] photo identification." S8
"current Registration to Work with Vulnerable People or Worker Screening clearance details" plus current photo ID, again each visit. S6
"a current Working with Children Check; a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check or an NDIS Worker Screening Check" — WA accepts any of three. S10
A three-way alternative (Teachers Registration; or DHS WWCC + RRHAN-EC masterclass; or DHS WWCC + RRHAN-EC fundamental + a Safe Environments certificate from the last three years), plus a Child Safe Environments Compliance Statement. The heaviest paperwork set we found. S11, S12
WWCC "cleared by the department's screening database", documents emailed "at least 7 days before starting." S13
Training required before the first session
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QLD
The department's MAST program "within the last 12 months (a MAST declaration form must be provided for each NDIS provider staff member)", plus school-based induction, plus anything else the principal requires. S8
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TAS
The NDIS Commission's Worker Orientation Module "Quality, Safety and You", plus first aid / CPR / anaphylaxis certificates, plus school induction, plus the department's Mandatory Reporting Training. S6
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SA
"You do an induction to the school or preschool." S12
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NSW Scheme
"mandatory child protection training… before delivering services." S13
Two things you are probably not required to do
The NSW Scheme is optional. The department answers this itself: "No, schools can engage allied health providers of their choice. However, the Scheme simplifies the process for both schools and providers by handling compliance checks centrally." NSW S13
If you have been treating Scheme membership as the gate into NSW public schools, it is not one.
NDIS registration is not universally required either. Victoria's guidance is explicit that self-managing participants "can choose to employ unregistered providers", while noting that schools "should consider the increased risks associated with unregistered providers." VIC S3
Tasmania asks for evidence of being an NDIS provider "either registered or unregistered" S6 — status disclosed, not held.
The speech-specific one
Speech pathology is not an AHPRA-registered profession, and the departments handle that explicitly. NSW's list names "Speech pathologists: members of Speech Pathology Australia", alongside "Physiotherapists, psychologists, occupational therapists: registered with… (AHPRA)." S13 South Australia asks for full membership of Speech Pathology Australia S12. Tasmania accepts registration with AHPRA "or other professional body." S6
Where the session may happen
QLD — line of sight required
"The school, to meet its duty of care obligations, must be able to maintain a line of sight to the student while the NDIS support is being provided" — and a private room needs a written request setting out why that confidentiality is needed. S8
TAS — observable space, but not for speech pathologists
Requires "a classroom or… a space that can be observed, for example through a window in a doorway or in an active area of the school", and carves out registered psychologists and accredited social workers — not speech pathologists. S6
VIC — one of the principal's decision questions
Posed as one of the principal's decision questions rather than a flat rule — "Can the school provide a safe and suitable location for the therapy to take place in which a staff member has a line of sight to the therapy?" S4
SA — line of sight "at all times"
Leader considerations include maintaining "a 'line of sight'… at all times." S12
For a speech provider this is a service-design fact, not a compliance footnote: a therapy plan that assumes a quiet closed room may not be deliverable on school grounds.
Equipment
Tasmania: "NDIS providers are responsible for resourcing their own services such as rooms and equipment. It is not the responsibility of schools to supply resources for NDIS providers to run their business." S6 Queensland: "The NDIS provider will be required to bring their own equipment and materials." S8
The one-pager collects every state's clearance, training and instrument requirements on a single sheet — send me the eight-state sheet.
Every state's gate on one sheet
The four-column comparison, printed to keep beside the phone.
The four-column comparison, the two contradictions, and the jurisdictions nobody has published.
- 01 Who may make the request, per jurisdiction — and the two states that disagree
- 02 Professional indemnity and public liability minimums, with the blanks left blank
- 03 The signed instrument each department requires, and who signs it
…and 8 more, including the two published decision clocks and the jurisdictions we could not establish.
Get the one-pager