The short answer: the “white patch” is the clear, white background space the NDIA requires around the NDIS logo so the mark is never altered or crowded. The logo and the letters NDIS are registered trademarks, so no one may use the logo without written NDIA permission. Registered providers can apply for the official “Registered Provider” tagline packs; unregistered providers can only use the “I/we support NDIS” or “I/we heart NDIS” community marks. Full rules, and the advertising claims that have cost providers real penalties, are below.
The “white patch” is the clear space and white background panel the NDIA requires around the NDIS logo. The logo has to sit in its own clean area, never crowded by other graphics, recoloured, stretched, or placed on a busy background that reduces its clarity. It is set out in the NDIA’s logo and brand guidelines and exists to protect the integrity of the mark. If you have heard other providers mention a “white patch”, this is what they mean: it is not a separate badge or licence, it is the minimum clear space and background the artwork must keep around it.
In our experience running campaigns for providers, the white patch is the part people get wrong without realising. A designer drops the supplied logo onto a coloured hero banner, or shrinks it to fit a footer next to four other icons, and the clear space disappears. That is technically a breach of the guidelines even when the provider had permission to use the logo in the first place. The artwork the NDIA supplies already has the correct clear space built in, so the safe rule is to place it as given and leave room around it.
The NDIS logo and the acronym NDIS are registered trademarks owned by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). According to the NDIS logo guidelines, no provider, person or business may use the NDIS logo without written consent from the NDIA, and that applies across advertising, vehicles, buildings, uniforms, emails, stationery and business cards. Using the mark signals an official relationship with the scheme, so the NDIA keeps tight control over how and where it appears.
This is where most of the confusion sits, because the two groups have different options and the wording matters.
| Provider status | What you can apply to use | What you cannot use |
|---|---|---|
| Registered provider | The “Registered Provider” tagline packs, including the “I heart NDIS Registered Provider” and “We heart NDIS Registered Provider” marks, after written NDIA approval and using the supplied artwork. | A restyled, recoloured or cropped logo; the mark on goods for sale; “NDIS” in your business name or domain. |
| Unregistered provider or business | The “I/we support NDIS” and “I/we heart NDIS” community marks (without the “Registered Provider” tagline). | The “Registered Provider” tagline; the standalone NDIS logo; any claim or mark implying you are registered. |
The “Registered Provider” tagline is the line that separates the two. Putting it next to a heart mark when you are not a registered provider misrepresents your status, which is exactly the kind of thing the regulators look at. The community marks exist so unregistered providers can show they work in the sector without borrowing the registered identity.
Even with permission, the guidelines are specific about what breaks the rules:
The logo rules are only half the picture. The bigger compliance risk in NDIS marketing is the words around it. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the NDIA put providers on notice in November 2024 that there are no categories of goods or services that are automatically “NDIS approved” or funded for all participants, because the NDIS does not have a function of approving or endorsing particular products. Claiming otherwise can be false or misleading conduct under Australian Consumer Law.
This is not theoretical. In May 2025 the ACCC announced that Thermomix’s Australian distributor paid $79,200 after four infringement notices for promoting products with terms like “NDIS approved”, “NDIS-registered product”, “NDIS consumables” and “NDIS assistive technology”. Bedshed earlier paid penalties over “NDIS approved” and “NDIS permitted” mattress and furniture claims. The lesson for providers: phrases that sound like helpful shorthand (“NDIS approved”, “NDIS funded”, “100% NDIS endorsed”) are the exact wording the regulator treats as misleading.
In our work this is the single most common edit we make to provider websites: replacing “NDIS approved” and “NDIS funded” language with accurate descriptions of what a service is and how participants might use their funding, without implying the scheme has blessed it.
Beyond trademarks and consumer law, your marketing has to meet the NDIS Code of Conduct, which requires every provider, registered or not, to act with honesty, integrity and transparency. In practice that means: do not make claims you cannot evidence, be clear about what you do and do not provide, never pressure participants, and respect privacy and dignity in any imagery or testimonials (which need genuine, informed consent before you publish them).
You do not need to borrow the NDIA brand to look trustworthy, and given the restrictions, leaning on it is rarely worth the risk. The providers that participants and support coordinators actually choose tend to do the same things: a clean, accessible website, real photos of real people, clear service and location information, genuine reviews, fast responses to enquiries, and plain language about what they offer. A distinctive, compliant brand of your own does more for trust than a borrowed logo you are restricted from using freely, and it cannot be taken away with a cease-and-desist letter.
We build NDIS brand identities inside the NDIA rules, accessible by design.
It is the clear space and white background panel the NDIA requires around the NDIS logo so the mark always sits cleanly and is never altered, recoloured or crowded by other graphics. It is set out in the NDIA logo guidelines. It is not a separate badge or licence, just the minimum clear space the supplied artwork must keep around it.
Only if you are a registered provider with written permission from the NDIA, and only using the artwork they supply. No provider, person or business may use the NDIS logo without written NDIA consent. You cannot restyle it, recolour it, crop it, use it to sell goods, or put NDIS in your business name or domain.
Not the official logo or the ‘Registered Provider’ tagline. Where eligible, unregistered providers and businesses can use the NDIA community marks such as ‘I/we support NDIS’ or ‘I/we heart NDIS’ without the registered tagline.
No. The NDIS does not approve or endorse particular goods or services, so claims like ‘NDIS approved’, ‘NDIS funded’ or ‘NDIS endorsed’ can be false or misleading under Australian Consumer Law. The ACCC has issued infringement notices and penalties over exactly this wording, including a $79,200 payment by Thermomix’s Australian distributor in 2025.
No. NDIS is a registered trademark of the NDIA, so a business name, trading name or domain built around it implies an official link you do not have and can attract infringement action.
Less than you would think. A clear, accessible website, real photos, genuine reviews and fast responses build more trust than a logo you are restricted from using freely and that can be withdrawn.
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