Step-by-Step: Moving from PRODA to myID and RAM

Winter, EnableUs Community

Alright, welcome back to The EnableUs Community Podcast. Winter here, and today we’re talking about something that probably landed in your inbox with a really boring subject line… but if you ignore it, it can literally stop your business: the move from PRODA to myID and RAM.

Will, EnableUs Community

And I’m Will. If you’ve skimmed those emails about myID, RAM, identity strength levels and November deadlines… this episode is your gentle but very real wake-up call.

Winter, EnableUs Community

Let’s start with the horror story, because this is happening right now. You jump into the myplace Provider Portal to submit your payment claims, like you always do, and suddenly your PRODA login just… doesn’t work. No invoices going out, no access to participant details, no way to manage your registration. Everything grinds to a halt over what felt like “optional” admin.

Will, EnableUs Community

Yeah, and the scary bit is, that’s not a system glitch. That’s exactly what will happen if you don’t move across to myID and RAM in time. There is a hard line in the sand: November twenty twenty‑five. After that, PRODA will not get you into NDIS portals at all.

Winter, EnableUs Community

And it’s not one of those “oh, they’ll probably extend it” deadlines. The Commission and the NDIA have both been super clear: there are no extensions, no secret back doors because your needs are urgent. If you haven’t transitioned by around the tenth of November twenty twenty‑five, you’re locked out of myplace, the NDIS Commission Portal, all of it.

Will, EnableUs Community

There’s another catch a lot of providers don’t realise. The transition is one‑way. The first time you log into an NDIS portal using myID and RAM for that organisation, your PRODA access for that organisation deactivates. You can’t test myID in production and then say, “nah, I’ll just go back to PRODA.” Once you flip the switch, that’s it.

Winter, EnableUs Community

So let’s answer the obvious question: why is the government making everyone go through this? It’s not just to annoy you. The NDIS holds billions of dollars and a massive amount of sensitive participant data. That makes it a target for criminals trying to scam payments, steal identities, or pose as legit providers.

Will, EnableUs Community

Exactly. PRODA was fine for a while, but it just doesn’t have the level of security that’s needed anymore. The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission talks about “strong identity checks” as one of the key ways to protect participants, providers, and the scheme from scams and data breaches.

Winter, EnableUs Community

myID is that stronger identity check. Think of it like a supercharged digital version of your driver licence or passport. Behind the scenes it’s doing multi‑layer document checks, there are biometric options, it’s talking to government databases to confirm you really are who you say you are.

Will, EnableUs Community

And then RAM – Relationship Authorisation Manager – adds another layer. It’s not just “this is Winter” or “this is Will”, it’s “Winter is allowed to act for this ABN in this portal” and “Will is allowed to do these specific things for this business.” That clear line between your personal identity and your authority to act for a provider is what’s been missing.

Winter, EnableUs Community

From a day‑to‑day point of view, there are a few wins in this. Participants can be more confident that only properly verified providers are seeing their information. Real providers aren’t having to compete with dodgy operators slipping into the system. And the government can spot and shut down fraud more easily, which keeps the NDIS sustainable long‑term.

Will, EnableUs Community

And outside NDIS, myID actually gives you a smoother experience. Once you’ve set it up, you can use it across different government services, not just myplace. Things like the Australian Business Register, My Aged Care, and some tax‑related services already hook into it, so you’re not juggling a dozen different logins.

Winter, EnableUs Community

So this isn’t an optional tech upgrade. It’s a fundamental change in how you prove your identity to the NDIS and how your business gets into every portal you rely on. The risk of ignoring it is really simple: lose access, lose cashflow, and end up scrambling under pressure.

Will, EnableUs Community

In the next part, we’ll get practical. We’re going to walk you through setting up your myID step by step, what identity strength you actually need, and a couple of easy mistakes to avoid so you don’t get stuck in verification limbo.

Winter, EnableUs Community

Alright, let’s get hands‑on now. You can’t do anything with RAM or portal access until you’ve set up myID, so we’ll start there and keep this really concrete.

Will, EnableUs Community

Step one is simple but important: you need a smartphone or a tablet. myID is an app. It does not run on your desktop or laptop. That catches a lot of providers off guard, especially people who do everything from a PC.

Winter, EnableUs Community

So, grab your phone, go to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, and search for “myID”. Download the official government app. Once it’s installed, don’t tap through the setup too quickly, because there are a couple of decisions here that can make your life easier later.

Will, EnableUs Community

The first big one is the email address you use. myID is your personal digital identity. It belongs to you, not your employer. So you should always use a personal email you control long‑term, not your work email. If you use a work email and then leave that organisation, you can paint yourself into a corner where you’ve lost access to your myID.

Winter, EnableUs Community

Exactly. Use a stable personal email you’re going to keep for years. Then, before you go any further, grab your identity documents. You’ll need them in front of you, and which ones you need depends on what level of “identity strength” you’re aiming for.

Will, EnableUs Community

Let’s break those levels down, because the language can sound more complicated than it is. There are three: Basic, Standard, and Strong. For NDIS portal access, Basic is pretty much irrelevant. Standard and Strong are the ones that matter.

Winter, EnableUs Community

Standard identity strength is what most staff will need. If you’re just logging into NDIS portals to do your normal provider work, Standard is the minimum requirement. Usually you can get Standard with two documents – for example, your Australian driver licence and your Medicare card.

Will, EnableUs Community

Strong identity strength mainly matters for principal authorities – the people who’ll actually link the business in RAM. To get Strong, you have to have an Australian passport that’s either current or expired within the last three years. That passport is non‑negotiable for the Strong level.

Winter, EnableUs Community

So, if you’re a staff member, you’re probably shooting for Standard. If you’re a business owner, director or sole trader who’s going to be the principal authority in RAM, you want to aim for Strong – and that means making sure you’ve got that passport handy.

Will, EnableUs Community

The actual setup flow inside the app goes something like this: you choose your identity strength target, you enter your personal email, and then you either scan or manually type details from each document. The app then checks what you’ve entered against government databases.

Winter, EnableUs Community

If everything lines up perfectly, you get verified pretty much straight away. If there’s a mismatch, it can kick over to manual review, and that can take a few business days. So here’s where you can save yourself a lot of time and stress: enter everything exactly as it appears on your documents.

Will, EnableUs Community

Yeah, and when we say exactly, we mean exactly. Middle names, hyphens, the way your address is written – all those tiny things. If your licence says “Unit 2/15” and you put “2‑15”, or you leave off a middle name, that’s the kind of thing that can trigger a problem. Slowing down for five minutes here can save you days waiting for manual checks.

Winter, EnableUs Community

If the automatic check doesn’t go through and you do end up in manual review, don’t panic – it’s not a fail, it just means a human needs to look at it. Build that into your timeline though. Don’t start this the day before you plan to flip over to myID and RAM for your live portal access.

Will, EnableUs Community

Once your myID is verified and active, turn on the stronger security options. Things like fingerprint or face recognition make logging in both safer and faster. And remember, you never share your myID login with anyone. Not your boss, not your IT person, not a co‑worker.

Winter, EnableUs Community

Every single person who needs portal access should have their own myID. Sharing one account is explicitly not allowed, and it completely defeats the point of strong identity checks. Plus, with individual myIDs, it’s much easier to see who did what in the system.

Will, EnableUs Community

So, quick recap before we move on: download myID on a smart device, use a personal email, pick the right identity strength, have the right documents ready, enter the details exactly, and then switch on biometric login. Once that’s sorted, you’re ready for the next piece of the puzzle: RAM.

Winter, EnableUs Community

And that’s what we’ll unpack next – how to link your business in RAM as a principal authority, and how to give your staff the right access without opening the door to everyone forever.

Will, EnableUs Community

Alright, now that myID is set up, let’s talk about RAM – Relationship Authorisation Manager. If myID is the “who are you” piece, RAM is the “who are you allowed to act for” piece.

Winter, EnableUs Community

Yeah, I like to think of it like this: myID proves you’re really you, and RAM proves you’re actually allowed to do things for your organisation’s ABN in government systems. Both are needed if you’re going anywhere near NDIS portals.

Will, EnableUs Community

RAM is run by the ATO, and it already connects to a bunch of government platforms, not just NDIS. For our purposes though, we’re going to walk through the NDIS angle – linking your business and setting up staff access so there’s clear accountability.

Winter, EnableUs Community

The key player here is what’s called the principal authority. That’s usually the business owner, a director, a sole trader – someone who is officially responsible for the organisation. And this is the person who needs to have Strong identity strength in myID to link the business directly in RAM.

Will, EnableUs Community

So here’s the basic step‑by‑step. First, the principal authority goes to the RAM website and logs in using their myID credentials. Once they’re in, they’ll see options to link a business. They choose that and enter the organisation’s ABN.

Winter, EnableUs Community

From there, RAM will guide them through confirming the business details. That linking step is what formally connects your ABN to that principal authority’s myID. Once that’s done, RAM knows “okay, this person can set up authorisations for this organisation.”

Will, EnableUs Community

After the business is linked, the principal authority can start creating authorisations for staff. That means choosing which staff can act for the business in various government services, including NDIS portals, and at what level. It’s much clearer than the old PRODA way of kind of muddling personal and organisational access together.

Winter, EnableUs Community

And this is where the separation between personal and organisational identities really helps. Your myID belongs to you as a person and stays with you even if you change jobs. The RAM authorisations belong to the organisation and can be turned on or off as your employment changes.

Will, EnableUs Community

So if a support coordinator or an admin person leaves, you don’t have to touch their myID. You just revoke their RAM authorisation for your business. Instantly, they lose access to your NDIS portals, but they can still use their myID for other services they’re entitled to. That clean break is something PRODA never really did well.

Winter, EnableUs Community

Let’s talk about a really common sticking point: what if your principal authority can’t get Strong identity strength because they don’t have an Australian passport? That’s where people start to panic a bit.

Will, EnableUs Community

The first thing to check is whether there’s another principal authority in your organisation. Lots of businesses have multiple directors or owners. If any one of them has a current Australian passport or one that expired in the last three years, they can go to Strong identity strength and do that initial business linking in RAM.

Winter, EnableUs Community

Once that’s done, they can authorise the original principal authority inside RAM. So even if that person only has Standard identity strength, they can still be given access through RAM because the business has already been linked by someone with Strong identity.

Will, EnableUs Community

If you’ve checked and genuinely no principal authority has a suitable passport, then you’re looking at an exception path. In that case, you’d still set up myID to at least Standard identity strength and then contact RAM support for help. They have alternative linking processes, but they do take longer and usually need more documentation.

Winter, EnableUs Community

Whichever path you’re on, the big thing is: don’t leave this until the last minute. Remember, once you use myID and RAM to access an NDIS portal for that organisation, your PRODA access is gone for that organisation. There’s no going back if you realise you’ve missed a step.

Will, EnableUs Community

So, before you flip the switch, make sure your principal authority’s myID is verified at the right identity strength, the business is properly linked in RAM, and staff authorisations are set up and tested. Only then should you rely on myID and RAM for your day‑to‑day portal work.

Winter, EnableUs Community

To wrap this up, let’s give you a quick mental checklist. One: understand that November twenty twenty‑five is a hard deadline – PRODA won’t get you into NDIS portals after that. Two: set up myID on a smart device using a personal email, with the right identity strength for your role.

Will, EnableUs Community

Three: if you’re a principal authority, aim for Strong identity strength with an Australian passport so you can link the business in RAM. Four: log into RAM, link your ABN, and create clear authorisations for your staff – and remember to revoke them when people leave.

Winter, EnableUs Community

And five: don’t wait. Build in time for myID verification and, if needed, RAM exceptions. The whole point of this change is to keep participants, providers and the scheme safer – but it only works if you actually make the move.

Will, EnableUs Community

We’ll keep unpacking different pieces of this transition in future episodes, but if you follow the steps we’ve talked through today, you’ll be in a solid position well before that November deadline sneaks up.

Winter, EnableUs Community

Thanks for hanging out with us on Navigating PRODA. I’m Winter…

Will, EnableUs Community

And I’m Will. Take this episode as your nudge to tick off myID and RAM on your to‑do list, not three months from now when you’re trying to submit claims.

Winter, EnableUs Community

We’ll catch you in the next episode, and in the meantime, stay organised and stay connected.

Will, EnableUs Community

See you next time.