If you've been following NDIS news this year, you'll know that a lot has been announced, including Thriving Kids, changes to eligibility, participant budgets, planning processes, fraud enforcement, and more. This article focuses specifically on what's changing for provider registration: what's been legislated, what's confirmed, and what we're still waiting on.
In short, the fundamentals of how registration works haven't changed yet (aside from mandatory registration for SIL and platform providers, which commenced on 1 July 2026). The legislation for wider change has now passed, but the detail of what it will look like for most providers still hasn't been published.
The context
On 22 April, Mark Butler gave a speech at the National Press Club outlining a major reform package for the NDIS. The speech was accompanied by the release of the Government's Securing the NDIS for Future Generations plan, which set out four pillars of reform: fighting fraud, managing the cost trajectory, tightening eligibility, and strengthening quality and safeguards.
The 2026-27 Federal Budget then allocated funding to back these announcements. The numbers relevant to registration include $182.6 million over four years for mandatory registration of high-risk providers and $358.5 million for a new enrolment and digital payment system.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 was introduced to Parliament on 14 May, passed on 19 August, and received Royal Assent on 20 August 2026. It's now an Act, and different parts of it commence at different times.
What's actually been confirmed for registration
Mandatory registration for SIL and platform providers, from 1 July 2026. This was announced in December 2025 and commenced on 1 July 2026. Existing unregistered SIL and platform providers had until 1 October 2026 to apply for registration. Detailed information about the transitional arrangements for SIL providers is outlined in this article.
Expanded mandatory registration for higher-risk supports, from July 2027. Mandatory registration will be expanded beyond SIL and platform providers to include providers delivering personal care, daily living supports, and supports provided in closed settings. Under the Government's reform timeline, the rollout begins in July 2027, with all providers in scope to be registered by December 2030. The Government has said it will publish a list of the specific NDIS supports considered high risk, but that list hasn't been published yet. My guess would be assistance with daily personal activities (and the high intensity stream) at a minimum.
A new provider enrolment system, from July 2027. The Government is introducing a new enrolment system that will require most NDIS providers to supply basic identifying information, including verified identity, an ABN, and a nominated bank account. Providers in scope will need to enrol from 1 July 2027, with all providers in scope enrolled by December 2027. The Government has described this separately from registration, and the requirements appear lighter, but the operational detail hasn't been published yet.
What we don't know yet
There is a lot of detail we're still waiting on. Providers making practical decisions right now don't yet have enough specifics to act on for the expanded registration changes.
The specific supports that will trigger mandatory registration haven't been listed yet. "Personal care, daily living supports, and supports in closed settings" is the language used by the Government, but these are broad categories and not specific registration groups. We don't know yet exactly which registration groups will be included, or whether the boundaries will align neatly with existing group definitions.
We don't know what the transition arrangements will look like for providers who are currently unregistered and delivering services that will become mandatory registration categories. The SIL transition is a useful reference point (registration became mandatory on 1 July 2026, with existing unregistered providers given until 1 October to apply and continue delivering while their application was assessed), but the Government hasn't confirmed whether the same model will apply to the broader expansion. My experience tells me yes, but again, this isn't confirmed.
The timelines in the reform plan are ambitious, and some have already shifted (e.g. the new framework planning rollout, originally expected mid-2025, was pushed to mid-2026, and has now been pushed again to April 2027). Registration expansion timelines could shift too, and frequently have in past reforms to the scheme.
What this means if you're on the Verification pathway
If you're a provider whose registration groups place you on the Verification pathway (allied health professionals, exercise physiologists, or delivering other lower-risk supports under a single registration group) then what's been announced so far doesn't change your registration pathway or requirements.
Registration for providers on the Verification pathway remains optional (with the exception of providers already captured by mandatory registration, like SIL and platform providers). The Verification audit itself remains the same and the standards being audited haven't changed. If you're working through any of the Paperbark profession-specific registration guides, the information in those articles is still accurate.
The expanded mandatory registration categories announced sit on the Certification pathway (or appear to do so at this point in time). They're higher-risk support categories that involve a different registration process and a different set of Practice Standards.
However, if you're registered for a Verification-level group but you also deliver (or plan to deliver) supports that fall into the higher-risk categories, then the expanded mandatory registration could affect part of your service offering. Keep an eye on the specific list of supports when it's published.
What this means if you're considering Certification
If you're a provider who delivers (or plans to deliver) higher-risk supports (personal care, daily living supports, community participation, SIL, or supports in closed settings), the Government is moving toward a model where these supports must be delivered by registered providers.
If you're not yet registered and you deliver services in categories likely to be captured by the expanded mandatory registration, the expansion doesn't commence until July 2027, and full implementation runs to the end of 2030. Certification audits do take time (six to twelve months from starting preparation to holding a Certificate of Registration is realistic) and auditor availability will tighten as demand increases.
If you think your services are likely to fall within the expanded mandatory categories, start understanding what Certification involves now. You don't need to commit to an audit date, but developing an understanding of the Core Module of the NDIS Practice Standards, identifying your genuine gaps, and building the systems you'll eventually need is time well spent (and improves your business even if you don't end up requiring registration).
Other registration-adjacent changes
Claiming timeframes are being tightened. From 1 December 2026, the time to make a claim for supports will be reduced from two years to 90 days (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing).
Record-keeping requirements have increased. Since 27 August 2026, providers need to keep records relating to payment and receipt of NDIS funds for seven years, and failure to retain records carries a civil penalty.
Pricing may differ for registered and unregistered providers. The Government is consulting on differentiated pricing, which would adjust the price of supports depending on whether they're delivered by a registered or unregistered provider. The NDIA's Annual Pricing Review for 2026-27 recommended this begin on 1 January 2027 (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing). The final design hasn't been confirmed.
Plan management and support coordination are both being restructured. From 1 October 2027, the NDIA will set up a panel of plan management providers, and only providers on the panel will be able to deliver plan management. Participants whose plan manager isn't on the panel will have six months to move to one that is. Support coordination is expected to move to a commissioned model from July 2028. If you deliver either of these services, the way you're contracted and funded is changing significantly, but the operational detail for both is still being designed. Mandatory registration for support coordinators was previously proposed but has been paused while the Commission considers further policy development.
Watch this space
I'll keep updating this article and Paperbark's other registration guides as operational detail is published. If you want to keep across it, the best primary source is the NDIS Commission Reform Hub, which is where transition arrangements and timelines will be published as they're confirmed.
This article reflects information available as of October 2026. The Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 20 August 2026. Timelines, transition arrangements, and the list of supports requiring mandatory registration are subject to change. I'll update this article as new information is confirmed.
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About the author
Penny Halpin
Penny is an NDIS Lead Auditor who has worked in certification since the first audits in 2018, and was previously a Senior Manager at an Approved Quality Auditor with technical review across thousands of audit reports. She built the Paperbark tools to help providers create documentation that reflects how they actually work.
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