NDIS Certification vs Verification: Which Audit Do You Need?

A Verification audit is a desktop review of your documents against four NDIS Practice Standards, for lower-risk supports. A Certification audit has two stages, including a site visit and interviews with workers and participants, and covers the Core Module plus any supplementary modules, for higher-risk supports.

Your registration groups decide which one applies. If any group you've selected requires Certification, your whole audit is a Certification audit.

NDIS Verification vs Certification: key differences

	Verification	Certification
Who it's for	Lower-risk, less complex services	Higher-risk, more complex services
Standards assessed	4 (the Verification Module)	20+ (Core Module, plus any supplementary modules)
Audit format	Desktop only (document review)	Stage 1 desktop + Stage 2 onsite visit
Staff/participant interviews	No	Yes
Mid-term audit	No	Yes, at 18 months
Typical cost	$900 to $1,500	$4,000 to $15,000+ (depending on size and modules)
Typical timeline	Weeks to finalise audit once documents submitted	3 to 6 months, including Stage 1 + 2 and closing out non-conformances

What is an NDIS Verification audit?

A Verification audit is a desktop-based document review. There's no site visit, no staff interviews, and no participant interviews. Your auditor receives your documents, reviews them against four Practice Standards, and submits their report and recommendation to the NDIS Commission.

The four standards assessed are:

Risk Management: how you identify and manage risks to your business and the people you support
Incident Management: your process for when things go wrong
Complaints Management: how participants can raise concerns and how you resolve them
Human Resource Management: evidence that workers have the right checks, qualifications, and insurance

The Verification pathway is designed for services that are lower-risk and where providers are often already subject to professional regulation, for example through AHPRA or another professional body. The auditor is checking that your business infrastructure and safeguards are sound, not that you're delivering clinical care safely.

The registration groups that require a Verification audit:

0101 Accommodation/tenancy assistance
0103 Assistive products for personal care and safety
0105 Personal mobility equipment
0108 Assistance with travel/transport arrangements
0109 Vehicle modifications
0111 Home modifications
0112 Assistive equipment for recreation
0113 Vision equipment
0114 Community nursing care
0116 Innovative community participation
0119 Specialised hearing services
0120 Household tasks
0121 Interpreting and translation
0122 Hearing equipment
0123 Assistive products for household tasks
0124 Communication and information equipment
0126 Exercise physiology and personal training
0127 Management of funding for supports in participant plans
0128 Therapeutic supports
0129 Specialised driver training
0130 Assistance animals
0134 Hearing services
0135 Customised prosthetics

If you're looking for profession-specific advice, we have tailored guides for occupational therapists, psychologists, physiotherapists and speech pathologists.

Once you receive your Initial Scope of Audit from the Commission after submitting your application, it will confirm your pathway. If it says Verification, you need to engage an Approved Quality Auditor, provide your documentation, and respond to any gaps they identify.

Verification audits generally cost between $900 and $1,500, though this varies by auditor. See how much a Verification audit costs and what to expect from your Verification audit for more detail.

What is an NDIS Certification audit?

A Certification audit is a two-stage process. It assesses you against significantly more standards than Verification, and goes beyond reviewing your policies on paper. For a full walk-through of both stages, see what to expect from your Certification audit.

Stage 1: Desktop review

The auditor reviews your policies, procedures, and supporting documentation against the Core Module of the NDIS Practice Standards (20+ standards covering everything from governance to rights to service delivery) and any supplementary modules on your scope. They may also request additional evidence during this stage. At the end of Stage 1, you receive a report noting any areas of concern that will be examined more closely in Stage 2.

Stage 2: On-site assessment

The auditor, or team of auditors, visits your service. They will observe your environment, interview your management and staff, and speak with participants about their experience of your service. Stage 2 looks at whether what happens in your organisation matches what your policies say. It must be completed within three months of Stage 1.

Supplementary modules

Depending on which registration groups you hold, you may also be audited against one or more supplementary modules in addition to the Core Module:

High Intensity Daily Personal Activities (Module 1)
Specialist Behaviour Support (Module 2, for practitioners who write behaviour support plans)
Implementing Behaviour Support Plans (Module 2A, for providers who implement regulated restrictive practices). See Module 2 vs Module 2A if you're not sure which applies.
Early Childhood Supports (Module 3)
Specialised Support Coordination (Module 4)
Specialist Disability Accommodation (Module 5)
Supported Independent Living (Module 5A)

Each supplementary module will add to your audit scope, preparation time, and cost.

Registration became mandatory for SIL providers from 1 July 2026. If that's why you're registering, see mandatory registration for SIL providers.

The mid-term audit

Certification providers are also required to complete a mid-term audit 18 months after the initial registration decision has been approved. This is a scaled-down assessment that checks whether you've addressed any non-conformances from your initial audit and maintained your quality systems. It's not as intensive as your initial Certification audit.

The registration groups that require a Certification audit:

0102 Assistance to access and maintain employment or higher education
0104 High Intensity Daily Personal Activities
0106 Assistance in coordinating or managing life stages, transitions and supports
0107 Assistance with daily personal activities
0110 Specialist positive behaviour support
0115 Assistance with daily life tasks in a group or shared living arrangement
0117 Development of daily living and life skills
0118 Early intervention supports for early childhood
0125 Participation in community, social and civic activities
0131 Specialist disability accommodation
0132 Specialised support coordination
0133 Specialised supported employment
0136 Group and centre based activities
0137 Providing an NDIS digital platform service
0138 Assistance with supported independent living

Starting costs for Certification audits typically range from about $4,000 to $15,000 for small-to-medium providers, depending on the modules included and how many sites and participants you have. Large and very large organisations will generally need to budget for more than this, as audit duration normally increases with size. Again, this depends on the auditor, and cheaper won't always mean better.

Choosing your registration groups

Your audit pathway is determined entirely by your registration groups. If you add one group that triggers Certification, your entire audit becomes a Certification audit, even if every other group you've selected would otherwise sit in the Verification pathway.

A single extra group can shift a $1,200 desktop review into a $6,000 two-stage audit.

An example: A physio practice registers for 0128 Therapeutic Supports (Verification pathway), but adds 0107 Assistance with daily personal activities to cover a support worker they also employ. That addition shifts the whole audit to Certification.

This isn't wrong if you're delivering personal care. But if the group was added just in case, the audit scope may generate non-conformances against standards you haven't prepared for, and a much larger documentation burden.

Register only for what you're delivering now. Registration groups can be added later through an out-of-cycle audit when you're ready to expand. Our guide to NDIS registration groups covers each group in more detail.

How to check which pathway you're on

If you've already submitted your application, you don't need to guess. The NDIS Commission system automatically generates an Initial Scope of Audit document based on your registration groups. This document:

Confirms whether you're on the Verification or Certification pathway
Lists the specific standards you'll be audited against
Is the document you present to Approved Quality Auditors when getting quotes

You can also check before applying by reviewing the NDIS Commission's Registration Groups table, which indicates the audit pathway for each group.

If you're unsure how your intended service mix will interact, particularly if you're mixing lower-risk and higher-risk groups, get clarification from the Commission or an auditor before you submit. Changing registration groups after the fact is possible but creates additional process (and potentially costs for the admin time on your auditor's end).

Policies, procedures and evidence for each pathway

Verification pathway

You'll need a policy manual and supporting documents covering the four Verification Module standards, plus evidence for each worker: identity documents, qualifications, professional registrations, insurance, NDIS Worker Screening clearance, NDIS Worker Orientation Module certificate, and infection control/PPE training.

Your policies need to describe how your business operates, not how a generic template says a business should operate. If you're delivering therapy in a clinic but your documents refer to ladder safety, there's a clear mismatch.

Certification pathway

You need everything above, plus a full set of policies and procedures across the 20+ Core Module standards, plus operational evidence that your systems are being used (completed forms, registers, meeting minutes, supervision records, incident logs and so on). Stage 2 checks whether what happens in practice matches what your policies say.

If your scope includes supplementary modules, add the documentation requirements for those on top of what's listed above.

Frequently asked questions

Can I switch pathways later?

You can move from Verification to Certification if you add registration groups that require it. The pathway is determined by your groups, not by your preference.

What if I want to add registration groups after I'm registered?

You can apply to add registration groups during your registration period by speaking to your auditor. This triggers an out-of-cycle audit scoped to the new groups (and potentially changes your overall audit pathway if the new groups trigger Certification). It's an audit in its own right, so preparation still matters.

Does Verification mean lower quality?

No. It means lower-risk services, which require a proportionately smaller audit scope. A well-run household tasks business with strong incident management, complaints handling, and HR practices is meeting exactly the standard that applies to them.

What happens at renewal, do I go through the same pathway?

Yes. Your three-year registration renewal involves the same pathway as your initial audit, assessed against the same standards, unless you take the opportunity to add groups or modules. The auditor will expect to see evidence that your quality systems have been actively maintained and improved, not just the same documents from three years ago. Certification providers also complete their mid-term audit at 18 months.

How long does the whole process take?

For Verification, from the time you engage an auditor and submit your documents, the audit itself is often completed within a few weeks.

For Certification, Stage 2 must occur within three months of Stage 1. After Stage 2, if there are no major non-conformities to address, the auditor will generally be able to submit their report to the Commission within a couple of weeks, after you've had a chance to review the draft.

Commission processing after the audit report is submitted can take several additional months depending on their current workload. See how long NDIS registration takes.

Building your documentation

Paperbark NDIS has free and paid tools for providers who want documents that reflect how their service operates:

Another option is a generic template pack bought online. If you go this way, review every document thoroughly before you submit for your audit, replace every bit of placeholder text, and make sure it reflects your business and service types.

We need more great providers doing great work, and getting registered can be a strong signal to the community that you value quality and compliance. Good luck with your audit.