NDIS Mandatory Registration: Who Needs to Register

NDIS registration is currently mandatory if you deliver any of these supports:

1. Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)
2. Plan management
3. Specialist behaviour support (developing behaviour support plans)
4. Any implementation of regulated restrictive practices
5. Supported Independent Living (SIL)
6. NDIS digital platform services

Registration is also required, regardless of what you deliver, if you want to work with participants whose funding is managed by the NDIA.

Who does mandatory registration apply to?

As at October 2026, registration is mandatory if you fall into any of the following categories:

• You deliver SDA, plan management, specialist behaviour support, or implement regulated restrictive practices. This applies regardless of how your participants manage their funding, and regardless of how small your operation is.
• You deliver Supported Independent Living. Registration has been mandatory since 1 July 2026. The Commission's definition of SIL refers to the level of support a participant needs and who manages their workers, not to registration group 0115. If you only provide a few hours of support, or your participants direct and roster their own workers, you may sit outside the definition. The deadline for existing unregistered SIL providers to apply was 1 October 2026. The SIL transition pathways are set out in full here.
• You operate an NDIS digital platform. Registration for platform providers has been mandatory since 1 July 2026, on the same timeline as SIL.
• You want to work with NDIA-managed participants. Registration is mandatory regardless of what kind of supports you deliver. If your plan is to take agency-managed clients, you'll have to be registered.

Who doesn't need to be registered (yet)?

As long as you don't fall into any of the above categories, you don't currently need registration if:

You deliver support coordination. Mandatory registration for support coordinators was proposed and consulted on, but then paused. Registration still gives you access to NDIA-managed participants and signals to referrers that your practice meets the Practice Standards, it's just not required. What registration involves for support coordinators.

You deliver personal care, daily living supports, or other supports in closed settings. Registration will become mandatory for higher-risk supports, but not yet. The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 20 August 2026. Under the Government's reform timeline, expanded mandatory registration starts rolling out from July 2027, with all providers in scope to be registered by December 2030. The list of supports considered high risk hasn't been published yet, so which supports are caught isn't confirmed.

You deliver other supports to self-managed or plan-managed participants only. Registration is optional. You can register if it suits your business goals and vision for your organisation, but it's up to you.

If you're an independent support worker, our article on whether independent support workers need to be registered covers your position specifically.

What mandatory registration involves

If you fall under mandatory registration, you'll be required to complete an audit against the NDIS Practice Standards. Higher-risk supports (SIL, SDA, behaviour support, support coordination if you choose to register) sit on the Certification pathway, which is a two-stage audit with a site visit, file reviews, and interviews. Lower-risk supports sit on the Verification pathway, which is a lighter document-based audit, and this is where plan management currently sits. The difference between the two pathways determines most of what registration will cost you and how long it takes.

From first starting your preparation, to holding a Certificate of Registration, is realistically six to twelve months for a Certification audit, and auditor availability may tighten as more providers are required to register. What registration actually costs depends on your pathway, your size, and the number of sites and participants an auditor has to sample.

Provider enrolment

The Act also introduces provider enrolment, which is a separate process from registration. Under the reform timeline, providers in scope will need to enrol from 1 July 2027 so they can be paid directly, with all providers in scope enrolled by December 2027. Enrolment involves providing a minimum basic level of identifying information. The operational detail, including exactly which providers are in scope, isn't out yet.

What's unconfirmed

The legislation has passed, but the detail of the 2027 expansion hasn't been published. The Government hasn't released the list of supports that will trigger mandatory registration, and hasn't confirmed whether the transition arrangements will be similar to the SIL model. Timelines in NDIS reforms have shifted before, so I'm not going to guess at the detail before it's released.

What to do now

If you deliver plan management, behaviour support, SDA or implementation of restrictive practices and you're not registered, you're operating outside the rules. Seek advice if needed and begin your application process as soon as you can.

If you deliver SIL or operate an NDIS digital platform, the 1 October 2026 application deadline for existing unregistered providers has passed. If you didn't apply by then, you must not continue delivering those supports. If you're not yet delivering SIL but intend to, you can't start until your registration is approved, so get started on the process as soon as you're ready.

If you deliver supports likely to be captured by the 2027 expansion, you have time, but understanding the Core Module of the Practice Standards and identifying your organisation's gaps now is a good exercise (and a good way to strengthen your business even if you end up not having to register).

The primary source for transition arrangements and timelines as they're confirmed is the NDIS Commission's mandatory registration page. I'll do my best to keep these articles updated as things keep moving.