NDIS registration is currently mandatory if you deliver any of these supports:
- Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)
- Plan management
- Specialist behaviour support (developing behaviour support plans)
- Any implementation of regulated restrictive practices
Registration is also required, regardless of what you deliver, if you want to work with participants whose funding is managed by the NDIA.
From 1 July 2026, registration becomes mandatory (or you must be transitioning towards it) for Supported Independent Living (SIL) and platform providers.
Who does mandatory registration apply to?
As of writing, registration is mandatory (or coming soon) if you fall into any of the following categories:
- You deliver SDA, plan management, specialist behaviour support, or implement regulated restrictive practices. Registration is mandatory now. This applies regardless of how your participants manage their funding, and regardless of how small your operation is.
- You deliver Supported Independent Living. Registration becomes mandatory from 1 July 2026. The Commission’s definition of SIL has been released which refers to the level of support a participant needs and who manages their workers, not on the 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. If you are currently delivering SIL without registration, you must apply for registration by 1 October 2026. The SIL transition pathways are set out in full here.
- You operate a digital platform connecting participants with workers. Registration for platform providers becomes mandatory from 1 July 2026, alongside 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?
As long as you don’t fall into any of the above categories, then youu don’t 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, just not required. What registration involves for support coordinators.
You deliver personal care, daily living supports, or other supports in closed settings. Registration is likely to become mandatory, but not yet. The Government indicated in the first thalf of 2026 that they intended to expand mandatory registration to these higher-risk supports from 1 July 2027. The specific list of supports hasn’t been published yet, so which registration groups are caught isn’t confirmed. What the 2026 reforms mean for registration.
You deliver other supports to self-managed or plan-managed participants only. Registration is optional, and what’s been announced so far doesn’t change that. You can register if it suits your business goals and vision for your organisation, but it’s up to you.
What mandatory registration involves
If you’re now falling under the umbrella of 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.
What’s unconfirmed
The expansion to higher-risk supports from 2027 has been announced but not detailed, as the Government hasn’t published the list of supports that will trigger mandatory registration, and hasn’t confirmed whether the transition arrangements will be similar to the SIL model. A separate provider enrolment system is also potentially coming from 2027, with lighter requirements than registration, but the operational detail isn’t out yet. The legislation giving effect to these changes has been introduced to Parliament but hasn’t passed, and timelines in NDIS reforms have shifted before, so it’s hard to guess here as to what will eventually occur.
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 and you’re not registered yet, you need to submit your application before 1 October 2026. Apply before then if you’re already delivering and want to continue without interruption. 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.
