Where things stand
Mandatory registration for supported independent living (SIL) began on 1 July 2026. According to the Government's news release of 30 June 2026, all new providers seeking to deliver SIL needed to be registered from that date, and unregistered providers already delivering SIL had to apply by 1 October 2026 or stop providing SIL. That date has now passed.
Your position depends on which of these describes you:
- You applied for registration. Your application is moving through the process described below.
- You were already registered for SIL. The Commission varied your registration to include group 0138.
- You did not apply by 1 October 2026. You need to stop providing SIL.
- You are new to SIL. You cannot deliver SIL until you are registered.
SIL is the first step in a wider change. From 1 July 2027 the Government plans to expand mandatory registration to other higher-risk supports. See our guide to mandatory NDIS registration in 2027.
What counts as SIL
Not every home and living support is SIL. The Commission's mandatory registration page says a person receives SIL when they need support at all times of the day, or for most of the day, the support helps them live in their home as autonomously as possible and access the community, and the provider is managing and delivering the SIL supports. It is not SIL if the person only receives a few hours of support a day or week, or chooses and manages their own support workers, which includes directing, planning and rostering them. A sole trader who delivers SIL on that definition is a SIL provider.
If you applied for registration
The Commission has published a transition pathway for each situation, linked from its SIL transition pathways page. For an unregistered provider, including a sole trader, who was already delivering SIL and applied, the steps are:
- Keep delivering. You can continue to deliver SIL while your application is assessed, provided you applied by 1 October 2026.
- Receive a scope of audit after a valid application for registration group 0138 and any other relevant groups.
- Complete a certification audit. You engage an approved quality auditor. An audit that happens after 1 July 2026 includes the new SIL Practice Standards.
- Answer the Commission's questions during the application review.
- Receive a decision. If you are approved, you get a certificate of registration that includes group 0138. If you are refused, you must stop providing SIL.
If you applied before 1 July 2026 under the old group 0115, your audit may not have covered the new SIL Practice Standards. The Commission says it then updates your certificate to include 0138, you may get conditions requiring additional audits, and the new standards are assessed at your next audit.
If you were already registered for SIL
Providers registered under group 0115 and delivering SIL before 1 July 2026 were sent a formal notice in June 2026 and could tell the Commission if they did not want to be registered to provide SIL. For those who continued, the Commission varied their registration to add group 0138 and issued a new certificate. They must comply with the SIL Practice Standards to stay registered, and are audited against them at their next audit, which is either the mid-term audit or the registration renewal audit after 1 July 2026.
If you did not apply by 1 October 2026
The Commission's guidance is that providers who were delivering SIL and chose not to apply need to stop providing SIL supports. Delivering SIL without registration is a serious matter. The Commission states that it may breach the NDIS Act, with a maximum penalty of 2 years' imprisonment, a fine of 120 penalty units, or both. If you stop providing SIL, follow the Commission's steps for stopping the services you provide, including notifying and transitioning participants. You can still apply for registration now, but then you are a new entrant, and the rules in the next section apply.
What new entrants must do
If you are new to SIL, or not yet an NDIS provider, the Commission's pathway is clear: you cannot deliver SIL until it has made a decision on your application for registration. That means the whole process sits in front of your first participant.
- New to the NDIS. Apply for group 0138 and any other relevant groups through the Applications portal. Complete a certification audit that includes the SIL Practice Standards.
- Already registered, adding SIL. Apply to vary your registration to add group 0138. You may need an out-of-cycle certification audit. If the variation is not approved, you cannot deliver SIL.
- Everyone. Check your key personnel and risk-assessed workers hold NDIS worker screening clearances, as for any application. See our guide to becoming a registered NDIS provider.
Group 0138 and the SIL supplementary module
On the Commission's registration groups list, group 0138, assistance with supported independent living, requires a certification audit. For the audit, the certification pathway means a Stage 1 desktop review and a Stage 2 onsite audit. Every registered SIL provider needs to:
- have certification audits,
- comply with the Core Module of the NDIS Practice Standards,
- comply with the SIL supplementary module, and
- meet all other conditions of registration.
The Commission publishes the SIL module as the Supplementary module: Supported independent living (SIL). It has four outcomes:
- Supported decision-making
- Safeguarding
- Practice governance
- Agreements about tenancy, housing and support arrangements
The Commission has also published an evidence guide for providers and workers (PDF) with examples of how to meet the standards. Read it before you plan your audit evidence.
Other modules can apply depending on what you deliver. Module 2a applies if you implement behaviour support plans or use regulated restrictive practices, which is common in SIL settings. Module 1 applies if you deliver high intensity supports such as enteral feeding or complex bowel care. Your initial scope of audit confirms what applies to you.
Preparing for the audit
Whatever stage you are at, the audit tests house-level practice, so prepare for that.
- Confirm your scope. List every support you deliver across your homes and map them to registration groups. Under-scoping now means a variation application later.
- Build the document system. You need Core Module policies and procedures, incident and complaints systems, risk and restrictive practices registers, house-level safety documents and evidence against the SIL supplementary module. Our policies and procedures guide lists the full set.
- Close worker compliance gaps. Workers in risk-assessed roles need NDIS worker screening clearances, and your training register should show competency for the supports each worker delivers.
- Brief your workers. In Stage 2, auditors ask support workers how they would report an incident or escalate a complaint. Our audit checklist covers what to have ready.
- Plan your costs and timing. Auditors set their own prices, so get several quotes. Our cost guide and timeframe guide give planning figures.
Where our package fits
Our 220+ document package covers the Core Module and Modules 1 to 5 in editable Word format, including the high intensity and behaviour support implementation documents many SIL providers need. It does not include documents written for the SIL supplementary module. You need to prepare your evidence for that module's four outcomes separately. The SIL provider documents page shows which parts of a SIL audit the package covers. As the Commission expects your policies to reflect how you really deliver supports, any document you use must be adapted to your own homes.
This page is general information based on NDIS Commission and government sources at the date shown. It is not legal or professional advice, and the rules can change. Check the NDIS Commission's current requirements and read our disclaimer.