If you deliver NDIS supports, change is coming, and for one group of providers, it’s coming fast.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission is reforming the NDIS Practice Standards: the quality and safety benchmarks every registered provider must meet. At their heart, these standards exist so participants can shape how safe, quality supports are delivered to them. The reform is being driven by two parallel projects: a brand-new set of Practice Standards for supported independent living (SIL), and a broader review of the Practice Standards as a whole.
Here’s what each means for your organisation.
The headline: new SIL Practice Standards and mandatory registration
If you provide SIL supports, this is the part to read carefully.
In December 2025, the Minister for the NDIS announced that SIL providers must register from 1st July 2026 and comply with new NDIS Practice Standards for supported independent living. With that date now just weeks away, the window to prepare is short.
The reform didn’t appear from nowhere. Recent reviews and the NDIS Commission’s Own Motion Inquiry into Aspects of Supported Accommodation (OMI) surfaced real risks in supported independent living. Those risks were raised by participants, their supporters, advocates and the Commission itself.
Importantly, the new standards were co-designed. The Commission worked with Inclusion Australia and people with disability to develop them, so participant voices sit at the core of the new module rather than being added on afterwards.
What’s actually changing for SIL providers
A few practical points:
- From 1st July 2026, providers of supported independent living supports will need to comply with the new SIL Practice Standards.
- The new standards focus on quality and safety in shared accommodation with daily supports; and on giving clearer, more usable guidance to frontline workers.
- The Commission has released the draft supported independent living Practice Standards module so you can see what’s proposed.
- There’s also an Easy Read factsheet — “Supported independent living: New rules for good and safe support” to help participants and supporters understand the changes.
For the registration detail, including what the transition looks like, you can start here:
- Mandatory registration
- Mandatory registration and transition pathways for supported independent living
The final SIL Practice Standards will be published on the NDIS Practice Standards page before 1st July 2026, so it’s worth bookmarking that page now.
The bigger picture: the NDIS Practice Standards Review
Alongside the SIL work, the Commission ran a national consultation to support a wider review of the Practice Standards.
That consultation asked some foundational questions: whether current obligations are appropriate and genuinely focused on what matters, what an NDIS Quality Framework should look like, and how guidance can better support safe, high-quality, participant-centred supports. The Commission is now working through the feedback, insights and recommendations to shape the next steps.
This isn’t separate from the SIL changes; it directly informed them. The consultation led to the introduction of Expectation Statements, which set out the perspectives of participants, workers and providers, along with guidance material that spells out what “good” actually looks like in practice. Expect this approach: clearer expectations, plainer guidance to flow through future reform.
What providers should do now.
If you deliver SIL supports, treat 1st July 2026 as a live deadline:
- Read the draft module and map it against how you currently operate and identify the gaps now, not in July.
- Confirm your registration pathway using the mandatory registration links above.
- Brief your frontline teams early; much of the new standard is aimed squarely at day-to-day support quality.
- Share the Easy Read factsheet with participants and their supporters so the change is understood on all sides.
- Watch the Practice Standards page for the final version ahead of the deadline.
For providers outside SIL, the broader review signals the direction of travel: clearer expectations, stronger guidance, and standards that keep participants at the centre. Getting familiar with that thinking now will make whatever comes next far easier to absorb.
We’ll keep you updated on any changes. If you’re a new provider, pending renewal, or unregistered and need help to get registered, we’re here to support you.
We have a suite of courses to assist you with your Online NDIS Self-assessment, to get you started and to help you understand your requirements for application and audit.
We even offer a FREE Introductory course to kick off your registration journey.
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Author: Amanda Robinson BA, MMHealthPrac,
As Head of Learning and Development and a seasoned NDIS expert, Amanda drives capability and sustainability in the disability and health sectors. With over 15 years of experience, post-graduate qualifications in Mental Health Leadership and Management, and currently pursuing an MBA, she brings deep expertise and personal insight as someone with lived experience of disability. A devoted carer, Amanda champions Human Rights, working to dismantle stigma and barriers for individuals with disability and mental health challenges. She is passionate about building robust stakeholder relationships, leveraging her advocacy, communication, strategic thinking, and analysis skills.
