What a SIL audit covers
Mandatory registration for SIL is one part of a wider change, and the 2027 expansion of mandatory registration will reach other higher-risk supports. For SIL, the rules are already in force. SIL has its own registration group: 0138, assistance with supported independent living. It replaced group 0115 for SIL from 1 July 2026, and it sits on the certification pathway. The NDIS Commission treats a support as SIL when the person needs support at all times of the day, or for most of the day, and the provider manages and delivers supports that help them live in their home as independently as possible. 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.
Your audit is a two-stage assessment: Stage 1 reviews your documentation against every applicable Practice Standards outcome, and Stage 2 tests implementation with staff interviews, participant interviews, and visits to your homes. The scope for a typical SIL provider:
- Core Module, always, covering rights, governance, service provision, and the support environment.
- SIL supplementary module, always. Its four outcomes are covered in the next section.
- Module 2a (implementing behaviour support plans) if you implement behaviour support plans or use regulated restrictive practices, which is common in SIL settings.
- Module 1 (high intensity supports) where descriptors such as enteral feeding, complex bowel care, or ventilator management apply to any resident.
The SIL supplementary module
The Commission publishes the Supplementary module: Supported independent living (SIL). It has applied since 1 July 2026 and has four outcomes:
- Supported decision-making
- Safeguarding
- Practice governance
- Agreements about tenancy, housing and support arrangements
The module is published on the Commission's SIL Practice Standards page, and the Commission has released an evidence guide for providers and workers (PDF). Read both before you plan your audit evidence.
How our package relates to it: the package covers the Core Module and Modules 1 to 5, which make up the rest of a typical SIL audit scope. It does not include documents written for the SIL supplementary module, so you will need to prepare your evidence for those four outcomes separately.
What auditors look for in SIL settings
SIL audits are won at house level, not head office. Auditors sample individual homes and individual participant files, and the most common findings cluster around the same gaps:
- Rosters of care and support plans that match delivery. The documented supports, staffing ratios, and funded rosters need to reconcile with what actually happens in each home.
- Restrictive practices documentation. Authorisations, behaviour support plan implementation records, staff training evidence, and the monthly reporting trail. Unauthorised restrictive practices are reportable incidents.
- Incident and complaints systems that workers can describe. In Stage 2 interviews, auditors ask support workers directly how they would report an incident or escalate a complaint.
- House-level risk and safety documents. Individual risk assessments, emergency and disaster plans per home, medication management records, and environmental safety checks.
- Worker compliance. NDIS Worker Screening clearances for every risk-assessed role and a training register that evidences competency for the supports each worker delivers.
How the package maps to a SIL registration
Our 220+ document package is organised around the Practice Standards, so the documents it covers are already structured the way the auditor will assess them:
| Audit scope | What the package provides |
|---|---|
| Core Module | Governance, risk management, incident management, complaints, privacy and consent, service agreements, continuous improvement, emergency and disaster management, and the registers behind each system |
| Module 2a | Behaviour support plan implementation procedures, staff training frameworks, monitoring and data collection tools, and restrictive practices documentation |
| Module 1 | Clinical governance, delegation protocols, high intensity care planning templates, medication management procedures, and competency assessment tools |
| SIL supplementary module | Not included. Prepare evidence for its four outcomes separately. |
Every document is delivered in editable Word format, so you can localise policies to each home and insert your own organisational details before the audit.
Where SIL registration stands now
The 1 October 2026 deadline for unregistered SIL providers to apply has passed. Where you stand depends on where you started:
- Already registered for SIL under 0115. The Commission varied your registration to add group 0138 and issued a new certificate. You are audited against the SIL standards at your next mid-term or renewal audit.
- Applied for registration. If you applied by 1 October 2026 you can keep delivering SIL while your application is assessed. You complete a certification audit that includes the SIL Practice Standards. If your application is refused, you must stop.
- Did not apply. The Commission's guidance is that you must stop providing SIL.
- New to SIL. You can't deliver SIL until the Commission has decided your application, so registration is on your critical path before your first participant.
The Commission's SIL transition pathways set out each situation step by step. Our SIL registration guide summarises them and lists what new entrants must do. Documentation is the part of the critical path you control. The Commission also expects your policies to reflect how you actually run your homes, so adapt every document to your own settings before your audit.
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.