NDIS Commission Enforcement Powers: What Changed in 2026

This is general information, not legal advice. Read our disclaimer. If you face a specific situation, such as a compliance notice, an investigation or a question about whether you need to be registered, get legal advice.

Which laws have passed

The changes sit within the wider reform direction in our guide to mandatory NDIS registration in 2027. Two Acts amend the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013:

Dates come from the commencement tables in each Act. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's page on the 2026 amendments and the NDIA's integrity and safeguarding page summarise the first Act.

New and higher penalties

The Integrity and Safeguarding Act introduced the idea of a serious contravention: conduct that involves a significant failure, or is part of a systematic pattern of conduct. Higher civil penalties apply to serious contraventions by providers. Under the Act text:

• Providing supports without registration. Where the NDIS rules require registration for a support, providing it unregistered, or holding yourself out as able to, is an offence with a maximum of 2 years' imprisonment or 120 penalty units, or both. There is also a strict liability offence and a civil penalty of 250 penalty units, or 10,000 for a serious contravention by a provider.
• Code of Conduct, conditions of registration and false information in an application. Civil penalties rise to 10,000 penalty units for a serious contravention by a provider, and stay lower in other cases.
• False or misleading information or documents given to the Commission is a new civil penalty, and failing to give information the Commissioner requires is another.

The Government's news release, linked below, described some maximums differently, including 5 years for the registration offence. Where the sources differ, the Act is the authority. We do not convert penalty units to dollars, because the value of a penalty unit is set separately.

Banning orders and anti-promotion orders

• Breaching a banning order is now an offence, with a maximum of 5 years' imprisonment or 300 penalty units, or both, and a strict liability offence of 150 penalty units.
• Banning orders can reach more people. The Department's overview says they can now be made against more types of workers and employers, including consultants and auditors.
• Anti-promotion orders are a new power. The Commissioner can prohibit or restrict a person from conduct, such as promoting or advertising supports, that the NDIS rules prescribe, after the Minister is satisfied it undermines the objects of the Act. An order generally takes effect at least 7 days after it is given, or sooner if needed to protect a person with disability.

Information gathering and evidence

The Commission can require information from providers in a shorter time than the previous 14 days in certain circumstances, and registered providers must now give documents as well as information. A certificate signed by the Commissioner can be used as evidence in court, and is treated as correct unless argued otherwise. The whistleblower rules also changed: more people can make a protected disclosure, disclosures can be anonymous, and they no longer need to be made in good faith. The source is the Department's overview of the Act.

Changes from the Securing the NDIS Act

• Record keeping. Providers must keep records relating to claims and the supports claimed for 7 years, in the kinds prescribed by the NDIS rules, with a civil penalty for failing to do so.
• A ban on inducements, from 20 November 2026. Providers must not give a gift, benefit or other thing that is reasonably likely to induce someone to engage them, with exceptions including legitimate pricing practices and the provider's own merchandise.
• Faster claims. The time to make a claim is reduced from 2 years to 90 days from 1 December 2026.

What it means for a small provider

This is our reading, not legal advice:

• Be accurate in your application and every document you give the Commission. False or misleading information now carries its own penalties.
• Check whether the supports you deliver need registration. Our registration pathway checker flags the groups the Commission says must be registered.
• Respond to information requests quickly and keep copies of what you send.
• Keep claim records for 7 years, and keep your audit evidence in good order.
• Write down how you decide on gifts and referral arrangements. See our page on the conflict of interest policy.
• Make sure your documents describe what you really do. Our guide to adapting policy templates covers false or misleading information in applications.

Confirmed so far

• Both Acts have passed, with the Royal Assent and commencement dates in the table above.
• The Commission's new penalties, offences, banning and anti-promotion powers have been in force since 9 April 2026.
• The ban on inducements starts on 20 November 2026 and shorter claim times on 1 December 2026.

Still to be decided

• The NDIS rules that define regulated promotional conduct, the records providers must keep, and legitimate pricing practices.
• How the Commission will use its powers in practice, which we cannot predict.
• Which supports will need registration under the 2027 expansion.

The Government announced the first Act on 1 April 2026 in a news release. Our package of 220+ editable Word documents does not give legal advice and does not guarantee compliance.

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.