Why there is a review
This guide sits alongside our explainer on mandatory NDIS registration in 2027. As registration widens, the standards providers are audited against matter to more of them. The NDIS Commission's Practice Standards reform page says it is progressing two projects: the new SIL Practice Standards, and the NDIS Practice Standards review. The discussion paper notes that the current Practice Standards have not had a comprehensive review since they began in 2018.
Why it matters for your audits
The discussion paper describes the Practice Standards as a statutory tool that creates obligations providers must meet to become and remain registered. Approved quality auditors assess your conformance against them, so any change to their structure would change what your self-assessment and audit evidence need to address. That is why the review matters even though nothing has changed yet. If you are preparing an application now, you are assessed against the current standards. Our guides to the self-assessment and the audit checklist are written for the current Core Module and supplementary modules.
What the Commission consulted on
The Commission ran a national consultation and published a discussion paper in October 2025. Submissions closed on 14 November 2025. It asked for feedback on three areas:
- Reviewing and revising the Practice Standards, including a revised structure.
- A new quality framework, which would bring together the standards, how they are assessed, and how quality is monitored and communicated.
- Guidance material that shows more clearly what good practice looks like.
The paper says the consultation was to understand the direction and scope of possible changes, rather than a new set of Practice Standards to be put in place after the consultation.
The proposed structure
Today the standards are a Verification Module, a Core Module and supplementary modules, each with outcomes and quality indicators. The discussion paper put forward these changes for feedback:
- Four Core Practice Domains to replace the Core Module: individual rights, provider leadership, safe support practice, and effective and impactful supports. Provider leadership, for example, would cover governance, workforce management, incident management, feedback and complaints, service agreements and emergency management.
- Supplementary quality standards to replace the supplementary modules, still applying only to providers who deliver those supports. The paper gives medication management, meal assistance, specialist behaviour support and early childhood as examples.
- A changed Verification Module. The review is considering updating it, or replacing it with specific conditions of registration and guidance.
- A different format for each standard, with a description, outcome statements written from the view of participants, workers and providers, reflective questions, and requirements.
The paper also floats parts of a quality framework: guiding principles, evidence categories, a quality assessment at registration and then every three years, an annual self-reflection by providers, targeted assessments and published performance information. These are ideas for discussion, not decisions.
How it fed into the SIL Practice Standards
The Commission says information from the consultation supported the development of the SIL Practice Standards, including Expectation Statements that show the views of participants, workers and providers, and guidance on what good looks like. It developed those standards with Inclusion Australia and tested the Supported Decision Making standard alongside the Core Module in real audits in February and March 2026. SIL providers have had to follow them since 1 July 2026. Our guide to SIL provider registration explains what applies now.
Confirmed so far
- The consultation took place, and its discussion paper is published.
- The Commission is considering the feedback to inform the next steps of the review.
- New SIL Practice Standards have applied since 1 July 2026.
- The current Core Module, supplementary modules and Verification Module still apply to audits.
Still to be decided
- Whether the Core Module is replaced by Core Practice Domains, and in what form.
- Whether a new quality framework is introduced, and what assessment approach it uses.
- What happens to the Verification Module.
- When any new standards would start, and what transition period would apply. We found no published dates, so we do not guess.
What providers should do with their documents today
- Keep meeting the current standards. Auditors assess you against the modules in your Initial scope of audit today, so your documents must match them. See our guide to the NDIS Practice Standards.
- Keep your documents true to your practice. A document that describes what you really do is easy to update. Our guide to adapting policy templates shows how.
- Keep good records and a live improvement register. Whatever the structure becomes, evidence of how your system works will still be what auditors look for.
- Watch for a transition period. The Commission has not published a start date or a transition period for any new standards. Follow its reform hub for updates.
Our package of 220+ editable Word documents covers the Core Module and Modules 1 to 5 as they stand today. It does not include documents written for the SIL supplementary module.
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.