SIL registration deadline, 1 October 2026: what happens if you miss it
Unregistered providers who were delivering supported independent living before 1 July 2026 must apply to the NDIS Commission by 1 October 2026 to keep providing SIL after that date. This page sets out what the NDIA and the Commission have published, what a plan manager does with your invoice from 1 October, and what the application asks of you.
Published 25 September 2026. Every statement below was read at its own source on that date; the numbered links take you there.
What changed on 1 July 2026
From 1 July 2026, supported independent living and NDIS digital platform providers must be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.[3] Two classes of support were added to the Provider Registration Rules for this: 0137, providing an NDIS digital platform service, and 0138, assistance with supported independent living.[3]
Claiming changed on the same day. Supports delivered before 1 July 2026 are still claimed under 0115, assistance with daily life tasks in a group or shared living arrangement. Supports delivered from 1 July 2026 are claimed under 0138 by every provider, registered, newly registered or applying.[1]
Who must apply by 1 October
The NDIA's key date reads: by 1 October 2026, unregistered providers delivering SIL before 1 July must apply for registration if they want to keep providing SIL after 1 October.[1] A provider that has applied can continue claiming under 0138 while the application is assessed.[1]
The NDIA told participants that a SIL provider must be registered or apply to register by 1 October 2026.[2]
What plan managers do with invoices from 1 October
Plan managers may only pay invoices for services delivered after 1 July 2026 if the provider is registered under 0138, or is an unregistered provider that delivered SIL before 1 July 2026 and has lodged an application under 0138.[1] From 1 October 2026, plan managers should reject invoices from SIL providers who are not registered and have not applied to register. Unregistered SIL providers who do not apply by 1 October 2026 can only claim for services up to 30 September 2026.[1]
The NDIA encourages providers, registered or applying, to include their registration or application number on invoices, and says a provider whose claim is rejected because of registration status should contact the NDIS Commission.[1]
What counts as SIL, and what does not
The Commission summarises the Provider Registration Rules this way: SIL is a package of home and living support for people with higher support needs, where the person requires support at all times of the day or for most of the day, the assistance helps them live in their home as autonomously as possible and access the community, and the provider is managing and delivering the SIL supports.[3]
It is not SIL if a person only receives a few hours of support a day or week, or chooses and manages their own support workers, including directing, planning and rostering them.[3] The Commission asks providers to refer to the Provider Registration Rules for the full definitions.[3]
What participants have been told
The NDIA's notice to participants says their plan and funding will not change; if their provider registers they need do nothing, and if their provider does not register they will need to move to a registered provider, with the NDIA's help. It asks participants to talk to their provider now and ask whether it is registered or plans to register before 1 October 2026.[2] Your participants may already have that question ready for you.
What the application asks of you
The Commission says SIL and platform providers need to meet the same standards and requirements as other registered providers: independent audits, worker screening, managing incidents and the other conditions of registration.[3] The NDIS Practice Standards carry a supplementary module for supported independent living.[4] Our guide to that module sets out what each of its standards asks a provider to show: SIL Practice Standards (Module 5A) explained, with a preparation checklist. For the audit itself, start with the Stage 1 evidence checklist and the free readiness check.
Questions providers are asking
I applied before 1 October. Can I keep claiming while the Commission assesses my application?
Yes. The NDIA states that SIL providers who have applied can continue claiming under 0138 while their application is assessed, and encourages them to include the application number on invoices.[1]
What happens if I do not apply by 1 October 2026?
The NDIA states that unregistered SIL providers who do not apply by 1 October 2026 can only claim for services up to 30 September 2026, and that from 1 October 2026 plan managers should reject invoices from SIL providers who are not registered and have not applied to register.[1]
Does this apply to a participant who chooses and rosters their own support workers?
No. The Commission's definition says it is not SIL if a person chooses and manages their own support workers, including directing, planning and rostering them, or only receives a few hours of support a day or week.[3]
Is support coordination becoming mandatory to register as well?
Not now. The Commission's reform hub says mandatory registration of support coordination has been paused while it considers further reform.[3]
What will the Commission expect of a newly registered SIL provider?
The Commission says SIL and platform providers must meet the same standards and requirements as other registered providers: independent audits, worker screening, managing incidents and the other conditions of registration.[3] The Practice Standards include a supplementary module for supported independent living.[4]
Will my participants' plans or funding change?
The NDIA told participants their plan and funding will not change, and that if a provider does not register they will need to move to a registered provider.[2]
Sources
Each numbered line is the page a statement above was taken from, with the date we opened it. Read the source before you act; we summarise, the source decides.
- SIL claims and payment changes from 1 July 2026, NDIA news, 24 June 2026, opened 25 September 2026.
- Mandatory registration for Supported Independent Living (SIL) and NDIS digital platform providers, NDIA news, 9 June 2026, opened 25 September 2026.
- Mandatory registration, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission reform hub, last updated 8 September 2026, opened 25 September 2026.
- Supplementary module: Supported independent living (SIL), NDIS Practice Standards, NDIS Commission, opened 25 September 2026.