Message from the Commissioners 

Welcome to the July edition of our Provider Newsletter.  

This month, we published our regulatory priorities for 2025–26. Each year, we set regulatory priorities based on areas of greatest risk for people with disability and the NDIS. The regulatory priorities signal to the market our areas of focus, and we will promote how we are responding to them over the course of the year. Read on to learn more about our key priorities for the coming year.  

Our Consultative Committee and Provider Advisory Group are wrapping up their 2-year terms next month. We’d like to warmly thank all members for the valuable contributions they have made to the NDIS Commission. We are refreshing the structure of our consultative groups moving forward and will be sharing more information about how you can get involved shortly.

In this month’s newsletter you will find information on: 

• Our regulatory priorities for 2025–26 
• Development of new SIL Practice Standards 
• Progress of our new risk-based prioritisation model 
• Easy Read version of the Quality Support for Children resource 
• Information resource – myth busting on the difference between the NDIS Commission and the NDIA.

Louise Glanville and Natalie Wade
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner and Associate Commissioner  

Our regulatory priorities for 2025-26: What providers need to know

We have now published our regulatory priorities for 2025–26, which are based on areas of greatest risk for people with disability and the NDIS. 

These priorities were developed through consultation, insights into market conditions and themes of complaints, and findings from the Disability Royal Commission and the NDIS Review. 

The key areas we will focus on for the year ahead are: 

The reduction and elimination of regulated restrictive practices 

We will continue to focus on eliminating unnecessary use of restrictive practices and supporting providers to adopt positive behaviour support approaches. 

Strengthened oversight and regulation of unregistered NDIS providers and sole traders 

We will have a greater focus on regulating unregistered providers and sole traders to improve the quality of NDIS supports and services, noting that all providers – registered and unregistered – must comply with the NDIS Code of Conduct. 

Provider obligations to support participants to proactively identify and manage high-risk health concerns 

We will focus on ensuring providers fulfil their responsibility to support participants to identify and manage high-risk health concerns. This may include mealtime management, wound management and facilitating timely access to health services.  

Provider obligations to support, train and monitor appropriately skilled and capable workers 

We will ensure providers are meeting expectations to ensure staff are properly trained, supervised and supported to do their jobs with care and skill, and have proper systems in place to enable this. 

To learn more, visit Our regulatory priorities on our website. 

Development of new SIL Practice Standards:
Co-designed for safer, rights-based, participant-centred support 

Work is well underway on developing new Practice Standards for Supported Independent Living (SIL), with the aim of strengthening quality, safety, and rights-based support in shared accommodation and daily living environments. 

This work began in 2023 and has continued throughout 2024–25. It is informed by consultation with participants, providers, advocates, auditors and experts, as well as recommendations from the NDIS Review, the Disability Royal Commission, and the NDIS Provider and Worker Registration Taskforce. 

The new Practice Standards will improve how SIL supports are delivered by focusing on participant-centred practice, human rights and worker capability. They will introduce clearer training requirements for support workers and changes to how SIL audits are conducted. 

We’ve partnered with Inclusion Australia to co-design these new Practice Standards with people with disability. The voices of SIL participants are central to this process, ensuring future supports are respectful, dignified, and grounded in choice and privacy. 

Providers will play a key role in implementing these changes. The new Practice Standards aim to support safe, high-quality and accountable SIL services across the sector. 

To learn more, review the Regulation for In-Home and Housing Supports Insights Report (December 2024) available on our website. 

Progress on our new risk-based approach to complaints and incidents 

As shared in our May and June newsletters, we are transitioning to a risk-based prioritisation model to help us assess and respond more quickly and effectively to complaints, reportable incidents and other enquiries we receive. 

This new risk-responsive model guides how we assess and act on complaints and incidents based on urgency, seriousness and complexity. Where appropriate, we will take direct regulatory action, while in other cases, we may ask providers to respond to concerns through their own complaints processes. This will ensure our resources are directed to the matters of highest priority and that we are safeguarding participants as quickly as possible.   

You can learn more about this approach in our updated Complaints Policy, now available on our website. 

Quality Support for Children booklet – now in Easy Read format  

The Quality Support for Children resource is a joint initiative of the NDIS Commission and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and was developed as a tool to assist parents and guardians of children with disability who are receiving early childhood intervention, therapy supports or behaviour support. 

It is also a helpful guide for providers delivering NDIS supports and services to children. 

The Easy Read version of the ‘Quality Support for Children’ booklet offers clear and straightforward guidance on: 

• What quality support looks like 
• What’s not acceptable 
• What questions parents should ask when choosing a provider for their child. 

Access the guide at Quality supports for children. 

Did you know? The NDIS Commission is a separate entity to the NDIA 

We know there is still confusion among some providers, workers, participants and the broader community about what the NDIS Commission can assist with and what the NDIA is responsible for. 

The NDIS Commission is an independent Australian Government regulator. We regulate the quality and safety of NDIS supports and services, including the registration of providers.  

The NDIA manages NDIS plans, payments and eligibility for, and access to, the Scheme. The NDIA also detects and investigates allegations of NDIS fraud. 

We have developed an easy-to-understand social media graphic to help clarify the difference between the NDIS Commission and the NDIA, and to explain how the NDIS (the Scheme itself) fits in. 

Find it on our LinkedIn page, and please follow us there and on Facebook for regular updates and links to information and resources. 

Key resources to help you  

Our website has a range of key resources to support you in delivering safe and quality services and complying with your registration.

Find the links here:

• Provider registration
• Worker resources  
• NDIS Code of Conduct 
• Worker screening  
• NDIS Practice Standards 
• Reportable incidents 
• Incident management 
• Workforce Capability Framework 

Resources for Behaviour Support Practitioners 

• Understanding behaviour support and restrictive practices - for providers
• Rules for behaviour support and restrictive practices

Stay in touch with the NDIS Commission on social media:

General Enquiries

1800 035 544 (free call from landlines)

Our contact centre is open Monday to Friday 9am - 5:30pm AEST, excluding public holidays.

To provide feedback, contact the NDIS Commission by emailing 
contactcentre@ndiscommission.gov.au.
 

Thanks for reading!

You can find past issues of the NDIS Commission provider newsletter on our website.