NDIS registration renewal

Summary

You can start renewing any time in the 6 months before your registration expires. If you start before the expiry date, your current registration stays valid until the Commission decides.
If you start after the expiry date, your registration has lapsed. You then need a new application and audit.
Renewal has the same steps as your first application: eligibility, worker screening checks, a self-assessment, an audit by an approved quality auditor, a Commission review and a decision.
Since 12 October 2026, new renewals start in the new NDIS Commission Portal.
The Commission does not charge to register. You pay your auditor, and the Commission does not set audit prices.

When to start

Registration is generally for 3 years. The renewal window opens 6 months before your expiry date and your Certificate of Registration shows that date.

Start before expiry. Your registration stays valid while the Commission considers your application.
Start after expiry. Your registration has lapsed and you have no valid registration during the application.
Same ABN. A lapsed registration is tied to the ABN on your first application. If you still have that ABN, you apply through re-registration.
New ABN. If your business structure changed and you now have a new ABN, the Commission treats it as a new application.

The audit takes time to book and complete, so most providers will want to engage an auditor early in the 6-month window.

The steps

Check you are eligible. You need an ABN and you must be able to show, with evidence, that you can deliver the supports you apply for.
Check your workers have been screened. See the section on people below.
Complete a self-assessment against the NDIS Practice Standards that apply to your registration groups, and answer the suitability questions.
Get an audit from an approved quality auditor of your choice. You can use a different auditor from last time.
The Commission reviews your application and the audit report.
You get a decision. Successful applicants receive a certificate of registration.

Your renewal can cover the same supports as before, or you can add or remove registration groups. Changing groups can change the type of audit you need.

Which portal to use

From 12 October 2026, start all re-registrations in the new NDIS Commission Portal. If you started or submitted a renewal in the existing portal before that date, finish it there. Worker screening for registered providers also moved to the new portal on 12 October 2026. The NDIS Worker Screening Database itself did not move.

The audit

Your Commission paperwork tells you which audit you need. In general:

Audit	Who it is for	How it works
Verification	Providers who only deliver lower risk or lower complexity supports	A desktop review of documents by the auditor. Report due to the Commission within 14 days of completion.
Certification	Providers who deliver one or more higher risk or more complex supports	Two stages. Stage 1 is a desktop audit, usually off-site. Stage 2 is onsite and looks at how you apply your policies and procedures. Stage 2 should happen within 3 months of Stage 1. Report due within 28 days.
Mid-term	Providers who first completed a certification audit for higher risk or more complex supports	Done 18 months into the registration period. Covers governance and operational management standards, any standard that needed a corrective action plan, and any extra standards the Commission requires. Report due within 28 days.
Condition	Providers the Commission requires to complete one	Can be imposed during registration, for example after a provisional certification audit or where minor non-conformities are outstanding.
Out of cycle	Providers applying to change the supports they deliver	May be needed during the registration period.

Mid-term audits do not apply to some providers, including those registered only for specialist disability accommodation. Check the Commission’s audit page for the full list.

Audit findings are recorded as non-conformities, either major or minor. If your auditor raises one, give them the information or plan they ask for promptly.

People: key personnel and worker screening

You must give the Commission details of all your key personnel. This includes the CEO, executives, managers and board members.
All key personnel need a valid NDIS worker screening clearance.
Workers in risk-assessed roles need a clearance too.
A screening check is valid for up to 5 years unless it is cancelled or revoked. A worker can apply to renew up to 90 days before the check expires.
Screening is done through the state or territory worker screening unit. The result is recorded in the NDIS Worker Screening Database, and you can confirm a worker’s status there using their screening number.
If any of your workers are on temporary visas, you need to confirm their work rights and make sure their terms of employment match their visa conditions. The Department of Home Affairs VEVO service can be used to check this.

Before you start, it helps to list every key personnel member and every risk-assessed worker, with each clearance expiry date. Any clearance expiring during your application period is worth fixing first.

Evidence to have ready

The Commission says your application must show you can deliver the supports you apply for, with evidence, and the Stage 2 audit looks at how you actually apply your policies. The Commission publishes the standards and the audit scope, but not a single checklist of records. The list below is our practical reading of what sits behind those requirements. It is not an official checklist.

Policies and procedures for the standards that apply to your registration groups, with a record of who approved them and when
Incident register and evidence that incidents were assessed and reported on time
Complaints register and evidence of how complaints were handled
Risk register and the process you use to keep it current
Records of worker screening clearances, qualifications, training and expiry dates
Records that staff have read and understood policy changes
Roles and responsibilities, so each key task has a named owner
Participant service agreements, consent records and support plans
Internal audit results and corrective actions, with dates closed
If an earlier audit raised non-conformities, proof that each one was fixed

The common thread is a record you can produce on the day: what happened, who decided, and when.

If you deliver supported independent living (SIL)

From 1 July 2026, some SIL providers must be registered. The Commission has added a registration group, 0138 Assistance with supported independent living. Registered SIL providers need certification audits, must meet the core module of the Practice Standards and a new SIL supplementary module, and must meet all other conditions of registration.

Unregistered providers who were already delivering SIL had until 1 October 2026 to apply. Delivering SIL without registration may breach the NDIS Act. The maximum penalty is 2 years’ imprisonment, a fine of 120 penalty units, or both. The Commission describes its SIL definition as based on draft amendments to the Provider Registration Rules, so read its SIL page for the current wording.

What it costs

The Commission does not charge to register or renew.
You pay your approved quality auditor. Audit costs depend on your size and how many participants you support. The Commission does not set the price.
The Commission recommends getting more than one quote. Use the Initial Scope of Audit document when you ask for one.

We have not published audit price ranges because the only figures we found come from third-party sites, not the Commission.

A simple timeline

6 months before expiry: the window opens. Confirm your expiry date, registration groups and which audit applies.
Soon after: request quotes from approved quality auditors and book one.
Next: check key personnel and worker screening, and fix anything expiring.
Then: start the application in the NDIS Commission Portal and complete the self-assessment.
Audit: complete it and make sure your auditor lodges the report by the deadline.
After the decision: note the new expiry date, and your mid-term audit date if it applies.

What this page does not cover

Insurance. We did not find an insurance requirement on the Commission pages we read. We have not read every registration condition in the NDIS Act, so check the conditions on your own certificate and ask your auditor.
Audit prices. We give no figures. Get quotes.
Your own registration groups. Which audit and which standards apply depends on them. Your Commission paperwork is the authority.
Legal advice. This is general information only.
Changes. The Commission updates its pages. The portal and SIL rules changed during 2026.

Sources

All requirements above come from the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, read on 6 November 2026:

The evidence list is our own summary, not a Commission document. Content © Commonwealth of Australia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 unless stated otherwise (see the Commission’s copyright and disclaimer page). Our summary has not been reviewed or endorsed by the Commission.

Written by Applysmarts Team. Last checked against the Commission’s pages on 6 November 2026. Not independently reviewed.

NDIS registration renewal: what you need and when.