1 July 2026 — 10 weeks away: Mandatory SIL registration begins. Unregistered providers must exit the market.
1 July 2028: SIL becomes a commissioned service. Participants choose only from a government-vetted list.
What actually happened on 22 April
At the National Press Club, Minister Mark Butler announced the biggest restructure of the NDIS since the scheme launched in 2013. This wasn't tweaks to pricing — it was a fundamental reshaping of how SIL services are delivered, funded, and regulated.
The headlines were about scheme size (participant numbers dropping from 760,000 to 600,000 by 2030 and growth capped at 2% for four years). But for SIL participants and the families and Support Coordinators around them, the operational changes matter far more than the headline numbers.
The changes that affect your participant
1. Mandatory SIL registration — 1 July 2026
From 1 July, every provider delivering Supported Independent Living must be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Right now, unregistered providers can legally operate SIL homes. That ends in ten weeks.
What this means practically: if your participant's current SIL provider is not registered, they will need to find a new home. The Commission has confirmed there will be no extensions. This is the most urgent item on this list.
We have been registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission since May 2024 — Provider 4050087398. We were audited, certified, and operating under the full Practice Standards before this announcement. Nothing changes for our participants on 1 July.
2. Digital evidence on every claim
The NDIA currently has no visibility of evidence for approximately 90% of NDIS claims. Providers submit a claim and get paid on the assumption that the support was delivered. That system ends.
From 1 July, all providers must enrol in a digital payment system that captures evidence at point of service. If you deliver a shift, you need a digital record of that shift — what happened, when, and how it linked to the participant's plan goals — before the claim is processed.
For families and SCs, this is actually good news. It means the shift either happened and was documented, or it didn't. No more wondering whether the 4-hour claim on Tuesday reflected four real hours of meaningful support.
3. Support budgets tighten from October 2026
Social, civic, and community participation supports begin a progressive adjustment toward an average budget of $26,000 per person from October 2026. This doesn't eliminate community participation — it means supports need to be clearly goal-directed and evidenced to justify the funding. A shift note that says "took participant to the shops" no longer holds up. A note that says "supported with community access, building independence in public transport use, aligned to Goal 3 of current plan" does.
4. New planning framework from April 2027
A Support Needs Assessment framework replaces the current planning process from April 2027 (delayed from the original July 2026 date). Budgets will be more standardised, based on assessed need rather than historical spending. For participants in SIL, this means the quality and documentation of current supports will be a key input into what their next plan looks like.
5. SIL commissioning from 2028 — the long game
This is the most significant structural change. From 1 July 2028, SIL services move to a commissioning model. Participants will only be able to choose SIL providers from a government-vetted list. Providers who are not on that list will not be eligible to deliver SIL, regardless of whether they are registered.
The criteria for making that list will be determined through a consultation process over the next 18 months. But the direction is clear: consistent, documented, outcomes-driven delivery. Providers who can demonstrate that every shift was evidenced, every incident was handled correctly, and every participant's goals actually moved — those are the providers who will still be operating in 2028.
The reform timeline
National Press Club. Mandatory registration, commissioning, digital payments, eligibility overhaul confirmed.
Unregistered SIL providers exit the market. Digital claim evidence required.
Community and social participation supports move toward $26,000 average. Evidence of goal-directed support required.
Support Needs Assessments determine budgets. More standardised, outcomes-based planning.
Only government-vetted providers can deliver SIL. The market narrows to providers who have consistently delivered and evidenced quality care.
What to ask your SIL provider right now
If you are a Support Coordinator, guardian, or family member, these are the questions to put to any current or prospective SIL provider before 1 July:
- Are you currently registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission? (Ask to see the certificate.)
- How do you evidence each shift — what system do you use?
- Can I have live visibility of my participant's goals and shift progress?
- What happens when an incident occurs — show me the process end to end.
- How are you preparing for the 2028 commissioning framework?
If the answers are vague, you have time to act. Ten weeks is enough to make a transition if you start now.
Registered since May 2024. Every shift evidenced through SILLIVE — our own SIL platform. SCs get a live portal login from day one. Incident pipeline is Commission-traceable from shift note to notification. We have been building for this regulatory environment since we opened our doors.
The honest bottom line
These reforms will reduce the number of SIL providers in Australia. That is their intent. The Commission wants a smaller, higher-quality, fully accountable SIL market. For participants and families in good hands with a strong registered provider, nothing material changes except that their options will be clearer and safer.
For participants currently in homes run by unregistered, undocumented, or low-quality providers — the next 10 weeks are important. The reforms create the pressure; you create the action.
If you want to talk through what this means for a specific participant, book a 15-minute call. No sales pitch. Just an honest conversation from someone who runs a SIL home and built the software to run it properly.
