28/08/2026
🚨 NEW NDIS CHANGES ARE NOW IN EFFECT HERE’S WHAT PARTICIPANTS, FAMILIES NEED TO KNOW when using private unregistered support workers
From 27 August 2026, the first changes under the new NDIS legislation have come into effect.
We covered the changes to plan reassessments in our previous post, so this update focuses on some of the other important changes particularly record keeping, compliance, information-gathering powers, unregistered providers, pricing and automated decision-making.
These changes matter to anyone receiving, managing, delivering or claiming NDIS-funded supports, registered or not 🛑
🔹 NEW RECORD-KEEPING REQUIREMENTS “coming into effect from 1 October 2026.”
Record keeping across the NDIS is becoming increasingly important.
Relevant records may need to be retained for:
Participants — 3 years
Nominees — 5 years
Providers — 7 years
Further NDIS rules and guidance will provide more detail about exactly what records need to be kept.
For participants and families, now is the time to start making sure your NDIS documentation is organised.
Keep copies of:
• Service agreements.
• Provider, contractor invoices, time sheets.
• Reports and assessments.
• Important NDIA correspondence
• Evidence relating to supports invoices from your plan, how they relate to the participants goals.
• Records relating to significant decisions about your funding and supports
🔹 STRONGER NDIA COMPLIANCE & INFORMATION-GATHERING POWERS
The NDIA now has stronger powers to request information and investigate the use of NDIS funding.
Participants and providers may be required to provide information and evidence relating to supports, expenditure and claims.
This means everyone involved with NDIS funding needs to be able to demonstrate:
What was provided.
Who provided it.
When it was provided.
What was claimed.
And why that claim was appropriate.
The days of simply submitting an invoice without being able to substantiate the support behind it are increasingly coming to an end.
🔹 UNREGISTERED DOES NOT MEAN UNREGULATED
This is something every participant and family using an unregistered provider or independent ABN worker needs to understand.
Being unregistered does not mean someone is exempt from their responsibilities when delivering NDIS-funded supports.
Unregistered providers and workers are still subject to applicable NDIS obligations, including the NDIS Code of Conduct.
They still need to deliver supports safely and competently, respect participant rights, choice and control, and maintain appropriate evidence of the services they are delivering and claiming.
Being unregistered is not a free pass to operate without governance, documentation or accountability.
Appropriate governance and record keeping should include, where relevant:
✔️ Clear agreements about the supports being provided.
✔️ Accurate case notes and service records.
✔️ Rosters and timesheets.
✔️ Invoices that accurately reflect the support actually delivered.
✔️ Worker qualifications and training records.
✔️ Competency records relevant to the supports workers are providing.
✔️ Appropriate policies and procedures.
✔️ Incident reporting and management processes.
✔️ Risk assessments and escalation processes.
✔️ Evidence of participant choice and control.
✔️ Records capable of substantiating claims made against an NDIS plan
⚠️ ANYONE INVOICING NDIS-FUNDED SUPPORTS NEEDS TO BE PREPARED TO SUBSTANTIATE THEIR CLAIMS
With stronger compliance and information-gathering powers, providers should expect greater scrutiny of NDIS claims.
If information is requested, providers may need to demonstrate that a claimed support was actually delivered and appropriately charged.
For families using independent ABN workers or unregistered providers, this is really important.
Ask yourself:
If the NDIA or NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission asked questions tomorrow, could your provider demonstrate what support was delivered, who delivered it, what was charged, and whether the worker had the appropriate training and competency to safely provide that support?
If your child or family member receives complex supports — such as medication assistance, enteral feeding, respiratory supports, manual handling or other higher-risk care knowing that workers have been appropriately trained and assessed as competent becomes even more important.
“They have an ABN” is not evidence of competency or compliance.
🔹 PARTICIPANTS ALSO NEED TO PROTECT THEIR FUNDING
Participants have every right to exercise choice and control over who provides their supports.
But families should also understand what is being charged to their NDIS plan.
Check your invoices.
Check the hours.
Check the support item being claimed.
Make sure the support being invoiced is the support that was actually delivered.
If something doesn’t look right, ask questions.
Inappropriate, inaccurate or unsupported claiming can have serious consequences for providers but it can also create problems for the participant whose funding was used.
Your NDIS plan is your funding. Know where it is going.
🔹 CHANGES TO NDIS PRICING POWERS
The legislation also introduces additional powers relating to NDIS pricing.
The Minister responsible for the NDIS and the NDIA now have additional mechanisms relating to pricing determinations.
Importantly, the NDIA has advised there are no immediate changes to current NDIS pricing as a result of these provisions.
However, pricing is absolutely an area participants and providers should continue watching.
🔹 MORE AUTOMATED ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
Computer systems can now be used for some administrative NDIS actions, including aspects of claims and payment processing.
The NDIA has stated that safeguards and oversight will apply and that information about where automated systems are being used must be published.
For participants and providers, this makes accurate claiming and documentation even more important.
As systems become increasingly automated, discrepancies between invoices, claims, service records and the supports actually delivered may become much easier to identify.
💗 WHAT SHOULD PARTICIPANTS & FAMILIES DO NOW?
Don’t be frightened by the changes be informed and prepared.
✔️ Keep your NDIS records organised.
✔️ Keep reports, assessments and important correspondence.
✔️ Keep copies of service agreements and invoices.
✔️ Regularly check what is being claimed from your plan.
✔️ Make sure invoices reflect the supports actually received.
✔️ Ask providers about worker qualifications, training and competency.
✔️ Make sure complex supports are being delivered by appropriately trained workers.
✔️ Ask unregistered providers what governance and record-keeping systems they have in place.
✔️ Keep important conversations and decisions documented
The NDIS is moving into a period of significantly greater evidence, accountability and compliance.
Registration is not the only measure of compliance.
Unregistered does not mean unregulated.
Unregistered does not mean unaccountable.
Participants should continue to have choice and control, but families also need to know that the providers they choose can demonstrate that supports are safe, appropriate, properly documented and legitimately claimed.
At Kalon Meraki & Ability at Disability, we have been updating the families we support about the changes and wanted to share this information more broadly.
There is a lot changing across the NDIS, and our focus is helping participants and families understand those changes before they impact their supports or funding.
The legislation has passed.
We will help you understand what it means in practice and make sure participants remain protected as the new NDIS framework continues to roll out.
🎓 NEED ACCESS TO ONLINE TRAINING FOR YOUR SUPPORT WORKERS?
Making sure your workforce has access to appropriate, up-to-date training is an important part of demonstrating safe and competent service delivery.
Talk to us today. We have a comprehensive online training platform available for providers and independent support teams, including all High Intensity Support Skills modules and Module 1 training programs, with training packages starting from just $140 per month.
Build your workforce training records, support ongoing competency and make sure your team has access to the education they need to provide safe, quality supports.
