NDIS Practice Standards and NDIS Code of Conduct

The Practice Standards: core and supplementary modules

The NDIS Practice Standards are in the schedules to the NDIS (Provider Registration and Practice Standards) Rules 2018. The core module, in Schedule 1, covers participant rights and responsibilities, governance and operational management, the provision of supports and the support provision environment. Supplementary modules apply to particular supports: high intensity daily personal activities, specialist behaviour support, implementing behaviour support plans, early childhood supports, specialised support coordination, specialist disability accommodation and, since 1 July 2026, assistance with supported independent living. A verification module applies to lower risk supports.

Which modules apply depends on the classes of supports a provider is registered for. A table in section 20 of the Rules maps each class of supports to the modules that apply and to the type of audit, either a certification audit or the lighter verification audit, carried out by an approved quality auditor. Providers whose supports involve a regulated restrictive practice must also meet the module on implementing behaviour support plans.

What changed on 1 July 2026

Amendments to the Rules that commenced on 1 July 2026 made registration mandatory for providers of assistance with supported independent living and for NDIS digital platform providers. They added Module 5A: Assistance with supported independent living, in Schedule 7A, and new requirements for providing an NDIS digital platform service. They also tightened notification rules, including for changes caused by a change of ownership, and introduced change of ownership audits for some certified providers, which must start within 3 months of the change unless the Commissioner allows longer.

The NDIS Commission is also reviewing the Practice Standards as a whole and has consulted on a discussion paper. No replacement standards had been made as at mid October 2026. Separately, the government plans to expand mandatory registration to providers of higher risk supports, such as personal care and daily living supports, from 1 July 2027, with all in-scope providers to be registered by December 2030.

The Code of Conduct

The Code is in section 6 of the NDIS (Code of Conduct) Rules 2018. In providing supports or services to people with disability, a person covered by the Code must act with respect for individual rights to freedom of expression, self-determination and decision-making, respect privacy, provide supports in a safe and competent manner with care and skill, act with integrity, honesty and transparency, promptly raise and act on concerns about quality and safety, and take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation, neglect, abuse and sexual misconduct.

An amendment that commenced in December 2023 extended the Code to key personnel, such as directors, and added a requirement not to charge participants more than other people for the same or substantially the same goods without a reasonable justification. NDIS Commission guidance presents this as an eighth element on unfair pricing. The Code applies to registered and unregistered providers, NDIS community partners, key personnel and every person employed or otherwise engaged by a provider.

How the Commission enforces them

Registered providers must meet the applicable Practice Standards as a condition of registration and are assessed against them by an approved quality auditor. Anyone can raise a concern about a provider or worker by making a complaint to the NDIS Commission. For less serious breaches the Commission may use education, warnings and directions. For serious breaches it can issue compliance notices, seek civil penalties in court, revoke a provider's registration, or ban a provider, key personnel or a worker from the sector, and it may publish the outcome on its website.

Using the standards in practice

For a worker, the Code is the day-to-day test: work within your training, respect the participant's choices and privacy, and report concerns promptly. For a provider, the Practice Standards turn that into systems, such as risk management, incident management, complaints handling, worker screening and training records. If you are unsure whether something breaches the Code, talk to your supervisor first. Serious concerns about abuse, neglect or a provider's conduct can be reported directly to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

Questions people ask about the NDIS Practice Standards and NDIS Code of Conduct

• Does the NDIS Code of Conduct apply to unregistered providers and sole traders?
• Which Practice Standards modules apply to my registration groups?
• What is in the new supported independent living module?
• Can a worker be banned for breaching the Code of Conduct?
• What is the difference between a certification audit and a verification audit?
• Is it a breach of the Code to charge participants more than other customers?