Compliance Audits

The NDIS conducts regular compliance audits of disability service-providers - depending on the Supports they offer - on an annual or three-yearly basis. Renewal notices are currently being sent to providers that were granted NDIS status prior to the Quality and Safeguarding legislation.

Audits are designed to ensure providers are complying with the NDIS Terms of Business, which includes meeting the standards of the Quality and Safeguarding Framework.

Providers offering services that are complex and with higher risks associated with delivery must undertake Certification every three years. This entails a full review of documentation and practice standards by an independent auditor and interviews of staff. There can also be site visits to places where services are being delivered.

Service providers who are under a sole trader or partnership structure registering for a combination of Early Intervention Supports for Early Childhood and Therapeutic Supports only need to be audited against the Early Childhood Module rather than all of the Core modules.

Compliance for lower-risk services is called Verification, conducted annually to ensure the business’s required documentation and processes are up-to-date and in place.

Certification auditing costs are generally higher than Verification. However, the following are now exempt from surveillance audits (effectively only audited every 3 years):

  • Module 5 (Specialist Disability Accommodation) only providers

  • Sole traders and partnerships registered under Module 3 (Early Childhood Supports)

  • Providers who provide low risk (verification) supports

Providers falling into those categories will be subject to lower overall auditing costs due to the lower frequency of checks.

From 1 January 2020, providers who qualify for a Certification Audit assessment are eligible for a mid-term audit.

The mid-term audit will commence no later than 18 months after the beginning of their period of registration.

This does not apply to:

  • Sole traders and partnerships

  • Providers registered for only Module 3 (Early Childhood Supports) or Module 5 (Specialist Disability Accommodation)

  • transitioned providers.