NDIS Home and Living Supports: Registration Requirements for Providers (2026 Guide)

What are Home and Living Supports in the NDIS?

Home and living supports are the NDIS support types that help participants live in and maintain their home environment — whether that is their own private home, a shared living arrangement, or specialist disability accommodation. These supports sit primarily within the NDIS Core Supports budget under the Assistance with Daily Life and Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation support categories.

The term "home and living supports" covers a broad spectrum, from a support worker who visits for two hours each morning to assist with personal care, through to a 24/7 staffed Supported Independent Living house where participants receive round-the-clock support. The regulatory requirements escalate significantly as the intensity and setting of support increases.

Under the NDIS Act 2013 and the NDIS (Provider Registration and Practice Standards) Rules 2018, providers delivering home and living supports must be registered for the relevant registration groups. The registration requirements are not optional — delivering NDIS-funded home and living supports without registration is a breach of the Act that carries serious consequences.

Key Registration Groups for Home and Living Providers

Most small home and living providers will need Registration Group 0104 at minimum. If they provide overnight or continuous support in a shared living setting, they will also need Registration Group 0115 (SIL). If they operate a dedicated respite house, they will need Registration Group 0116.

The SIL Registration Requirement: Why 1 July 2026 Matters

The single most important regulatory development for home and living providers in 2026 is the mandatory SIL registration deadline. Effective 1 July 2026, all providers delivering Supported Independent Living supports to NDIS participants must be registered with the NDIS Commission under Registration Group 0115.

This deadline was introduced because the NDIS Commission identified a significant cohort of providers who had been operating SIL-like arrangements informally — running group homes, providing overnight support workers, or operating shared living arrangements — without being registered as NDIS providers. These unregistered arrangements carried serious risks to participants because they operated outside the regulatory framework designed to protect participant safety and wellbeing.

The practical implications of the deadline:

• Any provider currently delivering SIL supports who is not registered must be registered by 30 June 2026
• There is no grandfathering — providers who have been operating unregistered for years face the same requirement
• After 1 July 2026, NDIS participants cannot use SIL funding to pay an unregistered provider
• Providers who continue operating unregistered after this date face enforcement action under the NDIS Act 2013

SIL registration requires a certification audit, which takes 3–6 months from preparation to approval. Providers who have not yet started the process must act immediately. The SIL Rescue Kit provides the 65 audit-ready policy documents needed to satisfy the Core Module requirements of a certification audit — the essential foundation of any SIL registration application.

Supported Residential Services (SRS) vs NDIS SIL

Supported Residential Services (SRS) is a state-regulated category of residential accommodation for adults with disability. SRS facilities are typically older-style group living arrangements that predate the NDIS and were funded under state disability services systems. The NDIS has not replaced SRS — SRS continues to operate under state legislation — but the introduction of the NDIS has created an overlap that requires careful navigation.

The key distinctions between SRS and SIL are:

SRS operators who have NDIS participants residing in their facilities are in a dual-regulation environment. They must comply with both the state SRS legislation and, for the NDIS-funded components of their service, the NDIS Act and Practice Standards. This means SRS operators who have not yet obtained NDIS registration need to do so urgently if any of their residents are NDIS participants receiving SIL funding.

In-Home Respite vs Out-of-Home Respite (Short Term Accommodation)

Respite supports — supports that give carers a break from their caring role — fall into two main types in the NDIS, with different registration requirements:

In-Home Respite

In-home respite involves a support worker coming to the participant's home to provide supports while their usual carer takes a break. This is typically funded from the participant's Core Supports budget and falls under Registration Group 0104 (Assistance with Daily Life). The registration requirements are the same as for standard in-home personal care.

Short Term Accommodation (STA) / Respite

Short Term Accommodation (formerly known as out-of-home respite or overnight respite) involves the participant temporarily staying in a dedicated respite facility or host family arrangement away from their usual home. STA is a specific NDIS support type with its own line item and funding rules. It is funded separately from Core Supports and SIL.

STA providers who offer group-based respite (multiple participants staying at a dedicated facility) must be registered under Registration Group 0116 and typically also under 0104. A certification audit is required. Providers offering STA to participants who have complex health needs may also need the High Intensity Daily Activities module if they are delivering high intensity supports during the STA.

Shared Living Supports: Regulatory Requirements

Shared living arrangements — commonly called group homes — involve multiple NDIS participants living together in a house or apartment with shared support workers. These arrangements are among the most regulated in the NDIS, for good reason: they involve participants living in environments where power imbalances are significant and where the risk of abuse, neglect, and exploitation is historically elevated.

The NDIS Commission has made quality in group home settings a priority focus. Key regulatory requirements for shared living providers include:

• SIL registration: Required by 1 July 2026. No exceptions.
• Safe Environment Policy: Specifically addressing the shared living context — including house rules, privacy arrangements, and management of conflict between housemates
• Individual Support Plans: Each resident must have an individual support plan — not a group plan. Plans must reflect the individual's goals, preferences, and support needs, even in a shared setting
• Behaviour Support: Where any resident has a behaviour support plan involving regulated restrictive practices, the Behaviour Support module requirements apply to the whole household management approach
• Incident Management: Incidents involving housemate conflicts, including physical altercations, are notifiable incidents that must be reported to the NDIS Commission
• Staffing and supervision: Workers in overnight, sleepover, or 24/7 roles must receive adequate supervision and have their competencies regularly assessed

Key Policies for Home and Living Providers

Home and living providers require a comprehensive policy suite that addresses both the Core Module requirements and the specific risks associated with residential care settings. The most critical policies include:

• Safe Environment Policy (covers home safety, access restrictions, communal living arrangements)
• Medication Management Policy (particularly important where workers administer medications)
• Restrictive Practices Policy (if regulated restrictive practices are used by any resident)
• Incident Management Policy (must address both participant and worker incidents)
• Participant Money and Property Policy (critical in residential settings where participants have valuables and finances at risk)
• Person-Centred Support Policy (must address how individual choice and control is maintained in shared settings)
• Safeguarding Policy (covering prevention of abuse, neglect, exploitation, violence — VANED)
• Infection Control Policy (particularly important in shared accommodation)
• Emergency and Evacuation Policy (specific to each house, with evacuation plans)
• Worker Screening Policy

All of these policies — and the supporting forms, registers, and documentation templates — are included in the SIL Rescue Kit. The Kit provides 65 audit-ready documents specifically mapped to the NDIS Practice Standards Core Module requirements for SIL and home and living providers.

Documentation Specific to Residential Care Settings

Residential care settings generate a specific documentation burden that in-home or community access providers do not face. The key documentation requirements specific to residential settings include:

House-Level Documentation

• House Safety Inspection Checklist: Regular (at least quarterly) documented safety inspections of the property
• Emergency Evacuation Plan: A specific plan for each house, listing all residents, their mobility and support needs, and the evacuation route and assembly point
• Medication Administration Records (MAR): A current MAR for each resident who receives medications, recording each administration
• House Communication Book / Handover Records: A record of shift handovers documenting any significant events or follow-up items

Resident-Level Documentation

• Individual Support Plan: A documented plan for each resident, linked to their NDIS plan goals
• Participant Money Register: A record of each resident's petty cash or personal funds managed by the provider
• Progress Notes: Shift notes for each resident documenting the supports delivered and the resident's engagement and wellbeing. The free Notes Rewriter tool can help workers write compliant, detailed shift notes quickly.
• Service Agreement: A current signed service agreement for each resident

Transitioning from SRS to NDIS Registration

SRS operators who need to obtain NDIS registration for their NDIS participants should approach the transition systematically:

1. Assess your NDIS exposure: Identify which of your current residents have NDIS plans and which supports you are delivering are NDIS-funded. This determines which registration groups you need.
2. Conduct a gap analysis: Compare your current SRS policies and procedures against the NDIS Practice Standards requirements. Identify the gaps — what policies, procedures, and documentation systems do not yet meet NDIS standards.
3. Develop or update your policy suite: Build or update your policy documents to meet NDIS Practice Standards requirements. Do not assume that SRS-compliant policies satisfy NDIS requirements — the two frameworks have significant differences.
4. Update your worker screening: Ensure all workers who support NDIS participants have NDIS Worker Screening Check clearances (or state equivalents during the transition period).
5. Apply for NDIS registration: Submit your application through the NDIS Commission's provider portal. The NDIS Commission has streamlined pathways for providers transitioning from state-regulated frameworks in some states.
6. Engage an auditor: The NDIS Commission will direct you to engage an approved quality auditor for a certification audit. Prepare your documentation base before the auditor engages — the audit is not a development process, it is an assessment.