Today marks one of the most significant days of reform the NDIS has seen since it launched. I have been working in SDA and SIL for long enough to know that NDIS changes tend to create more noise than clarity, so I want to cut through that and tell you plainly what is actually changing, what it means for the people we support and what we are doing about it at KinKera Community.
This post covers every confirmed change taking effect from July 1, 2026. I have also included the changes that are coming later in the year so you have the full picture.
The Most Important Change: Mandatory SIL Registration
If you receive Supported Independent Living supports, or you work in the SIL space, this is the change that matters most.
From today, all SIL providers must be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. This has been coming for a while. It was flagged in the NDIS Review, the Disability Royal Commission and two NDIS Commission Own Motion Inquiries, all of which found serious gaps in participant safety and provider accountability in SIL and group home settings.
The Practical Details
- Transition Timeline: An existing SIL provider who was delivering supports before today can continue during a transition period, but only if they lodge a registration application with the NDIS Commission by October 1, 2026. If they miss that date, they are not permitted to keep delivering SIL supports.
- The Audit Reality: The Certification process is not a quick one; industry estimates suggest it can take many months, so providers who have not already started that process are already behind.
- For Participants: Your NDIS plan does not change, your funding does not change and your SIL supports do not automatically stop. What matters is whether your provider is registered or actively working toward it. If they are not, you will need to transition to a registered provider before they stop being allowed to deliver your care.
As an SDA provider, KinKera Community is not subject to the SIL registration requirement. However, many residents in our homes receive SIL supports through a separate provider. If that is you, it is worth checking your SIL provider's registration status directly.
Next Steps: If you are a participant with an unregistered SIL provider and you are unsure what their plans are, ask them directly. You can also check whether any provider is registered at the NDIS Commission's Find a Registered Provider page. If you are not getting a clear answer, reach out to us and we will help you work through your options.
New Registration Group and the SIL Supplementary Module
Two new compliance requirements also commence today for SIL providers:
- Dedicated Registration Group: A new dedicated registration group for Supported Independent Living covers the management and delivery of home and living support packages for participants who need support for most or all of the day. Certification assessment against the Core Module plus the new SIL module is required.
- SIL Supplementary Module: This covers a specific set of NDIS Practice Standards including tenancy rights, worker capability and the quality of support in shared living environments. This module applies to all SIL providers from today, not just new applicants. Existing registered providers will be assessed against it at their next scheduled audit.
At KinKera Community, our policies and procedures are mapped against this module. We treat standards compliance not as a box-ticking exercise but as the floor, not the ceiling, of how we operate.
New Budget Structure: Stated Supports and Flexible Budgets
This is a change that will affect all NDIS participants over time, though it applies progressively rather than all at once on July 1. The old three-category plan structure (Core Supports, Capacity Building and Capital Supports) is being replaced with a two-part model when participants enter the new planning framework via a new plan or a plan reassessment.
- Stated Supports: These are specific items with a set dollar amount allocated for a defined purpose. SDA and SIL fall here, along with assistive technology and home modifications. These funds cannot be redirected.
- Flexible Budget: This is a pool of funding for day-to-day supports. It covers things like support worker hours, therapy sessions, community access and transport. This is where participants gain more freedom in how they use their funding.
For people we support in SDA, not much changes in how the numbers look because SDA has always functioned as a stated, fixed allocation. But the way it appears and is described in plans will be different, and it is worth understanding the new language when your next plan comes through.
New Support Needs Assessments
This is probably the change that generates the most anxiety, and I understand why.
For participants entering the new planning framework from July 1, planning meetings are being replaced by a standardised assessment tool called I-CAN (the Instrument for Classification and Assessment of Support Needs). This applies progressively as participants come up for plan reassessment.
A trained assessor evaluates functional capacity across 12 life areas:
- Daily living and self-care
- Home living and domestic tasks
- Health and wellbeing
- Communication
- Mobility
- Social and community life
- Relationships
- Learning and education
- Work and employment
- Money and budgets
- Choice and control
- General routine management
The goal is consistency. Two people with the same needs should, in theory, receive similar funding regardless of which planner they see or how confidently they can advocate for themselves. Whether the tool delivers that in practice is something the sector will be watching closely.
Our Advice: Document everything. Gather reports from your therapists and support workers that describe your functional capacity in concrete terms, and focus on describing your worst days, not your best days. The assessment measures how much support you need, not how capable you can present yourself.
2026-27 NDIS Pricing Schedule
The NDIA published the new pricing on June 23, and it takes effect today. According to the published 2026-27 NDIS Pricing Schedule and Annual Pricing Review:
- Support worker rates have increased by approximately 4.8%, reflecting wage movements and cost of living adjustments.
- Psychology rates have risen to $252.99 per hour.
- Dietetics and exercise physiology rates have been reduced.
- Occupational therapy, speech pathology, physiotherapy and podiatry rates have been held.
- Therapy billing now has separate line items for travel, telehealth, reports and non-face-to-face time, which is a significant administrative change for allied health providers.
All service agreements that reference specific line-item prices need to be updated. If you are a participant and your agreed prices are changing, your provider should be reaching out to get your agreement before charging the new rates.
New NDIS Support List
For the first time, there is a legal definition of what can and cannot be funded under the NDIS.
The Support List specifies eligible support categories. Supports must directly relate to your disability and help you pursue your goals, manage daily life or build your independence.
- What is excluded: Day-to-day costs that everyone pays (rent, groceries, electricity and general entertainment) are not NDIS-funded. Supports that should be provided by health, education, housing or justice systems are also excluded.
This matters because the new legislation includes debt recovery powers. If NDIS funds are spent on ineligible items, the NDIS can seek to recover them. The government has stated this targets clear misuse, not honest mistakes, and there are review and appeal processes available. Still, it is a real change, and the best protection is understanding what your funding can and cannot be used for.
Claims and Payments System Uplift
The NDIA is beginning a phased transition toward real-time digital payments, with evidence captured on every claim. This rollout runs from July 2026 through to 2030. It is not a single switch-on but a gradual shift.
For participants, this is largely a behind-the-scenes change. For providers, it means tightening up service records, ensuring claims are tied to delivered supports and preparing for more evidence requirements over time.
What Is Coming Later, But Not Today
Two significant changes are often discussed alongside the July 1 reforms but do not actually start today:
- Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Bill 2026: Introduced to Parliament on May 14, 2026, this is still moving through the Senate and is not yet law. The measures that matter most for providers are a proposed reduction in the claiming window from two years to 90 days (slated for December 1, 2026 if passed) and a proposed requirement to retain records relating to NDIS payments for seven years.
- Broader Mandatory Registration: The July 1 registration requirement covers SIL and digital platform providers only. Expansion to other provider types under a graduated model is expected from 2027.
What KinKera Community Is Doing
I want to be transparent about where we stand.
As an SDA provider, we are not subject to the SIL registration requirement, but we are across every change taking effect today. Our pricing is updated to the 2026-27 schedule and we are prepared to help residents understand what the broader reforms mean for their plans.
More broadly, this period of reform is one I think is necessary. The NDIS Review and the Disability Royal Commission both found the same thing: that unregistered and unaccountable providers in the SIL space caused real harm to real people. Mandatory registration is a floor, not a ceiling, but it is an important floor.
What we build at KinKera is not just compliant accommodation. It is homes where people can live independently, with safety, dignity and genuine choice. That does not change on any reform date. It is just what we do.
If you have questions about how any of these changes affect you, your family member or a participant you support, reach out to us directly. We are happy to talk through it.
