Supported independent living (SIL) sits near the top of the NDIS risk hierarchy: participants often have complex needs, supports run around the clock in participants' homes, and things going wrong can go seriously wrong. The Commission and auditors treat SIL accordingly. If you're planning SIL registration, here is the full picture of what's required.
SIL means certification, with extras
SIL is a higher-risk registration group, so you're on the certification pathway: a two-stage audit against the Core Module of the NDIS Practice Standards, plus interviews with key personnel, workers and participants. SIL providers are also assessed against additional expectations around 24/7 support environments, and if your service model touches high-intensity daily personal activities or behaviour support implementation, further modules and evidence apply. In short: SIL audits are among the widest in scope a provider can face.
The service model auditors expect to see documented
Before audit, you need more than a policy suite. You need a documented SIL operating model:
- Rosters of care and staffing models: how you determine support ratios, overnight arrangements (active and sleepover shifts) and continuity when workers are absent.
- Individual support plans: participant-specific plans covering daily supports, health needs, medication, mealtime management where relevant, and personal goals.
- Risk assessments: for each participant and each dwelling, covering environmental risks, behaviours of concern, health deterioration and emergencies.
- Household governance: how decisions are made in shared homes, how conflicts between housemates are managed, and how participants' rights and privacy are protected in their own home.
- Incident and emergency procedures: including escalation for after-hours events, missing persons, and medical emergencies.
Workforce requirements
Your workforce evidence gets particular attention. Expect the auditor to sample worker files for NDIS Worker Screening Checks, qualifications and competency assessments for high-intensity supports (where applicable), medication administration training, shift handover records and supervision. Because SIL is delivered unsupervised in participants' homes, auditors lean heavily on interviews: workers must be able to describe your actual procedures for incidents, complaints, restrictive practices and emergencies.
Restrictive practices: handle with care
Many SIL participants have behaviour support plans. If any regulated restrictive practice is used in your homes, you become an implementing provider, with authorisation, reporting and monthly data obligations layered on top of registration. Auditors check that you can identify a restrictive practice when you see one and that your reporting pipeline works. If this applies to you, budget documentation and training time for it specifically.
The documentation stack
A credible SIL documentation set spans corporate governance, service delivery, WHS, HR, incident and complaints management, medication management, mealtime and dysphagia management, emergency and disaster planning, and continuous improvement, all tailored to a 24/7 in-home model. This is exactly what CertCore ($1,290) plus the SIL-relevant modules deliver, or the complete certification suite if you want everything at once. Compare packages here. Every Veyora set is tailored to your organisation, your dwellings and your participant cohort, never off-the-shelf, and carries our audit pass guarantee: pass your audit with our documentation or receive a full refund.
Sequencing your SIL registration
- Confirm your registration groups (SIL rarely travels alone, most providers pair it with daily personal activities and community participation). The homepage scope tool maps this quickly.
- Build the documentation and operating evidence above.
- Stand up worker files and screening before the audit, not during it.
- Book your certification audit early. SIL audits are longer and auditor calendars fill.
- Run a dry-run of interviews with your team.
SIL registration is demanding, but it's demanding in predictable ways. Every requirement above is knowable in advance. See how our process works or call 1800 701 520 to talk through your SIL scope with a specialist.
General information only: confirm requirements with the NDIS Commission and your auditor.