NDIS SIL registration in Western Australia: 2026 requirements

Does the 2026 registration mandate differ in Western Australia?

No — the registration rules themselves are national and do not change at the border. From 1 July 2026 every SIL provider must be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission; providers delivering SIL unregistered must apply by 1 October 2026 to keep operating during the transition; SIL is a certification-level registration (two-stage audit) under registration group 0138; and the final SIL Practice Standards (F2026L00802, made 24 June 2026) apply identically in every state. We won't repeat all of that here — the national SIL registration guide covers who must register, the audit step by step, costs and penalties, and the deadline guide covers the two dates.

What does change by state is the machinery around registration: which body screens your workers, who authorises restrictive practices, which tenancy law sits under the new two-agreement requirement, and who else can walk into your homes. That's what the rest of this page covers. Here's the WA snapshot:

Which worker screening check do SIL workers need in WA?

In WA the NDIS Worker Screening Check — usually just called the NDIS Check — is assessed by the Screening Unit within the Department of Communities. The application route is unusual: workers start the application online through DoTDirect (the Department of Transport’s self-service portal) and then attend a DoT service centre to complete identity verification. A clearance lasts 5 years, is valid nationally in any NDIS role, and is subject to ongoing monitoring; a person excluded or cancelled generally cannot reapply within 5 years.

As elsewhere, workers in risk-assessed roles for a registered provider must hold a clearance — including contractors and volunteers — and you verify applications as the engaging employer through the NDIS Commission’s worker screening database. Keep clearance numbers and expiry dates in a screening register; auditors ask for it.

WA’s Working with Children Check remains a separate scheme — relevant if any of your participants are under 18.

Official sources: WA Department of Communities — NDIS Worker Screening Check · Applying for an NDIS Check (WA)

Who authorises restrictive practices in WA?

WA authorises restrictive practices under an interim policy rather than legislation: the Authorisation of Restrictive Practices in Funded Disability Services Policy, administered by the Department of Communities and in effect since 1 December 2020. Under the current (Stage Two) arrangements, a regulated restrictive practice must be included in a behaviour support plan and authorised through a Quality Assurance Panel — an independent panel review of the plan and the proposed practices.

The WA Government has been consulting on dedicated legislation to replace the interim policy, so the authorisation mechanics may change — confirm the current process with the Department of Communities before relying on this description. The Commission-side obligations (behaviour support plan by an NDIS behaviour support practitioner, reporting of use to the Commission) apply in WA exactly as in other states.

Official sources: WA Department of Communities — Authorisation of restrictive practices

Whatever the state pathway, your documents need to show it: a restrictive practices register, behaviour support plans on file, and authorisation evidence. See how the SIL Practice Standards map to documents.

What WA tenancy rules affect the new two-agreements requirement?

WA’s Residential Tenancies Act 1987 governs the tenancy side of most housing arrangements, but shared and supported accommodation can sit in grey areas (boarding/lodging arrangements have historically fallen outside the Act). When separating housing from support under the 2026 standards, confirm with Consumer Protection WA (Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety) which regime applies to your dwellings, and make the occupancy agreement match reality.

The two-agreement structure itself — why housing and support must now be separated, and what belongs in each document — is explained in our SIL service agreement guide.

Official sources: Consumer Protection WA

What else is specific to running SIL in WA?

WA transitioned to the national NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission later than the eastern states — on 1 December 2020 — so some WA providers have shorter histories with Commission processes like behaviour-support reporting and worker screening verification. If that is you, budget extra time for the certification audit’s document review.

WA’s market is smaller and heavily Perth-centred, with genuinely remote services across the state’s north. Auditor travel is a real line item for regional WA providers — get quotes early (see our deadline guide for the backwards timeline) and ask auditors explicitly how they price travel to your sites. Current participant numbers by state are in the NDIA’s quarterly reports.

Official sources: NDIA quarterly reports (participant data by state)

What should WA providers do before 1 October 2026?

1. Confirm your scope. If you deliver SIL in Western Australia, registration is mandatory — our free 2-minute quiz confirms your registration groups and lists every document an auditor will expect.
2. Sort worker screening now. Get every worker's NDIS Worker Screening Check verified and build the screening register — it's the first thing checked at audit and the slowest thing to fix late.
3. Map your restrictive-practices pathway. If any participant's plan involves regulated restrictive practices, start the WA authorisation process early — authorisations and behaviour support plans take longer than any policy document.
4. Prepare the document set. Policies, registers, participant documents and the two separated agreements — the audit checklist lists them by standard.
5. Book the audit. Auditor calendars fill ahead of the deadline; the deadline guide shows the backwards-planning maths, and our audit cost calculator gives an indicative fee range for a service your size.

SIL registration in other states: NSW · VIC · QLD