SIL Service Agreements from 1 July 2026: What Has to Be in Them

From 1 July 2026 a supported independent living (SIL) service agreement needs the ordinary content of any NDIS service agreement (parties, supports, price and claiming, notice, responsibilities, complaints, ending, consent and signatures) plus, for registered providers assessed against Module 5A of the NDIS Practice Standards, the six shared-living matters in section 72E of the quality indicators: concerns about the home, co-tenant conflict, changes in support needs, filling vacancies, behaviours of concern that put a tenancy at risk, and visitors. It should attach a schedule of supports and typical week showing what is delivered each week and how it is claimed, and it must be separate from any tenancy agreement.

This is general information current at September 2026; confirm your position against the current Practice Standards and quality indicators on the Federal Register of Legislation, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission's SIL guidance and your state or territory tenancy law. Module 5A applies to registered SIL providers; an independent support worker whose in-home support is not SIL is not assessed against it, though the first section below still applies.

The ordinary content every NDIS service agreement needs

The Core Module's Provision of Supports standard expects a registered provider to develop the agreement with the participant, help them understand it in their language and mode of communication, set out the arrangements and each party's responsibilities, and give them a copy. For SIL:

• Parties: the participant, any nominee or representative, and the provider.
• Supports: support level, ratio, overnight arrangement and dates, with weekly detail in the attached schedule.
• Price and claiming: the pricing document in force on the date of service, how supports are claimed or invoiced (NDIA-managed, plan-managed and self-managed funding differ), and what SIL does not cover, such as rent and food.
• Absences, changes and notice: hospital stays and holidays, when supports can be changed, suspended or withdrawn, and notice periods.
• Responsibilities, complaints and ending: what each party will do, how to complain to the provider or the NDIS Commission without it affecting supports, and how the agreement ends.
• Consent, signatures and a copy: what information is collected and shared, both signatures, and an accessible copy for the participant, or a record of why that was not practicable.

The six shared-living matters Module 5A expects

Section 72E expects each SIL participant's written service agreement to set out six matters, in the agreement or an attached schedule.

Concerns about the home

State who the participant raises a concern with, how (including anonymously or through a support person), who to go to if it is about that worker, and how they learn the outcome. Say plainly that raising a concern will not change their supports or housing, and list independent options: the NDIS Commission, an advocate, the local tenancy advice service.

Conflict involving co-tenants

Disagreement between housemates is normal; repeated, one-sided or frightening conflict is a safeguarding matter. Record how workers support everyday disagreements, what triggers escalation and to whom, what the participant wants at those times (a quiet space, a support person) and what they do not want, in their own words. Where the participant lives alone, mark it not applicable.

Changes to circumstances or support needs

Set out how a change is proposed, who is consulted, how agreement is recorded (a signed variation, file note or updated support plan), what notice the participant gets and what happens if they disagree. The usual position is that a change is discussed and agreed in writing before it takes effect, except for immediate safety or where the participant's plan requires it.

Filling vacancies

Participants already in the home are consulted before anyone moves in, including whether they would feel safe and comfortable with the proposed co-tenant. Record how the participant will be told about a vacancy, what matters to them (noise, routines, culture, pets), who decides and on what basis, and how they hear the outcome. Their views inform the decision; other residents' needs also count.

Behaviours of concern that could put a tenancy at risk

Include this only where it is relevant. The response is a support response driven by the behaviour support plan: known triggers, early signs, the agreed response, in the participant's words where possible, who is notified and when it is reviewed. Any regulated restrictive practice must be in the plan and authorised in the participant's state or territory. Any action about the tenancy itself is a separate matter under tenancy law.

Visitors

Participants may have visitors, including overnight, in their own private space. Record the arrangements for the participant's room and for shared areas as agreed by the household. A limit needs a lawful basis: a lawful tenancy term or a regulated restrictive practice in an authorised behaviour support plan, never staffing convenience. Keys, and who may enter the participant's room, belong here too.

Keep the service agreement and the tenancy agreement separate

Section 72E expects a provider delivering both SIL and tenancy to the same participant to hold separate service and tenancy agreements and to help the participant understand that one does not depend on the other. The reason is leverage: when one organisation is landlord and support provider, a dispute about supports can quietly become a threat to the participant's home. Module 5A treats that as a conflict of interest to be identified, managed and explained to the participant, with referral to independent advocacy or legal help.

So the agreement should say on its face that it covers supports only and that the right to live in the home comes from the tenancy or occupancy agreement. It should state the participant's right to change SIL provider, in whole or in part, at any time during the tenancy, with no consequence for their housing. Notice periods, grounds for ending a tenancy and exit processes stay in the tenancy agreement under state or territory tenancy law, explained to the participant with independent advice on offer.

In the MRSS module this sits in the Tenancy, Housing and Support Arrangements Policy and Procedure, a conflict of interest declaration (SILM-04-02) and the Participant Housing and Support Rights Statement.

The schedule of supports and typical week

The NDIA calls this document a roster of care, and its guidance says a roster of care is not a requirement and does not need to be submitted to the NDIA: it is a tool for provider and participant to know what supports are in the home each week and how they will be delivered. It does not set the funding: the NDIA decides that and the schedule must fit within it.

For each participant, not each house, it records:

• the typical week: each block of support by day and time, what is provided, the ratio, and whether the shift is day, evening, active overnight or sleepover (two schedules where the pattern varies over a fortnight);
• ratios by period, weekly totals in hours the participant receives (not worker hours), and overnight detail such as expected interruptions and how the participant calls for help;
• the claiming arrangement agreed with the participant: frequency, how absences are treated under the current pricing document, and who checks claims against the schedule before they are made.

It is agreed with the participant in their communication mode, signed, attached to the agreement and reviewed at least annually and whenever the pattern changes. Claims are reconciled against it; where delivery differs, the record of what was actually delivered governs the claim. MRSS publishes it as the SIL Schedule of Supports and Typical Week.

Co-tenants and consultation before someone moves in

Two Module 5A indicators meet here: practice governance expects participants to be consulted before a new tenant is placed and matched with co-tenants they feel safe with, and the tenancy standard expects the agreement to explain how vacancies are filled. The Co-Tenant Matching and Compatibility Procedure covers how compatibility is assessed and the Co-Tenant Consultation and Vacancy Record captures each consultation, so the vacancy clause is backed by evidence.

Practical checklist before signing

1. Confirm whether you also provide the housing; if so, complete a conflict of interest declaration and check a separate, signed tenancy agreement exists.
2. Check the agreement says it covers supports only.
3. Complete the schedule of supports and typical week with the participant: ratios, overnight type, claiming arrangement.
4. Complete the shared-living schedule covering the six section 72E matters, marking co-tenant items not applicable where the participant lives alone.
5. Explain both documents in the participant's language and mode of communication, offer a referral to independent advocacy or tenancy advice, and record the response.
6. Check notice periods, absence handling and complaint contacts are filled in, not placeholders.
7. Have the participant, any nominee and the provider sign, and give the participant a copy or record why that was not practicable.
8. Diarise the review (annually, at plan change, and when a co-tenant or support needs change) and file everything on the participant file.

Templates for SIL service agreements

The Supported Independent Living Service Agreement in the NDIS Provider Core Library carries the ordinary content and the SIL Schedule of Supports and Typical Week gives it the weekly detail. The SIL Supplementary Module Add-On ($149, 23 templates) adds the Service Agreement Schedule - Shared Living Arrangements, which works through the six section 72E matters in fillable tables, and the Participant Housing and Support Rights Statement.

They are editable Word templates with a version control table and approval block. They must be customised to the home and the participant, then used and reviewed; whether an agreement satisfies an auditor depends on its content and the practice behind it, not on the template.

Frequently asked questions

Does a SIL service agreement have to include a roster of care?

No. The NDIA says a roster of care is not a requirement and does not need to be submitted to it. What the agreement does need is an agreed record of the weekly supports: days, times, ratios and overnight type. That is a schedule of supports, agreed with the participant, attached to the agreement and used to check claims. The NDIA decides the funding; the schedule fits within it.

Can the service agreement and the tenancy agreement be one document?

Not where the same registered provider delivers both SIL and the tenancy. Module 5A expects separate service and tenancy agreements, and expects the participant to understand that one does not depend on the other. Where another organisation provides the housing, the service agreement should still say it covers supports only and that housing is governed by the participant's separate agreement and state or territory tenancy law.

Do the Module 5A agreement requirements apply to unregistered providers or independent support workers?

Module 5A is assessed at the certification audit of a registered SIL provider. From 1 July 2026 only a registered provider may deliver SIL, so any provider delivering SIL is inside its scope; a provider that delivered SIL before that date must apply for registration by 1 October 2026. An independent support worker delivering in-home support that is not SIL is not assessed against Module 5A, but still needs an ordinary service agreement.

Sources: National Disability Insurance Scheme (Provider Registration and Practice Standards) Rules 2018, Schedule 7A; National Disability Insurance Scheme (Quality Indicators for NDIS Practice Standards) Guidelines 2018, Part 8A, section 72E (inserted by amending Guidelines F2026N00443) and the Core Module indicators on service agreements with participants; NDIA, Guide to providing supported independent living (SIL), roster of care section (page last updated 17 August 2026); all accessed September 2026.