What is Module 5A? The NDIS SIL Supplementary Module Explained

Module 5A is the supplementary module of the NDIS Practice Standards for assistance with supported independent living (SIL). It sits at Schedule 7A of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Provider Registration and Practice Standards) Rules 2018, commenced on 1 July 2026, and has four standards: supported decision-making, safeguarding, practice governance, and agreements about tenancy, housing and support arrangements. Registered SIL providers are assessed against it and the Core Module by certification audit.

This is general information current at September 2026; confirm your own position against the current Rules and Guidelines on the Federal Register of Legislation and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission's SIL resources.

Where Module 5A sits in the law

The Practice Standards are schedules to the Provider Registration and Practice Standards Rules: Schedule 1 is the Core Module for every registered provider; supplementary modules follow for higher-risk supports. The SIL module was inserted as Schedule 7A. The detail an auditor works from is in the quality indicators at Part 8A of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Quality Indicators for NDIS Practice Standards) Guidelines 2018, where Part 8A is headed "Module 5A", hence the name. Sections 72B to 72E carry the indicators for the four standards.

The Rules also define SIL: constant, or immediately available, person-to-person support for all or a substantial part of the day, delivered as a package managed by the provider to assist with or supervise the tasks of daily life at home and in the community. If your service fits that description, Module 5A applies.

Who Module 5A applies to

Module 5A applies to registered NDIS providers delivering SIL. Since 1 July 2026 SIL may only be delivered by a registered provider, under registration group 0138 Assistance with supported independent living, which replaced 0115 for SIL. A provider delivering SIL before 1 July 2026 must apply by 1 October 2026 or stop; see our guide to SIL mandatory registration.

Assessment is by certification, usually a two-stage audit with a site visit and interviews with participants and workers, then a mid-term audit; verification is not available for SIL. This is a registered-provider obligation: an independent support worker providing a few hours of personal care a week is unlikely to meet the definition of SIL and is not assessed against Module 5A.

The four standards and what auditors look for

1. Supported decision-making (section 72B)

Each participant should understand and make genuine decisions about supports in their home and about accessing their community. The indicators expect accessible information, respect for dignity of risk, help to weigh benefits and risks, and a worker procedure that allows a reasonable period, asks the participant how they want to be supported, acts on their will and preferences, responds to cultural values and recognises when a nominee or other authorised decision maker should be involved. Workers must be trained, with refresher training.

An auditor will want the policy, training records, a decision-making profile and decision records for each participant, and participants who can describe how they were supported.

2. Safeguarding (section 72C)

Each participant should live in a safe, respectful and supportive home, with safeguards at home and in the community. Workers must meet the NDIS Code of Conduct in a person's home, be able to identify and respond to harm, bullying and conflict, and be trained in de-escalation, trauma-informed practice and positive behaviour support.

Two ideas matter most in shared living: natural and informal safeguards, meaning supports that keep participants connected to family, friends, community and consistent workers; and conflict between co-tenants, which needs approaches developed with each participant, applied by every worker and reviewed regularly.

An auditor will want a safeguarding policy that balances dignity of risk with safety, a safeguards map and review record for each participant, a co-tenant conflict procedure and training records. Reportable incidents must still be notified; see our guide to reportable incident timeframes.

3. Practice governance (section 72D)

This standard asks whether workers have the skills to support the people in the house, and whether the organisation leads practice rather than only filling rosters. It expects a documented vision and values for supports in the home, worker development, mentoring and supervision, training in cultural safety and positive behaviour support, and workers assessed as competent in person-centred and trauma-informed practice, active support and supported decision-making.

Two indicators reach into daily operations: participants decide about their home, including who they live with, and existing participants are consulted before a new tenant is placed; and emergency planning in shared living is overseen, coordinated, rehearsed and tailored to each person. An auditor will want competency assessments rather than certificates alone, supervision records, co-tenant consultation records and emergency plans with rehearsal dates.

4. Agreements about tenancy, housing and support arrangements (section 72E)

This standard is directed mainly at participants who hold a tenancy agreement with the same provider that delivers their SIL. That provider must keep separate service and tenancy agreements, help the participant understand that one does not depend on the other, have an accessible conflict of interest policy, and make sure participants can raise concerns without fear of retribution, with help to reach advocacy or legal services.

The indicators list practical entitlements: information about tenancy rights, notice periods and exit processes; the right to change SIL provider at any time; a say in how shared spaces are used; house keys and private space, with control over who enters; and a signed copy of the agreement. Limits on access or possessions are only contemplated under a behaviour support plan, applied in the least restrictive way; see our guide to restrictive practice authorisation by state and territory.

Each participant's written service agreement is also expected to cover how concerns about the home are handled, how co-tenant conflict is managed, how changes in support needs are agreed, how vacancies are filled with each person's needs and preferences considered, how behaviours of concern that put a tenancy at risk are managed, and how visitors are accommodated without unnecessary restriction. Many agreements drafted before 2026 do not cover all six.

What evidence looks like in practice

Auditors test whether the standards are lived, not just written down. For Module 5A most evidence is participant-level and worker-level records:

• Approved, customised policies for each standard, under version control
• A decision-making support profile, safeguards map and review records for every SIL participant
• Training, refresher and competency assessment records for every worker
• Co-tenant consultation records for every vacancy filled since 1 July 2026
• An emergency plan for each house with rehearsal dates
• Separate service and tenancy agreements, and a conflict of interest declaration where you provide both
• A completed self-assessment and an evidence register

Common gaps for small SIL providers

• Treating supported decision-making as a consent signature rather than an ongoing, recorded process
• One combined housing and support agreement, or none at all, where the provider owns or head-leases the property
• Filling a vacancy without consulting existing residents, or keeping no record of it
• House rules limiting keys, food access or visitors with no behaviour support plan behind them
• Emergency plans never rehearsed with the people who live there
• Core Module documents (SIL policy, service agreement) left unchanged, so the two sets contradict each other

Templates mapped to Module 5A

The MRSS SIL Supplementary Module Add-On ($149) is 23 editable Word templates structured around sections 72B to 72E, from policies and participant records to an evidence register and audit preparation checklist (full list on the What is in the SIL Supplementary Module page). Good starting points are the SIL Supplementary Module Self-Assessment Checklist, the Participant Decision-Making Support Profile and the Co-Tenant Consultation and Vacancy Record.

The module adds to the Core Module rather than replacing it, so it sits alongside the NDIS Provider Core Library, which holds the SIL policy, service agreement and matching profile. These are templates. They must be customised to how your service actually operates and then implemented; audit outcomes depend on your practice and the evidence you hold, not on the documents.

Frequently asked questions

Is Module 5A the same thing as the SIL supplementary module?

Yes. Module 5A is the name the Quality Indicators Guidelines give to the supplementary module for assistance with supported independent living at Schedule 7A of the NDIS (Provider Registration and Practice Standards) Rules 2018. Its indicators are at Part 8A, sections 72A to 72E, of the Guidelines. Both commenced on 1 July 2026.

Does Module 5A replace the Core Module for SIL providers?

No. A registered SIL provider is assessed against the Core Module and Module 5A together, by certification audit. The Core Module still covers rights, governance, provision of supports and the support environment; Module 5A adds SIL-specific requirements. A provider that also implements behaviour support plans is assessed against Module 2A as well.

We provide SIL but not housing. Does the tenancy standard still apply to us?

Partly. The indicators on separate agreements and conflicts of interest are directed at providers delivering both SIL and tenancy to the same participant. Other indicators still apply: each participant should have a written service agreement covering concerns, co-tenant conflict, changes in support needs, vacancies, behaviours of concern and visitors, and be able to raise concerns without fear of retribution.

Sources: National Disability Insurance Scheme (Provider Registration and Practice Standards) Rules 2018, Schedule 7A and subsections 7(4), 7(5) and 20(3); National Disability Insurance Scheme (Quality Indicators for NDIS Practice Standards) Guidelines 2018, Part 8A, sections 72A to 72E, inserted by amending Guidelines F2026N00443; National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, sections 73B and 73E; all accessed September 2026.