NDIS mid-term audits: the 12 and 18 month marks
Certified NDIS providers face a mid-term audit that must start within 18 months of registration. Who needs one, what it covers, and the deadlines for fixes.
If you're registered after a certification audit, you'll usually need a mid-term audit partway through your registration. The NDIS Rules set the latest date it can start.
The audit must commence no later than: (a) 18 months after the beginning of the period for which the provider’s registration is in force; or (b) such longer period after the beginning of that period as the Commissioner allows.
Source: NDIS (Provider Registration and Practice Standards) Rules 2018, section 13B(4), compilation of 1 July 2026
Who needs one
Registered providers who have completed a certification audit … are required to do a mid-term audit.
Source: What to expect in a quality audit, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
Some providers are exempt, such as those only registered to provide specialist disability accommodation. The Commission's page lists the others. Providers registered only through a verification audit aren't covered by this requirement.
The two dates to plan around
The Commission's guidance gives two marks:
- 12 months after your registration date: engage an approved quality auditor, confirm the scope and timing of the audit, gather your documents and evidence, and tell your staff and participants that auditors will visit.
- 18 months after your registration date: finalise the audit, and make sure your auditor submits the final report to the Commission by the deadline.
The Rules make 18 months the latest start, while the Commission's guidance talks about finalising by then. Planning from month 12 covers both.
What it covers
The Commission says the mid-term audit assesses:
- "the NDIS Practice Standards relating to provider governance and operational management"
- "any other standard that was previously assessed as requiring a corrective action plan"
- "any extra NDIS Practice Standards the NDIS Commission requires."
If the auditor finds a non-conformity
The Approved Quality Auditors Scheme Guidelines set three clocks:
- Corrective action plan: due "within seven calendar days of written notification of the non-conformity."
- Major non-conformity: must be "downgraded or closed within three calendar months of initial written notification".
- Minor non-conformity: must be "closed out within eighteen calendar months of initial written notification".
These come from Annex C of the NDIS (Approved Quality Auditors Scheme) Guidelines 2018, compilation of 15 November 2025. The Commission adds that with a major non-conformity, "you have 3 months to fix the issue."
After the mid-term audit
Your next step is re-registration. The Commission says "You can start the re-registration process any time in the 6 months before your registration expiry date." See Re-registration.