The NDIS has its own language. And if nobody explained it to you on day one, you were not alone. Here is the glossary we all needed.

NDIS terminology decoded because nobody should have to Google these mid-meeting.

PRODA : Provider Digital Access. The government portal where you submit claims. Also the portal that will time you out right before you finish lodging.

SIL : Supported Independent Living. High-intensity accommodation support. Also the support type that now requires mandatory registration. Hence, a lot of stressed providers right now.

SDA : Specialist Disability Accommodation. The physical dwelling where SIL is delivered. Different registration. Different funding. Frequent source of confusion.

Practice Standards : The NDIS quality framework every registered provider is measured against. Think of it as the rulebook. Except it gets updated. Regularly.

Verification Audit : The lighter of the two audit types. Document-based. For lower-risk registration groups.

Certification Audit : The full audit. Two stages. On-site. For higher-risk supports like SIL, behaviour support, and early childhood. This is the one people lose sleep over.

Corrective Action Request (CAR) : A formal finding from your auditor or the Commission. It means something was wrong. It does not mean it is over, but it does mean you need to act fast.

Key Personnel : The people the NDIS Commission holds responsible for your organisation's compliance. Usually directors and senior managers. Yes, it is personal.

Plan Manager : The registered provider who manages a participant's NDIS funding on their behalf. Also known as the people who make the invoices stop being your problem.

Gap Analysis : A review that identifies the difference between where your compliance is and where it needs to be. The thing you should do before your audit finds it for you.

Reportable Incident: Certain incidents that happen, or are alleged to have happened, in connection with the provision of supports or services by registered NDIS providers that are reportable to the NDIS Commission.

Restrictive Practice : Any authorised practice or intervention that has the effect of restricting the rights or freedom of movement of a person with disability.

Safeguards : An appropriate measure or measures taken to protect participants from unnecessary risks or harm.

Self-Managed Participant : A participant that manages their own NDIS funding either fully or in part. Participants who choose self-management can access supports and services from both registered and non-registered providers for most supports.

Support Category : Groupings of various disability supports and services under which participant budgets are allocated.

Worker/Support Worker : An individual who deliver’s NDIS funded supports or services to a participant. A worker may be a NDIS Provider or employed or engaged by a NDIS Provider (registered or unregistered).

Worker Screening : The NDIS Worker Screening Check is an assessment of whether a person who works, or seeks to work, with people with disability poses a risk to them.

You are welcome. Save this. Share it with your team. Come back to it whenever the acronyms get overwhelming.

Share this with someone who is new to the NDIS sector it might just save them a very confusing afternoon. Follow us at Ashlie Care Solutions for more content like this every week.