Registration Group 0138: Scoping Your SIL Application Correctly

The code on your certificate decides what you're audited against

Registration groups sound like paperwork trivia until you're the provider whose certification audit is scoped against the wrong one. For supported independent living specifically, the number that matters now is 0138 — the registration group created for SIL as part of the 1 July 2026 mandatory registration changes. Getting your application scoped to 0138 correctly, rather than assuming your existing paperwork under the old code carries across automatically, is one of the more consequential — and more overlooked — steps in applying to deliver SIL as a registered provider. This post sets out what 0138 actually covers, how it relates to the code it's replacing, and what to check before you submit.

0138 in plain terms

Registration group 0138 — Assistance with Supported Independent Living — is the class of support the NDIS Commission introduced specifically for SIL as mandatory registration took effect. For supports delivered from 1 July 2026 onward, providers must use registration group 0138 when nominating SIL in a registration application. This applies whether you're a provider applying for registration for the first time, or an already-registered provider seeking to add SIL to your existing scope through a variation.

0138 and 0115: what actually changed

Before mandatory registration, SIL-type supports were commonly delivered and claimed under registration group 0115 — Assistance with daily life tasks in a group or shared living arrangement, a broader group that covers shared-living support beyond SIL specifically. The transition rule is straightforward for supports delivered on either side of the cut-over: supports delivered before 1 July 2026 continue to be claimed under 0115, while supports delivered from 1 July 2026 use the new 0138 code. If your organisation was already registered under 0115 and actively delivering SIL, the Commission's transition arrangements are designed to carry that existing registration across to 0138 without requiring you to lodge a brand-new application from a standing start — but "designed to carry across automatically" is not the same as "you don't need to check it did." Confirming your certificate actually shows 0138, and that the transition happened the way you expected, is worth doing directly rather than assuming.

For a provider newly applying for SIL registration rather than transitioning an existing 0115 registration, the practical implication is simpler but still important: your application should nominate 0138 specifically for SIL, not lean on the broader 0115 group on the assumption that it covers the same ground under the new rules. The two groups are not interchangeable for SIL delivered after the cut-over date.

What 0138 sits alongside — and doesn't replace

Registration group 0138 covers SIL specifically; it doesn't absorb every support a provider delivering SIL might also offer. If your organisation delivers other supports in the same shared-living context — say, community access, or supports that sit under a different registration group entirely — those still need to be nominated in their own right. Scoping an application means listing every registration group your actual service delivery requires, not just the one your team thinks of as "the SIL one." An application that nominates 0138 but omits a group you're genuinely delivering supports under leaves a gap that surfaces later, either as an audit finding or as a claiming problem when supports don't match your certificate.

Why scope errors cost more at audit than at application

A registration group determines which Practice Standards module an approved quality auditor assesses you against. Nominate 0138 and the audit includes the SIL supplementary Practice Standards module — covering supported decision-making, safeguarding, practice governance, and agreements about tenancy, housing, and support arrangements specific to SIL. Get the scope wrong at application — nominate the wrong group, or leave one out — and the mismatch generally doesn't surface until the audit is already underway, when re-scoping means going back to the Commission, potentially triggering a fresh or expanded audit, and losing time you didn't budget for. Getting the registration groups right at the application stage is the cheapest point in the whole process to fix a scope problem; it only gets more expensive from there.

If you're varying an existing registration to add SIL

Already-registered providers adding SIL to their scope for the first time do this through a variation to registration application rather than a fresh application from zero. The Commission's process for a variation still involves engaging an approved quality auditor to determine whether an out-of-cycle audit is needed to add the registration group, and if the variation is approved, 0138 is added to your certificate of registration alongside whatever groups you already hold. The same scoping discipline applies here as for a new applicant: nominate 0138 specifically for SIL, and don't assume an existing 0115 registration for shared-living supports automatically covers ground that now sits under the new code for supports delivered after 1 July 2026.

A scoping checklist before you submit

• Confirm 0138 is nominated for any SIL delivered from 1 July 2026 onward — don't rely on a legacy 0115 nomination for supports delivered after the cut-over.
• If you held 0115 before the change, check your certificate actually shows the transition to 0138, rather than assuming it happened.
• List every other registration group your actual service delivery requires alongside 0138 — SIL registration doesn't absorb unrelated support types.
• Map your self-assessment evidence against the SIL supplementary Practice Standards module specifically, since that's what an audit against 0138 tests.
• For a variation rather than a new application, confirm early with the approved quality auditor you engage whether an out-of-cycle audit is required before you submit.

How Compliance Care helps

We help providers scope registration applications and variations correctly the first time — mapping the registration groups that genuinely match your service delivery, and building the evidence base against the specific Practice Standards module each group triggers, including the SIL supplementary module for 0138. Getting scope right before submission is what keeps the certification audit that follows testing the right thing, rather than surfacing a mismatch partway through. Audits themselves are conducted by independent approved quality auditors from the Commission's own list — our role is making sure your application and evidence are scoped correctly for that independent review, not shaping its outcome.

Our SIL registration checklist is built around the SIL registration group specifically and is a useful first check on scope. For the wider application requirements 0138 sits inside, see our guide to what makes a SIL registration application valid, and for how registration groups feed into the audit pathway overall, see how the NDIS registration and certification process works. Our gap analysis and pre-audit review service tests your scoping and evidence before an auditor does.

Not sure whether your application — new or a variation — is scoped to the right registration groups? Book a discovery call and we'll help you check before you submit.