Core Supports: Big Opportunity, Bigger Compliance Trap

Welcome to the show! I'm Will, here with Winter. And Winter, if you're a new NDIS provider staring at the registration list, Core Supports can look almost TOO good: it's the biggest, most used part of the scheme, it's tied to everyday life, and in many cases the funding is flexible enough to move around inside Core -- except transport. That word "flexible" is the hook, isn't it? Because if you're a small provider, hearing "largest category" and "participants use it every day" sounds like the obvious starting line. But that's also where people get themselves in trouble. Exactly. Core Supports are built around current disability-related needs and daily living: helping someone get through the day safely, practically, and with more independence. And before we get into the registration groups, it's worth separating the three funding buckets properly. Core is day-to-day support. Capital is the gear, -- assistive technology, equipment, home modifications. Capacity Building is about growing skills and independence over time. So Core is today's help, Capital is the gear, and Capacity Building is the longer-term capability piece. That's actually a useful way to remember it. And I can see why Core becomes the entry point, because "helping with the day" is a lot easier for a new provider to picture than, say, complex capital purchases. That's it. It's practical, visible, and in demand. But "Core" is not one single service. It's a cluster of registration groups with very different risk levels. The big ones providers look at are 0107, Assistance with Daily Personal Activities; 0120, Household Tasks; 0125, Participation in Community, Social and Civic Activities; 0108, Travel and Transport Assistance; and 0115, Assistance in Supported Independent Living -- SIL. Wait -- 0107 and 0120 sound similar on paper if you're new. Daily personal activities versus household tasks. But those are NOT the same compliance story, right? Not even close. Group 0120, Household Tasks, is things like cleaning, meal preparation, gardening, domestic support around the home. Important work, but generally lower risk because it doesn't involve personal care or high-intensity supports. That's why it's such a common starting point for sole traders and small providers. Whereas 0107 is showering, dressing, grooming, toileting -- actual personal care. And once you say toileting and nursing support out loud, the stakes change immediately. Yes. 0107, Assistance with Daily Personal Activities, is one of the highest-demand groups in the whole NDIS, but it's also higher risk. It can include support at home, in the community, domestic assistance, and nursing or health support delivered at home by enrolled or registered nurses where needed. That demand pulls people in. The risk catches them later if they haven't built the right systems. And then 0125 is the one people often underestimate because it sounds lighter -- community access, social clubs, art classes, adaptive sport, outings, camps, library visits. But it's still serious because you're supporting participation and independence, not just... going for a coffee. Right. Group 0125 is one of the most meaningful areas because it's about connection, confidence, and social participation. And 0108, Travel and Transport Assistance, matters too because it removes the barrier that stops everything else happening -- getting to appointments, community activities, social engagements. And then there's 0115 -- SIL. Which is where the conversation stops being "what nice service could I offer?" and becomes "are you actually ready to operate in one of the most scrutinised corners of the scheme?" That's the tension. New providers often look at Core Supports and think, I'll just tick a few boxes to broaden my market. But choosing 0120 or 0125 is very different from choosing 0107 or 0115. One choice may keep you on a lower-risk pathway. The other can trigger certification, supplementary modules, more scrutiny, and much heavier governance expectations. So the trap is thinking "Core" means simple. It doesn't. It means common. And common can still be highly regulated. If you pick the wrong scope because demand looks attractive, you might be applying for an audit path your business just isn't built to survive yet. Alright, let's make that practical. If I apply for 0120 Household Tasks, or 0125 Community, Social and Civic Activities, what path am I usually looking at? Verification. Those are lower-risk groups if they're selected without any higher-risk groups. Verification is still real compliance -- don't get me wrong -- but it's a lighter pathway than certification. Once you move into 0107 Assistance with Daily Personal Activities, you're in higher-risk territory and that triggers certification. And 0115 SIL is even more intense: certification plus the Supported Independent Living supplementary module. The phrase "supplementary module" is one of those little admin phrases that hides a massive reality. It's basically the Commission saying, no, you don't just need the Core Module -- you need to prove you can safely run SIL specifically. Exactly. Auditors won't be impressed by a folder full of policies no one uses. They want evidence. Person-centred practice -- are supports actually shaped around the participant? Staff screening and qualifications -- do workers hold the clearances and credentials appropriate to what they deliver? Incident management -- is it functional and documented? Complaints systems -- can people use them, and do you respond? Governance and continuous improvement -- are they embedded, not decorative? "Embedded, not decorative" -- that's the line, isn't it. Because I think some providers imagine the audit is a paperwork exam. But if your complaints process only exists in a policy manual and nobody on the floor knows it, an auditor is going to see through that pretty quickly. Very quickly. And the registration groups you choose determine the audit you'll need. That's why scope selection comes before branding, before service menus, before all the shiny stuff. Choose the groups carefully, because each one carries a compliance load. Let's bring in the 2025-26 changes, because this is where even established providers can get caught. Group 0107 had updated pricing, and the standard hourly rate for Assistance with Daily Life support workers is $70.23. Group 0125 also got new community participation line items and updated pricing to reflect current community engagement approaches. And it's not just pricing. The 2025-26 Support Catalogue update was broad: 23 new intensive behaviour support items were added, 35 legacy items were removed, and disability-related health supports moved out of Core funding from 30 June 2026. That's a major boundary change. If a provider is still mentally filing those supports under Core after that date, they're behind. Thirty-five legacy items removed -- that's the number I'd circle. Because if your invoicing software or your team keeps using outdated line item codes, claims can be rejected. And rejected claims are not just annoying; they can become a compliance issue if it shows you haven't updated your systems properly. Yes. The NDIA can deactivate support items, and once an item is deactivated, it can't be used. Before deactivation, it becomes a Legacy Support. Providers really do need software and internal processes that update with each July pricing release. And transport has its own twist. Group 0108 sounds straightforward until you hit the claiming rules. For many participants, transport funding is paid directly into the participant's bank account as a fortnightly payment, rather than being claimed by the provider. Which means if you're new to 0108 and you assume it behaves like other Core claims, you can set up the wrong admin workflow from day one. You need to check the Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2025-26 and understand the claiming structure before you start delivering transport supports. And SIL has that bigger legal edge now too. From 1 July 2026, it became a mandatory registration category. So if someone is delivering Supported Independent Living without registration, that's not a grey area anymore -- that's outside the law. Which brings us back to the uncomfortable question. Not "Which Core groups are popular?" Not even "Which ones make commercial sense?" The better question is: when you write those group numbers into your application -- 0120, 0125, 0107, 0115 -- are you choosing a service scope... or are you choosing an audit burden your organisation can actually carry?