What NDIS record keeping means
Every NDIS payment needs a paper trail showing that a real support was delivered and paid for. The Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Act 2026 turned that into a clear legal rule, with set periods for how long each group must keep its records.
Good records protect you. They are what you rely on if a claim is questioned, if the NDIA raises a debt, or if you need to show what support you actually received.
Who must keep what, and for how long
These periods started on 27 August 2026. If you are plan managed or NDIA managed, your plan manager or the NDIA holds the claim records, but it is still sensible to keep your own copies of service agreements and anything you sign.
- Participants, including nominees managing a plan: records of NDIS support payments, for 3 years. This matters most if you self manage, because you pay and claim yourself
- Plan managers: records of NDIS support payments they make, for 3 years
- Providers: records relating to the payment and receipt of NDIS funds, for 7 years. Failing to keep them can attract a civil penalty
What to keep
- Invoices and receipts for every support, showing the date, support, amount and the provider's ABN
- Service agreements and any changes to them
- Bank statements that show payments, especially for self managed claims
- Payroll records, if you employ your own support workers
- For providers: invoices issued, payments received, claims made, and the records that show the support was delivered, such as shift or session notes
If a record is missing or in the wrong format
The law allows participants and providers to give other evidence that a service was received if a record was not kept in the required format. That is a safety net, not a plan. A missing invoice is much harder to explain years later than to keep today.
Destroying records is now an offence
Since 27 August 2026, intentionally destroying records to defraud the NDIS, or to disrupt an audit, review, investigation or compliance activity, is an offence with a penalty of up to 2 years in prison or 240 penalty units, or both. Ordinary disposal after the required period is not the issue: deliberate destruction to hide something is.
Simple systems that work
- Keep one folder per plan year, digital is fine, and save every invoice and receipt as it arrives
- Name files consistently, for example by date and provider
- Back up to a second place, such as cloud storage
- Self managed: match each claim to its invoice and bank payment as you go, since claims must be made within 90 days from 1 December 2026
- Providers: set a 7 year retention rule in your accounting and practice software, and check that former staff records stay accessible
What is coming next
Claims above a certain threshold will need supporting documents, and from 1 July 2027 most providers must enrol with the NDIA. From 27 February 2027, new debt safeguards give participants 28 days and providers 14 days to respond to a debt notice, which is much easier with good records to hand.