NDIS Record-Keeping Requirements and the 7-Year Retention Duty
NDIS record keeping requirements explained: what to keep, how long, the proposed 7-year retention duty, and prove-and-pay claiming from 2026.
What records you actually have to keep
How long you must keep each type of record
The proposed 7-year retention duty
Prove and pay: why records now sit inside the claim
The 90-day claim window
Registered versus unregistered: the Practice Standards layer
Progress notes: the record auditors read first
Financial and claim records: separating price from pay
Worker, incident and screening records
Storage, security and privacy
Common record-keeping mistakes that cost providers
What to do this quarter
Frequently asked questions
How long do NDIS providers have to keep records?
The safe operating rule is seven years, because that is the longest common retention period across NDIS, Fair Work and other obligations and it absorbs the shorter ones like the ATO's five-year financial-records rule. A seven-year statutory retention duty is also proposed under the Securing the NDIS Bill 2026, though that specific duty is Bill-dependent. Confirm the exact current period in the NDIS Provider Registration and Practice Standards Rules before finalising your policy.
What is the 7-year retention duty?
It is a proposed statutory obligation to retain records for seven years, included in the Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Bill 2026 introduced on 14 May 2026. It is not yet fully law, so treat it as the direction of travel rather than a commenced rule. If you already retain records for seven years you are ahead of it; check its status on health.gov.au/securingtheNDIS before relying on it.
Do unregistered NDIS providers have to keep records?
Yes. Even without the Practice Standards audit obligations, unregistered providers are bound by the NDIS Code of Conduct and must hold the evidence behind every claim they make. From July 2026 the shift to digital prove-and-pay claiming means that evidence is captured on each claim, so weak records directly delay or block payment regardless of registration status.
What happens under the 90-day claim window?
From 1 December 2026, the window to submit a claim is proposed to shrink from two years to 90 days — bill promptly or lose the claim. This is Bill-dependent, so confirm it has commenced before relying on the date. Combined with prove-and-pay, it means you must be able to produce delivery evidence within days of a shift, not months, so end-of-quarter batch claiming is no longer viable.
What should an NDIS progress note include?
A defensible note is contemporaneous, factual and specific: the date and time, duration, who delivered the support, what was actually delivered against the plan, any variation or incident, and the next step. Avoid vague entries like "all good" and never back-fill detail you did not observe. Under prove-and-pay, this note effectively becomes part of your payment request, so quality directly affects whether you get paid.