A worker's clearance was issued five years ago. It expires on a Tuesday. On Wednesday the worker is on the roster for a morning shift in a risk-assessed role, and nobody looked, because nothing in the daily routine ever shows a screening date.
That is how clearances lapse: quietly, with no single person at fault. And since 12 October 2026 the place where providers do this work has changed. This article sets out what moved, what did not, a renewal routine you can adopt this week, and a checklist for the new portal.
What changed on 12 October 2026
The NDIS Commission's page on worker screening for registered providers says: "From 12 October 2026, registered and deregistered providers do worker screening in the new NDIS Commission Portal". It also says that from that date you should check your notifications in the new portal for expiry notices. That is in force now.
The Commission's new portal toolkit says "The new NDIS Commission portal is now live". It covers several areas, including worker screening (verification and status management), registration and re-registration, reportable incidents, behaviour support and restrictive practices, and audit.
The Commission's guidance on which portal to use sets out two points that matter for worker screening.
Use the new portal. From 12 October, use the new NDIS Commission Portal for worker screening activities, including verification requests, linking and unlinking workers, and managing worker records.
Finish old work where it started. If you started any work in the existing portal before 12 October, finish it in the existing portal.
Your existing obligations still apply. The new portal changes where you do worker screening tasks; your duties under the NDIS rules and the Practice Standards still apply.
In short, the tool changed. Your existing duties still apply.
The rules that have not changed
How long a clearance lasts and when to renew
The Commission's worker screening overview says a check "is valid for up to 5 years from date of issue, unless it's cancelled or revoked". A worker can apply to renew up to 90 days before the expiry date of the current check. The application goes to the worker screening unit in the state or territory where the worker currently lives, and the page says a worker only needs to reapply if the check expires or is cancelled.
The overview also notes that some states or territories allow a worker to work for a registered provider while waiting for the outcome of an application. That sentence is about applications. The page does not say whether work can continue while a renewal is pending, so we make no claim either way. Check the rule with your state or territory worker screening unit before you plan around it.
The written record
On the registered providers page, the Commission says providers must keep a written record of workers in risk-assessed roles, and that the record is kept for 7 years. It also says to update the written record of roles within 20 business days. Those are the numbers to build habits around.
Where this sits in the Practice Standards
One line of context: the NDIS Practice Standards page lists "provider governance and operational management" in the core module and "human resource management" in the verification module. If you are mapping your worker screening process to the Standards, that is where human resource management sits.
Our reading: what a good renewal routine looks like
This section is our interpretation, not a statement from the NDIS Commission. The rules above set the dates; the routine below is one practical way to meet them.
Start with the problem. The Commission sends expiry notices to the new portal, but a notice in a portal is only useful if someone is looking at it. A clearance that lasts up to five years is long enough for people, roles and portal logins to change, so a provider that depends on memory will eventually miss one.
Keep your own expiry register. One list of every worker in a risk-assessed role, with the clearance expiry date and the role. The register is a second line of defence, not a replacement for the portal.
Flag at 120, 90 and 30 days. The 90 day flag matters most, because 90 days before expiry is the earliest a worker can lodge a renewal. The 120 day flag gives you a month to prepare the worker. The 30 day flag is the escalation.
Name one owner. A person, not a team. Name a backup for leave.
Check the portal notifications every month. Put it in the diary as a recurring task, and compare the notices against your register.
Do not roster a lapsed worker into a risk-assessed role. Make it a rule: until the clearance is resolved, the worker is not placed in that role.
Keep the written record up to date. When a worker starts, leaves or changes role, update your worker record as part of the same task as the roster change. If a role becomes risk-assessed, update your record of risk-assessed roles within 20 business days.
Days before expiry | Action | Who |
|---|---|---|
120 | Flag the worker on the register and tell them renewal opens soon | Compliance officer |
90 | Renewal can now be lodged: ask the worker to apply to their state or territory unit and note the date they did | Compliance officer and the worker |
30 | Escalate if no renewal is recorded; tell the rostering lead which shifts are at risk | HR lead or owner |
Expiry day | Confirm the status in the new portal; if it is not resolved, the worker is not rostered into a risk-assessed role | Compliance officer and rostering lead |
If a clearance is cancelled or revoked, follow the Commission's guidance. We do not set out the steps here.
A provider checklist for the new portal
This list is drawn from the Commission's registered providers page and its guidance on which portal to use. Tick each item once.
Confirm who can use the new portal. Make sure the people who handle worker screening in your organisation have access to the new NDIS Commission Portal, and use the Commission's toolkit for how to get set up.
Finish pre-12 October work in the existing portal. If anything was started there before 12 October, finish it there.
Lodge verification requests in the new portal. From 12 October, that is where verification requests are made.
Link and unlink workers in the new portal. Link workers who start with you and unlink those who leave, so your list of workers matches reality.
Check notifications for expiry notices. Make this a monthly task with a named owner.
Keep the written record of risk-assessed roles. Keep it for 7 years, and update it within 20 business days of a change to roles.
Reconcile your register against the portal. Every month, compare your own expiry register with what the portal shows, and fix differences.
For how evidence like this fits into a wider preparation routine, see how to prepare for an NDIS audit without chasing evidence across multiple systems.
How BondiByte helps
First, what BondiByte does not do. The worker screening check itself is verified in the NDIS Commission portal, not in BondiByte. BondiByte holds your own record and expiry dates.
That record is useful at the moment of decision, which is when someone fills a shift.
Staff compliance documents. Upload the worker's screening clearance as a compliance document and enter the expiry date you take from the Commission portal. Where you make the requirement mandatory, Smart Rostering and every other way of filling a shift will not use staff whose evidence expires before the shift ends.
Audit Centre. The Audit Centre shows readiness by NDIS Practice Standard. It is a mapping of your own records to the Standards, not a certification, and it helps you prepare. The audit ready every day article covers the habit in more detail.
BondiByte does not guarantee compliance, registration or any audit outcome, and it does not connect to the NDIS Commission portal. You still verify and manage screening in the Commission's portal, and a person decides who works.
Start a 28-day free trial on Starter, Foundation or Growth, no card needed. Every plan includes the full toolset.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a worker screening clearance valid?
Up to 5 years from the date of issue, unless it is cancelled or revoked, according to the Commission's worker screening overview.
When can we renew?
A worker can apply to renew up to 90 days before the expiry date of the current check. The application goes to the worker screening unit in the state or territory where the worker currently lives (NDIS Commission overview).
Can a worker keep working while a renewal is pending?
The Commission's overview says some states or territories allow a worker to work for a registered provider while waiting for the outcome of an application. It does not say whether that covers a renewal, so we cannot say that work may continue. Ask your state or territory worker screening unit before relying on it, and see the overview page.
What record must we keep, and for how long?
A written record of workers in risk-assessed roles, kept for 7 years, with the record of roles updated within 20 business days (registered providers page).
What moved to the new portal?
From 12 October 2026, worker screening activities including verification requests, linking and unlinking workers, and managing worker records are done in the new NDIS Commission Portal. Work started in the existing portal before that date is finished there (Commission: which portal to use).
Sources
Worker screening for registered providers, NDIS Commission, checked on 22 October 2026.
Worker screening overview, NDIS Commission, checked on 22 October 2026.
NDIS Commission portal (new) toolkit, NDIS Commission, checked on 22 October 2026.
NDIS Commission portal (new): which portal to use, NDIS Commission, checked on 22 October 2026.
NDIS Practice Standards, NDIS Commission, checked on 22 October 2026.
Checked on 22 October 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the NDIS Commission and your state or territory worker screening unit before relying on this.