NDIS audit scoring isn't a percentage you can average your way past. Auditors rate each outcome against the applicable Practice Standards, and the rules about where you fall short matter as much as how often. Understanding the scale is the difference between treating an audit as a number to maximise and treating it as a set of hard lines you cannot cross.

The four ratings

For stage one, stage two and mid-term audits, compliance with each criterion is rated on a four-point scale: [SOURCE: AQA Scheme Guidelines Annex B, clause B.12]

• 3 — Conformity with elements of best practice. The provider clearly demonstrates best practice: innovative, responsive delivery underpinned by continuous improvement.

• 2 — Conformity. The outcomes and indicators are clearly met, with negligible risk — certification can be recommended.

• 1 — Minor non-conformity. Requires a corrective action plan before certification can be recommended (typically: a process exists but the supporting documentation doesn't, or a process is documented but implementation can't be demonstrated).

• 0 — Major non-conformity. The provider can't demonstrate appropriate processes to meet the outcome, and/or the gaps present a high risk. [SOURCE: AQA Scheme Guidelines Annex B, clause B.12]

Key points

• Outcomes are rated 0–3, not given a single overall percentage

• Certification requires every applicable criterion met at "Conformity" (a 2) or above

• A single rating of 0 — Major non-conformity precludes certification

• Three minor non-conformities in the same module can themselves amount to a major non-conformity

• Minor non-conformities are workable — but only with an accepted corrective action plan

Why one "0" stops everything

Here's the line that matters most: a rating of "0 – Major Non-Conformity" precludes a recommendation for certification. [SOURCE: AQA Scheme Guidelines s16(5), Annex B B.12] It doesn't lower your average — it stops the recommendation outright. And there's a compounding trap: three minor non-conformities within the same module can themselves constitute a major non-conformity. [SOURCE: AQA Scheme Guidelines Annex B, clause B.12] Small gaps clustered in one area don't stay small.

A rating of 0 will preclude a recommendation for certification.

— National Disability Insurance Scheme (Approved Quality Auditors Scheme) Guidelines 2018, Annex B

Minor issues are survivable — if you move

A minor non-conformity isn't fatal, but it comes with a clock. You'll be required to present a corrective action plan within seven calendar days of written notification. [SOURCE: AQA Scheme Guidelines Annex C] Left unaddressed at the mid-term or recertification audit, a minor non-conformity escalates to a major within eighteen months — and a major must be downgraded or closed within three months or risk automatic suspension of the certification decision. [SOURCE: AQA Scheme Guidelines Annex C]

What this means for how you prepare

The scoring system rewards one thing above all: no high-risk gaps, anywhere. You can't offset a major non-conformity in one module with best practice in another. So the goal isn't a high average — it's making sure no single outcome is sitting at a 0, and no module is quietly accumulating the three minors that become one.

That's exactly what Practiso surfaces: your readiness scored across all modules, with the gaps that put you at risk of a non-conformity flagged before the auditor ever sees them.

See your score across every module →