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Worker screening: the clearance rules that catch providers out
Reading Time
4 mins
Not every registered provider faces the same audit. Which one applies to you depends on the registration groups you deliver and the difference is significant, both in how deep the scrutiny goes and in what you need to prepare. Getting clear on which path is yours is the first step to preparing for the right thing.
The core difference: a desk review vs a site visit
A verification audit is a desk-based assessment. The auditor reviews your relevant documentation against the applicable standard. A certification audit goes further: it includes the desk audit of your documentation and an inspection of the sites, facilities, equipment and services used (or proposed to be used) to deliver supports.
So verification largely tests your paperwork; certification tests your paperwork and your operation on the ground.
Key points
Verification = a desk review of your documentation
Certification = desk review plus an on-site inspection of your services and facilities
Which applies depends on the registration groups you deliver
The standards assessed differ: certification draws on a broader set of Practice Standards than verification
If a standard must be assessed by verification, meeting it by certification also satisfies the requirement
Different audits, different standards
The two pathways are assessed against different parts of the NDIS Practice Standards. Certification audits are assessed against the broader Core and supplementary modules; verification audits are assessed against the narrower verification module.There's also a useful one-way rule worth knowing: if compliance with a standard must be assessed using verification, the requirement is still met if it's assessed using certification. Certification is the higher bar, so clearing it satisfies a verification requirement but not the other way around.
If compliance with an applicable standard must be assessed using verification, the requirement is met if compliance with the standard is assessed using certification.
How to know and how to prepare
Your registration groups determine your pathway, and the Commission's system flags whether you're assessed against additional modules if your scope changes. If you're adding registration groups, that can change what you're certified or verified against and it gets folded into your mid-term audit.
The practical takeaway: prepare for the audit you'll actually face. If you're on the certification pathway, organising documentation alone won't cut it. The auditor is also assessing what they see on site. Practiso maps your evidence to the exact standards your registration groups are assessed against, so you're preparing for the right bar, not a generic one.
See which standards apply to you →
