Guide 03 · audit types
NDIS verification vs certification: costs and evidence
Short answer: The local canon says “a verification audit is for low risk, low complexity supports and services” and “a certification audit is for higher risk supports and services.” It also says “You need to engage an approved quality auditor to complete a desktop review of the required documentary evidence” and that “There are two stages in a certification audit: Stage 1: Desktop audit… Stage 2: Onsite audit.” The Commission does not set prices for audit services; published ranges are indicative market estimates, separate from preparation work. Source and access date: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, The quality audit process, accessed 12 August 2026.
What the source says about the difference
The due-diligence file records these source words:
“a verification audit is for low risk, low complexity supports and services”
“a certification audit is for higher risk supports and services.”
Source and date: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, “The quality audit process”, accessed 12 August 2026.
The same source is recorded as saying:
“You need to engage an approved quality auditor to complete a desktop review of the required documentary evidence.”
“There are two stages in a certification audit: Stage 1: Desktop audit… Stage 2: Onsite audit.”
Source and date: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, “The quality audit process”, accessed 12 August 2026.
For SIL, the local canon records the following narrower statement:
“All registered supported independent living providers need to: have certification audits…”
Source and date: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, “Mandatory registration and transition pathways for supported independent living”, accessed 12 August 2026.
What changes in the evidence work
Verification and certification both require a provider to organise readable documentary evidence for the confirmed scope. The practical difference is the risk and complexity described by the source, plus the audit stages. A small provider should therefore avoid building a “verification pack” or “certification pack” from a generic label alone.
Before drafting, write down the entity, supports, modules, sites, operating model, worker picture and intended pathway. Then map the policy index, incident/complaint/risk registers, worker-screening and HR records, incident and complaint handling evidence, and the evidence-folder structure. A policy list without owners, versions or implementation records is not the same thing as a controlled evidence set. A folder of files without stable names, dates and links makes it harder to show what each file demonstrates.
Certification preparation may include additional module or operating-model evidence where the confirmed scope requires it. For SIL or high-intensity work, the client must provide real practice evidence. A consultant can organise and map the material; it cannot invent historical evidence or turn an unimplemented policy into proof.
What the audit may cost
The regulator does not set a single price. The local due-diligence record quotes the Commission as saying:
“There is no cost to register with the NDIS Commission, but providers will need to pay for an approved quality auditor to complete an audit. The cost of an audit is dependent on the size and scale of your organisation and number of NDIS participants you support.”
“The NDIS Commission doesn’t set prices for audit services.”
Source and date: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, “The quality audit process”, accessed 12 August 2026.
The local market scan gives a working range of approximately $0.8k–$4.5k for verification and $3k–$25k+ for certification. It also notes a small-provider base case around $1k–$2.5k for verification and $3.5k–$7.5k for certification. These are market ranges, not regulated prices or quotes. They can exclude preparation, consultant fees, staff time, travel, extra sites, extra modules and other scope factors. The historical official anchor in the same file is a median of $1,000 for verification and $6,000 for certification, with internal preparation costs excluded.
How to compare a quote
- Check whether the amount is the auditor fee only or includes preparation and evidence organisation.
- Ask which entity, sites, supports, modules and worker picture the quote assumes.
- Ask what happens if the auditor identifies missing evidence, requires extra sampling or adds a stage.
- Keep the auditor fee separate from any consultant fee. The client contracts and pays the approved auditor directly.
Common mistakes
- Choosing an audit label because it is cheaper, before the actual operating scope is checked.
- Comparing a template price with an auditor fee as if they were the same deliverable.
- Using a “green” internal checklist as evidence that the auditor or Commission will make a particular decision.
When a written readiness view helps
The free scorecard can help you identify which of the six readiness dimensions needs attention before you spend time comparing audit quotes. It is a desktop diagnostic from supplied material, not an audit pathway determination or outcome prediction. If the supplied scope is uncertain, the scorecard records that uncertainty so the next written decision starts from the same facts.
Related: the audit-documents guide and the policy-versus-evidence guide. Regulatory source access date: 12 August 2026.
Want your evidence and scope compared before you price the next step?
Use the free scorecard to get a six-dimension starting view, with missing material and limitations stated in writing.