8.30am - 8.55am 

Arrival and Registration  

9.00am - 9.15am

Welcome and Introductions 

9.15am - 9.30am 
Victorian-Specific Housing & Tenancy Implications

This session provides an in-depth examination of Victoria’s updated disability housing and tenancy laws and their implications for SIL delivery, participant choice, and service governance.

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Delegates will explore how tenancy options-SDA agreements versus residential rental arrangements -affect SIL operations, provider influence within the home, and the boundaries between housing and support provision.

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Topics covered include:

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• Overview of Victorian housing and tenancy reforms relevant to SIL.

• Understanding participant choice between SDA tenancy agreements and residential rental arrangements.

• Impacts on SIL service delivery, provider authority, and operational boundaries.

• Managing disputes, exits, and service continuity in shared living arrangements.

• Aligning SIL practice with participant rights, regulatory obligations, and housing frameworks.

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Providers will gain practical guidance to operate within Victoria’s evolving housing framework, navigate tenancy choice while maintaining service quality, and ensure compliance with governance, safeguarding, and participant-centred outcomes.

9.30am - 10.00am 
Navigating the Closure of Legacy Group Homes: A SIL-Led Response to Safe, Person-Centred Transitions

Across Australia, a significant number of legacy group homes are closing or at risk of closure.

In Victoria, expiring funding agreements place nearly 2,000 participants with high support needs at risk, while providers nationally have exited the sector due to financial pressures, workforce challenges, and regulatory compliance demands.

These closures create uncertainty for residents, families, and support staff, highlighting an urgent sector-wide challenge: how to ensure safe, sustainable, and person-centred transitions when traditional group home models are no longer viable.

This in-person SILSDA 2026 session focuses on practical, SIL-led solutions for managing these transitions. Attendees will explore the differences between legacy group home models and contemporary SIL approaches, understand the critical importance of evidence-based transition planning, and examine the role of SIL providers in safeguarding participant wellbeing during periods of disruption.

While SDA pathways will be considered as one potential housing option where appropriate, the session prioritises support continuity, operational decision-making, and risk mitigation over the physical housing model.

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Delegates will gain practical guidance on navigating urgent and planned closures, including funding flexibility, environmental and support suitability, safeguarding, and risk management. The session equips SIL providers, support coordinators, and sector leaders with the tools, strategies, and confidence required to respond effectively to this national challenge.

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Key Areas of Focus

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• National context and drivers of group home closures, including funding expiries, workforce shortages, and regulatory pressures.

• Managing planned and unplanned transitions while maintaining continuity of care and participant wellbeing.

• Funding strategies and considerations under the NDIS to support transitional arrangements.

• Planning safe, person-centred moves for participants with higher or complex support needs.

• Safeguarding, fire safety, and risk management considerations in SIL transitions.

• Evaluating SDA pathways as a housing option, and identifying when alternative arrangements are preferable.

• Avoiding placement breakdowns and escalation through structured, evidence-based transition planning.

• Practical next steps for SIL providers, support coordinators, families, and operational leaders to implement safe, sustainable transitions.

10.00am - 10.15am

Morning tea 

10.15am - 10.45am
Strengthening Safeguards: Implications of the NDIS Integrity & Safeguarding Bill 2025 for 2026 Practice

This session provides an in-depth examination of the NDIS Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2025 and its implications for SIL providers in 2026.

Delegates will gain a detailed understanding of how this legislation enhances the NDIS Commission’s regulatory powers, strengthens the integrity of SIL services, and introduces new obligations for providers, auditors, and consultants.

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The presentation focuses on the macro-level regulatory context, exploring how legislative changes translate into sector-wide compliance expectations.

Attendees will examine the Bill’s key provisions, understand the risks of non-compliance, and consider strategic responses to embed proactive safeguards into organisational governance and operations.

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Topics covered include:

• Expanded banning powers for providers, auditors, and consultants posing risks to Participants.

• Strengthened civil and criminal penalties to support compliance enforcement.

• Anti-promotion and marketing measures to protect participants from predatory practices.

• Enhanced investigation and information-gathering powers to support effective oversight.

• Practical implications for SIL providers, including risk management strategies and operational adjustments to align with 2026 requirements.

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Outcomes for Attendees:
Providers will leave with actionable guidance to strengthen organisational safeguards, ensure regulatory compliance, and implement proactive, high-level strategies to maintain safe and high-quality SIL operations under the 2026 reforms.

10.45am - 11.15am 
Understanding the New NDIS Planning Framework: Operational Implications for SIL

From mid-2026, the NDIA will implement a new planning framework designed to enhance transparency, simplify planning, and focus on Participant support needs.

This session provides SIL providers with operational strategies to integrate these changes effectively.

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Topics covered include:

• Transition from functional impairment-based plans to support needs-focused planning.

• Integrating Participant daily requirements into funding and support arrangements.

• Phased implementation guidance and organisational preparation strategies.

• Aligning SIL service delivery, staffing, and rostering with the new planning framework.

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Outcomes for Attendees:
Providers will gain clear strategies to adapt operations, align staffing, and integrate support plans, ensuring seamless transitions under the new 2026 planning framework.

11.15am - 11.45am 
Safeguarding and Incident Management: Strengthening Governance and Compliance in SIL

This session provides a practical, operational focus on how SIL providers can meet strengthened regulatory expectations in daily service delivery. With the 2026 SIL Practice Standards in effect, the NDIS Commission is increasingly focused on incident identification, reporting, escalation, and governance oversight, particularly in shared living environments.

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Attendees will explore how these regulatory expectations translate into frontline practice, learning how to manage restrictive practices, behaviours of concern, psychosocial hazards, and cumulative risk while embedding robust governance and compliance processes.

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Topics covered include:

• Understanding evolving regulatory expectations for incident management in SIL.

• Identifying, reporting, and escalating incidents effectively in shared living settings.

• Managing restrictive practices, psychosocial hazards, and behaviours of concern.

• Strengthening governance oversight and executive accountability for incident response.

• Preparing for audits, compliance reviews, and NDIS Commission investigations.

11.45am - 12.10pm 

Audience Q & A and Panel 

12.15pm - 12.45pm 

Lunch 

12.50pm - 1.20pm 
NDIS Enforcement & Compliance: Preparing for Intensified Regulatory Oversight

With new SIL Practice Standards and increased NDIS Commission enforcement, providers face elevated expectations in governance, workforce capability, and operational compliance.

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This session will cover:

• The upcoming SIL Practice Standards: participant-centred, human-rights aligned, and workforce-focused.

• Enforcement trends, including corrective actions, registration reviews, and banning orders.

• Strategies for integrating compliance into daily operations, including governance and reporting frameworks.

• Practical approaches for mitigating regulatory risks while maintaining service quality.

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Outcome: Providers will gain in-depth guidance to strengthen governance, reduce compliance risk, and proactively respond to regulatory oversight.

1.20pm - 1.50pm 
Budget Structures and Funding Periods: Managing Risk and Operational Sustainability

This session provides an in-depth analysis of how funding periods, budget flexibility, and periodic allocations affect SIL services.

Delegates will explore the operational and financial implications of variable funding and the strategies needed to maintain service sustainability.

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Topics covered include:

• Understanding funding structures and periodic allocation mechanisms for SIL.

• Managing financial risk, including cashflow, rostering, and service continuity.

• Supporting Providers to navigate flexible budgets without disruption.

• Operational strategies to adapt to shorter funding cycles or reassessments.

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 Providers will gain actionable techniques for managing funding variability, maintaining operational stability, and ensuring quality participant support.

1.50pm - 2.20pm 
 Platform Providers & Workforce Marketplaces – 2026 Regulatory Readiness

This session provides an in-depth analysis of the emerging 2026 regulatory framework for platform providers and workforce marketplaces within SIL, and how these changes will impact service delivery, compliance, and workforce management.

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Delegates will explore the registration, quality, and safeguarding obligations that will apply from 1 July 2026 to digital platforms, labour-hire arrangements, and third-party workforce models, and learn practical strategies to manage associated risks effectively.

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Topics covered include:

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• Understanding why platform providers and workforce marketplaces are now in scope for NDIS regulation in 2026.

• Registration, quality, and safeguarding obligations for digital platforms, labour-hire, and contractor-based models under the new SIL Practice Standards.

• Operational implications for SIL providers using third-party workforce arrangements, including rostering, supervision, and participant safety.

• Managing risk, accountability, and compliance when workers are not directly employed by the provider.

• Strategies to align workforce management, rostering, and supervision with the 2026 SIL Practice Standards.

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Providers will gain actionable insights and practical techniques to ensure safe, compliant, and sustainable workforce models, maintain service continuity, and protect participant outcomes in line with the upcoming 2026 SIL reforms.

2.25pm - 2.40pm 

Afternoon Tea 

2.45pm - 3.15pm 
SCHADS Award & SIL in 2026: Navigating Workforce Costs, Compliance & Operational Viability

As SIL providers continue to operate in an increasingly competitive and cost constrained environment, the growing impact of the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services (SCHADS) Award has become one of the most significant workforce and financial challenges facing the sector. With wage rates rising, minimum conditions tightening, and compliance scrutiny intensifying, providers must understand how SCHADS requirements intersect with funded SIL models and shape service viability.

This session will unpack the complex relationship between the SCHADS Award and SIL operations in 2026, exploring how:
•    Award wage increases and conditions directly influence staffing costs and care models within SIL services.
•    Participant ratios and rostering models translate into real labour expenses, and why funded SIL amounts often lag behind true workforce costs.
•    Compliance expectations under the SCHADS Award (including penalty rates, overtime, leave entitlements and mandatory qualifications) increase operational risk for providers.
•    Financial viability challenges emerge when funding allocations are misaligned with weighted wage burdens — and how this can threaten service continuity or quality.
•    Risk mitigation strategies can protect both participants and providers, including contract design, rostering optimisation, workforce planning, and transparent financial modelling.

Delegates will gain practical insights into how to proactively plan for workforce sustainability, balance award compliance with NDIS funding realities, and safeguard service quality and participant outcomes amid changing workforce expectations. This session is essential for SIL managers, finance and operations leaders, HR professionals, and policy advisors aiming to strengthen their organisational resilience in 2026 and beyond.

3.15pm - 3.45pm 
Workforce Preparedness: Screening, Training, and Competency for 2026 SIL Services

This session provides an in-depth analysis of workforce requirements under the 2026 regulatory framework. Providers will learn how to embed compliance, competency, and safety into daily operations.

Topics include:

• Mandatory worker screening, including national criminal history checks.

• Competency-based training for staff in shared living settings.

• Workforce planning for high-risk environments.

• Ongoing professional development and governance oversight.

Outcome: Providers will leave with actionable strategies to maintain a skilled, compliant, and capable workforce.

3.45pm -4.00pm 

Audience Q & and Panel 

4.00pm - 6.30pm 

Networking and Depart