How to renew your NDIS Worker Screening Check, and how long it lasts

An NDIS Worker Screening Clearance lasts up to 5 years. You can renew it up to 90 days before it expires, through a state or territory worker screening unit, and your current employer has to verify you before the renewal progresses. Whether you can keep working while the renewal is processed depends on where you work, so the safe plan is to apply as soon as the 90-day window opens.

The first clearances were issued from February 2021, so they began expiring from February 2026. If you have been in disability support since the national check started, your renewal is due now or soon. This guide covers the timing, the cost in each state, the work on application rules and what your employer sees.

Key facts (checked 6 October 2026)

How to renew, step by step

1. Find your expiry date. The worker screening unit that issued your clearance sends a reminder before it is due. In NSW that is an email and SMS at 3, 2 and 1 months out; in Victoria, emails at 120 and 90 days.
2. Get your employer's Employer ID. The renewal application asks for it, and it sends a verification request to your employer.
3. Apply once the 90-day window opens. Use your state or territory unit's portal (table below). Apply to the unit that issued your original clearance unless you have moved interstate since, in which case apply where you now live.
4. Make sure your employer verifies you. The renewal does not progress until your employer confirms on the NDIS Worker Screening Database that you work for them. Where a state allows work on application, that verification also has to happen before your current clearance expires.
5. Keep the outcome. When the new clearance is granted, give the new number and expiry date to every provider you work for.

Where to renew, and what it costs

You renew through a state or territory unit, and each one sets its own fee. Fees below are as published on each unit's site on 6 October 2026. Where we could not confirm a current fee, we link the unit instead of quoting a number.

In the ACT, the NDIS clearance can share an expiry date with your Working with Vulnerable People registration, so it may run for less than 5 years. Check the date on your own record, not the five-year rule of thumb.

Can you keep working while the renewal is processed?

Sometimes. The NDIS Commission calls this "work on application", and it applies only when all four of these are true:

• the state or territory you work in has a work on application policy,
• you apply to the same unit that issued your original clearance (unless you have moved interstate in the past 5 years),
• you apply before your current clearance expires, and
• your employer logs into the NDIS Worker Screening Database and verifies you before it expires.

The rule differs by jurisdiction, and some are strict:

• NSW: no. The Office of the Children's Guardian says "There are no extensions." If the renewal is not finalised before expiry, your clearance expires and there is a gap in your eligibility to work.
• ACT: Access Canberra says that if you do not apply to renew and have your employment verified before your clearance expires, you will be ineligible to work until that is complete.
• WA: the Department of Communities says a worker can work on application while it is processed, provided the employer has verified them, the application has not been withdrawn, and there is no earlier exclusion or interim bar.
• NT: SAFE NT says that if your clearance expires before the renewal has been assessed, you may not be eligible to work in risk-assessed roles.
• VIC, QLD, SA and TAS: we could not confirm a current, published renewal rule on each unit's own page. Ask your unit before you rely on working through a renewal.

Wherever you are, the practical answer is the same: apply in the first weeks of the 90-day window, and chase your employer's verification the same week.

What happens if your clearance lapses

If you work in a risk-assessed role for a registered NDIS provider and your clearance expires, you must be removed from all risk-assessed roles immediately. The NDIS Commission puts that duty on the registered provider and says failing to meet it may lead to regulatory action. There is no grace period, so a lapse can mean lost shifts until the new clearance is granted.

What your employer sees on the NDIS Worker Screening Database

Registered providers check clearances on the NDIS Worker Screening Database (NWSD). A worker has to be linked to the organisation before the provider can see their status. For a current clearance, the provider sees:

• Worker's status: Clearance
• Expiry: a date in the future
• Eligible to work: Yes

Linked employers get a notification when a worker's check will expire within 90 days, and when a worker's status changes, for example after an exclusion. When a worker leaves, the provider should unlink them, which stops the expiry notifications. The NDIS Commission's page for registered providers walks through the steps.

That monitoring is the screening unit's, and it runs for the life of the clearance. It is the reason an NDIS clearance tells you more than a National Police Check (Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check) taken on one day.

If you also work in Aged Care

A current NDIS Worker Screening Clearance is one of the two accepted screening options for Aged Care workers, so the Aged Care rules don't require a National Police Check as well. Your Aged Care provider may still ask for one. Many do as their own policy, so check with them before you start. Let the clearance lapse and you lose that option in Aged Care too, so an Aged Care provider relying on it will need a new clearance or a National Police Check no older than three years. See the Aged Care worker screening requirements.

How Koora fits

Koora records your NDIS clearance number and expiry date on your Career Passport and tracks that date, with reminders from 90 days out, so the renewal is on your radar as soon as the window opens. The compliance engine checks the clearance against what each role requires. A person reviews the evidence once you share your passport or a provider requests access, or across an organisation's own records through the Crew add-on. NDIS Worker Screening is reviewed, not verified by Koora: checking clearances against the source is on our roadmap. The screening unit's monitoring and the NDIS Worker Screening Database stay the authority on whether a clearance is current, and the provider keeps the legal responsibility for who works in a risk-assessed role.

For where to apply the first time, see the NDIS Worker Screening Check state-by-state guide. For whether you need one at all, see do you need an NDIS Worker Screening Check.

Authoritative sources

• NDIS Worker Screening Check: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
• NDIS Worker Screening Check renewal cycle FAQs: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, January 2026
• Worker screening for registered providers: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
• NDIS Worker Check expiry and reapplying: Office of the Children's Guardian (NSW)

Frequently asked questions

How long is an NDIS Worker Screening Check valid?

Up to 5 years from the date of the outcome, unless it is cancelled or revoked. In the ACT the NDIS clearance can be tied to your Working with Vulnerable People registration, so its expiry can come sooner.

When can I renew my NDIS Worker Screening Check?

Up to 90 days before it expires. You apply through a state or territory worker screening unit, usually the one that issued your clearance, and your current employer verifies your employment on the NDIS Worker Screening Database before the renewal progresses. NSW says you can reapply from 3 months before expiry and no sooner.

Can I keep working while my renewal is processed?

Only where your state or territory has a work on application policy, you applied before your clearance expired, and your employer verified you on the NDIS Worker Screening Database before expiry. NSW gives no extensions, so a renewal still being processed at expiry leaves a gap. Check your own unit's rule and apply early.

What happens if my NDIS clearance expires?

If you work in a risk-assessed role for a registered NDIS provider, you must be removed from all risk-assessed roles immediately until a new clearance is granted. There is no grace period.

How does my employer check that my NDIS clearance is current?

Registered providers link workers to their organisation on the NDIS Worker Screening Database. A current clearance shows a status of Clearance, an expiry date in the future and Eligible to work: Yes. The database notifies linked employers when a worker's check is due to expire within 90 days and when a worker's status changes.

What is an NDIS clearance?

The outcome of an NDIS Worker Screening Check when the screening unit decides a person can work in NDIS risk-assessed roles. It is recognised in every state and territory, and it is also one of the two accepted screening options for Aged Care workers.