Summer season safety

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing, and summer just around the corner, it’s timely to remind all providers and workers of your obligations under the NDIS Code of Conduct, NDIS Practice Standards and conditions of registration when delivering supports and services to NDIS participants. For example, the warmer weather and the risk of natural disasters – such as fires, cyclones and storms – means it is vital that you have in place disaster preparedness and planning measures so your organisation can continue to provide supports before, during, and following any emergency. You should test your plan, and refresh the understanding of your plan with your workforce.

Visit your state or territory’s emergency services website for information about preparing a natural disaster plan.

As well, it is vital to know the specific needs of the NDIS participants you support and undertake a risk assessment of the services your organisation provides. This allows you to set up a plan for ensuring those needs continue to be met should your services be disrupted. 

COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Australia, some states and territories are updating their restrictions and advice. Please stay updated with the latest advice and public health orders from your state or territory’s public health unit to ensure you and your workers are complying with local guidance.

You can find all of our COVID-19 provider alerts on the NDIS Commission website. We have recently reorganised how they appear, to more clearly separate the alerts for all providers across Australia from those that relate only to a particular state or territory.

Visit our webpage of frequently asked questions about COVID-19 and how it affects the supports and services you provide to NDIS participants.

By now your organisation should have reviewed your business continuity plans to factor in the changing COVID-19 situation. Your staff should be trained in infection control, and have access to PPE. State and territory public health restrictions can be activated swiftly in response to an outbreak. You should test your plans, make sure you have communicated your plan to the people you support, and have taken into account their preferences and decisions about how they want to be supported during an outbreak.

The NDIS Commission’s reporting obligations continue to apply at all times over this period. Make sure that you and your staff are familiar with these and that you submit a notification if required. If it is related to COVID-19, use the COVID-19 notification of event form.

Your obligation to provide continuity of service to NDIS participants and to uphold their right to exercise choice and control wherever possible remain. If any changes are needed to these services and supports as a result of COVID-19, always communicate these to participants using their preferred method of communication.

See the NDIS Commission’s guidance on preparing and responding to an outbreak.

Practice alerts: Avoiding preventable deaths and injuries

To support you in identifying and reducing risks that are associated with avoidable deaths in NDIS participants, we have developed the following five new provider alerts:

• Dysphagia, safe swallowing and mealtime management
• Epilepsy management
• Medicines associated with swallowing problems
• Polypharmacy
• Transitions of care between disability services and hospitals

Each alert explains the risks associated with each topic and how to manage these, as well as your obligations to NDIS participants.

We committed to developing these resources in response to the research undertaken by Professor Julian Trollor into the causes and contributors to deaths of people with disability.

We have also written to NDIS participants in WA this month to explain how the NDIS Commission will support them in exercising choice and control, and upholding their right to receive safe and quality NDIS funded supports and services.

Residential aged care (RAC) transition

On 1 December 2020, residential aged care (RAC) providers delivering services to NDIS participants in their facilities became NDIS registered providers.

It is important to note regulatory requirements relating to aged care residents (that is, residents that are not NDIS participants) do not change and continue to be regulated only through the Aged Care Act 1997.

Transitional arrangements that are now being implemented as residential aged care providers move to regulation by the NDIS Commission are set out in the National Disability Insurance Scheme Legislation Amendment (Transitioning Aged Care Providers) Rule 2020 (the Transition Rule). Transitional arrangements are in place for:

• Registration of residential aged care providers as registered NDIS providers
• NDIS Worker Screening; and
• Positive Behaviour Support.

Information about the proposed transitional arrangements can be viewed on our website.

Reminder about key personnel

Section 11A of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act) defines key personnel of a person or entity as: 

• a member of the group of persons responsible for the executive decisions of the person or entity;

• any other person having authority or responsibility for (or significant influence over) planning, directing or controlling the activities of the person or entity.

Key personnel can include, but is not limited to, CEO, executive staff members, managers and all members of the board of directors. It is your responsibility to inform the NDIS Commission at the time of applying for registration, or renewing registration, of all the people who are key personnel of your organisation.

Registered NDIS providers are responsible for keeping their key personnel information and contact details in their registration record with the NDIS Commission updated at all times via the NDIS Commission Portal. The quick reference guides can assist with accessing and navigating the Portal.

It is a requirement of registration that NDIS providers inform the NDIS Commission of a change in key personnel, and also:

• a significant change in the organisation or governance arrangements of the provider, and
• an event relating to the suitability of the provider’s key personnel.

New Worker - NDIS induction e-learning modules

Our New Worker – NDIS Induction Module e-learning program has been released to support providers to induct new staff during the COVID-19 pandemic who may not be familiar with the disability sector. It is made up of a series of eight online learning modules that provide new workers with specific information they need to start working in the disability sector.

The learning modules form part of a suite of learning products that new disability workers may complete as part of their induction, including the Worker Orientation Module ‘Quality Safety and You’ and the Infection prevention and control for COVID-19 training.

These documents outline the assessment and application requirements against the Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) Capability Framework to seek suitability as an NDIS behaviour support practitioner.

The next behaviour support newsletter will be sent out later in 2020 and will provide more information for behaviour support practitioners.  

Australian Consumer Law

The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) imparts a set of protections and obligations into any consumer transaction within Australia, including those through the NDIS. It is important that you treat consumers fairly and take particular care when dealing with those who may be disadvantaged or vulnerable.

We, along with the ACCC and NDIA, will soon be jointly writing to all providers to remind you of your obligations under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (which includes the ACL), and the NDIS Code of Conduct, when dealing with consumers with disability.

Newsletter for participants

We will issue the first edition of ‘SAFEGuard’, our newsletter for NDIS participants in early December. The newsletter will be issued quarterly and will cover topics aimed at informing people with disability about what we do. It will also address:

• how we and others are working to support and empower them to exercise choice and control
• how to speak up if they have concerns about the quality and safety of the NDIS supports and services they receive.

We encourage you to share this newsletter with the participants that you support. 

Our contact details

If you include contact details for the NDIS Commission on your website, please check that you use our correct phone number: 1800 035 544. The number hasn’t changed, but some websites have published the wrong number, so checking this will ensure participants using your website can easily call us.  

Subscribing to NDIS Commission updates

Registered providers receive our provider newsletters and provider alerts at the organisation’s email address listed in the NDIS Commission Portal. Log into the NDIS Commission Portal to check the email address listed for your organisation.

Anyone can receive NDIS Commission communications by completing the subscription form.

You can find past issues of the NDIS Commission provider newsletter on our website. 

Our mailing address is: engagement@ndiscommission.gov.au