13 May 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Guidance on preventing, preparing for and dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak

We have developed guidance to support registered NDIS providers to prepare for, respond to, and manage an outbreak of COVID-19 involving the people with disability you support and/or your workers.

Key points

• Community transmission of COVID-19 is occurring, so it is vital to plan how you would deal with a situation in which the NDIS participants you support and/or your workers were infected.
• Our new fact sheet contains guidance to help you prepare now for a possible COVID-19 outbreak, how to respond to a suspected or confirmed case, and how to manage an outbreak.
• The Australian Government Department of Health will soon release a range of new products that have been developed in collaboration with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

COVID-19 outbreak preparedness, prevention and management

We have issued a fact sheet called COVID-19 outbreak preparedness, prevention and management. This resource contains practical guidance to support you to:

• ensure your workers take reasonable precautions to protect people with disability and themselves
• prepare for an outbreak of COVID-19
• respond to suspected or confirmed cases in different types of service settings
• manage an outbreak of COVID-19.

The fact sheet is for all registered providers of NDIS supports and services, including those providing in home supports, as well as disability accommodation settings. 

COMING SOON: New COVID-19 resources from the Department of Health

The Australian Government Department of Health will shortly release the following material targeted to people with disability and disability support providers, including:

A Guide for In-Home Support Providers. This guide for providers will help ensure your organisation is prepared, including by having the appropriate equipment, and updating your staff and participant records and emergency plans. The guide will also outline several potential scenarios involving COVID-19 infection, and how best to respond to these.

National individual health care plan for COVID-19 to assist people with disability in explaining their medical needs to health care settings.

Testing for COVID-19: What to expect. Information on testing for COVID-19 for people with intellectual or developmental disability, their support workers and carers, including who should be tested, where testing is done, what is involved with testing, and how to deal with anxiety and stress about the process.

Guidance on when to use PPE in disability support settings, including a short video for people with disability and their support workers and carers.

We will link to these resources from our COVID-19 information webpage when they are released.

COVIDSafe app

The COVIDSafe app is part of the Australian Government’s work to slow the spread of COVID-19. Downloading the app is completely voluntary, but it will help health officials quickly contact people exposed to COVID-19. You can download it from on the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Further information, alerts and resources

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) information webpage on the NDIS Commission website contains links to updates, training, alerts and other resources.

We also have a COVID-19 webpage containing information for people with disability, and containing webpage of frequently asked questions about COVID-19 for all stakeholders.

Contact Us

• Call: 1800 035 544 (free call from landlines). Our contact centre is open 9.00am to 4.30pm in the NT, 9.00am to 5.00pm in the ACT, NSW, QLD, SA, TAS and VIC Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
• Email: contactcentre@ndiscommission.gov.au
• Website: www.ndiscommission.gov.au

Links to previous COVID-19 provider alerts 

• 7 May 2020: Advice for people with disability
• 30 April 2020: Changes to student visa work conditions for workers of registered NDIS providers
• 28 April 2020: FAQs for all stakeholders and information for NDIS participants
• 20 April 2020: Management and Operational Plan for People with Disability
• 9 April 2020: Further assistance for organisations, people and households
• 9 April 2020: April 2020 Provider Newsletter (COVID-19)
• 3 April 2020: Adjusting supports and reducing infection risk
• 2 April 2020:  Practice Alert: Influenza (flu) vaccine from mid-April 2020
• 31 March 2020: Supporting providers to respond
• 26 March 2020: Assistance for organisations
• 24 March 2020: Information for support workers and access to PPE
• 19 March 2020: Business continuity planning
• 17 March 2020: Online training module for support workers
• 9 March 2020: Provider obligations and COVID-19 health information
• 7 February 2020: Information about the novel coronavirus outbreak