31 March 2021

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Updated NSW Health guidance for residential disability services and in-home support providers

NSW Health has issued updated guidance for residential disability services and in-home support providers. 

Key points

• All workers in residential disability accommodation or in-home supports in the Local Government Areas (LGA) of Ballina, Byron Bay, Lismore and Tweed must wear a surgical mask.
• Visitors who have been in current areas of concern should be excluded from residential disability settings.
• Please read and implement the measures outlined in the updated guidance, and monitor updates on high-risk locations.

Updated advice for residential disability services and in-home support providers

NSW Health has issued their latest advice for residential disability care facilities and home care service providers.

Visitors are excluded from residential aged care facilities in NSW if they have been to any of the current areas of concern.  Workers and visitors are required to wear a surgical mask in the Northern NSW locations of Ballina LGA, Byron Bay LGA, Lismore LGA and Tweed LGA. For the remainder of NSW, surgical masks are only required if you have been to a location in one of the four LGAs.

We strongly urge you to read the updated guidance in full, and implement the measures outlined to support the continued health, safety and wellbeing of the NDIS participants you support.

At the time of writing, there are no cases of community transmission of COVID-19 or areas of increased testing in NSW, however there are new close and casual contact locations.  

This and other guidance issued by NSW Health for disability support providers is available on the NSW Health website.

Remain alert

You should continue to monitor high-risk locations that your workers or the people you support may have visited, and ensure that your emergency planning is up-to-date for the Easter holiday period. 

If you or any of your workers or people you support have any symptoms of COVID-19, they should arrange for testing and isolate at home while waiting for the results.

Outbreak planning and preparedness

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. You should ensure your workers have:

• completed the Worker Orientation Module, which explains the obligations of workers under the NDIS Code of Conduct
• completed Department of Health infection control training
• watched this video on the use of PPE from the Department of Health.

Our fact sheet on COVID-19 outbreak preparedness, prevention and management can assist you to meet your risk management and other obligations.

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 a 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 5.00pm (9.00am to 4.30pm in the NT) Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.

Email: contactcentre@ndiscommission.gov.au

Website: www.ndiscommission.gov.au