15 November 2022

Natural disaster preparedness reminder

This alert is to remind providers of their obligations to plan and be prepared for emergencies and natural disasters and to let providers know of opportunities to support their preparedness.

Key Points

• Registered providers must have plans in place for the continuity of critical supports for participants in the event of an emergency or disaster and be ready to enact if required, as part of your registration requirements.

• It is important to prepare and regularly test, review and communicate your emergency response plans with participants and workers, and ensure plans are up-to-date.

• You must notify the NDIS Commission of changes or events that affect your ability to provide the supports and services you are registered to provide.

• Have your say in the development of a toolkit to support providers to understand and meet their obligations for emergency and disaster management.

• A High Risk Weather Season briefing will be held for members of the disability sector on 25 November.

Emergency and disaster preparedness

As Australia enters its summer storm season, we face a range of hazards including bushfires, cyclones, floods, extreme heat and severe storms – in addition to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This is a reminder to have in place disaster preparedness and planning measures that will ensure you can continue to provide supports before, during and after any emergency.

As part of your registration requirements, you must have emergency plans in place and ready to enact.

New NDIS Practice Standards and Quality Indicators for Emergency and Disaster Management were introduced in November 2021. These address the planning required by providers to prepare, prevent, manage and respond to emergency and disaster situations while mitigating risks to participants health, safety and wellbeing, and ensuring continuity of supports.

These new requirements came into effect for registered providers on 24 January 2022. You can read more information about the new Practice Standards and Quality Indicators on our website.

The NDIS Commission recommends that you:

• Have a business continuity plan in place that sets out how your organisation will manage in the event of a crisis or disaster situation.
• Regularly review and test your business continuity plan to assess risks to your business, your staff, and the people you support, and have identified strategies to manage those risks in the event of a crisis.
• Stay up-to-date and adapt the plan to additional advice from the State or Australian Government, as required.

When testing the plan, ensure that any third parties included in the plan are able to fulfil their responsibilities to your organisation. Refer to our business continuity planning provider alert that sets out our recommendations for business continuity planning. In particular, you should:

• identify options for managing any temporary changes in support, should this be required
• identify the staff in your organisation who have capabilities in contingency planning
• have plans in place to address potential gaps in service provision, which may be created by workers impacted by the emergency

Test your plans regularly, and ensure all staff understand what they would need to do in case of an emergency.

Familiarise your workforce and any third parties with the business continuity arrangements and triage points within your organisation, including policies, procedures and responsibilities.

Know the NDIS participants you support

It is vital that you understand the specific needs of the NDIS participants you support. Ensure your participant records are up-to-date and accessible, and that their support needs and preferences are documented clearly and can continue to be met should your services be disrupted.

This may include documenting their preferred means of communication, specific needs and preferences, health care plans, personal emergency plans, behaviour support plans, other providers, and their representatives.

Always use participants' preferred means of communication to explain any impact your emergency arrangements may have on them and other people you support. 

Notify the NDIS Commission of any changes

Registered NDIS providers must notify the NDIS Commission of certain changes and events, especially those that affect your ability to deliver the supports and services you are registered to provide or to comply with your conditions of registration.

Use the NDIS Commission Portal to notify us of any changes or events that are not due to COVID-19 (such as, for example, the evacuation of your premises due to weather events). 

If the changes are due to COVID-19, please use the Notification of event form – COVID-19 (registered providers).

Development of toolkit to support providers

As part of the NDIS Commission’s Support for NDIS Providers Grant Program, Kaleidoscope Focus is developing a toolkit for Emergency and Disaster Management, intended to assist NDIS Providers meet the requirements of the new Emergency and Disaster Management NDIS Practice Standard.

Kaleidoscope Focus is currently talking to NDIS Providers and Participants via online consultation sessions, and have a range of surveys available for different stakeholders to complete. Provider consultations will continue until 9 December, and targeted consultations for specific locations/networks can be arranged for early 2023 by contacting Michelle Dodd at michelle@kaleidoscopefocus.com.au.

For more information about the project and how to contribute see NDIS Emergency And Disaster Management Consultations and Surveys – Kaleidoscope Focus

High Risk Weather Season briefing

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is holding a 2022 High Risk Weather Season (HRWS) Preparedness Briefing specifically for members of the disability sector on 25 November.

The Briefing will provide information from:              

• Bureau of Meteorology
• National Emergency Management Agency
• Centre for Disability Research, University of Sydney

As well as providing a seasonal weather outlook, the HRWS Briefing will provide an update on current preparedness activities as we head into the high-risk weather period.  It will deliver a detailed overview of the roles and functions of the Australian Government during the preparedness, response and early recovery phases of a disaster. 

This will conclude with a scenario discussion exercise based on the Bureau’s seasonal outlook designed to better understand the upcoming risk and to enhance our collective preparedness.

Contact disabilityhrws@nema.gov.au to register for the event, or for any queries or questions

Stay up-to-date with emergency warnings

Visit your local emergency services website for the latest information about emergencies in your area:

• Victoria
• New South Wales
• Australian Capital Territory
• South Australia
• Queensland
• Northern Territory
• Western Australia 
• Tasmania

Local authorities also have information about preparing a natural disaster plan.