Message from the Commissioners 

In the lead up to the Federal Election, the Australian Government assumes a caretaker role, which means this month’s newsletter is focused on operational updates and information. Importantly, we have included some information on voting resources for people with disability ahead of the election on 3 May 2025.

This month, we’re pleased to share an important update on the development of the NDIS Commission’s inaugural Disability Action Plan (DAP), in line with our goal to be an employer of choice for people with disability.

As outlined by the Australian Human Rights Commission, the purpose of a DAP is to encourage, recognise and promote an active commitment to eliminate disability discrimination and promote the recognition of the rights of people with disability.

Our DAP Steering Committee will be chaired by Associate Commissioner Natalie Wade as the executive sponsor and will include 12 people with a range of lived and work experience from across the NDIS Commission. The Steering Committee will provide strategic oversight, guidance and accountability throughout the development of the DAP, and will ensure it aligns with legislative and policy requirements, organisational objectives and best practices in disability inclusion to foster an accessible and inclusive workplace.

The NDIS Commission’s DAP will outline our disability inclusion priorities and focus areas over the next five years whilst also being flexible and adaptable to the external landscape. 

We are keen to engage with stakeholders as we develop our DAP, and encourage you to reach out to project lead, Martha Arkalis at martha.arkalis@ndiscommission.gov.au if you are interested in participating in any focus groups.

It is anticipated that the NDIS Commission DAP will be finalised by July 2025.

Commissioner, Louise Glanville and Associate Commissioner, Natalie Wade.  

Human Rights Guidance

The rights of people with disability are central to everything that we do. We protect and uphold the rights of all NDIS participants, including the right to dignity and respect, and the right to live free from abuse, exploitation and violence. 

We do this by:

• empowering people with disability to exercise choice and control in the supports and services they receive, while ensuring appropriate protections are in place
• providing information that helps people with disability and their families or advocates to make informed decisions about NDIS providers
• responding to, and managing, concerns and complaints
• supporting a strong and viable market for disability supports and services.

We have developed a human rights guidance paper and poster that explain:

• how we think about human rights
• our human rights action statements.
• our three human rights duties:
  • a positive duty
  • a participation duty
  • a duty of candour

To download our human rights guidance resources, or for more information, please visit: https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/rules-and-standards/rights-people-disability.

Voting resources for people with disability

The Federal Election will be held on Saturday 3rd May 2025. The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has a range of resources to enable people with disability to participate in the voting process, with resources available in braille, DAISY, MP3 audio, large print, e-text, Easy Read and social story format.

Please share this information with NDIS participants you support: Information for people with disability - Australian Electoral Commission

State and Territory news: Changes to NSW Official Community Visitors (OCV) Scheme

In April 2024, changes were made to the Ageing and Disability Commissioner Act 2019 (NSW – ADC Act) to assist the operation of the NSW Official Community Visitors (OCV) scheme. Under Section 24A of the ADC Act, NDIS providers delivering ‘visitable services’ in NSW (as defined by the ADC Act) are required to provide information about their service to the ADC.

These changes may apply to providers in NSW that are providing NDIS funded Supported Independent Living (SIL) and/or NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) support.

NDIS providers operating in NSW should review these changes as part of NDIS regulatory obligations to comply with all relevant state laws.

The OCV page on the ADC web site (https://ageingdisabilitycommission.nsw.gov.au/official-community-visitors.html) provides guidance on what constitutes a visitable service, as well details on the information that needs to be provided to the ADC.

A fact sheet is also available on the Australian Disability Commission (ADC) website: https://ageingdisabilitycommission.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/dcj/ageing-disability-commission/ocv/ADC_Factsheet_Information_required_by_the_Official_Community_Visitor_Scheme_August_2024.pdf

Key resources to help you  

Our website has a range of key resources to support you in delivering safe and quality services and complying with your registration.

Find the links here:

• Provider registration
• Worker resources  
• NDIS Code of Conduct 
• Worker Screening  
• NDIS Practice Standards 
• Reportable Incidents 
• Incident management 
• Workforce Capability Framework 

Resources for Behaviour Support Practitioners 

• Understanding behaviour support and restrictive practices - for providers
• Rules for behaviour support and restrictive practices

Stay in touch with the NDIS Commission on social media:

General Enquiries

1800 035 544 (free call from landlines)

Our contact centre is open Monday to Friday 9am - 6:30pm AEDT, excluding public holidays.

To provide feedback, contact the NDIS Commission by emailing 
contactcentre@ndiscommission.gov.au.
 

Thanks for reading!

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