Verification Pathway Overview

The NDIS Commission (the Commission) sets Conditions of Registration for providers wishing to become registered. For those on the Verification Pathway, the conditions are:

1. All workers complete worker screening.
2. All workers complete a worker orientation e-learning module called ‘Quality, Safety and You’. This covers information about the NDIS, NDIA and the Commission as well as human rights, respect, risk, and the roles and responsibilities of NDIS workers.
3. All workers comply with the NDIS Code of Conduct.
4. Providers must meet requirements as laid out in the NDIS Practice Standards: Verification Module – Required Documentation
   1. For sole traders / partnership – All workers must have Proof of Identity and Right to Work checks. Note: Pty Ltd companies do not have to do this as part of the audit but do need to do to meet their legislative requirements
   2. Meet any additional qualification.
5. Providers must demonstrate compliance, through completion of a quality ‘desk-top’ audit, with the following NDIS Practice Standards that make up the Verification Module
   1. Human Resource Management
   2. Incident Management
   3. Complaints Management
   4. Risk Management.
6. Additional requirements – some providers doing Verification will also be required to meet the Practice Standard ‘Violence, Abuse, Neglect, Exploitation and Discrimination Standard’ (see the Rights and Responsibilities Standard in the Certification Pathway).

You need to demonstrate you meet the requirements by having evidence that can be seen via a ‘desk-top’ audit.

Auditors will be looking at the evidence you have presented to them to see you have the required processes and documents in place and you are doing what you say you do. They may also call you if they want to know more.

This website will help you gather the required evidence and demonstrate your compliance. Use the resources in the Verification Pathway to help you build the processes and documents you need to meet the NDIS Verification requirements.

You will need to make some minor changes to the provided resources to suit your practice; however all the tools are there.

Each module in the Verification Pathway (i.e. Human Resource Management, Incident Management, Complaints Management, Risk Management) will have an introduction, a ‘Spiel’ and a list of documents.

Introduction

It is important to read this section before you jump to the documents. The introduction will explain why you need to complete the documents in that module and what the auditors will be looking for. It is very helpful to know why you are doing something and often makes it much easier to do it.

The Spiel

The Spiel contains the text you will insert when you are completing your registration application online. If you are doing everything the Spiel says, you can simply cut and paste this text and insert it in your application.

The Spiel is kept short on purpose and refers to the documents you will attach to your application. The Spiel links all relevant parts of your business (some you may already have and others you will need to develop) to the NDIS Practice Standards requirements and the NDIS Code of Conduct. The relevant Practice Standard and related indicators are also included at the beginning of the Spiel document so you can see what is required and how the systems described in the Spiel address those requirements.

It is critical you can demonstrate everything you say you are doing in the Spiel. If you are not doing something the Spiel says, you will need to customise it to reflect your processes and practices accurately. However, you still need to provide enough information  to satisfy the auditors.

Documents

Below each Spiel is a list of documents you will need to use and customise to reflect your business processes. Each document can be downloaded so you can review and customise it as necessary.

Each document in the Verification Pathway has its own introduction outlining why you need the document, why the auditors like it and maybe some helpful hints on how to use it or customise it for your business.

Make sure you read the introduction before starting to customise a document. When customising documents, keep the following in mind.

• Key areas that you’ll need to review, confirm or adapt are highlighted in yellow. You will still need to review the whole document to make sure it applies to you.
• Adapt titles and wording for your organisation. For example you may wish to change the following terms we have used:
  • ‘AHP’, ‘practitioner’ or ‘provider’ to represent you or people in your team
  • ‘director’ to refer to the most senior person in your organisation
  • ‘staff’ to represent people you employ
  • ‘participant’, which is an NDIS term, to refer to people you are provide services to.
• Insert your business/company name throughout the document.
• Use the document footer to show the date your document was created or updated on and indicate ‘Page x of y’.

When you have completed the Verification Pathway, you should have up to 22 documents in total. Check these against the Document Control Register (in Risk Management) where you will need to include dates of new/updated documents, and delete any documents you will not be using (e.g. Community Safety Checklist of you do not work in the community).

Finally, although we recommend that you only put into your documents what you actually do or are committed to doing, remember that these documents are designed to help you achieve compliance with NDIS requirements. If you are removing too many processes, you run the risk of being non-compliant.