In November 2021 the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission released new Practice Standards and Quality Indicators . These changes impacted the areas of:
- Mealtime management (within Core module)
- Severe dysphagia management (within High Intensity Daily Personal Activities Supplementary module)
- Emergency and disaster management and related matters (within Verification and Core modules)
- This fact sheet summarises the changes and provides links to the legislated rules and guidelines implemented by Government which drove the changes
- If you are already registered or need to register with the Commission these changes apply to you.
In October 2023 AHPA updated some aspects of this resource. A webinar detailing and demonstrating the changes is available here. As dot pointed below, this website has been updated to assist allied health related organisations to:
- Update their internal systems and remain compliant
- Ease the re-registration process
- Enable those registering for the first time to comply with current requirements.
Whilst every attempt has been made to ensure these resources target the needs of all allied health service delivery organisations and adequately address the NDIS Practice Standards and Quality Indicators Version 4: November 2021; no guarantee can be made that application to your organisation will result in positive audit outcomes. It is the responsibility of the organisation utilising the resources provided to ensure they are fit for purpose to your individual scenario.
In summary, changes made to the website include:
General Information
- The Home and Registration Overview pages were revised to enable you to identify the information you need by starting with which question you have and/or which step in the registration process is relevant to you; the aim of this change was to both summarise the flow of tasks required and facilitate faster location of required information
- Each of the Verification and Certification pathways now include information clearly outlining the requirements for all providers related to:
- Worker screening checks
- Proof of identity and
- Compliance with the NDIS code of conduct
which are complemented by detailed assistance and templates to help you complete these tasks:
- A registration renewal pathway was added, given the system has been in place for a longer period and this information has become more clear
- Additional question and answer information added to the FAQs
- A revised and more concise overview webinar was produced to assist you with understanding the value of registration and navigation of the website
- The subscribe facility has been removed from the website as unfortunately AHPA does not have the funds nor capacity to maintain this website post June 2024 and therefore no further updates and communication with subscribers is expected at this time
- Changes related to Mealtime management have not been incorporated to any of the documents available and organisations for whom these changes are applicable will need to consider this independently
- Supplementary modules, including that which addresses severe dysphagia management have never been incorporated into this resource, and there remains no capacity for AHPA to provide this assistance at this time
- Changes related to Emergency and disaster management and related matters are predominantly included within the Risk Management section for both Verification and Certification pathways as summarised in the table below.
Specific Information and Document Updates
Background information available on the web site (web facing info) and/or the downloadable document have been updated for the topics noted below:
Verification
Topic Updated |
Web facing info |
Document |
Checklist | X | |
HRM | ||
Overview | X | |
Worker Screening | NEW | NEW risk assessment template |
Identity | NEW | NEW |
NDIS Code of Conduct | NEW | NEW |
HR Register | X | X NB: Now a tab within the Combined Compliance Calendar |
Business Compliance | X | X NB: Now a tab within the Combined Compliance Calendar |
Training & Competencies | X | X NB: Now a tab within the Combined Compliance Calendar |
Service Delivery Model | X | X |
Spiel | X | |
INCIDENT MANAGEMENT | ||
Service Agreement | X | *NB: This document has not been adjusted however you may need to include additional information to meet new legislative requirements related to emergency and disaster management depending on what you choose to include in your Support Plan document – see support Plan information within the Risk Management section to confirm whether your service agreement needs updating. For further clarity refer to the Safe Practice and Environment Policy updates. |
Spiel | X | |
COMPLAINTS MANAGEMENT | ||
Participant survey and related documents | X | |
Spiel | X | |
RISK MANAGEMENT | ||
Overview | X | |
Safe Practice & Environment Policy & Procedures | X | X |
NDIS Support Plan | X | X |
In-Rooms Safety Checklist | X | X |
Community Safety Checklist | X | X |
Spiel | X |
Certification
Topic Updated | Web facing info | Document |
RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES – Person-centred supports | ||
NDIS Support Plan | X | X |
Service Delivery Model | X | X |
Service Agreement | X | *NB: This document has not been adjusted however you may need to include additional information to meet new legislative requirements related to emergency and disaster management depending on what you choose to include in your Support Plan document – see support Plan information within this same section to confirm whether your service agreement needs updating. For further clarity refer to the Safe Practice and Environment Policy updates. |
NDIS Induction Checklist | X | |
Worker Screening | NEW | NEW risk assessment template |
Identity | NEW | NEW |
NDIS Code of Conduct | NEW | NEW |
Annual training plan has become Training & Competencies | X | X NB: Now a tab within the Combined Compliance Calendar |
Human Resource Register | X | X NB: Now a tab within the Combined Compliance Calendar |
Participant Survey & related documents | X | |
RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES – Violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and discrimination | ||
Compliance Calendar | X | X NB: Now a tab within the Combined Compliance Calendar |
NDIS Employment Checklist | X | |
GOVERNANCE AND OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT – Risk Management | ||
About risk management | X | |
Safe Practice & Environment Policy | X | X |
Community Safety Checklist | X | X |
In-Rooms Safety Checklist | X | X |
GOVERNANCE AND OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT – Human resource management | ||
About Human Resource Management | X | |
GOVERNANCE AND OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT – Quality management | ||
Document Control Register | X |
*Please Note: Spiels have not been updated within this Certification pathway and contain the NDIS Commissions Quality Standards at the beginning of these documents. This means this information is from the previous version of the standards and not the current. Therefore, if you would like to include the standard within your documents you will need to update this section to the new version of the standards.