One of the key parts of your application to register as an NDIS provider is showing how your service-for-one meets the NDIS Practice Standards and the NDIS Rules. You will need to show evidence about how you meet the standards and the rules.
The information you provide as evidence does not need to be long or complicated. It just needs to clearly show the auditor what you do in your service-for-one to meet the standards.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (the NDIS Commission) wants to make sure that all services, including services-for-one, are keeping NDIS participants safe, providing quality services, and respecting their rights and choices. This is what the evidence shows them.
It is likely that you already have documents and systems in place that will help you to meet the practice standards and rules. This includes key things that may be used as evidence across a number of divisions. You will be asked to include them with your NDIS application, and an auditor will work with you to identify any additional documents.
During an audit
Everyone, including families, auditors and the NDIS Commission, are looking for the same result during the audit process: they want to make sure that the person with disability receives quality and safe supports and has their rights protected.
Knowing that you will be going through an audit can feel like a test or having someone criticise all the work you have done and all you have achieved for your family member over time. But that is not the purpose of the audit. The audit is meant to help identify what you are doing well and what improvements you might make.
During an audit, auditors will work with you to see how you can show that you are meeting the
NDIS Practice Standards in your service-for-one. They do not expect you to do a lot of preparation before the audit. The auditor will help you to find the evidence you need.
If there is anything you do not understand during the audit process, you can ask your auditor. Although auditors are not allowed to tell you how to fix problems, they are allowed to help you understand the standards. They can also work with you to identify what evidence you have that demonstrates that your service-for-one meets a practice standard.
The findings from an audit can help you improve the way you do things and think about ways
of working that you may not have considered before. This can benefit the person you support.
Types of evidence
There are four types of evidence that auditors collect during the audit.
They are:
- Information directly from the person with disability
- Information from family, friends, carers, nominees, or independent advocates
(with the person’s consent) - The written support plan and evidence to show that the staff follow the plan
- All the supports the service-for-one delivers to the person.
These evidence types are explained in more detail in The National Disability Insurance Scheme (Approved Quality Auditors Scheme) Guidelines 2018.
How to use this guide
You can use this guide as a reference to prepare for your online self-assessment and your audit.
It includes examples of evidence to help you meet the most common NDIS Practice Standards
for services-for-one. These are the core modules and Module 2A.
This guide has 6 parts. These are:
- Evidence you can use for all Practice Standards (this page)
- Evidence you can use for Core module – Division 1
- Evidence you can use for Core module – Division 2
- Evidence you can use for Core module – Division 3
- Evidence you can use for Core module – Division 4
- Evidence you can use for Module 2A.
Parts 2 – 6 of this guide include explanations of each module and evidence tables that you can use as checklists for when you are preparing your self-assessment and your audit.
Each service-for-one is unique and will provide support to the person in different ways. This means that each service-for-one will also have different ways of showing evidence. The evidence types listed in this guide are examples only and are not requirements in every instance.
The guide also does not coverall the ways that could be used to show evidence that may be relevant to you. If you are providing specialist supports, you may need to comply with other modules. The NDIS Commission will let you know about this after you complete your self-assessment.
Auditors need to check a variety of sources to determine if you are meeting the expectations and goals of the person with disability. They will do this using some of the methods described in this guide. If you are employing workers directly, it is likely that you are already meeting many of the requirements in order to meet existing employment legislation.
The NDIS Practice Standards say that what you need to do to meet the standards will be proportional to the size and scope of supports you deliver. This means that as a service-for-one, you can provide evidence that is likely to be different to what a large service provider would need to.
Tip:
The information you provide does not need to be long or complicated. It just needs to clearly show the auditor what you do in your service-for-one to meet the standards. You may also be able to meet a number of practice standards by creating an accessible handbook. This could be in Easy English or video format.
Evidence common to all Practice Standards
Policies – What you are planning to do?
Polices are documents that explain a service-for-one’s position on each of the Practice Standards (including the quality indicators).
For example, for Person-Centred Supports under Core Module Division 1, a service-for-one could have a policy that describes your commitment to promoting the person’s rights and responsibilities.
Policies do not need to be big documents. They are often between a paragraph and a single page
in length. Policies are different from procedures.
Procedures – What are the steps to achieve your plans?
Procedures are documents that describe how a service-for-one will implement the policies for each of the Practice Standards. Procedures are usually a series of steps to follow or work instructions to complete tasks.
For example, for Person-Centred Supports under Core Module Division 1, a service-for-one could have a procedure that describes the steps you will take to make sure that the person’s rights and responsibilities are met.
These steps could include:
- making sure that when workers are hired, they sign a code of conduct and are told about their rights and responsibilities, as well as the person’s
- how the person is involved in planning their supports and how the service-for-one makes sure the person’s preferences are included when identifying goals and choosing staff
- explaining how and in what format the service-for-one tells the person about their rights and responsibilities.
Procedures are normally a bit longer than policies because they need to include the detail of how you do the work.
If you do not have policies and procedures already and you prefer not to develop them yourself,
you could think about:
- sharing policies and procedures with other people in your networks
- using free templates from community organisations like the Policy Bank on the
Institute of Community Directors website and adapting them to suit your service.
Tip:
Try not to make procedures too complicated, but remember to add:
- When things need to be done by (e.g., within two days of…).
- Who is responsible (e.g., The support worker will… ).
- Where things are stored (e.g., will be written in file notes… ).
Feedback from the person with disability
Auditors will want to talk with the person and their chosen supporters. They will ask how the person feels about the supports they receive. The auditor will need to get consent from the person, or their Plan Nominee or legal guardian, before they can interview them. If the person cannot or does not give consent, the auditor will use other ways to find out what they need to know. This can include observing the person while they are being supported and talking to other people.
Key stakeholder feedback – incudes families and those governing and managing the service-for-one
Auditors need to talk with families or others who govern or manage the service-for-one. These people are also called key personnel. Auditors will ask families about how they support the person and about evidence, such as policies, procedures and records. Auditors do not need to get consent for these interviews. Auditors will not need to talk with every key stakeholder.
Again, this should not be an invasive process. However, auditors need to make sure they see, hear and observe enough evidence to determine that you can meet the Practice Standards.
Worker feedback – for staff who directly deliver services
Auditors will talk with workers who directly deliver services to the person of the service-for-one. Auditors will ask workers about how they support the person and may also ask about some evidence.
Examples of auditors’ questions:
- What is the process if there is an incident?
- How do you know what to do? Are there any policies or procedures in place to follow
for incidents? - Can you show me the forms you complete?
Auditors do not need to get consent for these interviews. They will not need to talk with every worker. Again, this should not be an invasive process. However, auditors need to make sure they see, hear and observe enough evidence to make sure your service meets the Practice Standards.
Chosen communities
There may be other stakeholders that the person agrees can be part of the audit. This may include:
- friends
- advocates
- other stakeholders, like people from community groups the person is part of.
Auditors do not have to speak with other stakeholders unless the participant, or their Plan Nominee or legal guardian, has given their consent.
However, a person’s chosen supporters can be a great source of evidence around how the person
is taking part in the community, access rights and values.
Observation
During an audit, auditors use observation as another method of collecting evidence.
Auditors might note things like:
- whether information is kept in a confidential way and information about the person
is not on display inappropriately - whether interactions with the person are respectful
- how the person responds to people and their surroundings.
Records
Records are a key source of evidence and include things like:
- file and progress notes
- filled-in forms and registers
- qualifications
- documents, like proof of insurance.
Other common types of evidence
Some types of evidence can be used across a range of different Practice Standards, including:
- a support plan
- file notes
- training records
- signed code of conduct
- evidence of consent from the person with disability.
What’s next?
You can find out more about how specific types of evidence can help you show that you meet the Practice Standards. The next part of this guide is Evidence you can use for Core module – Division 1.