The Need for a New System for NDIS Screening
NDIS Screening
The NDIS has decided to create a new screening process for those working with participants. Since there have previously been a range of methods used to screen care workers over the years, many people may wonder why a new system is necessary. The reason, in essence, is because the old system was fragmented and didn’t work very well, resulting in people with disability experiencing poor care and even abuse from workers who had been screened.
The old system allowed screening to be carried out by agencies, government bodies and even employers. This caused variable outcomes, especially because police could not, for security and privacy reasons, provide information to agencies and employers. As a result, only government bodies had full details and so could identify potential risks for employers.
A Safer Environment through Consistent NDIS Screening
The new NDIS screening programme aims to provide a safer environment when services are provided to people with disability. The intention is to create a process that is standardised across the whole country so that all workers are assessed in a consistent manner. To this end, new checks started from 1st July 2018 in South Australia and required all workers for NDIS providers to have screening checks for the Department of Human Services Disability Services Employment and Department of Human Services Child-related Employment, which must be issued before 1st July 2019; these checks last for three years.
From 1st July 2019 in Queensland, workers engaged in risk-assessed roles for NDIS providers must hold a current disability check (Yellow Card) and a current Working with Children check (Blue Card). Such workers act as registered health practitioners and must hold a certificate of registration in accordance with the Health Protection Regulation National Law 2009 (Queensland).
New screening requirements do not apply to Western Australia until July 2020 and, until then, existing screening rules will apply.
Any NDIS providers must ensure that all workers who deliver NDIS support or services, or who have more than incidental contact with people with disability, are properly checked. This will ensure they don’t pose an unacceptable risk to each NDIS participant’s safety and well-being.
NDIS Screening With New Checks and Aims
In order to determine if a worker poses an unacceptable risk, the screening will check:
- any police and government information, including any convictions (including those that are spent or quashed) or current or pending charges
- child protection information, including any child protection orders
- apprehended violence order
- workplace misconduct, generally notified through complaints or incident reporting
- for those who have worked overseas, any international police checks.
It is intended that an NDIS Worker Screening Database is set up, providing a register of cleared and excluded workers. This will be a national database and so records can be accessed from any state and territory in Australia. Consequently, once a worker has been screened and cleared, they can work anywhere in Australia without further checks. Providers will, therefore, be saved from unnecessary screening and record keeping will be improved with a reduction in paperwork.
The new national NDIS worker screening requirements can bring great benefits providing you are aware of how they work and conform to the new rules. As a Provider+ member, you’ll be updated on all necessary regulations, advised on how to conform to them and be given all relevant training.
