The new NDIS Worker Screening Checks will be implemented shortly to set a single national standard for all workers by replacing variable arrangements already operating in different states and territories.
What is this database all about?
The NDIS Worker Screening Database will:
- Have a register of cleared and excluded workers from all states and territories to enable national portability of clearances
- Support national ongoing monitoring of the criminal history records of workers with clearances
- Mean that the employers across the country can go to one place to sponsor applications and verify the clearances of prospective worker
- Help providers with record-keeping requirements.
Identify - who requires clearance?
Engaging workers without appropriate clearance could be a breach of registration conditions. It may also be an offence under state and territory legislation for workers to work without a clearance if their role requires one.
Therefore, as a provider, you must ensure that workers in the following risk-assessed roles have an appropriate clearance;
- Key personnel
- Roles for which the normal duties include the direct delivery of specified supports or specified services to a person with disability.
This guarantees that key personnel and workers with more than incidental contact with people with disability do not pose an unacceptable risk to the safety and wellbeing of NDIS participants
It's on the way - what you should be doing in the meantime?
Until the NDIS National Worker Screening Check is launched, existing arrangements for worker screening or police checks in your state or territory continue to apply.
You must ensure that particular workers have undergone the appropriate screening for your state and hold a current clearance. This is a mandatory requirement of your NDIS provider registration.
Complement your strategy for better compliance
This national approach of worker screening checks is only one of the strategies that Providers need to put in place in order to identify and minimise the risk of harm to people with disability. Besides this, you need to actively promote such a culture that does not tolerate any / all sorts of abuse, neglect or exploitation, and focuses on continuous education and training to upskill your workers.
What else your workers need to do?
The NDIS Worker Orientation Module called ‘Quality, Safety and You’ was officially launched in May 2019. This Module is online and interactive, specifically designed to assist the people working in the sector to support people with disability. It explains the obligations of all employees under the NDIS Code of Conduct – from the perspective of NDIS participants. For more details on how to undertake the e-learning module, please click here.
