The NDIS Practice Standards in Plain English: Core Module Walkthrough
The Core Module is four Practice Standards, each with several outcomes and quality indicators. Here it is in plain English.
Practice Standard 1 — Rights and Responsibilities
About the participant's rights and how your service protects them. Covers: person-centred supports, individual values and beliefs, privacy and dignity, independence and informed choice, and prevention of violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and discrimination.
What auditors look for: documented support planning with the participant, cultural information collected at intake, current privacy policy followed in practice, evidence of informed consent, current incident management and reportable incidents records.
Practice Standard 2 — Provider Governance and Operational Management
The longest standard. Covers: governance, risk management, quality management, information management, human resource management, incident management, and complaints management.
What auditors look for: org chart, board or management meeting minutes, current risk register, continuous improvement register, training matrix, incident register, complaints register with trend analysis.
Practice Standard 3 — Provision of Supports
How you actually deliver supports. Covers: access to supports, support planning, service agreements, responsive support provision, and transitions to or from a provider.
What auditors look for: intake process documented, signed support plans on file, current signed service agreements for every active participant, evidence of plan reviews, onboarding and offboarding procedures.
Practice Standard 4 — Provision of Supports Environment
The physical environment. Covers: safe environment, participant money and property, management of medication, management of waste.
What auditors look for: safety inspections, financial procedures, medication policy with training and administration records, waste management procedures.
How to use this in practice
For each of the four standards ask: "If an auditor walked in tomorrow, could I produce the evidence within five minutes?" What you can't produce in five minutes is your audit gap.
Heads up: The Commission is developing new SIL Practice Standards. If you deliver SIL, watch the reform page for updates.
