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Tag: NDIS

Conflict of interest and the NDIS

Posted on by Quentin bngonline

A conflict of interest arises when a person or organisation takes advantage of their position for personal or corporate benefit. The conflict may be actual (because it occurs), potential (because it may or is likely to occur), or perceived (because people could or would think it is a conflict, even if it is not).

Within the NDIS, the issue can arise when a provider offers multiple supports. A support coordinator, for example, is required to provide advice that is unbiased and fair, in helping to connect participants with the supports they need. However, if the support coordinator’s organisation also delivers other supports, they may unintentionally influence a potentially vulnerable participant’s decision-making process in the selection of the providers of their supports.

In his recent review of the NDIS Act, David Tune AO PSM discussed the potential conflict of interest that arises when support coordinators are also the providers of other funded supports within the individual’s plan. He recommended that:

“The NDIS rules [be] amended to outline circumstances in which it is not appropriate for the providers of Support Coordination to be the provider of any other funded supports in a participant’s plan, to protect participants from providers’ conflicts of interest.”

The Tune Review found that in some cases, where the participant was receiving funded supports as well as support coordination, the coordinators only directed participants towards supports provided by their own organisation. This limits the individual’s freedom of choice and control over their funded supports.

It is important that participants receive transparent advice about support options available, and providers respect the participant’s rights to freedom of expression, self-determination and decision-making. The Review recommended that where possible, a person’s support coordination should be independent from other service provisions.

Support providers have an obligation to put processes in place to limit conflicts of interest where possible. We have developed several resources that organisations can use to assist with this. Our support coordination and plan management policy outlines how providers can reduce the risk of conflicts of interest by:

  • Maintaining a separation between the service delivery team and the support coordination team where possible;
  • Ensuring that information and records of supports participants have received remain confidential;
  • Ensuring that participants receive all the information regarding support options under the NDIS;
  • Ensuring that the individual is aware of their rights to choose support from a provider that is different to where their support coordinator or plan manager works.

You can access these policies in SPP’s Reading Room:

  • Policy: Support coordination and plan management
  • Policy: Conflict of interest NDIS

Our Policy: Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) also addresses conflict of interest in the SDA context.

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Conducting client risk assessments

Posted on by Quentin bngonline

Taking a person-centred approach is a key theme of the NDIS Practice Standards, and undertaking an individual risk assessment for each participant is part of this process.

Under Division 3 of the NDIS Practice Standards, Provision of Supports,  providers are required to demonstrate the following:

“In collaboration with each participant, a risk assessment is completed and documented for each participant’s support plan, then appropriate strategies to treat known risks are planned and implemented.”

This assessment should take place at the Support Planning stage, where a client’s individual circumstances and needs are being considered.

We have developed two risk assessment templates to help you undertake this assessment. These templates are designed to be easily filled out, and consider risks to both clients and staff. The templates cover common risk areas including client history and circumstances, physical risks associated with assisting a client in their home and WHS concerns.

You can easily add additional rows and content to adapt the templates to the specific risks and service environments that are relevant to your organisation.

Find our templates in the Reading Room:

  • Template: Client risk assessment 
  • Template: Client risk assessment (home visits)

Restrictive practices

Posted on by Quentin bngonline

Restrictive practices are practices which involve the use of actions, methods and interventions that restrict the rights or freedom of a person with a disability. The main categories of restrictive practices are restraint (chemical, mechanical, physical or social) and seclusion.

There is a concern that restrictive practices are used as a ‘means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation by staff, family members or others providing support.’ If used in this manner, restrictive practices constitute a breach of a person’s human rights. Consequently, the use of restrictive practices in Australia has become a topic of concern, and recent focus among government bodies and policy makers has been on reforming policy and legislation in this area. The Australian Law Reform Commission has stated that the overall aim of reform is to reduce, and ultimately, eliminate the use of restrictive practices.

Each state and territory have their own rules regarding what restrictive practices can be used as part of a client’s treatment plan, however only five types of restrictive practices are permissible in Australia. To make it easier for NDIS providers to navigate these regulatory requirements, BNG have developed a suite of resources which are available in the SPP Reading Room:

  • Info Sheet: Eliminating Restrictive Practices
  • Policy: Eliminating Restrictive Practices (Disability)
  • Template: Restrictive practices reporting form
  • Template: Restrictive practices register