Quality and Safeguarding August Update

Welcome to the Q&S update for another month! Here's what's changed.

Behaviour Support Practitioner Registration

The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission) has released a guide on how apply to be considered suitable as an NDIS behaviour support practitioner. Applicants will need a PRODA account to access both the Applications Portal and the NDIS Commission Portal.

Practitioners considered suitable will receive a practitioner profile that they can access through the NDIS Commission Portal. The NDIS Commission has a quick reference guide that explains how to obtain access to the applications portal. The NDIS Commission also has a list of FAQs relating to the suitability assessment and application process and an overview the national implementation schedule on its website. For those who want more info, DSC has as upcoming workshop for Behaviour Support Practitioners to navigate this process.

TelePBS

The NDIS Commission funded Aspect to develop resources and materials to support behaviour support practitioners to deliver TelePBS in line with the Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework and NDIS Practice Standards. TelePBS is the delivery of positive behaviour support via telepractice. These services can be delivered through face-to-face videoconferencing, audio videoconferencing, chat box videoconferencing, telephone, text messaging, emailing, or a combination of these. The NDIS Commission says that TelePBS is a way to provide timely, quality, and low-cost behaviour support services. It can improve access for those in rural and remote areas and of course for people limited by COVID restrictions.

Regulated Restrictive Practice Guide

The NDIS Commission has put out an Easy Read version of its Regulated Restrictive Practice Guide, which discusses

• The rights of people with disability

• The role of positive behaviour support in helping them

• Restrictive practices and their use

Identifying risk assessed roles in aged care

The NDIS Commission has put together some guidelines for NDIS registered residential aged care (RAC) providers dealing with the mammoth task of identifying which workers are in risk assessed roles. The NDIS Commission recognises that this can be difficult and involves a level of judgment from the RAC provider. The NDIS Commission states that “there is no way for the NDIS Commission to say which roles have more than incidental contact with NDIS participants, because there are so many types of roles and different kinds of work undertaken by workers and personnel for registered NDIS providers, including those in residential aged care facilities where NDIS participants reside”.Rather, the guidelines provide scenarios and a number of questions RAC providers can ask in making their assessments. DSC has an upcoming workshop that delves into worker screening requirements more broadly for those feeling a bit lost.

Victoria worker screening extension

Victorians have been given a six-month extension to comply with the NDIS Worker Screening requirements. Under the new timeframes, NDIS workers who were screened by their employer under Victoria's Safety Screening Policy prior to 1 February 2021 but who do not have a Working with Children Check (WWCC) will have a further six months to apply for an NDIS Check.

WA have your say: authorisation of restrictive practices legislation

The Department of Communities is carrying out consultations to inform the development of legislation for the authorisation of restrictive practices within disability services in WA. The Department is seeking the views of Western Australians on the preferred model for authorising the use of restrictive practices in the disability sector.

A consultation paper has been developed as a general guide to the consultation.

There are many ways you can give feedback to the Department:

• Participate in the community activities, surveys, and snap polls

• Write a formal submission, letter or email

• Fill in the feedback form

All submissions, letters, emails and surveys are due by 11:59 pm, Sunday 22 August 2021.

WA Deliberative Panel

The Department of Communities is calling for expressions of interest to create the authorisation of restrictive practices (ARP) Deliberative Panel.

The ARP Deliberative Panel is a group of people who will meet to discuss who, how, and under what circumstances the use of restrictive practices within disability services can be approved. The Panel will provide recommendations and the reasons for those recommendations to the Department of Communities.

The Panel will be made up of a cross-section of the community, including government, community, and sector representatives, to ensure that several viewpoints are shared and considered. Submissions are also due by Sunday, 22 August 2021.

Welcome Home resources

And now something for the Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) folks! The Summer Foundation has produced an education package, Welcome Home, with funding from the NDIS Commission. Welcome Home is a package of compliance education resources for registered providers of SDA. The resources are designed to help providers understand their service obligations under the NDIS Practice Standards for SDA and explore a rights-based approach to service delivery. The package is a mix of self-paced e-learning, webinars, and downloadable resources.

Catch you next month for all the Q&S goss.