NDIS policies and procedures
Every registered NDIS provider needs written policies and procedures, and which ones depends on your registration. Here is what each audit pathway covers, and where to get a set written around how your service runs.
Start with your audit pathway
Your registration groups set your pathway. Your Initial Scope of Audit states which one applies to you, and for certification, which modules you are assessed against.
Lower risk supports
Verification
A desktop audit against four sections of the Practice Standards.
Higher risk supports
Certification
An audit against the modules that match the supports you deliver.
Not sure which applies? Certification vs verification, explained.
Verification policies and procedures
Verification covers four areas. Each needs a written policy and procedure, and the records that show it is in use.
Incident management
How incidents are identified, responded to, recorded, reported to the Commission where required, and learned from.
Complaints management
How people make a complaint, how you resolve it, and how complaints feed back into your service.
Risk management
How you identify, assess and control the risks to participants, workers and your business.
Human resources
How you check that workers are screened, qualified, trained and supervised for the supports they deliver.
Certification policies and procedures
Certification is assessed against the modules on your scope. Most certification providers are assessed against the Core Module, and some against one or more supplementary modules as well.
The Core Module
Four divisions, each made up of outcomes. Your policies and procedures need to cover every outcome that applies to your service.
Rights and Responsibilities
- Person-centred supports
- Individual values and beliefs
- Privacy and dignity
- Independence and informed choice
- Violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and discrimination
Provider Governance and Operational Management
- Governance and operational management
- Risk management
- Quality management
- Information management
- Feedback and complaints management
- Incident management
- Human resource management
- Continuity of supports
- Emergency and disaster management
Provision of Supports
- Access to supports
- Support planning
- Service agreements with participants
- Responsive support provision
- Transitions to or from the provider
Provision of Supports (Environment)
- Safe environment
- Participant money and property
- Management of medication (where it applies)
- Mealtime management (where it applies)
- Management of waste (where it applies)
Supplementary modules
Each covers a specific type of support. Your Initial Scope of Audit lists the ones you are assessed against.
| Module | Who it is for | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| Module 1: High Intensity Daily Personal ActivitiesFor providers delivering high intensity supports, assessed on top of the Core Module. | For providers delivering high intensity supports, assessed on top of the Core Module. | Free gap analysis |
| Module 2: Specialist Behaviour SupportFor practitioners who assess participants and write behaviour support plans. | For practitioners who assess participants and write behaviour support plans. | Free gap analysis |
| Module 2A: Implementing Behaviour Support PlansFor providers who use regulated restrictive practices under a behaviour support plan written by someone else. | For providers who use regulated restrictive practices under a behaviour support plan written by someone else. | Implementing Restrictive Practices Toolkit |
| Module 3: Early Childhood SupportsFor providers delivering early childhood intervention to children and their families. | For providers delivering early childhood intervention to children and their families. | Free gap analysis |
| Module 4: Specialised Support CoordinationFor providers delivering specialised support coordination, assessed on top of the Core Module. | For providers delivering specialised support coordination, assessed on top of the Core Module. | Free gap analysis |
| Module 5: Specialist Disability AccommodationFor providers who own or manage enrolled SDA dwellings. | For providers who own or manage enrolled SDA dwellings. | Free gap analysis |
| Module 5A: Supported Independent LivingFor providers delivering SIL, assessed on top of the Core Module. | For providers delivering SIL, assessed on top of the Core Module. | SIL Toolkit |
Get your Certification set
- Practice Standards Gap AnalysisNot sure what you are missing? Check first, freeFree
- Certification ToolkitIf the Core Module is on your scope$1,375
- Solo Provider Certification ToolkitIf Core is on your scope and you are the only person delivering supports$690
- SIL ToolkitIf you deliver Supported Independent Living$385
- Implementing Restrictive Practices ToolkitIf you implement regulated restrictive practices$385
Policy, procedure, and the records behind them
Policy
What your organisation commits to and why, tied to the Practice Standard it answers.
Procedure
The steps that carry the policy out: who does what, when, and what gets recorded.
Forms and registers
Where the record lands. These are how you show the procedure is followed.
An audit looks past the documents. It samples your records, talks to workers and participants, and checks that what happens matches what is written.
Writing your own? How to write NDIS policies and procedures walks through it step by step.
Templates, or a set written around you
A template pack gives every provider the same documents to edit. Our toolkits ask how your service runs and write your policies and procedures from the answers, so what is on paper matches what you do. No AI writes them.
See how it worksFree places to start
The free tools build documents in your browser. Nothing you enter into them is sent to us.
- Practice Standards Gap AnalysisTick the evidence you hold, see what is missingFree
- Forms and TemplatesBranded forms and registers, filled with your detailsFree
- Incident Management System BuilderAn incident policy, procedure, form and registerFree
- Risk Register BuilderA draft risk register from 80+ common provider risksFree
- Internal Audit ScheduleTwelve months of internal audits, plannedFree
Questions
What policies and procedures does an NDIS provider need?
It depends on your audit pathway and the modules on your scope. Verification covers incident management, complaints management, risk management and human resources. Certification covers every outcome in the modules you are assessed against, which for the Core Module usually means 20 or more policies and procedures, plus the forms and registers that go with them.
How do I know if I'm on the Verification or Certification pathway?
Your registration groups decide. If any of them are flagged as Certification by the NDIS Commission, you are on the Certification pathway. Your Initial Scope of Audit states your pathway and the modules you will be assessed against.
Is there a required template for NDIS policies and procedures?
No. There is no set format. Your documents need to address the Practice Standards that apply to you and describe how your service actually operates.
Can I use a free NDIS policy template?
Yes, as long as you rewrite it to match how your service works. An audit compares your records and what workers and participants say with what your documents describe, so an unedited template can commit you to processes you do not follow.
How often should I review my policies and procedures?
The Practice Standards do not set a review frequency. Most providers review at least once a year, and again whenever the standards, the law or their services change.
Not sure what you are missing?
Pick your modules, tick the evidence you hold, and download a report of what you still need. Free.
Try the gap analysis