Good support work starts with the person. The participant's preferences, communication, identity, relationships, routines and goals should shape how support is provided. The worker's role is to make the person's choices easier to exercise, not to take control of their day or fit them into a standard routine.
Every worker delivering NDIS-funded supports must follow the eight elements of the NDIS Code of Conduct. This includes workers of registered and unregistered providers, contractors and independent workers. Your employer's policies and the participant's support documents provide more detail, but they do not replace the Code or your responsibility to work safely and ethically.
The following ten foundations apply across most support settings. They will not answer every situation, but they will help you work alongside the participant, recognise when you can act, know when you need consent and identify when you need to stop and get advice.
1. The participant is the decision-maker
Support belongs to the participant. They are not a task list, a diagnosis or a passive recipient of care.
Speak directly to the person. Ask what they want, how they prefer to communicate and who they want involved. A family member, nominee, guardian or other representative may have an important role, but that does not make the participant invisible or remove their right to be involved.
An NDIS nominee's authority concerns NDIS matters. It does not automatically extend to health, personal-care or lifestyle decisions. Check the legal basis and limits of any decision-making authority relevant to the support. For a child participant, recognise the role of the parent or other person with parental responsibility while involving the child in decisions in a way that reflects their age, maturity, communication and circumstances.
Supported decision-making means helping a person understand their options and communicate their choice in the way that works for them. It does not mean steering them towards the option you, their family or the provider prefer.
In practice:
- offer information in a form the person can understand
- allow enough time for them to process and respond
- check who they want included in discussions
- notice communication that is expressed through behaviour, gestures, devices or changes in presentation
- address the person, even when someone else is assisting with communication
Watch out for: asking a family member what the participant wants while the participant is present and able to be involved.
2. Know what you have agreed to do
Before providing support, agree on the purpose of the shift with the participant wherever possible. Understand the tasks within your role and the instructions relevant to that person's support.
Read the documents you are authorised to access. Depending on the service, this may include the service agreement, support plan, communication profile, health or medication instructions, behaviour support plan, risk information and emergency procedures.
Do not assume that every request is automatically part of your role. A task may require specific training, a different professional, additional consent or approval from your provider. If you are unsure, pause and clarify before acting unless there is an immediate safety emergency.
In practice:
- know the goal or purpose of the support, not only the list of tasks
- check participant-specific instructions before the first shift and when they change
- work within your training, competence and authority
- do not diagnose, independently provide professional therapy, or represent yourself as qualified to perform work outside your role. Where you assist with a therapeutic program, follow the responsible practitioner's delegation and instructions
- raise conflicting instructions rather than choosing whichever is easiest
Watch out for: doing something because a previous worker did it. A routine can still be unsafe, unauthorised or inconsistent with the participant's wishes.
3. Consent is an ongoing conversation
Consent must relate to the particular action. Agreement to receive support does not create blanket permission for everything a worker might do.
Ask before providing personal care, entering private spaces, touching belongings, sharing information, taking photographs, contacting other people or changing the agreed activity. Explain what you are asking and why. Use the person's preferred communication method and pay attention to words, behaviour and other signs that they want you to stop.
Consent can be changed or withdrawn. Silence, uncertainty, compliance under pressure or the fact that something happened last time should not be treated as automatic consent today.
Where a guardian or other substitute decision-maker is involved, be clear about which decisions they are legally authorised to make. Continue to involve the participant as fully as possible.
Watch out for: using a general consent form as a substitute for checking consent during actual support.
4. Work with the person instead of taking over
Fast support is not always good support. Doing every task for someone may get the shift finished sooner, but it can push the person out of their own support and reduce choice, confidence and opportunities to build or maintain skills.
Start with the least assistance needed. Ask whether the person wants a prompt, demonstration, partial assistance or for you to complete the task. Support can also involve adapting the environment, breaking a task into steps or allowing more time.
The right level of assistance will differ between people and may change from day to day. Ask rather than assume. Good support responds to what the person wants and needs now without turning temporary help into a permanent assumption of incapacity.
A useful question: "How would you like me to help with this?"
Watch out for: taking over because the person completes a task differently or more slowly than you would.
5. Balance dignity of risk with duty of care
People with disability have the same right as other adults to make decisions, try things and accept reasonable risk. Your duty of care does not give you authority to remove every risk or control another adult's life.
When a choice involves risk, discuss the risk with the participant in a way they can understand, listen to how they see it and work together on ways to reduce potential harm without taking over. Use the least restrictive practical option. Follow the participant's risk plan and escalate when the situation falls outside it.
If there is an immediate threat to life or serious injury, act to protect safety and contact emergency services where required. Outside an emergency, uncertainty should lead to discussion and advice, not automatic restriction.
Watch out for: calling a decision "unsafe" only because you disagree with it, feel uncomfortable or would choose differently.
6. Professional and sexual boundaries are non-negotiable
The support relationship involves trust and an imbalance of power. The worker is responsible for maintaining professional boundaries at all times. A participant appearing to initiate, invite or agree to a personal or sexual relationship does not remove that responsibility.
NDIS workers must not commit or participate in sexual misconduct or an inappropriate relationship with a participant they support. Workers must not engage in sexual behaviour with any NDIS participant they work with. This includes:
- sexual activity, dating or pursuing an intimate relationship
- sexualised comments, jokes, questions, messages, images or personal disclosures
- flirting, propositions or suggestive behaviour
- unnecessary or inappropriate touching
- creating a secret or "special" relationship
- giving special favours or gifts to build personal dependence
- testing physical, emotional or communication boundaries
- grooming a participant for sexual activity
- extending contact outside the support role to develop an inappropriate personal relationship
If a participant raises sexuality, relationships, sexual health or family planning, respond respectfully and within your role. Appropriate support is different from sexualised interaction. Keep the conversation focused on the participant's needs, preferences and agreed support, and involve an appropriate service or supervisor where needed. Personal care and necessary physical assistance must also remain consent-based, task-focused and respectful of privacy and dignity.
If a participant directs sexualised behaviour towards you, set a clear and respectful boundary, maintain the person's dignity and follow the agreed support and escalation process. Do not shame, punish or withdraw necessary support from the participant.
If you become aware of possible sexual misconduct, grooming or an inappropriate relationship, act on immediate safety, preserve the participant's account and report it immediately through the provider's incident procedure. If you work independently, follow your documented incident process and contact the NDIS Commission directly where required. Registered NDIS providers must notify the NDIS Commission within 24 hours of becoming aware of actual or alleged sexual misconduct, including grooming.
Financial and personal boundaries matter too. Do not borrow money, seek personal favours, pressure a participant to buy something, use their property for yourself or create secret arrangements. Participant money and property must only be used with consent and for the intended purpose. Record time, expenses and claims accurately. Never claim for support that was not delivered or misrepresent the service, time or price.
Watch out for: treating the participant's apparent consent as permission to cross a professional boundary. The obligation to maintain the boundary remains with the worker.
7. Protect privacy in ordinary moments
Privacy is not only about formal records. It includes conversations in public, names visible on screens, photographs on personal phones, messages in group chats and details shared with relatives or other workers.
Only collect, access, use and share information needed to provide the support the participant has agreed to. Check consent and authority before sharing it. Store records through approved systems and keep devices secure. Do not enter participant information into personal apps, unapproved artificial intelligence tools or personal cloud storage.
There are situations where information can or must be shared without consent, including some emergencies and legal reporting obligations. These exceptions are specific. If there is no immediate danger, seek advice rather than making a broad disclosure.
A useful test: Does this person need this information to provide safe and agreed support?
Watch out for: discussing a participant with another worker who is curious but not involved in their support.
8. Safe support must also be competent support
The participant has the right to support that is both safe and competent. Good intentions do not make an unsafe task safe. Only provide support you are trained, competent and authorised to deliver.
Medication support, manual handling and seizure support require appropriate training and participant-specific instructions. High-intensity daily personal activities have additional assessment, planning and worker-skill requirements. Follow the participant's current plan and the provider's procedure. If instructions are missing, outdated or inconsistent with what you observe, stop and escalate.
Meet any worker screening, qualification, licence, first aid or training requirements that apply to your role, provider and state or territory. Complete the Worker Orientation Module where required by the provider's registration obligations. Worker screening rules are not identical for every worker, so confirm what applies rather than assuming.
Never improvise a restrictive practice. Restrictive practices limit a person's rights or freedom of movement and are tightly regulated. A regulated restrictive practice must be included in the participant's current behaviour support plan, authorised under the relevant state or territory process where required, and implemented only by appropriately trained workers in accordance with the plan. Any use outside these requirements must be escalated immediately as potentially unauthorised.
Unauthorised use is reportable by registered providers within five business days, or within 24 hours if it causes harm.
Watch out for: locking something away, blocking an exit, physically holding a person or using medication to control behaviour without recognising that this may be a restrictive practice.
9. Write notes that another worker can use
Shift or progress notes are part of the support, not an administrative extra. They should help the participant receive consistent support, keep their voice visible, identify changes and show what was done.
Write notes as soon as practical. Record relevant facts, the participant's words or expressed view, the support provided, any change or concern, the action taken and the outcome. Distinguish what you observed from what someone told you and from your own interpretation.
Use respectful, neutral language. Avoid labels such as "attention-seeking", "non-compliant" or "manipulative". Describe the observable behaviour and context instead.
Instead of: "Sam was difficult and refused to cooperate."
Write: "Sam said, 'I don't want to go to the appointment,' remained in the lounge and asked me to cancel the transport. I confirmed the appointment time, offered to discuss other options and notified the team leader with Sam's knowledge."
Watch out for: copying the previous note or writing only "all good". Neither gives the next worker useful information.
10. Concerns require action, not silence
Support workers are often the first people to notice a change, unsafe practice, possible abuse, neglect, exploitation or poor-quality support. Raising a concern is part of protecting the participant's right to safe, ethical support.
Respond first to immediate safety. Call 000 where there is an immediate threat to life or serious injury. Then follow the provider's incident and escalation procedures, record what you observed and report to the appropriate person or body. If you are an independent worker without a supervisor or employer procedure, follow your own documented incident process and report directly to the relevant authority where required.
Registered providers must notify the NDIS Commission about certain reportable incidents. Workers should report incidents promptly through their provider so required action and notifications can occur. Anyone can also contact the NDIS Commission about the safety or quality of NDIS supports. Support the participant to use the provider's complaints process, make a complaint to the NDIS Commission or access an independent advocate if they want help to raise a concern. State and territory laws may create additional reporting duties, including duties relating to children or other people at risk.
Do not investigate beyond your role, confront an alleged perpetrator in a way that increases risk, promise secrecy or alter records. Preserve the participant's words as accurately as possible and avoid leading questions.
Watch out for: waiting for certainty. You do not need to prove abuse or neglect before reporting a reasonable concern through the correct pathway.
A quick test before you act
When you are unsure, ask yourself:
- What does the participant want?
- Do I have clear consent?
- Is this within my role, training and authority?
- Is there a less restrictive or more independence-building option?
- Do I need to record, report or seek advice?
If you cannot answer those questions, pause and clarify unless immediate action is needed to prevent serious harm.
The foundation of good support work
Good support work is not measured only by whether every task was completed. It is measured by whether the support reflected what mattered to the participant, kept them involved in decisions, respected their rights and privacy, was delivered safely and competently, and responded properly when something changed or went wrong.
Use the Support Worker 101 Starter Checklist before your first shift and as a regular practice check.
Sources and further learning
- NDIS Code of Conduct, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
- NDIS Code of Conduct: Guidance for NDIS Workers, April 2024, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
- Preventing sexual misconduct, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
- Worker Orientation Module: Quality, Safety and You, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
- Incident management, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
- Worker screening, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
- Understanding behaviour support and restrictive practices, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
- Core module: Rights and responsibilities, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
- Core module: Provision of supports environment, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
Editorial note
This is general practice information for workers delivering NDIS-funded supports. It does not replace participant-specific plans, employer procedures, professional advice or the laws applying in a worker's state or territory. NDIS rules and guidance change. Review the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission website regularly and update workplace practice when requirements change.
Created by RESPOND Therapeutic Services, 3 September 2026