The Importance of an NDIS Incident Report

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a vital support system for people with disability in Australia. It provides funding for essential services and assistance, and helps people with disability to live independently. However, the NDIS can only work if incidents are reported. An incident is any event that could result in harm to a person with disability. This includes things like falls, accidents, assaults and abuse. If an incident is not reported, then the NDIS cannot investigate it and take action to prevent it from happening again. Critical Incidents must be appropriately reported and managed in a way that is responsive to the immediate circumstances of the incident, the rights of those involved, and the need to ensure that any risks of recurrence are minimised as far as possible.

Evaluation of safe management working practice will continuously occur to prevent the reoccurrence of incidents. An incident is an event or circumstance that occurs in connection with the provision of funded NDIS supports and services, which resulted in harm, or could have resulted in harm to a person with disability. There may be other circumstances that result in harm to a person with disability but are not related to NDIS supports and services and may not be within the jurisdiction of the NDIS Commission.

Please note that companies working within the NDIS have a responsibility to report within twenty-four hours of key personnel becoming aware of a reportable incident or allegation. An exception to this rule is notifying the NDIS Commission of the use of a restrictive practice that is unauthorised or not in accordance with a behaviour support plan. In these instances, the registered NDIS provider must notify the NDIS Commission within five business days of being made aware of the incident. If, however, the incident has resulted in harm to a person with disability, it must be reported within 24 hours and within five business days of key personnel becoming aware of a reportable incident. Please always refer to your company's policies and procedures around incident reporting.

It is important to report all incidents, even if you don't think they are serious. This is because the NDIS needs to gather data about what is happening so that it can identify patterns and trends. This information is used to improve the safety and quality of the NDIS.

If you are not sure whether an incident should be reported, you can always contact the NDIS for advice.

Reporting an incident is easy. You can do it online, by phone or in person. You will need to give your contact details, as well as the details of the incident, including when and where it happened. You can remain anonymous if you wish, but it is important to note that this may limit the NDIS's ability to investigate the incident.It is important to remember that reporting an incident is not the same as making a complaint. If you want to make a complaint about the NDIS, you can do this through the National Complaints Scheme. If you have any questions about reporting an incident, you can contact the NDIS on 1800 800 110.