What is a NDIS Worker Screening Check and Do I Need One?
If you work with people with disabilities in Australia, you’ll need the NDIS Worker Screening Check. It is important to understand that this is not the same as a Police Check and therefore there are different reasons as to why a worker may need one and how they go about applying for a check. A NDIS Worker Screening Check is an assessment of whether a person who works, or seeks to work, with people with disability poses a risk to them. It is important for workers in certain roles to have completed this check as a means of safeguarding people with disability. Here we take a quick look at what a NDIS Worker Screening Check includes, individuals that require a check, the costs associated with applying and where to apply for the NDIS Worker Screening Check.
What Does A NDIS Screening Check Include?
By undertaking a NDIS Worker Screening Check, you are agreeing to an assessment being conducted to determine whether you pose a risk to people with disability.
The assessment will either result in you being cleared or excluded from working in certain roles with people with disability.
• NDIS Worker Screening clearance: A decision made by a Worker Screening Unit that clears you to work with people with disability in a risk assessed role.
• NDIS Worker Screening exclusion: A decision made by a Worker Screening Unit that does not clear you for a NDIS Worker Screening Check to work with people with disability in a risk assessed role.
Unlike a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (or Police Check) which is valid at a certain point in time, a NDIS Worker Screening Check is a live check. This means that it continuously assesses and evaluates various aspects of your background, providing a comprehensive overview of your suitability to work with people with disabilities.
Whilst a Police Check primarily focuses on your criminal history, a NDIS Worker Screening Check delves deeper, taking into account not only your criminal record but also workplace misconduct, any Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOS), juvenile offenses, information about your past employment, and any other relevant details.
By conducting this thorough assessment, the NDIS Worker Screening Check aims to accurately determine the level of risk you may pose to individuals with disabilities and ensure their safety and well-being.
The NDIS Worker Screening Check is valid for up to 5 years in any state (regardless of which state you applied) from the point of issue, providing long-term reassurance for both workers and employers. This extended validity ensures that once you have successfully undergone the NDIS Worker Screening Check, you can confidently apply for various roles under the NDIS across various employers and throughout different states, without the need for repeated screenings.
Once the NDIS Worker Screening Check is complete, all the necessary checks and assessments will be securely stored on the NDIS Worker Screening Database. This comprehensive database can be easily accessed by registered NDIS providers, allowing them to verify the suitability of potential workers or conduct any other relevant activities related to the NDIS Worker Screening Check.
By having access to this centralised database, employers can efficiently and confidently ensure that they are hiring individuals who have been thoroughly assessed and cleared to work with people with disabilities. It also eliminates the need for repeated screenings, saving time and resources for both workers and employers.
Who Needs a NDIS Worker Check?
As stipulated in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Worker Screening) Act 2020 (NDIS Worker Screening Act), a NDIS check is required by individuals working in a risk assessed role for a registered NDIS provider.
This does not only extend to support workers but also volunteers, contractors, and anyone providing services to NDIS participants.
What is a Risk Assessed Role in NDIS?
A NDIS Worker Screening Check is required by individuals working in a risk assessed role. Under the NDIS, a risk assessed role mean:
• A key personnel role of a person or entity (such as board members, management and operational positions);
• a role for which the normal duties include the direct delivery of specified supports or specified services to a person with disability; or
• a role for which the normal duties are likely to require ‘more than incidental contact’ with people with disability.
The term ‘contact’ here relates to physical contact, face‑to‑face contact, oral communication, written communication and electronic communication.
When deciding whether your role has ‘more than incidental contact’, you need to consider whether your day-to-day duties include:
– physically touching a person with disability
– building a rapport with a person with disability as an integral and ordinary part of performing your role
– having contact with multiple people with disability, either as part of the direct delivery of a specialist disability support, or in a specialist disability accommodation setting.
How Much Does the NDIS Worker Screening Check Cost?
The cost of a NDIS Worker Screening Check varies depending on whether you are applying for an “Employee” or a “Volunteer” check. It is therefore important that you select the right type of check at the point of application.
If you intend on being paid to work in the sector, you must apply for an “Employee” check and understand that you cannot use a “Volunteer” check under these circumstances.
Costs may also vary across states and territories as these checks are conducted by different entities.
Remember to keep a copy of your receipt to provide to your accountant/tax professional to assist with any work-related expense claims. Consider it as an investment in your own professional development and compliance.
For more information on the costs per state or territory, see below.
Where Can I Apply for My NDIS Worker Screening Check?
To apply for your NDIS Worker Screening Check, you must submit an application through the state or territory agency in which you reside.
These agencies are known as a “Worker Screening Unit” and are responsible for accepting and processing NDIS Worker Screening Check applications from workers. In addition, they will undertake risk assessments to determine whether a worker receives a clearance or an exclusion.
As part of the application process, workers must prove their identity to progress their application. Workers will also be required to nominate the NDIS provider or self-manager participant that engages them (or intends to engage them in the future).
From here the NDIS provider or self-managed participant is then required to verify that they engage (or intend to engage) the worker, for the purposes of delivering NDIS supports and services. Until an application has been verified, it will not proceed to assessment within the Worker Screening Unit.
To apply for a NDIS Worker Screening Check in your state or territory, see the links below:
Ensuring safety via the NDIS Worker Screening Check
The NDIS Worker Screening Check is a key check required by individuals keen to work in a risk assessed role within the NDIS space. As a quality and safeguarding measure, workers who undertake a check and receive a clearance, are deemed to pose no risk to people with disability. In an industry where the rights and safety of people with disability have historically been compromised, the NDIS Worker Screening Check serves as a step to help to ensuring a safe and secure environment for vulnerable community members now and into the future.
For more information on the NDIS Worker Screening check, please refer to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission Website. Alternatively, the team at Hirey are always happy to lend a helping hand so feel free to contact us.
The team at Hirey understand how important NDIS Worker Screening Checks are during the job application process. We make it easy to recognise support workers who already hold these checks and display this information clearly for employers. If you are looking for work as a support worker, check it out for yourself.