Worker screening policy template for Disability

1. Purpose

This policy sets out how [Organisation name] screens the people who work with people with disability on its behalf, so that participants are supported by people who hold a current NDIS Worker Screening Clearance, and so that [Organisation name] meets its obligations as a registered NDIS provider under the NDIS (Practice Standards - Worker Screening) Rules 2018.

2. Scope

This policy applies to every worker of [Organisation name] in a risk-assessed role, however they are engaged. That includes:

• employees, whether full-time, part-time or casual;
• volunteers and students on placement;
• contractors and subcontractors; and
• people supplied by an agency or labour hire company. Where another business supplies the worker, our contract with it requires the clearance, and we take reasonable steps to check it.

A risk-assessed role is a key personnel role, a role whose normal duties include the direct delivery of specified supports or services to a person with disability, or a role whose normal duties are likely to need more than incidental contact with a person with disability. More than incidental contact includes physical contact, building rapport as an ordinary part of the role, and contact with several people with disability in specialist disability support or specialist disability accommodation.

A secondary school student on formal work experience may take part without a clearance while directly supervised by a person who holds one.

[Optional: [Organisation name] also asks workers in roles that are not risk-assessed to hold a clearance.]

3. Roles and responsibilities

• The [board / governing body] approves this policy and makes sure it is resourced.
• The [chief executive] is accountable for compliance with it.
• The [people and culture lead] assesses which roles are risk-assessed, keeps the list of risk-assessed roles, runs the clearance checks, keeps the screening records and tracks expiry dates.
• Managers and supervisors make sure nobody starts in a risk-assessed role without a clearance or an approved exception, and supervise anyone working under an exception.
• Workers apply for and keep a current clearance, link it to [Organisation name], complete the NDIS worker orientation program, comply with the NDIS Code of Conduct, and tell [role] straight away if their clearance is suspended, revoked or they are excluded.
• Agencies and contractors that supply workers screen them to this standard and give [Organisation name] evidence on request, as set out in their contract.

4. Pre-engagement checks

Before a person starts in a risk-assessed role, [Organisation name]:

• confirms to the state or territory worker screening unit that the person is, or intends to be, our worker, so their application can proceed;
• links the person to our organisation in the NDIS Commission's registered providers portal and checks that their clearance is current in the NDIS Worker Screening Database;
• records the clearance number, outcome and expiry date;
• checks banning orders on the NDIS Provider Register; and
• checks the qualifications and other credentials the role needs, for example AHPRA registration for nurses and allied health professionals.

The NDIS Worker Screening Clearance includes a national criminal history check, so we do not ask for a separate National Police Check (Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check). [Optional: [Organisation name] also asks for a National Police Check for [roles], as a matter of its own policy.]

Pending applications. A worker whose application is in progress may start in a risk-assessed role only where the law of the state or territory they work in allows it, they are supervised by a person with a clearance, and [role] has approved a written risk management plan for them. We record the exception, its start and end dates and the supervisor's name. [List the states and territories we work in and whether each allows working on application.]

5. Ongoing checks and expiry tracking

• We record the expiry date of every clearance. A clearance is valid for up to 5 years, and a renewal can be lodged up to 90 days before it expires.
• We remind each worker [90] days before their clearance expires, and again at [30] days.
• A worker whose clearance has expired does not work in a risk-assessed role until it is renewed.
• We check clearance status in the NDIS Worker Screening Database [monthly], and act on any notice of a suspension, interim bar or exclusion the same day.
• We review the list of risk-assessed roles whenever a role is created or changed, within 20 business days, and at least every [12 months].

6. Ban registers

[Organisation name] checks banning orders on the NDIS Provider Register before engaging a person and [monthly] after that. [If we also deliver aged care: we check the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission's register of banning orders too.]

If a person is subject to a banning order, they are not engaged in the banned activity, or are stood down from it immediately, and [role] records what was found and what we did.

7. Records and retention

[Organisation name] keeps:

• a written list of every risk-assessed role, with its title, why it is risk-assessed, a description, the date it was assessed and the name and title of the person who assessed it;
• for every worker in a risk-assessed role: their full name, date of birth, address, role, and either their clearance details (application number, outcome and expiry) or the exception that applies, its dates and their supervisor; and
• records of any interim bar, suspension or exclusion, misconduct allegation, and what we did in response.

We keep each record for 7 years from the date it is made, in a form that shows who was in a risk-assessed role on any day in that time, including after a worker is unlinked in the portal.

Records are stored securely in [system], access is limited to [roles], and personal information is handled under our privacy policy and the Australian Privacy Principles.

8. Breaches and reporting

• A worker without a current clearance or an approved exception is removed from risk-assessed work until it is in place.
• A worker whose clearance is suspended or who is excluded stops working in risk-assessed roles immediately.
• Workers report incidents to [role] straight away. [Role] notifies the NDIS Commission of reportable incidents within 24 hours, or within 5 business days for other reportable incidents, as the Incident Management and Reportable Incidents Rules require.
• A breach of this policy by a worker may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including ending their engagement.

9. Review

[Organisation name] reviews this policy at least every 12 months, and sooner when the law changes, for example a change to the registration requirements or the national worker screening check for the care and support economy.

Approved by: [name and role]. Date approved: [date]. Next review: [date]. Version: [number].