NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission 1st Annual Report 2018-2019
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission Annual Report 2018-2019 has been released.[1] The report informs stakeholders about the NDIS Commission’s operations. It provides corporate information and documents performance.
The NDIS Commission commenced on 1 July 2018. 2018-2019 was the Commission's first year in operation. Operations were confined to New South Wales and South Australia. The annual report shows the work that went into establishing the Commission. All NDIS Commission functions commenced including complaints handling, a national mandatory reportable incident scheme, registrations, behaviour support, market oversight and education and engagement.
Some important statistics from the NDIS Commission’s first year of operation include:
9,703 providers from the NDIA in NSW and SA were transitioned on 1 July 2018.
765 completed applications were received for registrations and renewals. 74 per cent of registration applications were determined within 4 weeks. The registration of 348 providers was approved.
The NDIS Approved Quality Auditor Scheme was established. 11 certified audit bodies were approved, and 281 individual auditors trained.
The worker orientation module was launched in May 2019. During the reporting period, more than 22,850 people completed the module. As of 12 September, 78,487 people have completed the module.
There were 133,888 NDIS participants across NSW and SA.
There were 4,377 organisations registered as service providers and 3,925 registered as sole traders.[2]
These points provide a snapshot of how the NDIS Commission went in its first year. The Commission processed registrations in a timely manner, with most processed within 4 weeks. Interestingly, the Commission approved less than half of the applications. The statistics show a growing numbers of participants, service providers and support workers in the scheme. These numbers will continue to grow now that the NDIS Commission is operating in all states apart from WA.
The five most popular registration groups in order were: Therapeutic Supports, Household Tasks, Assistance With Travel/Transport Arrangements, Early Intervention For Early Childhood and Assistive Products For Personal Care And Safety. There were 3,743 registrations covering the five specialised service groups in which providers must meet additional standards.[3] These statistics indicate where providers see demand in the market, and what skills they have to offer. They also show possible gaps in the market, potential for growth in other registration groups or where there is less demand.
There are some more serious statistics contained in the report. The NDIS Commission handled 1,422 complaints but the complaints process was only completed for 75 per cent of matters. The Commission handled 47 per cent of complaints in six weeks, and a further 50 per cent in 6 months. There have been criticisms about the amount of time taken to handle these complaints. Additionally, NDIS providers notified the NDIS Commission of 4,537 reportable incidents. These include the unauthorised use of restrictive practices, death, serious injury and abuse and neglect. There were 1,616 incidents of unauthorised use of restrictive practices alone. Hopefully, the Commission can facilitate learning to help prevent such a large number of these incidents in the future. The NDIS Commission also requires more staff to deal with complaints.
Image from NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission Annual Report 2018-2019. Based on Commonwealth of Australia (NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission) data.
The establishment of the NDIS Commission represents a milestone in developing a national quality and safeguarding framework for the NDIS. The Commission has achieved some great things in the first year of operations but there is room for major improvements. On July 1 2019 QLD, NT, ACT, TAS and VIC transitioned to the NDIS Commission. It will be interesting to see the results including all of these states next year, and the progress that has been made.
[2] Based on Commonwealth of Australia (NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission) data.
[3] Of the 8,302 total registered service providers, 4,559 are only registered for the core module. This figure was found by subtracting the 3,743 providers registered in the five specialised service groups from the total number of service providers.