The 2018 Aged Care Royal Commission was a turning point for Australian service providers in healthcare and social services.

While the final report will be handed down in November 2020, an interim report released late last year branded the country’s aged care system “a shocking tale of neglect” that “diminishes Australia as a nation”.

The problems identified by the report were numerous – substandard service, unsafe work practices and workers who are "underpaid, undervalued and insufficiently trained".

Now, the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability is underway. The terms of reference direct the Royal Commission to inquire into all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability in all settings and contexts.

This sounds a wake-up call for every disability service provider in Australia.

The stakes have never been higher for employers in the disability sector who want to empower individuals while operating as a successful enterprise.

Following a May 2019 roundtable of leading Sydney disability service providers, the message was clear. Preparation is key to success in the changing disability arena.

Based on the unfavourable findings of the Aged Care Royal Commission, the roundtable drew up four key recommendations for disability service providers.

1.    Create a viable structure with steering committee.

2.    Gather information from past instances of conflict and abuse.

3.    Collect and analyse data to identify hidden problems.

4.    Communicate clearly within and beyond the organisation.

Yet how can you achieve this? By knowing exactly what’s going on, at every level of your organisation, and making a genuine effort to improve it.

New framework for compliance

A fit-for-purpose audit system can help organisations achieve regularity, consistency and accuracy in their self-assessment methods.

They can then gather, store, measure and track all the data they need to achieve complete compliance – banishing reliance on messy paper-based audits.

Internal Audit is the only NDIS-specific self-auditing system allowing service providers to meet all their statutory obligations. Service providers can plan, schedule and assess their own customised internal audits, in pursuit of 100% visibility.

In this brave new world of disability compliance, providers must offer more efficient, cost-effective services if they want to compete and thrive. Internal Audit can help you do this by highlighting the areas of inefficiency and non-compliance which are holding your organisation back.

Learn more about Internal Audit here.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for an all-in-one system to manage quality and maintain compliance in your organisation, explore Centro QMS today.

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