NDIA Accountability Project

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Participant Critical Incidents (PCI) for Team Leader KA

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FOI 24/25-1367 - DISCLOSURE LOG DOCUMENT 19

Participant Critical Incidents (PCI) for Team Leader KA

Feb 21, 2025 02:36

General

  • Definition and scope of Participant Critical Incident
  • Team leader roles and responsibilities
  • Tier 2 customer
  • Assessing PCI enquiries
  • Handling anonymous or non-participant PCI enquiries
  • What happens when PCI case is created
  • National incident referral points
  • Further information

Procedure

PCl enquiry reported via webchat or email

  • How to manage PCI enquiries in PACE
  • Create and submit a PCI case
  • Debrief with operations manager
  • Enquiry note template

Use this link to navigate back to KNOWA 2.0 home page.

https://confluence.apps.ndis.gov.au/display/NPKMPKNOWA 2.0 Home page

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To be used by NCC Team Leaders.

This article assists you to:

  • Ensure the participant and others are safe when first being notified of a critical incident, threat to accommodation or risk to participant.
  • Escalate the critical incident to the appropriate area and or initiate a welfare check.

Fraud Reporting and Scams Helpline NCC Service Officers from the Fraud Reporting and Scams Helpline must complete the below process when a participant critical incident (PCI) has been identified on a call where a tip off is being reported. A PCI should be raised in addition to completing the NDIA Fraud Reporting and Scams Helpline Form if risk or harm to the participant has been identified.

To report a tip off refer to the Fraud Reporting and Scams Helpline Phone Enquiry KA.

Definition and scope of Participant Critical Incident

A Participant Critical Incident (PCI) is a situation where a participant (or Tier 2 customer) has attempted self harm or experienced serious harm, such as abuse, neglect, exploitation, injury, or unauthorised restrictive practice. The NDIA is committed to protecting the rights and safety of people with a disability and responding to PCIs promptly and appropriately.

The NDIA staff, including partners and the National Contact Centre (NCC), may encounter PCIs while working with potential participants, participants, families, and carers. They must report any allegations or indications of PCIs to the NCC team leader as soon as possible. They must also comply with the NDIS Act and the Privacy Act regarding the use and disclosure of protected Agency information, personal information, and sensitive information.

The following are some examples of what would be considered a PCI and must be actioned by the NCC:

  • unexplained death of a participant connected with NDIS supports or services. This includes supports and services that could have been provided by providers or NDIA staff and partners.
  • serious injury of a participant
  • abuse or neglect of a participant
  • unlawful sexual or physical contact with, or assault of, a participant
  • sexual misconduct committed against, or in the presence of, the participant, including grooming for sexual activity
  • unauthorised restrictive practice
  • threat or attempt of self-harm or suicide.

A PCI allegation may involve any stakeholder including NDIS providers, NDIA staff, informal supports, family or other person/s.

Team leader roles and responsibilities

IMPORTANT NCC Team leader must ensure the participant is safe when first being notified of a PCI. If the participant or another person is in immediate danger or harm or requires urgent assistance, contact emergency services immediately.

The NCC Team Leaders are responsible for taking over the calls from the service officers and managing the PCI enquiries as a priority. The following are the steps that the NCC Team Leaders must follow:

  • Refer to the information provided by the NCC Service Officer to have a brief overview of the enquiry.
  • Remain calm and treat the caller with respect and empathy
  • Contact emergency services immediately, if the participant or another person is in immediate danger, harm or requires urgent assistance.
  • Assess the enquiry and prioritise it according to the severity and urgency of the incident.
  • Complete a welfare check. Refer to the completing a welfare check process in the NCC Team Leader Guidance.
  • Advise the enquirer of external referral contacts that may also be able to offer assistance to them. Refer to External Referral Points for Enquiries QRG.
  • Create a PCI case in PACE for the PCI team to action the enquiry.
  • Record the incident information in the enquiry notes but remember not to include any triggering information.
  • Make an outbound call to the person at risk if the call gets disconnected for any reason.
  • Do not inform the reporter that the PCI team may contact them.

Tier 2 customer

What is a Tier 2 Customer?

A Tier 2 customer is a person with a disability who is engaged with a Partner Organisation. They primarily receive support through information sharing, referral services, or access pathway support.

Critical Incidents for Tier 2 Customers will now be recorded in PACE the same way we record Participant Critical Incidents (PCIs) for participants. For more information, refer to the Participant Critical Incidents intranet page.

Managing Tier 2 PCIs in PACE

As an NCC service officer, if you receive information relating to a critical incident where a Tier 2 Customer is the subject or the victim, you must:

How to Check if an Individual is a Tier 2 Customer:

A person is a Tier 2 customer if they:

  • have a PACE record, and
  • have the Tier role Person with Disability in PACE, and
  • do not have an access decision on record.

NOTE: A person with Access Not Met decision is not considered a Tier 2 customer.

Assessing PCI enquiries

IMPORTANT

  • If the call involves a participant critical incident, address it first by following the participant critical incident process. If the call also involves a priority enquiry, address it next by following the priority enquiry process, refer to Priority Enquiry KA for more information.
  • For non-emergency police support available for matters that are not an emergency or life threatening NCC can provide 131 444 or the National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline 1800 880 052.

When the incident is outside the categories of a PCI

For incidents that do not fit into any of the categories for a PCI, refer to the Priority Enquiry KA for more information on how to refer the incident.

However, if the participant is currently in danger, at risk of being in danger or has been in danger, the incident is to be treated as a critical incident, even if it doesn’t meet the criterial of a PCI.

Past or serious non-emergency incidents

If the incident has already occurred, is not an emergency and the allegation is serious (relates to a potential criminal offence/s, threat to life, health or safety):

  • Notify the NCC Team Leader who will refer the matter to the non-emergency Police Support Line, by calling 131 444.
  • Where there is a past non-emergency that may be a priority enquiry, refer to the Priority Enquiry KA.

When the incident includes a complaint

  • It is important to know that there could be more than one type of incident within a call, and it may also include a complaint.
  • Understanding the differences as quickly as possible will allow the most efficient and effective response to an incident for the participant.
  • To understand the different incidents and complaints please read through this article as well as the Priority Enquiry KA and Feedback and Complaints Knowledge Article.

When unable to identify the caller or the location of the site the threat is being made about

  • Refer to Threat to Site, Staff, Partners, or Others Team Leader KA.
  • The Security team will enact a safety plan for all sites until the site can be identified.
  • Notify the Service Support and communication team at redacted: s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies@ndis.gov.au, the NCC Operations Managers by emailing redacted: s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies@ndis.gov.au
    • Insourced NCC to refer only to redacted: s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies@ndis.gov.au

When unable to complete a welfare check

  • All welfare checks require a PCI Case to advise if the welfare check has occurred.
  • The caller does not need to be authorised or be a NDIS participant for a welfare check to be completed. To lodge a PCI Case, the person impacted by the PCI needs to be a participant.

Threat to self-harm

NDIA staff and partners must ensure the participant and others are safe when first being notified of a self-harm or critical incident. If the participant or another person is in immediate danger or harm or requires urgent assistance, contact emergency services immediately.

Handling anonymous or non-participant PCI enquiries

Just as with a participant incident, if a notifier or any other person is at risk of immediate harm or danger, advise them to call 000 for immediate assistance. You must also take any other necessary actions to safeguard the person.

If a caller prefers to remain anonymous, does not want to provide any contact details, or does not have a person account in PACE, follow these steps:

  • Advise the caller to call 000 immediately if they are in an emergency situation or need urgent assistance.
  • Ask the caller to report the incident to the police or relevant authority. Refer to the National incident referral points section of this KA for the list of authorities.
    • For police support for matters that are not an emergency or life threatening, you can provide the non-emergency number, 131 444.
    • If the caller doesn’t want to report the incident themselves, ask for consent to report the incident on their behalf.
    • If you don’t receive consent, you can still report the incident if you believe there are reasonable grounds that the disclosure of the information is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to an individual’s life, health or safety.
  • Create a general enquiry case in PACE and refer to Enquiry Cases and Log Activity in PACE KA.
  • Do not include any sensitive or triggering information or any details about the PCI.
  • Close the enquiry after completing the required steps.

What happens when PCI case is created

The purpose of a PCI case is for NDIA, NCC and partners receiving an allegation of a PCI to record and escalate key information. PCIs that are in connection with the provision of supports and services by registered NDIS providers, will be referred to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission for all States.

For further information on how to notify the NDIS Commission about participant incidents refer to How to notify the NDIS Commission about a reportable incident on the NDIS Commission website.

Once the PCI Case has been created, the PCI team will:

  • Notify the NDIS Commission (if required).
  • Follow up on the incident with internal and external stakeholders.
  • Finalise the matter with stakeholders (when applicable).
  • Resolve and close participant incidents within 21 days of receiving the report.
  • Provide reporting to Senior Executives.

National incident referral points

This table identifies a range of emergency and non-emergency contacts. NCC may need to notify other authorities of an incident depending on the circumstances of the allegations and/or the person making the report and the local quality and safeguarding arrangements.

Key contact points

Contact Role Contact details
Reporting child abuse and neglect * Report allegations of abuse or neglect to the State or Territory reporting authority. Further information for service providers and practitioners working in the child, family and community welfare sector on how to report suspected child abuse and neglect are on the Australian Institute of Family Studies website.
* The Department of Health and local Police are required to be notified of all allegations of:

o Unlawful sexual contact.		 Website: Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care

Email: enquiries@health.gov.au
Contact Role Contact details
o Unreasonable use of force.

o An assault that constitutes an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory, that is inflicted on a person receiving residential aged care.		 Phone number: 1800 020 103

National Relay Service phone: 1300 555 727
* The National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline is an independent and confidential service for reporting mistreatment of people with a disability.

* NDIA and partner staff should not make direct referrals to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

* The Commission will investigate incidents from anyone about:

o NDIS services or supports that were not provided in a safe and respectful way or not delivered to an appropriate standard.

o How a NDIS provider managed a complaint about services or supports provided to an NDIS participant.		 Website: [National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline

Procedure

To complete the PACE Steps:

  • Navigate to the relevant account for historical information and activities to assist with the enquiry.
  • Follow the PACE steps below to complete the enquiry.
  • If further guidance is required to resolve the enquiry, refer to the relevant NCC guidance resources.

PCI enquiry reported via webchat or email

When advised by the NCC Service Officer that a PCI (or risk) has been identified, the Team leader is required to make an outbound call to the person at risk and follow the PCI process.

  • Do not reply to the webchat or email. Ensure an outbound call is made to ensure the wellbeing of the participant or person.
  • When the email is triaged after 20:00:
    • Ensure the outbound check in call is scheduled for the next morning.
    • The PCI Case or Security Incident Report is to be completed and sent to either PCI or Security as required at the time the email is being triaged.
    • Please include in the report that the outbound welfare call to check on the participant could not be made and that the follow up call to the participant will be made in the morning by the morning email triage TL.
  • When no contact details are available, the NCC Team Leader is required to try and locate contact details of the person at risk (or the authorised person on the participant account).
  • Where no contact details can be located, refer to Operations Manager’s for further guidance and support as required and continue to complete PCI Case.