Assist the participant with their preferred method of communication

You need to communicate using the participant’s preferred method of communication any time you interact with them.

The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will help you:

record the participant’s preferred method of communication
stop all correspondence
arrange printed copies of correspondence in standard and accessible formats
arrange a copy of plan approval in an alternative format
check the status of correspondence requests for accessible formats
check and record if the participant needs an interpreter
manually request correspondence in accessible formats you can’t request in the NDIS Business System (System).

Note: In this SOP, the term ‘participant’ may also refer to prospective participants and Tier 2 customers unless otherwise specified.

Recent Updates

Date	What’s changed
February 2023	Section 3.2 update. New guidance around translation in languages other than English (LOTE).

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Checklist

The checklist is located at page 2 of this Standard Operating Procedure.

Pre-requisites

You have: -learnt the participant’s preferred method of communication -viewed the participant’s preferred method of communication in the System -read and understood the Practice Guide — Assisting communication -reviewed the Participant Service Guarantee and are complying with the response timeframe related to your task.

Actions

Based on the needs of the participant, you may: -Record and update preferred and accessible correspondence details -Manually request correspondence in accessible formats -Arrange a copy of plan approval in a different format to the preferred format -Check the status of correspondence request in accessible formats -Find plans accessible by a screen reader -Check and record if the participant needs an interpreter

You will then move to: -4. Next steps

Standard Operating Procedure

3. Procedure

3.1 Record and update preferred and accessible correspondence details

The participant, child representative or nominee (authorized representative) can update their preferred correspondence method in myplace. Refer to How to use the myplace portal page for further information. Use the following steps to:

record and update the participant or authorized representative’s preferred method of correspondence in the System
request System generated correspondence to the participant or authorized representative in Braille or other accessible formats
record the participant’s request for alternate accessible formats which are processed by an external provider.

From My NDIS Account, select Details.
Select Correspondence Details.

Select Edit and Complete Each Field

The following options are available:

Preferred Correspondence Method:
- Post/Letter
- Electronic: if the participant has an active myplace account. The System will email correspondence to their myGov mailbox.
Note: An active myplace account is only available after access has been met. Electronic is not an option for prospective participants or Tier 2 customers.
Preferred Format: applies to all outbound letters.
Formatting Option: displays based on Preferred Format selected. For example, Standard Letter shows if the preferred format is Letter. Options will display if the preferred format is Braille letter.
Stop All Correspondence:

Select YES when: * The participant is deceased. Use Standard Operating Procedure – Finalise a participant’s plan following their death, and Standard Operating Procedure - Manage or stop correspondence to authorised representatives to complete required tasks when a participant has died. * The participant has chosen not to receive their own correspondence. The participant may choose this option if they have a plan or correspondence nominee. If the participant is a nominee for someone else, they will continue to receive correspondence for that participant.

Note: either the participant or their nominee must be able to receive a copy of their plan, or the prospective participant must receive a copy of their access decision.

Standard Operating Procedure

Make sure one of these parties will receive correspondence on behalf of the participant or prospective participant. If there is no nominee, consider if it is appropriate to appoint one. Refer to Our Guideline – Appointing a nominee.

Would you also like a standard printed copy as well:

Select YES if:

the participant’s Preferred Format is an accessible format, for example, Braille letter
the participant also wants a copy of all correspondence in standard letter format. For example, the participant wants all correspondence in Audio file (by cd) and a standard letter copy.

Select Submit and OK.

Manually request correspondence in accessible formats

Some accessible formats need to be requested manually. You should only use this procedure if you need to manually request: letters that communicate a decision, request an action or provide information, where no System generated letter is available; system-generated correspondence required in large font, greater than N36; correspondence translated to a language other than English (LOTE). For example, a plan translated to Greek or a letter in large font in Russian.

Add an Alert to the participant record if they need this support ongoing. For example, all correspondence required in large font N50. Refer to Standard Operating Procedure – Create an alert.
Confirm approval with your team leader before you send the request.
To request:
- an accessible format, not including a language other than English, go to step 4
- translation service for languages other than English, follow the guidance in Practice Guide – Assisting Communication and go to step 6.
Email the request to the external provider (currently Vision Australia) with the: participant’s chosen accessible format participant’s name and postal address name and email address of the My NDIS Contact

Standard Operating Procedure

name of the Team Leader who approved the request
PDF copy of the correspondence.

A note: make sure the email is classified ‘Sensitive-Personal’. You must check and record the consent of the participant or their authorized representative before sharing any information personal or sensitive information. Refer to Standard Operating Procedure – Check third party consent or authority. Vision Australia converts the PDF document into an accessible format and confirm the action by return email. Record an Interaction using Interaction Templates – General – Communication. Make sure you include: The details of the request; details of the action taken. Note: Payment of Vision Australia invoices are managed centrally. The interaction will be used match the request allow payment of invoices. The My NDIS Contact must ask the participant if the correspondence met needs during next conversation.

Arrange a Copy of Plan Approval in Different Format

Use following steps, where applicable, to arrange plan approval copies for participants/authorized representatives with different preferred formats (e.g., standard letter but Braille). From Correspondence Details, select Edit Create Correspondence (+ sign).

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Standard Operating Procedure

Select a response from the dropdown options in each field.

Document ○ Plan Summary and Plan Approval
Delivery Method ○ Post/Letter ○ Electronic: An accessible version designed for screen readers.
Delivery Format ○ Email Direct: Displays if you select Delivery Method – Electronic ○ Braille Letter and Other Options Will Display If You Select Delivery Method – Post/Letter.

Formatting Option: Displays Based On The Delivery Format Selected.
Check the Details In Alternative Correspondence. If Information Is Not Correct, Edit The Details. Select Submit And Ok.

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Standard Operating Procedure

The request is automatically sent to be processed by an external provider when the plan is approved.

Check the Status of Correspondence Requests in Accessible Formats

The external provider will process requests for participant plans and timely sensitive letters within 48–72 hours. All other documents such as remittance advice and tax invoices are processed within 10 business days. This allows time to:

receive and convert the PDF document
proofread the converted document
mail the converted document by express post to the participant.

Use the following steps to view the status of correspondence requests in accessible formats. For example when the:

request was sent to the external provider to be processed
correspondence was sent to the participant.

From My NDIS Account, select Documents.

Select Outbound Documents.

Select the relevant correspondence.

Select History.

Select Transaction History.

Transaction ID	Transaction Type	Description
827982	Communication - Interaction Record Outbound Doc Reprint Follow up of (Letters/COM)	Fri Apr 17 2020 15:39:17 GMT+1000 (Australian Eastern Standard Time) Thu May 28 2020 10:35:48 GMT+1000 (Australian Eastern Standard Time)
875847	Braille letterBraille Grade II Letter

3.6 Check and Record If The Participant Needs An Interpreter

Follow these steps to check or record if the participant needs an interpreter.

From My NDIS Account, select Details and Communication Details.
Select Edit.
Check and update the fields, if required:
- Preferred Language Used at Home
- Interpreter Required: Select YES or NO
- Interpreter Language.
Select Submit and OK.

Standard Operating Procedure

For Internal Use Only

5. Select Internal Use.

6. If there is no Alert in the System, create an Interpreter Required Alert. Refer to Standard Operating Procedure - Create an alert.

7. At Additional information include the following text: · Do not contact without a [language] interpreter for [participant/nominee/child representative].

Next steps

Use the participant’s preferred method of communication when interacting with the participant. If the participant needs: · Translation and interpreter services to engage with the NDIA or partners, refer to Standard Operating Procedure - Book translation and interpreter services for the participant. · Disability related interpreting supports in their plan, refer to Standard Operating Procedure – Include disability related interpreting and translation supports in the participant’s plan.

·· National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Act 2013 ·· NDIS Our Guidelines ·· Practice Guide – Assisting Communication ·· Australian Government Translating and Interpreting Service (external) ·· Standard Operating Procedure – View, print or suppress an outbound document ·· Standard Operating Procedure – Create an alert ·· Standard Operating Procedure – Book translation and interpreter services for the participant ·· Standard Operating Procedure – Include disability related interpreting and translation supports in the participant’s plan. V5.0 2023-02-15 Preferred method of communication Page 11 of 12 This document is uncontrolled when printed.

Version control

A table showing version history:

Version	Amended by	Brief Description of Change
1.0	CW0032	Class 2 Approved.
Moved to a new resource:

Book translation and interpreter services
Include disability related interpreting and translation support. Use this resource to update and record the participant’s preferred communication method, request accessible documents and record if a translator is required. Approved 2021-01-27 | | 2.0 | MBO0056 | Class 2 approved. guidance updated on how to stop all correspondence to a participant, when they have chosen not to receive their own correspondence. Approved 2021-08-11 | | 3.0 | JS0082 | Class 1 Approval Approved 2021-09-01 | | 4.0 | CW0032 | Class 2 approval guidance updated to reflect updated System wording to also include prospective participants. Approved 2021-11-08 | | 5.0 | ED0024 | Class 1 approval. guidance update to provide clarity around translation to languages other than English (LOTE) Approved 2023-02-15 |

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Assist the participant with their preferred method of communication