Submission to Joint Standing
Committee on the NDIS
The NDIS Quality and
Safeguards Commission
(JULY 2020)
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Enquiries regarding this submission can be directed to:
Debra Parnell
Manager, Policy and Advocacy
MaryAnn Lindsay
AASW Policy Advisor
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The Australian Association of
Social Workers
The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) is the professional body representing more than 12,000 social workers throughout Australia. We set the benchmark for professional education and practice in social work, and advocate on matters of human rights, discrimination, and matters that influence people’s quality of life.
The social work profession
Social work is a tertiary qualified profession recognised internationally that pursues social justice and human rights. Social workers aim to enhance the quality of life of every member of society and empower them to develop their full potential. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversity are central to the profession, and are underpinned by theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and Indigenous knowledges. Professional social workers consider the relationship between biological, psychological, social and cultural factors and how they influence a person’s health, wellbeing and development. Social workers work with individuals, families, groups and communities. They maintain a dual focus on improving human wellbeing; and identifying and addressing any external issues (known as systemic or structural issues) that detract from wellbeing, such as inequality, injustice and discrimination.
Social workers are present throughout the NDIS in a variety of roles, working as individuals or in
organisations. Many of our members have made, or are making, the transition to being registered
providers of early childhood intervention or therapeutic services. Many have extensive experience in
assessment, planning and case management with people living with multi-facetted disabilities and
are providing support co-ordination or specialist support co-ordination. Social workers are also
working in other roles within the NDIS including service development, planning, local area co
ordinators, supervisors and service co-ordinators
Social workers are well placed to consider and respond to this inquiry and the AASW welcomes the
opportunity to contribute to this inquiry
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Our submission
The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) supports the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) as a rights-based approach that promotes the independence and the social and economic participation of people with a permanent impairment or condition. The values of ‘choice and control’ that underpin the Scheme are consistent with the values and principles of self determination and empowerment that have guided the social work profession for many decades.
We consider that individual and societal wellbeing is underpinned by socially inclusive communities that emphasise principles of social justice and respect for human dignity and human rights. These values are in complete accord with the disability advocacy movement and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which both inform the NDIS.
Social workers recognise that people can only be understood within the social and community context in which they find themselves, and so they ensure they build a complete picture of the internal and external elements of a person’s life situation. Guided by their value base of self determination and recognition of people’s strengths, social workers collaborate with people to plan the services that will help empower them to full economic and social inclusion1.
- The monitoring, investigation, and enforcement powers of the Commission and how those powers are exercised in practice.
While the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Commission monitors and investigates providers,
members report that they have seen little evidence of enforcement in this area. There is a concern
that quality of care can be compromised in the pursuit of profit and that complaint mechanisms need
to be more accessible for NDIS workers and participants to ensure that they are empowered to
make complaints.
In cases of fraud where participants are persuaded to sign blank timesheets for services that are not
being received, these need thorough investigation and enforced to the full extent of the law. Further,
enforcement actions such as banning orders, revoking and suspension of registration and the
proposed strengthening of enforcement powers of the commission for the most serious cases
welcomed. It is important that the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission makes the details of
providers and workers who have been banned publicly available in the NDIS Provider Register.
People with disability, their supporters and providers can use the Register to check that the people
they are engaging to deliver NDIS services have not had a banning order against them2. It is crucial
1 Australian Association of Social Workers 2015. “The Scope of Social Work Practice: Psychosocial Assessments ” Australian Association of Social Workers. December. Accessed April 18, 2019. https://www.aasw.asn.au/practitioner-resources/the scope-of-social-work-practice;) 2 https://ministers.dss.gov.au/media-releases/5876
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that these new strengthening powers of the Commission are adequately advertised to ensure that
people providing NDIS services and participants are aware of these changes.
- The effectiveness of the Commission in responding to concerns, complaints, and reportable incidents – including allegations of abuse and neglect of NDIS participants.
The response provided by the Commission to concerns, complaints and reportable incidents needs
to improve, especially the follow up of non-compliance notices. AASW members report that some
Supported Independent Living (SIL) providers do not take non-compliances notices seriously
enough and that there needs to be a strengthening of the enforcement in this area.
- The adequacy and effectiveness of the NDIS Code of Conduct and the NDIS Practice Standards.
Although the Code of Conduct and the NDIS Practice Standards are adequate as documents they
rely on the integrity of the people bound by them and suitable enforcement to ensure compliance.
This requires a Commission that is adequately funded and administered to ensure that their
potential is realised.
- The adequacy and effectiveness of provider registration and worker screening arrangements, including the level of transparency and public access to information regarding the decisions and actions taken by the Commission.
In general, provider registration and worker screening arrangements are more effective where the
workers are employed directly by the provider and therefore can be held accountable. Social
workers have observed that subcontracting severely undermines the legitimacy of provider
registration and the quality of work that registration promises to deliver. As the case of Ann-Marie
Smith demonstrated, more tiers of subcontracting result in less oversight. Members also report that
an over reliance on agency staff, particularly with supported Independent Living (SIL) providers,
there is a lack of training and suitability of certain employees to disability support work. More
stringent mechanisms are required to ensure proper experience and qualifications of staff and
providers working in this space.
Social work, the NDIS and provider registration
The AASW welcomed the NDIS’s introduction and created resources to assist its members understand and engage with the NDIS. To assist members to provide services under the NDIS, we have published a Scope of Practice document dealing with disability, and a Guide to Becoming a Registered Provider.
Many Social workers have registered as providers and now AASW members are present within the NDIS in many roles:
- support co-ordination,
- specialist support co-ordination
- assistance in managing life stages and transitions
- therapeutic supports.
- early intervention supports of early childhood, 5
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behaviour support To undertake the roles available to social workers, providers are required to be a member of the AASW. This creates the following mechanisms which underpin the quality of the work they undertake with participants and the safety of participants:
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they have graduated with a social work qualifying degree accredited by the AASW
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they observe the AASW Code of Ethics and its values of Respect for Persons, Social Justice and Professional Excellence, including ongoing professional development
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they are subject to the complaints procedures for all members. Difficulties with the registration process
As members have registered to become providers, the AASW has observed difficulties in the
registration process. Since the initial introduction of the NDIS, the requirements to register as a
provider have been extended, and have tightened, so that Members find the re-registering process
more onerous that their initial registration.
Although members appreciate the need to establish policies and procedures that apply to
conducting a practice as an independent provider, the AASW is concerned by the auditing
requirements. The AASW has been informed of wide variability in the prices that members are
quoted for these audits of the projected costs inevitably leads to doubts as to the basis on which the
rate for the audit was set. Additionally, the financial burden particularly around the re-registration
and accreditation process for Behaviour Support has emerged as a disincentive for professionals to
register as providers of Behaviour Support services.
The difficulties in registering as a provider have been compounded by the disparities between the
requirements in different states, as the implementation of the NDIS unfolds. The AASW has noticed
wide variations in the requirements within states; and social workers have contacted the AASW
pointing out that the information provided on registering for some services does not include their
state, and they have been unable to receive a definitive answer when they contacted the NDIA
directly.
Support co-ordination, social work and registration
Social workers are listed as one of the professional groups who can register to provide support co
ordination services. Both the support co-ordination and specialist support co-ordination roles in the
NDIS fall within the existing capabilities of social workers because the planning and co-ordination of
care has long been a skill in which social workers specialise. Indeed, the knowledge and
competencies that qualify people for this role is a foundational element in the social work
qualification and is key element in the accreditation of social work (qualifying) regime.3
The AASW endorses the quality and safety assurance measures that have been introduced into the
NDIS; and the requirement that service providers be registered. Nevertheless, the current
3 Australian Association of Social Workers, 2017 Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards
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registration requirements for providers of support co-ordination services is contributing to the current
gap between the supports that people need and the services they receive. This is because the
process and costs to register are creating an unnecessary obstacle for qualified professionals who
already have the necessary expertise for conducting this work.
Although the AASW agrees that it is appropriate that social workers fill this role, the AASW submits
that in the case of support co-ordination and Specialist Support co-ordination, members of the
AASW should not be required to complete the added registration requirements imposed by the
NDIS. Members of the AASW have already had their qualification assessed as to whether they can
competently undertake this work, have agreed to abide by the AASW Code of Ethics and have
committed to maintain their level of competence.
- The human and financial resources available to the Commission, and whether these resources are adequate for the Commission to properly execute its functions.
For providers to be held accountable for meeting the standards outlined in the NDIS practice
standards and Code of Conduct, the Commission needs to be adequately resourced. Fraud is an
issue of concern raised by AASW members. In addition to major fraud cases that attract public
attention, there are unethical financial practices, whether intentional or not, that require focus and a
commitment from the Commission to address. This may include holding the NDIA to account in their
activities in educating providers adequately.
Conclusion
As members have commenced providing services and dealing with participants, they have noticed variability in the quality of other services provided to participants. Some have approached the AASW with their concerns which have included concerns at the quality of an initial plan, the quality of services provided under the plan and the quality of the support co-ordination across the plan.
Therefore, the AASW endorses the creation of the Quality and Safeguarding Commission. We will continue to support its work to ensure that participants receive optimal level of service towards attaining the best possible outcomes.
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