NDIS Risk Management

A hazard is anything that could cause harm, and a risk is the chance that harm will happen and how serious it could be. Risk management is the ongoing process of finding hazards, deciding how risky they are, putting controls in place and checking those controls work. In this lesson you will learn these basic terms and see how they apply to everyday disability support, from a wet bathroom floor to a participant travelling independently. Key points: risk cannot be removed entirely, it can be managed, and everyone has a part to play.

Dignity of risk is the idea that people have the right to make their own choices, including choices that involve some risk, and to learn from them as everyone does. In this lesson you will learn why being overprotective can cause real harm, how to support informed choice by explaining risks in a way the person understands, and how to work with a participant to reduce risk without taking away their choice. Key points: participants are the experts in their own lives, informed choice means understanding the likely results, and serious concerns should be discussed with your team leader.

Risk management is a shared responsibility. Under work health and safety law, we as a provider must keep workers and others safe so far as reasonably practicable, and you must take reasonable care of your own safety, not harm others, and follow reasonable instructions. The NDIS Practice Standards require registered providers to have a risk management system, and the NDIS Code of Conduct requires you to provide supports safely and competently. In this lesson you will learn what these duties mean day to day. Key points: follow our policies, use equipment and PPE as trained, and report hazards.

You cannot manage a risk you have not noticed. In this lesson you will learn to spot hazards in the places where you work, including the physical environment, equipment, tasks, a participant's health and behaviour, and your own wellbeing. You will learn practical ways to identify hazards: look around at the start of each shift, listen to participants and families, read support plans and records, and notice changes. Key points: hazards change over time, new hazards appear when circumstances change, and every hazard you spot should be controlled or reported.

Once a hazard is identified, we assess the level of risk by considering two things: how likely it is that harm will happen, and how serious the consequences could be. Combining the two gives a risk rating, such as low, medium, high or extreme, often shown in a risk matrix. In this lesson you will learn how to think through likelihood and consequence, why the same hazard can rate differently for different people, and how the rating guides what we do next. Key points: higher risks need stronger controls and faster action, and you should involve the participant.

Controls are the actions we take to reduce risk. The hierarchy of controls ranks them from most to least effective: eliminate the hazard, substitute it with something safer, isolate people from it, use engineering controls such as equipment, use administrative controls such as procedures and training, and finally use personal protective equipment. In this lesson you will learn how to apply the hierarchy in disability support, why we aim for the most effective controls first, and why controls must fit the participant's choices and lifestyle. Key point: most situations need a combination of controls.

Risk assessments and support plans only work when workers follow them. In this lesson you will learn where to find a participant's risk assessments and plans, such as manual handling, mealtime, falls, epilepsy and behaviour support plans, how to apply them on each shift, and what to do when a plan does not match what you see. Key points: read the plans before you start supporting someone new, follow them every time, do not change them yourself, and tell your team leader straight away when a plan seems out of date or is not working.

An incident is an event that caused or could have caused harm, and a near miss is one where harm was avoided, often by luck. Reporting both helps us find and fix risks before someone is hurt. In this lesson you will learn how to respond to an incident, what to include in an incident report, and that some incidents are reportable incidents that registered providers must notify to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, usually within 24 hours. Key points: make everyone safe first, tell your team leader straight away, and report facts clearly and honestly.

Risk management does not end once controls are in place. Controls must be checked to see if they are working, and risk assessments must be reviewed regularly and whenever something changes, such as after an incident, a change in health or a move. In this lesson you will learn how reviews happen, how your observations and case notes feed into them, and how incident data helps us improve across the whole organisation. Key points: your observations matter, reviews should involve the participant, and a culture where people speak up openly is the strongest safeguard we have.

This case study follows Dimitri, a young man with an intellectual disability who wants to cook dinner on his own in his new unit. His family is worried about fire and burns. The lesson walks through the full risk process: identifying hazards, rating the risk, choosing controls from the hierarchy that respect his rights, and reviewing how it goes. It also shows what to do when a near miss happens. Key points: dignity of risk and safety can work together, controls should build skills, and near misses are lessons.

This case study follows Rosa, an older woman who returns home from hospital after a stroke. Her manual handling plan was written before her hospital stay, and her support worker Kwame quickly realises it no longer fits. The lesson covers what to do when a plan and reality do not match, why workers must never take shortcuts or change a plan themselves, the right to stop unsafe work, and how a review gets the right controls in place. Key points: keep the person safe, stop if unsafe, and report straight away.