Set up for success with Support Workers
Getting the funding is just the first step...
Let’s talk Core funding.
Support Workers.
Assistance with Daily Life.
Assistance with Social and Community Participation…. call it what you will, many families find this part of the NDIS to be a HUGE drama and even find themselves wondering if it is even worth it to engage Core support providers when it starts to feel like its making their lives more difficult than ever.
So assisting families to consider all the aspects, implications, benefits, risks and positives of using Core supports for your family is a vital part of achieving positive outcomes
This article has been designed to help you look at all the angles and design your Core supports to suit your unique families needs, and focus on asserting your rights too.
Let’s begin with the usual disclaimer that I am not a lawyer, this is not Expert HR (Human Resources) advice and this is not a substitute for tailored professional advice. What this article is, is experiences, lessons learnt the hard way, hours of research, links to NDIA resources and insights from personal experiences in our home and working with many families with children accessing Core supports.
Notice I use the terms ‘Core supports’ and ‘support workers’ interchangeably here knowing that Core is the most flexible support funding category. Some families use the term ‘Carers’. or something different again. Some are using this funding category for domestic assistance, yard maintenance too.
We’re speaking about funding coming from the same bucket - Core.
Finding the Right Support Workers Without Losing Your Chill.
Getting NDIS funding for support workers is only half the battle. You may have noticed that half of the challenge is finding and managing the right support workers who fit your family’s (ever changing) needs.
It’s like Tinder, but with more paperwork and way less romance.
Here’s your ultimate guide to recruiting, onboarding, and working with support workers—without wasting time, funding or your precious energy.
Step 1: Define the Role.
I’d hate to see you hire what seems like an incredible support worker, who arrives for their first shift and says something like…
‘that’s not part of my role’… or
‘I don’t do cleaning’… or
‘I didn’t realise that I would have sole charge of the child’ or
‘oops I’m allergic to cats, I have to leave right now’ or
‘you didn’t tell me that I would be also going to Dad’s house at different address’
‘no one told me that I would need to administer medication, etc
Defining the role (even if it is just for yourself to understand the scope and what experience and qualifications are required and you feel comfortable paying) is crucial for boundaries, expectations, clear communication and is essential to finding the right person for the job.
High turnover in support workers is soul destroying for busy mums, and let’s face it we don’t want to be recruiting and training an ever revolving door of staff. We want to get the right people from the start, and then nourish and sustain those in our team so that we have long term, consistent and reliable support.
How to create a position description:
You can create a profile or position description to break down exactly what you are looking for. The purpose of the profile is to weed out the time-wasters, the ghosters, the bolters and the people who are just not the right fit for your child and family. This is your opportunity to be very clear about the type of support you are looking for so that you don’t waste your valuable time at a ‘Meet & Greet’ with someone who you realise after two minutes they are just not going to fit the role. Use your profile at the first point of contact to clearly communicate what you’re looking for and exclude all the people who are not right for your child. Communication is paramount when coming to recruit support workers, after all this person may be present in your home for many hours each week and you want to feel like your home is your home and not someone else’s workplace.
Once you have a list of applicants, you can arrange a meet and greet which is an informal interview. Consider if you want this to take place in your home or in a local cafe or library? Ask the applicant if they charge for a meet and greet (most don’t - some do) and decide what you feel comfortable with. It is helpful to move quickly with your recruitment process as highly skilled workers usually do not stay available for long. You can start to schedule in meet and greets while you are still receiving applications. If you wait a week or so to book in your meet and greets, you may find that they have already been offered work elsewhere.
Tell your applicants that you will re-confirm all of your meet and greets the day prior and provide your address if necessary then. (You may already have some of them pull out before it happens, and you don’t want to be giving your address out if it’s not necessary). You can expect some to no-show or ghost you. They are most likely doing you a favour as you then haven’t wasted your precious time on someone who is un-re-li-able or just has no common decency.
You can also provide potential workers with the NDIS Code of Conduct if you wish to ensure they understand the basics of working within the NDIS.
And this site contains is a very comprehensive Best Practice list of considerations if you are hiring a sole trader.
Prohibition Orders: This is a list from the Victorian Disability Worker Commission where prohibition orders are listed regarding unregistered disability workers. You can view all workers who are currently on a prohibition order, or who have an expired prohibition order. A Prohibition order stops a person from being able to lawfully practice as a disability support worker or requires that they can only work if certain conditions are met.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguard Commission also publishes online search lists banning orders, compliance notices, enforceable undertakings and suspension or revocation of registration actions that have been given to providers or workers.
Topics you might like to think about before or discuss during your meet and greet:
If the Support Worker is out for meals, snacks, activities, who pays for the Support Worker costs? (This is where a Companion Card comes in very helpful)
Is there/what is the budget for out of home activities, meals, snacks, drinks etc for the participant?
What happens if you/the participant damages the car, either incidentally or as a behaviour of concern?
What breaks does the worker get, and do you pay for them?
What are the hourly rates, and when do they apply? Is there overtime paid when a shift gets extended?
Is your worker allowed to smoke or eat or drink or take drugs (prescription / non-prescription) on shift? What about just before a shift?
What happens if your worker takes the participant to a private home without the guardians consent or knowledge?
What happens if there’s a car crash while you/the participant is in the car?
Is the support worker welcome to make themselves a cup of tea at your house while playing chess with your kiddo, or do you prefer to keep things more formal?
Step 2: Where to Find Support Workers & Recruitment
As a Self-managed or Plan Managed Participant, you have the freedom and the Dignity of Risk to recruit support workers with a range of experience, qualifications, and life skills. But as I say frequently - with freedom comes responsibility.
While hiring an independent support worker as a sole trader / contractor (with their own ABN) affords you a lot of choice it also places a larger obligation on the Plan Nominee or Child Representative to do your due diligence and ensure you engage appropriately skilled workers that suit your family’s needs. You will also want to consider if you prefer to work with large nationwide companies, smaller boutique agencies or only with independent / sole traders. Or a mix of them all. Diversifying can be a great safeguarding factor rather than the ‘eggs all in one basket’ strategy.