Why this matters for your practice
The NDIS Code of Conduct is the obligation that nobody escapes. A common misconception is that unregistered providers are outside the NDIS regulatory system. They are not. The Code of Conduct applies to all providers and workers delivering NDIS supports, registered or not, and the NDIS Commission can investigate breaches, issue banning orders, and impose civil penalties. For an unregistered provider, the Code is often the single most important compliance document.
It is also the standard a registered provider's workers are held to day to day, sitting underneath the Practice Standards.
What the Code requires
The Code of Conduct requires workers and providers, in delivering supports, to:
- Act with respect for individual rights to freedom of expression, self-determination, and decision-making.
- Respect the privacy of people with disability.
- Provide supports in a safe and competent manner, with care and skill.
- Act with integrity, honesty, and transparency.
- Promptly raise and act on concerns about quality and safety.
- Take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to all forms of violence, exploitation, neglect, and abuse.
- Take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct.
Registered vs unregistered
- Registered providers must comply with the Code and the NDIS Practice Standards, and meet reportable incident and other obligations.
- Unregistered providers are still bound by the Code, can be subject to complaints and Commission action, and face the new criminal offences and worker screening expectations introduced through recent reforms.
How it is enforced
The NDIS Commission can respond to a Code breach with compliance and enforcement action, including banning orders that prevent a person or organisation from working in the NDIS, and civil penalties.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the Code does not apply because you are unregistered. It applies to everyone.
- Treating it as aspirational. It is enforceable.
- No internal process to raise and act on concerns, which the Code specifically requires.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the NDIS Code of Conduct apply to unregistered providers?
Yes. The NDIS Code of Conduct applies to all providers and workers who deliver NDIS supports, whether or not they are registered. Unregistered providers can face complaints, NDIS Commission investigation, banning orders, and civil penalties for breaching it.
What does the NDIS Code of Conduct require?
It requires workers and providers to respect rights and privacy, deliver supports safely and competently, act with integrity and transparency, raise and act on concerns, and take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation, neglect, abuse, and sexual misconduct.
How is the NDIS Code of Conduct enforced?
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission enforces it. Breaches can lead to compliance action, banning orders that stop a person or organisation working in the NDIS, and civil penalties.
Related terms
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