NDIS Worker Orientation Module

As a disability support worker, you are part of an organisation that is committed to human rights, social justice, and individual empowerment. Your role extends far beyond providing day-to-day assistance, as you support people in living their most authentic and fulfilling lives. This training outlines the core vision, mission, philosophy, and values that guide NDIS work, helping you to align your daily work with a sense of purpose.

A Code of Conduct is a formal document that outlines the standards of behaviour, values, and responsibilities expected of all staff within an organisation. A Code of Conduct is central to how organisations deliver services, guiding staff to act ethically, professionally, and lawfully. It ensures that support is person-centred, safe, respectful, and based on human rights.

Respecting and protecting the rights of people with disabilities is not just a value; it is built into our policies, procedures, and daily practice. Our organisational approach is guided by national and international frameworks, including the NDIS Act, the Disability Act, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Every shift as an NDIS worker has the potential to bring the unexpected. That is why it is important to understand how to respond when incidents occur. Incident Management Policies and Procedures explain how you can recognise, record, and respond to incidents in a way that protects the safety and wellbeing of participants, workers, and the public, while also meeting your legal obligations.

Effectively managing client complaints is essential to safeguarding the rights, dignity, and well-being of people with disability. Every concern, whether minor dissatisfaction or a serious allegation, offers an opportunity to improve services and strengthen trust.. Your organisation should commit to a confidential, fair, and timely process that aligns with the NDIS Code of Conduct, the NDIS Practice Standards, and Victorian legislation.

Duty of Care, Dignity of Risk, and Negligence Policy guides your approach to supporting participants in the NDIS. This policy acknowledges our legal and ethical obligations to provide a high standard of care that protects our clients from harm, while also respecting their right to make choices, even those involving risk. It applies to all staff, contractors, and others engaged in delivering services through the NDIS.

Safeguarding the privacy, dignity, and rights of every person we support is always a priority in NDIS work. A Privacy and Confidentiality Policy sets out clear responsibilities for all staff, contractors, and volunteers when handling personal or sensitive information. As an NDIS provider, you must meet the highest privacy standards under the NDIS Practice Standards, Australian privacy legislation, and wider human-rights frameworks.

Protecting a participant’s money, possessions, and documents is a core responsibility for every NDIS worker in Victoria. Under the NDIS Practice Standards, particularly the Participant Money and Property Standard, providers must ensure that each participant’s assets are secure and used only with their informed consent. The NDIS Code of Conduct reinforces this duty by requiring workers to respect participants’ rights, foster trust, and prevent financial exploitation.

Avoiding conflicts of interest is essential to maintaining professional boundaries as an NDIS worker. A conflict of interest happens when personal relationships, financial interests, or emotional involvement influence, or appear to influence, your professional decisions. These situations can harm participants, create unfair treatment, and damage trust.

As an NDIS worker, one of your most important responsibilities is supporting participants to achieve their personal goals. This is done through a process called person-centred planning, which places the individual at the centre of all decisions about their life and support. Rather than fitting people into existing services, person-centred planning focuses on their own goals, preferences, and needs. It is about walking alongside the person and supporting them to take control of their future.

Effective communication is a core skill for all NDIS workers. It plays a vital role in building trust, promoting independence, and delivering quality support that aligns with each participant’s individual goals. Communication is more than just talking, it involves listening, understanding, and responding in ways that respect the participant’s preferences, culture, and needs.

Medication and health management are critical parts of quality NDIS support. The NDIS Practice Standards, especially the Medication Management section, require providers to give, store, and record medicines in a way that keeps participants safe and supports their choice and control. In Victoria, these requirements sit alongside the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act, and the Disability Act, which regulate how medicines are supplied, handled, and reported.

Emergencies can happen anywhere and as an NDIS worker, you play a frontline role in protecting participants during these critical moments. The NDIS Practice Standards, particularly the Emergency and Disaster Management and Safe Environment modules, require providers to plan, respond, and recover in ways that keep people with disability safe while preserving their dignity and choice.

Infection control is a vital part of providing safe and effective support. As an NDIS worker, you are expected to follow clear procedures that reduce the risk of spreading illness and protect the health of both participants and staff. The NDIS Practice Standards, Work Health and Safety Regulations, your organisation’s internal policies provide the foundation for safe infection control practices.

Manual handling is a routine part of providing disability support. Whether helping a participant with mobility, assisting with daily tasks, or moving equipment, these physical actions can lead to injury if not carried out safely. As a support worker, you are responsible for always following safe manual handling practices. These responsibilities are outlined in the NDIS Practice Standards, the NDIS Code of Conduct, and Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.

In disability support, effective cleaning reduces the risk of infection, prevents slips and trips, and promotes dignity for participants. As an NDIS worker in Victoria, you hold legal and professional responsibilities under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the NDIS Practice Standards, especially the Safe Environment and Infection Control modules, to keep environments hygienic and hazard-free.

Communication is central to quality disability support. Every NDIS participant has the right to express themselves, be heard, and understand the information shared with them. However, not all participants communicate in the same way. That is why communication profiles are such an important tool in NDIS support. As an NDIS worker in Victoria, you may work with people who use a wide range of communication methods such as spoken language, signs, devices, behaviour, or body language.

At your organisation, mentoring will be governed by a formal Mentoring Policy that sets out a structured, goal-driven process for knowledge sharing between an experienced mentor and a developing colleague. Anchored in the NDIS Practice Standards, the NDIS Code of Conduct and strong governance requirements, the a mentoring program develops capability, models ethical practice and embeds learning across the organisation.

High-quality, person-centred support depends on a workforce that is skilled, informed, and continually learning. Your organisation’s Staff Training and Development Policy turns that principle into a structured plan for every employee, contractor, and manager who delivers NDIS supports. The policy is anchored in the NDIS Act, the NDIS Practice Standards, and Victoria’s Work Health and Safety Act.

Professional boundaries are the invisible lines that define what is appropriate in a disability-support relationship. They protect participant dignity, promote autonomy, and uphold the ethical duties set by the NDIS Practice Standards, the NDIS Code of Conduct, and your organisation’s own policies. The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability found that unclear or poorly enforced boundaries often lead to exploitation and harm.

This assessment consists of five questions designed to evaluate the participant’s understanding of key course concepts. The format may include multiple choice, true or false, or short answer questions, depending on the course design.

To successfully complete the assessment, participants must answer all five questions correctly. This ensures they have grasped the essential knowledge and are ready to apply it in practice.