NDIS Worker Screening Checks: What Participants and Families Should Know
· 5 min read
Letting someone into your home, or trusting them with personal care, is a big step. The NDIS worker screening check exists to give you one piece of confidence before that happens. But who needs one, and how you can confirm a worker has one, depends on how your plan is managed and who employs the worker.
This guide is for participants and families. If you are a worker looking to apply, go straight to the worker screening unit in your state or territory.
What an NDIS worker screening check is
An NDIS worker screening check is an assessment of whether a worker poses a risk to people with disability. It is carried out by the worker screening unit in each state and territory, on behalf of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
The check ends in one of two outcomes: the worker is cleared, or excluded from working in certain roles with people with disability. A clearance is valid for up to five years, and it is a national check, so a clearance from one state counts in the others.
It is separate from a Working with Children Check. Some roles need both, and workers check that with their state's screening unit.
When a worker must have a clearance
The rules depend on who the worker works for.
Registered providers. A registered provider must make sure that everyone in a risk-assessed role has a clearance. Broadly, that is anyone who:
- directly delivers supports to people with disability and is likely to have more than incidental contact with them, such as physical contact or building a rapport as part of the job, or
- holds a key personnel role, like a CEO, director or manager.
The Commission's own examples make the line clear. Someone who delivers equipment and shows a person how to use it safely needs a clearance. A back-office accountant who says hello in the lobby does not.
Unregistered providers and self-employed workers. There is no legal requirement for them to have a clearance, unless the provider has decided its workers need one, or a self-managed participant has asked for it.
What this means for you
| How your plan is managed | Can you use unregistered providers? | Is a clearance guaranteed? |
|---|---|---|
| Agency-managed (NDIA-managed) | No, registered providers only | Required for workers in risk-assessed roles |
| Plan-managed | Yes | Only if the provider is registered, or you ask for it |
| Self-managed | Yes | Only if the provider is registered, or you ask for it |
If your plan is agency-managed, you can only use registered providers, so the workers who support you directly must hold a clearance.
If you are plan-managed or self-managed, you have more choice, including unregistered providers and workers you employ yourself. The Commission is clear that there is no rule saying those workers need a clearance, but that you have the right to only accept workers with a current clearance, and it recommends you do for your safety and peace of mind.
How to ask for screened workers
If a provider employs your workers: choose a provider that requires all its workers to hold a clearance, or ask your current provider to send only screened workers to you. It is reasonable to put this in your service agreement.
If you employ workers directly: you can hire only people who already have a clearance, check the workers you have now, and ask anyone without one to apply. If a worker won't, you can choose to stop using them.
A worker pays a fee to apply for their check, so only ask someone to apply if you genuinely intend to engage them.
How to check a worker's clearance yourself
Self-managed and plan-managed participants can use the NDIS Worker Screening Database, the national record of every worker who has applied for or holds a check. The Commission's participant page sets out the steps:
- Apply for access to the "Self-managed participants portal". You finish the application through an emailed link.
- Link the worker to you. You need their last name and their Worker Screening ID or Application ID. You can only link someone who has already applied for a check.
- Read their status on your "My workers" page.
The status you see will be one of these:
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Clearance | The worker has a current clearance |
| Pending | They have applied and are waiting for a decision |
| Interim bar | They have applied but must not work with people with disability until a decision is made |
| Exclusion | They must not work in certain roles with people with disability |
| Suspension | They must not work with people with disability while their clearance is reassessed |
| No valid clearance | They do not have a clearance |
A clearance can expire, or change to excluded or suspended, so it is worth checking again from time to time. Once a worker is linked to you, the portal also sends you a notice when their check is about to expire.
If you ask a worker to apply
When a worker you employ directly applies for a check, you become part of their application:
- They name you as their employer by entering your participant worker screening ID, which you can find in the portal.
- After they apply online, you verify in the portal that you intend to engage them to provide NDIS supports.
Their application goes to the worker screening unit in their state or territory, which makes the decision.
A clearance is a starting point
A clearance tells you a worker has been assessed and was not excluded. It does not tell you whether they are the right fit for you. It is still worth meeting someone before they start, asking about their experience with needs like yours, and agreeing in writing how you will work together. Our guide to choosing between an independent support worker and an agency covers the other checks worth doing, including insurance.
Every NDIS provider and worker, registered or not, must also follow the NDIS Code of Conduct. If you are worried about the safety or conduct of a worker, you can contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission on 1800 035 544. In an emergency, call 000.
Finding providers who screen their workers
Registered providers must screen workers in risk-assessed roles, so looking for a registered provider is one simple way to know where you stand. You can check a provider's status yourself with our guide to checking an NDIS provider's registration number.
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