This Practice Standard is also available:
Intent
The Supported Decision-Making SIL Practice Standard sets out how providers should use supported decision-making to support participants that need assistance with making decisions, ensuring that participant’s decisions are made by them and not for them.
Participants living in a SIL environment should be supported to understand their right to make decisions about their daily life, routines, relationships and their home. Participants’ decision-supporters should work together with participants to allow them to make their own decisions based on their individual needs, skills and communication preferences.
Expectation statements
Participant statement
I am supported to make decisions about my home, how I live my life, who supports me and what my goals are. I communicate my needs, will and preferences in the way that suits me best. I am given the time, information and assistance I need to understand my right to make choices and express my will and preferences.
Worker statement
I support participants to exercise their rights in making their own decisions about their home and daily life. I give participants the information and support they need, such as using tailored communication tools, giving the participant time and ensuring ongoing and consistent support from their trusted decision supporters.
Provider statement
We ensure participants are supported to exercise their right to make decisions in a way that suits them through our governance protocols, policy and worker practice. This is done by ensuring all workers are trained in supported decision-making. We ensure the integrity of supported decision-making by upholding the will, preference and rights of the participant, even when this conflicts with the preference of the provider or decision supporter.
Outcome statement
Each participant is supported to understand and make genuine decisions for themselves, and is provided with accessible information, and decision-making support, about the supports and services delivered in their home and to enable them to access their community.
Quality indicators
To achieve this outcome, the following indicators should be demonstrated:
- Each participant is provided with information to help them communicate their will and preferences about the delivery of supports and services in their home and daily life. This information is provided using the language, mode of communication and terms that the participant is most likely to understand.
- Each participant’s right to the dignity of risk in decision-making about the delivery of supports and services in their home and daily life is supported. When needed, each participant is supported to make informed choices about the benefits and risks of the options under consideration about their home and daily life.
- Each participant is supported to make informed decisions about access to mainstream supports and services outside of their home.
- Policies and procedures are in place to facilitate supported decision-making by workers. The policies and procedures should require workers, when facilitating supported decision-making about the delivery of supports and services in a participant’s home and daily life, to:
- provide a reasonable period to implement supported decision-making;
- identify the circumstances in which supported decision-making may be required;
- seek participant views on whether decision-making support is required and how they would like to be supported;
- identify and provide the necessary decision-making support in accordance with the participant’s will and preferences;
- consider and respond to cultural values and beliefs when decision-making support is required; and
- identify when additional support may be required for day-to-day decision-making including by an authorised decision maker such as a nominee.
- Relevant workers are trained, and have refresher training, in supported decision-making, including how to support the development of the participant’s ability to make decisions about the delivery of supports and services in a participant’s home and daily life and understand the impact of their decisions.
Best practice for supported decision-making
Deciding with support – Flinders University
Supported decision-making resources for people with disability, supporters and practitioners in Positive Behaviour Support.
Best practice resources are intended to support continuous improvement and promote good practice.
External resources are provided for information and educational purposes only. Their inclusion does not constitute an endorsement by the Commission or alter applicable legal obligations.
External links provide general information to assist NDIS providers to understand obligations that may arise under some relevant legislation and frameworks. It is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Practical examples of supported decision-making
Kai has just moved into a new home and shares SIL support with two other NDIS participants. Kai is vegetarian whilst his housemates are not. Kai would prefer to enjoy dinner with his co-tenants, but it is important to him to continue eating vegetarian meals.
How support is provided:
- Kai’s workers take time to get to know Kai and learn his meal preferences.
- The provider and workers help facilitate a meeting between housemates to discuss how they can make sure everyone feels comfortable using the kitchen and they decide to get Kai his own kitchen utensils to avoid potential contamination.
- Workers help Kai and his housemates find new recipes to try that can suit everyone’s needs and preferences. Some nights everyone eats vegetarian foods and other nights they cook separate meals.
- Workers check in to make sure the household grocery shop includes the right ingredients for Kai’s meals.
Outcome:
- Kai continues to make choices about his everyday life.
- Kai and his housemates all get to communicate and find ways to live together and share their meals.
Tyson’s friend Neil usually attends medical appointments with him to help make sure he feels heard and understood by doctors. Tyson becomes unwell during the night. Unfortunately, workers are unable to contact Tyson’s friend, so workers take him to urgent care for assistance.
How support is provided:
- Workers check in with Tyson to find out whether he’d like for someone to attend his doctor’s appointment with him, and they find out he would. They talk to Tyson about what role they should play and how he would like to be supported. Tyson tells the worker that he wants to speak to the doctor himself and that he will ask the worker for help if he needs it.
- With the doctor’s help, they decide what medicine he will need to help him feel better.
- After the appointment, Tyson requests that workers write down what the doctor has said and they both call Tyson’s friend the next day to let him know about the doctor’s visit.
Outcome:
- Tyson maintains his independence to make decisions with the level of support he needed.