A set of guidance and practical suggestions to help NDIS participants, service providers and support workers.
This guide contains advice on the following aspects of supervision in the NDIS:
Supervisors and workers can use this guide when first establishing their supervisory relationship or as a reference when reviewing ongoing arrangements.
A range of supervision methods can be used including observation of work, face-to-face meetings, video, phone, and text communication. Face-to-face meetings may be in person or by video conference. Other forms of direct communication could include apps, voice calls, video and/or text communication.
Method: Informal ongoing contact
Incorporating ‘check-ins’ and invitations to raise questions or issues as part of regular interactions to discuss assignments to participants or administrative matters, e.g. leave. Providing on-the-spot positive feedback for an interaction or task well done, or quick advice for easily resolved issues.
Modes:
Voice call
Face to face: Video call – phone or app
Face to face: In person.
Method: Debrief
Discussing what happened, what immediate actions may be required and what can be learnt. This is a good way to support workers’ wellbeing, and if needed, plan actions to reduce risk.
Modes:
Text message – via phone or app
Voice call
Face to face: Video call – phone or app
Face to face: In person.
Method: Information sharing
Providing the worker with general information related to the organisation and keeping them up to date with wider organisation news.
Modes:
Regular information bulletin
Email, text, social media apps, lunchbox/in house information sessions
Team or staff meetings.
Method: Scheduled supervision
This may take various forms depending on the focus of the session e.g. general review of work to date and any issues to manage in upcoming period, focused discussion on issues identified as needing support or direction in work to date etc. Ongoing or more complex issues identified from informal ongoing contact are best discussed in this kind of session.
Modes:
Face to face: Video call – phone or app
Face to face: In person.
Method: Coaching
Can include demonstrating practice, shadowing and providing real-time feedback. It can also include building the worker’s capacity to self-reflect, discuss what went well and what could be improved, and gain confidence in finding their own solutions.
Modes:
Face to face: Video call – phone or app
Face to face: In person.
Method: Reflection and Review
The worker is presented with a real or hypothetical situation and encouraged to discuss how they did/would respond and suggest what they could do differently to improve outcomes. This approach is often used for more complex types of support. For tips on structuring reflective practice discussions, download the Reflective Practice Tip Sheet for Supervisors and Workers
Modes:
Face to face: Video call – phone or app
Face to face: In person.
Method: Instructive
Used to develop an area of practice or develop a skill. It may be part of individual or workplace wide training.
Modes:
One-on-one or group training for skill development.
Refer to the Guiding Principles in section 1 of the Overview of Resources as a starting point for setting up a positive and constructive supervisory relationship between supervisor and worker.
Supervision needs to be planned for and embedded at the beginning of any worker and supervisor relationship. This includes agreeing on what forms of supervision will suit different preferences and circumstances across a range of settings/tasks/roles/supervision connection points. Selecting the best mode of contact will depend on the nature of work, stage in the employment lifecycle, location of worker and supervisor.
Factors to consider when deciding how the supervisory relationship will work are set out below. Supervisors and workers can use this as a checklist when discussing how they will work together. The main elements of agreed arrangements should be included in the performance agreement. It is important to discuss and agree how ongoing day-to-day supervision will be conducted, as well as the planned sessions needed to draw up the performance agreement or conduct a performance review.
Factor: Type of work
Considerations:
Some types of services and supports are more complex than others, needing higher levels or different kinds of supervisor support and debriefing. For example, workers providing high intensity health or behaviour supports may need to be supported by an appropriate health or positive behaviour support practitioner.
Factor: Supervisory arrangements
Considerations:
Are all supervision functions performed by a single supervisor or are they distributed across different roles? For example, rostering or attendance management could be performed by another role; certain types of specialised supports may be supervised by a health practitioner; day-to-day supervision may be provided by a supervisor.
If supervisory responsibilities are split, the organisation needs to make sure these different roles complement each other. For example, the primary supervisor may need to coordinate with others for all relevant inputs to the performance agreement and all relevant feedback required for the performance review.
Factor: Communications and check-in points
Considerations:
Many NDIS services and supports are delivered in participants’ homes or in community settings. Workers delivering those supports have limited opportunities to meet with their supervisors or other workers in person. Workers who provide supports to participants in group homes have more regular contact with colleagues and supervisors. Check-in arrangements should consider the circumstances and related opportunities for incidental supervisory contact.
Examples of communication and check-in arrangements include: text check-in at the end of each shift; call or text for immediate attention such as unexpected absences (e.g. due to illness) or to request a debriefing meeting; weekly or fortnightly phone or video catch-ups for routine check-ins; in-person performance review meetings every six months to discuss how things are going, address work issues, capability development progress or needs; attendance at regular staff meetings; participation in online peer practice meetings.
Factor: Worker's level of experience and tenure in the organisation
Considerations:
If the worker is new to NDIS work, or is learning to deliver a new type of support, they will need more intensive support while they become familiar with the work and develop confidence. The supervisor also needs to provide more regular opportunities to check in, make sure they have the capabilities they need, and ensure the worker is aware of requirements set out in the Code of Conduct and the expected approach to service delivery described in the Framework.
If the worker is new to the organisation, they will require induction/orientation on local goals, priorities, policies, procedures, systems, etc. The supervisor should ensure this is provided.
Factor: Performance assessment
Considerations:
How will the supervisor observe and assess how the worker is going in order to confirm that services and supports have been delivered and met required standards? Assessment should cover both the performance of the tasks (the ‘what’) and the way in which they are performed (the ‘how’: the demonstrated capabilities). The supervisor and worker should discuss how this will be done and how feedback will be provided, ‘in-the-moment’ if appropriate, or at a planned review session. Refer to the Learning and Capability Development: A Guide for Supervisors for more details.
Attendance at a participant’s home to observe service delivery will need to be arranged and agreed with the participant.
Decide on the appropriate method of assessment to suit the nature of the support delivered. For example, delivering high risk supports will require a more formal approach to assessment. The Learning and Capability Development Guide provides further guidance.
Factor: Giving and receiving feedback
Considerations:
One of the key characteristics of an effective supervisory relationship is the value placed on clear, honest feedback, both to acknowledge or praise good work and to raise issues or areas that may need improvement. See the resources Working Together and the Feedback Tip Sheet for Supervisors for advice on this important aspect.
The performance agreement should be developed collaboratively between the supervisor and the worker. If your organisation does not have a performance agreement process and template, you can select the link to the Performance Agreement template in the section on related supervision resources in the introduction to this guide. The level of detail included in the plan will depend on the worker’s employment status: an ongoing employee will have a more comprehensive agreement than a casual employee who works only a few hours a week. However, all workers should have supervision arrangements in place based on documented duty and capability expectations.
The points listed below provide guidance on completing the Performance Agreement template:
A review of performance should be conducted in a planned session between the supervisor and the worker, suggested as every six months.
Planning the next agreement should build on observations and capability development directions from the previous supervision period. It should also be used as the opportunity to discuss supervision arrangements and make any adjustments needed to improve their effectiveness and benefits.
The Performance Agreement template includes a section for the worker’s capability development plan. The performance agreement should be supported by a capability development plan section that captures capabilities that have been identified as emerging and others that a worker wants to develop. This enables capabilities to be reviewed and developed in supervision and support sessions, and have progress and achievements documented.
This plan should be based on the review of worker capabilities that are described in the Learning and Capability Development: A Guide for Supervisors and is informed by other feedback as it is obtained.
The capability development plan section identifies areas for development, how they will be addressed and how their achievement will be assessed. It is important that the capability development plan is not limited to technical skills such as using a ventilator, but also puts emphasis on developing ‘soft’ skills, such as communications and the ability to establish positive relations with others. These aspects can be challenging to develop if a worker is not a good fit for disability work but there is scope to strengthen both soft and technical skills as part of capability development.
The points listed below provide guidance on completing the capability development section of the Performance Agreement template:
For more information, refer to the Learning and Capability Development: A Guide for Supervisors.
Wellbeing for each worker is influenced by a combination of personal, work, and organisational factors. Supervision is a key component of a robust worker wellbeing strategy. An effective partnership between the worker and their supervisor is one where both take responsibility for reflecting on, monitoring, and fostering wellbeing is constructive.
This guide provides advice on setting up and implementing a supervision relationship that provides workers with clear direction about role and capability expectations and constructive feedback on performance with a focus on engagement, capability development and wellbeing.
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This tip sheet provides tips on facilitating or participating in reflective practice discussions.
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This guide provides advice on how supervisors can incorporate worker learning and capability development in the supervision process. It includes practical suggestions for planning, providing and assessing the effectiveness of learning and capability development.
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This resource has been developed for supervisors to guide conversations with NDIS participants and workers to agree on expectations and achieve them together. It will support you to establish a shared understanding of ‘what’ and ‘how’ support should be delivered, encourage timely and honest feedback, and provide ongoing support for workers to apply and improve their capabilities.
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This tip sheet provides advice for supervisors on how to give feedback.
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This template can be used or adapted by organisations that do already have their own performance agreement template.
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