Late last year changes were made to the NDIS Scheme, with amendments made to the NDIS Provider Registration Practice Standard Rules 2018 on 2 December 2019, and the NDIS Approved Quality Auditor Guidelines 2018 on 19 December 2019 which will impact a majority of NDIS Providers.
KEY CHANGES
- Body Corporates who provide low risk supports only are now eligible to undergo the Verification audit pathway.
- The Verification Module Required Documentation has been updated to include information relating to Body Corporates undergoing Verification.
- Certification surveillance have now moved from annual surveillance audits to a mid-term audit to be commenced no later than 18 months after the date of registration.
- Timeframe for correcting Minor Non-Conformances has changed. These are now required to be closed out within 18 months from the initial notification.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR PROVIDERS?
Anyone who provides low risk supports only as identified in the NDIS Provider Registration and Practice Standard Rules 2018 Section 20 Table NDIS Practice Standards-class of supports, standards and assessment method, is eligible to undergo the Verification pathway.
- Body Corporates who registered or renewed their registration and hadn’t undertaken an audit prior to 1 January 2020, should have received communication from the NDIS Commission including an updated Initial Scope of Audit with the updated audit pathway of Verification. This can be provided to Approved Quality Auditors such as Global-Mark to receive a quotation for Verification audit.
- Providers who have undertaken their Certification audit, but identified as only requiring Verification now, will be updated to remove the conditions for annual surveillance audits. Their next audit would be Re-Verification.
The updated Verification Module Required Documentation is a handy resource for providers who are undergoing Verification. It provides information about the types of documentation you will need to provide (Individual/Partnerships and Body Corporates), including relevant Professional requirements.
Providers who have completed their Certification audit and not yet undertaken a surveillance audit prior to 1 January 2020, have had the time-frame for their surveillance/mid-term audit moved from 12 months to 18 months from beginning of the period of registration. We are in contact with those providers who had already booked dates in the beginning of 2020 for their surveillance audit to discuss moving them to later in the year. This includes providers who have Minor Non-Conformances to close out, as well as those who have undergone Provisional Certification.
Providers who have completed their Certification audit AND 1stSurveillance audit are not required to undergo another surveillance audit as long as the completed audit meets the requirements as per section 13B of the NDIS Provider Registration and Practice Standards 2018. Their next audit would be their recertification audit.
Example 1: Body Corporate providing Low Risk Supports
Company A provided their Initial Scope of Audit from 1 December 2019. They are identified as a Corporate entity, and have registered for Therapeutic Supports, Household Tasks, Innov Community Participation, and Assist-Travel/Transport. Their Initial Scope lists their audit pathway as Certification to the Core Module. As they have not undergone the audit, their registration groups are all low risk, and they have answered No to the Service Delivery questions, after 1 January 2020 they have been issued an updated Initial Scope of Audit from the NDIS Commission which identifies their audit pathway as Verification.
Example 2: Body Corporate providing Low Risk Supports
Company B provided their Initial Scope of Audit from 1 May 2019. They are identified as a Corporate entity, and have registered for Therapeutic Supports, Household Tasks, Innov Community Participation, and Assist-Travel/Transport. Their Initial Scope lists their audit pathway as Certification to the Core Module. The Certification audit was completed in July 2019, with the NDIS Commission issuing them with their Certificate of Registration in October 2019 sowing conditions for surveillance audits due in October 2020 and October 2021. As they have undergone the Certification audit, their registration groups are all low risk, and they have answered No to the Service Delivery questions, after 1 January 2020 the NDIS Commission identifies their audit pathway should now be Verification. They have no condition requiring them to undergo surveillance/mid-term audits, and their next audit would be Re-Verification due by October 2022.
Example 3:Certification, first surveillance not yet conducted
Company C undertook Certification audit to the Core Module in June 2019, the NDIS Commission issued them with their Certificate of Registration in August 2019, with the condition that they undertook surveillance audits August 2020 and August 2021 with Recertification to be undertaken in 2022. As they have not yet undertaken their first surveillance audit, which has been scheduled for June 2020, this has been rescheduled to January 2021(required to be commenced 18 months from beginning of period of registration August 2019) with Recertification scheduled for prior to August 2022.
Example 4: Certification, first surveillance already conducted
Company D undertook Certification audit to the Core Module in October 2018, the NDIS Commission issued them with their Certificate of Registration in November 2018, with the condition that they undertook surveillance audits November 2019 and November 2020 with Recertification to be undertaken by November 2021. The first surveillance audit was conducted in October 2019. As they have completed the first surveillance audit, their next scheduled audit will be Recertification scheduled for prior to November 2021.
Yours Sincerely,
The NDIS Team
