Worker Screening

The NDIS Worker Screening Check is a nationally consistent assessment conducted by the relevant state or territory authority. In New South Wales, it is administered by the Office of the Children's Guardian.

The check is not simply a criminal history check. It assesses a broader set of risk-relevant information including criminal history, apprehended violence orders, relevant disciplinary findings from previous disability or child-related employment, information held by police and courts, and any other information the issuing authority considers relevant to assessing whether a person poses a risk to people with disability.

A clearance is valid for five years from the date of issue and is portable — a worker who holds a current clearance can use it across multiple NDIS employers without reapplying. However, the clearance can be cancelled at any time if new risk-relevant information comes to the issuing authority's attention.

The NDIS Worker Screening Act 2020 requires every person in a risk-assessed role with an NDIS registered provider to hold a current clearance. A risk-assessed role is any role that involves direct contact with NDIS participants or access to their personal information.

For our organisation, this means every support worker regardless of whether they are a permanent employee, casual worker, contractor, or agency staff member. It also applies to coordinators, supervisors, and any management staff who have direct participant contact. We apply this requirement to students on placement and volunteers as well, even where the Act does not strictly require it, because we believe the safety of participants is not a matter for minimum compliance.

We maintain a Worker Screening Register that records every worker's clearance number, the date it was issued, and the date it expires. The register is reviewed every month.

Workers whose clearances are due to expire within 60 days receive a written reminder and are required to submit a renewal application before the expiry date. If a clearance expires without renewal, the worker is immediately stood down from all participant-facing roles until a new clearance is received and recorded.

When we engage agency or contractor staff, we require written confirmation of their clearance status before they are assigned to any participant and record a copy of their clearance in our register.

A Worker Screening clearance confirms that a person is not prohibited from working with NDIS participants. It is a necessary condition for employment — but it is not sufficient on its own.

Before beginning work with any participant, every support worker completes a structured induction that covers your individual support plan and preferences, your cultural and communication requirements, any risk management protocols relevant to your circumstances, emergency procedures, mandatory reporting obligations, and the NDIS Code of Conduct.

Workers also complete mandatory training modules before their first shift: First Aid and CPR certification, manual handling and safe work practices, safeguarding and abuse prevention, and cultural safety. All training is refreshed at a minimum of every two years. Workers supporting participants with specific clinical needs — such as medication administration — complete additional competency-based training approved by the relevant health authority.

When you meet your support worker for the first time, they already know your name, your preferences, and what you have asked for. That is by design.

You have the right to ask any support worker assigned to you for their NDIS Worker Screening clearance number before they begin supporting you. This is your right under the NDIS Practice Standards and we will never instruct a worker to decline this request.

You can also verify a clearance independently. The NDIS Commission maintains a Worker Screening Database where clearance details can be confirmed. In New South Wales, the Office of the Children's Guardian is the issuing authority and can confirm the status of any clearance on request.

If you would like us to confirm in writing that a specific worker holds a current clearance before they begin supporting you, contact us and we will provide written confirmation within one business day.