In the world of NDIS, when things are going well, it can be fantastic. Being supported and achieving your goals are the main objectives and can provide immense benefits to participants, families and even goal orientated support workers.
But what can we do when things go wrong? How do we communicate, who do we communicate to and what can we do if we cannot reach a resolution? What do providers do with my complaints?
Knowing your service agreement
Before starting with any company or independent, you should get familiar with their service agreement. We did look at this in the article Service agreements and you: What do you need to know? .
I won’t go over all of it again, but we will look at the complaints section.
In a good service agreement there should be at least two methods of contact in order to make a complaint or give feedback directly to the provider. This is to ensure accessibility. I highly recommend putting complaints in writing via text or email. This gives you a record of the date the issue was raised and the issue discussed so you have an unaltered record. This can be before or after the complaint is discussed. You can email the complaint and arrange a discussion or you can discuss the complaint and follow it with an “as discussed” email. Forwarding an email to the commission is also easier than typing it all out again.
Some companies have an online portal with a feedback form that can be used.
The service agreement should also always list the NDIA contact information and the quality and safeguards commission contact information. This is important should you need to escalate either a serious/criminal matter or a matter that your provider is not resolving.
Something else some companies will have that most independents don’t is a set of policies and procedures for managing complaints internally. These aren’t normally needed by participants but in the event of a serious issue it can somtimes be useful information to have. You are within your rights to ask for a copy of these documents from your provider. These policies should be customer focused if using best practice. You are also within your rights to ask for copies of any documents or notes kept about you.
Where do we begin
In Get on the ROAD: Navigating difficult conversations with your support worker we looked at how to have a performance management conversation with a support worker directly. In a company you also have the option to talk to the workers manager to deal with situations that come up. Using these tools effectively, most issues will not need to go further than having this conversation and seeing improvements or deciding to part ways. Not every working relationship is going to work but open and effective communication are always key to a good outcome.
What do independents and companies do with my complaints?
There are some things that both independents and companies should be doing with complaints and feedback if they are using best practice.
Keeping records
All providers should be keeping detailed records of complaints and feedback. They should also be recording the steps they took to resolve any issues. These are both important if they are ever audited or if a complaint is ever escalated to the quality and safeguards commission. You have the right to request copies of anything documented about you.
Providing you with feedback
All providers should be providing you with feedback regarding action they have taken to resolve the issue. An important reason for this is to convey that they have actually understood the complaint or feedback.
Maintaining a QIP
QIPs or Quality Improvement Programs (also known as continuous improvement programs) are policies and programs designed to improve services and outcomes. These will include the record of incidents and resolutions, records of activities seeking feedback ( regular surveys, feedback forms, passive collectors) and internal reviews to gain insight into potential improvement.
Maintaining privacy and confidentiality
We all know that maintaining privacy is one of the fundamental rules held by the NDIA when it comes to working with participants. All providers including independents must have a privacy and confidentiality policy.
Side note: An interesting trend I am noticing is providers posting participants personal information/ circumstances/ issues under “anonymous” on Facebook to get feedback about it. This is actually a serious breach of the privacy act and your rights if it ever happens to you. Fun fact: if you recognise something is about you and make a formal complaint, facebook can be compelled to identify the account that made the annoymous post. Very helpful if you plan to take legal action.
Responding to complaints quickly
Participants have the right to have complaints dealt with within an appropriate timeframe. Some things take time to fix while others are urgent. Best practice would have the provider notify you of a resolution time frame in writing but I notice most do so verbally. This isn’t usually an issue unless they fail to deliver.
I made a complaint but the provider downplayed it or said it was standard practice
This is something that I am noticing becoming more common. If you are ever unsure or feel the information the provider gave was incorrect you have 3 main resources that you can reach out to:
Your care coordinator (if you have one)
Your LAC or LAC team leader
The NDIA directly although this option may take more time
Any of these three should be able to tell you whether or not something is right.
When it comes to payments and fees, knowing your pricing arrangements (https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/pricing-arrangements) can really help you spot issues and negotiate with providers.
Knowing your service charter ( https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policies/service-charter) and the code of conduct (NDIS Code of Conduct | NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission) can help you identify when you are not being treated with the dignity and respect you deserve. I encourage participants to use the points and language from the charter and code when writing their complaints, both to providers and to the commission. It will help you better articulate the reasoning behind your complaint in a way that aligns with NDIA policy.
When to go to the quality and safeguards commission
There are going to be some issues you don’t resolve and just walk away from. There are bad providers, and there are providers who are just bad at their jobs.
You should go to the commission any time:
- A provider has given an unsatisfactory resolution to a serious breach
- Your privacy is not properly protected
- You have been financially, verbally, physically or emotionally abused by a provider
- Services were not provided in a safe or respectful way
- You were a victim of fraud
- You came to physical harm through the actions of a provider (or lack of actions in some cases)
The complaints process starts with either filing an online form or directly phoning the commission
(https://www.ndis.gov.au/contact/feedback-and-complaints).
The commission will investigate your complaint. In some instances you may not get feedback regarding the results of the investigation and in others you may be part of the outcome.
Something not many people know is that if you are not happy with the outcome of the investigation, you are able to take your complaint to the commonwealth ombudsman for review. Hopefully it does not get to that stage, but they are a very helpful bunch.
Something I see a lot on facebook and reddit is people saying that the commission won’t investigate independents. This is false, the commission will happily investigate anyone, apparently even if they never provided a paid service which was a fun experience. Independents are providers, just like companies, and they are subject to the same safeguard policies.
What happens to providers who are found to have committed serious offences?
For more serious criminal offences some face legal ramifications. But in most cases providers are placed under banning orders.
There are lists available online of banned people and providers as well as an ABN look up to make checking your new provider easy ( Compliance and enforcement actions search | NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission).
I am hoping I have touched on each section with enough information to be useful, but not enough to overwhelm everyone. All of the links will take you to resources and further explanations. Remember you have the right to ask your providers for any documents regarding you and any policies they may have that affect how your services are provided.
The most important point is to know that minor issues can be gradually escalated through the different stages but serious breaches should always go straight to the commission. If in doubt, reach out. There are so many providers out there and reporting a bad one quickly helps you, but also protects others who may come into contact with that provider.
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