Quality and Safeguarding of Services for People with Disability

Aligning regulation across the care and support sector

Consultation

NDIS providers and participants, their families and carers, and anyone who engages with aged care, disability support or veterans’ care, are invited to take part in public consultations on future regulatory alignment, which are now open. Register here to participate.

Overview

Through the 2021-22 Budget, the Government is providing $12.3 million over two years from 2021-22 to improve alignment of regulation across the care and support sector which includes the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), disability, aged care and veteran’s care.

Due to a shared commitment to the alignment of regulation across the above sub-sectors, responsible Ministers agreed to establish a cross-agency taskforce to lead this work. It includes representation from:

  • Department of Social Services (the department)
  • Department of Health
  • Department for Veterans’ Affairs.

The cross-agency taskforce will work in collaboration with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

The cross-agency taskforce has been established in the Department of Health.

Over the next 12 months the department, in collaboration with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and the National Disability Insurance Agency, will be working with the cross-agency taskforce to develop options for a more consistent regulatory framework, while ensuring quality and safeguards for consumers and participants across these care and support sectors.

This includes facilitating greater information sharing between regulators, alignment of auditing arrangements and compliance and enforcement powers, review of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Framework and consultation with the sector to develop a roadmap.

Regulatory Alignment Roadmap

A roadmap is being developed by the cross-agency taskforce to inform further reform actions across the NDIS and disability services, aged care and veteran’s care.

Consultation on the development of the Roadmap

Consultation across the aged care, disability and veterans’ care sectors will be undertaken in three stages by the cross-agency taskforce:

Stage 1 – Workshops with providers and peak bodies in October 2021. Stage one consultation with peak bodies will enable these groups to provide industry-specific considerations on regulatory alignment.

Stage 2 – Public consultation and consumer engagement will take place from mid November through
to mid December 2021.

Stage 3 – The cross-agency taskforce will release the findings of consultation in early 2022.

Further Information

Please visit the Department of Health website for further information, including a link to register for workshop participation Aligning regulation across the care and support sectors

NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework

The NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework provides a nationally consistent approach to help empower and support NDIS participants to exercise choice and control, while ensuring appropriate safeguards are in place and establishes expectations for providers and their staff to deliver high quality supports.

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