NDIS Self-Assessment: How to Complete It Properly

Where the self-assessment sits in your application

The self-assessment is one part of the registration process we set out in our audit preparation checklist. On its apply for registration page, the NDIS Commission says the online application includes:

• the registration groups, or classes of support, you are applying for;
• a self-assessment against the applicable NDIS Practice Standards, including evidence to support your comments; and
• questions about the suitability of the applicant and key personnel.

When you submit, the Commission emails you an Initial scope of audit. You then choose an approved quality auditor and complete your audit. The audit rules say a Stage 1 audit reviews the self-assessment responses you submitted, together with your other application documents. So the document you write first becomes the auditor's starting point. The audit rules are the Approved Quality Auditors Scheme Guidelines 2018.

What it asks

You respond against the Practice Standards that apply to your registration groups. That is the Core Module for certification-pathway groups, the Verification Module for lower-risk groups, and any supplementary modules in your scope. Each module has outcomes, and each outcome has quality indicators that show what meeting it looks like. You can read them on the Commission's Practice Standards pages. If you are unsure which modules apply, try our registration pathway checker.

The Practice Standards say their requirements are proportionate to the size and scale of the provider and the scope and complexity of its supports. A sole trader and a large provider both respond to the same outcomes, but their evidence will look different.

The 60-day limit

The Commission says you must complete your application within 60 days of starting it, or it will be deleted and you will need to start again. Do the thinking before you open the form. Work out your groups, gather your documents and list your evidence first, then use the form to record it.

What the Commission says about copied responses

The Commission is direct about purchased policies and consultants. On the same page it says it expects that you were substantially involved in preparing the application, that you understand what you submitted and can explain it, and that your responses are specific to your organisation and not a direct copy of purchased documents. It says copied or near-identical responses can lead to a refused application, or to a condition requiring a new certification audit (Stage 1 and Stage 2) with a new self-assessment. Providing false or misleading information is a contravention of the NDIS Act. Our guide to adapting NDIS policy templates covers how to avoid it.

How to write an evidence-based response

A response that stands up has four parts. Write each one for every outcome you answer:

1. What you do. State, in your own words, how your organisation meets the outcome. Use present tense for things you do and future tense, with a date, for things you will do.
2. The document that says it. Name the policy or procedure and the section, so the auditor can find it.
3. The record that proves it. Point to a register, form or file that shows the process working. A new provider with no participants can point to the blank form, the procedure and the training given.
4. Who is responsible. Name the role that owns the process and the person who covers for them.

Keep each response short and factual. Do not paste policy text into the response box. Do not claim anything you cannot evidence. Your auditor will test your claims against your records and, in Stage 2, against what workers and participants say.

A worked example

The example below is one we wrote to show the difference. It is not taken from a real provider, and "Example Support Pty Ltd" is invented. The outcome is incident management in the Core Module.

A weak response: "We have an incident management policy that complies with the Rules and all workers are trained."

A stronger response: "Example Support Pty Ltd records every incident on the one-page incident report form. The owner, who is our key person for incidents, reviews each report within one business day and decides whether it is reportable. If it is, they notify the Commission through the portal within the required timeframe. Workers were briefed on the procedure at induction and in the team meeting each month. Our incident procedure (section 3) sets out these steps, and our incident register shows each report, the decision and the follow-up. We have not yet had a reportable incident. Our next trend review is set for the March management meeting."

The stronger response names a role, a form, a timeframe, a document section and a record. It admits a limit, that there has been no reportable incident, instead of implying more. It also shows a next step. A reader can test every part of it.

Common weaknesses to avoid

• Responses that restate the outcome instead of describing what you do.
• Policy names with no section or record, so the auditor must hunt for the evidence.
• Statements that contradict your documents, for example two different people named as responsible.
• Roles, committees or systems you do not have, copied from a template.
• Evidence that is out of date, such as expired insurance or screening records.
• Claims about practice you have not started, written as if they were established.

How to prepare

1. List the outcomes for your modules and mark each as met, partly met or not yet met.
2. Build an evidence index: for each outcome, the document, the section and the record.
3. Close gaps you can close before you apply, and write an action and date for the rest.
4. Check that your registers are started. See the templates for an incident report, a continuous improvement register and a conflict of interest policy.
5. Ask someone who did not write the responses to read them and try to find each piece of evidence.

After you submit, the next step is choosing your auditor. Read our guide to choosing an NDIS approved quality auditor, and check what the audit is likely to cost with the registration cost calculator. Our package of 220+ editable Word documents covers the Core Module and Modules 1 to 5, but it does not guarantee registration, and your responses must still be your own.

This page is general information based on NDIS Commission and government sources at the date shown. It is not legal or professional advice, and the rules can change. Check the NDIS Commission's current requirements and read our disclaimer.