What to give a new support worker in week one

Get the practical tools

Copy the worker introduction, handover note and readiness checklist below, or download all three as PDF, Word or plain text. Prepare them with the participant in their preferred way and ask the people responsible for the information to contribute. Add the detail the support needs; no account is required.

Who arranges the worker's preparation?

With a provider-employed worker, ask the provider to arrange induction, relevant records, participant-specific learning, supervision and checks of the worker's skills. The participant and chosen supporters contribute knowledge about the person; they need not collect every professional record or sign off clinical competency.

If you engage a self-employed worker, agree these arrangements directly with them, including any appropriate professional input. If you employ a worker yourself, you take on employer and supervision responsibilities. The Commission's Supporting workers to learn guide explains this distinction. Do not assume a provider supervisor exists for every arrangement.

For direct employment, the NDIA's Directly engaging your own staff guide (PDF) sets out additional responsibilities and distinguishes employment from contracting. Get advice appropriate to the arrangement; this handover checklist does not resolve employment or contracting obligations.

Use an introduction to point to the current records

A personal introduction helps the first meeting feel less unfamiliar. Include what the participant wants shared, what helps communication and how they prefer support to be offered. Keep their own words distinguishable from someone else's observations. They may prefer a conversation, pictures or communication aids to a written profile.

Give the introduction a date, agreed readers and a person who will update it. Point to the full relevant plans with their source and version. A profile can explain where to find a mealtime management plan; it should not rewrite that plan as a homemade set of clinical steps.

Fictional example: Maya wants workers to ask before moving her wheelchair and give her time to answer using her tablet. Her introduction records those preferences. A separate, private handover points to the current professional instructions for the support being provided. A new observation is labelled for review, with the person following it up named, rather than silently changing an instruction.

For a closer explanation of one useful communication document, read what a communication passport is and how it relates to a participant profile, hospital passport or care plan.

Agree what is shared and what can be displayed

A sheet on a wall can be seen by visitors, housemates and other people in the room. Agree with the participant what is suitable for that space. A displayed schedule or prompt can direct an authorised worker to private records without putting health information or contact details on view. A worker's private handover may need much more information than the displayed copy.

Discuss the intended readers, purpose and sharing method with the participant, using the support they need. Check the scope of any representative's authority. Being a family member or a Kinovo Team leader does not itself give authority to decide for the participant. Where an organisation relies on consent, it needs a meaningful choice, not an assumption that nobody objected.

The OAIC's consent guidance explains informed, voluntary, current and specific consent. Ask the provider about its lawful handling and records obligations, including any limit on a requested restriction. Arrange a suitable private route for relevant instructions; privacy and safe access need to be addressed together.

The full NDIS funding plan is not a default attachment for every new worker. Sharing a copy or relevant information is separate from NDIA-held information and authority to act. See the NDIA's consent guidance and the practical plan-sharing guide below. Avoid sharing passwords, unrelated records or other people's information simply because they are in the same folder.

Welcome the worker and make the handover a conversation

Agree how the participant wants the first meeting to go and who they want present. Give them space to speak or communicate directly, rather than discussing them as though they are not there. Show the worker the practical things relevant to the visit: how to enter, where agreed equipment and records are kept, and how to ask before changing a routine.

Then check the particular support: 'Which plan are you using, can you open the current version here, and who will you contact if something is unclear?' The responsible provider or supervisor should address the learning, skills and supervision needed. A participant or supporter can explain preferences, demonstrate their own communication and flag a mismatch without being made responsible for professional competency checks.

The Commission's Working Together guide supports agreeing responsibilities and communication preferences. Its worker-learning guide also encourages expectations and feedback to be discussed. A read receipt, completed online module or ticked checklist alone does not establish readiness for this participant's support.

For an emergency, the NDIS Commission's reporting guidance says to call 000 if life may be at risk or an emergency could involve critical harm or serious injury. Follow the relevant immediate, clinical, incident or safeguarding route for other urgent concerns. A profile or ordinary update is not an emergency response arrangement.

Check that agreed changes reached the next worker

At the agreed check-in, ask whether the change actually happened: can the next worker find the corrected version, and has the person who accepted the action confirmed the result? If it is still waiting, record what is missing and the next contact or check. A message sent or a task marked done does not show that the worker received the information they need.

Review the profile with the participant before sharing

Explain who the profile is for and ask how the participant wants to work through it. They might write it, talk it through, use pictures or communication aids, or involve a chosen supporter. Record their own words where useful and distinguish them from someone else's observations.

• Does this sound like me, including what I can do and the choices I want to make?
• What would help this worker communicate with me and offer the agreed support?
• Is anything wrong, out of date or included that I do not want on this shared copy?
• Who needs this information, and which details belong in a private handover or current plan?
• How will I tell someone that it needs changing, and who has agreed to update it?

Record how the review happened and any point still needing clarification. Check the wording with the participant using the support they need. Distinguish a chosen supporter's contribution from a decision made under representative authority; software access is separate from both.

Provider responsibilities and NDIS standards

The NDIS Code of Conduct applies to registered and unregistered NDIS providers and workers. It includes respect for privacy and delivering supports safely and competently. A participant's profile does not transfer a provider's responsibilities for its workers or records to the family.

Registered providers must meet the Practice Standards relevant to their registration and supports. Different modules apply, so a particular core-module indicator is not a universal requirement for every provider or shift.

Where the core Support Planning standard applies, the Commission's provision-of-supports guidance covers participant involvement, needs and risks, and support plans being readily accessible to workers providing support.

The core Human Resource Management standard addresses induction, training, supervision and resources. The support being delivered determines the participant-specific preparation needed.

The core supports-environment standards include communication and medical-emergency arrangements and requirements for supports such as mealtime and medication management where relevant. Use the applicable plans and professional processes; these templates do not teach clinical procedures or authorise restrictive practices.

Keep the current information findable

Use a folder, provider system, controlled paper copy or shared workspace that the people involved can actually use. Identify the current source and who maintains it. A copied file needs a way to hear about changes; an old printed copy will not update itself.

In Kinovo, your invited care team can keep the participant's agreed preferences, relevant support guidance, shared documents and preparation tasks together. Ask the people responsible for the information to contribute their part. A task can record an accepted follow-up, while the source plan and professional decision remain with the appropriate people and systems.

Check the worker's actual document access, including Team leader oversight and uploader access, before sharing. An alert or link does not grant access. A Team leader's software permissions do not create representative authority, and marking a Care Protocol as read does not establish understanding, training or competency. Keep induction, clinical decisions, required provider records and immediate response arrangements with the responsible people.

When the handover includes a clinician's recommendations, use the therapy recommendation care-team action template.

If the worker is starting around a move, use the NDIS moving-house checklist.

For preparing when a usual carer cannot provide support, use the backup care contacts and information pack alongside the official Carer Gateway emergency care plan.