NDIS verification queries? Join our free webinar

Join our webinar at 10.30am (AEST) on Thursday 21 November to gain an in-depth insight into what to expect during a verification audit and how to best prepare for it, the evidence requirements, and the short-term costs and long-term benefits.

The webinar is free-of-charge and attendees will qualify for QIP’s reduced-price Verification Summer Special (available until 29 February 2020). You can register to attend the webinar here. 

QIP has been working with disability service providers across Australia to help them achieve verification against the NDIS Practice Standards and Quality Indicators. With this experience now under our belt, our NDIS Verification Webinar will focus on queries and issues that have been popping up during our interactions with clients and other NDIS stakeholders.

During the hour-long webinar, we’ll talk you through the verification process and outline the evidence requirements in clear and simple language, and make sure there’s plenty of time for questions and answers.

As a taster for what’s in store during the webinar, following is a few ‘frequently asked questions’ we’ll be addressing.

Is it worth spending the time, effort and money on ‘verification’ to maintain your NDIS-registered status?

This is one question we’ve been hearing a lot. Of course, it is a business decision that ultimately only you can make … but our response to this FAQ is a resounding “yes!”.

Verification provides assurance to you, and your clients, staff, suppliers and broader community that you are operating according to the high standards set by the NDIS Commission and you are  providing safe, high-quality services to NDIS participants with an eye firmly on continuous quality improvement.

On a straight up cost-benefit analysis – verification is relatively affordable, particularly when distributed over the three-year timeframe of a complete audit cycle. Verification is not overly onerous – it is a desktop audit (that is, our auditors review your information and documentation electronically). In fact, once you have everything in place, it’s relatively simple and yet brings with it a swathe of bankable benefits.

For this big national project, the NDIS needs a diverse pool of verified registered providers to deliver high-quality supports to people with disability.

By demonstrating you have met the specific NDIS quality and safeguards requirements, you will be able to connect to all NDIS participants regardless of the type of plan they have – NDIA-managed, Plan Managed or managed by the participant themselves.

You’ll also:

• Be able to market your services as an NDIS-registered provider
• Extend your online presence through the online NDIS Provider Finder tool
• Have access to online resources that you can use to train your staff, and create business processes and systems (including those to manage your service bookings and fast payment processing)
• Receive updates and information from the NDIS Commission about important changes to processes and systems.

What exactly is a verification audit?

During the verification audit, a QIP auditor – who is disability-sector experienced as well as professionally trained and qualified to the requirements of the NDIS (Approved Quality Auditors Scheme) Guidelines 2018 – carries out a comprehensive desktop review of the self-assessment information and documentation you provided to the NDIS Commission when you made or renewed your NDIS registration application. A desktop review means that it is ‘virtual’ or ‘electronic’. There is no requirement for an auditor to make an on-site assessment visit.

The QIP auditor will check you have provided evidence of your:

• Relevant qualifications
• Expertise and experience
• Incident management processes/policies
• Complaints management processes/policies, and
• Risk management processes/policies.

If there are any gaps in the evidence, the auditor will ask you to provide additional information or documentation to ensure you have the opportunity for a complete and successful verification.

Once the audit is complete, a draft report of QIP’s findings will be provided to you and you have the opportunity to address any areas of non-conformity before the final report is submitted to the NDIS Commission. QIP submits the final report to the NDIS Commission with a recommendation for verification. Ultimately, the final decision to award you verification and therefore continue your NDIS registration is the NDIS Commission’s responsibility.

Once awarded NDIS registration, you will receive a certificate of registration from the NDIS Commission outlining the services or supports you are registered to provide, the period of registration, and any conditions you must follow to keep your registration. You will be listed on the NDIS provider register and participants of all types can now access your services.

Who should attend the webinar?

• NDIS-registered providers who qualify for verification
• Disability service providers who operate as sole traders or in a partnership and deliver low risk/low complexity services and supports
• Disability service providers unsure about the process, and costs and benefits of NDIS registration.

The NDIS Commission has directed that verification applies to disability service providers who are sole traders or operate in a partnership, and deliver lower risk/lower complexity services and supports. Generally speaking, providers who register with the NDIS for these types of services are already subject to other professional regulation as a requirement of doing business.

Disability service providers that are structured as a ‘company’ or ‘body corporate’ and are registered for delivering higher risk and/or more complex services must undergo ‘certification’. This webinar is not for you (unless you want to know more about verification).

QIP’s Verification Summer Special

Disability service providers who attend our webinar and sign up before the end of February 2020 for a verification audit with QIP will be eligible for our reduced-price Verification Summer Special. The webinar is free-of-charge.

Webinar registration

Join QIP’s Manager, Accreditation Services, Tegan Kissane at 10.30am (AEST) on Thursday 21 November for an in-depth insight into what to expect during a verification audit, how to best prepare, the evidence requirements, the short-term costs and long-term benefits.

Tegan has more than a decade’s experience in the human services sector and has supported the rollout of the NDIS in parts of Australia. She has an in-depth understanding of all things NDIS and what the scheme means for disability service providers of all sizes and types.

 

 

 

 

Places are limited – we encourage you to register soon!