Purpose

This information sheet has been developed to assist National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funded providers delivering psychosocial supports to people with a mental illness or mental disorder and associated psychiatric disability(NDIS providers delivering psychosocial supports) to understand their obligations under Victoria’s quality and safeguards working arrangements during transition to the NDIS. It also provides information on how a provider can obtain Victorian approved NDIS provider status.

Quality and safeguards arrangements during transition

Under the Bilateral Agreement for Transition to the NDIS between the Commonwealth and Victorian Government, Schedule F, Commonwealth and Victorian Governments made a commitment that existing quality and safeguards would continue to operate during transition to the NDIS.

This commitment is given effect by the Victorian Quality and Safeguards Working Arrangements for Transition (the Victorian Working Arrangements) – an agreement between the Victorian Government, the Commonwealth Government and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). The Working Arrangements took effect on 1July2016 and will operate until 30 June 2019. The Victorian Working Arrangements can be found on the NDIS website.

Under these arrangements, the Victorian Government retains responsibility for operating quality and safeguards for disability services (including psychiatric disability) transitioning to the NDIS until June 2019, or until the national quality and safeguards framework is implemented.

Supports in scope of Victoria’s quality and safeguards arrangements

The following NDIS registration groups are subject to Victoria’s quality and safeguarding arrangements for NDIS providers delivering psychosocial supports:

  • Life Stage Transition
  • Support Coordination
  • Daily Tasks/Shared Living
  • Daily Personal Activities
  • High Intensity Daily Personal Activities
  • Specialist Positive Behavior Support
  • Development of Life Skills
  • Participation in the Community
  • Group/Centre Activities.

Providers of in-scope registration groups are required to comply with the legislation, standards and policies as listed in the Victorian section of the NDIA’s Guide to Suitability for Providers and amended from time to time.

More information on NDIS registration groups, including those that are not in-scope of Victoria’s quality and safeguarding arrangements, is available in the Guide to Suitability for providers.

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How to gain status as a Victorian approved NDIS provider

All NDIS providers must agree to comply with the National Disability Insurance Agency’s (NDIA) Terms of Business to deliver NDIS funded supports.

Under the NDIA’s Terms of Business, providers wishing to deliver NDIS funded supports that are in-scope of Victoria’s quality and safeguarding arrangements, must achieve and maintain status as a Victorian approved NDIS provider as a pre-requisite for NDIS registration.

Organisations must first make an application to become a NDIS registered provider with the NDIA. Where an organisation applies to deliver in-scope registration groups, the NDIA will notify the organisation that its application is pending state government approval. New providers must then provide a copy of their ‘Pending State Approval’ advice to the Department of Health and Human Services (the department) to confirm that they have met the NDIA”s criteria for registration pending state government approval. This documentation should be sent to:

Providers cannot commence the state approval process in Victoria without this written confirmation.

Applying for Victorian approved NDIS provider status

Existing providers are organisations that held a funding agreement with the Victorian Government as at 30 June 2016 to deliver defined Mental Health Community Support Services (MHCSS). Defined programs include:

  • Individualised Client Support Packages
  • Adult Residential Rehabilitation services
  • selected Supported Accommodation Services.

Please note: All other organisations funded by the Victorian Government to deliver a MHCSS program/s that is not included in the above list, are regarded as a new provider for the purposes of NDIS registration and may have to undergo an additional quality assurance process to become a Victorian approved NDIS provider.

The Victorian Government will support existing providers to complete their registration with the NDIA without them having to undergo an additional quality assurance process. The NDIA is still the first port of call for providers wishing to obtain NDIS registration. Following submission of an existing provider’s application, the NDIA will decide if registration groups selected are in-scope of Victoria’s quality and safeguards. If state approval is required, the NDIA will require evidence that an organisation has state approval to deliver particular supports. The department will provide certificates to existing providers certifying that they have state approval to deliver NDIS registration groups that are in-scope of their current funding agreements for services transitioning to the NDIS.

This certificate can be loaded to the NDIS portal as evidence of Victorian approved NDIS provider status.

Queries regarding the registration application process for existing providers should be sent to:

Applying for Victorian approved NDIS provider status – new providers

New providers applying for NDIS registration for in-scope registration groups for people with a mental illness or mental disorder and associated psychiatric disability will be given Victorian approved NDIS provider status if they are accredited against at least one of the following standards:

  • National Standards for Mental Health Services 2010
  • Human Services Standards
  • Australian Service Excellence Standards
  • National Standards for Disability Services
  • Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program Standards
  • ISO 9001:2008 quality management system
  • National Safety and Quality in Health Services Standards
  • Quality Improvement Council Health and Community Services Standards.

The organisation must be accredited against at least one of these standards by an independent body that is certified by the:

  • International Society for Quality in Health Care; or
  • the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand.

When evidence of accreditation against at least one of these standards has been satisfactorily provided to the department, the organisation will be given Victorian approved NDIS provider status. The provider must maintain accreditation against the relevant standard. If the provider’s Certification Body revokes certification against the standard the department will revoke the provider’s Victorian approved NDIS provider status.

Organisations accredited against one or more of the above standards - other than the National Standards for Mental Health Services - must (at their own expense) be independently reviewed by an appropriately certified review body against the National Standards for Mental Health Services within 12 months of obtaining Victorian approved NDIS provider status and achieve accreditation. Evidence of accreditation, including the final assessment report and a certificate of accreditation must be provided to the department.

Victorian approved NDIS providers who intend to sub-contract services for registration groups that are subject to Victoria’s quality and safeguarding arrangements must ensure their sub-contractors are accredited against at least one of these standards.

If the sub-contractor is accredited against one of these standards - other than the National Standards for Mental Health Services – the sub-contractor must (at its own expense) be independently reviewed/audited by an appropriately certified review body against the National Standards for Mental Health Services within 12 months of their contractor obtaining Victorian approved NDIS provider status and achieve accreditation. The provider must provide evidence that their sub-contractor is accredited to the department.

If the provider (or their sub-contractors if relevant) fails to complete the independent review within the specified time period or fails accreditation against the National Standards for Mental Health Services, the department will revoke the provider’s Victorian approved NDIS provider status. Failure to maintain accreditation against the National Standards for Mental Health Services will result in loss of the organisation’s Victorian approved NDIS provider status.

Loss of Victorian approved NDIS provider status will trigger the NDIA to revoke NDIS registration in accordance with the NDIS Act 2013and the NDIA’s Terms of Business for Registered Providers.

Further information about the National Standards for Mental Health Services 2010 can be found at the Australian Government Department of Health website.

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Registration under the Disability Act 2006

Organisations also applying for NDIS registration to deliver in-scope registration groups to NDIS participants who have a disability within the meaning of the Disability Act must obtain and maintain registration under the Disability Act. This includes organisations providing NDIS funded support to people with a dual disability.

Organisations specialising in the provision of psychosocial supports exclusively to people with a psychiatric disability are not required to be registered under the Disability Act.

Further information about registration under the Disability Act can be found at the Department of Health and Human Services website.

Revocation of Victorian Approved NDIS Provider status

During transition the Victorian Government will continue to monitor NDIS providers for compliance with Victoria’s quality and safeguarding requirements. The Victorian Government reserves the right to refuse or revoke a provider’s status as a Victorian approved NDIS provider where it has concerns about the capacity of the provider to comply with Victoria’s quality and safeguarding arrangements.

Loss of Victorian approved NDIS provider status will trigger the NDIA to revoke NDIS registration in accordance with the NDIS Act and the NDIA’s Terms of Business for Registered Providers.

Role of the department in monitoring Victorian approved NDIS providers

Victorian approved NDIS providers will be monitored at the local level for ongoing compliance with legislation and policy listed in the Victorian section of the NDIA’s Guide to Suitability for Providers. The department’s monitoring practice is based on the Department of Health and Human Services Funded Organisation Performance Monitoring Framework.

The quality assurance monitoring process for Victorian approved NDIS providers delivering psychosocial supports constitutes monitoring of incident reporting and complaints, accreditation against relevant standards and other relevant information. Where quality and/or safety issues related to a Victorian approved NDIS provider are identified, the provider may be required to develop and implement action plans to satisfactorily address the identified quality and/or safety issue. Persistent, significant, unaddressed quality and/or safety issues may result in revocation of Victorian approved NDIS provider status.

Victorian approved NDIS providers are required to work constructively with departmental staff and statutory officers in the context of their role in monitoring compliance with Victoria’s quality and safeguarding requirements. Failure to do so may result in revocation of their Victorian approved NDIS provider status.

Monitoring of incident management and reporting

All Victorian approved NDIS providers delivering psychosocial supportsare responsible for the safety of their participants and workforce. Consistent with this responsibility, providers are required to:

  • deliver services that optimise the safety of all participants and the workforce
  • proactively manage incidents and eliminate or minimise risks that may impact on participant and workforce safety
  • have robust incident management and reporting systems and processes
  • work with participants and staff to resolve the issue that caused the incident and take action to improve the safety of the service.

Incident reporting supports the provision of high quality services to clients through the full and frank reporting of adverse events and subsequent analysis and actions. A key reason for reporting incidents is to learn from them and try to prevent their recurrence.

Reporting and appropriately managing critical incidents is a requirement for maintaining Victorian approved NDIS provider status.

NDIS providers delivering psychosocial supportsare required to report Category 1 and 2 incidents that involve or impact upon an NDIS participant during service delivery. This includes while a staff member is with the participant and when the participant is at the provider’s premises. Category 1 incidents are required to be reported to the department within one working day.

A Client Incident Report form can be downloaded from the Department of Health and Human Services website:

In any incident, the most important first step is to make sure participants and staff are safe. After that, a Client Incident Report form must be completed and submitted to the department. The report includes immediate actions that have been taken and planned follow-up actions. NDIS providers must also maintain a critical client incident register or database and conduct regular review and analysis of the information for trends and learnings.

Information on incident reporting and management obligations is provided in the Health Incident Reporting Instruction (May 2013).

Information on incident reporting and management obligations for the provision of in-scope NDIS supports to people with a disability (within the meaning of the Disability Act) is provided in the Disability Services practice advice - Critical Client Incident Management Instruction Technical Update 2014. This can be accessed from the Department of Health and Human Services Funded Agency Channel.

Management and reporting of complaints

Under The Mental Health Act 2014 (Mental Health Act) people have the right to speak up or complain about a public mental health service. This includes psychosocial supports provided to people with a mental illness or mental disorder and associated psychiatric disability through the NDIS. The Mental Health Complaints Commissioner (MHCC) has the primary responsibility for resolving complaints about the provision of services by community mental health providers.

Complaints are an important opportunity to improve the quality of services. NDIS participants should be supported in their right to complain to the provider and to independent dispute resolution bodies.

All Victorian approved NDIS providers delivering psychosocial supportsare required to:

  • have a complaints management system in place with a clear process to receive and resolve complaints about their services and supports
  • ensure that participants and their carers know how to make a complaint to the organisation and/or the MHCC
  • take all reasonable steps to ensure that no person is adversely affected because a complaint has been made by them, or on their behalf
  • work with the participant and their carers to resolve the issue that caused the complaint and make positive change
  • report every year to the MHCC about the number, types and outcomes of complaints received, including how they were resolved.

The MHCC is an independent, specialist complaints body established under the Mental Health Act to deal with complaints about Victorian public mental health services. This jurisdiction includes NDIS providers delivering psychosocial supports. Complaints can be made about any matter arising out of the provision of mental health services or about access to services. The MHCC can accept complaints from people receiving or trying to access mental health services (consumers), a person acting on their behalf or any person who has a genuine interest in their well-being. This includes carers, family members, friends and advocates. The Act requires the MHCC to seek the consent of the consumer unless there are special circumstances and the MHCC accepts that a complaint would not be detrimental to the wellbeing of the consumer.

The Commissioner has broad powers to deal with complaints, including using formal and informal dispute resolution approaches, including conciliation, conducting investigations, issuing compliance notices, receiving and monitoring undertakings from services, and providing recommendations to service providers for service improvement.

The MHCC:

  • helps people speak up about their concerns by supporting them to make a complaint directly to their public mental health service, NDIS funded mental health support service, or to the MHCC
  • works to address people’s concerns and complaints through informal and formal resolution approaches
  • helps Victorian public mental health services, including NDIS funded mental health community support services, to develop accessible and responsive resolution approaches to deal with concerns and complaints
  • receives and analyses reports from public mental health services and NDIS funded mental health support services about the complaints they receive and the outcomes of those complaints
  • makes recommendations for service and system improvements and uses investigation and compliance powers to drive change
  • undertakes investigations into any matter relating to Victoria’s public mental health services, as requested by the Minister for Mental Health
  • carries out these functions to safeguard people’s rights and improve mental health services.

The Mental Health Commissioner can be contacted on: 1800 246 054; the website, email:

More information

More information about Victoria’s quality and safeguards arrangements is available from the following websites:

  • National Disability Insurance Scheme website

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  • Victorian Quality and Safeguards Working Arrangements for Transition

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  • The Department of Health and Human Services Funded Agency Channel

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