In 2013, the Australian government launched the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to provide a more inclusive support framework for people with disabilities, their families, and their caregivers.

This initiative offers tailored support through funding, services, and resources, enhancing each participant’s quality of life.

By delivering essential assistance, the NDIS enables individuals with disabilities to live as independently as possible, fostering opportunities for participation in activities that improve well-being and social inclusion.

NDIS Delivery Challenges

While the NDIS provides a helpful structure for service delivery, it also presents challenges for providers, particularly in managing the administrative and operational demands of such a specialised type of care.

We will cover some of the main hurdles providers face, including workforce management, data organisation, and meeting regulatory standards.

Workforce Management

Effective workforce management is critical to the operational success of NDIS providers.

The complexities of coordinating staff schedules, timesheets, and payroll can be a significant strain, especially on smaller providers with limited resources.

Scheduling and Rostering: Providers must create efficient rosters that consider staff availability and location, travel times, required skills and qualifications, and last-minute adjustments for sick leave, annual leave, or unexpected turnover.

Payroll Processing: Beyond scheduling, providers must manage timesheets and payroll to ensure staff are compensated accurately and on time.

Human Resources: Tasks such as onboarding, training, and tracking caregiver qualifications must be accurately logged and kept up to date in a centralised, easily accessible location.

When these activities are managed manually or across multiple software systems, the administrative burden can become considerable and costly.

Data Management

An essential part of delivering quality care involves managing data effectively. Each NDIS participant has a personalised support plan outlining their goals, services, and the types of support they will receive.

Maintaining accurate, accessible, up-to-date records for each participant is a logistical and legal necessity.

Care Plans: Personalised care plans guide service delivery and help participants reach their care goals. Providers must review and update plans regularly to reflect changes in a participant’s needs.

Accessible Data: Staff delivering care need quick access to critical information including:

• Personal details and health notes
• Medication histories
• Care charts and assessments
• Daily tasks and objectives

A good data management system can assist providers in maintaining a high quality of service and ensure staff have the information they need to provide effective care.

Regulatory Compliance

NDIS providers are responsible for maintaining high standards of care, which requires compliance with multiple regulatory and reporting obligations.

Incident and Risk Management: Providers are required to have a risk and incident management system to monitor and report on significant incidents.

Progress Management: Regular progress reports documenting each participant’s care journey, progress towards goals, and any barriers encountered ensure transparency and accountability.

Worker Screening: Providers must thoroughly screen workers, ensuring that staff meet and maintain the necessary qualifications and comply with ongoing training requirements. This not only ensures compliance but also enhances the quality of care provided.

Navigating these requirements is essential to maintaining compliance and retaining credibility and trust among participants and families.

Overcoming Challenges in NDIS

A robust care management system can help NDIS providers streamline critical processes, improve efficiency, and support high-quality care delivery.

Here are some ways OneTouch Health can help to drive improvements across critical areas for NDIS providers.

Workforce Management

Scheduling and Rostering: With OneTouch, providers can create schedules in a fraction of the time. The system offers a comprehensive view of staff availability, travel times, and qualifications, ensuring that the right caregivers are assigned efficiently and accurately.

Payroll: OneTouch simplifies the once labour-intensive process of managing payroll. Finance teams need only to confirm the data in digital timesheets before exporting these to their payroll system, minimising errors and saving time.

Human Resources: Tracking qualifications and training is critical. OneTouch provides a repository to store onboarding and training records in a central and quickly accessible location. This streamlines HR processes and supports compliance by ensuring staff qualifications remain current.

Data Management

Care Plans: OneTouch allows providers to build personalised care plans that capture each client’s specific needs and adapt them as they evolve. This flexibility ensures that care teams can provide personalised and responsive support.

Accessible Data: With OneTouch’s Carer App, carers can access client profiles, care plans and task lists from any location. Immediate access to real-time information helps to ensure continuity of care and keeps team members informed, improving client outcomes and staff efficiency.

Regulatory Compliance

Incident and Risk Management: OneTouch’s incident management workflows immediately notify relevant staff members when an incident occurs. These workflows also initiate follow-up actions and reporting requirements, ensuring that incidents are managed according to organisational processes and governance.

Progress Management: Regular reviews of care plans and client progress are easy to track within OneTouch. With built-in reporting, providers can monitor progress, adjust care as needed and keep clients and families informed.

Worker Screening: To ensure all staff meet qualification requirements, OneTouch provides automated alerts for expiring certifications. This proactive approach helps providers maintain compliance and ensures that qualified staff are always available to be scheduled.

By leveraging OneTouch’s comprehensive NDIS management software, NDIS providers can overcome the challenges involved in business operations and service delivery.

For a firsthand look at the difference OneTouch can make, explore the case study on McLean Care’s experience or book a personalised demo.