NDIS & In-Home Disability Support Worker SWMS

NDIS and in-home disability support work involves delivering personal care, domestic assistance, community access and clinical support tasks inside private residences, supported independent living (SIL) homes and short-term accommodation. Workers routinely encounter uncontrolled environments — unknown floor layouts, household pets, family members, ad-hoc equipment and varying hygiene standards — while performing physically demanding manual handling and intimate personal care. Under WHS Regulation 2025, the registered NDIS provider is a PCBU and owes the primary duty of care under s19 of the WHS Act to every support worker, including lone workers in client homes. A documented Safe Work Method Statement is mandatory wherever the work involves a foreseeable risk of musculoskeletal injury, occupational violence, biological exposure or lone-worker emergencies, and is required by NDIS Practice Standards (Provider Governance and Operational Management). This SWMS structures the in-home risk assessment, control selection and worker sign-on process required to discharge that duty consistently across every participant's residence.

Hazards identified

7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.

1. 1Elimination — Refuse or cease shifts where a documented imminent threat exists (active violence, weapons present, no safe access) until provider conducts a fresh risk reassessment.
2. 2Elimination — Remove manual lifting of participants over 16kg by mandating mechanical hoist use for all full-weight transfers per AS/NZS 4485 aged care guidance.
3. 3Substitution — Replace bucket-and-mop cleaning of biological spills with single-use absorbent spill kits containing chlorine-releasing granules and clinical waste bags.
4. 4Substitution — Substitute glass thermometers and reusable sharps with single-use digital devices and retractable safety-engineered sharps where clinical tasks are delegated.
5. 5Engineering — Install and verify ceiling hoists, slide sheets, transfer belts, height-adjustable beds and grab rails before commencing transfers, recorded on the in-home environmental checklist.
6. 6Engineering — Issue duress-enabled mobile devices with GPS tracking, mandatory shift check-in/check-out and automated escalation to the on-call coordinator after missed call-ins.
7. 7Administrative — Complete a participant-specific behaviour support plan review, manual handling plan and home environment assessment before first shift and re-verify every six months.
8. 8Administrative — Enforce two-worker shifts for participants with documented aggression history, full-hoist transfers or known infectious status per the participant risk rating matrix.
9. 9PPE — Wear nitrile gloves, fluid-resistant aprons, P2 respirators for respiratory infection risk and safety eyewear during personal care, in line with AS/NZS 1715 and 1716.
10. 10PPE — Carry a personal duress alarm, closed-toe non-slip footwear meeting AS/NZS 2210.3 and uniform without ligature points when supporting participants with behaviours of concern.

Applicable Codes of Practice

Worked example

At a suburban Supported Independent Living house, a rostered support worker arrives for the Tuesday morning shift to assist a participant with cerebral palsy who requires a full hoist transfer from bed to wheelchair, showering and breakfast preparation. Before commencing, the team leader runs the pre-start brief using this SWMS on a tablet at the kitchen bench. The worker reviews the hazard register and confirms three live hazards apply today: hoist transfer (Hazard 1), participant agitation noted in last night's progress notes (Hazard 2), and a wet bathroom floor from the previous resident's shower (Hazard 5). Controls are selected against each: the ceiling hoist and large sling are inspected against the engineering control checklist, a second worker is rostered on per the administrative two-worker rule because of the agitation flag, and the bathroom is mopped and dried before transfer per the slip control. The worker dons nitrile gloves and non-slip footwear, signs the SWMS on-screen and activates the duress app. Midway through the shower, the participant becomes distressed and resists. The worker pauses the task, refers back to the behaviour de-escalation step in the SWMS, gives the participant a two-minute break, and the support resumes safely. The amended observation is logged at shift end for the next risk review.

Related legislation

• WHS Act 2011 (model)
• WHS Regulation 2025
• Code of Practice — Hazardous Manual Tasks

Frequently asked questions