Imagine you have finally found a support worker who understands your routine, communicates well with you and makes daily personal care feel comfortable.
Then you hear that your provider needs to complete a NDIS single worker risk assessment.
Does that mean you can no longer have the same support worker?
No. The requirement is not designed to stop participants from choosing one consistent worker. It is there to make sure that choice is balanced with appropriate safeguards.
What is the NDIS single worker risk assessment?
The requirement applies to registered NDIS providers delivering 0107 – Assistance with daily personal activities.
Under the additional registration condition, a provider cannot allow personal support to be delivered by a sole support worker to a participant who lives alone unless the provider has first assessed whether relevant risk factors exist and has the required written service arrangements in place.
The NDIS Commission explains that the risk can be higher where someone lives alone, has limited contact with family, friends or other supports, or has mobility or communication support needs.
This is particularly relevant because personal support can involve regular, close contact in someone’s home.
Why does the NDIS require this assessment?
The purpose is safeguarding.
Having one familiar worker can be valuable. Consistency can make personal care easier, particularly for someone who needs support with routines, communication or daily activities.
But relying on one worker can also create additional risks if the participant has very limited contact with other people or supports.
The NDIS Commission’s condition therefore requires providers to look at the participant’s individual circumstances rather than automatically assuming that a sole worker is either safe or unsafe.
Relevant risk factors can include whether the participant:
- receives regular face-to-face support from another NDIS provider
- has regular contact with family, friends or other people they know
- has limited physical mobility without assistance
- uses equipment for mobility
- has limited ability to communicate without assistance
- uses equipment to support communication.
Does this mean participants cannot have one regular support worker?
No.
This is one of the most important points for participants to understand.
The condition is designed to allow participants to continue choosing a sole support worker, while requiring the provider to put appropriate safeguards around that arrangement. The NDIS Commission’s own fact sheet says the condition is intended to ensure participants who choose the same worker can continue to exercise that choice.
So, if you prefer having one consistent worker because they understand your communication style, routines or personal preferences, the assessment does not automatically mean you need to change workers.
Instead, your provider needs to consider whether additional safeguards are appropriate.
What happens during the assessment?
A provider must document its assessment of the participant’s risk factors and give the participant a copy as soon as reasonably practicable after completing it. If circumstances change in a way that could significantly affect the provision of personal support, the assessment must be updated.
The provider’s written service agreement also needs to address important safeguards, including:
- how the support worker is selected and the participant’s role in that decision
- how the participant’s satisfaction will be checked by someone other than the support worker
- how the worker will be supervised
- how the provider will communicate with the participant
- how the provider will work with other providers involved in the participant’s support.
Where risk factors are identified, the provider must also have a documented supervision plan and ensure concerns identified through monitoring are addressed without unreasonable delay.
In other words, the assessment should not simply sit in a file. It forms part of an ongoing approach to participant safety.
What does this mean for participants who prefer consistency?
For many participants, having the same worker is about more than convenience.
A familiar worker may already understand:
- how you prefer to communicate
- your morning or evening routine
- how you like personal care provided
- what makes you comfortable
- when you need more time or assistance.
Changing workers unnecessarily can disrupt that consistency.
The 0107 condition recognises the importance of participant choice while requiring providers to consider whether there are circumstances that could increase vulnerability.
That means the conversation should be about your individual circumstances, not simply whether you have one worker.
How Lotus approaches the assessment
As a registered provider delivering relevant supports, Lotus Disability Care treats risk assessment as part of responsible support delivery, not as a reason to automatically disrupt a participant’s preferred routine.
When a participant chooses consistent support, the focus should be on understanding their circumstances, identifying any relevant risks and putting appropriate safeguards in place.
That can include clear service arrangements, appropriate supervision, regular check-ins and making sure the participant has an opportunity to provide feedback about the support they receive.
The goal is straightforward: support the participant’s choice while keeping safety and wellbeing at the centre of the arrangement.
Final thoughts
A NDIS single worker risk assessment is not simply about restricting participant choice. It is a safeguard for situations where a participant who lives alone receives personal support from one worker.
For participants, the practical takeaway is simple: you can still value consistency and have a preferred support worker. The provider’s responsibility is to understand your individual circumstances, identify relevant risks and put appropriate safeguards around the support.
For registered providers, that means risk assessment, supervision, participant feedback and clear documentation need to be part of the support arrangement—not an afterthought.
