It’s a weird sort of feeling when you get confirmation of something that you have long suspected to be true. When that thing represents the confirmation that your hard work and clinical advocacy for your clients is being ignored that feeling tends to be a little on the strong side. Let’s discuss the implications for the situation where the NDIA have admitted via their CEO that they do not read our clinical reports (that they ask for) and how we might manage this situation moving forward.
Let’s Acknowledge the Feelings
Up front, please let me support you in acknowledging that the footage from Senate Estimates last week was pretty gutting. We are justified in having these feelings. We worked hard to gain and then to continually develop our skills, we pride ourselves on really knowing our clients and how their disabilities impact their daily lives and the types of support that can make a difference for them. The cold dismissal of the effort that we go to, not just in the time of writing the actual report but in an ongoing way over years to develop those skills was more than a little hard to swallow.
As always, we will dust ourselves off and take a deep breath, square up our shoulders and get on with doing our best work to support our clients to live their best lives.
Can We Address the Elephant in the Room
The NDIA may have a 280-page report somewhere in the system, I doubt the CEO would use it as an example at Estimates without being able to back it up. Most of us cannot fathom having the time, nor the available funding to compose a report of even one quarter of this length. The complexity of a situation that would warrant this much reporting must be critically concerning.
After I viewed that footage from last week, I thought about the nights pulling the computer out again after my family have gone to bed, dragging the laptop to play centres to keep crunching while my kids played, typing away in the car at soccer training to get these reports done in time. I am sure that some of you reading are nodding along right now.
The NDIA ask for our reports. They ask in writing within Plans for reports to be submitted 6 weeks before the Plan Review date; they ask via Local Area Coordinators and Planners and ECEI Partners. And we will continue on this basis to provide them because it is our ethical and professional duty to do so.
We Know That It’s Not All Planners
Thinking optimistically, I’m sure that some Planners, LACs and ECEI partners do in fact, read our reports. While we are upset with what happened last week, let’s be careful not to generalise and take our feelings out on anyone with an NDIS badge.
Reporting is an important clinical process and we need to continue to do it at appropriate times and for appropriate purposes. It provides that check in for how things have been going, a reminder to our families and ourselves of what we have all achieved and provides a documented plan for where to from here.
So What is the Optimal Length of a Report for the NDIS?
This is a great question and I don’t think I have an answer for you on this just yet. I did figure out quite a long time ago that my reports weren’t being consistently read and so I decided to reduce my reports down to preserve Plan funding for intervention delivery.
I also spent considerable time on the weekend reading through the new Reassessment and Plan Variation Rules and there are some hints in those documents regarding what the Agency will be looking for when making their decisions.
Note here that these hints are for a general progress report – not a full assessment or eligibility report which will need to look quite different and address the legislation very specifically (these reports are definitely read).
My tips for NDIS Therapy Reports for Plan Reviews, Reassessments and Variations:
- Decide what is essential to include. This may vary depending on the purpose of the report and while templates are a game changer in terms of saving time we should still consider why the report is being generated and what that means for what to include and what to leave out.
- Put the most important information into an executive summary on the front page. If that’s the only thing that is read at least they got more than the client biographical information and a fluffy introduction.
- Keep the language simple. I mean no jargon, like it is being written for a parent or carer. We have no idea what the background of the reader might be and we want the absolute best chance for them to understand what this report means for the Participant.
- Scores and data can go into an Appendix at the back if they have to be included at all. If the reader wants to read them they will be happy to take the time to read to the end.
- Include clear examples of IMPACT. ‘Miss 8 finds it challenging to engage with people who are not known to her.’ What this looks like: ‘Miss 8 cannot engage with a casual teacher or order food over the counter at the canteen at school without the support.’
- The new rules are clear that certain criteria must be met for a Plan Reassessment or Variation to be approved. These include evidence across a range of criteria and if you are in the situation of writing one of these I suggest that you address these succinctly, in plain English and with clear examples.
- Ensure that your support requests are in line with the NDIS Supports List and are clearly linked with the Participants documented impairment.
Chances are that plenty of you reading this have been told by Support Coordinators and advocates to add this and that and I suggest that you do what you think is best for your clients in line with your values and ethics.
We know now that as to whether they are read – and then if they are whether the recommendations are actually considered is a complete roll of the dice situation.
So, where to from here?
With the furore that has followed this admission continuing into this week, it is likely that NDIA staff will either make an effort to read the reports that you are working so hard to submit OR they will consider that they have permission from the CEO to ignore them.
My vote is to assume the former; follow your ethical and clinical judgement as to what your responsibilities are, ensure that your report provides the evidence that the Legislation and Rules ask for, perhaps tweak the length, format, language etc to make it as easy as possible to read and understand what you submit no matter the background of the reader. Need Help Navigating the Latest NDIS Changes?
If you’re feeling frustrated and uncertain about how to adapt your reporting process in light of these current NDIS events, you’re not alone. The NDIS Power Pack is designed to help Allied Health providers like you make sense of these shifts and ensure your documentation remains effective, ethical, and aligned with best practices.
Join me for a 2-hour NDIS Power Pack session, where we’ll break down exactly what these changes mean for your Allied Health business and how to adjust your approach moving forward.
Let’s work through this together—because your expertise and advocacy for clients matter.
