Let’s talk about NDIS risk assessments

Life is full of risk. But that doesn’t mean we need to miss out on the good stuff.

At Hireup, the safety of our community is our main priority. So when working with clients, disability support workers need to actively monitor the level of risk involved in each activity they do. The most effective way of doing this is by conducting an NDIS risk assessment. 

Did I just hear you groan? A risk assessment doesn’t need to be boring, and it doesn’t necessarily involve a heap of admin or paperwork. Plus it actually allows workers to get down to the business of supporting clients quickly, and in the safest way possible.

So, what is a risk assessment? It’s the process of evaluating potential risks in the surrounding environment, or relating to a particular activity. It’s a way of identifying, addressing and removing anything that could potentially cause harm to support workers or clients.

Hireup’s Trust and Safety Manager, Lydia, says that assessing and mitigating risk is an exercise in balance. “We try and find a balance between keeping everyone safe, but also not stopping people from living the life that they want to,” she says.

Lydia explains that Hireup handles risk assessment a bit differently from other disability service providers. “I suppose traditionally, in the disability sector, the way to handle risk was just to limit what people could do, or limit their personal freedoms,” she says. “Obviously, it’s safest for everyone if we just stay at home and we don’t do anything. But that’s not letting people live a life that they want.”

One of the core principles driving Hireup is ‘Dignity of Risk’ — the belief that a person’s quality of life is improved when there is space to take informed and acceptable risks for themselves. This empowers people to be in control of decisions regarding what they do and how they spend their time.

Lydia says it’s about allowing people to enjoy life without limits. “It’s giving them all the information about what risks there are and letting them choose what they’re comfortable with. So it’s just respecting people’s rights to choose a direction for their own lives.”

The assessment itself doesn’t have to be too formal. A three-step process known as ‘Stop. Think. Plan.’ ensure’s Hireup support workers and clients can work together to make things safe. But the key to effective risk assessment is ongoing communication.

“It could just be centred around an informal conversation, where [a support worker and client] just talk through together what the risks are,” says Lydia. “And then they can make some notes on their phone or write down some of their plans to mitigate the risk.”

So whether the plan is hanging at home, catching a movie, or tackling the trickiest indoor rock climbing challenge, risk assessments are an important part of balancing safety with living life to the full.

To find out more about Hireup’s risk assessments and safety, check out our Help Centre or contact our Trust and Safety team on incidents@hireup.com.au