Supported Decision-Making Procedure

Introduction

Purpose

The purpose of this Procedure is to ensure every participant makes, and leads, the decisions that affect their supports and their home life, with whatever support they choose to make those decisions. It gives effect to the NDIS Practice Standards on rights and person-centred supports and to the supported independent living Practice Standards that commenced on 1 July 2026, which Disability and Mental Health Care Pty Ltd's mid-term audit will assess.

Scope

This Procedure applies to all Workers and to every participant we support, with particular force in supported independent living (0115/0138) settings and for participants who live alone (see the Living Alone Safeguards Procedure).

Principles

• Every participant is presumed to have capacity to make decisions about their own life.
• Decisions follow the participant's own will and preferences, not what others judge to be their best interests.
• Participants have the right to take reasonable risks (dignity of risk), and the right to change their mind.
• Support with decisions is provided in the way the participant chooses, by the people they choose.
• Needing support to communicate is never treated as inability to decide.

Relevant legislation

All legislation relevant to this document is outlined in the Legislation Register.

Related documents

• Supported Independent Living (SIL) Policy
• Participant Rights and Responsibilities Policy
• Advocate or Support Person Request Form
• Participant Support Plan
• Service Agreement and SIL Service Agreement
• Privacy Consent Form (Easy Read)
• Conflict of Interest Policy

Responsibilities and Roles

• Supriya Thapa is responsible for the development and review of this document and for ensuring it remains compliant with all applicable laws, regulations and standards.
• Key Management Personnel are responsible for its effective implementation, for assisting Workers to understand and comply with it, and for complying with it themselves.
• Workers are responsible for understanding this document and complying with all procedures applicable to them.

Definitions

Disability and Mental Health Care Pty Ltd means Disability and Mental Health Care Pty Ltd ABN 19 658 578 575, a registered NDIS provider (4-LO5XNY0).

Key Management Personnel means Supriya Thapa and other key management personnel involved in Disability and Mental Health Care Pty Ltd from time to time.

Worker means a permanent, fixed term or casual member of staff, a contractor or volunteer employed or otherwise engaged by Disability and Mental Health Care Pty Ltd, and includes the Director.

The Care Web means the Disability and Mental Health Care Pty Ltd service-delivery platform (thecareweb.com.au) that holds our booking, credential, incident, complaint and roster records.

Decision supporter means a person the participant chooses to help them understand, weigh and communicate decisions, for example a family member, friend, advocate or independent supporter.

Substitute decision-maker means a person with lawful authority to make particular decisions for a participant (for example a guardian or NDIS plan nominee), only within the scope of that authority.

Procedures

Knowing how each participant decides

• At intake, and at every plan review, we record in the Participant Support Plan: how the participant communicates best (plain language, Easy Read, Auslan, interpreter, communication device, extra time); who they want involved in which kinds of decisions; and any lawful substitute decision-makers and the exact scope of their authority.
• Easy Read versions of key documents are offered as standard. Our Participant Information Booklet and Privacy Consent already exist in Easy Read.

Everyday decisions, especially in shared living

• Daily choices (meals, activities, routines, visitors, how a support is delivered) belong to the participant. Workers offer real options, not a fait accompli.
• In SIL houses, decisions that affect the household (routines, shared spaces, filling a vacancy) are made with residents, not for them: regular resident meetings are held, each resident's views are sought in their preferred communication mode, and outcomes are minuted and kept in the house records.
• Rosters of care are built with the participant and adjusted at their request. The Care Web roster records each version and when it changed.

Major decisions

• For significant decisions (signing or changing a service agreement, changing supports, moving house, money matters) Workers: explain the decision and the realistic options in the participant's preferred format; involve the participant's chosen decision supporters; allow unhurried time, over multiple conversations if wanted; and record the decision, who supported it, and how it was communicated, in the participant file.
• Where a substitute decision-maker holds authority for a decision, the participant is still central: their will and preferences are sought and given effect to the greatest extent possible, and the substitute decides only within their lawful scope.
• If a Worker believes a participant's decision-making capacity has changed, they raise it with Key Management Personnel and never act on an assumption. Options include supported decision-making adjustments, advocacy referral, or (only where necessary and lawful) guidance from the relevant state guardianship body.

Safeguards

• Workers must not influence a participant's decisions for the benefit of themselves or of the company; any potential conflict is declared under the Conflict of Interest Policy.
• Participants are told, in a way they understand, that they can use an advocate at any time. The Advocate or Support Person Request Form makes this concrete.
• A participant's decision to decline or change a support, or to change provider, is respected and acted on without penalty, delay or pressure.
• Worker induction and annual refreshers cover this Procedure; completion is recorded in the Training and Development Register.

Policy review and updates

This document is to be amended and updated as required to remain compliant with applicable law, the NDIS Practice Standards, and the conditions of registration. It will be reviewed no later than the review date below, and earlier if legislation, the Practice Standards, or our operations change.