Thank you for connecting with Life Without Barriers about the HIDPA supports provided by our frontline – Disability Support Workers.
This page is for Appropriately Qualified Health Practitioners (AQHP) who provide training and assessment of our frontline staff.
Life Without Barriers provides supports under the NDIS Practice Standards for High Intensity Daily Personal Activities – commonly referred to as HIDPA.
For staff to provide HIDPA supports once a HIDPA support plan is written, they need to have training and be assessed by an appropriately qualified health practitioner (AQHP) as to whether they have the knowledge and skills to be able to provide support according to the person’s support plan.
Online Training Declaration
This declaration confirms that the training has occurred against the individual’s complex care support plan - Session details should be provided to you by the Frontline Leader who coordinated your training session.
Procedures and training essentials
Click on the appropriate tile to access procedures and information necessary to complete the training for Life Without Barriers staff.
Need assistance?
In the first instance, we recommend you contact the Disability Support Leader who coordinated your training and assessment session.
Frequently Asked Questions
What about funding for training?
Additional funding is often available to the person requiring HIDPA supports, for relevant equipment and training of the staff who support them. If the support plan is reviewed during admission to hospital, the AQHP at the hospital may provide training to staff prior to discharge. Please discuss any training costs with the person, their nominated decision maker and/or their NDIS Support Coordinator. If a funding review is required, they are best placed to coordinate this.
How does training work?
It is the responsibility of the person, their nominated decision maker or their Support Coordinator to source an AQHP to provide training and assessment of the Disability Support Worker’s (DSW) knowledge and skills to implement the person’s plan.
Our DSWs are managed by Disability Support Leaders (DSL) and/or Operations Managers.
The DSL will contact you after the person we support or their Support Coordinator has provided your details to us, and will provide you with an AQHP Services Request Letter; a list of the names of the staff to be trained; the relevant Life Without Barriers' HIDPA Support Procedure, and a copy of the HIDPA support plan if you did not write it.
DSWs will have completed some basic e-Learning about the support required prior to attending the face-to-face or virtual training session with you.
After your training, we require you to complete the Online Training Declaration. Once submitted, you’ll be able to save or send yourself a copy for your records. We do not require you to submit any other assessment information (e.g., tests/hand-outs) from your session.
If you are unable to complete the declaration via the link, please ask the DSL who coordinated your sessions to make a printed version available to you on the day.
How often do people need training?
Our current policy requires staff to have current knowledge and skills in being able to support the person with their most recent HIDPA Support Plan. We recommend staff are trained at least every 12 months, or earlier if the plan is changed or staff require a refresh as per the NDIS HIDPA Guidelines.
What if I don’t think a staff member has the knowledge or skills to train?
There is space in the declaration to list staff who you have assessed as “not yet” having the knowledge and/or skills to safely follow the plan.
Can I do a video recording of my training session?
We do not approve of the sole use of video recordings for training in HIDPA. If you choose to use videos, we will require you to assess staff after they have watched the video, to confirm their knowledge and skills.
I work at a hospital do I still need to train staff or complete the declaration?
If you are an AQHP and it is in your scope to provide training in the HIDPA Support Plan, and the person wants you to train the Life Without Barriers DSWs that support them prior to the person’s discharge from hospital, we require you to complete the declaration. a declaration by an AQHP, there will be a delay in providing supports after discharge.
I didn’t write the plan; can I still train to it?
If it is in your professional scope and you are confident to train staff in the existing plan, you can train in a plan written by another AQHP. This often occurs when the person has a clinical assessment in the hospital or with the medical specialist. If you require the plan to be re-written prior to training, please discuss this with the person and/or their Support Coordinator.
Training in plans for Severe Dysphagia must be provided by a Speech Pathologist. This restriction has been implemented by the NDIA.
Additional staff have attended on the day that weren’t on the list – what do I do?
Obtain their email addresses from them or the Disability Support Leader and add them to the form.
Some staff have not attended on the day that were on the list – what do I do?
Only list the staff who did attend and who successfully completed the training on the day in the declaration. The staff who failed to complete the session will be rebooked for an alternate session by the DSL