NDIS Code of Conduct
Part 2: The NDIS Code of Conduct (section 6)
s6-1-a Respect rights to freedom of expression, self-determination and decision-making
Clause and reference s 6(1)(a) of the NDIS (Code of Conduct) Rules 2018 · our reference s6-1-a
The requirement
When supports or services go to a person with disability, every provider, key person and worker respects the person's rights to express themselves, to self-determination and to make decisions, in line with the laws and conventions that apply (the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities among them). The Commission's guidance reads this as supporting people to make their own decisions, communicating in a form and language they understand so they can make their will and preferences known, and taking account of their values and beliefs, including culture, faith, gender identity, sexuality and age.
Our wording of the requirement: our statement of what the clause asks, not the instrument verbatim. Source: NDIS Code of Conduct on the compliance desk.
The evidence to bring
- Code of Conduct policy adopted by the provider and acknowledged by each worker and key person
- Participant records showing choices and preferences recorded in the person's own words and acted on
- Communication plans or accessible-format materials (Easy Read, interpreter bookings, AAC use) for participants who need them
- Training completion records for the NDIS Worker Orientation Module and supported decision-making training
What assessors commonly find
- Decisions made for participants by staff or family without recording the participant's own wishes
- Information given only in standard English print to participants who need another format
- Unregistered providers and sole traders unaware that the Code binds them
What evidence do I need?
For s6-1-a Respect rights to freedom of expression, self-determination and decision-making, the evidence to bring is: Code of Conduct policy adopted by the provider and acknowledged by each worker and key person; Participant records showing choices and preferences recorded in the person's own words and acted on. Keep every record dated, signed and current, and name who owns it.
Answer the reviewer first
Show me code of Conduct policy adopted by the provider and acknowledged by each worker and key person, and tell me who owns it and when it was last reviewed.
That is the question a quality assessor opens with for this requirement. Have the record on the desk and the date it was last reviewed to hand.
Read your own evidence against this clause
Paste your policy or evidence pack and the reading marks, line by line, whether a phrase from this requirement appears and quotes your own words when it does. It is a reading of your text, not a compliance result; a quality assessor decides whether a requirement is met. Read your pack, free See the paid reading