Last updated: 28 August 2026

Carers Heart is committed to providing safe, respectful and person-centred supports.

This Code of Conduct explains the standards expected from Carers Heart, our workers, contractors and representatives when providing NDIS supports and services.

1. Our Commitment

Carers Heart will provide supports that:

• Respect each participant’s rights, dignity and independence

• Promote choice and control

• Are safe, competent and delivered with care

• Respect privacy and confidentiality

• Are free from violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and discrimination

• Reflect each participant’s goals, preferences, culture and communication needs

• Meet applicable NDIS requirements and professional standards

2. Respect for Individual Rights

We respect every participant’s right to:

• Make decisions about their own life and supports

• Express their views and preferences

• Be treated fairly and without discrimination

• Have their culture, language, identity and beliefs respected

• Receive information in a way they can understand

• Involve a family member, advocate, nominee or representative

• Raise concerns or make a complaint without fear of adverse treatment

Workers must listen to participants and support informed decision-making wherever possible.

3. Person-Centred Support

Supports must be shaped around the individual—not provided as a one-size-fits-all service.

Workers are expected to:

• Understand the participant’s support plan and goals

• Follow agreed routines and communication preferences

• Respect personal boundaries

• Encourage independence and meaningful participation

• Support informed choice and reasonable risk-taking

• Review supports when a participant’s circumstances or needs change

• Communicate clearly with authorised members of the participant’s support network

4. Privacy and Confidentiality

Carers Heart workers must respect participant privacy.

Workers must:

• Access only the information required for their role

• Keep personal and health information secure

• Discuss participant information only with authorised people

• Avoid discussing participants in public or inappropriate settings

• Follow Carers Heart privacy and record-management procedures

• Report any suspected privacy or data breach promptly

Participant photographs, videos or personal stories must not be recorded, shared or published without appropriate permission.

5. Safe and Competent Service Delivery

Workers must provide supports in a safe and competent manner, with appropriate care and skill.

This includes:

• Working within their role, training and competence

• Following support plans, risk assessments and clinical directions

• Completing required training and checks

• Identifying and reporting hazards

• Following medication, infection-control and emergency procedures

• Seeking assistance when a task is outside their competence

• Keeping accurate and timely service records

• Participating in supervision and ongoing training

High-intensity supports must be delivered only by appropriately trained and assessed workers under the required clinical oversight.

6. Integrity, Honesty and Transparency

Workers and representatives must act honestly and professionally.

They must not:

• Provide false or misleading information

• Falsify service records, timesheets or claims

• Claim payment for supports that were not delivered

• Pressure a participant to purchase or continue a service

• Conceal incidents, errors or complaints

• Misuse participant money, property or information

• Use their position for personal benefit

• Accept inappropriate gifts, loans or financial arrangements

Potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed and managed transparently.

7. Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation

Carers Heart has zero tolerance for violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and sexual misconduct.

Workers must never:

• Threaten, intimidate or humiliate a participant

• Use unnecessary physical force

• Restrict a participant’s rights without lawful authorisation

• Engage in sexual conduct with a participant

• Exploit a participant financially, emotionally or otherwise

• Ignore signs of abuse, neglect or unsafe support

• Retaliate against a person who reports a concern

Any suspected or alleged abuse, neglect, exploitation or misconduct must be reported immediately under Carers Heart procedures and applicable reporting requirements.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 000.

8. Preventing and Responding to Harm

Workers must take reasonable steps to prevent and respond to:

• Violence

• Abuse

• Neglect

• Exploitation

• Discrimination

• Unsafe practices

• Avoidable injury

• Financial misconduct

• Inappropriate restrictive practices

Concerns must be taken seriously, documented and escalated promptly.

9. Quality and Safety Concerns

Workers must raise concerns if they believe a support, environment or practice may be unsafe.

Workers are expected to:

• Act immediately when there is an urgent risk

• Notify the appropriate Carers Heart manager

• Record incidents accurately

• Cooperate with reviews and investigations

• Follow corrective actions

• Support participants affected by an incident

• Maintain confidentiality throughout the process

Reportable incidents will be managed in accordance with applicable NDIS requirements.

10. Complaints and Feedback

Participants, families, carers, advocates, workers and members of the public may provide feedback or make a complaint.

Carers Heart will:

• Make the complaints process accessible

• Treat complaints respectfully and confidentially

• Respond fairly and as promptly as possible

• Provide updates about the complaint

• Protect people from retaliation or adverse treatment

• Use feedback to improve services

A person may complain directly to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and does not have to complain to Carers Heart first.

11. Professional Boundaries

Workers must maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

Workers must not:

• Begin an inappropriate personal or intimate relationship with a participant

• Borrow money or property from a participant

• Lend money to a participant outside an authorised support arrangement

• Use participant relationships for personal gain

• Connect with participants through personal social media accounts

• Share private contact details without authorisation

• Make decisions outside their role or authority

• Encourage dependence on a particular worker

Any uncertainty about professional boundaries must be discussed with a supervisor.

12. Gifts and Benefits

Small gifts may only be accepted where permitted under Carers Heart policy and where they do not influence—or appear to influence—service decisions.

Workers must not accept:

• Cash

• Loans

• Expensive gifts

• Benefits connected to preferential treatment

• Gifts that create pressure or obligation

• Access to participant bank accounts, cards or PINs

All concerns about gifts or financial arrangements must be reported.

13. Cultural Safety and Communication

Carers Heart recognises that safe support includes cultural understanding.

Workers must:

• Respect cultural, religious and linguistic preferences

• Avoid assumptions or stereotypes

• Use interpreters or communication support when appropriate

• Respect English and Korean communication preferences

• Support cultural activities and routines identified by the participant

• Ask respectful questions when clarification is needed

Cultural understanding must support—not replace—the participant’s individual choices.

14. Social Media and Digital Conduct

Workers must not publish participant information, photographs, videos or workplace information through personal social media.

Workers must:

• Protect participant confidentiality online

• Use approved communication systems

• Avoid taking unauthorised photographs or recordings

• Report accidental or inappropriate disclosure

• Follow Carers Heart technology and social-media requirements

15. Worker Screening and Suitability

Workers must maintain all required checks, qualifications and registrations relevant to their role.

This may include:

• NDIS Worker Screening Check

• Working with Children Check where applicable

• Professional registration

• First aid and CPR certification

• Role-specific training

• High-intensity support training

• Relevant licences and identity checks

Workers must notify Carers Heart of any matter that may affect their suitability to provide supports.

16. Breaches of This Code

A suspected breach of this Code will be reviewed fairly and appropriately.

Depending on the circumstances, action may include:

• Additional guidance or training

• Increased supervision

• Corrective action

• Removal from particular duties

• Formal disciplinary action

• Termination of employment or engagement

• Notification to the NDIS Commission, police or another authority

Serious concerns may be reported externally without first completing an internal process where required for safety or by law.

17. Reporting a Concern

To report a concern about Carers Heart or one of our workers, contact:

Carers Heart Pty Ltd
Phone: 0433 315 666
Email: [TEMPORARY EMAIL — TO BE CONFIRMED]
Location: Bella Vista, New South Wales
Complaints page: [INSERT COMPLAINTS PAGE LINK]

You may also contact:

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
Phone: 1800 035 544
Website: www.ndiscommission.gov.au

For immediate danger or a serious emergency, call 000.

18. Review of This Code

Carers Heart may update this Code when standards, services, organisational practices or legal responsibilities change.

The current version will be published on this website with an updated revision date.