The NDIS Code of Conduct is short. Seven points, a single page. But it is the standard the NDIS Commission holds every worker to, and breaching it can end a career through a banning order. Most workers have signed off that they have read it. Fewer could tell you what it actually asks of them on a Tuesday shift.
Here is each element in plain terms. It is current as of August 2026; the full text is on the NDIS Commission website.
Who it applies to
Everyone. The Code binds all workers who deliver NDIS supports and all providers, registered or not, paid or volunteer. If you support a person with disability through the NDIS, it applies to you. That is broader than a lot of people assume.
The seven elements
In providing supports and services to people with disability, workers and providers must:
- Respect individual rights to freedom of expression, self-determination and decision-making. Support the person’s own choices, even when you would choose differently.
- Respect the privacy of people with disability. This is more than careful record-keeping. It is how you deliver support: knocking, closing doors, not discussing someone’s business in front of others.
- Provide supports in a safe and competent manner, with care and skill. Work within your training and the person’s plan. If a task is beyond you, say so rather than improvise.
- Act with integrity, honesty and transparency. No cutting corners on records, no misusing a person’s money or trust, no covering up mistakes.
- Promptly raise and act on concerns about quality and safety. If something is unsafe, you speak up. Staying quiet is itself a breach.
- Take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation, neglect and abuse. You do not wait to be certain. You act on reasonable concern.
- Take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct. Recognise it, refuse to ignore it, and report it.
Why “respect privacy” trips people up
Element two is the one workers most often read narrowly. Privacy under the Code is not just about who can see a file. It is about dignity in the moment of care: how you help someone shower, whether you talk about their diagnosis where others can hear, whether you assume consent or ask for it. A worker can keep perfect records and still breach this element in the way they deliver support.
What a breach can mean
The Commission can act on Code breaches, including compliance action against a provider and banning orders that stop an individual from working in the sector. The Code is not a formality you sign once. It is enforceable, and it is enforced.
Turn “I’ve read it” into “I understand it”
Our NDIS Code of Conduct and Duty of Care course takes support workers through each element with real examples, so the Code shapes how they work rather than sitting in a signed folder. Built by AHPRA-registered clinicians and mapped to the NDIS Practice Standards, with a dated completion record for your induction and audit evidence.