What is a visitable site?

Visitable sites are:

• places where a person receives the following NDIS-funded support services if they have impaired capacity:
  • high-intensity daily personal activities
  • help with daily life tasks in a group or shared living arrangement
  • specialist, positive behaviour support that involves the use of a restrictive practice
  • specialist disability accommodation
• disability accommodation provided or funded by the Queensland Department of Communities and Disability Services and Seniors
• relevant Queensland Health facilities
• authorised mental health services and community care units
• residential services (also called supported accommodation) with level 3 accreditation
• the Forensic Disability Service.

Report a NDIS visitable site

If you manage a visitable site in Queensland where NDIS participants receive any of the above support services, you must report the site to us .

If you’re unsure whether your site is a visitable one, please contact us for confirmation.

What happens during a visit?

We’ll visit your site as soon as possible after we receive a visit request.

During their visit, our community visitor will:

• show and clearly display their identification badge
• introduce themselves and explain their role to the residents, service recipients and staff
• talk to the people being visited about their needs, interests, care, and support
• identify any issues or concerns they might have
• review whether the person is receiving the services they need and that the services are adequate
• confirm they can easily access information about their rights and complaint options
• inspect the site and observe how staff interact with and support the people in their care
• ask staff questions about how they support the people in their care to meet their needs
• request relevant documents to read, take extracts from, and/or copy
• discuss any issues or concerns with site management and request further information
• raise and resolve complaints
• report to staff before leaving the site.

We’ll respect the wishes of any adult who doesn’t want to speak with us.

Sometimes, we may need to address an issue regardless of the adult’s views to ensure their safety.

What powers do we have?

We’re required to do everything within our power to ensure the people staying at your site or receiving services there are safe, well and being properly cared for.

The Public Guardian Act 2014 gives our community visitors powers of entry and inspection. It allows us to:

• access all areas of your site
• ask questions you must answer
• request and make copies of relevant documents
• talk in private with residents, participants or staff.

Powers of entry

We can legally enter a visitable site, with or without notice, between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.

We can enter a site outside of normal hours, for up to two hours, if there are justifying circumstances.

Powers to inspect and copy documents

We can ask to see and/or make copies of relevant documents at your site, including ones:

• about your organisation and services, like policies and site records
• relating to the adults at your site, like medical records and personal files.

Before requesting the documents, our community visitor will consider:

• whether the documents are necessary for, and directly related to, performing their role
• whether they can get the information another way, such as speaking with staff or others
• the adult’s views and wishes about us having or looking at their records.

You must allow community visitors to see any relevant documents they ask for.

Your rights and responsibilities

You’re legally required to help our community visitors so they can do the tasks they’re authorised to do. Failing to provide help is an offence unless you have a valid reason. A valid reason might include situations where providing help would mean you incriminate yourself.

If our community visitor asks to see documents at your site, they’ll tell you why they need them. If they don’t, you can ask them to explain why they’re asking for the documents and how they relate to their duties.

You can also ask the visitor how the adult’s personal information will be protected. Our community visitors must collect and use this information in line with the relevant laws.

What happens after the visit?

After their visit, our community visitor may contact (or attempt to contact) the site manager to discuss any issues or concerns they identified.

They may ask the site manager to respond to certain issues within a set timeframe. If they don’t get a response, or if the response is insufficient or inappropriate, the visitor can escalate the issue within our office.

We work with visitable sites to resolve complaints and, if necessary, refer the complaints to external agencies (e.g. the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission).

Visit reports

After their visit, our community visitor will send a report of their findings to the service provider.

Any issues raised in the report will align with the service provider’s responsibilities under relevant laws and standards.

If the report relates to a complaint raised by a person living and/or receiving services at the site, the community visitor may also give them a copy of the report.

The law also allows us to share a copy of the report with the:

• Public Advocate
• Chief Psychiatrist
• Director of Forensic Disability.

If restrictive practices are used at the site, we may also send the report to:

• the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT)
• the adult’s guardian and/or administrator
• the Director-General, Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety.

Requests for a copy of the report by other parties will be considered on a case-by-case basis by The Public Guardian.

More information

See our education resources for forms, factsheets, videos and other resources.