Preparing your care service organisation
Why disaster planning and preparedness is important
Effective disaster planning for aged care and NDIS care providers is critical for protecting priority populations and ensuring continuity of care and is a legal requirement under practice and quality standards. During flood and bush fire events providers' ability to deliver services can be severely affected, with impacts on health, safety and mobility of staff and clients. To address these risks, providers can implement comprehensive emergency and disaster management plans outlining how they will respond to disasters, manage risks, and maintain critical services to safeguard both staff and the individuals receiving care.
Aged Care Quality Standards and NDIS Practice Standards on emergency and disaster management
New disaster management standards have been introduced for the aged care and NDIS sectors which describe how these organisations are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of their staff and the people receiving care during disasters.
More information on the Aged Care Quality Emergency and Disaster Management Standards can be found here.
More information on the NDIS Emergency Management Practice Standards can be found here.
Resources to help your care organisation prepare
The below information sheet, educational webinar, and short explainer video can be used to improve staff knowledge on disaster preparedness, including topics of relevant quality and practice standards, identifying risks, who to include in planning conversations and trusted sources of risk and emergency information.
Hear more about getting your care service organisation prepared for disasters. Tom talks about the relevant aged care and NDIS standards, who to consult with and some considerations for identifying risks.
Hear more about why warnings and triggers are important in a household disaster readiness plan, a sitewide disaster readiness plan and an organisational wide disaster readiness plan. Plans are only useful when they detail triggers for action.
