Support plans are where person-centred practice is either real or it isn't, and auditors can tell the difference fast. A plan written about a participant reads differently to one written with them — and the new Supported decision-making outcome puts that difference at the centre of the audit. Here's what good looks like.
Who this is for
You run SIL houses and hold a support plan for each participant. Support planning is the heart of the Supported decision-making outcome.
What a support plan has to show
A plan that holds up sets out, for each participant:
- Their goals and preferences, in their own words — not a generic template line
- The agreed supports and why — the rationale, not just the task list
- How each support is delivered, who's responsible, and how progress is measured
The participant's voice is the test
Auditors weight participant interviews heavily, and they look for plans that were co-developed — the participant's voice on the page — not provider-drafted documents the participant merely signed. If the plan and what the participant tells the auditor don't match, the plan is the thing that's wrong.
A living document
A support plan is meant to move. It should be reviewed regularly, updated when needs change, and reflect current goals and circumstances. A plan that's eighteen months old with no documented review is a non-conformity finding on its own — even if nothing about the participant has changed, the review is the evidence.
Where it goes wrong at audit
The plan is about the participant, not with them. Goals in service-speak the participant wouldn't recognise.
Goals are copied between participants. The same three goals across the house, which tells an auditor none of them are real.
No review trail. The plan exists, but there's nothing showing it was revisited — and no measure of whether the supports are moving the goals.
Common questions
What should an NDIS support plan include?
The participant's goals in their own words, the agreed supports and the rationale, how each support is delivered, who's responsible, and how progress is measured.
How often should a support plan be reviewed?
Regularly, and whenever the participant's needs change. A plan that's eighteen months old with no documented review is a non-conformity on its own.
What do auditors look for in a support plan?
The participant's voice — a co-developed plan, not one the participant merely signed.
Where Clearline fits — honestly
Aura OS by Clearline Health holds each participant's plan and goals, links progress notes back to those goals so there's a trail of movement, and prompts a review before the plan goes stale. When the auditor asks, the 60-second audit test packages it — pick a participant, a date and a Practice Standard, and a branded PDF is in their inbox in two clicks.
Flat $49 a month, same price for two houses or twenty. The free tier is unlimited — workers, participants and houses — with every audit-ready feature included. Audit-ready on free. AI for admin, humans for care. Australian-owned and Sydney-hosted; the few US sub-processors we use — error reporting, payments, AI — are each named in our privacy policy.
Honest about the limit: software can't put the participant's voice in the plan for you — that comes from sitting down with them. What it can do is hold the goals, track the progress, and make sure the review never quietly lapses.
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General information drawn from the NDIS Practice Standards and the Commission's guidance, not formal advice. Check the current standards and your auditor's expectations before you act.