This is a plain language summary of a research report about support workers who sometimes work by themselves when they are supporting people with disability. This support can happen in a person’s home, in the community, or in shared housing.
The report looks at how these workers should be supervised and supported.
Supervision means guidance and help from a supervisor or manager.
You can read the full research report or an overview of the key findings of that report.
The main message
Working alone can be risky. This does not mean people with disability should have less choice in their lives.
It means services must give workers the supervision and support they need to do their job well. It also helps keep people with disability safe and respected.
Good supervision helps everyone. It supports safety, choice, dignity, and good quality disability support.
The reason for the research
People with disability have the right to be safe. They also have the right to make choices and have control over their lives.
Support workers also need to be safe at work. They need support, training and backup to do their job well.
When support workers are alone, it can be harder to get help quickly. This can be risky for both the person with disability and the worker.
What we learned about supervision
The research found it is hard to give one simple number for how many workers one supervisor should support.
This is because support work is different in different places. Some workers need more support. Some workers are more experienced than others. Some situations are riskier.
The report says organisations should use a risk-based approach.
This means workers need more support when it is more likely that the person with disability or the worker might be at some risk of harm.
Support workers may need more supervision when:
- they work alone
- the person they support has complex health needs
- the person they support needs to be watched closely for their safety
- restrictive practices are being used
- the worker is new or less experienced
- the worker is unsure what to do.
What good supervision looks like
Good supervision should be planned and regular. It should not only happen when there is a problem or people have the time.
Support workers should have time set aside for supervision. This time should be protected.
Workers should be able to contact a supervisor quickly when they need help to make a decision.
Supervision should be safe and respectful.
Workers should be able to ask questions and raise concerns without being blamed. Supervisors and support workers should be able to build trust together.
Supervisors should know important disability support knowledge that they can share — like rights, safety, supported decision-making, communication, positive behaviour support, and trauma-informed practice.
What services can do to improve supervision
Services should make clear plans for supervision. These plans should say:
- who the worker can contact for help
- how workers can get urgent help
- what to do if a risk grows
- how often supervision will happen
- how to make sure support and supervision is safe and respectful
- how supervision will help after an incident or problem
- what training workers and supervisors need
- how to offer different kinds of supervision (for example, with peers or online).
Organisations should also make sure supervisors do not have too many workers to support. Supervisors need enough time to know their support workers and respond when help is needed.