← All policies

KindPath Collective Inc

Safe Environment Policy

Version 1.0 | Effective: 29 August 2026 | Review: 29 August 2027 | Owner: Director

1. Purpose

To ensure the physical and interpersonal environment supports are delivered in — most often a participant’s own home, given KindPath’s model — is safe for both the participant and the worker.

2. Legislative and standards basis

NDIS Practice Standards, Module 4: Support Provision Environment — Safe environment. Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW).

3. Policy statement

Home-based, one-to-one support carries real risks that a clinic or group setting doesn’t: isolation, lack of witnesses, and — as this folio’s other policies address directly — a higher chance of professional boundaries blurring without either party fully realising it in the moment. This policy sets the physical and procedural safety baseline; the boundary-specific procedures live in the Sexual Harassment and Bullying Prevention Policy and the Safeguarding Policy.

4. Procedure

  1. Before a first visit, a basic risk screen is done: any known hazards in the home, any history relevant to worker safety, and a plan for how the worker checks in (arrival/departure message to the Director or another nominated person) during sessions.
  2. Physical hazards (trip hazards, unsafe equipment, animals, etc.) are noted and, where they pose a real risk, addressed with the participant before support continues in that environment.
  3. Worker check-in/check-out. For one-to-one home visits, especially early in a support relationship or in an unfamiliar location, the worker confirms arrival and departure with the Director or another nominated contact.
  4. A worker can end a session and leave if they feel unsafe for any reason, without needing pre-approval, and reports it to the Director immediately afterward.
  5. Boundary safety. Workers are supported to set and hold clear, kind boundaries with participants (declining a request that falls outside the agreed support, for example) without guilt, and to raise it with the Director if a boundary is repeatedly tested — this connects directly to the practice already in place of naming and correcting boundary drift early when it arises.

5. Roles and responsibilities

  • Director: runs the pre-visit risk screen for new participants/environments; is available for check-in.
  • Workers: report hazards and boundary concerns promptly; use their judgement to leave an unsafe situation.

6. Related documents

WHS Policy and Procedures · Sexual Harassment and Bullying Prevention Policy · Safeguarding Policy · Independence and Informed Choice Policy

7. Review

Annually.