In the life of disability support, infection control is not just a set of rules to follow, it’s a daily responsibility and a core part of providing safe, effective, and dignified care. Support workers are trusted to help people with a wide range of needs under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), often working closely in participants’ homes and private spaces. Because of this close contact, there are more opportunities for infection to spread but also more opportunities to prevent it. So let’s look at why infection control matters, what your responsibilities are, and how to apply safe practices in your everyday work.
Why Infection Control Is Vital in the NDIS
NDIS participants include people who may be more vulnerable to infection due to age, disability, chronic illness, or compromised immune systems. For these individuals, even a mild infection can lead to serious health complications. Respiratory illnesses, skin infections, or gastrointestinal bugs may have longer recovery periods and more severe outcomes.
Unlike clinical environments such as hospitals, support workers often provide care in private homes, places that aren’t necessarily designed with infection control in mind. This makes your role even more important. You’re not just providing personal support, you’re acting as a frontline barrier between your client and potential sources of harm.
Practicing good infection control protects your client, their family, your own health, and the community at large. It’s about safety, respect, and doing the job well.
Your Role as an NDIS Support Worker
As a support worker, you’re often involved in personal care, meal preparation, mobility support, medication prompting, and even companionship. Many of these tasks involve close personal contact or shared environments, making it essential to understand how infections spread and how to stop them.
Infection control isn’t a one-time event, it’s a constant process. You need to be vigilant about hygiene, observant of any changes in your client’s health, and confident in following procedures when something goes wrong. It’s also your responsibility to speak up and report hazards, suspected infections, or unsafe practices.
By following infection control procedures consistently, you’re helping to ensure not only the physical safety of your client but also their emotional wellbeing. Knowing that their support worker is competent and aware gives participants and their family’s peace of mind.
Common Infection Risks in Support Work
Support work may not seem high-risk at first glance, but the reality is that you regularly encounter situations where infection can spread easily. For example, if you assist someone with toileting and don’t wash your hands thoroughly afterward, you could transfer harmful bacteria to other surfaces, people, or food.
Even tasks like wiping down benches, preparing meals, or managing medications can introduce infection risks if proper hygiene isn’t followed. Wearing the same pair of gloves from one activity to another, failing to clean high-touch surfaces like light switches or remote controls, or not reporting a participant’s symptoms are all simple oversights that can lead to major consequences.
Understanding the risks helps you to better manage them. Whether it’s disposing of used wound dressings, supporting someone with the flu, or helping a participant clean up after pets, every action you take either increases or reduces the chance of infection.
Understanding the Chain of Infection
The “Chain of Infection” is a helpful model used in healthcare and support services to explain how infections spread. There are six key links in the chain:
Infectious Agent – the bacteria, virus, or other pathogen that causes the disease.
Reservoir – the place where the pathogen lives, such as on skin, in dirty linen, or in body fluids.
Portal of Exit – how the germ leaves the body (e.g. through coughs, wounds, or vomiting).
Mode of Transmission – how the germ moves from one place to another (e.g. hands, surfaces, shared objects).
Portal of Entry – where the germ enters the next person (e.g. mouth, nose, open skin).
Susceptible Host – a person who is vulnerable to becoming infected.
If just one link in this chain is broken, the infection can’t spread. That’s why handwashing, surface cleaning, using PPE correctly, and managing waste safely are so important because they interrupt this chain and prevent the germ from moving forward. As a support worker, everything you do can influence this chain.
What Does Infection Control Look Like in Daily Practice?
1. Hand Hygiene
Good hand hygiene is the simplest and most powerful way to prevent infection. You should wash your hands at key moments: before and after client contact, before preparing food, after using the bathroom or assisting with toileting, and after handling waste or contaminated items.
Use warm water and soap when available, and wash for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water aren’t available, use a hand sanitiser that contains at least 60% alcohol. Remember that gloves are not a substitute for hand hygiene—always wash your hands before putting them on and after taking them off.
2. Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
PPE includes gloves, masks, aprons, gowns, and eye protection. Each piece plays a specific role in stopping the spread of infection. For example, gloves protect you when handling bodily fluids, while masks reduce the spread of respiratory droplets.
Use PPE according to the task and the level of risk. Always put on clean PPE before starting care, and remove it carefully afterward, following your workplace’s procedures. Never reuse single-use PPE, and always dispose of it in the correct waste bins. Incorrect use of PPE can create a false sense of safety, leading to more harm than good.
3. Environmental Cleaning
Keeping the environment clean is vital for infection control. This includes high-touch surfaces such as door handles, handrails, toilet flushers, phones, remotes, kitchen benches, and shared equipment.
Use the correct cleaning products for the job—some surfaces may only need detergent, while others require disinfectant. Clean first to remove dirt, then disinfect to kill germs. Always clean from the cleanest area to the dirtiest, and never reuse dirty cloths or sponges between rooms or clients. Create a cleaning schedule or checklist to stay consistent.
4. Laundry and Waste Management
Dirty laundry can carry harmful bacteria and viruses. Handle it with gloves, and avoid shaking it out, which can spread germs into the air. Wash at the highest temperature appropriate for the fabric, and dry items thoroughly before folding or storing.
When it comes to waste—especially clinical or sanitary waste—know your provider’s disposal protocols. Always tie bags securely, wear gloves when handling waste, and avoid overfilling bins. If you deal with sharps (like insulin needles), make sure there is a proper sharps container in the home.
When to Stay Home or Seek Help
You play an essential role in protecting participants, but you can’t do that if you’re unwell. If you’re experiencing symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, or even a minor skin infection, it’s important to stay home and report your condition to your supervisor.
Working while sick—even with “just a sniffle”—can put vulnerable clients at serious risk. Similarly, if a participant shows signs of illness, such as unexplained rashes, respiratory symptoms, or gastrointestinal issues, you need to follow your provider’s protocol. This may include informing a coordinator, calling a healthcare provider, or following isolation practices.
Legal and Policy Requirements
Infection control is not only a best practice—it’s a legal requirement. As a support worker under the NDIS, you’re expected to comply with:
· The NDIS Code of Conduct, which requires you to act with care and skill, respect the rights of participants, and protect their health and wellbeing
· Your organisation’s infection prevention policies and procedures
· Workplace health and safety legislation, which protects both workers and clients
· NDIS Practice Standards, especially those that apply to High Intensity Daily Personal Activities or services involving personal care
Failure to follow these rules could result in disciplinary action, termination of employment, or even legal liability if harm occurs due to negligence.
Training and Education
Good infection control begins with good training. All support workers should complete basic infection control training before starting work—and this training should be refreshed regularly. Topics to cover include standard precautions, transmission-based precautions, PPE use, environmental hygiene, and incident reporting.
Many NDIS providers require or recommend units like HLTINF006 – Apply basic principles and practices of infection prevention and control, or similar accredited training. Staying up to date with the latest practices not only protects your clients, but it also protects your career and helps you stand out as a professional. Enrolling in short courses for yourself and your team is a great way to keep knowledge current and skills sharp.
Creating Values of Hygiene and Safety
Finally, infection control works best when it’s part of the everyday procedures, not just something that happens during outbreaks or emergencies. As a support worker, you can set the tone by role modelling good habits. Wash your hands visibly, talk to clients about hygiene in a respectful and empowering way, and help maintain a clean and organised environment.
Encourage and support participants to be involved in their own infection control where possible—this could include teaching them how to cough into their elbow, involving them in cleaning tasks, or supporting them to wash their hands before meals. When everyone plays a part, safety becomes a shared goal rather than a checklist.
Infection control is one of the most important skills an NDIS support worker can have. It’s not glamorous, and it often goes unnoticed but it saves lives. By practicing good hygiene, staying informed, following procedures, and acting responsibly when risks arise, you’re protecting the people who trust you with their care.
Need More Support or Training?
If you’d like to strengthen your infection control skills or ensure you’re meeting your legal obligations, there are many training options available, some of which are tailored specifically to the NDIS and disability support sector. Investing in this training will not only benefit your clients, but also give you more confidence and credibility in your work.
Click the link below for options:
Infection Control Essentials for NDIS Support Workers
- Jaz Anna
