What community visitors do
Community visitor schemes are independent safeguards run by state and territory governments. Their job is to give a voice to people with disability living in closed or shared accommodation, where power imbalances can make it hard to speak up.
During a visit, a community visitor asks about a resident's safety, wellbeing, living conditions and the quality of the services they receive. Their role is both preventative and responsive: spotting issues early, promoting residents' rights, and escalating complaints and concerns to the bodies that can act.
Their powers
Powers vary between schemes, but community visitors can generally:
- Enter eligible sites, including without notice
- Speak privately with residents, without provider staff present
- Look at relevant records and documents about the support being delivered
- Raise issues with the provider and refer complaints to the right body, such as the NDIS Commission, a state regulator or the police
Where schemes operate
According to the Australian Government's August 2025 discussion paper, community visitor schemes for disability services operate in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. Western Australia and Tasmania do not currently run them. Examples include the Official Community Visitors in New South Wales, Community Visitors in Victoria, Queensland's Community Visitor Program and South Australia's Community Visitor Scheme.
Each scheme's law decides which places visitors can enter. Some visit NDIS funded disability accommodation, some only government run accommodation, and some visit Specialist Disability Accommodation. Some use paid staff and others appointed volunteers. If you live in a private home with drop in support, a scheme may not cover you.
Which homes they visit
Schemes typically cover closed or congregate settings, which today can include group homes, supported independent living households, supported residential services and boarding houses, as well as some mental health facilities. Visits are prioritised using risk, such as concerns about a provider or how long it has been since the last visit, because the number of sites has grown faster than visitor numbers.
How they differ from the NDIS Commission
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission regulates NDIS providers. It registers them, takes complaints, investigates and takes compliance action. Community visitors do something different: they go to where people live, listen to residents directly and help them raise concerns. They can refer issues to the Commission but are not part of it.
Community visitor schemes are not formally part of the NDIS Act. Reviews, including the Disability Royal Commission, have recommended recognising them in the NDIS framework and improving information sharing with the NDIS Commission and the NDIA.
National consistency work
The Disability Royal Commission called for nationally consistent approaches to community visitor schemes in every state and territory. In response, the Australian Government is working with the states and territories to identify areas for greater consistency, and ran a public consultation in 2025. Any decision to set up schemes in Western Australia or Tasmania rests with those governments.
How to use a community visitor
- Ask your provider whether your home is visited by a community visitor and how to contact the scheme
- Contact your state or territory scheme directly to request a visit or raise a concern
- Ask for a private conversation if you would rather staff were not present
- Family members and advocates can contact the scheme on a resident's behalf
- For serious concerns about an NDIS provider, you can also contact the NDIS Commission on 1800 035 544, and in an emergency call 000