What dignity of risk means
Everyone takes risks every day: crossing the road, cooking with a hot stove, going on a date, spending money on something we later regret. Those risks are part of a full life and how we learn. Dignity of risk means people with disability get the same chance.
When well meaning families, workers or services make every decision as safe as possible, the person loses the chance to try, make mistakes and grow, and their life can become small and controlled. Dignity of risk is the counterweight to that kind of overprotection.
What the law and standards say
Dignity of risk is built into the NDIS at several levels:
- The NDIS Act's general principles say people with disability should be supported to exercise choice, including in relation to taking reasonable risks, in the pursuit of their goals and the planning and delivery of their supports
- One of the NDIA's functions under the Act is to make sure a reasonable balance is achieved between safety and the right of people with disability to choose to participate in activities involving risk
- The NDIS Code of Conduct requires workers to respect your right to express yourself and make decisions for yourself
- The SIL Practice Standards, for registered Supported Independent Living providers, require that each participant's right to the dignity of risk in decisions about their home and daily life is supported, and that providers balance it with their obligations to safety in the home
Dignity of risk and duty of care
Providers and workers have a duty of care: they must take reasonable steps to avoid foreseeable harm. That does not mean removing all risk or overriding your choices. It means helping you understand the risks and benefits, planning sensible safeguards, and respecting your decision.
The two work together. A good provider asks: what does the person want, what could go wrong, how likely and how serious is it, and what would make it safer without taking the choice away? The line is crossed when a risk is likely to cause serious harm to you or other people. Restrictive practices are never a way to manage everyday risk taking; they are tightly regulated and must be a last resort to prevent harm.
Everyday examples
- Learning to catch the bus alone after travel training, with a phone and a plan if things go wrong
- Choosing to eat food a dietitian would not recommend, where there is no serious swallowing risk
- Cooking with support at first, then on your own as skills build
- Starting a relationship, with information about consent and safety
- Managing your own money, with support to set up budgets and safeguards
- Deciding who you live with and how your home runs, in SIL or other shared living
Supported decision making
Dignity of risk works best with supported decision making: giving you the information, time and help you need to understand your options and make your own choice. The SIL Practice Standards say decisions should be made by participants, not for them, using information in a form and language each person understands, with help from trusted decision supporters. A nominee or guardian is only involved when formal decision making authority is really needed.
For providers: putting it into practice
- Talk with the participant about what they want to do, and record their choice in their own words
- Do a risk assessment with them, not about them, and agree on safeguards together
- Explain the possible consequences in accessible formats
- Review the plan as skills and circumstances change, rather than defaulting to the safest option
- Make sure workers are trained in supported decision making and know when to escalate a serious risk
- Keep records, so your reasoning is clear if an incident happens