The whole ladder on one page
Every route at a glance, drawn from the same rules as the pathway tool. Tap any box to open that step — result boxes open the full instructions. On a phone, scroll the chart sideways.
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Level 1 · First point of action
Support Worker
- Delivers the shift, observes and documents everything in shift notes.
- Shift and roster matters go to Admin: urgent gaps (next 4 hours) by phone, future shifts and swaps by message.
- Participant at risk: phones the Client Care Coordinator during working hours, Admin outside those hours. In a genuine emergency: 000 first.
- Pay, timesheet and leave concerns go by email to Finance only. Ideas and general questions go to the staff WhatsApp group.
▲ urgent shift calls escalate if Admin has not responded within 15 minutes
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Level 2 · Rostering & first response
Admin
- First contact for all shift and roster matters: gaps, lateness, cover and swap requests.
- Acknowledges urgent shift calls (affecting the next 4 hours) within 15 minutes; if not, the worker phones the Client Care Coordinator.
- Handles future shift and swap requests by message within 1 business day.
- Holds the after-hours contact point: urgent participant matters outside working hours come to Admin.
▲ escalates when a shift cannot be covered or a participant matter needs a clinical or family decision
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Level 3 · Frontline flag point (where assigned)
Team Leader
- Flag point for non-urgent participant health or behaviour changes and for minor incidents.
- Not every worker has a Team Leader. If you do not, the Client Care Coordinator is your flag point for these matters.
- Reviews shift notes and incident reports and decides what moves up to the Coordinator.
- Responds to ideas and general questions in the staff WhatsApp group in due time.
▲ escalates when the issue affects the participant's plan, family, safety or wellbeing beyond the shift
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Level 4 · Client relationship owner
Client Care Coordinator
- Owns communication with participants, families, plan managers and support coordinators.
- Urgent contact for participant-at-risk matters during working hours; backup for urgent shift gaps when Admin has not responded within 15 minutes.
- Follows up everything logged in the Complaints and Feedback Form.
- Escalates to the Operations Manager for reportable incidents, formal complaints, contractual, systemic or reputational matters.
▲ escalates when the issue is reportable, formal, or systemic
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Level 5 · Final escalation point
Operations Manager
- Handles reportable incidents, formal complaints, contractual and systemic issues, and anything with regulatory or reputational impact.
- Owns NDIS Commission notifications and quality and safeguarding decisions.
- Responds within 1 business day; immediately for reportable incidents.
- Is not the first call for anything. If the Operations Manager hears about an issue first, the ladder has been skipped.
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Parallel channels · Not part of the care chain
Finance, WhatsApp group & Complaints Form
- Pay, timesheets and leave: email finance@mysupportandcare.com.au with pay period, dates and details. Never by message or the on-call line: the on-call line is for emergencies only.
- Finance responds within 1 business day; most items are corrected in the next pay run.
- Ideas and general questions: the staff WhatsApp group. A Team Leader or the Coordinator responds in due time.
- Complaints and feedback (from anyone): logged in the Complaints and Feedback Form, followed up by the Coordinator.
1 Why this exists
Before this protocol, updates and problems were scattered: the same issue was phoned to three different people, some issues reached nobody, and nobody knew who owned the outcome. The Escalation Ladder replaces that with a single principle: every issue has exactly one first contact, one channel, and one documented trail.
2 The five golden rules
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One issue, one contact.Each issue type has exactly one first contact and channel. You never ring multiple people, and you never broadcast an issue to the group.
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Match the channel to the urgency.Phone = someone is at risk, or a shift in the next 4 hours. Message = future roster matters. Shift note, email or form = everything else.
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If it isn't documented, it didn't happen.Every verbal escalation is followed by a shift note or incident report before the end of shift.
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Timeframes make skipping unnecessary.Every level has a response commitment. If it lapses, you are allowed, and expected, to go one level higher.
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Close the loop.Whoever raised the issue is told the outcome. Most "calling everyone" behaviour comes from people never hearing back.
3 Issue routing matrix
| Issue type | First contact | Channel | Escalates to | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical emergency / immediate danger | 000 FIRST then Coordinator (working hours) or Admin (after hours) | Phone | Whole chain notified | Immediately |
| Can't attend / running late / cover needed (shift in next 4 hrs) | Admin | Phone | Client Care Coordinator | No response from Admin within 15 min |
| Future shift, swap or roster request | Admin | Message | – | Rarely needed |
| Participant at risk (urgent, today) | Coordinator (working hours) / Admin (after hours) | Phone + shift note | Operations Manager | If reportable or plan-level |
| Health or behaviour change, no immediate risk | Team Leader (or Coordinator if none) | Shift note + flag | Client Care Coordinator | If the pattern continues or the plan is affected |
| Incident: minor / near miss | Team Leader or Coordinator | Phone or message + incident form | Coordinator / Operations Manager | TL or Coordinator judgement |
| Reportable incident (death, serious injury, abuse/neglect, unlawful contact, unauthorised restrictive practice) | Team Leader or Coordinator immediately | Phone + incident form | Operations Manager same day | Always: Commission clock starts |
| Complaint or feedback (family, participant or staff) | Complaints and Feedback Form | Form, logged in writing | Coordinator → Operations Manager | Formal, or unresolved in 48 hrs |
| Pay, timesheets, leave | Finance | Email only: finance@mysupportandcare.com.au | Management | Dispute unresolved after 5 business days |
| Idea or general question | Staff WhatsApp group | Group message | – | TL or Coordinator responds in due time |
| Not sure where it fits | Team Leader or Coordinator | Call or message | – | They route it |
4 Channels & response commitments
| Urgency | Channel | Response commitment |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency | Phone, always. Unanswered call → next level up immediately. | Immediate |
| Urgent (today) | Shift gap: phone Admin. Participant at risk: phone the Coordinator (working hours) or Admin (after hours). Followed by a written record. | Admin acknowledges shift calls within 15 min |
| Important (this week) | Shift note + flag to the Team Leader or Coordinator. No phone calls. | Coordinator within 4 business hours |
| Routine | Message Admin (roster), email Finance (pay), Complaints and Feedback Form, WhatsApp group (ideas). | 1 business day; ideas answered in due time |
Timeframe-lapse ruleIf a response commitment lapses, escalate one level up and say so: "I contacted [name] at [time] and haven't heard back." For an urgent shift gap this means: no response from Admin within 15 minutes → phone the Client Care Coordinator. This is the only sanctioned way to move up the ladder without the level below being involved.
Protocol complianceThe on-call line is for emergencies and urgent same-day matters only. Pay, timesheet and leave concerns are never raised by message or on-call: they go to finance@mysupportandcare.com.au. Staff who do not follow the channels in this protocol may be called in for a formal interview with management.
5 After hours & on-call
Outside working hours there is one after-hours contact: Admin. Support workers never guess who to ring at 9pm. Urgent participant matters and same-day shift issues outside working hours go to Admin, which applies the same ladder: resolve, or escalate to the Coordinator (and Operations Manager for reportable matters) the same night if required, otherwise next business morning. The after-hours line is never used for pay queries, future roster requests or ideas.
6 Reportable incidents: the rigid pathway
This pathway does not bend to the internal ladder. If an incident involves the death of a participant, serious injury, abuse or neglect, unlawful sexual or physical contact, sexual misconduct, or the unauthorised use of a restrictive practice:
- Ensure immediate safety (000 if needed).
- Phone your Team Leader or the Client Care Coordinator immediately. Do not wait for end of shift.
- Complete the incident form before leaving shift.
- The Coordinator and Operations Manager are notified the same day.
- The Operations Manager makes the NDIS Commission notification within 24 hours, with the detailed report within 5 business days.
Never sit on itThe 24-hour Commission clock starts when anyone in the organisation becomes aware of the incident, not when it reaches management. Fast escalation protects the participant, you, and the organisation.
7 Directive for external stakeholders
Families, participants, plan managers and support coordinators receive this one-page directive at onboarding and in service agreements:
- Day-to-day support questions, schedule and service changes → your Client Care Coordinator (name + email + phone).
- Feedback or complaints → the Complaints and Feedback Form; acknowledged within 2 business days; unresolved matters reviewed by the Operations Manager.
- Invoices and billing → finance@mysupportandcare.com.au.
- Emergencies during a shift → 000, then the after-hours number.
- Support workers on shift can pass messages along but cannot commit to roster, plan or funding changes. Those decisions sit with the Coordinator.
8 Closing the loop
Every escalation ends with the outcome travelling back down the same path. The person who resolved the issue tells the person who escalated it, who tells the person who raised it. Target: outcome communicated within 1 business day of resolution. No issue is closed until the loop is closed.