NDIS Progress Notes: Examples & Templates

Audit-proof your shift notes in under five minutes a day.

What a good NDIS progress note actually contains

Every progress note should answer five questions:

1. What did the participant do during the shift?
2. How did they present - mood, energy, communication?
3. What support did you provide - and how much prompting?
4. What progress was made toward their plan goals?
5. Anything unusual - incidents, refusals, health changes?

Notes should be written in third person, past tense, factual not interpretive. "James appeared frustrated and raised his voice when asked to put on shoes" is good. "James was in a bad mood" is not.

The SOAP framework

Most allied health professionals use SOAP. It's a solid scaffold for support workers too:

• Subjective - what the participant said or expressed
• Objective - what you observed
• Assessment - your read on it (kept factual)
• Plan - next steps, follow-ups, what to do differently

Examples

Self-care support

James was supported with morning routine from 8:00am-10:30am. Independently completed showering with verbal prompts only. Required hand-over-hand support for buttoning shirt; consistent with last week's notes. Mood appeared calm throughout; ate full breakfast (toast, eggs, juice). Goal "increase independence in dressing" - progress noted: completed sock-pulling without prompt for first time. No incidents.

Community access

Accompanied Maya to Bunnings Frankston 1:30pm-3:00pm to purchase plants for her garden goal. Maya led item selection and managed her own card payment with one verbal prompt to enter PIN. Tolerated busy environment for full visit; used noise-cancelling headphones as discussed with OT. Returned home calm. Goal "build community participation confidence" - on track.

Incident note

At approximately 6:15pm James declined evening medication (Quetiapine 25mg) and walked outside. Followed at safe distance, did not attempt to restrict. James returned of his own accord at 6:35pm and accepted medication at 6:50pm. No injury. Mother (Sarah) notified by phone at 7:05pm. Incident logged in app; will discuss pattern with support coordinator at next meeting.

What auditors actually look for

1. Date, time, duration match the invoice.
2. Notes are contemporaneous - written during or immediately after the shift, not days later.
3. Each note references the participant's goals.
4. Incidents have a separate incident report attached.
5. Notes are stored securely and accessible for 7 years.