We recently went through our midterm audit, and I thought I’d share what the process looked like – from preparation to the day itself, what worked, what didn’t, and what we learnt along the way. If this is your first audit, or you’re just trying to tighten things up before your next one, hopefully, this gives you some insight and clarity.
Starting Point: Getting Audit-Ready
The first thing we did was pull up the NDIS Practice Standards. There are quite a few, and each standard comes with its own set of quality indicators. We used this as the basis for a self-assessment. I dropped the entire list into ChatGPT and had it generate a spreadsheet that laid out each standard and its indicators in a clean, usable format.
Each tab in the spreadsheet matched up with the different modules we’d be assessed against. From there, it was a process of working through each indicator and gathering the evidence we had to meet them.
We created a folder in Google Drive, started our self-assessment and then started linking information back to the spreadsheet under the relevant indicator.
Building the Evidence Base
We set up a folder structure in Google Drive to house all of our evidence and hyperlinked everything back to the spreadsheet. That way, when the auditor asked about a particular standard, or indicator we could quickly and easily find the relevant evidence.
This was a team-wide effort. Everyone chipped in, particularly when we needed to show things like how we vet and engage qualified providers. Our Support Coordination team helped with pulling records, redacting what needed to be redacted, and making sure the documentation was complete.
Along the way, our internal audit helped us identify areas for improvement. For example, a few years ago, we’d planned to establish a Disability Advisory Board to guide organisational policy. We never followed through with it, but this process gave us the push to get it back on the agenda and running again.
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Tapping into the Right Support
We also reached out to people with expertise in this space. Tania Gomez’s "define and defend" framework was incredibly helpful; it encourages you to clearly define how your organisation interprets each standard and then back that up with solid evidence. It’s a smart way to cut through some of the admin-heavy stuff and keep things simple-ish for audit.
We also booked one-on-one sessions with Sharon Floyd and one of her auditors, who reviewed our spreadsheet and gave us feedback in advance. That outside perspective really helped flag a few areas we hadn’t yet thought about.
The Lead-Up and Audit Day
In the week prior, we submitted everything they requested – risk assessments, our Participant sampling plan (based on the square root method for each registration group), and registers including incidents, complaints, feedback, conflicts of interest, and staff documentation.
They set up a shared Dropbox so we could upload everything in advance. The auditors prefer to review things the day before so they’re not scrambling during the session. The earlier you get it across, the better.
Audit day itself was at our office. We had two auditors, one leading and another observing. We’d planned ahead and decided who was best placed to answer each type of question – mostly myself and Sarah (our Human Resources Officer), who had been across all the prep work. Having both of us in the room really helped. If one of us wasn’t sure, the other could jump in or point to missing evidence.
The morning was spent going through our operational systems: risk registers, feedback logs, incident reports, and cross-checking them against case notes to ensure consistency and timeliness. The afternoon focused on follow-up from our last audit and how we’d addressed our two previous non-conformities.
Meanwhile, the second auditor was interviewing staff and Participants, asking about their experience, whether they knew how to make a complaint, if they’d received service agreements, and so on.
Setting the Tone
A big takeaway from this audit was how much the initial setup impacts the day. In a previous audit, we started off on the wrong foot, late to the Zoom, severely underprepared– and it showed in how the rest of the session played out. This time around, we made sure everything was smooth from the get-go.
We gave the auditors super clear instructions on how to actually find our building, which is no easy task – sorted their coffee order ahead of time, and pointed them to the free parking (because who wants to pay for parking when you don’t have to?). It set the tone for the day, and honestly, I think it gave them confidence straight away that we had things under control.
Our Outcome
We ended up with zero non-conformities and zero areas for improvement, which I’m incredibly proud of. The team did a fantastic job. We’re still waiting to see if we receive a “best practice” mention, fingers crossed, but either way, it was a solid result.
Final Tips for Midterm Audit Success
Here are a few quick tips that made all the difference:
Be organised early – the smoother things run at the start, the more confident the auditors will be.
Centralise your evidence – spreadsheets with hyperlinks saved us heaps of time.
Get the team involved – they’ll have the context you need when questions come up.
Don’t go it alone – get feedback from people like Tania or Sharon before the audit.
Block out time – keep your key staff available on the day so you’re not scrambling for answers.
Set up a feedback and audit schedule – automate the admin so it’s not a last-minute scramble.
Delegate internal audits – break the work across your senior team and avoid bottlenecks.
If you’d prefer to hear me talk through these points, check out the video below where I dive into our Mid-Term audit and share a bit more context.
NDIS Mid Term Audit: How I Prepared
With compliance getting tighter and margins getting thinner, you’ve got to be smart about how you run things. Having a clear system in place, making sure everyone knows exactly what they're responsible for, and building a culture that actually values continuous improvement, that’s what’ll keep your business moving forward.
