NDIS progress note examples
A good progress note tells the next worker, your team leader and the person's plan review what actually happened on the shift, in plain facts. Here's what to include, what to leave out, and example notes you can learn from.
Always follow your provider's own documentation policy and templates. These examples are general guidance only, and every name in them is made up.
What a good note includes
- The basics: date, shift times, your name, and the person's name or initials as your provider requires
- What you did: activities, tasks and support given, in the order they happened
- How the person went: what you saw and heard, not what you think they felt
- Their goals: anything the shift did toward their plan goals
- Anything different: changes in health, mood, eating, sleep or behaviour, and who you told
- Follow-ups: what the next worker needs to know or do
Words to swap
Write what you observed, not your judgement of it.
- Instead of "Sam was difficult", write "Sam said no to the shower twice and asked to go later"
- Instead of "Mia was happy", write "Mia smiled, talked about the art group and asked to go again"
- Instead of "behaved well", write what they did: "waited at the bus stop and tapped on without prompting"
- Instead of "refused meds", write the facts and the action: "said no to the 8pm tablets, I told the on-call manager at 8:15pm as per the plan"
Example: in-home support
Shift 09:00–13:00. Supported Sam with breakfast, washing and a grocery list. Sam chose porridge and made it with one verbal prompt to turn off the stove. We wrote the shopping list together; Sam spelled most items himself. Calm and chatty all morning. Goal "cook a simple meal each week": Sam asked to cook pasta on Thursday. Follow-up: buy pasta and mince before Thursday.
Example: community access
Shift 10:00–14:00. Caught the bus with Mia to the community centre for the Tuesday art group. Mia said she felt nervous on arrival and stood near the door for about 10 minutes, then joined the watercolour table and talked with two members. Goal "join a community art group": Mia asked if she could come back next week. No concerns. Follow-up: Mia wants to bring her own brushes next time.
Example: capacity building
Shift 15:00–18:00. Travel training: Sam practised the 3:40pm bus home from TAFE. He checked the timetable app, tapped on, and pressed the bell for the right stop. I sat two rows behind and gave no prompts. Goal "catch the bus to TAFE on his own": this is the third trip with no prompts. Suggest the team discuss Sam trying the trip alone with a phone check-in.
Example: incident summary (for the note, not instead of the report)
At about 11:20am Jo slipped on the wet bathroom floor and sat down hard. No visible injury; Jo said her left hip hurt. I helped her up using the transfer method in her plan, applied a cold pack and called the on-call manager at 11:30am. Incident report completed in the provider system at 12:10pm. Follow-up: check Jo's hip at the start of the next shift and tell the manager of any change.
Write notes like this in two minutes
CareTrail gives you templates that prompt for all of the above, links each note to the person's goals, and lets you talk instead of type. Copy the finished note straight into your provider's system. Notes stay on your phone.