Overview
Program Evaluation seeks to understand the program appropriateness, effectiveness and progress made, through defining qualitative and quantitative measures to measure activities, outputs and outcomes. It involves collecting and analysing data to make informed decisions about improvements and future implementations.
We've completed health program evaluations across Australia to provide insights and learnings that shape program delivery and improve program outcomes. Our approach to evaluation is embedded in developmental evaluation (to ensure a learning approach) supplemented with realist thinking within each learning cycle (to ensure context is appropriately considered). In combination, this allows for frequent learning as well as the development of recommendations that have the program in mind. Development evaluation is perfectly suited to pilots and programs that have just been formed.
Trusted by the Australian Commonwealth Government, SA Health and WA Primary Health Alliance. Based on our evaluation expertise and experience we've been appointed to the evaluation panels for the Australian Commonwealth Government, SA Health and WA Primary Health Alliance. We've also completed multiple health program evaluations for the Department of Health, Disability and Aging.
At HealthQ, we understand that navigating the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) can feel complex, particularly when it comes to audits, registration, and ongoing compliance. As a trusted consulting partner, we’re here to simplify the process and empower you with the clarity and confidence you need to meet your NDIS obligations. Whether you're seeking initial registration or preparing for an upcoming re-accreditation audit, our experienced consultants offer tailored support every step of the way.
With a strong track record in the disability, aged care, mental health, and human services sectors, we bring practical insight and sector-specific expertise to every engagement. Our approach is collaborative, respectful, and designed to support your organisation to meet the NDIS Practice Standards while continuing to deliver high-quality services to participants.
Choosing the right partner to support your NDIS audit preparation and NDIS compliance journey is critical. As NDIS compliance consultants and experts we offer more than consulting, we provide strategic partnership backed by deep sector knowledge, lived experience, and real-world insight into what works when preparing for an NDIS audit. Every organisation we’ve supported has successfully progressed through the audit and registration process, and we take pride in delivering measurable outcomes through genuine collaboration.
We bring unparalleled, hands-on experience in guiding both for-profit and not-for-profit NDIS providers through the complexities of compliance, audit preparation, and non-conformance resolution. We have successfully partnered with over 25 organizations, including major providers such as Helping Hand Aged Care, Lutheran Care, and Baptist Care, to assess their systems, conduct rigorous gap analyses, and confidently prepare for registration renewal. Because of our extensive work across the sector, our team is highly experienced in translating stringent NDIS Practice Standards into practical, workable systems. We adopt a targeted, risk-based approach to compliance sampling and testing, ensuring that our efforts address the areas of highest risk, delivering maximum value and security for our clients.
Our NDIS audit and NDIS compliance capabilities are strengthened by deep operational and regulatory knowledge. Director Darren Button brings executive-level insight from his tenure leading South Australia’s largest Registered NDIS provider, while Senior Consultant Emily Bowman acts as HealthQ’s dedicated NDIS specialist, focusing on NDIS audit preparation, policy creation, internal audit programs, and direct liaison with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Furthermore, Senior Consultant Annette Grist has led a local NDIS provider and possesses specialised regulatory insight, having completed approved NDIS auditor training. This comprehensive expertise allows the HealthQ team to anticipate auditor expectations, effectively navigate interactions with the NDIS Commission, and ensure every client we support successfully progresses to achieve or maintain their registration.
Benefits
Approach
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NDIS audits are a crucial component of the registration and re-registration process for providers. They are designed to assess whether your organisation meets the requirements of the NDIS Practice Standards and relevant modules.
At HealthQ, we support organisations to approach audits with confidence and clarity through a structured, three-stage process that is both comprehensive and efficient.
The first stage begins with a detailed desktop review of your existing documentation, including policies, procedures, and past audit reports. This is followed by a risk assessment workshop involving key team members. The workshop is an opportunity to discuss your services, review governance and quality systems, and identify areas where further evidence or improvements may be required.
By taking the time to understand your organisation’s structure and operations, we can tailor our recommendations to suit your unique needs.
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In the second stage, we undertake targeted compliance sampling and testing. Based on an agreed Sampling and Testing Plan, we review client records, HR files, incident registers, complaints logs, and other key documentation.
Our goal is to identify any gaps or inconsistencies that may present a risk during the audit. We document our findings in a detailed Compliance Assessment Matrix, which serves as the basis for your action plan. Throughout this stage, we work closely with your team to verify findings, clarify anomalies, and ensure our assessment is accurate and transparent.
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The final stage involves a collaborative workshop where we present our findings and co-develop a practical, achievable action plan. This plan outlines specific actions, timeframes, and responsibilities to ensure all areas of non-compliance are addressed before the audit takes place.
Our clients appreciate this straightforward, no-nonsense approach that turns insight into action. If required, we can continue to provide support during implementation or offer project management to monitor progress and maintain momentum.
Our clients frequently tell us that working with Health Q brings not only reassurance, but real value. They appreciate our balanced approach—one that combines deep technical knowledge with a supportive and approachable manner.
Across every engagement, our goal remains the same: to support organisations in meeting their regulatory obligations while continuing to deliver meaningful, high-quality services to participants.
“Darren and the team at HealthQ have been consistently professional, reliable, and responsive from the very beginning. Their deep understanding of SDA and NDIS compliance has been invaluable, and their support played a key role in helping us achieve a successful outcome at our most recent audit.
We genuinely appreciate their ongoing guidance and collaborative approach — it’s always a pleasure to work with them.”
- General Manager, Adenium Living
The HealthQ team has a proven track record of delivering complex health program evaluations of both national significance and regional or place-based initiatives, focusing heavily on assessing program appropriateness, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability. Applying developmental and realist principles to pilots and programs is a critical strength.
We are particularly skilled in navigating the complexities of regional, rural, and remote service delivery, as well as conducting trauma-informed and culturally safe consultations with vulnerable cohorts, including First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.
We focus on identifying the most appropriate program evaluation or review design by considering the context, defining the program logic, and pinpointing key evaluation areas to meet process evaluation, outcomes evaluation, and summative evaluation objectives.
Our team's credentials highlight a diverse mix of clinical, strategic, and analytical expertise tailored for rigorous health program evaluation design and execution. Director, Darren Button brings over 15 years of consulting experience, and has been a member of the Australian Evaluation Society since 2010. He has a Bachelor of Economic, and offers strong capabilities in health economics and evaluation design. He is supported by Principal Consultant Leah Wills, who leverages over 20 years of human services management experience, and Senior Consultants Annette Grist and Emily Bowman, who provide executive-level healthcare insights and specialised skills in developing program logics and evaluation frameworks.
Over the last 7 years the HealthQ team have successfully applied these capabilities to place-based and major national projects, including the evaluation of the Private Hospital Stream Junior Doctor Training Program and the Aged Care Resident Experience Survey.
HealthQ Consulting is committed to delivering practical, evidence-based advice to review and evaluate health programs. We are dedicated to delivering program evaluations that not only meet our client’s strategic objectives but also contribute positively to the broader community and environment. Our methodology is underpinned by a strong commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles.
In addition, our professional standards are rooted in ethical conduct, respect, and stakeholder transparency. We deploy consultants who are highly skilled in engaging safely, meaningfully, and sensitively with all stakeholder groups, including vulnerable populations. To ensure the highest levels of integrity and accountability, our evaluation practices strictly adhere to key industry frameworks, including: The Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2018), the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007, updated 2018), the NHMRC Ethical considerations in quality assurance and evaluation activities, the Australian Evaluation Society (AES) Code of Ethics and Guidelines for the Ethical Conduct of Evaluations., and the AES First Nations Cultural Safety Framework.
Capacity Building and Social Impact
Health equity and community wellbeing are central to our work. We recognise that a successful program evaluation should leave a lasting, positive footprint. Therefore, we embed shared learning and capacity building directly into our consulting activities. By focusing on equity-driven strategies , we ensure that our findings and expertise can be leveraged to build capability at both the program and community levels, ultimately strengthening the systems and people we work alongside.
If you're running an NDIS-registered organisation or planning to register for the first time, understanding the audit process and your ongoing compliance responsibilities is essential.
There are two main types of audits within the NDIS: verification and certification. A verification audit is typically for providers delivering lower-risk services. This process involves a desktop review where auditors assess whether your documentation meets the NDIS Practice Standards. Certification audits are more comprehensive and apply to providers offering higher-risk supports or more complex services. These audits include an on-site assessment, interviews with staff, a review of client files, and a closer look at your organisational systems and practices.
Audits are conducted by approved quality auditors and are required at both initial registration and when renewing your registration. The outcome of the audit determines whether your organisation is compliant and eligible for registration. If non-conformances are identified, you will be given a timeframe in which to address them before the NDIS Commission makes a final decision.
NDIS providers must comply with a wide range of regulations designed to ensure participant safety, rights, and access to high-quality supports. These include having clear policies in place around incident management, complaints handling, risk management, worker screening, and participant safeguarding. You must also demonstrate that your staff have completed required training (such as the NDIS Worker Orientation Module) and possess the necessary qualifications and clearances.
Ongoing compliance requires regular internal audits, active governance oversight, up-to-date documentation, and a culture of continuous improvement. HealthQ can help you design systems that support these goals, while also preparing you to meet audit expectations and respond effectively to feedback from the Commission.
Strengthening resident voice to inform quality, accountability and care improvement
Building skills and understanding of digital health for a healthier Northern Australia
Meeting the demand for junior doctors in rural Australia (an evaluation)
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We believe that a team that listens, facilitates reflection, and progresses coordinated and frequent opportunities for learning will enrich and enhance evaluation outcomes. We start our evaluation design with the philosophy that a ‘shared learnings’ workshop with key stakeholders and program partners is of significant value. But we also understand that some learnings and projects are more sensitive than others. We will agree with you who is appropriate to be invited in shared learnings workshops, and how those risks are managed.
While evaluation, health needs assessment and service planning, feasibility reviews and NDIS services (strategy, compliance) are core services, we have also supported our clients with service design, tender preparation and funding applications, strategic planning, and business case development.
We use a mixed methods approach, as we feel the triangulation of available literature, quantitative data analysis and stakeholder consultation provides a stronger evidence base to inform decision making. Our philosophical approach to evaluation is embedded in developmental evaluation (to ensure a learning approach) supplemented with realist thinking within each learning cycle (to ensure context is appropriately considered). In combination, this allows for frequent learning and the development of recommendations with the user (the program) in mind.
Our project experience includes complex and significant pieces of work. A key to success is that our senior team members are very present on all projects. Yes, you will see Darren getting his boots dusty in Innamincka, and Leah meeting with the community in Cairns. Each of our team play critical and well defined roles on projects, and our model is one where often, everyone is equally involved throughout the whole project.
Yes. We love meeting the communities that the services and/or programs are delivered to. We have found that the views of local health service customers and local connected health services are best collected in person, face to face, and are critical to evaluation outcomes.
If you're looking for a trusted partner to support your NDIS compliance and audit readiness, we’re here to help. At HealthQ, we bring experience, empathy, and strategic insight to every engagement.
Whether you’re new to the sector or a long-established provider, our team will guide you through the process with clarity, care, and confidence.
We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians of the Country on which we live, work and play and honour their connection to Country and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging.
