Support worker handover template
A free one-page handover and progress notes template for support workers to fill in after every visit: routines, meals, medication, mood and incidents.
Updated . General information, not advice: check with your plan manager, support coordinator, doctor or therapist about your situation.
When you can't be there, a handover is how you know what happened, and how the next worker knows where to pick up. But a blank notebook usually stays blank, and "how did it go?" usually gets "good, thanks".
This free handover sheet asks the same short questions after every visit, most of them answered with a tick. It's quick for workers to fill in, easy for you to read, and over months it becomes a dated record of every visit, in your workers' own words.
What's inside
Page 1: after every visit. One page per visit, filled in mostly with ticks:
- the date, the worker's first name, and when they arrived and left
- how the day went: good, okay or a hard day
- your own task list, each ticked as done on their own, with prompts, with help, or not today. Two examples are filled in; you write the rest once to suit your family, then print copies
- whether they ate and drank well, whether they managed their feelings, and any incidents
- the goal from your NDIS plan they worked on, if any
- plenty of room for a note to the family, and one to the next worker
Page 2: incident record. What happened before, what happened, what happened after, and who was told, written the same day.
Page 3: week at a glance. One line per visit, for families who prefer a single sheet each week.
How to use it
- Print a stack, or share the PDF. Keep printed copies in a folder in the home, where workers will see them when they arrive. The PDF can also be filled in on a phone or computer.
- Write your task list once, then print copies. Use the tasks your workers actually do, such as personal care checks, meal prep or a walk.
- Ask every worker to fill it in before they leave. It takes about a minute once it's a habit.
- Ask for the level of help, not just "done". "Showered: with help" in March and "showered: with prompts" in September tells you something has changed. Over months, that's the record your plan reassessment asks about.
- Read them weekly, and thank the workers who write them. When workers see that you read and act on the notes, they keep writing them.
The medication question records what happened; it doesn't give instructions. Workers should always follow the prescriber's chart. If someone is hurt or in danger, they should call 000 first.
This is not an NDIS form. If your workers come through a registered provider, the provider keeps its own records too.
Want this as a live plan?
Paper sheets are easy to start with, but they pile up, and they're hard to search when your plan reassessment comes around. In Maslow, the same questions are check-ins your team answers on their phones after each visit, with the level of help, who recorded it and when. We digitise care plans and make them easy to share with support workers, and you can export the history when you need it. Maslow can be funded from your NDIS plan as Low-Cost Assistive Technology (self-managed and plan-managed participants), if it meets a disability-related need in your plan. See how it works for self-managed teams.
For examples of useful notes, read our guide to support worker progress notes. To give new workers everything they need to know before their first visit, use our free NDIS care plan template.