Queensland Government
Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services
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Overview of the Disability Sector Quality System

The Disability Sector Quality System (DSQS) aims to:

  • develop a self-sustaining culture of quality and continuous improvement across the disability sector
  • ensure that people with a disability are actively involved in the way a service develops, operates and maintains its management systems
  • provide opportunities for people with a disability to have a role in the planning, development and delivery of specialist disability services provided
  • support and promote innovation in the type of specialist disability services provided and the way they are delivered.

Specialist disability services delivered or recurrently funded by the Department of Communities, Child Safey and Disability Services are required to implement their own quality management system and achieve certification against the Queensland Disability Service Standards, Queensland Disability Advocacy Standards or ISO 9001:2008, as appropriate to their service.

Recurrently funded specialist disability service providers have 18 months to achieve certification from the date recurrent funding starts.

Each service provider progresses through a five step implementation process:

  • establishment of a quality framework
  • self-assessment
  • service user assessment
  • continuous improvement processes
  • external assessment by an independent certification body.

Once certified, service providers must progress through their post-implementation activities including annual surveillance audits and recertification after three years.

Partnerships are essential to the successful implementation of the Disability Sector Quality System across the Queensland disability sector. Effective relationships, effective networks and mentoring within the sector are critical to the sustainability of the quality system and to having a quality management system that is owned by the sector.

The department works closely with the service provider disability peak body, National Disability Services (NDS) Queensland, (formerly ACROD (Qld)) to develop and deliver strategies to support service providers in implementing their quality management systems.