Supervision and support ratios for isolated support work
Project Details
Funding partner
Government of SA Human Services
Timeframe
Oct 2025 - Aug 2026
Publications
Gough, C., Robinson, S., George, S., Milte, R., O’Keeffe, V., Fisher, A., Alexander, J., & Burton, J. (2026). Rapid review and environmental scan of evidence on adequate support and supervision ratios for isolated support work (span of control). Flinders University, Adelaide.
Report of key findings
Gough, C., Robinson, S., George, S., Milte, R., O’Keeffe, V., Fisher, A., Alexander, J., & Burton, J. (2026). Span of control key findings. Flinders University, Adelaide.
Resources
Plain Language Summary
Robinson, S., Gough, C., Burton, J., O'Keeffe, V. and Fisher, A. (2026). Span of Control plain language summary. Flinders University, Adelaide.
Team
DCI researchers
Caring Futures Institute Researchers
Dr Claire Gough
Professor Stacey George
Associate Professor Rachel Milte
Research Partners
Factory of the Future - Valerie O'Keeffe
Summary
Flinders University completed a study for DHS about ‘span of control’. Span of control refers to the number of disability support workers one supervisor should be responsible for when support workers are working alone in isolated settings.
Impact
The research was conducted as part of an Enforceable Undertaking agreement between SafeWork SA and the DHS to improve practice following the death of a person with disability while receiving service provision in an isolated support work context. It forms part of a wider response to improve safety and service quality. The review looked for existing evidence to help improve the quality of intensive and line-of-sight supervision.