How to Verify NDIS Support Worker Attendance Without Paper Timesheets

The Problem With Paper Timesheets for NDIS

Paper timesheets have three failure modes that GPS clock-in eliminates:

• They can be filled in anywhere. A worker who finishes a shift 30 minutes early can still write the correct end time on a paper form. There is no verification.
• They create disputes. If a participant or their family claims a shift was shorter than billed, the only evidence is a signature on paper. GPS creates an independent record.
• They are an NDIS audit liability. The NDIA can request evidence that supports were delivered at the times and locations billed. A paper form signed by the worker is weak evidence compared to a GPS-verified timestamped record.

How GPS Clock-In Works

When a support worker arrives at a participant's address, they open the CareIQ app on their phone and tap Clock In. The app captures:

• The exact time (to the second)
• The GPS coordinates of the worker's location at that moment
• The distance from the participant's registered address
• Whether the worker is within the configured geofence radius

The same process happens at clock-out. Both events are stored permanently against the shift record and the participant's file.

The Geofence — What It Is and How to Set It

A geofence is a virtual boundary around the participant's address. When set, clock-in is marked as GPS verified only if the worker is within the geofence radius at the time of clocking.

The default radius in CareIQ is 200 metres — enough to account for GPS accuracy variations without being so tight that workers standing in the driveway fail verification. This can be adjusted per client if their specific location requires a different tolerance.

Clock-in from outside the geofence is not blocked — the worker can still clock in, but the record shows it as unverified. Managers can review unverified clock events and follow up if there is a pattern.

What GPS Verification Proves — and What It Doesn't

What it proves: The worker's phone was at or near the participant's address at the recorded time. This is strong evidence that the shift was delivered as billed.

What it doesn't prove: That the worker remained for the full shift duration — only that they clocked in and out at those times from that location. For longer shifts, the clock-out verification matters as much as the clock-in.

GPS verification is not a surveillance tool. It is an attendance record — equivalent to a time and attendance system in any other workplace, just adapted for mobile workers.

Handling Genuine GPS Failures

Some legitimate situations create GPS issues:

• Participants in high-rise buildings where GPS accuracy is poor
• Rural or remote locations with weak signal
• Workers whose phones have location services disabled

For these cases, managers can review the clock event and mark it as manually verified with a note explaining why the GPS check was not available. This creates an audit trail that explains the unverified record without creating a compliance gap.

Using Clock Data for SCHADS Payroll and NDIS Billing

GPS clock events feed directly into timesheets and NDIS invoicing. Rather than manually entering hours, the payroll system uses the verified clock-in and clock-out times to calculate hours worked, apply the correct penalty rates for the shift type and day, and generate the NDIS invoice line item.

CareIQ's clock grace period feature ensures timesheets always reflect scheduled hours — not raw clock times — so an early clock-in does not inflate payroll costs.