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Proactive Identification & Escalation of Swallowing and Communication Risk in Disability Services
EXECUTIVE WHITE PAPER
Prepared by Briggs Clinical, June 2026
At a glance
Swallowing and communication difficulties affect 54% of adults with intellectual disabilities in supported care settings.
Gradual deterioration, not acute incidents, is the most common pathway to serious harm — and the hardest to detect.
In every Australian coronial case examined in this paper, the care plan existed. The failure was in implementation.
Between 2023 and 2025, three Federal Court penalties against NDIS providers rose from $400,000, to $1.8 million, to $1,916,250.
The NDIS Commission conducted 184 site visits across 98 providers in 2025 and named mealtime management a national regulatory priority.
Download the full paper here
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