Introduction to the Home Visit Safety Guide
The information in this guide has been adapted from the Aunty Grace’s Remote and Isolated Worker Policy. The key principles of that policy, such as maintaining effective communication, identifying and managing hazards, defining worker responsibilities, and following safe work procedures—form the foundation of the guidance provided here.
This Home Visit Safety Guide aligns with those requirements while presenting the information in a practical, easy-to-use format specifically tailored for staff entering a client’s home. Its purpose is to ensure consistency, strengthen safety practices, and support all personnel in meeting their obligations under the broader organisational WHS framework.
When we are exposed to language that describes worker safety, it makes important conversations more frequent.
Why home visit safety is important
Home visits are an essential part of the support we provide, but they also present unique risks, because workers are entering environments that the organisation cannot fully control. Effective home visit safety practices are vital for several key reasons:
Scope
This guide applies to any person who may enter a client’s home while performing duties on behalf of Aunty Grace. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Care Managers
- Care Partners
- External contractors or service providers
- Field sales staff
- Marketing or content creators attending clients’ homes for interviews, filming, photography, or story development
Any worker or representative entering a client’s home is expected to follow the safety practices, guidelines, and responsibilities outlined in this document to ensure the wellbeing of both staff and clients.
Worker responsibilities
As a worker entering a client’s home, you play a crucial role in maintaining a safe environment for yourself, your colleagues, and the people you support. You are responsible for:
- Complying with all remote or isolated work procedures, including the advice outlined in this Home Visit Safety Guide
- Using the tools, equipment, and supplies provided to help you work safely and effectively during home visits.
- Following all relevant safe work procedures that apply to any remote or isolated activity.
- Promptly notifying the organisation if you become unwell, feel unsafe, or are unable to continue working safely during a home visit.
- Understanding how to identify risks, including hazards in the home environment, behaviours of concern, or unsafe conditions.
- Reporting risks or concerns early, using established reporting processes and communicating directly with your manager or the appropriate contact.
- Leaving or terminating a visit immediately if you believe your safety is at risk. You are never expected to remain in a situation that feels unsafe.
- Communicating any immediate risks to your health and safety by calling the office, your manager, or using approved check-in systems or emergency procedures.
These responsibilities are about equipping you with the confidence, authority, and organisational backing to always prioritise your own safety.
Client responsibilities
The client, as a person who owns the workplace, has a specific responsibility to ensure
“as is reasonably practicable that the workplace and the means of entering and leaving it are safe and without risks to health.”
So, if there is an element of the environment that poses a risk to your health and safety, we can reasonably ask for that element to be modified or removed to make the space safer for everyone.
Understanding risk in home visits
What makes home visits unique?
Unknown or unpredictable risks: Hazards may not be visible or disclosed before arrival, including environmental, behavioural, or situational risks.
Working alone or in isolation: Field staff often work without immediate support, which increases vulnerability and requires strong communication systems.
Travel-related hazards: Driving, parking, navigating new areas, and moving between homes all introduce additional safety considerations.
Behavioural unpredictability: Clients, family members, or others in the home may behave in unexpected or volatile ways, requiring awareness and professional judgement.
Types of risk
Please note some of the key risk types that may apply to you during a home visit. These risks can vary depending on the client, the environment, and the nature of the work being performed.
Preparing for a home visit
Pre-Visit Risk Assessment
Review referral information available to you. Are there any risks that may expose you to physical or psychological danger? If so, determine if you should bring a secondary person with you, or if the home visit is too risky to be conducted at all.
Planning and Communication
Check that the client is expecting and prepared for a home visit at the agreed time. If it’s applicable, conduct an infection control screening questionnaire. If needed, clarify the purpose of the home visit and history of the client in relation to unexpected issues and their overall needs.
Is there any missing information? If so, don’t be afraid to ask so you have all the information you need.
Ensure your manager is aware of intended time and place of home visit. Ensure you have emergency contacts saved, and that your calendar is up to date. Carry a charged phone.
If applicable, ensure your work calendar is update to date so your manager has visibility. Ensure your Microsoft Team’s meeting status message is up to date with an approximate ‘back to desk’ time.
Have a code word or phrase that signals that you need help without alerting the client.
Travel Safety
Ensure that your route is planned ahead of time, understand any notes in relation to parking and access. Park where you won’t be blocked in and where there is good lighting.
What to Bring
Avoid bringing big bulky bags – they could entangle you if you need to leave quickly. Also, have your keys easily accessible in a pocket.
During the home visit
Arrival and entry
Observe your surroundings before entering the home, take a mental note of any noise, people loitering or animals loose.
Assess the client’s condition immediately – are they sober, calm, alone, and behaving normally? Once you obtain entry to the home, check for hazards to own and other’s health and safety. If necessary, take action to control any immediate risks.
Safety positioning inside the home
Always position yourself with a clear path to the exit. Choose safe seating positions that make you feel at ease, such as sitting between the client and the exit.
Avoid any closed–off rooms unless necessary, like bathrooms, bedrooms, or basements.
Communication & conduct
Communicate with the client to clarify the purpose of the visit and confirm the client’s acceptance. Provide an opportunity for the client to identify and express any issues or concerns in relation to the home visit, or scheduled service.
Build trust through clear, respectful communication while always maintaining professional boundaries. Demonstrating cultural awareness and sensitivity helps create a positive environment without compromising your own safety.
Treating clients with dignity and respect is not only expected practice, but it keeps everyone safe.
Encouraging clients to share concerns
Invite clients to voice any safety hazards or issues in their home by asking open and non judgmental questions. Document these concerns promptly to support ongoing risk management and service planning.
De-escalation strategies
Use calm, steady body language and a neutral tone to reduce tension, maintain safety, and prevent escalation. Be prepared to exit the situation promptly, use established code words to discreetly signal concern, and end the visit immediately if you feel unsafe or threatened at any point.
After the home visit
Check-out procedures
Contact your appropriate manager when you complete your visit/have returned home. Use any check – out systems you may have established.
Documentation
Document all aspects of the home visit in line with organisational policies and procedures. Document any near misses or concerning behaviour to keep client alerts up to date for other field workers. Promptly report any areas of concern to an appropriate escalation point.
Adjusting future visits
If it’s required, consider if future visits should be conducted by two people. Consider if the time of day or appointment duration should be adjusted for future visits. Consider whether phone/ video-based services are appropriate if it’s needed.
If a task or job activity poses a risk to your health and safety, you should work with your manager to modify or eliminate that task, so it isn’t repeated.
Activities that must not be performed alone
Some tasks carry a level of risk that may make it unsafe for a worker to perform them alone. These situations should be assessed on a case-by-case basis, considering the specific circumstances of the client, the environment, and the task. In some situations where risk factors are present, lone work may still proceed only if a thorough risk assessment has been completed and management has approved appropriate risk controls.
Factors that will inform whether an activity should not be performed alone include (but are not limited to):
- Known or emerging behavioural risks from the client or others present in the home (e.g. history of aggression, cognitive impairment, substance use, or unsafe conduct)
- Tasks involving manual handling or heavy lifting beyond what is safe for one person to perform
- Work conducted at height (e.g. standing on ladders or unstable surfaces)
- Tasks involving complex or high-risk equipment
- Limited or no mobile phone reception, or other barriers to emergency communication
- Environmental hazards identified in the client’s home (e.g. hoarding, poor lighting, unsafe flooring)
Where a task is identified as inappropriate for lone work, alternative arrangements will be made, such as:
- Scheduling a second staff member to attend
- Modifying or declining the task if it cannot be performed safely
- Implementing remote monitoring, check-in systems, or other risk controls
Emergency procedures
Workers may refuse or delay a task if they reasonably believe it poses an immediate risk to their safety when performed alone. This includes newly emerging client behaviours, environmental changes, or personal fitness for duty.
When you must leave immediately
You should end the visit and leave the home without delay if any situation arises that threatens your personal safety. This includes incidents involving violence or aggression, the presence of illegal substances, or any environment that feels unsafe or unstable.
It is important to distinguish between ending a visit because you feel personally unsafe and ending a visit to avoid witnessing or managing a potentially traumatic event. If the client’s health or safety is at immediate risk, you must stay with the client and call 000, unless remaining in the home would put you in danger. Feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or uncomfortable is not a reason to leave a client who is in immediate danger.
What to do after leaving an unsafe situation
Once you are safely away from the home, contact your manager or the designated on-call number to report the situation and confirm your wellbeing.
Follow the organisation’s incident reporting procedures, documenting what occurred as soon as possible while details are fresh.
After any distressing or high-risk incident, ensure you access debriefing and support—whether through your manager, peer support, or an employee assistance program.
Calling emergency services (000)
If the situation requires urgent police, fire, or ambulance assistance, call 000 immediately. Provide clear, concise information including your location, the nature of the emergency, who is involved, and any immediate risks. If it is safe to do so, remain nearby in a secure location so you can assist responders with directions or details.