Progress notes

Progress notes software: Written on the shift. Final means final.

A progress note is the written record of one shift: what support was given, how the person responded and what the next worker needs to know. In Corella the worker writes it on their phone before they leave, in the sections your organisation sets, and it is attached to that shift. Once it is final, nobody can change it — a correction is added beneath it, with a reason and a name.

Book a demo Try the NDIS demo

The New note dialog on Corella's Progress notes screen, from the NDIS demo: client, type of note set to Progress, an optional shift, subject, when, the note itself, a Check my note button with the line saying it is checked by an AI service in the United States with names, emails and long numbers taken out first and that Corella keeps no copy, then links to goals, photos and what was used

Six kinds of noteProgress is the default

Final means finalNo override — administrators included

How it flows

One shift, one note — from the door to final.

1Before the door
The worker opens the shift on their phone: the time and place, the office's instructions, the tasks, the goals to look out for and — if anything is recorded — the need-to-know brief, which they confirm when they press Clock on.
2Write it on the shift
The note box is on the same screen, in the sections your organisation set, with photos from the camera. What the worker types is kept on the phone as they type, and — where AI assistance is on — Check my note points out what the note doesn't yet say.
3Clock off
Where you require it, Clock off is refused until there is a note on that shift — with at least the number of words you set.
4Read in the office
The office reads every note in the Progress notes workspace — by person, kind of note, dates or words — marks a note office-only where it should be, and adds a later note to one of the person's recent shifts.
5Final
When your organisation's window passes — or an author marks their own note final on the office notes screen — nobody can change or delete it. A correction becomes an addendum with a reason, a name and a time.

What people ask first

The short answers, up front.

Who writes the note?
The worker on the shift, on their phone, and it is attached to that shift automatically. The office can write any kind of note from the Progress notes workspace.
What kinds of note are there?
Six: progress (the default), handover, feedback, enquiry, phone call and general. The names are fixed.
Can we set the headings?
Yes — up to twenty sections for each kind of note, each with a hint and a required switch, or start from a preset. N/A counts as an answer.
Can we require a note before clock-off?
Yes, with a minimum word count if you want one. It's off until you switch it on, and it covers the whole organisation.
What if the phone loses signal?
What they typed stays on the phone, for up to seven days, until it saves. There's no offline app: the save itself needs a connection.
Can a note be changed later?
Until it's final, by its author or an administrator — and the earlier wording isn't kept. After that, never: a correction is an addendum.
Can workers see each other's notes?
Where the person's record allows it — on by default — the six newest team notes appear on the shift screen, leaving out office-only notes.
Do families see notes?
No. The family portal shows funding, invoices and the upcoming visits, not notes.
Does AI write the note?
No. The worker writes it. Check my note suggests what's missing and never changes a word; the visit scribe drafts from a recording the person agreed to, and the worker reads, fixes and saves it.

Whose screen

The same job, from each seat.

In the office

The Progress notes workspace shows every note across every person — filter by person, kind of note, dates or words, or show only office-only notes, twenty-five to a page — and a person's record shows their thirty most recent. Here a coordinator marks a note office-only and writes a later note against one of the person's shifts from the last thirty days; an author marks their own note final or asks a senior colleague to countersign it; and a final note gets its addenda. There's no export of notes: they are read and searched in Corella.

On the phone

The worker writes on the shift screen they already have open, in your sections, with photos straight from the camera. On a shift with more than one person, one note is filed on each person's record. They can edit their own notes on that visit until they're final — marking final, addenda and countersign requests are on the office notes screen, so a worker's notes lock by your window. They have no list of everyone's notes: only their own on the visit and, where you allow it, the team's recent notes about that person.

For families

Families don't see notes. The portal shows the person's funding, the invoices to approve where you manage their plan, and their upcoming visits — so what a worker writes stays inside your organisation.

A worked example

The shift summary preset — eight sections, every one required.

One of the two presets an administrator can start from under Settings → Attendance rules → Note sections. These are the product's own headings and hints; from there each heading, hint and required switch can be changed, sections added or removed, and the order moved.

Shift start time: Exact time of shift commencement
General progress notes: Summary of events throughout the shift
Activities completed: Activities completed throughout the shift
Behaviours: Behaviours of concern, and the techniques used to de-escalate
Area of interest: Activities the participant has shown interest in
Positive achievement: Achievements and goals the participant has displayed
DSW communication: Specific communication to alert the rest of the team
Shift end time: Exact time of shift conclusion

A DSW is a disability support worker. A note in these sections can't be saved until every required section has something in it — N/A counts, and each section has an N/A button. The other preset is an incident note in five sections: when, who, witnesses, what happened and the impact.

In detail

The detail, on the real screens.

Six kinds of note, and who writes which

A progress note is the default kind; handover, feedback, enquiry, phone call and general sit beside it. A support worker writes from their shift screen, which always saves a progress note attached to that shift — and only for people they're rostered with. Coordinators and administrators write any kind from the Progress notes workspace, and can attach a note written later to one of the person's shifts from the last thirty days; it then reads On the shift of, with the date. In the office a note can also be linked to the person's goals.

Worth knowing: the names of the kinds are fixed — your organisation's words rename the person and the worker, not the kinds of note.

The Type list open in Corella's New note dialog, from the NDIS demo: Progress, ticked as the default, then Handover, Feedback, Enquiry, Phone call and General — The office's New note dialog — the six kinds (NDIS demo)

Sections your organisation names

An administrator can give each kind of note up to twenty named sections, under Settings → Attendance rules → Note sections, each with a hint shown under the heading and a switch that makes it required — or start from a preset: a shift summary in eight sections, or an incident note in five. A note can't be saved until every required section has something in it; N/A counts, and each section has an N/A button. The sections are stored as bold headings inside the note, so everything that reads notes reads them the same way.

Worth knowing: it's off until an administrator saves it — until then each kind of note is one free-text box.

The Note sections card in Corella's settings, from the NDIS demo: its explanation, Kind of note set to Progress note with sections on, Start from a preset and Add section, then the first two sections of the shift summary preset — Shift start time with the hint Exact time of shift commencement, and General progress notes with the hint Summary of events throughout the shift — each switched to required — Settings → Attendance rules → Note sections, the shift summary preset loaded (NDIS demo)

A note before clock-off, if you want one

Switch on Require a progress note before clock-off and, if you like, set a minimum number of words — up to five hundred. The worker's own Clock off is then refused until they have written a note on that shift that meets the minimum. It works the same on a phone and at a desk, because it's one application.

Worth knowing: it covers the whole organisation, not one person or one service; it isn't checked when the office enters times on a timesheet, or when a sleepover clocks off by itself; nothing reminds the worker before they tap Clock off; and section headings count as words.

Four attendance-rule switches in Corella's settings, from the NDIS demo: auto-approve timesheets within the variance, off; Require a progress note before clock-off, switched on; the draft roster, off; and the warning when a casual is rostered onto the same weekday week after week, off — Settings → Attendance rules — the note before clock-off, switched on (NDIS demo)

Written on the phone — and kept if the signal drops

The note box sits on the shift screen the worker already has open. Photos come straight from the camera — several to a note. What they type is kept on that phone as they type it, for that person and that visit, so a reload or a dead spot doesn't lose it; if a save can't get through, the phone says the note is kept there, and to press Save again once there's signal. On a shift with more than one person, the worker writes one note and it's filed on each person's record, attached to the shift; each copy can then be edited on its own.

Worth knowing: there's no offline app — saving needs a connection — and a kept note is dropped after seven days if it's never saved; photos only, each under 10 MB; and nothing on screen tells the worker that a group-shift note is copied to each person.

The note on a nurse's visit screen, from the wound care demo: the visit scribe's card saying the patient hasn't signed permission to be recorded yet, with Get permission signed now above a Record the visit button that waits for it and Upload a recording; then the note box asking how the shift went and what the next nurse needs to know, with Add photo, Dictate and Save note — The note on the visit screen, with Add photo and Dictate (wound care demo)

Speak it instead: dictation and the visit scribe

Two separate switches, both off until you turn them on. Dictation adds a Dictate button: the worker's own speech becomes text in the note, for them to read and correct, in clips of up to two and a half minutes. The visit scribe goes further. With the person's signed permission, the worker records a one-person visit, and a few minutes later a draft note arrives in your sections. Nothing is saved until they read it back, fix anything wrong and press Save — and they can discard it instead.

Worth knowing: speech is transcribed in the European Union — there's no Australian region — and the scribe's draft is written by our AI provider in the United States; the audio isn't kept, but the transcript text is, in your organisation's own Corella database; and the scribe isn't offered on a shift with more than one person.

The end of the recording permission form on a nurse's phone, from the wound care demo: the versioned wording the patient agrees to, that permission can be withdrawn at any time, and that text already made from recordings stays in the care record, signed on the device or on paper — The permission the person signs before the visit scribe records (wound care demo)

Final means final

A note becomes final when your organisation's window passes — twelve, twenty-four, forty-eight or seventy-two hours, or seven days — or when its author marks it final on the office notes screen. From then on nobody can edit or delete it: not the author, not a coordinator, not an administrator. A correction is an addendum beneath the note, added on the office notes screen, with a required reason, its author and the time. Separately, an author writing in the office can ask a senior colleague to countersign; they countersign it, or send it back with a reason.

Worth knowing: the window is off until you set it, and a support worker can't mark their own note final from the phone — so without a window their notes stay editable; before a note is final its author or an administrator can edit it and the earlier wording isn't kept — the audit log records that it changed, who and when, not the old words; the author can delete their own note within twenty-four hours, or an administrator can, and a deleted note is gone; and a countersignature doesn't lock the note.

The Lock progress notes after setting in Corella, from the NDIS demo, with its list open: Never — notes stay editable, ticked, then 12 hours, 24 hours — end of the next day, 48 hours, 72 hours and 7 days — Settings → Roster display → Lock progress notes after — off until you choose (NDIS demo)

Straight answers

What warns you, what stops you — and what it doesn’t do.

Warns you

A shift with more than one type of support tells the worker their note should cover each of them.
Check my note — where AI assistance is on — lists up to three things the note doesn't yet say, and changes nothing.
A signature the shift asks for — the person's or the worker's — that's still missing warns at clock-off rather than stopping it, so a sleeping client or a blackspot never traps a worker on the clock.
A note that can't be saved says so on the phone, and that it is kept there until it can.

Stops you

Clock off, until there's a note on the shift that meets your minimum word count — where you've switched that rule on.
Clock off, while a must-do task on the shift is still open.
Saving a note while a required section is empty — N/A counts as an answer.
Editing or deleting a final note — for anyone, administrators included.
Countersigning your own note.
A support worker writing a note for someone they aren't rostered with.
Attaching anything but a photo — JPEG, PNG, WebP or HEIC, under 10 MB each.

Doesn't do

Export notes — there's no CSV or PDF of notes; they're read in Corella.
Flag a late note, or remind anyone that a note is due.
Keep the earlier wording of a note edited before it's final.
Save without a connection — a typed note waits on the phone, but the save itself needs signal.
Offer Mark final, addenda or countersign requests on a worker's phone — they're on the office notes screen.
Show notes to families — the portal doesn't include them.
Write the note for the worker.

Who stays responsible

The worker writes what happened, in their own words, and your organisation decides what a note needs. Corella keeps the note, shows it to the people who should see it, records who wrote it and when, and stops it changing once it's final. What a note means — and what happens next — stays with your team.

The rulebook

Questions, answered properly.

Is a progress note required before a worker clocks off?

Only if you switch it on. Require a progress note before clock-off refuses the worker's own Clock off until there's a note on that shift — with at least the number of words you set, up to 500. It's organisation-wide and off by default, and it isn't checked when the office enters times on a timesheet or a sleepover clocks off by itself.

Can anyone change or delete a note after it's written?

Until it's final, its author or an administrator can edit it, and the earlier wording isn't kept — the audit log records only that it changed, by whom and when. It can be deleted then too, by its author within 24 hours or by an administrator, and a deleted note is gone for good. A note becomes final when your window passes — 12, 24, 48 or 72 hours, or seven days — or when its author marks it final on the office notes screen; a support worker can't do that from the phone, so without a window their notes stay editable. Once it's final, nobody can change or delete it, administrators included, and a correction is an addendum with a reason, a name and a time.

What does Check my note check?

The writing, never the person. Where your organisation has AI assistance on, it returns up to three things the note doesn't yet say — your own rules first, such as the minimum words or a required heading, then things like what support was given or how the person responded. A filter drops any suggestion that strays into diagnosis, risk or advice, and it never blocks a save or changes a word. The note goes to our AI provider in the United States with names, emails and long numbers taken out first, and Corella keeps no copy of what's sent; each person can run thirty checks an hour, on the first six thousand characters of a note.

What happens if the phone loses signal while a worker is writing?

What they've typed is kept on that phone as they type, for that person and that visit, so a reload or a dead spot doesn't lose it. If a save can't get through, the phone says the note is kept — press Save again once there's signal. A kept note is dropped after seven days if it's never saved. There's no offline app: the save itself needs a connection.

Can support workers read other workers' notes?

Where the person's record allows it — on by default — a worker sees the six newest team notes about that person on a shift they're rostered to, leaving out office-only notes. They have no list of notes beyond that, and they never see people they aren't rostered with.

Can a support worker read an office-only note?

Not in the notes they read: an office-only note is left out of what a worker sees on a shift. Two edges today: if an office-only note is attached to a shift, the workers on it see its subject line in the shift's activity list; and with Care Signals switched on, the team leader and safeguarding lead on the person's team are sent the words a signal picked out, office-only notes included — and either can be a support worker.

Do families see progress notes?

No. The family portal shows the person's funding, the invoices to approve where you manage their plan, their upcoming visits and their notification settings — not notes.

Does AI write our notes?

No. The worker writes the note. Check my note, where AI assistance is on, suggests up to three things the note doesn't yet say and never changes a word. The visit scribe, where it's on, drafts a note from a recording the person has agreed to, and nothing is saved until the worker reads it, fixes it and presses Save. Text goes to our AI provider in the United States; speech is transcribed in the European Union.

Can we export our notes?

Not as a file today — there's no CSV or PDF export of notes; they're read and filtered in Corella. The outcome and progress reports are separate documents the office writes, prefilled from the person's goals and funding, not built from notes.

What happens to a worker's notes when they leave?

They stay. Notes are never deleted automatically, and a staff member who has written notes can't be deleted — they're deactivated, so everything they wrote stays attributed to them and they can no longer sign in.

Can one note cover a group shift?

Yes. On a shift with several people, the worker writes one note and it's filed on each person's record, attached to the shift; each copy can then be edited on its own until it's final. Nothing on screen says the copies are made, so write it knowing each person's record will carry it.

Does anything read our notes automatically?

Only if you switch on Care Signals. It reads new and edited notes every hour — dictated ones straight away — and queues possible concerns for a person in the office to read, each quoting the note's own words; it never edits a note. Care records explains it in full, and the text goes to our AI provider in the United States.

Guides for this

Read the rule behind it.

Sources

NDIS Practice Standards — NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

See progress notes software on a live instance.

Try the NDIS demo with a time-boxed pass, or book a walkthrough and we'll show you this part of Corella in your own words.

Book a demo Try a live demo