Writing Progress Notes When English Is Your Second Language: A Plain-English Guide

Last updated 2026 · SupportNotes · Made in Australia

Does my English need to be perfect to write a progress note?

No. This is the most important thing to understand. A progress note is not an English exam. Auditors and coordinators are not looking for fancy words or perfect grammar. They are looking for clear, true facts about the shift.

A huge part of Australia's care workforce speaks English as a second language. Many of the best, most caring support workers you will ever meet learned English as adults. Your accent and your first language do not make your notes worse. In fact, short and simple notes are often clearer than long ones full of jargon.

The goal of a progress note is simple: another worker, a nurse, a coordinator, or an auditor should be able to read it later and understand exactly what happened and why. Plain English does that job better than complicated English. So write the way you would explain the shift to a coworker you respect, just in writing.

What does an NDIS progress note actually need?

Every good progress note answers four plain questions. You do not need a special qualification to do this. If your note answers these four questions with facts, it is already most of the way to audit-ready.

Write these four things in order and you have a complete note:

• What I did: the support you gave during the shift (e.g. helped with breakfast, drove to appointment).
• What I saw or heard: the facts in front of you, not your opinion (e.g. participant ate half their meal, said they felt tired).
• What the participant did or said: their words, choices, and reactions, in their own words where you can.
• What happens next: any follow-up, who you told, or what the next shift should know.

The plain-English STAR template (fill in the blanks)

STAR is an easy way to remember the order of a note. It stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. You do not have to use the word STAR — you just have to cover those four parts. Here it is in the simplest possible English, with blanks you can fill in.

Copy these sentence stems and just add your facts. This works for almost any shift:

• Situation (what was happening): "At [time], [participant] was [doing what / feeling how]."
• Task (what needed to happen): "The plan was to support [participant] to [goal or activity]."
• Action (what you did): "I [what you did, step by step]. I also [anything else you helped with]."
• Result (what happened after): "After this, [participant] [what they did / said / how they were]. Next shift should [follow-up]."

Hard word to easy word: the swap table

Many workers think they must use big, official-sounding words. You do not. Auditors prefer clear facts over fancy words. If a word feels hard to spell or you are not sure what it means, swap it for an easy one. The meaning stays the same and the note stays correct.

Here are common swaps. The easy word on the right is just as professional and easier to get right:

• "Administered medication" -> "gave medication" (only if you are trained and authorised to do this).
• "Demonstrated" -> "showed".
• "Encouraged" -> "asked" or "reminded".
• "Refused" -> "said no" or "did not want to".
• "Appeared agitated" -> "seemed upset" or better, write what you saw: "shouted and paced the room".
• "Facilitated" -> "helped with" or "set up".
• "Ambulated" -> "walked".
• "Verbalised" -> "said".
• "Nutrition intake" -> "food and drink".
• "Toileting assistance" -> "help in the bathroom".

Before and after: rough notes turned into clean notes

You do not have to write the perfect sentence the first time. Many great notes start as rough jottings during the shift, then get tidied up. Below are real-style examples. The 'rough' version is what a busy worker might scribble. The 'clean' version is the same facts, written plainly so it passes audit.

Notice that the clean versions do not add new information. They just organise the same facts into clear sentences and remove opinion.

• Rough: "helped sam shower he was ok bit grumpy then breakfast didnt eat much" -> Clean: "At 8:15am I supported Sam to shower. Sam was quiet and said he was tired. After the shower I made breakfast. Sam ate a few bites of cereal and left the rest. I will let the next shift know Sam ate a small breakfast."
• Rough: "took aisha shops she got upset in car park calmed down after" -> Clean: "At 11:00am I drove Aisha to the shops to practise buying groceries (her goal). In the car park Aisha became upset and said it was too loud. I waited with her in a quiet spot for 5 minutes. Aisha then felt calmer and we went inside. Aisha bought milk and bread by herself."
• Rough: "meds given 8pm all good slept" -> Clean: "At 8:00pm I gave Tom his evening medication as listed on his chart. Tom took it with water and had no problems. Tom went to bed at 9:00pm and was asleep when I last checked at 10:30pm."

Words and habits to avoid (so your note passes audit)

A few small habits make a note stronger. These are not about English skill — even native speakers get them wrong. Fixing them makes your notes clear and audit-safe.

Avoid these, and your notes will be stronger straight away:

• Avoid opinions and labels. Do not write "he was lazy" or "she was difficult". Write what you saw: "He stayed in bed and said he did not want to get up."
• Avoid vague words like "good", "fine", or "as usual". Say what actually happened: "ate all of lunch", "walked to the park".
• Never guess or make things up. If you did not see it, do not write it. Only write facts you saw or heard.
• Always write the time and your full name. "This morning" is not enough — write "8:30am".
• Link to the participant's goal when you can. This shows the support helped them, which auditors look for.
• Write notes on the same day, while you remember. Late notes are easy to forget.

A simple routine to write notes faster

You can make note-writing a small, calm habit instead of a stressful task. This routine works well for ESL workers because it breaks the job into tiny, easy steps.

Try this every shift:

• During the shift: jot 3-4 quick facts on your phone or paper (times, what you did, what they said).
• End of shift: open your note and use the STAR stems above to turn jottings into sentences.
• Read it once: does it answer the four questions — what I did, what I saw, what they said or did, what happens next?
• Check the easy-word swaps: any hard word you are unsure of, swap it.
• Save it the same day with the time and your name.

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