At Life Your Way, we know that clear, consistent, and purposeful documentation is key to delivering high-quality, person-centred support. That’s why we’ve adopted three recognised progress note frameworks—SOAP, BIRP, and GIRP—to guide how we record the work we do with our clients.
While each framework has a slightly different structure, all three share the same purpose: to tell the story of support in a way that’s clear, respectful, and relevant.
Why Do Progress Notes Matter?
Progress notes aren’t just paperwork. They:
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Provide an accurate, up-to-date record of a participant’s journey
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Support continuity of care between staff
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Track changes in needs, behaviour, goals, and outcomes
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Provide evidence of services delivered (aligned with NDIS best practice)
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Help us learn and improve our practice
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Protect the dignity and rights of participants by recording facts over opinions
That’s why we take the time to use structured formats that encourage thoughtful, factual, and strengths-based reflection.
Why Use More Than One Framework?
Different situations and support environments call for different types of notes. Some days are straightforward. Others are complex, emotional, or focused on a specific goal. By offering our team multiple tools, we help them document the right things in the right way.
Let’s look at each one:
SOAP: Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan
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Best for: Health-focused supports, goal tracking, and when support is more clinical or skill-based.
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Encourages the worker to consider what the client says (Subjective), what they observe (Objective), what they assess, and what the next steps are.
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This is ideal for supports like nutrition, mental health, and goal coaching, where reflection and planning are ongoing.
BIRP: Behaviour, Intervention, Response, Plan
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Best for: Behavioural, emotional, or reactive supports.
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This framework shines when we’re working with clients who experience challenges or emotional regulation difficulties.
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It gives a clear picture of what was happening (Behaviour), how we responded (Intervention), how the client reacted (Response), and what comes next (Plan).
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It’s particularly useful in documenting challenging moments with dignity, neutrality, and purpose.
GIRP: Goal, Intervention, Response, Plan
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Best for: Goal-driven supports, skill-building, and coaching environments.
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GIRP helps us connect the dots between what the client is working toward and what actually happened during the session.
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Ideal for programs like Get to Work, Health is Wealth, and My Best Self, where tracking small progress steps makes a big difference.
Why This Matters to Our Clients
Ultimately, the reason we use SOAP, BIRP, and GIRP is simple: our clients deserve thoughtful, accurate, and respectful records of their support journey.
Good notes help us reflect, improve, and make sure that every part of our service is aligned with the client’s goals, strengths, and needs.
It’s not just documentation—it’s a way of staying accountable to the people we’re here to support.
Want to learn more about our documentation practices or how we track outcomes across our programs? Get in touch—we’re always happy to share how we do things, and why it matters.
