C1 Prescribed Rights and Obligations
(1) You have rights and responsibilities at law, including under the Charter.
(2) The Services we provide must comply with the Aged Care Act including the Quality Standards which are set out in the Quality-of-Care Principles 2014.
C2 Providing a Safe Environment
(1) You must assist us to ensure that our personnel can work in a safe environment. For example,
you must:
(a) ensure your home is safe to enter and free of hazards;
(b) ensure there is unobstructed access and adequate space for our personnel to work in;
(c) not ask our personnel to engage in hazardous manual tasks;
(d) ensure equipment in your home is safe and well maintained and use equipment we provide to assist our personnel, such as lifting equipment;
(e) treat our personnel with dignity and respect;
(f) not abuse, bully or harass our personnel or discriminate against them; and
(g) co-operate with our personnel.
(2) You must assist us to ensure that we can provide a safe working environment by way of taking steps to ensure that your relatives, friends and visitors are aware of and comply with our expectations of you.
C3 Infection control
(1) You must provide us with any information we reasonably require about your immunisation history.
(2) You must:
(a) immediately let us know if you are suffering an infection that may put our personnel at risk;
(b) let us know if you have been in contact with others who are suffering an infection that may put
you or our personnel at risk;
(c) let us know if you have been advised to take particular precautions in relation to your health or
the health of others, including any requirement for you to limit or manage your contact with others in a particular way; and
(d) follow any reasonable procedures we outline in connection with infection control.
C4 When you can Suspend your Services
(1) You may suspend the Services you usually receive if you go into hospital, respite care or transitional care. You can also take social leave for holidays or other breaks. We may continue to deduct Care Management Fees and Package Management Fees from your Package Funds while your Services are suspended.
(2) You must inform us in writing of the period that you want to suspend your Services. You must also tell us in writing if you wish to change the suspension period. If you do not tell us when you are going on leave, you may be personally responsible for the costs of any Services we deliver during that period
(3) Except if the suspension is for transition or respite care, you will be required to pay the Basic Daily Care Fee portion of your Contribution while your Services are suspended.
(4) If you normally pay an Income Tested Care Fee, you will also be required to pay this for up to
28 days during the suspension. After this, you must pay the amount notified to you by the Department. This is calculated as the lesser of:
(a) your Income Tested Care Fee amount (if any); and
(b) the amount of the subsidy plus any primary supplements that we would receive from the Department.
(5) You will also be required to pay any Top-up Contributions during any suspension, unless you
provide us with sufficient notice to cancel or suspend Services without incurring costs.
(6) Suspending your Services for any reason may have an impact on the amount of subsidies we will
receive. This will reduce your Package Funds.
C5 When we can Suspend your Services
(1) We may suspend your Services (in full or in part) if:
(a) you do not meet your responsibilities under this Agreement including, but not limited to, your obligation to pay your Contribution;
(b) your conduct towards our personnel and/or access to your Home poses an unacceptable risk to the health, safety and/or the wellbeing of personnel or others; or
(c) for any other reason we are entitled or obliged to suspend Services under the Aged Care Act or we need to do so to respond to an event beyond our control and during that time we discharge our obligations under the Aged Care Act.
(2) If we suspend your Services:
(a) we will only recommence providing Services if the events giving rise to the suspension are addressed to our satisfaction; and
(b) you will be required to continue making payments to us, as if Services had been suspended by you.
(3) If you or we are not satisfied with the basis upon which Services are to recommence after a period of suspension, you or we may terminate this Agreement in accordance with clause D12.
C6 Service Concerns and Complaints
(1) You are entitled to make a complaint about any aspect of the Services you receive without fear of reprisal.
(2) If you have a concern or complaint concerning us, the Services we provide or our handling of personal information, you should promptly contact our designated complaints officer or any other member of staff. Your complaint will be handled fairly and promptly in accordance with our complaints procedure, which at the date of preparing this Agreement is as follows:
(a) we will review and investigate all complaints whether made verbally or in writing. Where necessary, this may include discussing the complaint with the complainant and anyone else involved;
(b) we will review our policies, practices and procedures in light of the complaint where appropriate; and
(c) we will respond to all complaints within a reasonable timeframe having regard to the nature of the complaint.
(3) You may refer your complaint to any State or Territory advocacy service or the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission or any other relevant government body which deals with complaints at any time. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission can be contacted on 1800 951 822.
(4) Further detail about our complaints procedure is set out in our complaints policy, a copy of which is available on request.
(5) You still need to pay your Contribution and Top-Up Contributions if you have a complaint, and we will still be entitled to charge and deduct from your Package Funds, the Care Management Fee, Package Management Fee and Service Charges.
(6) You must tell us if you are having any issues with service providers or attending personnel.
C7 Your Rights to Information about your Package
(1) On request, we will provide you with a copy of your current Care Plan and Service Schedule.
(2) Within 7 days of receiving a request, we will also give you:
(a) a clear and simple presentation of our financial position including the costs of home care that explains any ongoing fees that you are required to pay; and
(b) a copy of the most recent version of our audited accounts.
(3) We will also provide you with other financial information relevant to your Services, if you request it.
C8 Reviews
(1) On request and on a regular basis, we will review your Care Plan, your Contribution and your allocated Care Manager, with a view to ensuring that you can set individual goals and receive Services most appropriate to your needs.
(2) If your needs or circumstances change, your Care Manager will work with you to reassess the most appropriate Services for you and work with you to redesign a new Care Plan and Service Schedule.
(3) Each time we assess your needs and capabilities and/or assess the suitability of Services you are receiving, you must co-operate, provide us with accurate and complete information and consult with your health practitioners (as necessary).
C9 Privacy
(1) We guarantee that we will take all reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of your Personal Information as far as legally permissible in accordance with Privacy Laws.
(2) Your Personal Information will be used by us for the purposes of providing or procuring Services, as well as to enable internal administration, training, assessments and reviews and any other use permitted by law. We may need to disclose Personal Information to third parties who are concerned with providing or procuring Services, including contractors. We may also disclose information to other third parties, including health professionals, advisors and regulatory authorities. When we disclose Personal Information to third parties, we will seek to ensure it is handled appropriately.
(3) We may need to request or access personal information about you from third parties to allow services to be provided to you including your family, carers, representatives, general practitioner, medical specialists, allied health providers and others involved in you care. You authorise us to request and access such information.
(4) If you fail to provide us with the Personal Information we ask for, this may affect the fees and charges you are required to pay under this Agreement and the Services we provide.
(5) You agree that we may consult with your nominated representative and emergency contact person as set out in the Agreement Details or as otherwise advised to us and that these individuals may speak on your behalf. On request, you must provide us with evidence of the authority your Representative has to deal with or manage your affairs (or they must do so on your behalf).
(6) Personal Information is managed in accordance with our privacy policy and we may provide you with other policies concerning our handling of Personal Information which should be read in conjunction with this Agreement.
(7) You must contact us if you would like to see any of your Personal Information or if you have questions or complaints about the handling of your Personal Information.
(8) You may make a complaint about our handling of your Personal Information to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
C10 Indemnity and Limitation of Liability
(1) We are not liable for and you must indemnify, keep indemnified and hold us harmless from and
against any liability, claims, damages, or expenses of any kind arising directly or indirectly in connection with:
(a) Services being provided to you by a third party;
(b) any services provided to you after your Home Care Package is transferred to another provider;
(c) the suspension of your Services or the termination of your Home Care Package at your request;
(d) informal services provided to you by your family, neighbours or friends; and/or
(e) your failure to comply with this Agreement.
(2) Except to the extent you are entitled to the benefit of one or more of the Consumer Guarantees, we do not provide any guarantees or warranties regarding the suitability, fitness or timing of the Services provided under or in connection with this Agreement. To the extent permitted by law, our liability for a breach of a Consumer Guarantee and any other claim you may have under or in connection with this Agreement concerning inadequate or unsuitable Services is limited to (at our option):
(a) supplying the Service or Service(s) the subject of the claim again; or
(b) paying the cost of having the Service or Service(s) the subject of the claim supplied again.
C11 Assignment
(1) We may assign or novate all or part of our interest, rights and obligations under this Agreement to a third party we select, by way of giving written notice of the change to you.
(2) If notice is given under this clause, references in this Agreement to ‘us’ or ‘we’ will be taken to be references to the notified assignee, as if named in this Agreement, with the change to take effect from the date specified in the notice.
C12 Ending this Agreement
(1) You can end this Agreement and stop receiving Services from us by giving us at least 7 days’ written notice.
(2) We can end this Agreement and stop providing Services by giving you at least 7 days’ written notice if:
(a) you cannot be cared for in the community with the resources available to us;
(b) you move to an area where we do not provide the Services;
(c) your needs or condition changes to the extent that you no longer need home care or your needs as assessed by an Aged Care Assessment Team can be more appropriately met by other types of care;
(d) you have not paid your Contribution for a reason within your control and you have not negotiated an alternative payment arrangement with us;
(e) you have intentionally caused serious injury to our personnel;
(f) you have intentionally infringed the right of one or more of our personnel or other attending personnel who provide the Services to work in a safe environment; or
(g) to the extent permitted by the Aged Care Act, we give you at least 7 days’ notice of our decision to cease providing the Services for any other permitted reason.
C13 Effect of this Agreement Ending
(1) On this Agreement ending, you must return to us or allow us to collect any of our property or documents provided to you, including any equipment we have lent you.
(2) We will retain and manage your health records and other Personal Information in accordance with legal requirements.
(3) If this Agreement ends, in accordance with the User Rights Principles 2014 we will reconcile your Package Funds and retain any unspent Package Funds for the period prior to 1 July 2015 and as otherwise permitted by the Aged Care Act following which, if there is a positive amount:
(a) we will refund any amounts you have paid in advance;
(b) we will deduct the Exit Amount (if any);
(c) we will refund any remaining unspent subsidy amounts to the Commonwealth or transfer these to your new provider as required by the Aged Care Act (see clause D14); and
(d) we will refund any remaining unspent Contribution (less any amounts you owe us) to you or your estate or transfer these to your new provider as required by the Aged Care Act (clause D14).
(4) The termination of this Agreement does not relieve you of your obligation to pay any amounts
which are unpaid or which are payable as an incident of this Agreement ending including:
(a) to the extent permitted by the Aged Care Act, because your Package Funds have a negative balance; or
(b) because you have unpaid Contributions (whether because you have paid us late or because the amounts you have been assessed as being required to pay have changed).
(5) If an amount you must pay is not ascertainable at the time that payment would otherwise be due, we may retain or deduct such amount as we reasonably estimate will become due, until the actual amount has been determined. Once the actual amount has been determined, we will make any necessary adjustment or notify you of any additional amount you must pay.
(6) If you do not have sufficient funds in your Package Funds to cover the Exit Amount, we will retain all your unspent Package Funds as permitted by the Aged Care Act. You will not be required to pay an Exit Amount that exceeds the amount left in your Package Funds.
(7) The provisions of this Agreement dealing with payments, indemnities, limitation of liability, privacy and consequences of termination survive the end of this Agreement and may be enforced after this Agreement has ended.
C14 Transferring to a New Provider
(1) This clause applies if you notify us within 56 days of us ceasing to provide you with Services that you are transferring your Home Care Package to another approved home care provider.
(2) After reconciling your Package Funds and applying deductions as set out in clause D13(3), we will transfer the balance of unspent Package Funds to the new provider within 70 days of us ceasing to provide you with Services or any other period prescribed by the Aged Care Act.
(3) You authorise us to provide information to the new provider for this purpose.
C15 Variation of this Agreement
(1) This Agreement can be varied in writing by mutual consent, following adequate consultation between us and you except if the variation is necessary to implement the GST Act and we have given you reasonable notice in writing about the Variation. However, we cannot vary this Agreement in a way that is inconsistent with prescribed Laws.
(2) If the Services are varied in accordance with this Agreement, this Agreement will continue to apply. Recommenced Services will be provided pursuant to this Agreement, unless a variation or new terms are expressly agreed at the time.
(3) When Service Charges, the Care Management Fee and the Package Management Fee are varied in accordance with clause C5(1), this Agreement will be amended accordingly.
(4) Recommenced Services will be provided pursuant to this Agreement, unless a variation or new terms are expressly agreed at the time.
(5) This Agreement will be deemed to have been varied to accord with any applicable amendment to the Aged Care Act from time to time; for example, the rights and obligations of consumers and approved providers