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Consumer Rights
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The City of Marion is committed to providing relevant, individual and quality services through its Community Care Team in-line with Home and Community Care National Service Standards. Please advise us if you have any specific needs.
Scope
These Consumer Rights relate to anyone who uses, or intends to use, a Community Care Service. Community Care Services include the following:
- Home Maintenance - home maintenance, gutter clean, safety & security, garden support
- Home Support - spring clean, short term, medium term & long term home support
- Community Transport - Community Bus & Volunteer social & shopping support
Advocate
You are entitled to an advocate of your choice to support you. This can be a family member, Carer, friend, neighbour or other representative of your choice, or you may call on the following agencies for support or someone to act on your behalf:
- Aged Rights Advocacy Service Inc - Phone 08 8232 5377, Fax 08 8232 5388, Country toll free 1800 700 600, email aras@agedrights.asn.au or visit their website www.sa.agedrights.asn.au
- Disability Advocacy & Complaints Service of SA Inc - Phone 8234 5699, Fax 08 8234 6044, TTY 08 8234 2229 or email drigney@dacssa.org.au or visit their website www.dacssa.org.au
Language support
If you need support to translate any information, please contact the Telephone Interpreter Service (TIS) on 131 450. There is a brief outline of Community Care services available in English and 13 languages, in written and audio formats, on the City of Marion website. Click on Language Services and follow the prompts. If you choose to contact us directly, we can post, fax or email you the information.
- The written translations are in Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Dutch, Filipino (Tagalog), German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Polish, Russian, Tamil and Vietnamese.
- The audio segments are available in Arabic, Cantonese, Dutch, Filipino (Tagalog), German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, Tamil and Vietnamese.
Confidentiality
Staff and Volunteers will maintain a high standard of confidentiality in relation to your personal information.
The following guidelines will be followed to ensure your information is secure and kept confidential:
- Any information that is obtained by the Community Care Team relating to consumers, will be regarded as confidential and will not be used for any purpose other than that for which it is given.
- Personal information collected will be limited to that which is relevant and necessary to the individual’s involvement with the Community Care Team.
- Personal information will not be released without prior consent from the individual or their advocate or legal guardian. The date that permission was obtained, and who gave it, is recorded.
- The individual has the right to view any personal information held by the Community Care Team.
- Information of a personal nature will be stored securely.
- Personal information will be disposed of in a way which maintains confidentiality.
Community Care staff and volunteers have a duty of care to share an individual’s personal information to appropriate staff in instances where it is necessary for ensuring both the individual’s and the staff/volunteers personal and/or emotional safety. All other information will be protected.
The following services receive funding from Home & Community Care (an initiative of the Department for Families and Communities and the Office for the Ageing) and the City of Marion:
Community Care
Home maintenance, gutter cleaning, safety & security, garden support, short term, medium term or long term home support, volunteer transport & shopping support, community bus, subsidy and trade register.
When you request a service, you will be asked a series of questions. The questions are asked so that we can
1)determine your eligibility for the service,
2)provide the services best suited to your individual needs and
3)keep statistics so that we can account for our spending and measure our performance.
This non identifying, statistical information is collected as part of our reporting requirements for Home & Community Care (HACC). Your permision will be sought before this statistical information is sent to HACC. You have the right to refuse permission. If you refuse permission, this will not affect any services you may be eligible for.
Consumer Contribution
There is a fee for most Community Care Services. The money collected from these fees goes back into the service so that more people can be assisted.
The services are subsidised by Council and Home and Community Care and as such are expected to be affordable to those in receipt of a full pension, benefit or similar income.
If, however, you are in receipt of a full pension, or equivalent and have additional expenses which make it difficult for you to afford the City of Marion Community Care Services, you may apply for a payment plan or be assessed for a reduction or waiver of labour fees.
The outcome of the assessment will be determined by the number of factors listed below affecting you, as well as the extent to which these factors impact on your capacity to pay:
- Medical and other health professional fees
- Pharmaceutical expenses, prescriptions, medicines, products etc
- Cost of aids and equipment required
- Fees from a range of community services
- Cost of special food or clothing required
- Costs relating to essential home or vehicle maintenance, repair or modification
- Other outstanding debts or expenses which limit capacity to pay
The decision will be made in consultation with you with an aim of achieving mutual agreement. Every effort will be made to provide services to you if you have difficulty paying bills for other reasons eg diminished capacity to understand and manage financial matters.
The following guidelines will apply:-
- Services will remain affordable according to individual circumstances
- No eligible person will be denied a service on the grounds of their incapacity to pay for that service
- Services will go to those in greatest need, having regard to the individual’s comparative need for a service and not on the individual’s capacity to pay
- Consumers in like situations will be charged a similar rate
- Special considerations will be given to the needs of consumers who use multiple services and/or multiple service providers or who have to pay additional costs associated with their condition and/or situation
- Effective appeals and grievance procedures will be made known to clients
Fees and donations collected will be used for the provision of Community Care Services
Guidelines for Collecting Consumer Contribution
Costs relating to services will be explained upon your initial contact. You will be advised of the expectation for payment on the day that the service is received. You will be asked whether you will have any difficulty meeting the payment on the day. If you indicate that you may have difficulties, the following options will be discussed and the most suitable option agreed upon.
Payment Options:
- Initiate a payment plan spreading out the cost over a manageable period of time.
- Reduce the hourly labour cost to an affordable amount (assessment required).
- Waive the fee for labour (assessment required).
- A combination of the above.
Unfortunately resources do not provide a capacity to waive or reduce the cost of materials used to provide the service.
You are encouraged to contact Community Care staff at any time that you experience difficulties with meeting the cost of any service.
If you do not indicate any financial difficulties or hardship, an invoice will be issued at the time that the service is provided. If the payment is not made on the day, you will be advised that payment is due within fourteen days.
Consumer Feedback and Complaints
The City of Marion provides a range of services to older members of the community, younger people with a disability and their Carers.
To ensure services provided through its Community Care Services are maintained at a high standard, Council staff welcome any comments from those who use the services or apply to use them.
Your right to express concerns or complain is extremely important and will be encouraged. We will actively seek your comments because they are an essential component of continuous improvement.
Services to you will not be affected as a result of any complaint you may make.
Definition
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction.
Anyone who uses, or intends to use, a Community Care Service has the right to complain or raise issues of concern about any aspect of that service.
Commitment to the Consumer
Community Care staff will endeavour to create an environment which makes you feel safe and comfortable enough to express any concerns or complaints you have. Your comments will be actively sought and acknowledged as an important aspect of service review.
Anyone making a complaint about a service is entitled and shall receive a prompt response which is fair and non discriminatory.
Intimidation or threats of reprisals against anyone wishing to make a complaint will not be tolerated. Any claims of this behaviour should be reported immediately. Your report will be treated seriously and dealt with promptly.
Complaints Procedure
Complaints or concerns should initially be directed to the appropriate Community Care staff or Volunteer. If the issue is not immediately resolved, Community Care staff will notify the Unit Coordinator, Community Care. Contact may be in writing, over the telephone or in person. You may appoint someone of your choice to act on your behalf, if you wish.
Simple Complaints
A complaint will be classified as a simple complaint if it is likely to be easily resolved eg the Community Bus is running late, the maintenance person has not arrived etc. It is expected complaints of a simple nature will be responded to immediately or within one working day.
Serious or Complex Complaints
A serious complaint is one which refers to claims of misconduct of staff or Volunteers, breach of confidentiality, suspicion of discrimination etc. A complex complaint is one that can not be resolved until an investigation has been conducted. The expected Code of Conduct for staff is outlines in the Council's Human Resource Policy HR-1, Position Descriptions and HACC National Servcie Standards.
In the event of a complaint of a serious or complex nature, the Program Coordinator will make every effort to provide a response as soon as possible or within one week of receiving the complaint. The Council's Human Resource Policy HR-3 will be used to follow the outlines Performance Mangement process. The Community Care Complaints Procedure will be followed and a Community Care Complaints Form will be completed with details of the investigation process and the outcome. This Form and other documentation will be kept within the Community Care Section for a twelve month period and then filed in archives. You have the right to access the Community Care Complaints Form.
If you are:-
- unhappy with the Program Coordinator’s response to your complaint,
- if the Program Coordinator is unavailable and Community Care staff are unable to assist, or
- if the complaint is about the Program Coordinator,
you can be directed to the Manager, Community Development Department. The Manager will respond as soon as possible or within two weeks of receiving your complaint.
Appeal Procedure
If you are not satisfied with a decision made by the Manager, Community Development Department, you have a right right to appeal against that decision. The appeal process will be explained and the Application For Review Of Decision Form provided for you to complete. Assistance to complete the form will be offered or you can have an advocate (eg family member, friend or independent party) act on your behalf.
Unresolved Complaints
Although every effort will be made within Council to reach a conclusion which resolves the situation, it is recognised that this may not always be possible.
If you are not satisfied with a decision or response, you have a right to approach any of the following agencies:
Home & Community Care 8266 6852
State Ombudsman 8226 8699
Disability Advocacy & Complaints Service 8234 5699
Aged Rights Advocacy Service 8232 5377
The Aged Rights Advocacy Service is available to assist older people with information about your rights. They can also be contacted if an advocate is required.
Community Care Services are subject to availability of resources and may vary from time to time.
If you need information regarding services provided by other agencies, contact:
Commonwealth Carelink - Phone: 1800 052 222
Feedback
We encourage you to provide feedback about the services you receive.
If you have a complaint, please contact us first as every effort will be made within Council to reach a satisfactory conclusion. However it is recognised that this may not always be possible. If this is so, you may contact any of the following agencies for support:
- State Ombudsman - Phone 08 8226 8699 or email ombudsman@ombudsman.sa.gov.au
- Aged Rights Advocacy Service Inc - Phone 08 8232 5377, Fax 08 8232 5388, Country toll free 1800 700 600, email aras@agedrights.asn.au or visit their website www.sa.agedrights.asn.au
- Disability Advocacy & Complaints Service of SA Inc - Phone 8234 5699, Fax 08 8234 6044, TTY 08 8234 2229, email drigney@dacssa.org.au or vist their website www.dacssa.org.au
Brief information about our Community Care services is available in other languages in written and audio formats, available on this website .
If you need assistance with Translation or Interpreting, support may be available through the following agencies:
- Telephone and Interpreting Service (TIS) - Phone 131 450.
- Ethnic Link - Southern Office - Phone 08 8275 0711.
- Seniors Information Service - Phone 08 8232 1441 or Country Toll Free 1800 636 368
For further information please contact Community Care Team on 8375 6649 or by email community.care@marion.sa.gov.au
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