Advocacy Policy

1. Policy Purpose

House on the Hill Occupational Therapy Pty Ltd, ABN – 93 623 368 963 (“us”, “we”, or “our”)  are an Occupational Therapy provider that specialises in the provision of paediatric services. This policy is intended to describe how a participant can access an independent advocate and our role in supporting this process.  

2. Advocacy

It is your right to have an independent advocate support you when interacting with us.  We are fully committed to these rights and as such are able to assist you in finding an advocate if required.  Please speak to a member of staff if you require help in finding an independent advocate, or contact any of the following organisations for their assistance with this process:

ACT Disability Aged Carer Advocacy Service (ADACAS)

Phone: (02) 6242 5060

Email:  adacas@adacas.org.au

Advocacy for Inclusion Incorporated

Phone: (02) 6257 4005

Email:  info@advocacyforinclusion.org 

National Disability Advocacy Program (NDAP)

Use the Disability Advocacy Finder:

https://disabilityadvocacyfinder.dss.gov.au/disability/ndap

Child Protection Policy

1. Policy Purpose

House on the Hill Occupational Therapy Pty Ltd, ABN – 93 623 368 963 (“us”, “we”, or “our”)  are an Occupational Therapy provider that specialises in the provision of paediatric services. This policy is intended to describe our child protection obligations and how they are managed. 

2. Child Protection

In addition to our mandatory statutory reporting obligations all of our staff have a responsibility to act to protect children and young people from abuse and neglect.  As such it is our (and our staffs) role to do the following:

• Call the Police on 000 to report when there is an immediate risk of harm or threat to life to a child or young person.
• Achieve our mandatory reporting obligations by reporting suspected non-accidental injury or sexual abuse of a child or young person to Child and Youth Protection Services using the following contact details:

Phone:  1300 556 728 (mandated reporters – 24/7)

Phone:  1300 556 729 (voluntary reports/general public – 24/7)

Email:  childprotection@act.gov.au

Online: https://form.act.gov.au/smartforms/csd/child-concern-report

• Respond in accordance with the guide – Keeping Children and Young People Safe: A shared community responsibility – A guide to reporting child abuse and neglect in the ACT
• Help recognize where suspected abuse and neglect has occurred.
• Protect children and young people from abuse by providing appropriate responses.
• Facilitate a child or young person in seeking help.
• Provide support to the child or young person.
• Assist a child or young person in developing skills for non-coercive, positive relationships.
• Complete training on reporting processes on an annual basis.

When there is an investigation of child abuse and/or neglect of a young person by the Child and Youth Protection Services and/or the Australian Federal Police our staff will provide full cooperation with them.

3. Our Responsibilities

Our senior management team is responsible for implementing this policy and ensuring the actions and procedures to support compliance with the Children and Young People Act 2008 are followed. 

In the provision of our services our staff have contact with children and their families and are therefore responsible for complying with mandatory reporting obligations.  This includes notifying Child and Youth Protection Services when they reasonably believe that a child or young person has encountered, or is experiencing, non-accidental physical injury and/or sexual abuse.  

Additionally where our staff fall under voluntary reporting obligations of the Children and Young People Act 2008, they are expected to report suspected abuse or neglect of a child or young person. 

As an organisation we are committed to providing a safe and positive environment for all our participants and will review this policy regularly.

4. Child Protection Legislation and Definitions

We are committed to being compliant with the legislation for the protection and wellbeing of children and young people – Children and Young People Act 2008 (ACT).

The definition of key terms used in this policy, such as ‘children’, ‘young person’, ‘abuse’, ‘neglect’, ‘mandated reporters’, ‘voluntary reporters’ should be considered to match those described in the following guide:

Keeping Children and Young People Safe: A shared community responsibility – A guide to reporting child abuse and neglect in the ACT. 

This guide is available from the following sources:

• http://www.communityservices.act.gov.au/ocyfs/publications/keeping-children-and-young-people-safe
• Child and Youth Protection Services on 1300 556 728
• Childprotection@act.gov.au

This guide forms the overarching basis for our actions in circumstances involving abuse or neglect that occurs to a child or young person.

5. Contact Details

To discuss this policy or how it is applied please contact us using the following details:

• Speak directly with a staff member
• Submit a feedback form on our website:  www.hothpts.com.au/feedback
• Send an email:  enquiry@hothpts.com.au
• By phone:  0497 902 173
• By post: Child Protection, House on the Hill Occupational Therapy Pty Ltd, 5 O’Hagan Street, Latham, Canberra, ACT, 2615

6. Complaints

For complaints about this policy or how it is applied please refer to our Complaints Policy.

Conflicts of Interest

1. Policy Purpose

House on the Hill Occupational Therapy Pty Ltd, ABN – 93 623 368 963 (“us”, “we”, or “our”)  are an Occupational Therapy provider that specialises in the provision of paediatric therapy services. This policy is intended to describe how we manage conflicts of interest related to a participant’s provision of supports and ensure that no participant is given preferential treatment over another. 

2. Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest is when a person working with / for us, could personally benefit from their work or be influenced in how they do their work for their own advantage.

We actively manage existing and / or potential conflicts of interest that could negatively impact or influence the provision of a participant’s services. This is part of our commitment to encourage a participant’s choice and control, by providing them with clear and accurate information. By transparently managing conflicts of interest we are acting in the best interests of participants to protect them from harm or disadvantage.

We use governance processes to ensure conflicts of interest relating to a person or participants’ work / volunteering activities are identified or declared, recorded and managed / resolved. 

Conflicts of interest, whether perceived or actual, can occur naturally and are not necessarily an indication of impropriety, but it is important that they are managed effectively. 

3. Conflict of Interest Process

• Senior management team reviews the Conflicts of Interest Register at their monthly Business Meetings.
• Prior to starting, new staff are required to declare any other current and known future employment, with the details recorded on our Staff Screening Register.
• During their induction with us, staff are required to read and confirm they have understood all our policies including this one.  They will have the opportunity to seek clarification of this policy and declare any additional conflicts of interests such as personal relationships or gifts.  These will be recorded on the Conflicts of Interest Register and appropriate action taken.
• Staff are not permitted to receive personal gifts, including money, from participants.  There are special occasions such as a staff member’s Birthday or Christmas time, where a participant may want to show their appreciation.  A homemade or bought gift (e.g. small box of chocolates) is permitted only on these special occasions, as long as it’s under AUD$20 in total value.  Gifts of money are never permitted and must not be accepted, or must be returned to the participant if left for staff.
• As part of a participant’s intake process with us we provide them with all of our policies that are appropriate to them, including this one.  They are required to confirm they have read and understood these and have the opportunity to enquire about them.
• If a participant has a conflict of interest, such as a previously undeclared personal relationship with a staff member or a competing business, this should be declared, recorded and managed using the Conflicts of Interest Register.
• When a participant asks our staff for referrals to other service providers, we are able to provide a list of options we deem suitable for their needs. We will ensure the participant knows this isn’t every option available to them and it’s their responsibility to research and choose the most appropriate provider to meet their goals.
• When an actual or potential conflict or interest is identified, the affected participants will be notified.  We will work with the participant to either resolve or manage the conflict using a process agreed between them and us.  This will be recorded on our Conflicts of Interest Register.
• Breaches of our Conflict of Interest Policy are managed by the Senior Management Team, through staff supervision, performance management and disciplinary procedures.

4. Our Responsibilities

Our Senior Management Team is responsible for implementing this policy and ensuring the actions and procedures to support conflicts of interest are compliant and followed. However, all members of our organisation have a responsibility to be transparent and forthcoming about actual or potential conflicts, so they can be properly managed.

Cultural Diversities, Values and Beliefs Policy

1. Policy Purpose

House on the Hill Occupational Therapy Pty Ltd, ABN – 93 623 368 963 (“us”, “we”, or “our”)  are an Occupational Therapy provider that specialises in the provision of paediatric services. This policy is intended to describe how we respect and uphold the cultural diversities, values and beliefs of our participants.  

2. Cultural Diversities, Values and Beliefs Policy

We are committed to adopting, promoting and conserving a culture of diversity, inclusion and participation.  Discrimination against a person because of their differences, such as disability, gender/identity/expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity or religion will not be tolerated. As such we subscribe to the following philosophies: 

• We value and respect diversity.
• Differences are accepted and respected without bias.
• We actively promote an environment that welcomes and values diversity.
• We provide equal opportunities for participants both in accessing and in the provision of services we offer.
• Recognise a participant’s right to choice and control.

3. Processes

Our service delivery involves supporting participants to work towards their goals and needs, taking into account their differences.  Some of the ways we achieve this are as follows:

• Employing and developing a diverse and culturally aware staff.
• Delivering services in a way that respects an individuals’ values, beliefs and cultural diversity.
• Ensuring that our service delivery approach is flexible and aligned to the participants goals, focusing on their strengths and giving specific consideration to their family, extended family, kinship, language, spiritual and cultural connections.
• Ensuring our policies and strategies are inclusive, treat all people equally and consider diversity, whilst utilising feedback to inform their basis.
• Working with key stakeholders and other organisations to encourage inclusion and engagement of participants within their community.
• Ensuring we uphold and promote participants’ human rights, privacy and self determination.
• Supporting participants in accessing other services related to their culture, values and beliefs.

4. Our Responsibilities

Our senior management team are responsible for implementing this policy and ensuring that this policy is promoted and adhered to by staff members, and where appropriate users of our services. 

 

Feedback and Complaints Policy

1. Policy Purpose

House on the Hill Occupational Therapy Pty Ltd, ABN – 93 623 368 963 (“us”, “we”, or “our”)  are an Occupational Therapy provider that specialises in the provision of paediatric services. This policy is intended to provide information regarding our feedback and complaints processes in relation to the services we provide.  We will treat all feedback and complaints seriously, sensitively and confidentially, furthermore we are committed to using this information to improve our services.

2. Feedback

Both positive and negative feedback about our services is encouraged and is important to help us understand how we can make our services better. Feedback can be provided by any of the methods listed in section 4. of this policy.

3. Complaints

In the first instance we recommend that anyone wishing to make a complaint does so directly to a member of staff. Should a complaint not be resolved satisfactorily or promptly it will be escalated to our senior management team.

A complaint can be submitted to us by any of the methods listed in section 4. of this policy.

After a complaint has been submitted to us (and when the complainant has provided contact details), we will acknowledge our receipt within 2 working days and update you on it’s status as regularly as practicable. Complaints or grievances will be responded to as soon as possible and within 28 days of the initial acknowledgement. If a full response cannot be provided within 28 days of the acknowledgement an update stating the expected response timescale will be provided.

The following organisations can be contacted should you feel dissatisfied with how the complaint has been handled:

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

Complaints about NDIS service providers or the support they provide can be made at any time to the NDIS Commission using the following contact details:

• Online:  www.ndiscommission.gov.au
• By phone:  1800 035 544

National Disability Insurance Agency

The NDIA or Commonwealth Ombudsman should be contacted directly if the complaint is specifically about the NDIA, using the following contact details:

NDIA

• By phone:  1800 800 110
• By email:  feedback@ndis.gov.au

Commonwealth Ombudsman

• By phone:  1300 362 072
• Online:  www.ombudsman.gov.au

Access Canberra

Through administering fair trading legislation Access Canberra protects and helps the community and businesses in the ACT.  Access Canberra provides consumer information and ensures businesses are informed of their responsibilities and obligations under the Australian Consumer Law.  Access Canberra is also responsible for responding to complaints about businesses operating in the ACT.

Complaints to Access Canberra can be made using the following contact details:

• Online:  www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/app/forms/accesscanberra_complaint

• By phone:  13 22 81

4. Contact Details

Listed below are the methods by which you can provide feedback and complaints:

• Speak directly with a staff member
• Submit a feedback/complaint form on our website*:  www.hothpts.com.au/complaints
• Send an email:  enquiry@hothpts.com.au
• By phone:  0497 902 173
• By post:  Feedback and Complaints, House on the Hill Occupational Therapy Pty Ltd, 5 O’Hagan Street, Latham, Canberra, ACT, 2615

*If you would like to submit your feedback or complaint on our website anonymously please use the following details (these fields are required to validate the form before it can be sent):

Name:  Anonymous

Telephone:  0497 902 173

Email Address:  anonymous@anonymous.com.au

Message:  <– this should be your actual content for the feedback/complaint you would like to tell us about –>

 

Incident Management Policy

1. Policy Purpose

House on the Hill Occupational Therapy Pty Ltd, ABN – 93 623 368 963 (“us”, “we”, or “our”)  are an Occupational Therapy provider that specialises in the provision of paediatric services. This policy is intended to explain how we identify, record, manage and report incidents in accordance with the NDIS Commission guidance.

2. Incident Management Policy

Our incident management system includes the following areas as mandated by the NDIS Commission:

• Acts, omissions, events or circumstances that occur in connection with providing NDIS supports or services to a person with disability and have, or could have, caused harm to the person with disability 
• Acts by a person with disability that occur in connection with providing NDIS supports or services to the person with disability and which have caused serious harm, or a risk of serious harm, to another person 
• Reportable incidents that have or are alleged to have occurred in connection with providing NDIS supports or services to a person with disability

(*source:https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2019-06/detailed-guidance-incident-management-systems-detailed-guidance-regi.pdf)

When a member of staff identifies a Reportable Incident by using the indicators and definitions from section 4 below, we will do the following:

• Immediately provide support to the person impacted by the incident to ensure their safety and wellbeing.
• The reporting staff member will notify the senior management team who will assume responsibility for notifying the NDIS Commission.
• The reporting staff member and senior management team together will immediately complete our NDIS Reportable Incident Register and implement any remedial measures identified as soon as possible.
• The senior management team will Notify the NDIS Commission via their portal within 24 hours of being notified by the reporting staff member.
• The senior management team will submit a 5 Day Form via the NDIS Commission portal within 5 business days of being notified by the reporting staff member.
• If required the senior management team will submit a final report via the NDIS Commission portal.

 3. Our Responsibilities

Our senior management team is responsible for implementing this policy and ensuring it’s actions and procedures are compliant with the NDIS Commission guidance.  All staff members are required to adhere to this policy, take responsibility for reporting appropriate incidents and seek clarification with the senior management team on whether an incident should be reported.

4. Incident Management Legislation and Definitions

Reportable incidents are when a particular act or event has happened (or alleged to have happened) in connection with the provision of supports/services by a registered NDIS provider, including the following:

• The death of a person with disability
• Serious injury of a person with disability
• Abuse or neglect of a person with disability
• Unlawful sexual or physical contact with, or assault of, a person with disability
• Sexual misconduct, committed against, or in the presence of, a person with disability, including grooming of the person with disability for sexual activity
• Unauthorised use of restrictive practices in relation to a person with disability.

The following incident types are to be considered indicators of reportable incidents, more complete definitions can be found in the NDIS Commission Incident Management systems guide (see definitions section for link):

• Physical abuse, unlawful physical contact or physical assault
• Sexual contact, sexual assault or sexual misconduct 
• Psychological, emotional or verbal abuse
• Domestic violence
• Neglect 
• Financial abuse

Further information on the Reportable Incidents Process and our responsibilities as a Provider can be found on the NDIS Commission Website here:

https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/providers/incident-management-and-reportable-incidents

The NDIS Commission – Incident Management Systems documentation forms our overarching guide to the definitions and legislation we must adhere to for Reportable Incidents, the guide be found here:

https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2019-06/detailed-guidance-incident-management-systems-detailed-guidance-regi.pdf

Information Management Policy

1. Introduction

House on the Hill Occupational Therapy Pty Ltd, ABN – 93 623 368 963 (“us”, “we”, or “our”)  are an Occupational Therapy provider that specialises in the provision of paediatric services. As such your privacy and right to control how your personal information is collected and used is of vital concern to us.

1.1 Who is this Information Management Policy for?

The intended audience for this Information Management Policy is as follows:

• A person for whom we may have been given or hold personal information.
• An individual who is, was or wants to be employed by us.
• A consultant, contractor, vendor or supplier of services or goods to us.

1.2 The Privacy Act 1988

The Privacy Act 1988 (the Privacy Act) and it’s 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs)  regulate how Australian Government agencies and some organisations handle personal information.  

This information management policy is written in line with both the Privacy Act and the APPs that apply to APP entities.

For further information about the Privacy Act visit the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) website.

1.3 House on the Hill Occupational Therapy Pty Ltd and privacy

This Information Management Policy describes our compliance with the Privacy Act. In providing our services we may collect, hold, use or disclose your personal information, and we are committed to only do this in accordance with the Privacy Act. The Privacy Act only applies in the event of us receiving personal information about you.

1.4 Information covered under this Information Management Policy

This Information Management Policy is applicable to all personal information collected by us, including that collected through our websites, social media and information shared with us by other service providers. This Policy covers how we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information, including any financial information you provide to us. 

1.5 Information held by contractors

Should contractors (including sub-contractors) be involved in our service provision they will be contractually bound to comply with the same privacy requirements as us.

2. Our personal information handling practices

2.1 Collection of personal information

We may collect personal information from you, your representative or a third party (e.g. schools or other service providers), using various methods including electronic and paper correspondence. 

Your personal information records will relate to your service provision with us and we will only ask you for personal information which we need.  This is in accordance with the Privacy Act which requires that we collect information for a purpose that is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, a function or activity we provide.

The Privacy Act requires us to notify you of matters including the following when we collect personal information:

• Our information collection purposes.
• Any individual/organisation to whom the information is usually disclosed. 
• When there is a requirement or authorisation by law to perform the collection.

We may provide these notifications via Privacy Notices included in our onboarding process and other paper/electronic based mechanisms.

2.2 Types of personal information collected and held

Depending on the context of the collection we may collect and hold the following types of personal information in performing our service provision:

• Name, address and contact details (e.g. phone and email).
• Information about your/your childs’ identity (e.g. date of birth).
• Video/audio recordings and photographs of you/your child.
• Personal circumstances information (e.g. marital status, age, gender, occupation and relevant information about your partner or children).
• Financial information (e.g. bank account details, payment details).
• Employment information (e.g. name of your workplace).
• Information about your background (e.g. your preferred language to speak).
• Government identifiers (e.g. Medicare number).
• Information about assistance provided to you under the NDIS.

Where appropriate we may also collect and hold sensitive information about you/your child including:

• Your childs’ ethnic/racial origins.
• Your childs’ health (e.g. your childs’ medical history and any injury/disability your child may have).
• Information about the supports or services your child receives or has received, including those under the NDIS.
• Information about the people who provide supports or services to your child.

2.3 How we collect and hold personal information

We collect personal information through various methods including:

• Paper-based forms.
• Electronic forms (including online forms).
• Face to face meetings.
• Telephone communications.
• Email communications.
• Our website.
• Our social media websites and accounts.

We hold personal information in formats including paper-based and electronic records. To ensure your personal information is held and disposed of securely we store it in line with the Australian Government records management regime, this includes the Archives Act 1983, Records Authorities and General Disposal Authorities. 

2.4 Purposes for which personal information is collected, held, used and disclosed

We collect and hold personal information for purposes relating to our service provision including:

• Performing personnel and employment activities relating to our staff/contractors.
• Performing any required legislative and administrative functions.
• Complaints handling.

We will provide information about our collection purposes at the point of collection and we will only use/disclose this information for our primary collection purposes. We will only use your personal information for secondary purposes where we are able to do so in compliance with the Privacy Act. Where we have your consent or where we are otherwise legally able or required to do so, we may disclose personal information collected and held by us to other relevant parties, including the following:

• Regulatory bodies.
• Professional associations.
• Other Commonwealth, state or territory agencies. 
• Another service provider.
• A school or educational establishment.
• A medical or GP facility.

2.5 Accessing and correcting your personal information

Under the Privacy Act you have the right to both access personal information held about you and request corrections to it if you think the information is incomplete, inaccurate, out-of-date, misleading or irrelevant. We may however decline access in some circumstances, as set out in the Privacy Act (e.g. where the personal information held is an opinion, not an objective fact).

Accessing or correcting the personal information we hold about you can be sought by contacting us using the contact details contained in section 5.2 of this Policy. 

2.6 Accidental or unauthorised disclosure of personal information

An accidental or unauthorised disclosure of personal information will be taken seriously and dealt with promptly. If we have reason to suspect a data breach has occurred, we will undertake an assessment in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breach Scheme.  Should we determine there has been an eligible data breach, we will notify you as soon as reasonably practicable.

2.7 Data security

Only authorised personnel have access to personal information held by us. Personal information contained in both electronic and paper records is protected in line with Australian Government security policies. Audits are conducted to ensure we adhere to our protective and computer security policies.

2.8 Our website

Our website is administered by our own technical staff. Personal information is generally only collected by us from our website where a person has chosen to provide it. Some technical information, which does not reveal your identity, may be recorded if you visit our website. This includes the date/time of your visit to our website, your IP or server address and your general locality. This information is used only for internal purposes. We would only attempt to identify you from your browsing in exceptional circumstances, such as an investigation into the inappropriate use of the website.

If a feature of our website is provided by third parties they may capture and store your personal information outside Australia. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties and encourage you to research their policies and make your own decisions regarding their reliability. Our website may also contain links to other websites, of which we are not responsible for their content and privacy practices. It is your responsibility to research and assess the reliability of the material found and the privacy policies of any other websites you visit.

2.9 Cookies

Cookies are a technology used to maintain contact with a user throughout a website session. A cookie is a small file stored by your web browser software on your computer when you access a website. If we provide a cookie to a user browsing our website it allows us to identify them individually.

2.10 Electronic communication

You should be aware of the risks involved when sending personal information to us electronically (e.g. via email or our website). Although there are still risks involved with other communication methods such as phone calls or post, you can use these if you prefer. We will only use/disclose any personal information provided, such as email addresses, for it’s primary provision purpose.

2.11 Disclosure of personal information overseas

Your personal information may be disclosed by us to overseas recipients in the following situations:

• Providing personal information to overseas consultants where consent has been given for this or we are legally able/required to provide this information.
• Providing personal information to recipients using a web-based system where data is stored on an overseas server.
• Providing personal information to foreign governments and law enforcement agencies (in limited circumstances and where authorised by law).

To find out if we have given your information to another country please contact us using the contact details in section 5.2 of this Policy.

3. Complaints

3.1 Making a complaint

Please contact us using the contact details in section 5.2 of this Policy or via the complaint form on our website if you believe we may have breached your privacy rights.

3.2 Our complaints handling process

If you provide us with your contact details we will respond to your complaint/request promptly. We take complaints seriously and are committed to resolving them quickly and fairly. We can assure you that by making a complaint you will not suffer negative treatment.

3.3 Making a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)

If you are dissatisfied with how we initially handled your complaint or wish to make a privacy complaint against us, you can also contact the OAIC to make a complaint. Please visit the OAIC website for further information about their privacy complaint process. If you complain directly to the OAIC rather than us, they might recommend you attempt complaint resolution with us in the first instance.

4. Information Management Policy updates

This Information Management Policy will be reviewed regularly and updated as required.

5. How to contact us

5.1 Requests to access or correct personal information and general enquiries

In the event of any of the following please contact the House on the Hill Team using the contact details set out in section 5.2 of this Policy:

• Question how your personal information is collected, held, used or disclosed.
• Obtain access to or seek correction of your personal information.
• Ask questions about this Information Management Policy.
• You would like to complain about a breach of your privacy.
• To receive a free copy of this policy in a different format (e.g. hard copy, different language).

5.2 Contact details

Email: enquiry@hothpts.com.au

Telephone: 0497 902 173

Post: Enquiries, House on the Hill Occupational Therapy Pty Ltd, 5 O’Hagan Street, Latham, ACT, 2615

 

Privacy and Dignity Policy

1. Policy Purpose

House on the Hill Occupational Therapy Pty Ltd, ABN – 93 623 368 963 (“us”, “we”, or “our”)  are an Occupational Therapy provider that specialises in the provision of paediatric services. We are fully committed to ensuring participants are aware and supported in their ability to exercise their rights and responsibilities.

2. Policy Objectives

The intention of our Privacy and Dignity policy is to provide direction to the organisation and staff to ensure each participant’s right to privacy and dignity is both respected and upheld at all times. This means participants have the right to access supports that: 

• Respect and uphold their dignity and right to privacy.
• Respect their values, beliefs, culture and diversity.
• Promote, uphold and respect their legal and human rights.
• Are without discrimination, abuse, violence or neglect.

3. Our Responsibility

It is our responsibility to do the following:

• Inform you about your rights and uphold them.
• For the supports we provide we will assist participants to maximise their independence, make informed choices and exercise control.
• Provide supports in a way that promotes, upholds and respects participants’ rights to self determination, freedom of expression and decision making.
• Deliver services to participants which support their needs and goals, are safe, appropriate and culturally relevant.
• Ensure our service provision accounts for and is respectful of participants’ culture and lifestyle as well as their religious and linguistic preferences.
• Act towards participants respectfully, without discrimination and with dignity, courtesy and fairness.
• During our service delivery we should provide adequate time for participants to seek advice (if required) and consider and assess their support options.
• Provide details about our services, support options and fees, as well as alternative support options, both internal and external to us.
• Support a participants’ choice in accessing an independent (or otherwise) advocate.
• Respect participants’ right to intimacy, sexual expression and autonomy.
• Uphold participants’ with the ways in which they engage with their family, friends and community.
• Engage with participants about decisions regarding both their supports and our policies/programs.
• Ensure participants have the right to experience and learn from situations, including where an element of risk is involved.
• Safeguard participants personal information and only use it for the reasons for which it was collected.
• Assist participants in providing us with complaints and feedback about our services.
• Address complaints, feedback and enquiries about participants’ supports promptly.
• Where necessary, assist participants to connect with services external to us including advocates, interpreters and translators.
• Assist with the provision of participants having a person to speak on their behalf.
• Ensure we always portray participants positively in all public facing mediums.
• Ensure we interact with participants in an age appropriate and respectful manner.
• Ensure participants will be communicated about in a positive and accurate manner, upholding their human dignity.
• Ensure participants are treated with discretion, dignity, confidentiality and respect when dealing with matters involving their personal care.

4. Participants’ responsibility

It is the participants/families responsibility to do the following:

• Supply us with details that will assist us to best support you.
• Behave safely and respectfully towards our staff and other participants using our services.
• Inform us of relevant changes, or if you can’t keep an appointment/commitment with us. 
• Pay our invoices for fees associated with your services promptly.
• Provide us with feedback concerning our service and any improvements we can make.
• Inform us as soon as possible if you wish to terminate our services with you.

5 Privacy and Dignity Procedures 

The following procedures are intended to be carried out by staff in the delivery of services and supports when necessary (e.g. parent/carer is not present). 

5.1 Assistance with Personal Care 

5.1.1  

When assisting a participant with matters involving personal hygiene, help should be provided by staff in the least intrusive way and whenever possible they should promote a participants independence. 

5.1.2 

When a staff member is required to assist a participant to complete personal hygiene tasks, they should do so individually and not interact with other staff members during this time. 

5.1.3 

Our personal hygiene facilities are all private (not shared) and staff should observe the following:

• Only one staff member should provide assistance to a participant and ensure doors are closed for the duration of the task.
• In the unlikely event that a staff member should require assistance from another staff member, the assisting staff member should knock on the door to gain entry permission and if the participant refuses their entry they should respect their wishes, unless there is a risk to the participant or staff members safety.
• Any contact between staff members and participants should be consented to and involve minimal physical contact.
• Any cultural or religious expectations for dealing with privacy should be met by staff at all times.

5.2 Sexuality and Human Relationships 

5.2.1 

Participants’ privacy is respected in relation to their lifestyle choices and staff members should support these. 

5.2.2 

Staff members should respect participants’ rights to maintain human relationships and develop/express their sexuality.

5.2.3 

Staff should support the following in relation to participant’s personal relationships and sexual expression:

• Support participants to express their lifestyle choices suitably and where appropriate choose partners.
• Provide details (where appropriate) or be able to refer participants to another support/advisory agency.

6. Privacy and Complaints 

We treat all Privacy complaints confidentially, should a participant want to make a complaint they should refer to our Complaints Policy. Our Privacy and Dignity policy does not stop a participant from making a complaint to the OAIC at any time.

Translation and Interpreting Policy

1. Policy Purpose

House on the Hill Occupational Therapy Pty Ltd, ABN – 93 623 368 963 (“us”, “we”, or “our”)  are an Occupational Therapy provider that specialises in the provision of paediatric services. This policy is intended to describe how a participant can access translation and interpreting service and how we can facilitate this process.  

2. Translation and Interpreting

Should you require an interpreter or translator to assist your communication with us, one can be made available for free, please make this request to a member of staff.  If would like to make your own arrangements for an interpreter or translator please use the following contact details:

Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS)

Phone:  131 450

To assist those who are are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, the National Relay Service can be used to communicate with us using the following contact details:

National Relay Service

TTY (telephone typewriter) service phone: 133 677

Speak and Listen (speech-to-relay) users phone: 1300 555 727

Internet relay users can make an internet relay call through the National Relay Service website.