Rights & Responsibilities

As a person using Home Support Services, the following are your rights.

The Council recognises your right to:

• safe and high quality care
• be treated with dignity and respect, with your privacy respected
• be assessed for access to services without discrimination
• have my identity, culture & diversity valued and supported
• choose the care and services that best meet your assessed needs, from the community care services that can be provided and within the limits of the resources available
• participate in making decisions that affect you
• live without abuse and neglect 
• pursue any complaint about service provision without retribution
• choose a person to speak on your behalf for any purpose
• to be listened to and understood
• your independence
• access all information about my care, rights and services
• have control over and make decision about the personal aspects of my personal and social life - including where choices involve risk.

While you have a number of rights as a person receiving Home Support Services, you have some responsibilities to the people who provide you with care.

The Council asks that you:

• respect the rights of service providers and Council staff, including their right to work in a safe environment
• accept responsibility for the results of any decision you make which impacts on the delivery of services
• co-operate and assist Council staff to provide you with the services you have agreed are appropriate to your needs
• acknowledge that your needs may change and negotiate modifications of care and services as your needs change
• provide the information required to assist the service to develop, deliver and review a service plan.

In order to provide you with appropriate services, the Council needs to collect information that may be of a personal nature. In doing so, the Council respects your right to privacy.

Information the Council collects

When meeting with you for the first time, we ask questions about you and your circumstances. This information will be used to assist in providing you with suitable support, services and programs.

The information required is dependent on the type of service or program requested.

The information collected may include but is not necessarily limited to the following:

• Your name, address and telephone number
• Privacy consent forms
• Your past and current health
• Details of family members including spouse, next of kin and person(s) we may need to contact in an emergency
• Some financial information (eg housing and pension status).

Whilst you are receiving assistance from the Council, we may record new or additional information that helps provide you with the correct services to suit your changing needs.

What the Council does with the information

Any information provided by you or your authorised representative is documented and entered into the Council’s electronic database. All information is kept secure at all times.

Limited information may also be provided to the Commonwealth Department of Health and used occasionally for management, research, and statistical analysis.

In accordance with Privacy Legislation, you can be assured that your personal information will be protected. No personal details are released – only statistical information.

The Council ensures that only those involved directly with your care have access to your details. In addition, only authorised members of staff have access to your information.  

If you have any concerns or require further information in regard to Privacy & Confidentiality please contact the Community Services unit on 08 8366 4611.