Terms and Conditions

When setting up your service agreement, DCV will seek information about how your funds are managed. It is your responsibility to ensure the information you provide to DCV is accurate at all times, including if your fund management type changes during your service agreement.

NDIS

If you are the recipient of NDIS funding you can have your funds managed in one of three ways, either NDIA managed, plan managed, or self managed.

NDIA Managed:

If your NDIS funds are NDIA managed, DCV will claim payment for your services directly from the NDIS through the relevant provider portal. If you have a new PACE plan, DCV will need to be listed as a provider of supports on your plan to ensure no disruption to services. If you have not yet moved to a PACE plan, DCV will create a service booking in the provider portal and submit payment requests to that service booking.

You can use the NDIS Participant Portal to view all claims made by DCV at all times.

Plan Managed:

If your NDIS funds are Plan Managed, DCV will send invoices directly to the Plan Manager you have engaged to manage your funds. Every plan manager has slightly different processes on how they manage and claim invoices from your plan, and it is best to speak with them to determine if their process works for you and your needs.

If you do not yet have a plan manager, please speak with our Intake team. Our team can assist you in finding the right plan manager for your needs.

Self Managed:

If your NDIS funds are self managed, DCV will send invoices directly to you or your nominated representative. Every invoice DCV issues will have the appropriate NDIS line items within it, to ensure you can very easily claim these invoices through the participant portal.

TAC

If you are the recipient of TAC funding, all of your supports will be claimed directly from the TAC using their CareOnline portal. The supports we claim will be in line with your support needs approval (SNA). You do not need to submit any manual claims yourself as a recipient of this funding.

WorkCover / WorkSafe

If you are the recipient of WorkCover or WorkSafe funding, DCV will claim your supports from the relevant insurer. Every insurer has a different process for claiming for supports provided, your claims manager can advise you of any processes that may impact you.

Private / Self Funded

If you are privately funding the supports DCV provides, we will work with you to determine the best way to invoice for your supports to ensure a low administrative burden.

DCV will seek payment for the provision of supports after the assigned support worker has confirmed delivery of the supports.
DCV implements an electronic timesheet submission process (known as “Skedulo) for all staff providing direct supports. This electronic method confirms the actual start date and time, and actual end date and time of the supports provided, as indicated by your support worker.

This electronic process has safeguards in place to ensure the support worker assigned to the shift has arrived at the right address for support provision prior to indicating supports have commenced.

DCV issue invoices in line with the actual start and end times of the shift, as indicated by the electronic timesheet submission process utilized by our support workers, except when:
• A shift is ended early by the participant, where charging is in line with our cancellations policy.
• The assigned support worker is unable to utilize the electronic timesheet method, where charging is in line with scheduled start and end times of the shift.

Following the electronic confirmation that supports have been provisioned, an invoice will be generated for payment and issued via one (or more) of the following methods:
• If the participant has nominated NDIS to manage the funding, DCV will claim payment for these supports via the MyPlace Provider Portal through PRODA; and/or
• If the participant has chosen to engage a plan manager to manage the funding, DCV will claim payment via an invoice addressed to the participant, from the nominated plan manager; and/or
• If the participant has chosen to self-manage their funding under this service agreement, DCV will send an invoice for payment after the support has been provided.

Please note; DCV pricing is in line with the NDIS price guide applicable at the time of supports being provisioned and is subject to change without notice from DCV. The current NDIS pricing can be found on the NDIS Website.

Invoices are issued to your nominated fund management provider (either to the NDIA directly, a nominated plan manager or you / your representative if self-managed) by DCV every weekday for all services provided on the previous day or days.

Invoices issued by DCV have a 7 day payment term. Invoices not paid within 7 days are considered overdue, and debt collection activities will begin to take place. DCV’s invoice generation system will send automated reminders to your nominated fund management provider when;
• Your invoice falls overdue;
• Your invoice is 7 days overdue;
• Your invoice is 14 days overdue; and when
• Your invoice is 21 days overdue

Overdue reminders will be followed up with phone calls, emails and if we are unable to contact you or your representative notices of demand will be sent via registered post.

If your invoice falls overdue by more than 21 days you may be provided notice from DCV that services will be withdrawn until such time as payment is made. If your invoice falls significantly overdue, recovery action may be commenced with an external debt collection agency. By signing this service agreement, you agree to essential information being shared with an external debt collection agency should DCV be required to engage them in order to receive payment for services delivered.

DCV will provide you with the services you request, and to the best of our ability will advise you if the services requested are likely to result in an ‘overspend’ of NDIS funds. An overspend of funds is where it is determined your NDIS plan does not have sufficient funds to cover the requested services.

If you continue to receive supports from DCV when your NDIS plan funds are exhausted this is considered to be ‘private-fee-for-service’, and you consent to invoices being issued to you or your representative for payment in line with the aforementioned terms.

DCV support workers can utilize their vehicles to help transport a participant while on shift. All DCV workers that have a suitable vehicle have the relevant insurances and provide this to DCV Head Office.

When a support worker utilizes their own vehicle, DCV incur a cost in addition to support workers’ time. This cost must be covered by the client, or through their NDIS plan, at a rate of $1 per kilometer travelled. By agreeing to this service agreement, you agree to be charged the aforementioned rate for any travel that occurs with you (the participant) in the vehicle with the DCV support worker.

For example, if 15 kilometers are travelled on any given shift, your invoice for supports will also include an additional line with a $15 charge for the travel that has occurred. This will be issued to the client through the NDIS Payment method indicated on the previous page, except where a participant is paying privately for travel. In this case the invoice will be sent separately from the support services to the participant and/or their nominee for payment.

The total kilometers travelled will be listed by the support worker on their timesheet, and this will be included on the relevant invoice issued for the support provision. Where no transport line item has been specified, charging for transport will occur against the relevant core or capacity building support line item, where this is allowed by the NDIS price guide rules.

Additionally, where a DCV support worker travels between participants, up to 30 minutes of time can be claimed at the hourly rate for the relevant support item. DCV make every endeavor to ensure the support worker is working with only one client on the day of supports to prevent this charge however it is sometimes unavoidable. In these cases, this charge may be included on the invoice for support services.

When you receive your plan from the NDIS, they include additional funding to cover the cost of setting up your supports for the first time or setting up new supports when you change providers. This covers things like; support worker training, administration costs, time spent on your initial roster and otherwise non-claimable costs that providers like DCV face in establishing arrangements with participants.

These support items are claimable by a provider who assists a participant with the implementation of their NDIS Plan, who has made an agreement with the participant to supply a minimum of 20 hours per month for three or more consecutive months of:

• • Personal Care Supports – that is, supports in the Activities of Daily Living Support Category that are delivered by providers in the Registration Groups:

Daily Personal Activities (0107); or

High Intensity Daily Personal Activities (0104); or

• • Participation Supports – that is, supports in the Social, Economic and Community Participation Support Category delivered by providers in the Registration Groups:

Participation in Community, Social and Civic Activities (0125); or

Group and Centre Based Activities (0136); or

High Intensity Daily Personal Activities (0104) when delivered for community access or group supports; or

Specialised Supported Employment (0133).

DCV will only claim an establishment fee once per participant. If an establishment fee has previously been claimed by DCV for your supports, you will not be charged for a second time. Please note; More than one provider is able to claim an Establishment Fee against a given plan as long as each provider meets the relevant requirements.

Throughout our intake process, DCV will endeavor to understand your preferences for support workers to deliver your support needs. This can include finding out your hobbies and interests, as well as professional requirements of your workers (such as formal qualifications and/or training requirements).

DCV will cross-check your preferences and requirements with our database of existing workers and seek to provide support workers that closely match your preferences.

Where formal qualifications and/or training requirements exist, DCV will attempt to source workers who have already completed the relevant qualifications and/or training required.

Where additional training is required for participant specific support needs, this must be provided by the participant or the participants broader care team and funded by the participants NDIS plan.

The participant may nominate their own preferences at any time, however preferences relating to protected traits may not be met by DCV. Protected traits include (but are not limited to); cultural background, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation.

Additionally, to ensure safe and effective support provision it is a requirement of receiving DCV support to have a minimum of two support workers actively working with you over the course of your monthly support provision.

• We will listen to you, we will ask questions when we need to, and we will try our best to understand how to provide you with individualised, personal services
• We will work with you to address any challenges and help you to problem solve and move forward
• We encourage you to try new things and to learn from new experiences
• We strive to support you to live the life you love… and love the life you live
• Work alongside you and be open to flexibility to provide the supports needed at your preferred times and on your preferred days as closely as possible
• Treat you with dignity and respect at all times
• Include you in decision making about your supports and how they are provided
• Listen to your feedback, work on a solution with you and resolve any problems ASAP
• Keep your personal information secure, confidential, and accurate
• Provide you with regular reporting, invoicing, and company updates
• Assist you with reviewing your services
• Provide you with a confirmation of our support services in a timely manner

By receiving DCV services, you agree to:
• Be open to working flexibly with our scheduling team to arrange a workable roster of supports
• Communicate any complaints, suggestions or support need changes to our office promptly by contacting info@dcvic.com.au
• Treat all employees of DCV (including office staff, management, and support workers) with respect and manners at all times
• Talk to DCV in the first instance if you have any issues, complaints, compliments, or feedback
• Provide feedback directly to info@dcvic.com.au or request a complaints form if you wish to lodge a formal complaint
• Provide DCV with reasonable notice (30 days) if you want to end this service agreement
• Make sure invoices are authorised promptly as per our invoicing and payment for services terms
• Notify DCV when there are changes to your NDIS funding that could impact your ongoing support provision
• DCV’s privacy policy which can be read at www.dcvic.com.au/privacy-policy, or provided to you upon request.
• DCV’s policies and procedures (relevant to your services) relating to how we will deliver our services to you (copies available upon request).

• DCV may make changes to the terms and conditions of our support provision from time to time. Changes to your service agreement will be published in writing to you at least 28 days prior to the changes taking effect.

• We will publish any changes to the terms and conditions of our service agreement via:
• Email communication; and/or
• SMS communications; and/or
• Public notices on our website and/or social media (including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other platforms); and upon request; and/or
• Registered mail.

• You can request changes to your service agreement by contacting our office. This should be discussed between both parties and agreed to. At this point, the service agreement will be reviewed, and a new service agreement will be signed by both parties.

• Up until such time as a new service agreement is signed, the existing service agreement will remain in place unless cancelled by either party in the period between DCV being advised of a desired change and the new agreement being put in place.

• Note: If the existing agreement is cancelled, no services can be provided until a new agreement is in place.

• If either party want to end a service agreement, they must give one month’s notice to the other party.

• If either party seriously breaches this service agreement, the notice period may be waived at the discretion of DCV.

• If your NDIS funds are exhausted, or you are no longer the recipient of NDIS funding, this service agreement is ceased with immediate effect, except where the NDIS or relevant funding body provide guarantees to DCV in order to facilitate continuity of supports.

If you would like to provide feedback or make a complaint, you can contact our office on 03 9052 4470 and request a manager, or email info@dcvic.com.au. If the participant is not satisfied with contacting DCV or doesn’t feel comfortable speaking to one of the DCV managers, they can contact the NDIA by calling 1800 800 110, visit an NDIA office in person or visit the NDIS website www.ndis.gov.au for further information.

• If you need to cancel a shift (support) you can contact our office. Our friendly team will assist you to reschedule (if required) and will notify your support worker/s.

• Any charges in relation to cancellations of support services are in line with the NDIS Price Guide applicable at the time of support services being provisioned.

• You will not be charged if DCV cancel a shift due to late cancellation of a support worker or incapacity to honour a shift.

Meet and greets and shadow shifts

• It is understandable that you want to meet your worker before they commence, however, the worker must be paid for their time to attend meet and greet or shadow shifts.

• If a participant wants to meet the new support worker, it is to be carried out as an ‘introductory’ meet and greet shift which is charged from participant NDIS funds at a minimum of two hours.

• If DCV is unable to claim the funds from the NDIS, the participant agrees to pay DCV at the relevant NDIS rates.

• DCV are highly experienced in recruiting, selecting and matching skilled support workers to the people they support.

• Participants are welcome to be included in the recruitment process if new support workers need to be recruited to meet their specific individual needs.

• DCV does not employ family members or personal family friends without the express approval from the NDIS, as these people are considered ‘informal support networks’ under the NDIS legislation.

• The NDIS only approves 6 hours of Shadow Shifts per year, per plan. DCV are unable to provide Shadow Shifts in excess of this amount without approval from you, your legal guardian, your Support Coordinator or the NDIS, as these shifts are charged at the nominal NDIS rates for the day of the week and time of the day the shift occurs.

• DCV will have the following methods available for clients, staff and stakeholders to communicate regarding our support services:

• Telephone: between 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Telephone services available to discuss booking new shifts, changing an existing shift or discussing your support needs.

• Email: available 24/7, responses received within 72 hours maximum.

• Facebook: available 24/7 for general questions and enquiries, responses received within 72 hours maximum.

• Website: available 24/7, responses received within 72 hours maximum.

• Emergency After Hours: available outside of business hours for support workers on shift with a client and requiring support. This service is not intended to replace 000 for emergencies. DCV is not a crisis response service and assistance required outside of business hours should be directed to BeyondBlue, Lifeline, or emergency services.

• DCV will provide a reasonable level of telephony services to all clients with the understanding this is the preferred/necessary method of communication for some clients.

• DCV take the privacy of our clients, staff and organizational information extremely seriously. DCV will not provide confidential information via the above methods unless speaking with an authorised representative.

• Callers may be asked to verify their personal information (such as full name, email address, NDIS number and/or date of birth) in order to access any information DCV holds about them.

• DCV make tele-support available via:

• Our landline phone numbers 03 9052 4470 & 03 9052 4471. Calls made to these numbers may be recorded for quality, compliance, and tele-support tracking.

• Via Zoom, Skype or an alternative video conferencing platform available to both parties. Tele-support sessions provided in this method may be recorded for quality, compliance, and tele-support tracking.

• You can opt-out of the recording of the contents of these sessions by contacting DCV, however the duration and time of the sessions are mandatorily recorded to ensure compliance.

• DCV can provide tele-support services to all clients above and beyond DCV’s general administrative duties. DCV track the provisioning of tele-supports via our telephony system and this is charged to clients in one-hour intervals on a weekly basis in line with the current weekday daytime support price listed in the NDIS price guide, applicable at the time of supports being provisioned.

• DCV maintains telephone support for all clients without charge for the purpose of maintaining ongoing support provision. This includes to:

• Arrange for supports to be rostered, or for rostered supports to be changed; and/or

• Discuss your supports from DCV, and to provide / discuss feedback about the quality of your supports; and/or

• Discuss your service agreement renewal, or changes to your service agreement with DCV; and/or

• Arrange for meetings or discuss other administrative requirements around your support provision.

• Where regular telephone contact is required as part of your regular support provision or to enhance / augment your in-person supports from DCV, this is considered to be tele-support provision and will be charged to your NDIS plan in 15-minute increments.

• When gaining entry to a customer’s home when there is no response to doorbells or knocks, this clause will apply under the following circumstances:

• The Support Worker does not have a front door key for the customer with which to gain entry on his/her person.

• The visit to the customer is scheduled and the Support Worker may reasonably expect the customer to be at home.

• Where there is no response on a scheduled visit, the Support Worker will need to thoroughly check and try to establish the reason. A scheduled visit should not be abandoned without first verifying the customer’s welfare and safety wherever possible.

• Non-response may be due to many things. The Support Worker should check for four key possibilities:

• The customer is safe at home but has not heard the doorbell (e.g., in the garden, TV/radio too loud, dozed off).
– The Support Worker should repeat attempts to gain entry and listen for signs such as TV noise.
– If possible, check the back garden or look for signs of open doors.

• The customer has forgotten the appointment and left the house (e.g., shopping).
– The Support Worker should check with neighbours.
– If suspected, report this to supervisory staff at DISABILITY CONNECT VICTORIA for a later revisit.
– If still no response, refer to clauses 4 and 5 below.

• The customer has had to leave the house unexpectedly.
– The Support Worker should check with DISABILITY CONNECT VICTORIA’s offices and, if necessary, neighbours and/or relatives for any message left by the customer.

• The customer has fallen ill or been injured and cannot answer the door.
– Check whether milk deliveries have been taken inside or whether newspapers are left in the letterbox.
– If this is suspected, refer to clauses 3 and 4 below.

• If it is still not possible to gain entry, the Support Worker must immediately contact DISABILITY CONNECT VICTORIA’s offices for advice and direction.
– If DISABILITY CONNECT VICTORIA holds a key, it should be used to gain entry.

• If entry is still not possible (e.g., door locked from the inside), the customer’s next-of-kin (where appropriate) and the Local Authority should be contacted for advice and direction.
– Extreme circumstances may require forced entry by the police.

• Each occasion of non-response will be documented in the customer records.
– The frequency of such occurrences will be reviewed by the Operations Manager for possible action with the Local Authority.
– Support Plans will be reviewed in line with any changes upon discussion with the customer and their representatives.

• DCV take a Zero Tolerance approach to the mistreatment of clients, staff and any other stakeholders related to the delivery of our support services.

• DCV reserve the right to nullify and void this service agreement should either party undertake activities that result in the mistreatment of a client, staff member or any other stakeholder related to the delivery of support services.

• This includes but is not limited to:

• The use of abusive, foul or otherwise potentially harmful language, either verbally, written or electronically.

• Harassment of clients, staff or any other stakeholder related to the delivery of support services.

• Physical, verbal, emotional or sexual abuse of a client, staff member or any other stakeholder related to the delivery of support services.