All Home Care Packages are required by law to have a Home Care Agreement between the provider and the consumer. The Care Agreement sets out a number of key elements about how the Home Care Package will be delivered. For all home care packages, it is a legal requirement that a Home Care Agreement must be offered to the consumer before the package commences. The Home Care Package subsidy is not payable to the provider until the consumer has been offered and accepted a package by a home care provider and the Home Care Agreement is entered into.
After the Home Care Agreement is entered into, care and services can formally commence under the Home Care Package. The Home Care Agreement will detail the consumer’s rights and may spell out the consumer’s responsibilities. It is not possible for Home Care Agreement to exclude any rights the consumer has under Commonwealth or State/Territory law.
The Home Care Agreement will also specify how either party may terminate the Home Care Agreement. It should be written in plain language, be easily understood and, at a minimum, contain the consumer’s care plan and individualised budget, which are often attachments or schedules to the Agreement.
Given the importance of the Home Care Agreement, you should ensure that you fully understand all the terms of the agreement. It is possible to request to have an advocate to represent present during this process.
