The Swan Hill Therapy Hub

Liz McDonald Counselling 

450 Campbell St Swan Hill 

Helping to Put the pieces together so that your not just surviving, but thriving!

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NDIS is about giving you choice  & opportunity ​

In the time that we have been providing NDIS supports I have heard so many stories about poor service.

The NDIS was created to increase the opportunity of inclusion for those who struggle due to disability

Under the Disability Act and the NDIS Act services are responsible for providing services to meet the needs of participants in the manner that meets the best fit for the participant

That means that services like us are required to provide choice of service provider and delivery mode to best meet the desires and needs of our participants

If you are not given that choice then your provider is not meeting basic requirements of the Disability Act or the NDIS Act  

Choice doesnt just mean that you pick the agency you go to 

Choice means you have a say in what goes into your service agreement, including  who you work with, how often you see them, & what your treatment or assessment goals are

If you are not getting this level of involvement then perhaps you need to ask why or change providers 


Complaint process

If you wish to provide feedback about our service we would love to hear from you.

We want to know your thoughts and experience; both positive and negative. 

This is how we either know we are getting things right for our participants or how we get information to make improvements


We have participant surveys in reception or contact us to have one emailed to you.


If your concerned of a major problem and wish to make a formal complaint, you can do so via AASW (Australian Association of Social Workers 

https://www.aasw.asn.au/information-for-the-community/making-a-complaint

 or via NDIS commission


   https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/

Be Informed: Be empowered 

Consumer Rights:

Under NDIS you have the same consumer rights in Australia as you would with any other purchase of a product or service. 

Its Ok to speak up if you are not happy with the quality of the service from your provider 

or 

You feel unsafe with your provider


You may want to talk to your service provider first to see if they can put things right or 

You can contact the NDIS Quality & Safeguards Commission:

Phone :

1800 035 544

.https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/


Service agreements help to make sure that the participant and the provider have the same expectation of what is being provided and how much the service is costing. 

  • You should have a clearly written agreement that outlines the number of appointments, the duration of each appointment, who is providing the service (this is important as you have the right to choose who delivers your service. You also have the right to interview a provider. Even your house cleaner or gardener should be choice driven. 
  • Don't make the mistake of being told you have to have this person or that person because that is the only person who your support coordinator can access. If that is the case then maybe you should look for a different agency provider or support coordinator).   
  • Your service agreement should document the number of sessions but also if you are seeking an assessment such as a psychological needs/ behavioural  technician report or OT report then your service agreement should outline how many sessions are required for the assessment and how many sessions are required to write the report and give a total cost for the service. 
  • If your service agreement is for ongoing mental health counselling , physiotherapy or OT / life-skills development then  it should say something like: Ongoing psychological counselling fortnightly at a cost of $ *** total number of sessions** total cost*** including NDIS review report .  It should also tell you clearly if the service is to be provided by a qualified therapist or a therapy assistant.
  • Something else to watch out for is that you do not get talked into handing over all your funding to one provider resulting in you not being able to access any other services that you or your child might need.  You may need multiple supports from multiple providers  that must  come from the same funding stream, but unless you are aware of this, you may be left short of services.
  • When it comes to payment of services, most people have a plan manager. Most plan managers send out a monthly summary of what has been used and what has or is to be paid. Some plan managers use apps such as Careview Advantage which gives the participant full access of their package, whats available, what invoices are waiting to be paid and it even gives the ability to click approval or deny approval if a service hasn't been provided but was invoiced for. 
  • And then there are other support coordinators & plan managers out there that don't place the participant in the drivers seat. I have spoke with participants who had no idea that they could decide who they have as providers. I've even spoke to people who have told me that they are told they have doctors appointments or assessments they have to go to because the support coordinator decided they needed this. This has nothing to do with rights, choice or the NDIS or Disability ACTs. This is control and discrimination and a clear  breach of the ACTS. 
      

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