Current clients
Rights and responsibilities
Any person receiving support provided or funded by the Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services, has a number of rights and responsibilities. You have the right to:
- be treated with respect and courtesy
- stay informed and be consulted
- have a say in decisions made about your care
- receive quality services
- expect privacy and confidentiality and access to all personal information held about you by the provider
- have another person of your choice support you and advocate (speak up for you) on your behalf
- have your comments and feedback valued
- to make a confidential complaint if you are not happy with the services you receive.
- staff and service providers must respect your ideas and the decisions you make about your life. They should listen to what you have to say, and show courtesy in their behaviour toward you.
You also have the responsibility to:
- tell the department about changes in your circumstances that will affect the support and services you need.
Complaints
Every client has the right to lodge a complaint about the service they have received. You may wish to do this in writing, by phone or in person. If you wish, you can involve an advocate. An advocate can be a family member or a friend, or an advocacy agency.
In the first instance, complaints should be directed to the organisation providing the service, to give them a chance to fix the problem.
If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may wish to have the complaint dealt with by the Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services.