4.5.3 Attendant care
4.5.3.1 Friends or family members as carers
Reasonable costs can be paid for attendant care services where these services are identified as the most appropriate and least restrictive response to a worker’s needs and are required to meet a worker’s care and support needs as a result of a work-related An injury/disease is work related if it arose out of or in the course of employment and the scope of employment. injury or illness.
Fee schedule
WorkSafe publish a fee schedule for travel expenses on its web site. The schedule includes the costs of public transport, petrol, tolls, parking, overnight accommodation and meals.
See: Fee Schedule for Attendant Care
Policy
The policy provides guidelines for attendant care services.
See: Policy for Attendant Care
The policy provides guidelines about:
- what an Agent can pay for
- who can provide services
- where to obtain further information.
Other policies
Other policies related to attendant care include:
Registration of attendant carers
To be approved and registered by WorkSafe, an attendant care provider must meet the criteria specified in WorkSafe Provider Registration Requirements and the provider must agree to be bound by the registration criteria, requirements and WorkSafe Attendant Care Policy. Please refer to the website for further information.
4.5.3.1 Friends or family members as carers
WorkSafe discourages employment of friends or family members as paid attendant carers. This arrangement may jeopardise existing relationships and create conflicting responsibilities. Requests are only considered in exceptional circumstances such as limited access to professional attendant carers.
Request for a family member or friend to provide attendant care services
Consider the following:
- whether all other alternatives to a family member Family member means a partner, parent, grandparent, sibling or child of the worker or of the worker's partner or friend have been considered and exhausted
- the needs of the worker:
- their functional skills, independence and participation in community activities
- the specific attendant care tasks the worker requires, including the level of intimacy of tasks, such as toileting and bathing
- the level of support outlined by the treating medical practitioner - written clinical justification for provision of attendant care services by the nominated family member or friend is required
- the overall function of the family unit or an existing friendship and the needs of other family members, particularly children
- whether the family member or friend has the capacity, appropriate skills and commitment to:
- meet the attendant care agency's employment conditions, including standards for service delivery
- comply with the agency's occupational health and safety guidelines and legislated standards
- meet the ongoing training requirements of their employer
- whether appropriate back-up arrangements are in place in case of illness, days off, training, annual leave, etc.
The family member or friend must be registered with an approved attendant care agency and meet the requirements of that agency.
Note: The need for an additional income source is not an appropriate justification for the provision of attendant care by a family member or friend.
Friend or family member agency exemption
Where a provider has an established attendant care agency for the purposes of providing services to a family member prior to 1 October 2014, the current levels of service are maintained and the provider will not be required to adhere to the IRQS registration requirements, criteria and policy while services are only provided to the existing family member. The agency should be paid under the existing Attendant Care fee schedule. To provide services to other workers, the provider would need to register under the IRQS criteria (refer to policy and fee schedule at www.worksafe.vic.gov.au ).
Interim check and ongoing review
Where friends or family members have been approved as attendant carers, Agents undertake regular reviews to reaffirm the suitability of the friend or family member as the approved provider.