4.5.20.5 Reasonable provision of household help services
Agents should refer to the Household help services guidelines and the following table when considering reasonable provision of household help services.
Note: The table below, including recommended approval amount and maximum frequencies of services, is provided for guidance. Agents should consider individual circumstances to determine reasonable costs for the provision of household help services. Any request for services not listed within the checklists must be discussed with a suitably qualified person and referred to WorkSafe's Claims Division.
| Approved service | Recommended approval amount | Maximum frequency |
|---|---|---|
|
Housework/cleaning support |
1-2 hours per fortnight may be reasonable, unless additional time is requested on the request for household help services form with justification. Justification should align with information provided on the worker declaration form. |
Once per fortnight |
| Gardening: Lawn mowing and edging |
The injured worker must source two detailed quotes from household help service providers for ‘Lawn mowing & edging’ (item number PH420) containing the same information required for invoicing WorkSafe. This includes worker information, registered provider details and service information. For larger properties this includes the ‘lawn area’ surrounding the house maintained by the worker prior to injury. WorkSafe will not pay for lawn maintenance beyond this. |
Summer (1 October- 31 March) – fortnightly Winter (1 April- 30 September) – monthly |
| Gardening: Primary gardening tasks (includes sweeping of paved areas and weeding garden beds) | 1 hour in addition to lawn mowing and edging services. | As above |
| Annual clean/spring clean (e.g. cleaning an exhaust fan, oven, light fixtures, window cleaning, and thorough floor cleaning) |
Consider information about the worker’s residence at the time of injury/illness to help allocate appropriate time. Decluttering and disposal of rubbish is not payable*.
The worker must source two detailed quotes from household help service providers for ‘Annual/Spring clean’ (item number PH450) containing the same information required for invoicing WorkSafe. |
Once per calendar year |
| Gutter clearing | As required based on quote for primary residential property. | Once per calendar year |
| Light pruning of trees | WorkSafe will not pay for services that require a specialist provider such as an arborist. Where the worker lives on acreage, pruning is applicable within the house yard (lawn area surrounding it). | Once per calendar year |
*Where hoarding is impacting the worker’s ability to maintain themselves in the home, and is related to the work related injury or illness, regular cleaning support, management of illness, and occupational therapy Occupational therapy is a client-centred health profession concerned with promoting health and well being through occupation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to or are expected to do or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement. may be appropriate.
See: Instructions for invoicing WorkSafe
Finding a household help provider
When assisting the worker to find a provider, Agents can:
-
suggest the worker liaises with a provider who is willing to register with WorkSafe
-
provide the worker with the household help services fee schedule to refer to when speaking to potential providers
-
request that prospective providers register with WorkSafe if they have not already done so.
See: Application for registration to provide services to workers