About third-party services
Third-party services are care or services that another organisation or person provides on your behalf. This includes where you:
- source and coordinate care and services through a third-party (including subcontractors, labour hire or brokered services)
- buy goods, equipment and assistive technology from a third party.
You may engage them on an ad hoc or ongoing basis to meet your care recipients’ needs or their requests for specific workers or service providers.
Provider responsibilities
As an approved provider, you are legally responsible for services delivered by a third-party organisation. This includes where the care recipient self-manages.
You must oversee the services to:
- ensure quality of care
- resolve issues or complaints
- monitor care recipient outcomes
- check that key personnel are suitable
- confirm that the services meet all aged care legislative requirements
- process and pay invoices in a timely manner.
You decide whether third parties are suited to provide a particular service, based on your knowledge of the care recipient’s assessed needs and legislative requirements.
If a care recipient requests third-party services, you must balance:
- your ongoing accountability for allocating the package budget
- providing quality care
- the care recipient’s right to choose the types of services they need and how you provide these.
Charging for third-party services
You must not under any circumstance:
- charge a separate amount for third-party services
- set or charge a separate price for extra care management or package management.
If engaging third-party services is:
- the provider’s choice – you must include the cost in the service price (you cannot charge for it separately)
- the care recipient’s choice – you must explain how you will charge for the service in the schedule.
Setting prices for third-party services
Prices must be reasonable and justifiable. This means they must provide value for money and consider the effort and resources it takes to coordinate them.
All costs must be factored into care planning and individualised budgets before they are spent.
When setting prices, you should consider how to include any third-party costs in the following price categories.
You can recover most, if not all, additional costs related to third-party services through care and package management charges.
Direct service charges
When engaging third-party services to deliver services under the Home Care Packages Program, direct service charges generally cover:
- the cost of third-party care or service
- business overheads and costs.
Reasonable business overheads and costs that cannot be included in care and package management, should be covered in the all-inclusive price you set for the third-party care or services.
Care management
When engaging third-party services, care management generally covers:
- reviewing the care recipient’s Home Care Agreement and care plan to ensure the third-party services align with other supports
- partnering with the care recipient, their family and carers about their care provision
- ensuring that services are culturally safe
- identifying and addressing risks to the care recipient’s safety, health and wellbeing.
Package management
When engaging third-party services, package management generally covers:
- coordinating and organising third-party services (outside of clinical decisions)
- preparing invoices, monthly statements and claims
- managing records
- responding to invoice queries
- arranging home modifications
- buying goods, equipment and assistive technology
- ensuring third-party staff are suitable, such as with police and immunisation checks
- undertaking quality improvement, compliance, and assurance activities
- preparing and submitting reports on quality
- maintaining COVID-19 vaccination and other vaccination compliance documents.
Invoicing
After delivering services, the third-party must issue invoices within the month the service occurred. Then the approved Home Care Package provider must submit claims to Services Australia within the relevant claim month.
You must itemise all third party charges in a care recipient’s monthly statement.
You should work with the third-party to receive itemised invoices as soon as possible.