Service agreements for Support at Home

What is a service agreement

A service agreement is a written legal contract between:

• you, the registered provider
• the participant or their active, appointed decision maker (this person may also be a registered supporter).

What to include

The service agreement must set out:

• your rights and responsibilities
• rights and responsibilities of the participant
• services you will provide to them and list of agreed prices
• process to agree to any prices not known when developing the service agreement
• how participants will need to pay contributions in line with their income and asset assessment.

Service agreement template

This service agreement template is a guide only. You can choose to use your own template, but it must include the required information.

Appointed decision makers

A participant may have legal arrangements for another person to make decisions for them. You must confirm that this person is an active, appointed decision maker. 

A person may be an appointed decision maker if one of the below applies: 

• They are the guardian of the participant under a Commonwealth, state or territory law.
• A court, tribunal, board or panel appointed them as a decision maker for the participant under a Commonwealth, state or territory law.
• The participant granted them an enduring power of attorney or similar power. 

These people can only make decisions for the participant in line with their active, legal authority. This means you must also confirm that the person has legal authority to enter into a service agreement for the participant, and that legal authority is active.  

Active, appointed decision makers can register as a supporter but this is not mandatory.

Preparing agreements

You must:  

• write the agreement in plain language so it is easy to understand
• ensure the agreement does not contain unfair contract terms
• ensure the agreement meets the requirements under relevant legislation (you should seek legal advice when developing your agreements). 

You may choose to use standard form contracts. You should be aware that consumer law protects participants from unfair terms in standard form contracts. The law also provides increased protection if a participant has little or no opportunity to negotiate with you. To find out more, read consumer law and home care services.

We cannot provide business or legal advice. If needed, seek advice from independent professionals. 

Work with the participant

To develop and negotiate the agreement, you must work with:

• the participant
• their active, appointed decision maker (if required)
• any other person the participant wants support from (including their registered supporters).

You must:

• take a collaborative approach with the participant
• consider their consumer rights.

Support the participant

You must also meet Outcome 1.4 (transparency and agreements) of the Aged Care Quality Standards. This means you must

• let the participant make their own decisions, with support if they want or need it
• let them seek advice
• support them to understand and make informed decisions about the agreement
• give them the time they need to consider the agreement before signing. 

If needed, use the free Translating and Interpreting Service.

When and how to provide

You must have a service agreement in place before or on the day you start providing services to a participant. Without this, you will be in breach of your provider registration.

Finalising the agreement

After you sign the agreement, we recommend: 

• the participant (or their active, appointed decision maker) also signs the agreement
• you provide a signed copy (hard copy or digital) to them as soon as possible. 

If the participant cannot physically sign the agreement, you must a keep a record of the discussion in which they agreed to enter the agreement.

Reviewing agreements

If the participant will receive ongoing services, you must review the service agreement: 

• at least every 12 months
• if the participant (or their active, appointed decision maker) requests a review. 

You may also need to update service agreements for various reasons, such as: 

• aged care reforms
• changes to your operations
• updates to your published prices. 

If a participant (or their active, appointed decision maker) does not agree to your changes, you must negotiate to reach agreement. You must provide detailed reasons for the change in a way they can understand.  

You should also encourage them to seek: 

• independent advice from aged care advocates or legal advisers
• support from registered supporters, family, carers, or any other person who the participant trusts and is supported by. 

Resources

Find out more

Read:

• Chapter 7 (Start funded aged care services) in the Support at Home program manual
• Entering into a service agreement fact sheet - My Aged Care.