Terms & Conditions

Click here to download the Pillar Support Coordination Terms & Conditions PDF.

1. Roles of parties

• General principles

Pillar Support Coordination will provide a range of services to the participant as described in the Service Agreement (hereafter known as the Agreement) and these terms and conditions which, together, form one legal document. Both Pillar Support Coordination and the participant agree to:

1. Treat each other and their resources and property with respect at all times
2. Abide by all known Pillar Support Coordination and PeopleKind policies and procedures
3. Adhere to all relevant legislative requirements and standards, including but not limited to the NDIS disability service standards and NDIS rules
4. Review the provision of services outlined in the Agreement at agreed intervals
5. Reasonably mitigate any health and safety risks at sites for which they are responsible and where services are being delivered, including the participant’s home
6. Not place each other at any unreasonable risk by their actions, including the consumption of cigarettes, alcohol or drugs
7. Do not consume or distribute any illegal substances
8. Not undertake any discriminatory, aggressive or hateful actions the participant and/or participant decision-maker, further agree to:
9. Pay all relevant fees and/or invoices on time, understanding that failure to do so may result in relevant service/s being suspended or cancelled until the fees/invoices have been paid in full
10. Not directly employ any current Pillar Support Coordination staff without the prior written approval of Pillar Support Coordination.

• Participant decision-makers

The participant may nominate decision-makers to act on their behalf or a decision-maker may be appointed on their behalf. Where a decision-maker is listed Pillar Support Coordination will take any instructions from that decision-maker regarding relevant participant matters as though they were issued by the participant themselves and undertake any contractual communications with the decision-maker as though they were undertaken with the participant directly. The decision-maker may make instructions related to any aspect of the Agreement. The decision-maker is bound by all terms and conditions as if they were the participant.

2. Description of services

Pillar Support Coordination offers a range of support coordination services that can be used singly or in a range of combinations in accordance with your National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Plan.

Pillar Support Coordination has provided you with details of services, costs, and other relevant information within the Agreement to which these terms and conditions form a legal part.

In agreeing to provide the services stipulated under the agreement, Pillar Support Coordination will undertake the following.

1. Work with you to identify and coordinate services that meet your support needs and NDIS goals.
2. Provide the agreed services according to your plan. Refer to the service description within the Agreement.
3. Ensure that the provision of supports and services specified in this agreement are consistent with Disability Services Act 1993 (WA) (as amended); the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth) (as amended); Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (WA) (as amended); National Disability Insurance Scheme, Quality & Safeguards Commission; National Standards for Disability Services (2013) and Australian Consumer Law.
4. Ensure that prices of the services charged do not exceed the relevant or applicable NDIS and Department of Communities, disability services pricing policies, schedules and guidelines.

The decision-maker may give instructions related to any aspect of the Agreement. The decision-maker is bound by all terms and conditions as if they were the participant.

3. Participant responsibilities and rights

Your rights

Whilst accessing services outlined in the Agreement, as a participant of Pillar Support Coordination you have the following rights.

1. To nominate, in writing, an advocate, guardian or next of kin who will act in your best interests and accept the responsibilities imposed under the Agreement.
2. To be treated with dignity and respect and to have your choices and aspirations supported as far as is reasonably possible.
3. To request services in accordance with your individual plan, including the type and range of activities you wish to participate in, provided the request is also in accordance with all applicable legislation.
4. To direct the development of your individual support plan acknowledging that the cost of support arising from that plan must be able to be met within the funding available for such support.
5. To review annually your individual plan. Additionally, your support plan can be reviewed upon request by you or by Pillar Support Coordination with your consent.
6. Privacy and confidentiality in keeping with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (as amended) and:

• Freedom of Information Act 1992 (WA) (as amended);
• Disability Services Act 1993 (WA) (as amended);
• National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth) (as amended);
• Australian Privacy Principles (2014); and
• Standard 1 of the National Standards for Disability Services (2013).

Your responsibilities

Whilst accessing services outlined in the Agreement as a participant of Pillar Support Coordination, or where someone is acting on your behalf, you or your representative will comply with the following responsibilities.

1. Inform Pillar Support Coordination about how you wish to utilise the funding in your NDIS plan.
2. Participate in the process of developing person-centred goals and your support plan with your coordinator.
3. Provide information to Pillar Support Coordination about your needs before commencing services.
4. Talk to Pillar Support Coordination about any concerns you have about the service.
5. Inform Pillar Support Coordination if you need to put your plan on hold for longer than 6 weeks – for example, if you are planning to travel overseas.
6. Provide Pillar Support Coordination with information regarding any shared care or family court agreements, where relevant.
7. Treat staff and other service users or participants with courtesy, respect and consideration at all times.
8. As far as possible, work together with Pillar Support Coordination to provide a safe working environment for staff visiting your home and/or with you in the community.
9. Keep Pillar Support Coordination informed of any changes in relation to circumstances such as a change of address or support requirements.

4. Responsibilities of Pillar Support Coordination

In agreeing to provide services under the Agreement, Pillar Support Coordination will undertake the following.

1. Discuss this agreement with you, your representative, family and other important people in your life.
2. Keep you informed about your services regularly and answer your questions as soon as possible.
3. Tell you about what to do if you have any concerns about, or do not agree with, something we do.
4. Listen to you, your representative and your family’s feedback and resolve any matters of concern quickly.
5. Do not share your personal information with others without your written consent, unless required by law or where your safety or the safety of others is at serious risk.
6. Keep accurate and confidential records of the services we provide to you.
7. Tell your Local Area Coordinator or NDIS planner if you are away for longer than 6 weeks so that they can place a hold on your funding and plan until you return.
8. Tell the Local Area Coordinator or NDIS Planner if Pillar Support Coordination has been unable to provide the services we agreed.
9. Be involved in ongoing liaison with the relevant funding body regarding the development and implementation of the support arrangements that are in place, if required.
10. Advise you or your representative of any relevant sector-wide developments specific to Pillar Support Coordination that may affect the way support is provided to you.
11. Provide information and support where you need to engage with mainstream and community services.
12. Provide you with access to relevant policies and procedures as and when requested.
13. Effectively manage risks in relation to emergencies and disasters.

4.1 Managing emergencies and disasters

Our Business Continuity and Emergency and Disaster Management Plan, includes planning to ensure that the risks to participants’ safety in an emergency or disaster are considered and our employees are ready to respond appropriately. The Plan includes actions to ensure the continuity of supports related to the services provided to you by Pillar Support Coordination.

Pillar Support Coordination does not provide accommodation and/or direct care services to NDIS participants. For this reason, participants, legal guardians, and/or service providers will be responsible for managing their own preparedness for emergency and disasters and continuity of supports related to services received other than from our organisation. Unless otherwise requested, Pillar Support Coordination will only plan and prepare for continuity of supports as contracted in the service agreement.

If in the occasion that an emergency or disaster occurs during a scheduled service at the participants’ residing location, the participant, guardian, and/or service provider will need to communicate in advance to Pillar Support Coordination the role of our employees in assisting the participant and evacuation protocols.

5. Financial arrangements

Pillar Support Coordination will claim payment for the provided services directly from the relevant funder wherever possible and will not invoice the participant directly in such cases. In this event, both Pillar Support Coordination and the participant shall be bound by all terms of the Agreement as though the service had been invoiced directly to the participant.

It is understood that the participant has agreed that the provider can claim for the following when appropriate:

• Face-to-face support provision
• Provider travel
• Non-face-to-face support provision
• NDIA Requested Reports
• Teleconference Services.

Where a participant has chosen to self-manage all or parts of their NDIS Plan or has elected to pay the fee for service for their supports and services provided under the Agreement, after providing those supports and services, Pillar Support Coordination will produce an invoice for the participant to pay. The participant or their nominee will be required to make payment within 21 days from the date of invoice.

Where a participant’s NDIS funding is Plan-Managed, the participant or their nominee agrees to provide Pillar Support Coordination with the details of their chosen plan-manager. After providing the supports and services, Pillar Support Coordination will produce an invoice and send it directly to the nominated plan-manager for payment. The plan-manager will be required to make payment within 14 days from the date of invoice.

The participant must inform Pillar Support Coordination whenever any funding streams change, including but not limited to, changes to NDIS plans or transitions into NDIS funding.

The participant accepts personal liability for any Pillar Support Coordination charges accrued under this Agreement that are not recoverable through funding bodies for any reason whatsoever. Pillar Support Coordination may take any legal action required to recover unpaid monies.

6. Indexation

The NDIA publishes a price guide for supports and services that service providers are allowed to charge for NDIS supports. The NDIS price guide is updated regularly, taking into account adjustments for indexation and other costs.

The NDIA will automatically adjust relevant participant plan budgets on the NDIA portal to match the new price arrangements.

Pillar Support Coordination will automatically apply indexation rates for all applicable services that are listed in the schedule of supports as they occur and in accordance with the most up-to-date NDIS price guide.

Pillar Support Coordination reserve the right to apply the maximum rate for applicable services at the time NDIA advise of any rate changes and in accordance with the NDIS price guide.

7. Variations, extensions and reviews

The participant may vary the contracted services as defined in the Agreement through discussion with your coordinator or the managing director. Pillar Support Coordination will not deny any reasonable request to vary the contracted services unless it adversely affects any aspect of the current service provision.

A revised Agreement will be issued to the participant when any such mutually agreed variations are made.

In the event that your plan review with National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is not completed prior to the plan end date, an automatic extension will be applied to your funding by the National Disability Insurance Agency. Pillar Support Coordination will continue to provide services in accordance with the Agreement and these terms and conditions until a new NDIS plan is approved unless otherwise notified by you in writing.

Once a review has been undertaken and a new NDIS plan has been approved a new services agreement needs to be developed.

8. Cancellation & refunds
   1. Pillar Support Coordination may from time to time cancel a service due to unforeseen circumstances. On such occasions, the participant will not be charged and every effort will be made to schedule a new appointment at a time suitable to the participant. However, the participant recognises that this may not always be possible.
   2. Where you provide us with a short notice cancellation (as defined below) Pillar Support Coordination will be able to claim 100% of the agreed fee associated with the subject support on the following basis.
      1. Should you not show up for a scheduled support within a reasonable time, or are not present at the agreed place and within a reasonable time of the scheduled support; or
      2. Should you have given less than two (2) clear business days’ notice for support that meets both of the following conditions:

• the support is less than 8 hours continuous duration; AND
• the agreed total price for the support is less than $1,000; or
  • Should you have given less than five (5) clear business days’ notice for any other support.

1. Refund requests for services that have been provided will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

9. Confidentiality & privacy
   • Confidentiality

No confidential information may be disclosed by either party to any person except:

1. where the information is required for the purposes of executing the Agreement; or
2. with the consent of the party who supplied the information which consent may be given or withheld in its absolute discretion; or
3. if either party is required to do so by law; or
4. if Pillar Support Coordination believes the participant or others to be at risk of abuse or neglect; or
5. if either party is required to do so in connection with legal proceedings relating to the Agreement.

9.2 Privacy

Pillar Support Coordination agrees with respect to any personal information held or collected in connection with the Agreement:

1. to comply with the National Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and any other applicable law regarding privacy;
2. to use that information only for the purposes of the Agreement and the delivery of the services defined in the Agreement.

10. Conflict of interest

Pillar Support Coordination will act in the best wishes of NDIS participants and other clients, ensuring that participants are informed, empowered and able to maximise choice and control. Employees will not, by act or omission, constrain, influence or direct decision-making by a person with a disability and/or their representative in order to limit that person’s access to information, opportunities and choice and control.

11. Incident management and reporting

Pillar Support Coordination acknowledges our responsibility to identify, record and report on notifiable incidents that are of critical importance or consequence to relevant funding contract personnel. Incidents could include; employee incidents, client incidents, data breaches, medication incidents, equipment, property & vehicle incidents and feedback and complaints.

Pillar Support Coordination may be required to also report important events or serious

incidents to other external stakeholders other than funding bodies. This will be dependent on the incident and the consequences that may have occurred or could have occurred as a result.

12. Quality assurance and evaluations

To monitor the quality of our services, you or your nominated representative or guardian and Pillar Support Coordination may be requested to participate in a quality assurance process at any time during the term of the Agreement.

Pillar Support Coordination or the relevant funding body such as the Department of Communities, disability services or the NDIA will provide you with advance notice of any such evaluation and invite your participation.

13. Reviews and audits

Recognising that Pillar Support Coordination has a legal obligation to participate in government-initiated reviews and audits you, your nominated representative, your family or guardian agree to cooperate to the extent reasonably necessary for such reviews and audits to take place, subject to discussion of the relevance of such reviews and audits to your particular situation or service arrangement.

14. Feedback and complaints

Pillar Support Coordination supports your right to provide feedback to our staff and management, raise suggestions, resolve grievances and commend good performance. We encourage you, your representative, family or guardian to speak up when they are not satisfied with our service.

If you have a complaint, Pillar’s service user feedback and complaints policy will be followed.

Possible external contacts may include the following.

• The NDIS Quality & Safeguards Commission
• The NDIA
• Citizen Advocacy Perth West
• People With Disabilities WA (Inc.)
• Health and Disability Services Complaints Office (HaDSCO)
• Ombudsman Western Australia.

If you do not have any success getting your problem fixed, you or your representative may choose to make a complaint to the National Disability Insurance Agency, Quality and Safeguards Commission:

Telephone within Australia: 1800 035 544

Postal address:

NDIS Commission

PO Box 210

Penrith NSW 2750

Website: https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au

15. Dispute resolution
    • Negotiation

Any party (“initiating party”) claiming that a dispute has arisen must give the other party (“recipient party”) a notice setting out brief details of the dispute (“dispute notice”). Within five business days of receiving a dispute notice, the recipient party must give the initiating party a response. If the parties are unable to agree to a resolution to the dispute within a reasonable period the Initiating party will be entitled to proceed to mediation.

• Mediation

If the dispute is not resolved in accordance with clause 13.1 above, the Parties must refer the dispute to an independent mediator accredited under the National Mediation Accreditation System and appointed through the Citizens Advice Bureau of Western Australia. Each Party shall be responsible for their own costs for any mediation process.

• Location of Mediation

Any mediation is to be conducted in Perth, Western Australia

16. Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, under no circumstances will Pillar Support Coordination be held liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special, consequential or any other damages whatsoever including, but not limited to, damages arising out of or in any way connected with the provision of or failure to provide services, or for any information or advice obtained from Pillar Support Coordination staff, whether based in tort, contract, negligence, strict liability or otherwise, even if Pillar Support Coordination or any of its agents and/or suppliers have been made aware of the possibility of damages.

17. Property

Each party is responsible for insuring their own property against loss or damage and neither party will hold the other party liable for any such loss or damage except where such loss or damage is caused by a malicious and deliberate act.

18. Termination
    1. If you or Pillar Support Coordination wish to end the Agreement, both parties agree to give two (2) weeks’ notice in writing to the other party.
    2. You or Pillar Support Coordination may wish to end or change the Agreement with the aim of addressing risks of harm to you, Pillar employees or other participants. Under these circumstances, we will support you to identify an alternative suitable service arrangement that may be available within Pillar Support Coordination or externally through an alternative provider.
    3. If either party seriously breaches the Agreement, the requirement of notice may be waived in such exceptional circumstances.
19. Safeguarding

Where Pillar Support Coordination has reason to believe that the participant may be a victim of abuse or neglect it will undertake all necessary actions, in line with policy, practice and law, to ensure the matter is investigated and resolved in the most expedient and appropriate manner. Pillar Support Coordination reserves the right to use all available information and resources in support of any investigations or legal actions in order to prevent any abuse or neglect of the participant.

20. Travel and transportation

Sometimes, travel is necessary by the Coordinator to provide your service at your preferred venue.

Pillar Support Coordination will claim and/or invoice for payment of necessary travel by the coordinator to provide your service at your preferred venue, in accordance with arrangements as outlined in the schedule of supports and as per the NDIS price guide.

Travel is charged at current NDIS-approved prices for services and is subject to change following NDIS reviews.

In line with the NDIS price guidelines, Pillar Support Coordination will charge for travel as follows.

1. Travel to participant: Maximum of 30 minutes of time at the hourly rate for the relevant support item.
2. Travel from participant: Maximum of 30 minutes for time spent travelling from their last participant to their usual place of work at the hourly rate for the relevant support item.
3. If a worker provides services to more than one participant at a site, travel costs may be split between the participants.

If Pillar Support Coordination incurs costs, in addition to the cost of a worker’s time, when travelling to deliver face-to-face supports to a participant (such as road tolls, parking fees and the running costs of the vehicle), you may also be charged for this. Non-labour costs will be charged at current NDIS-approved prices and are subject to change following NDIS pricing reviews.

21. General
    • Governing law

The Agreement and terms are governed by the laws of Western Australia.

• Entire Agreement

The Agreement and these terms and conditions constitute the entire agreement of the parties about its subject matter and supersedes all previous agreements, understandings and negotiations on that subject matter. Changes to the Agreement and terms and conditions can be made at any time by providing ten (10) working days’ notice to the participant.

• GST

Unless otherwise indicated, all consideration provided for a supply under the Agreement is exclusive of any GST imposed on the supply. Where GST is imposed on a supply under the Agreement, the recipient of the supply on receipt of a tax invoice must pay to the supplier an additional amount equal to the GST imposed on the supply.

• Severability

The unenforceability or invalidity of any clause in the Agreement or terms and conditions shall not affect the enforceability or validity of any other clause.

• Survivability

The following shall survive termination of the Agreement and Terms and Conditions (for whatever reason):

• all outstanding invoices and debts between the Parties;

• clause 8 (“Confidentiality & Privacy”).

Definitions

22. Amendments to terms

The participant acknowledges and agrees that Pillar Support Coordination acting reasonably and to the extent reasonably necessary to protect Pillar Support Coordination’s legitimate business interests may vary the terms from time to time in accordance with the minimum notice periods provided in the table below. Upon any change in the terms, Pillar Support Coordination will notify the participant which may be undertaken by way of email or letter.

If the participant does not agree to the changes in the Terms the participant may choose to terminate this Agreement by giving written notice to Pillar Support Coordination as soon as reasonable, but in any event no later than ten (10) working days from the date the changes come into effect. In this event, the participant shall not be charged any termination fees however any outstanding contractual obligations shall remain in force, including liability for all outstanding invoices and debts.