Standards and guidelines for Community Care

Human Services Quality Framework

The new Human Service Quality Framework provides consolidated standards for delivery of human services in Queensland.

Read more about the Human Services Quality Framework and its implementation.

Queensland Community Care Manual

Download the manual:

• Manual for Queensland Community Care services (PDF, 561KB)

The Queensland Community Care Manual provides information about:

• the history of the program
• guiding principles for community care service delivery
• eligibility* and access criteria for providers to follow
• specific steps in the assessment process
• service types and categories*
• funding arrangements and reporting obligations
• service provider responsibilities, including privacy requirements

*Also see below

Eligibility

In order to access Community Care services, the client must be either a person, or the carer of a person, who is:

• under 65 (under 50 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients), and
• has a moderate, severe or profound disability, or a condition which restricts the ability to carry out activities of daily living, and
• is living in the community, and
• is having difficulty performing the core activities of daily living* due to functional limitations, and
• is at risk of losing independence without assistance from Community Care, due to loss of functional ability or unsustainable living arrangements.

*Core activities of daily living are communication, self-care and mobility. Core activity tasks include dressing, bathing or showering, preparing meals, house cleaning and maintenance, and using public transport. 

Service categories

A service needs to provide basic support and maintenance to eligible people in the community to be covered under the Community Care program.

More detail about the groups of services provided through the Community Care program is available in Queensland Community Care Manual. The seven service groups are:

• home care services
• coordinated care
• clinical and specialist care
• centre-based day care
• home modifications
• meals
• transport

Complaints

Every Community Care service user has the right to lodge a complaint about the service they have received. A fact sheet about the complaints process has been developed for Community Care providers to give to their clients.

• Making a complaint: Queensland Community Care Program (PDF, 129KB)
• Making a complaint: Queensland Community Care Program (RTF, 65KB)

In the first instance, complaints should be directed to the organisation providing the service, to give them a chance to fix the problem.

If the client's complaint is not resolved to their satisfaction by the Community Care service provider, they may wish to have the complaint dealt with by the Central Complaints and Review Unit.

*This is a charged at the cost of a local call, but calls from mobile phones are charged at applicable rates.