Making a service agreement with an allied health professional

You will need a service agreement with each allied health professional that you choose.

A service is something you pay someone to do for you.

An agreement is when you say ‘Yes’ to something.

You can download a fact sheet about how to make a service agreement

How well is the allied health professional meeting your support needs?

Some things to think about when you start working with an allied health professional

• Do they start by listening to and finding out what support you want, and the outcomes you are looking for?
• Are they happy to answer your questions?
• Are they patient and focused on you, allowing you time to ask your questions no matter how long it takes?
• Are they respectful in the way they interact with you? Do they see you as someone who can make choices and decisions about your own life and services?

As you start working with an allied health professional, you might want to think about your experience.

You can use the checklist: How well is the allied health professional meeting my needs?

The checklist will help you think about what is working well, and what is not working well for you?

You might have to work with an allied health professional for many weeks or months before you know if they are meeting your needs.

How do you find working with the allied health professional?

What you should think about

• Are they reliable?
  • Do they show up to appointments on time?
  • Do they do what they say they will do?
• Do you like spending time with them?
• Are they easy to get in touch with? If you leave a message do they call you back?

Important questions to think about

There are questions you can think about to make sure your allied health professional

• meets your needs
• is right for you

We have included some of them below, and in the checklist.

How would you rate them in terms of working in a person (or family)-centred way?

Person-centred means that the focus is on what matters to the person receiving the support and their families.

Family-centred is a way of working in partnership with families to better understand their unique circumstances and help them to decide what strategies are most suitable to meet their individual goals, expectations and values.

A person-centred (or family-centred) allied health professional should see you as an individual, and work with you in a way that meets your cultural, language, religious or personal beliefs or needs.

What you should think about

• Do they have a ‘can do’ approach? Are they looking for ways they can work ‘for you’, rather than how you can fit into the services they offer?
• How do they treat you? Are you treated as an individual or do they have a one-size-fits-all approach?
• Are they focused on your strengths, abilities and skills? Or do they seem more focused on your disability or diagnosis, and what you find difficult?
• Do they support you in a way that meets your cultural, language, religious or personal beliefs?

How would you rate them on supporting you (your family member) to achieve your goals?

Not all allied health professionals have a lot of experience working with people with disabilities and complex support needs.

It is important that the allied health professional understands your support needs and stage of life to help you achieve your goals.

What you should think about

• Is the support they are providing meeting your needs?
• Do they have a good understanding of your support needs and stage in life?
• Are they helping you to achieve your goals, so you can do the things you want to do?

How would you rate them on giving you (or your family member) choice and control over the support you receive?

You have a right to exercise choice and control to set and achieve goals, and in the support you receive. An allied health professional should focus on giving you choices and putting control in your hands.

What you should think about

• Do they support you to make your own choices?
• How flexible are they? Do they fit in with your life and allow you to choose how, when and where you receive support?

How would you rate them on working as a team with you, your family, and other people that provide support to you?

You will most likely be receiving support from many people which might include family members.

You want an allied health professionals who listens to you, understands your support needs, and works with you, your family and other services and supports to help you set and achieve goals.

What you should think about

• How well do they communicate with you, your family and other services and supports you receive, to help you set and achieve your goals?
• Is there a good working relationship between the allied health professional, you, your family, and other supports and services you receive?
• Do they understand the role of your family and other services and supports and how best to work with everyone to ensure you have the best positive outcomes?

How would you rate the way they communicate with you?

Many people have different ways of understanding information.

An allied health professional should give you information in a way that you can understand.

This might be written, in a video, or another way.

What you should think about

• Do they understand your communication needs?
• Are they communicating with you in a way that you can understand?

Download the Checklist: How well is the allied health professional meeting my needs? (PDF, 194.2 KB)

Watch this video to hear about how Chris, an NDIS participant, has used this checklist to give feedback on his allied health professional about how well she is working to meet his needs.

If you are not happy with an allied health professional, you can tell them you have a problem. You can ask someone to help you.

What if there is a problem?

If you are not happy about the support from an allied health professional it is important that you talk about it.

You have the right to give the allied health professional feedback or make a complaint.

If you can, you should talk to the allied health professional and let them know you are not happy about the support you are receiving.

You might decide to do this

• by yourself
• with your family
• with a friend
• with an advocate or carer
• with a support co-ordinator

You could say to them

• “I have a complaint”
• Then tell the allied health professional about the problem

What happens next?

Talking to an allied health professional should help them to understand what is important to you.

The allied health professional should improve the support they provide to you.

If the allied health professional does not improve the support they provide to you, you can talk to them again. Tell them you are not happy.

You can ask choose to make a complaint to the NDIS Commission by

• Calling 1800 035 544 (free call from landlines). Interpreters can be arranged.
• Completing a complaint contact form.

If you are still not happy, it is OK for you to find a different allied health professional. You can ask someone to help you, for example

• your family
• a friend
• an advocate or carer
• a support co-ordinator