Service Charter

Blue Sky Community Services: Service Charter

At Blue Sky Community Services we:

• are committed to social inclusion for everyone in our communities
• acknowledge, value and celebrate diversity
•  work for and promote social justice
• ­ work in partnership with people to build capacity through strengths-based and person-centred support and information services
• work in partnership with communities to build capacity and inclusion through a range of community strengthening, development and information sharing activities
• lead and inspire through example and promotion of best practice.

The services we provide include, but are not limited to:­

• services that support people with disability, older people, young people, children and their families and carers­
• services that support older people to access aged care services­
• services that educate and care for young children through our HeartCo early learning centres­
• services that build the capacity of communities and community members­
• services that build the capacity of community services and sectors.

The services that Blue Sky Community Services delivers vary over time. Details about our current services and activities can be found on our website www.bluesky.org.au

Our Service Standards

Service participants and other stakeholders who access our services can expect that the service provided to them will meet certain standards. When engaging with Blue Sky Community Services you can expect that:

• our organisation is governed soundly by a skills and values-based Board of Directors
• our staff are competent, appropriately skilled and qualified
• our staff focus on your individual needs and work with you to achieve best possible outcomes
• our staff follow up in a timely manner
• our staff and our activities demonstrate our organisational values
• our interactions with you are respectful, courteous and helpful
• our premises are clean, presentable and welcoming
• our work is evaluated to ensure we are meeting needs and expectations
• input on the accessibility and friendliness of our services and premises is welcomed
• feedback, suggestions and complaints are welcomed, taken seriously, managed fairly and fed into our continuous improvement processes
• staff adhere to our health and safety policies and practices in undertaking their duties.

Your Rights

If you are seeking or receiving a service from Blue Sky Community Services, you have the right to:

• receive services in a professional, courteous and caring manner that respects and appreciates individual difference
• make your own choices about your life and your future
• request to access any personal and other information held by us about you, and request that we change any wrong information as permitted by law
• feel safe, respected and free from any physical, emotional, sexual or verbal abuse
• be informed about services, options and any costs involved, so you can make informed decisions
• have your privacy and confidentiality protected in the provision of services
• be referred to other services if we are unable to provide the appropriate service
• make informed decisions about your services and supports
• participate in decision-making about the services you are provided with
• share ideas about improvements to our services
• give us feedback, suggestions or make a complaint
• have an advocate (of your choosing) to speak on your behalf
• request an interpreter to assist with communicating with us
• refuse services (where appropriate) and refuse to participate in research
• request a change of worker or refuse services from a student
• (for children attending our early learning centres) feel safe, protected, included and you’re your development, educational and caring needs met.

Your Responsibilities

If you are accessing the services and programs provided by Blue Sky Community Services, you are responsible for:

• respecting the privacy of others
• treating others, including our staff, with respect and dignity
• respecting the rights of others to feel safe
• respecting the cultural background of others
• keeping appointments or informing us if you are unable to keep an appointment
• providing correct and necessary information to the best of your ability
• using the services and resources provided by us for the purpose they are intended
• ensuring a safe environment for staff visiting your home or workplace.

Feedback and Complaints

We believe that receiving feedback and complaints is a great way to find out what we do well (so we can do more of it) and what we don’t do so well (so we can do it better).
We are committed to passing on positive feedback to our staff so they can know they are doing a great job.

We are also committed to dealing fairly and effectively with complaints. We want to know what happened and why, and what can be put in place to improve our practice and the services we deliver.

If you are accessing services and activities organised by Blue Sky Community Services, you have the opportunity to:

• offer feedback, make suggestions or make a complaint
• have your feedback, suggestion or complaint respected and used to improve our services
• provide us with informal feedback during interactions, meetings, or gatherings
• tell us your opinions or ideas about the services and activities being provided
• comment on policy or service provision and planning
• give us formal feedback through a variety of methods (email, our website, formal/informal face-to-face or phone consultation, surveys, feedback sheets, evaluations)
• have someone else give feedback or make a complaint on your behalf
• not be victimised or treated differently if you have made a complaint
• lodge an appeal if you don’t think your complaint was dealt with fairly.

Every person who uses our services has the right to give us feedback or make a complaint.

What will happen if I make a complaint?

When you give us feedback or make a complaint, the staff member receiving the feedback/complaint will listen to you respectfully and ask questions so they can fully understand the nature of the feedback/complaint.

If we have done something that has caused you concern, we will apologise for this, look into the matter and find ways that we can prevent the same sort of thing from happening again.

All feedback and complaints are reported to the Complaints Officer so improvements can be made to the way we deliver our services. Complaints are also reported to the Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors.

All complaints are:

• taken seriously
• dealt with within a reasonable timeframe
• kept confidential (only parties that need to know about the complaint will be told about it)
• considered objectively and fairly (no assumptions will be made and no action taken until relevant information is gathered and considered)
• repercussion-free (no action will be taken against anyone making a complaint or helping another person to make a complaint, except where a complaint is found to be malicious or without foundation).

How do I give feedback or make a complaint?

There are several ways you can give us feedback or make a complaint.

Speak to the staff member who the feedback or complaint is about.

• If you feel comfortable, you can speak directly with the staff member who you are giving feedback or making a complaint about. Often matters can be quickly resolved by talking directly to the person responsible.

Speak to the staff member’s manager.

• If you do not feel comfortable speaking to the staff member involved, you can ask to speak to the person’s manager. You can do this by phoning our Coffs Harbour Office on (02) 6651 1788 or by emailing contact@bluesky.org.au

Speak to the Complaints Officer or Chief Executive Officer.

• If you do not feel comfortable speaking to the person’s manager, or if the complaint is about the manager, you can speak to the Complaints Officer or Chief Executive Officer. You can do this by phoning our Coffs Harbour office on (02) 6651 1788 or by emailing contact@bluesky.org.au

Lodge a written complaint

If you would feel more comfortable putting your feedback/complaint in writing you can do this by:

• emailing us at: contact@bluesky.org.au
• filling out and submitting the online Feedback, Compliments and Complaints Form on our website
• downloading the form from our website, or asking us to send you the form, and posting it to:
  PO Box 799, Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
• sending a letter to PO Box 799, Coffs Harbour NSW 2450.

Can someone else give feedback or complain on my behalf?

Advocates
If you would feel more comfortable with someone else giving us the feedback or making the complaint you can use an advocate or someone you trust to speak on your behalf.

If you would like assistance to find an advocate to speak on your behalf, please let us know. You can also contact an advocate service. Some of the advocacy services available are listed on our website.

Interpreters
You can use an interpreter to give us feedback or make a complaint.

If you need assistance in finding an interpreter, please let us know. You can also contact an interpreter service. Some of the interpreter services available are listed on our website.

What if I think my complaint has not been dealt with properly?

If you do not think we have dealt with your complaint properly, you can complain to an objective third party to assist you in resolving the complaint.

A list of relevant bodies can be found on our website.