About SaH customer choice

If you serve older Australians receiving meals through Support at Home (SaH), it’s important to understand (and help your customers understand) that participants have the right to have a say in who delivers their services, including meal providers.

Under the Aged Care Quality Standards, providers must respect consumer dignity, independence, and choice. This includes respecting a participant’s preference to use a particular meal provider and considering their request seriously, even if other suppliers are recommended.

Care Providers are responsible for managing funding and ensuring services meet safety, invoicing, and compliance requirements. Because of this, they may need to complete checks before approving a new meal provider.

By empowering customers with the right information and offering to assist with the process, you can help them stay connected to your menu while growing your reach and impact.

How to help customers exercise their choice

Here’s how you can help a SaH customer who wants to order from your business:

Explain their right to choose

Let customers know that under the Consumer Directed Care approach, the Charter of Aged Care Rights, and the Aged Care Quality Standards, participants are entitled to:

• have a say in decisions about their care
• choose services that meet their needs

This includes requesting to use a meal provider of their choice.

You can share the article below with them:

➡️ How do I choose my own meal provider under Support at Home?

Encourage a written request

Suggest they email or write to their Care Provider requesting approval to use your business.

Written requests help create a clear record and often speed up the process.

Offer supporting information

Care Providers often require business, payment, and compliance details in order to onboard new meal providers. It is a good idea to provide this directly to the Care Provider.

Our article below provides a template you can use when approaching and onboarding with Care Providers:

➡️ Email template for approaching and onboarding with Care Providers

Help customers navigate resistance

If a Care Provider says they cannot approve the request, encourage the customer to:

• Ask for the reason in writing
• Discuss whether any requirements can be met
• Seek independent advice if they feel their preferences are not being fairly considered. Customers can contact:
  
  Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN)
  https://opan.org.au
  
  Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
  https://agedcarequality.gov.au

Customers may also choose to change Care Providers if they are not satisfied with how their services are being managed.

Additional information

Need more information? Contact Cookaborough Support:
✉️ [email protected]