Quality and Safety Services

Tasmanians can expect community services delivered and funded by Community and Disability Services to be safe, effective and designed to meet the needs of the community.

A new quality and safeguarding framework is being developed to provide a contemporary approach to quality and safety of all funded. services.

This approach will reduce regulatory burden and use a risk-based approach to the planning, management and monitoring of quality and safeguarding and continuous improvement activity.

Key components of the new approach include:

• quality and safeguarding principles for services that Community and Disability Services funds and delivers
• a quality and safeguarding framework that describes Community and Disability expectations of its funded community sector
• quality and safeguarding standards for services funded by Community and Disability Services
• a consumer-related incident reporting policy.

Quality and Safeguarding Principles

In recognition of the broad types, sizes and capabilities of the services that Community and Disability Services funds and delivers, the Quality and Safeguarding Principles will set out expectations that promote safe, quality, consumer-focused and ethical service provision.

Quality and Safeguarding Standards

The Quality and Safeguarding Standards are being developed to be applicable across the diverse range of services funded by Community and Disability Services and have been informed by contemporary practices in other states and territories, quality frameworks and in response to reviews and royal commissions.

The standards are a benchmark CSOs can use to assess and continually improve their services and describe a holistic approach to quality service provision. These standards will replace the existing DHHS Quality and Safety Standards from early 2023

Quality and Safeguarding Framework

A Quality and Safeguarding Framework is being developed.

This framework will replace the existing Quality and Safety Framework for Tasmania’s DHHS Funded Community Sector and will provide a:

• contemporary, evidence-based quality and safeguarding framework that defines Community and Disability Services expectations of its funded community sector and internal monitoring processes
• consistent approach to, and understanding of, quality and safe service delivery across the Community and Disability Services funded community sector
• risk-based approach to managing, reporting and monitoring quality and safeguarding activity and continuous quality improvement
• coordinated approach to the management and notification of reportable consumer-related incidents, to support learnings and minimise the potential of recurrence.

Until the new approach is implemented, the existing Quality and Safety Framework for Tasmania’s DHHS Funded Community Sector applies. For more information, please click here for a copy of the framework.

Consumer-Related Incident Management

A revised consumer-related incident management policy is being developed to support a coordinated approach to the management and notification of consumer-related incidents and to ensure that learnings are implemented to minimise the potential for recurrence.

Until the new policy is implemented, the existing Consumer Related Reportable Incident Policy for Tasmania's DHHS Funded Community Sector applies. You can access these documents below:

• Consumer Related Reportable Incident Policy
• Consumer Related Reportable Incident Procedure
• Consumer Related Reporting Form

Consultation

Consultation on the new approach will commence in 2023/2024. Further information will be available here as the project progresses. For further information, you can also contact qualityandsafeguarding@dpac.tas.gov.au