This is a public facing policy

Residential Charges Policy

Policy Index: Financial

  1. Relevant Legislation, Standards and Agreements

The following Legislation and guidelines apply to this policy and supporting documentation:

Disability Act 2006 – (Vic)

DHHS Guidelines for setting and collection of residential charges in disability services – group homes

  1. Purpose

This purpose of this policy is to provide a consistent approach to the charging of residential fees and that this is supported by a clear process of fee calculation. This policy will outline the purpose for charging fees and methods of collection.

  1. Scopeof Policy

This policy applies to all Yooralla employees, consultants and volunteers.

  1. Definitions

Any defined terms below are specific to this document.

DHHSDepartment of Health and Human Services

NDISNational Disability Insurance Scheme

CRACommonwealth Rent Assistance

DSPDisability Support Pension and any supplements provided

  1. Policy Statement

a)Yooralla’s policy is to establish a clear and consistent methodology for the charging of residential fees.

b)The charging of fees is applied using a transparent formula which is based on the costs incurred in maintaining the site and providing additional services not covered by other funding streams.

c)Fees are collected in order to recover the costs of operating shared supported accommodation homes.

d)The current charge for rent and full board (excluding transport costs) is set at 55% of the full Disability Support Pension (including any supplements) plus 100% of the full Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA). This charge may be subject to change from time to time and residents will be advised in line with DHHS requirements.

e)The costs of operating homes does not include the provision of staffing to support residents. Support staff are currently funded through the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Over the period 2016 to 2019, this funding will transition from DHHS to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

f)Cost items to be recovered through the charging of fees will include, but are not limited to: Food and Cleaning Products, Repairs and Maintenance, Utilities, Transport (an optional service which is charged separately), Capital Improvement, Rent, Building Insurance and Common Area Contents Insurance.

g)In determining the cost of these items, Yooralla will aggregate the total cost of each of the items in f) above, for all sites where Yooralla provides shared supported accommodation. This total cost will then be shared across all sites on an averaging basis. For clarity, as an example, if Utilities is $100 and there are 10 sites, then the cost per site will be $10.

h)Yooralla will provide a discount to sites which do not utilise one or more of the above service items included in f) above. For instance, sites that provide their own food and cleaning products will not be charged for these items. Discounts may impact on an individual’s entitlement to 100% of the CRA and will be applied in consultation with residents and their individual circumstances in relation to impact on the CRA.

i)Increases to residential charges can be made twice annually and are based on Commonwealth pension movement.

j)The preferred method of payment is through a direct Centrelink deduction from the Disability Support Pension or a direct debit from the resident’s bank accounts.

k)Yooralla reserves the right to charge an administration fee for the billing, collection and administration of the residential fees.

l)Should the collection of fees result in an excess over and above the total aggregate of all costs, then Yooralla will review whether the costs for the next year need to be adjusted and advise residents accordingly.

m)Any non-payment of fees (or dispute) due to financial hardship will require residents to provide evidence (in line with DHHS requirements) as to sources of income and expenses. This in turn will be reviewed by the Yooralla CFO and the Executive Director of Residential and Respite Support Services in accordance with the Accounts Receivable Procedure.

  1. Responsibility for Implementation, Compliance Monitoring, Measuring and Continual Improvement

Executive Director, Residential and Respite Support Services, Senior Group Managers, Chief Financial Officer and Customer Accounts Manager are required to ensure that this policy is adhered to.

  1. Related Documents and Links

Accounts Receivable Policy

Accounts Receivable Procedure

This document is uncontrolled when printed, please refer to the Policies and Procedures Library for current controlled version
Accountable:Chief Financial Officer / Effective Date: 12/05/2016 / Review Date: 12/05/2019
Responsible: Commercial Costing Manager / Version Number: 4
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