TERMS OF SERVICE - SERVICE AGREEMENT

​Changes to the Service Agreement 
The service agreement will be changed/ amended when;

1. There are considerable changes needed in the level, type, amount or location of service.
2. A new amount of funding is allocated.
3. The way of payment is changed.

Minor changes can be agreed upon verbally or in email correspondence and no changes to the agreement are needed.

Please be aware that due to circumstances beyond our control, NDIS may change pricing arrangements and policies. At this time, Next Challenge will inform you at least 14 days before the change occurs, to help you understand how this may affect your service agreement. 

• When the change compromises your schedule of supports, you will receive a brief amended service agreement. This is a short version of your service agreement and will clearly outline all changes. 
• If the changes do not negatively compromise your scheduled supports, no amended service agreement will be shared, and changes will be discussed in person. 

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Ending the service agreement 

• You can request an end to the Service Agreement at any time. This must be made in writing with at least 14 days notice. 
• Any services provided during this notice period (e.g. final therapy session and completion of the NDIS final outcome report) will be charged.
• We may end the service agreement due to a number of factors ( e.g. unforeseen changes in staffing capacity; consistent cancellations; or when the participants' needs are beyond Next Challenge’s scope of practice). 

If there are any changes to your information or Plan you will need to notify Next Challenge and provide the updated plan to us.

Service Provision Charges

• All appointments with your therapy team will be charged. 
• Your therapists may recommend joint sessions to achieve your goals. When more than one therapist is present, you will be charged for each therapist’s time.
• A service management meeting will be held and charged when you commence services and be followed annually by a service review meeting. These meetings are to check that the participant is making progress and that our service is meeting your needs.
• All plan managed participants are responsible for tracking, managing and staying within their NDIS budget. If in this case your funds are exhausted, you will be required to pay out of pocket for any outstanding invoices. 
• In addition we will invoice for therapist’s and / or allied health assistant’s time spent;
  • when your therapy team talk to each other to discuss participant’s goal-specific strategies and progress to ensure the team are working together effectively.
  • liaising with other support people in participant’s life e.g doctors, teachers etc.
  • on phone calls and emails that are necessary to support participant.
  • developing resources or additional documentation to support participant.
  • helping you with assistive technology and resource requests. 
  • Completing assessment and review reports (this is an NDIS requirement). 
  • Communicating with the NDIS at your request.

Please be aware for best outcomes non face to face support services are necessary. This may include: classroom observations, reports for co-workers or external service providers/ schools, therapist pool entry and summary reports outlining progress. Your therapy team will discuss this with you if needed.

Travel Charges
Next Challenge will claim (i) travel time and (ii) mileage for all community visits (e.g. home, school, daycare) at the rates outlined in our price list. 

Next Challenge can only claim for a maximum of  30 minutes travel to community visits (e.g. home, school, daycare) in each direction. This means that a maximum of  60 minutes of the therapist’s time traveling can be charged.

Travel charges may change if we share the travel between different client appointments.  Therefore, the charge may be inconsistent (week to week),  based on various circumstances.  Travel and mileage charges will be clearly documented and recorded on a daily basis.

Cancellation and No Attendance Charges
Cancellation charges will be incurred for scheduled appointments that are cancelled after 9:00am the day prior to the appointment, or not attended with no notice, will be invoiced at 100% of the total planned direct activities allocated to the session.

To cancel or change a booked appointment, you must contact the office directly by phone. Frequent cancellations or appointment changes may result in your therapy team discussing adjustments to the frequency, type, or timing of services to better suit your needs.
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In line with the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, travel and mileage can only be charged when the therapist or allied health assistant (AHA) has attended the participant’s location to deliver the scheduled support.

Purchasing Equipment 
Next Challenge does not  supply or purchase equipment on your behalf.  We will help you determine the best equipment/ source to purchase. The participant must have funds in the category items Assistive Technology or Core Supports for these purchases to be made.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, NDIS may change pricing arrangements and policies. At this time, Next Challenge will inform you at least 14 days before the change occurs, to help you understand how this may affect your service agreement. 

Changes to your information or Plan you will need to notify Next Challenge and provide the updated plan to us.

Rights and Responsibilities 
We both have rights and responsibilities 
(”The team” referenced below, refers to all members of the participant’s family and  NC therapists)

• To honestly and openly communicate about how the participant is progressing and any concerns or preferences we have for their therapy,
• To be respectful and polite to all members of the team and wider support network, 
• To voice any concerns or complaints with the therapy team, service manager, a member of the Next Challenge management team, or the participant’s caregivers, 
• To give notice of our inability to attend a session, 
• To clearly communicate with one another if a member of the team is needed at a meeting, 
• To be confident that all members of the team will support any changes, if the agreement must be amended or ended at any time,    
• To be respectful and supportive as partners in the participant’s journey,
• To embrace and build upon the team’s  strengths, culture and diversity,
• To work collaboratively, free from discrimination, harm and abuse,
• To ensure the team’s privacy is met based on our described privacy policy,
• To keep checking that both parties have been clear and transparent,
• To embrace family centred goal setting and to work together when these goals shift and change, 
• To keep checking that we are working as a team,
• To be upfront when either party needs to stop the service agreement, or when a service can no longer be provided.

Storage, Access and Correction
All Disability Professional Service Providers are bound by the Privacy Act 1988. Next Challenge adheres to the Australian Privacy Principles, which regulates how we may collect, use, disclose and store personal information and how individuals may access and correct personal information held about them. For more information about how privacy is managed at Next Challenge, please access our privacy policy through our website or enquire on 92010707. 

Feedback, Complaints and Disputes
We want to know when you are happy with the services provided, when there are issues and when you have suggestions for positive change. You can give us feedback by:

• Contacting your therapist, team leader or service manager
• Emailing [email protected] or your service manager directly 
• Completing our feedback form online at nextchallenge.com.au

The Next Challenge Complaints policy can be accessed through the Next Challenge website (https://www.nextchallenge.com.au/policies.html) and/or verbally discussed with the family on request.