Your Rights and Responsibilities
You have the right to:
- Access Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health’s services
- A safe and high-quality health care environment free from discrimination
- Be shown respect, and to be treated with dignity
- Privacy and confidentiality of your personal information
- Participate in decision making and choices about your health care
- Be informed about services, treatment, options and costs in a clear and open way
- Comment or complain easily and to have your concerns addressed
- Bring along a support person
You have the responsibility to:
- Treat our staff with courtesy and respect
- Raise any concerns about the supports being provided
- Let us know if you are unable to attend your appointment
- Let us know how you want support or treatment to be delivered
- Let us know if you no longer want support or treatment
For an ‘Easy Read’ version of this information, click here.
We also have a version of this information aimed at children – click here.
To read about Aboriginal cultural rights, see the brochure below:
Your Privacy Rights
For our full client privacy policy click here (for our website privacy policy click here).
You have the right to:
- Only provide us with personal information that is necessary
- Know that the information kept on file about you is accurate, complete and up to date
- Access your information to make corrections
- Know that your information is secure from misuse, loss, unauthorised access or disclosure. We keep your information safe by:
- Ensuring all our computers and systems are protected with passwords
- Only giving people your information if the law says they can know it
- Sharing your information with other service providers if you give us consent to do so
- Only collecting information about you that we need to deliver the service
- Remain anonymous if it is lawful and feasible to do so
- Not have sensitive health or personal information collected unless it is necessary or you have provided consent
- Have information shared with other services only upon your request or with your consent
- Withdraw consent
To Access Your Healthcare Records
To access the information we have on file for you or someone you care for, a written request must be submitted using the attached form. This can be downloaded to your computer or printed and then dropped into one of our offices, emailed to admin@scchc.org.au or posted to PO Box 218, Sunbury, VIC 3429. Please give us a call or speak to your clinician or worker if you have any questions.
Using an Advocate
For an ‘Easy Read’ version of this information, click here.
An advocate is someone who can support you to:
- Make decisions for yourself
- Make your voice heard
- Stand up for your rights
- Protect and promote your interests
An advocate can be a family member, friend or organisation.
Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health encourages you to use an advocate when dealing with our organisation if you feel confused, overwhelmed, intimidated, unsure or if you think an advocate would be useful. For example, you could use an advocate if you want to make a complaint or when you are assessed for services. You can choose your own advocate or we can assist you (wherever possible) to find one. You can change your advocate, or stop using an advocate, at any time.
An Inclusive and Safe Service
Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health is an inclusive service provider. We are committed to providing safe and high quality services that respect the needs, wants and aspirations of all people.
To fulfil our commitment to this, we will:
- Have appropriately trained staff
- Listen and consult with you about the services you want
- Ensure that diversity is valued and respected
Child Safe Commitment Statement
Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people and has zero tolerance for child abuse. We are committed to providing a child safe environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. In particular, we pay attention to the cultural safety of Indigenous children and children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, children who identify as LGBTIQA+, as well as children with a disability. Every person involved in Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role they play individually and collectively to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people is at the forefront of all they do.
Consistent with the Child Safe Standards we will do this by:
- Establishing a culturally safe environment where the diverse and unique identities and experiences of indigenous children and young people are respected and valued.
- Embedding child safety and wellbeing in organisational leadership, governance and culture.
- Ensuring children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
- Informing and involving families and community in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
- Ensuring equity is upheld and diverse needs are respected in Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health policy and practice.
- Ensuring Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health staff, students, contractors and volunteers working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.
- Providing a child focussed complaints and concerns process.
- Providing ongoing education and training to staff and volunteers to equip them with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe.
- Ensuring Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health’s physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.
- Committing to regularly review and improve Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health’s implementation of the Child Safe Standards
- Documenting how Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health is safe for children and young people in our policies and procedures.
If you have a concern about the safety of any young people participating in our programs and services, contact our child safety officer, Head of Services on 9477 4455 or email admin@scchc.org.au.
Situations in which a child is at immediate risk should be reported to the police by calling 000.
More information on the Child Safe Standards and the Reportable Conduct Scheme can be found on the Commission for Children and Young People website.
Sharing Client Information
To ensure our clients’ privacy and the right to confidentiality is respected and maintained according to the privacy laws, we take every precaution necessary to protect the client information we share with other service providers. For a copy of our guidelines on the use and disclosure of shared client information, click here.