The Victorian Government has made wearing single use surgical face masks mandatory for all disability support workers during service delivery. This applies to disability to support workers who are supporting clients in their own homes or in residential disability settings. It also applies when accompanying clients into the community for any of the four permissible reasons.
CareChoice is pleased with the new mandatory requirement and has already been supplying support staff with this PPE equipment for services delivered in any location.
There is also good news for participants living in NSW or Victoria. Those who receive an average of at least one hour a day of face-to-face daily living supports can recover the cost of PPE through their core budget if the use of PPE is directly related to their face-to-face daily living supports.
Face coverings for use outside the home and hand sanitiser remain a personal expense.
Additional Assistance with Daily Living and Short Term Accommodation will be available to participants in SIL or non-SIL arrangements, when required to quarantine or self-isolate.
Participants will also be able to use their plans for cleaning costs associated with:
The changes remain until September 2020, and participant plan use will be monitored.