Service agreement
The Orange Door service providers are funded under a departmental service agreement. The service agreement includes a range of requirements set out in the terms and conditions and schedules. DHHS monitors and reviews compliance with the requirements of the service agreement.
The service agreement includes applicable departmental policies, which should be read in conjunction. These include DHHS’s Policy and funding guidelines and the Service agreement information kit.3 The latter outlines the critical terms and conditions and policies for funded organisations.
The service agreement also includes activity descriptions for each funded program.
- Support and Safety Hubs - Service delivery (activity number 38010)
- Support and Safety Hubs - Integrated practice support (activity number 38011)
- Support and Safety Hubs - Flexible funding and brokerage (activity number 38012)
These reference a range of frameworks, practice guidance, protocols and other relevant material that support contemporary knowledge and practice and are updated from time to time. They also outline organisational obligations regarding performance, training, accreditation, reporting and accountability against legislation, regulations and standards. Organisations are required to comply with these frameworks, practice guidance and protocols.
Monitoring of compliance with the service agreement is driven by the performance monitoring framework. As a critical part of DHHS's quality assurance approach, the monitoring framework also supports responses to identified performance issues.
Providers delivering The Orange Door services are accountable for using departmental funding appropriately and for delivering services in line with the service agreement. To support accountability, funded organisations must regularly report on their services.
For The Orange Door providers, a collective approach to accountability outlined in The Orange Door partnership agreement is related to obligations to report on performance to Hub Leadership Groups and FSV in line with the performance monitoring framework. Data on performance is shared with Operational Leadership Groups and the Statewide Reference Group to support practice governance and continuous improvement.
Reporting allows organisations and DHHS to undertake periodic reviews of progress and to adjust targets as required. It also allows for local and statewide monitoring by DHHS.
Data collection requirements are outlined in the service agreement, in the service agreement module on the Funded Agency Channel and in the activity descriptions included in DHHS’s Policy and funding guidelines.
Accreditation
Accreditation and independent review processes support strong organisational management, administration and service delivery and a continuous improvement philosophy. The Orange Door providers are assessed against the Human Services Standards.
Human Services Standards
The Orange Door providers are required to deliver consistently high-quality and safe services, including compliance with relevant standards. The Human Services Standards4 represent a single set of service quality standards for department-funded service providers and department-managed services. They comprise four service delivery standards, summarised as:
- empowerment – people’s rights are promoted and upheld
- access and engagement – people’s right to access transparent, equitable and integrated services is promoted and upheld
- wellbeing – people’s right to wellbeing and safety is promoted and upheld
- participation – people’s right to choice, decision making and to actively participate as a valued member of their chosen community is promoted and upheld
Applicable guidance
The Orange Door providers are required to understand and comply with a range of Victorian Government policies, frameworks and procedures as well as legislative requirements. Key policies, frameworks and legislation relevant to providing The Orange Door services are detailed in Appendix 2.
Risk management and incident reporting
Risk management is an integral part of good management and governance practice and supports organisations to:
- work towards stated goals and objectives through better planning and decision making
- avoid or minimise the incidence of adverse events and critical incidents
- improve perceptions of safety by others
- identify opportunities to improve services
The responsibility for governance, risk management, assurance and control processes at The Orange Door rests with the management and boards of funded organisations.
The Orange Door providers are required to comply with departmental procedures for incident reporting as a condition of funding. Incident reporting aims to improve the quality of services by capturing information about incidents to identify trends. This informs preventative measures and strengthens responses to adverse events.
The Critical client incident management instruction provides information about how services that are funded or delivered directly by DHHS must report critical incidents involving or affecting clients that occur at the service or during service delivery.
Practice governance
The Orange Door providers are required to implement strong practice governance systems and processes. Good practice governance requires all members of an organisation to share responsibility and accountability for the quality and safety of services provided. This includes minimising risk, fostering a culture of high-quality and evidence-based service delivery and continuous improvement. Practice governance is characterised by positive leadership, a capable and competent workforce, clear risk management systems, and the input of service users.
Designing and implementing strong governance arrangements within the integrated service delivery environment of The Orange Door is the combined responsibility of The Orange Door providers. At a minimum, providers should consider the opportunities for drawing together the senior practitioner resources available within The Orange Door, including the integrated practice lead, advanced family violence practice lead, Aboriginal practice lead and service system navigator.
DHHS requires organisations providing services within The Orange Door to develop and clearly articulate an approach to practice governance.
Continuous improvement
Continuous improvement is a systematic, ongoing effort to improve the quality of service delivery. The Orange Door providers are required to engage in processes to assess how well they are operating, and the standard of service achieved. This is undertaken at the organisational level and at The Orange Door level.
The collective approach to accountability is defined in the partnership agreement principles and is also reflected in the approach outlined in the performance monitoring framework. The framework will require individual providers to deliver on the overarching goals of The Orange Door, including for improving the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of service delivery through more integrated practice. The Orange Door providers regularly report performance data to Hub Leadership Groups and FSV, so they can drive improvement and evolution of the statewide service model.
Continuous improvement is strategic and achieved through both innovation and planned steps. It is informed by the identified needs of clients of The Orange Door and the desired outputs and outcomes. Continuous improvement is driven by the involvement and accountability of key stakeholders and includes regular monitoring and evaluation of progress.
The Orange Door providers are required to document how they will implement continuous improvement and track progress against defined activity.
The Orange Door providers must demonstrate that continuous improvement plans are informed by client experience data. Client experience data is collected in line with the feedback mechanisms developed by FSV.
Reporting requirements
The Orange Door providers will continue to operate under the service agreement funded providers have with DHHS. The service agreement and related schedules provide the legal and mandatory compliance requirements for departmental funding such as incident reporting, insurance and financial records. The service agreement and related schedules remain binding. The service agreements will outline the respective contribution of agencies to achieving service targets outlined in the State Budget. This includes targets across three domains:
- support and safety hub service delivery activity
- Support and safety hubs Integrated practice support
- flexible funding and brokerage activity
The Orange Door providers will also need to provide data that will support reporting under the Family violence outcomes framework on a quarterly basis. See the government’s family violence reform webpage for more about the Family violence outcomes framework. Once developed, The Orange Door providers will be required to meet the accountability and reporting requirements set out in new outcomes-focused performance management regime. This will include service delivery data, targets and information required to undertake evaluation of Hubs, ascertain the client experience and inform the development and refinement of the Hub model. In addition to the individual accountabilities that The Orange Door providers will be required to undertake, the partnership agreement outlines obligations for collective accountability and requirements to undertake data collection to demonstrate compliance with the integrated service model. The performance monitoring framework will outline these responsibilities and approach, which will be overseen by Hub Leadership Groups and FSV.
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