What should I put in a service agreement?

Use this section to describe how to change, add or cancel sessions and to provide your work hours, minimum hours and your policy on finishing early or late.

Cancellations: You can set expectations and manage last-minute cancellations by adding a cancellation policy to your service agreements and information on how to contact you. You can then submit support hours for a missed session if the cancellation notice period isn’t met, or you can choose not to – depending on the circumstances. For NDIS-funded sessions, refer to the NDIS Short Notice Cancellation guidelines in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Guide. For Support at Home funded services, refer to the Service Cancellations and No-Shows.

Examples*

Example 1

“If you need to cancel a session, contact me by messaging me on [phone number/Mable chat] as soon as possible. If you provide less than 24 hours notice, support hours will be submitted for the full cost of the cancelled session. 

If I need to cancel a session due to personal illness or other unexpected circumstances, I’ll contact you by messaging you on [phone number/Mable chat] as soon as possible. I will give you 2 weeks’ notice of any planned leave. It is your responsibility to find alternative support options if I am unavailable to attend a support session.”

Example 2

“If for any reason you wish to cancel your scheduled support session, you are advised to give me at least 48 hours’ notice. Any cancellations made within 48 hours of the scheduled support will incur the full session fee.”

Minimum session hours: As an independent support worker, the award rules do not apply. You can therefore choose if you want to set minimum hours per support session. However, for Last Minute jobs, a minimum duration of 1 hour applies, but you can detail how your rate is affected if you finish early or late.

Examples*

Example 1

“My minimum session hours are 2 hours for weekdays and 1 hour for weekends.

If a 2 hour session finishes early, I’ll charge my full rate for the session booked. If a session finishes late, I’ll charge the extra time at my hourly rate.”

Example 2

“Minimum session’s rate of 1 hour, time thereafter will be accounted for in 15 minute increments.

If you book my support for a session e.g. 9 am to 12 pm, which is reflected in the agreement, and the session ends early, the whole session will be charged for.

I can accommodate overtime where my availability allows and it will be charged at the appropriate day and time rate.”

Finishing early or late: Add what happens if a session finishes early. For example, if your 1-hour session finishes early, state if you’ll charge your full or a partial rate. State how you charge for finishing late. For example, if your session runs longer than expected and into a different rate type, detail how you charge for this.

Example*
“If a 2-hour session finishes early, I’ll charge my full rate for the session booked. If a session finishes late, I’ll charge for the additional time using my hourly rate, eg if the session finishes 30 mins late, I’ll charge 50% of my hourly rate to cover the additional time.”