Our Service Charter
Uniting WA’s Service Charter can be understood as the commitment we make to our service users (‘service users’ may otherwise be termed ‘’clients’, ‘consumers’, ‘participants’, ‘young persons’, ‘person/s in our care’, ‘tenants’ or ‘residents’).
This Charter outlines service user rights and responsibilities, what they can expect from us in the delivery of our services, and some of the avenues available to provide feedback, raise concerns, or make a complaint.
This Charter is founded on six basic service delivery principles, applicable across our broad range of services.
You can view a summary of Our Service Charter here.
Our commitment to you
Connected and inclusive
We are focused on earning the trust of individuals, families and communities, and to walk alongside them in our work. We acknowledge our nation’s First Peoples as the keepers of deep knowledge, language and history. We embrace our nation’s First Peoples and make efforts to strengthen our own cultural fabric and to drive national Reconciliation and justice.
As an organisation, we celebrate diversity and welcome all people regardless of ethnicity, faith, age, ability, culture, language, gender identity or sexual orientation.
We are holistic, and work with our service users to build strong relationships and support networks around them, to best meet their needs.
We recognise that our impact is greater through partnership and collaboration. We strive to engage strong sector partnerships and to build a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration.
Transparent
We are clear about the services on offer, and the eligibility requirements for these services.
We value service user’s right to privacy, and will ensure we have the required consent prior to the sharing of personal information.
Where appropriate, we develop individual service agreements to provide mutual understanding of roles and responsibilities held by each party.
Responsive and Impactful
We build relevant services, guided by community needs and context, ensuring we make a measurable difference to individuals and communities.
While we are responsive at the individual and community level, we also advocate for broader systemic changes, needed to reduce the prevalence of injustice and inequality.
We are goal-driven, working with our service users to build independence and reduce their individual need for supports.
Informed and Quality Assured
We engage contemporary, evidence-based practices to ensure the delivery of high-quality, relevant and effective services.
We believe learning is life-long, and consider ongoing learning and development to be an integral part of attracting and maintaining a skilled, committed and dynamic workforce.
We strive to exceed national and state-based quality service standards, through our active participation in internal and external auditing processes.
Person-centred and capabilities-focused
We support our service users to define their own goals, and design their own paths, supporting them to exercise choice and self-determination.
We intend to support our service users to realise their own unique strengths to build capacity, resilience, and independence.
We aim to be flexible shaping our supports to suit an individual, where it is possible to do so.
Safe and accountable
We understand the pervasive impacts of trauma and work alongside our service users to support their healing and recovery.
We recognise the vulnerabilities of our service users and consider safeguarding their human rights a part of our duty of care.
We strive for continuous improvement in the safety, quality and performance of our work.
We welcome feedback and/or complaints and acknowledge an individual’s right to deliver feedback and/or complaints to an independent entity.
We know we will not always get it right and, when we don’t, we will own up to our mistakes and take action to learn and improve from them.
How you can help us
You can help us support you by:
- Providing us with complete and accurate information about you and your situation
- Acting respectfully and safely towards everyone, including Uniting WA workers, service users and other community members
- Providing us with feedback about our service delivery including and any suggestions you may have on how we can improve
- Raising any complaints or concerns you may have about our services, workers or other service users
- Respecting the belongings of others, including our belongings, and the belongings of other service users
- Being cooperative with our workers, knowing they are trying to support you, and have your best interests in mind
- Ensuring you understand any service agreement you may have with us, and letting us know if you need help to clarify what it says.
Do you know your rights?
It is important to us that all service users know their fundamental human rights and know that Uniting WA is here to advocate for these rights, should a service user believe they are not being upheld.
You have the right to choice
You have the right to set your own goals, aspirations and desires for your own future. You have the right to be involved in decision-making that affects you.
You have the right to information
You have the right to the transparent and accessible provision of information, particularly in relation to services you can, or will, receive.
You have the right to be treated fairly
You have the right to be treated fairly, with respect and dignity at all times.
You have the right to safety
You have the right to safety, including being protected from violence, abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation.
You have the right to privacy
You have the right to expect that your personal information will be handled with confidentiality.
You can find out more about how Uniting WA handles personal information in our Privacy Policy here, or you can access our Privacy Brochure here.
You have the right to receive quality services
You have the right to receive relevant, quality supports that aim to address your immediate needs.
You have the right to access
You have the right to request access to the personal information held about you.
You have the right to provide feedback
Your feedback and/or complaints are welcome. You also have the right to complain to independent or external entities.
We are open to complaints and feedback. You can ask one of our workers to support you make a complaint, and/or send your complaint directly to complaints@unitingwa.org.au, or by post, addressed to:
Complaints Officer
Uniting WA
GPO Box B74
PERTH WA 6838
For further information, you can access our complaints brochure here.
You have the right to individuality
You have the right to enjoy your own culture, religion and language. You may not be discriminated against on the basis of your beliefs, sexual orientation, cultural practices, or opinions. You must also respect others’ right to their individuality.