8.10 Catastrophic Injury Provisions
Catastrophic Injury (and Disease) Provisions
for Household Services and Attendant Care Services
for Household Services and Attendant Care Services
The AAT decision in Todd v Department of Defence [1993] AAT No. 9004 (4 August 1993) confirmed that household services does not include the provision of household maintenance tasks. Accordingly the following are not household services as they are considered as household maintenance:
As a general rule dog washing and dog walking services cannot be provided through the household services provisions. However, in very exceptional circumstances, when a person is severely impaired, dog walking and/or dog washing services may be considered.
Some clients may require additional support in order to live independently in the community.
Household services, as defined in Section 213 of the MRCA and Section 4 of the SRCA, as '...services of a domestic nature (including cooking, house cleaning, laundry and gardening services) that are required for the proper running and maintenance of the client's household.'
Household services are of a domestic nature and may include:
As a general rule, household services are only provided if the household tasks were personally undertaken by the person prior to their injury or illness. For example:
Any other matters that are relevant to considering a claim for household services will be entirely dependent on the circumstances of a particular case. The most obvious example of any other relevant matter is a report obtained from an Occupational Therapist in relation to what household services are reasonably required. However, other issues such as the impact of a deterioration in a client's accepted condition(s) may also be considered.
Household services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
Determinations for household services
For MRCA clients, a determination to pay compensation for household services is made under section 214 of MRCA using the criteria specified in section 215. Consistent with the consideration and determination process specified under section 333 of MRCA, the determination must be made in writing, after all matters relevant to the claim have been considered.
Short term support
There are two options for providing time-limited and short term child care support for clients who are struggling to cope with unexpected circumstances that are impacting on their ability to manage their child care responsibilities. These are:
The key concept in considering any proposal for the provision of household services is whether or not the person reasonably requires the services, and that requirement is as a result of their service injury or disease.