Homelessness Assistance Service Standards and Guidelines
Service Standards
The Homelessness Assistance Service Standards (HASS) were developed through extensive consultations with service providers, consumers and sector experts. In 2005 a formal trial of the standards was conducted with four organisations. As an outcome of that trial, the standards were revised to incorporate feedback from trial sites and to better reflect current Department of Human Services - Housing directions and initiatives.
Five sections of HASS relating to client service delivery standards have been retained and the sections covering organisational management standards were deleted.
- Section 1: Upholding and promoting rights (Word Size 116KB, Pages 12)
- Section 2: Access to support for people experiencing homelessness (Word Size 117KB, Pages 13)
- Section 3: Direct service delivery and case management (Word Size 160KB, Pages 19)
- Section 4: Direct Service delivery to Specific groups (Word Size 214KB, Pages 31)
- Section 5: Working with the Community (Word Size 67KB, Pages 6)
The HASS form an integral component of the accreditation model.
Programs Guidelines
Since the introduction of the Victorian Homelessness Strategy (VHS) in 2000, significant work has been done at local, regional and statewide levels to improve assistance to people who are homeless.
Guidelines documents are designed to assist funded agencies to deliver services and manage business in accordance with program objectives and funding conditions.
It is recommended that the guidelines be used in conjunction with HASS. These will assist homelessness assistance services with self-assessment and quality improvement planning, and for those services providing housing assistance, preparation for registration as housing providers.
All registered community housing agencies are required to comply with Registered Agency Performance Standards (RAPS) in their ongoing operations in order to achieve and to retain registration. RAPS were published in the Victorian Government Gazette on August 2005.
Service providers are advised to continue to apply these Guidelines to daily program operations and service delivery. Each guidelines section is being progressively updated during 2010 to reflect homelessness service system infrastructure changes and new program initiatives. The first updates are now available - these are Part 4 Housing Management and Part 5 Homelessness Support.
