You are here: DHS home > Disability Services > Improving supports > Performance reporting > Data collection and reporting (QDC) > Frequently Asked Questions: General

Frequently Asked Questions: General

A list of general Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) has been compiled to help answer queries that you may have about the Quarterly Data Collection (QDC) Information System.

Questions are set out below for you to select. Links throughout the answers will guide you to further information .

General questions

How do I record support hours received by persons getting support via Flexible Support or Individualised Support packages?

Where a person receives a flexible package or individualised support package, the providing agency concerned should record the number of hours of support received / purchased using the package as defined on page 167 of the QDC Data Guide Quarterly Data Collection - Data Guide (PDF, 573KB). In accordance with this definition, staff time administering the package is not included.

The purchase of support using flexible funding is related to other brokerage arrangements as defined on page 34 of the Guide. It remains the responsibility of the agency administering the package ( i.e. the broker) to capture and record the number of hours of support received. This will typically be documented in the person's individual plan. For example, if a flexible funding package is used to purchase three hours of respite per week, the number of hours of respite received (i.e. 'contact hours') is recorded.

Where flexible funding is used to purchase something other than support, for example equipment, and there are no 'contact hours', 0 hours of support should be recorded in the relevant field. That is, there should be one record with 0 hours where the ‘From Date’ and ‘To Date’ will be the day of the purchase, for example equipment bought 12 April 2004.

Where flexible funding is used to purchase an item (such as equipment) and support hours, then you would have multiple records reflecting the use of funding as indicated above.

This is not to suggest the purchase of equipment is not of benefit - clearly it is. We simply do not have the capacity to record all potential uses of packages in the QDC and we must adhere to the definition of support hours adopted nationally. CRISSP will have the capacity to record more detailed information with respect to individualised funding arrangements.

What if my agency provides services to clients not funded by the Department of Human Services?

If clients provided with services can be distinguished according to the funding source received by the agency, then only data on those clients funded by the Department needs to be provided.

Where it is not possible to distinguish which clients are provided with services according to funding source, then clients should be proportioned based on the per cent of DHS funding received by the agency relative to the total funding. In doing this, please ensure that the client data reported are representative of the agency's client base (e.g. do not report on all males if the agency also provides supports to female clients; provide all age groups; and so forth).

My agency only sees some clients on a one-off basis. What client information is required to be collected for these clients?

In the case where a support provider only sees a client as a one-off service (either individually or in a group setting), the following minimal information is required:

Statistical linkage key
Sex code
Date of Birth
DHS Activity Type (e.g. Independent Living Training, Respite)
Start date and end date of service
Hours of service provided
Disability condition (e.g. Physical)
Residential postcode
Any other known information.

For detailed guidelines on each data item, please refer to the Quarterly Data Collection - Data Guide (PDF, 573KB). The Guide is designed to assist in QDC process and outlines the data items to be collected and reported as part of the QDC.

How do I count brokerage services?

The following does not apply to case management ( Quarterly Data Collection - Data Guide (PDF, 573KB).

Definitions

Brokerage: An agency is funded by DHS to deliver services and pays a third party (sub-contracts) to assist with the service delivery.

Coordination

An agency is funded to assist people to find an agency that will deliver the services they need.

Reporting data

It is the responsibility of the DHS funded agency to collect and report data for the QDC (as specified in the QDC Data Guide) even when it brokers another agency to deliver the services.

The location where the funds are administered by the DHS funded agency is the service location of the brokerage activities.

Brokerage is not a separate DHS Activity Type. The following is an example of how to include brokerage services for the purposes of the QDC.

An agency is funded to provide Day Program services. The agency directly delivers Day Programs from Location A and Location B, and also brokers some Day Program services to various third parties (e.g. another agency, hire of sport venues). Although the brokered services occur elsewhere, the administration of the brokered Day Programs occurs at Location A. This means the agency has two Service Type Outlets for Day Programs not three - one at Location A and one at Location B. For the purpose of the QDC, there is no distinction made between directly delivered and brokerage services for an agency.

An agency may also be funded to provide coordination of services, such as respite. In this instance, the agency does not report on the services received by the client - this is the responsibility of the DHS funded agency providing the service.

What is the service location if the service provided is at the client’s house?

For the purpose of the QDC, if the service is provided at the client’s home, such as outreach, then the service location is considered to be where the worker is based.

top of page

What is a service type outlet?

A service type outlet is the combination of a physical service location and a discrete DHS activity type.

Who reports QDC data for individualised support packages?

The purchase of support using individualised funding is akin to other brokerage arrangements as defined on page 34 of the QDC Data Guide. It remains the responsibility of the agency administering the package (i.e. the broker) to capture and report data about the person receiving support.

How do I record support hours for individualised support packages?

Where a person receives an individualised support package, the agency administering the package should record the number of hours of support received using the package as per the definition on page 167 of the QDC Data Guide. In accordance with this definition, staff time administering the package is not included.

Consider the following 2 examples:

An individualised funding package is used to purchase 1 hour of home help per week and 3 hours of respite per week, the total number of support hours received (i.e. 4 ‘contact hours’ per week) is reported.

An individualised funding package is used to purchase 1 weekend of respite per month (from 10 o’clock Saturday morning to 4 o’clock Sunday evening) and 1 hour of home help per week. This could be reported as monthly or weekly support hours (i.e. 34 ‘contact hours’ per month or 4 records of 1 hour per week and another record of 30 hours for the weekend).

Where individualised funding is used to purchase something other than support, e.g. equipment, and there are no 'contact hours', 0 hours of support should be recorded in the relevant field. That is, there should be 1 record with 0 hours where the From Date and To Date fields reflect the day when the equipment was bought eg. 10 March 2005.

Where flexible funding is used to purchase an item (such as equipment) and support hours, then there would be multiple records reflecting the use of funding as indicated above.

Is the planning phase of individualised support packages part of support hours reported for the person?

Yes. The planning of an individualised support package is counted as support provided to the person. This phase is essential to ensure the person is provided with appropriate services to meet their needs and, as such, is considered as provision of support to the person.

The service provider responsible for the planning of the individual support package is also responsible for reporting the number of support hours provided to the person during this phase.