July 1st, 2022 Changes for Clients

No, Fora does not have a choice in implementing these changes from FairWork. FairWork is a government organisation that decides the minimum standards for employees. When creating jobs, all employers must comply with the rules FairWork sets out. Fora's allied health assistants (AHAs) fall under the Social Community Home and Disability Services (SHADS) Award. Any [...]

Meet and Greets are not changing. They are unpaid and you are not charged for them, as they are more similar to an interview than a session of therapy.

These changes will affect sessions your allied health assistant has with your allied health professional. If your allied health assistant has joint sessions with your allied health professional that usually last for 1 hour, we can work with you to identify how best your allied health assistant can use the additional 30 minutes of their [...]

Companies can engage their workers as contractors or employees. If a company engages their workers as a contractor, they may be unaffected by this change in the SCHADs award. For the disability sector, we believe treating workers as employees is a much safer option for those involved. By taking responsibility and treating our workers as [...]

These changes will not affect you if you are already having sessions that last for 1.5 hours or more. Sessions will continue for you as normal. Also, while your allied health assistant will be getting paid for 2 hours of their time you won't be charged any extra.

These changes will affect you if your session normally only goes for 1 hour. Starting from July 1st 2022, the minimum session length your allied health assistant can have with you will be 1.5 hours long. If your sessions are usually 1 hour long, we can factor in allied health assistant travel, preparation time and [...]

Every four years, the FairWork Commission undertakes a review of the SCHADS Award to determine any changes required to the reasonable conditions of workers, including the disability sector. There are submissions from stakeholders, including employers, peaks and unions. The most recent review was undertaken in late 2021, and the changes were announced in April 2022. [...]

There are some benefits afforded by a 1.5 hour minimum for sessions with allied health assistants (AHAs). If you've had difficulties in the past finding an AHA near you, and don't believe your client would benefit from 1.5 full hours of therapy, you could use some of that time to contribute to travel time so [...]

If your allied health assistant usually spends 30 minutes preparing for a 1 hour session you will still be charged for 1.5 hours. Tasks that can fall into the category of preparation include creating resources or games for use during the session. Your allied health assistant will be paid for 2 hours of their time.

These changes will not affect anyone using their Core Support funding. There is already a minimum session length of 2 hours for sessions using Core Support funding.

These changes do not affect any sessions you have with your Fora allied health professional. Allied health professionals are employed full-time and therefore work standard hours, so no minimum session times apply to sessions with them.