Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness, with symptoms ranging from fever, tiredness, dry cough, aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhoea. Some people recover quickly and easily, and other may get very sick, very quickly.
To minimise the risk you should follow these guidelines:
- wash your hands frequently with soap and water, before and after eating and after going to the toilet
- cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze, dispose of tissues and use alcohol-based hand sanitiser often
- avoid physical contact with others (touching, kissing, hugging etc.)
Visit the Department of Health website for general information on coronavirus (COVID-19).
You can find more information on the Department of Health website for your state or territory Department of health.
The National Quality and Safeguards Commission (NQSC) is providing regular Provider Alerts about coronavirus (COVID-19)
You can also contact the NDIS Contact Centre on 1800 800 110
If you require translation or interpreting services, we recommend you use:
- The National Relay Service on 1300 555 727 if you have speech or hearing impairment
- Or Translating and Interpreting Services, for language services.
Australia's government has launched an app, COVIDSafe, as a way to speed up contacting people exposed to coronavirus. Hireup recommends both people seeking support and support workers install the app.
You need to let Hireup know by calling (02) 9113 5933 or emailing hello@hireup.com.au and contacting the Department of Health Coronavirus hotline on 1800 020 080 or the National Relay Service on 1300 555 727.
Yes, Hireup is working closely with the Government on issues directly relating to the disability sector. We are actively advocating for the Government and NDIS to better support disability support workers and promote complete flexibility for NDIS participants during this unprecedented time.
Yes. For essential supports, face-to-face bookings can continue in all circumstances. For non-essential supports, we’re guided by the federal and state governments. At the moment, for all states and territories, we are - at a minimum - encouraging remote support wherever practical.
Discover the latest information on face-to-face-support from each state and territory on.
Where possible we’d like you to reduce unnecessary physical contact with support workers. We encourage you to look at other non-direct ways for support workers to continue to provide support such as; online, over the phone or doing errands like your grocery shopping.
We understand that the way supports are delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic may change for you, and that we need to be flexible around how you get support at this time. If you need to receive support from a member of your family, Hireup will still need to work with you to review suitability. Your family member will also need to complete the Hireup support worker application and verification process.
Approval for family members to provide support is not always guaranteed.
All cases will need to be reviewed by our team, so please get in touch with our Community Support team on (02) 9113 5933 or at hello@hireup.com.au to start this process.
To help providers through COVID-19, the NDIA has lifted the maximum (the ‘price cap’) providers can charge for support shifts. However, Hireup – which has consistently charged below the NDIA price cap anyway - has not changed its prices. So we are not changing our rates of pay to support workers either.
You should contact Hireup. Hireup will work with you to assess whether your supports are essential or non-essential. If your supports are essential, Hireup will work with you and your team of support workers to ensure necessary precautions are in place.
You must stop any direct, face-to-face contact with your clients immediately and contact Hireup.
You can reach out to the network of Hireup workers by:
- Posting a job for direct, indirect or remote support to the Jobs Board. Support Workers can express their interest, and you can create a booking with the person right for you.
- You can reach out to workers looking for work by Searching and Messaging people near you.
If you’re in need of essential supports and can’t find available support workers, contact Hireup.
We are advocating to the Australian Government to access further supplies of personal protective equipment. In the meantime you can contact Hireup to submit a request to our Personal Protective Equipment reimbursement fund.