Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Good morning everybody and welcome to our guidance and information webinar, my name is Richard Marks. I'm a director in the Human Services Regulator and I'll be your facilitator for today. I'd like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we're meeting today and pay my respects to Elders past and present, as well as to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are joining us today. I also acknowledge it was National Sorry Day on Sunday and we're in National Reconciliation Week. A few items before we start: This session will be recorded and shared on the Social Services Regulator website for anyone who is unable to attend today. Our Auslan interpreter was unable to make it. There will be a second session on 11 June and we'll endeavour to have it interpreted. This session will be captioned by Tina. Instructions are in the chat. In today's session, we'll introduce you to Jonathan and he will take you through the guidance tools on the SSR (Social Services Regulator) website. The guidance can help you understand your obligations under the Social Services Regulator scheme and how to approach the process. We'll be answering questions submitted by our audience. We'll endeavour to answer as many questions as we can. I ask you to keep questions about the guidance and areas where it might need clarification or future guidance. I will now welcome Jonathan to the screen.
Jonathan Kaplan, Social Services Regulator: Thank you, Rich. I am at 50 Lonsdale Street and I'd like to pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging and any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues who are joining us on this call today.
Thank you for joining us today. This is the first of what will be a series of webinars and information sessions to help prepare you and your organisation for the transition to the new Social Standards regulatory framework from 1 July. I joined as the inaugural Social Services Regulator in the beginning of February and have transitioned from counting down in months, weeks and by next week, it will be in days. We are just under five weeks away from the commencement of the new scheme. What the team joining me today will do is really two things. One is to present some information to support you but also, we are keen to hear what are your questions and they may be questions we can answer now but more importantly, the questions are really helpful because they help us to refine our education, information and guidance. The more feedback we get; the greater clarity we can provide. I have spent much of the three and a half-four months travelling around Victoria and meeting with a range of providers, stakeholders and service users. One thing that has really impressed me has been the work that the sector and these subsectors do. What's also very clearly come through as I thought it would, was how many organisations and people who work with them are so committed to the work and really want to be able to utilise the standards to be able to demonstrate the quality or the consistency of the services that they provide. So, it's really incumbent upon me as the Social Services Regulator to support you with clear, accessible, useful and to-the-point guidance. There will, of course, be situations where we may have to use other regulatory tools in terms of organisations that are intentionally noncompliant but whether it is 95 or 97%, really pleased to hear the commitment which we all share to ensuring that vulnerable Victorians, whether it is in a government-delivered service, whether it's in a for-profit service or a not-for-profit service that everybody can expect a consistent, minimum set of standards that go to a safe service that they can access and that they can have their needs met in the supports they need.
We will take all your feedback on board and look to refine and continuously improve our information and guidance in our regulatory approach. So, it's a commitment, just as we ask you to engage in continuous improvement, we will do so ourselves. So, I thank you for your time today and I hand you over to Anthony who will start to take us through some of those guidance materials that are there. I look forward to hearing the discussion.
Anthony Kolmus, Director, Human Services Regulator: Thanks, Jonathan. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Anthony Kolmus. I'm director of the Human Services Regulator within the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing at the moment. It is our team that will form the initial foundation of a number of the staff that are transferring across from the current regulatory framework to the new regulator on 1 July to work with Jonathan. Great to have everyone here today. This first slide, I am going to assume that most people are reasonably across most of this information but I will just really quickly jump through it. Obviously, the scheme commences on 1 July. I think as Jonathan said, I think we are down now to about 33 days or whatever it is that we have to go.
A really important part of the new scheme is the fact that the Social Services Regulator and Jonathan's position is independent from the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. Currently, the Human Services Regulator as most of you would be aware, sits within the department which has created a range of interesting issues. It is really great that the new scheme separates the regulation from the department completely. The scheme primarily is made up of a number of different elements, but some of the key ones are obviously the registration. Unlike the current arrangements with a number of the sectors in scope for the new regulator, all social services in the future, will have to be registered with the Social Services Regulator and that will be a phased approach outlined in the transition regulations that were issued late last year.
The social services standards are a new set of standards replacing a variety of standards including the human service standards for many organisations but also standards for supported residential services the accommodation and personal support standards. Then another key part of the scheme is the Worker and Carer Exclusion Scheme. There was an announcement late last week that it would, in fact, now be starting on 1 July. There are more information sessions coming about that and we're working to ensure the smooth implementation of that on 1 July. That will replace the current suitability panel arrangements and the disqualified worker scheme. I guess one of the big differences between the new regulator and the existing arrangements is that we currently work to four different Acts of Parliament across the various sectors that we regulate. Those different Acts have different regulatory tools available and regulatory approaches and responsibilities so the new Act brings that together under one Act and is much more consistent for all providers irrespective of the type of service they're delivering. So, it is one consistent set of regulatory tools and approaches which, I think, is better certainly for the sector. I think it is much clearer and certainly for ourselves as well, in terms of our adoption and our consistency as a regulator.
The other real plus in the Act is the information and sharing provisions. Both in terms of trying to reduce regulatory burden across the different interfaces of regulators that occur in this sector but it is also much clearer as to who we will be able to share information with and gain information from in terms of other regulators and funding bodies like the department and TAC and WorkSafe. Again, a much stronger legislative framework for that than is currently in place.
Next slide, great. So who's covered by the scheme? Jonathan mentioned earlier that we cover a range of types of organisations. The department for the first time will have to register as a service provider so the regulator will be regulating the department as a service provider, not as a funding body or as a sector steward. In fact, we'll have quite a close working relationship with the department in that sense but certainly, in terms of its direct delivered services, whether that be in children and families, child protection, secure care or forensic disability services will be regulated by the Social Services Regulator. We will also regulate both not-for-profit and for-profit organisations across the range of service types you can see on the slide. There's also in the supported residential services sector, services that receive virtually no funding at all so it is a range of different types of services. I think on the data we currently have available, the size of those organisations ranges from organisations that receive as little as $500,000 a year or sometimes less through to organisations that have in excess of $200 million budgets so it's a really broad range of services and organisations that we will be regulating.
That includes too, as noted on the slide under the disability services component of the new Act, services that are currently funded by either the Transport Accident Commission or WorkSafe. That is quite a new arrangement and is one of the new features of this regulatory scheme. Previously, it's been pretty much focussed on the department-delivered or -funded services.
Next slide. Jonathan has already talked a little bit about what our focus has been to date, and I guess these three questions on the right of your screen there really sum it up. We've been working really hard to make sure that all duty holders understand what the standards are. There is now some guidance available on the SSR website about how to meet the standards. That's our first iteration of guidance in relation to all six standards and what sort of things organisations might need to have in place or should have in place in order to meet those standards. Then later in this session, we'll be talking about the registration process and what that will look like for different organisations. I know that there is some guidance we are expecting to put up on the SSR website within the next few days with more specific details about the registration process.
This is a new scheme for everyone. It is a new scheme for duty holders; it's a new scheme for us to get our heads around in terms of how can we be the most effective regulator we can be, and how can we support providers to meet the standards and to meet their obligations under the Act. Ultimately, all of this is about how do we provide the best possible, and safest possible services to people using the services you guys deliver. We all have the same agenda in mind. Our responsibilities are slightly different but at the end of the day we are all working towards better outcomes for people. We've worked hard to ensure the guidance is as clear as possible. The guidance on the website we tested through a number of stakeholder consultation sessions. Some of the registration information we're about to put out we're currently testing with a small number of providers, both large and small, to test what the registration process looks like. We've been asking for feedback and we'll continue to. The guidance that's currently available is not the end of the guidance; it's very much just the start. We will continue to refine and to produce more guidance as time goes by. In particular, the guidance at the moment is pretty generic. It's fairly high level. It does give quite concrete examples of what evidence of compliance might look like but it's generic across all sectors. Over time, I would think over the next couple of years, as we get to understand each of the sectors better that we're regulating, and the standards better, I would imagine that we might begin issuing out guidance on how the standards apply to the different sectors. We're conscious that we regulate a really broad range of services, as you saw in the earlier slide, and what the standards look like in disability services will likely be quite different than what it looks like in a family violence service or in a sexual assault service or in child protection. We're conscious that we need to continue to develop, finetune and not particularise the guidance that we're developing. So again, if there's anything that any of you pick up in the guidance that you feel we can provide in more detail, whether that's in general terms or specific to your sectors, or if you have particular questions about the services you provide and how they might align with the standards or what compliance looks like, I'm more than happy to be having those conversations.
Next slide. Again, I'm going to assume now that everyone knows there are six social service standards and that providers must meet all six of those standards. Currently if you are beholden or having to comply with the human service standards, chances are you've got most of what you will need to meet the social service standards already in place. There are some nuanced, new elements to the standards and the safe services environment is quite a different standard than what was in the human service standard but it's probably also picked up by obligations you would have to other regulators like local councillors and the like in terms of the safety of the buildings and the facilities that you deliver services from.
In addition to the human service standards, I know, for example, in the supported residential services sector, that sector has to meet the accommodation and personal support standards. Again, there's a pretty significant level of alignment between those standards and the new social service standards. Likewise for TAC and WorkSafe providers, if there's any of you in the room, most of you are either having to comply at the moment as a registered DFFH provider with the human service standards or you would be complying with the NDIS practice standards. There's some overlap. For the most part, if you keep doing what you're doing and then continue to familiarise yourself with the new standards you'll be on the right track. This is not a complete departure from everything you currently know and how you operate. Where these standards do align and where there's familiarity between the existing standards and the new, we will expect that you maintain the existing standards you're already operating to and we will regulate to that accordingly. Conversely, where the new standards bring quite new elements, whether within standards or the new standard around safe services environment, we will be taking a much more graduated approach to informing and educating services and duty holders within those services to make sure people really understand what their obligations are before we really start taking any sort of hardline on those newer elements of the services. Whilst there's lots of similarities in the current and new schemes, it is a big change. This is the first time Victoria's had an independent regulator of services of this type. I think people would need to get used to how that will be like and how it will operate differently from the department's role in the past as both a regulator and a funding body. Like I said, ourselves, we will need to get our head around how best to operate as a regulator and how best we can support organisations to be compliant and to deliver the types of services that the Act is aspiring to have delivered.
Next slide, thanks. As I mentioned, there's a website at the moment. I will get someone to drop the link into the chat for the website, as well. Thanks. I presume most people are aware of that but again, just in case. On that website there's a tab for guidance material. That's where you'll find the guidance material already available in relation to the six service standards. To date, the feedback's been pretty good on that material. We ran the guidance through the Social Services Regulator Taskforce which is made up of providers and peak bodies that are relevant to the sector and to the new department itself and we're hoping that it will serve most of you pretty well as a starting point for really understanding what the standards are; for what evidence you might need to collect to be able to demonstrate compliance with the standards; and just generally, how it aligns with your current practice. Like I said, so far the feedback we've had is that it's been reasonably clear and the guidance is reasonably clear, logical, it provides concrete advice on how people can go about meeting the standards.
Next slide. I will particularly point out each of the guidance documents has an appendix and it's in the appendix, in particular, that it really goes into quite a bit of detail about the actions that will be required: to meet the standards, the documents and other evidence that we would expect that you would typically have in place if you are compliant with the standards, and what the indicators of success look like. So, what does your organisation look like if it's broadly compliant with the standards? Like I said, our suspicion is it will be very similar to what you're doing now with some additional nuances and areas of focus within the new standards but we're not expecting organisations to have to make really significant shifts in how they go about delivering services. There are definitely new elements to it and there are areas that services will need to get their heads around but, like I said, we think, and the feedback we've had to date, seems to suggest that the guidance that's already available up on the website is a pretty good start for people.
There's also going to be a link put in the chat in relation to exactly where the guidance is on the SSR website so you should be able to access that as well. If there are any questions, I'm happy to take those towards the end of the session, but for now I'll throw to Clare Moran from our SSR transition team.
Clare Moran, Manager, System Reform and Workforce: Thanks, Anthony. Hello everyone, my name is Clare Moran. I'm working in the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing in the transition team, which is a team that's been set up to help the establishment of the Social Services Regulator and I've specifically been working on the external guidance that we're talking to you about today.
I've just got a few slides for you. Anthony has talked you through the social services standards as being one of the key requirements of the new scheme and what's available to help you understand those. I'm going to talk now a little bit about registration which is another one of the key requirements of the new scheme. If you're in scope of the new scheme, then you must register with the Social Services Regulator. There's no cost for registration and we have divided the registration process into three different groups of providers. The registration process and timeframes are different for each group and that takes into account that different providers have been subject to different requirements currently so it's a very pragmatic approach.
Really, the point and the purpose of registration is to make sure providers can provide safe services before they offer those services and, ultimately, better protect service users and prevent harm. You'll see on the righthand side of that slide, that's the registration page on the Social Services Regulator website and that's where you can find all this information.
Next slide, please. It's a staged process for registration as I mentioned. There is different timing for different groups and, as you can see there, I won't run through all the detail as this is all on the website. We have a group who are automatically registering as of 1 July. That's because they've previously been registered with the Human Services Regulator and there'll be other groups coming in subsequent to that. The reason for the staggered timeframes is to allow time for the sector to prepare, noting that for some people registration is a new requirement and then it also allows time for the regulator to register service providers and provide information to the groups if they need it.
Next slide, please. So your starting point for understanding registration is the website; there are two information sheets that we have prepared for group one and group two. These really try to step you through the process. They outline the types of information and evidence that you'll be asked to provide for your registration. They go through the key timelines and how the process begins and they also help you identify the group your provider is in and what you need to do to complete your registration, so please go and have a look at those information sheets.
Next slide. Overall, the registration process has four steps. For those providers who are automatically registered they have a slightly different process but for everyone else, the process largely will cover these four steps. Firstly, if the regulator has information already about your organisation on file then we will prepare that and we'll ask you to validate that. So that will be step one. Then step two is to build out that registration record. So we'll ask you to provide details about your provider and the services that you're offering. Step three involves demonstrating suitability which is a key part of the registration process. That is providers demonstrating they are suitable to provide safe services, which includes providing information about your key personnel and the service delivery process. Then you'll also be asked to confirm your understanding of the requirement that you must meet the social services standards as part of your registration.
Next slide, please. We have more guidance to come. This includes detailed guidance on the registration process. I just talked about demonstrating suitability, so we have some guidance on that. We're just finalising that now. We've just tested that through our registration pilot which Anthony messaged before which has three different service providers. Before any of this guidance is published we test it to get feedback and see if people can understand it and it's workable and useful for them. So we'll have information coming out on demonstrating suitability and also, some information coming out to help people better understand if they need to register and if they are in scope. I think there's a couple of questions in the chat about that already. That has been something we've been receiving some queries about, so we'll be putting out some information to try to help people answer those questions for themselves. We also have some more guidance about the social services standards which was developed based on the feedback that we received during our consultation. So a central information sheet on the standards, that gives a bit of an overview and then also a comparison to the current human services standards. That's something that stakeholders told us would be very useful. We're also obviously continuing to work on other guidance and addressing any other gaps that are identified through the pilot and through sector feedback. We also do get asked quite often about will there be an assessment tool? That is something that, in time, we will develop. Just on that question, Anthony was talking to you before about the information sheets on the six social services standards. In each of those information sheets is a very detailed appendix, so I encourage you to use that as a starting point for your self-assessment. I think that is the end of my slides and with that, I will hand back over to Richard.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Thanks Clare and all our presenters. Now is your time. Again, if you've got any questions for the panel please drop them in the chat. We'll get to as many as we can. I can see that Clare has been there already answering a few as we go. First question: You made a reference to a regulatory toolkit plus fit-for-purpose incident reporting, will you be providing more details about both of these in today's session? Anthony.
Anthony Kolmus, Director, Human Services Regulator: The regulatory toolkit, at the moment, we have a broad range of powers as the Human Services Regulator. Under some pieces of legislation, we can write letters to providers and ask them to do things that we think they should, through to other Acts, where we actually have powers to issue compliance notices to appoint an administrator to revoke your registration as a provider et cetera, so it's really quite a broad range. The problem with that is it's not terribly graduated. In some Acts, we go from a letter to much more significant action. The new Act, gives us a much broader range of tools we can use including: improvement notices, suspension of admissions, prohibition notices. It’s a new variety of tools that if non-compliance exists and the provider is either unwilling or unable to become compliant then we have a range of different options available to us in terms of how we work with them. Almost always, particularly in the first couple of years, we'd be starting with information, guidance, and support to make sure they actually understand their obligations before we moved onto more significant action. Unless it's something really serious that they should already have in place, in which case we might escalate fairly quickly.
The one thing I'd say, too, about improvement notices, which will probably be the most common forms of regulatory tools we use after information and support, most of us in the regulator currently have worked in the sector in some point, shape or form. From my perspective, I've worked in the sector for over 40 years, so I know it's a really difficult sector to get right all of the time. Even if you get it right for some clients, what those clients want might be quite different to others. We understand that the likelihood that the service will be compliant at all times is pretty slim. Do not see it as a black mark, it's a heads-up from us as the regulator, "Here's an area where you could be doing better in relation to your compliance obligations." We give you an opportunity to go away and address the non-compliance you've identified and then work from there. So, I think it's really important to understand that, for all of us to understand that, these are really complex services you guys are delivering and we very much will be regulating in that context.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Thanks, Anthony. Next question: How long does a registration last for? Clare, do you want to take that one?
Clare Moran, Manager, System Reform and Workforce: I can take that one. This is also in the information sheet. So, there's not a requirement to renew your registration. You are required to ongoingly comply with the registration and any requirements or conditions that are part of that but there's not a specific requirement to renew it.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: There's a question: When will the detailed registration info be available? Not exactly sure what that's referring to.
Clare Moran, Manager, System Reform and Workforce: I think that's referring to the information about suitability and, also, about scope. So, that will be out in the next two to three weeks to help give people a bit of time ahead of their registration.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Thanks, Clare. Anthony, I think a question for you: What is the situation with registered housing providers currently subject to human services regulator in terms of having codes in scope for accreditation?
Anthony Kolmus, Director, Human Services Regulator: That's a fun one. We might take that one on notice. If you are a pure housing provider, and we're conscious the way the department currently uses funding activity codes that funding streams to organisations can sometimes come out of a code and that looks to be in-scope but the actual activity may not be because it's just the way those funding activity codes work. We've been working really closely with the department to understand, as much as we can; how those codes work and what are the instances where an organisation might be receiving funding through a funding code that to all extents and purposes is in-scope for the regulator but where the activity is not. If you are an organisation providing pure housing services and no direct support as part of that, then the likelihood is you probably won't be in scope for the regulator. But I will take that on notice and will include that in the written responses that come out post this session, yes.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Will there be spot audits or are there site visits scheduled and planned to maintain registration?
Anthony Kolmus, Director, Human Services Regulator: That's probably me. The answer is yes, basically, there will be. Again, the initial approach will be information and guidance. Currently in the Acts we use we have inspection powers, we do a combination of both prearranged visits, where we let the provider know we're coming to look at a certain piece of information or a certain aspect of the standards. We'll seek to meet with key people involved in the organisation to look at that information. Occasionally, when particular concerns have been raised with us and we think that giving pre-warning might compromise our effective assessment of what's happening in an organisation, we will do on-the-spot audits without authorisation. The Act clearly gives us the power to do that. We would expect it will be a combination of both those, as well as desktop reviews of the compliance that we would expect or the evidence we would expect people to have in place. It will be a combination of all of the above. The rate at which we inspect providers will probably depend to a large degree on their compliance history. If they're a provider that we have never had concerns about or we have no reason to have concerns about, the likelihood is we will probably conduct less onsite visits than for providers who, whether through notifications or past compliance issues, we potentially have more issues or concerns about, we are more likely to conduct visits with those organisations.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Thanks, Anthony. This one I think might be for you Anthony as well, but Jonathan might want to chime in. Who should we contact if we wish to ask for guidance as to whether our organisation is in scope?
Jonathan Kaplan, Social Services Regulator: I would email through after you've had a look at the guidance material we've put on the website and we will look to enhance what we've got at the moment. The email address, which Clare can you pop in the chat, is the enquiries@SSR and we will get back to you. There are a range of peak bodies in area sectors that may be able to provide assistance if required.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Thanks, Jonathan. This one might be a bit of disambiguation between this scheme and the old scheme. What activities will be included in the social services standards? I think that's the connection between the human services standards and activity codes at the moment?
Anthony Kolmus, Director, Human Services Regulator: Yes, it is. Okay, that's another interesting question. Great questions, guys. Currently, the scope for the human service standards is dictated to a large degree by the activity codes that people receive funding through. In the new world under the social services regulator that will no longer be the case. The regulations articulate the different prescribed service types that will be in scope for the regulator. Those are the regulations that came out late last year, so I would have a really close read of those regulations. As Jonathan said, or alluded to, they don't spell everything out down to every last variation of the types of services provided so there will need to be some discussions about services that fall on the periphery of some of those service types. The funding codes, again, we're having lots of conversations with the department at the moment to make sure when they issue or develop new funding codes that they are clear from the outset as to whether the actual services delivered by those codes will be in-scope for the regulator. So, organisations know if they're taking on a new stream of funding that is an activity that will be in-scope for the regulator but there is no hard link between the funding codes and the new scheme. We ourselves will probably rely on it to some degree initially because just in terms of okay, we know these codes under the department and we are working with TAC and WorkSafe at the moment. We know that these funding codes were for activities that are in scope for the SSR and so, how do we compare any new activities or streams of funding to those activities? But I would imagine, over time, we'll grow less and less reliant on the funding codes than on purely the regulations and guidance about what is and is not in scope for the regulator.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Thanks, Anthony. This next one may be for Clare, I think it's covered in the additional scope guidance that's coming out but we've been receiving information and been told we're transitioning to the SSR but other info has been received saying as a fully state funded advocacy service we're not in scope. Will the info be coming out soon to clarify this?
Clare Moran, Manager, System Reform and Workforce: Yes, it will be is the short answer. I have put the inquiries email address in the chat if you would like to send us an email and the scope information will be coming out in the next two to three weeks I understand. Some providers have questions about this.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Thanks, Clare. The next question: There was an announcement in December that the Workers and Carers Exclusion Scheme will be delayed by two years, now there's an announcement that it will be actioned as of 1 July 2024, when will we receive more information on how this will work in practice? Does this mean no more Victoria carer registrations as of 1 July 2024?
Anthony Kolmus, Director, Human Services Regulator: Another great question and one we were anticipating given the recent information. There's an information session actually this Thursday. I don't know if those invites double up. I suspect the invite for the session on Thursday has specifically gone out to, I think it's about, 48 organisations who are in-scope. So not all social services will be in scope. The scheme will exactly replicate the current scope for providers and services that are in-scope for that scheme as compared to the current scheme with the suitability panel. It does mean that the Victorian Carers Register will cease on 30 June so there will be no carer register beyond that date, which means that organisations won't need to register carers under the new scheme. You will still, under registration requirements, have an obligation to ensure that we have a comprehensive and adequate screening process or selection process for new carers and workers in residential care. That's very clearly articulated in the regulations but you won't have to register them. You will have to do excluder worker checks any time you engage a new residential worker or foster carer. The scheme does not apply to kinship carers, so it still applies to residential workers and foster carers. It does cover a broader range of types of abuse of children and young people. The current scheme only relates to allegations of sexual or physical abuse. The new scheme picks up both of those, as well as serious and significant psychological harm and neglect as well so it is a slightly broader scheme.
Like I said at the opening, the announcement only came out last week that the scheme would, in fact, be going ahead on 1 July. We're very much working to try and ensure that the implementation goes as smoothly as possible. The two areas we're focusing on at the moment are; how will excluder worker checks be done from day one, and how will you notify us about allegations that you believe fall under the new scheme? At the moment, we're working on two solutions that should mean that both of those processes are very similar to current processes that you are already subject to. If you're subject to the Victorian Carers Register but there's more detail coming. Like I said, we're very much still working on this. The team has had to pivot pretty quickly to try to work out solutions to both of those questions and then obviously, the broader scheme.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Thanks, Anthony. A question related: Does the scheme pick up foster care workers as well?
Anthony Kolmus, Director, Human Services Regulator: The worker care exclusion scheme picks up foster carers, like I said, but does not pick up kinship carers.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Thanks. I'll note there's also a comment and a question about the regulator's interpretation of legislation and training for officers. We'll take that question on notice, it's not directly related to the subject of the forum today.
That's all the questions. I note that Clare has answered quite a few in the chat as well. They're all of the questions that I can see. We will just give people a couple of seconds in case there's anything else coming through.
Anthony Kolmus, Director, Human Services Regulator: There's been a few people who have asked to be specifically invited to future sessions. Clare or Alex, I don't know if we're able to add those to the list or it might be a matter of letting your organisations know there will be invitations that are coming or have already come and making sure you're across that. Clare, I might throw to you.
Clare Moran, Manager, System Reform and Workforce: There have been quite a few of those. We will, after the session, go through the chat and just make sure we add people to our stakeholder list. I'm wondering, too, hopefully we can put a link for the WCES session on Thursday in the chat as well so people can have that straight up.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Terrific. Other than people asking to be invited to those sessions, I'm not seeing further questions.
Jonathan Kaplan, Social Services Regulator: I might just answer the question that referenced my comment last week just to clarify it, which may save having to do a written answer potentially. My comment is: the guidance that we provided, and looking at those indicators of compliance, what evidence may look like for those indicators. I just really wanted to make it clear that, as Anthony noted and I said, some organisations will achieve the regulatory outcome through demonstrating compliance in slightly different ways or having policies in different names. So really it's not about if you don't have everything listed there you're going to be non-compliant. They're strong indicators but there may be situations where we may need to have elements explained to us. It may be about us not understanding, rather than going to a situation where if you haven't got everything that's in that list, you're automatically not compliant. You can read so much into it but no, as always, there will be a focus from within the regulator both around being able to consistently support our staff to be able to interpret a range of indicators consistently, and, where we work with co-regulators and particularly the Commissioner for Children and Young People, about having shared understandings of the Child Safe standards. So just making that clear, that it's not an entire free-for-all, but I wanted to make sure people didn't look at that list and think if it's not characterised exactly like that, we're in trouble. They're pretty good pointers about what we expect to see for many, but it's not absolutely set in stone. Hopefully that clarifies both elements of the question.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Thanks, Jonathan. There was a question that came through. Will providers be issued with a certificate? There's not the same provision in this legislation for a certificate of registration. You will get a document that outlines your registration and any conditions on that registration but we're interested in if people are utilising that certificate in a certain way at the moment. We're interested in feedback of how you're using it and how we might fill that gap. Jonathan.
Jonathan Kaplan, Social Services Regulator: Sorry, Rich, just repeat that.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: You have your hand up.
Jonathan Kaplan, Social Services Regulator: I'll take it down, sorry.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: There was one last question: Will there be requirements for the suitability of board members, i.e. three yearly police checks?
Anthony Kolmus, Director, Human Services Regulator: Interesting question and one we have already had discussions with a few organisations about. The obligation that organisations have is to ensure that key personnel within the organisation are suitable to be in those positions. It seems the practice in relation to boards varies considerably at the moment in the field. Some organisations don't require police checks of board members at all, others do. Ultimately, it will be on the organisation to satisfy itself that its board members and its key personnel are suitable for the roles that they're in. There will be guidance, I think there is guidance about that as part of the guidance that has already been issued. I don't know that we will be prescriptive about how often those police checks need to be undertaken. Like I said, organisations will need to be able to satisfy the regulator that you've taken reasonable steps to ensure that board members and key personnel are, in fact, suitable to be in the positions they're in.
Richard Marks, Director, Human Services Regulator: Clare has just answered the last question that came through, so I will draw us to a close there. Thank you everybody for joining us. Thanks Jonathan and our speakers, Anthony and Clare, and for everyone who submitted questions. As I said at the start, there will be a second session where we'll repeat this content on 11 June. Thank you, Tina, who has been captioning for us and thanks everyone for joining us. Have a great day.
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