News article
This announcement applies to people who are funded via Disability Support Services.
Carer Support
Ongoing flexibility for Family/Whānau/Āiga when accessing Carer Support
As a response to COVID-19 and its challenges, changes were made so access to respite could be more flexible, including using carer support to pay family/whānau/āiga to provide support, including those living in the same household.
These changes were made to align with the Government’s traffic light response to COVID-19. At the time you were notified that when we moved to traffic light Orange, respite would move back to its original rules around how funding could be used.
We have listened to feedback from tāngata whaikaha Maori and disabled people and their whānau. We also understand that the Omicron outbreak is still very prevalent in our communities.
We are pleased to let you know that we have extended the flexibility for Family/Whānau/Āiga until 30 June 2022.
Tips for completing your Carer Support forms
- Wherever possible please print clearly or type the information onto your claim form.
- Make sure that you sign and date the form (this is verification).
- Ensure that you attach as much information as possible about purchases including receipts or quotes.
- Please remember to keep all receipts and store them away or save them electronically.
- You can send your claims via email. Make sure you put in the subject line that this is a “claim”. If you have a question then make sure you send that separately it’s best not to include it with your claim. Put “query” in the subject line.
Waiting time on payments
We would like to sincerely apologise for the stress and inconvenience caused to some carers affected by issues that have delayed the payment of some care support claims.
A number of factors have contributed to these delays, including the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and the increasing volume of claims which were related to allowing carer support to be used more flexibly through the pandemic.
We can assure you that we are working hard to clear the backlog of claims and have increased our resources to assist with this over the coming months. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Individualised Funding
Ongoing flexibility for Family/Whānau/Āiga when accessing Individualised Funding
As a response to COVID-19 and its challenges, we made changes so Individualised Funding (IF) could be used more flexibly and allow the engagement of family/whānau/āiga to provide support.
This change was to end when we moved into the traffic light alert Orange setting. However following feedback from tāngata whaikaha Maori and disabled people and their whānau and acknowledging that the Omicron outbreak is still prevalent we have extended the flexibility until 30 June 2022.
If you have questions about this ongoing flexibility, please contact your IF Host.