45Compliance with Social Services Standards

45 Compliance with Social Services Standards

(1) A registered social service provider, as far as is reasonably practicable, must comply with the Social Services Standards in delivering the social services for which the provider is registered under this Act to deliver.

(2) A registered social service provider who meets all of the prescribed service requirements in delivering a social service is taken to comply with the Social Services Standard to which those service requirements relate.

(3) A registered social service provider who fails to comply with a prescribed service requirement is taken to fail to comply with the Social Services Standard to which the prescribed service requirement relates.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (1), in determining whether or not a registered social service provider's compliance with the Social Services Standards in delivering a social service is, or was at a particular time, reasonably practicable, regard must be had to—

(a) the likelihood of any risk that—

(i) a service user's rights would be contravened; or

(ii) a service user would suffer avoidable harm caused by abuse or neglect in connection with the delivery of the social service; and

(b) the extent of the impact on a service user if a contravention of the service user's rights referred to in paragraph (a)(i), or harm to the service user referred to in paragraph (a)(ii), occurred; and

(c) what the registered social service provider knew or ought reasonably to have known about—

(i) any harm or risks of harm referred to in paragraph (a); and

(ii) any ways of eliminating or reducing the risks referred to in paragraph (a); and

(d) the availability, suitability and costs of any ways to remove or reduce the risks referred to in paragraph (a).

Section 297 provides that this section is a civil penalty provision. The penalty for contravention of this civil penalty provision is set out in the table in section 297.