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Statement of Consumer Rights and Responsibilities 

 

At Chronic Pain Australia you have the right to:

  1. Be informed about services: We will tell you about services available that might suit you, your rights to privacy and confidentiality, and the limitations confidentiality if you or someone else is at risk
  2. Privacy and confidentiality: We will keep your confidentiality according to our policies and the law (The Federal Privacy Act 1988).
  3. Receive service without discrimination: We won’t judge you or discriminate against you because of your family structure, gender, sexuality, race, or who you are related to or associated with.
  4. Be treated with respect and dignity: We will treat you as an individual, respect your culture and beliefs, listen to you, and support you.
  5. Be a part of decisions that affect your life: You can set your own priorities, ask us questions at any time, refuse our services or ask to have a different worker assist you.
  6. Feel safe with us: All workers follow a Code of Conduct. We don’t tolerate any form of abuse.
  7. Receive information about other services: We can tell you about other services that can support you, including after hours or crisis services 
  8. Tell us your opinions: We are always trying to improve. Your feedback is important to us.
  9. Request another worker: You can ask for different volunteer or worker to assist you and we will do our best to accommodate this.
  10. Make a complaint: You can complain about any aspect of the organisation and stay anonymous if you choose. We will deal with your complaint fairly and in accordance with policy and inform you of the outcome.
  11. Cease services: You can stop receiving services from us at any time, including when you are on a Painlink Helpline call or in any of our Pain Support Groups.

 

As a user of our services you have the responsibility to:

  • Respect the rights of others, including CPA volunteers, staff and consumers
  • Share with us any information that will help us give you the best service, such as your name, medical condition and postcode
  • Take responsibility for  your decisions about your situation
  • Not be aggressive, abusive or threatening towards CPA workers or other consumers
  • Keep yourself, others or any property safe

Please remember that there are a number of issues which our workers and volunteers will not be able to solve or are not authorised to give advice on. We ask that you collaborate with us to help us develop options or strategies that suit your needs.

 

To Make a Complaint

You can make a complaint by emailing national.office@chronicpainaustralia.org.au or phoning the Painlink Helpline on 1300 340 357 and leaving a message asking to speak to the General Manager. 

The General Manager shall email or phone you to investigate the complaint and let you know the outcomes (if you ask to remain anonymous we won’t be able to follow up with you). If you are unhappy with the outcome, we will offer you several options of what to do next. 

If this doesn’t fix the problem, please contact the Queensland Ombudsman. 

To find out more about the complaints process, visit our website at www.chronicpainaustralia.org.au to view our Complaints Policy (at the very bottom of the webpage)