Contracted Service Provider Notice

Maintenance Document Updates

The Hearing Services Program (program) has made updates to two maintenance documents:

• Maintenance Agreement Template
• Maintenance Services Factsheet

The updated Maintenance Agreement Template will become effective from 1 July 2022. In order to provide time to service providers (providers) to update their systems, there will be a transition period until 31 December 2022 where providers may continue to use the current Maintenance Agreement Template.

The Maintenance Services Factsheet has been updated to provide additional clarification to providers on a number of aspects of maintenance and Maintenance Agreements. There is information on what is covered under the agreement, the timing of maintenance agreements, 777 Service Items and client signatures.

Consent and Agreement

The program has reviewed the acceptable methods for documenting consent and agreement for program forms, documents and agreements. A Documenting Consent and Agreement Factsheet has been created. This factsheet outlines which methods of agreement and consent can be applied to each program form from 1 July 2022.

Depending on the form or agreement used, the program accepts that if a client is required to ‘sign and date’ a form, the following methods may be used: 

• Physical signature 
• Digital 
  • Digital signature
  • Digitised signature
  • Electronic signature 
  • eSignature 
  • Text Message 
  • Email 
• Verbal – via recorded conversation 

The update in signature policy is consistent with the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (ETA).

Please note that the temporary change to service requirements, allowing providers to obtain verbal agreement for maintenance agreements, provided written agreement is obtained within 3 months, will end on 30 June 2022. If verbal agreement is obtained before 1 July 2022, written agreement will still be required within 3 months. Further details are outlined in CSPN 202203.  

Any enquiries regarding these changes can be directed to hearing@health.gov.au.