Safeguarding and Quality

Human Rights

We respect the human rights of all clients. In practice, this means supporting clients choice and control over their lives. This is embedded across all parts of our organisation including all our policies, procedures, and work practices which are reviewed for human rights implications.
With a zero tolerance to violence, any form of abuse, including sexual abuse, neglect, exploitation, or discrimination (VANED), we are committed to prevention, early intervention, and a prompt response to concerns identified. We work to deliver and continually improve the effectiveness of our services with a culture of safety and quality being the responsibility of all staff.

Clinical and Practice Governance

Our Clinical Governance Framework ensures all our clients’ needs are met in a supportive and collaborative environment where leadership drives practice excellence, minimises risk and enables independent and positive futures for people living in the community with psychosocial disabilities and mental health concerns.
We support clinical and practice governance by monitoring emerging trends, conducting in depth client reviews and through performance reporting mechanisms to identify issues of concern and provide oversight of risks. These activities are supported by a Clinical Governance Committee that reports to the Board.
In addition, our centralised incident management team conduct regular sampling of reported incidents to ensure we have safeguarded the people involved, responded appropriately, investigated and informed improvements to our practice.

Practice Excellence Framework

Each person supported by us, have access to personalised, evidence-based supports. This support is guided by our Practice Excellence Framework to ensure we continuously improve our practice. This Framework is underpinned by a whole of group approach to person-centred practice and best practice, embodying a strong culture of human rights promotion and quality of care outcomes.
We have a team of multidisciplinary Practice Specialists and Researchers who have a pivotal role in providing practice guidance, expertise, and leadership to our clients, their families and others involved in their support teams. The collaboration between the practice excellence team and our service teams works to identify, design, and implement practice improvements across our services. 

Client Experience

We are committed to providing quality service experiences for the people that we support and their families. We encourage feedback and promote the importance of client voice throughout all levels of the organisation. We have feedback and complaints systems in place and embed advocacy and supported decision-making models across the organisation enhancing client voice. We ensure that our clients have access to the information, tools, resources and supports they need to advocate for their service experiences and preferences authentically and effectively.

Accreditation and Certification

Our services meet the requirements of relevant quality standards.
As a registered NDIS Provider and provider of mental health services, Open Minds meets the high standards of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Practice Standards and Quality Indicators and National Standards for Mental Health Services. Our headspace services are accredited against the headspace Model of Integrity Framework.

Child Safety

We are committed to supporting children and young people in a safe, nurturing environment. Our Children and Young People’s Safety and Wellbeing Statement outlines this commitment and is supported by processes we have in place to support children and young people enshrining the principles of child safe, and friendly practices.
If you have a concern regarding a safeguarding, please contact 1300 673 664 or provide feedback here.