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Yarrowee Home Care

Our code of conduct, and how to complain

Yarrowee Care Pty Ltd trading as Yarrowee Home Care · ACN 701 001 416 · ABN 45 701 001 416 · Version 1.0, 20 August 2026

A business that provides a health service in Victoria without a registered practitioner behind it, which includes us, is bound by a code of conduct set by law, and it has to tell you about that code and about how to complain. This page does both. Nothing on it is optional for us.

The code that binds us

We are bound by the Code of Conduct for General Health Services, made under the Health Complaints Act 2016 (Vic). It applies automatically. There is no registration and no opting out, and it binds both the company and every carer we send, personally.

The full code is published by the Health Complaints Commissioner and you can read or download it free at hcc.vic.gov.au. We will also give you a printed copy if you ask, and a copy is kept in the folder we leave in a client’s home.

What the code requires of us, in plain terms

  • Safe and ethical service. We must not provide services outside our training or experience. We must know our limits and refer you on.
  • Consent. We must obtain consent appropriate to the service before we start.
  • Reporting other providers. If we form a reasonable belief that another provider is putting people at serious risk, we must report it to the Commissioner. It is a duty, not a choice.
  • Adverse events. We must have first aid available, get emergency help, tell you promptly what happened, put it right where we can, and report it where we should.
  • No misleading claims. We must not make claims about our services that cannot be substantiated.
  • No financial exploitation. We must never ask you to give, lend or leave us money or gifts.
  • No sexual or inappropriate close personal conduct. No sexual, or inappropriate close personal, physical or emotional relationship with a client.
  • Privacy. We must comply with the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Our privacy policy explains how.
  • Records. Accurate, legible and current records of each visit, held securely and transferred to you or another provider on request.
  • Insurance. We should hold appropriate indemnity insurance.
  • Access to the code. We must bring the code and this complaint information to your attention, which is what this page is for.

What we do about it

Some of these deserve more than a line, because they are the ones that matter most in someone's own home.

  • We stay inside what we can do safely. No clinical or nursing care of any kind, including wound care, catheter care, PEG feeding and injections. No medication administration; we prompt, we do not give. No transfers needing two people or a hoist. No care where dementia can lead to distress or aggression towards a carer working alone. No live-in or 24 hour care. Requests outside that are declined at the point of asking, before any money changes hands, and we tell you where to go instead, such as your GP or My Aged Care on 1800 200 422.
  • Our carers are not permitted to accept gifts, loans or bequests. That covers their family members and being named in a will. It is absolute, it is not a judgement call, and it applies no matter how genuinely a gift is meant.
  • Every carer is personally bound by this code. Not just the company. A carer can personally be the subject of an order prohibiting them from working in any health service in Victoria, and we make that clear to every carer before they start.
  • If something goes wrong on a visit, you will hear it from us. We will tell you and your nominated contact what happened, as a rule rather than a judgement call, and what we are doing about it.

If you are unhappy with our service

Please tell us first if you are willing to. Speak to your carer, ring us on 03 4329 0128, or email hello@yarroweecare.com.au.

What we will do

  1. We treat any expression of dissatisfaction as a complaint, however it reaches us. A remark to a carer at the kitchen table counts, and carers are told to pass it on the same day.
  2. We acknowledge your complaint within three working days, in the way you prefer to be contacted.
  3. We tell you who is looking into it, and we keep you informed rather than leaving you to chase us.
  4. We aim to finish within 90 days. If it will take longer we say so, and say why.
  5. Wherever we can, the person looking into a complaint is not the person complained about. In a business this small that means the director looks into anything involving a carer. If your complaint is about the director, you can go straight to the Health Complaints Commissioner, and we will tell you so.
  6. We keep a register of complaints, what we did and what we changed as a result. We look for patterns, not just closures.
  7. Complaining does not affect the care you receive. Nobody has their service reduced or withdrawn for making a complaint.

Complaining to the Health Complaints Commissioner

If you would rather not raise it with us, or you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain at any time to the Health Complaints Commissioner, the independent body that handles complaints about health services in Victoria. You do not have to come to us first, and it is free.

The Commissioner can also handle complaints about the way we have handled your health records.

The Commissioner's office is not currently open to the public and is reporting delays with hard copy mail, so the phone number and the online form are the quickest ways to reach them.

Complaints about privacy

Complaints about how we have handled your personal or health information can go to the Health Complaints Commissioner above, or to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner on 1300 363 992 or at oaic.gov.au. Our privacy policy explains how we handle information and how to ask for access or a correction.

Code of conduct and complaints v1.0 · 20 August 2026 · Yarrowee Care Pty Ltd trading as Yarrowee Home Care · ACN 701 001 416 · ABN 45 701 001 416

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