About the Standards for Community Services

The Standards for Community Services outline the minimum expectations of organisations funded by the Department of Communities under the Community Services Act 2007 and Community Services Regulation 2008. They were developed by the Department of Communities in partnership with the community services sector as part of the Strengthening Non-Government Organisations strategy and can be found on the Department of Communities website.

This is a collaborative strategy between the Queensland Government and members of the sector to build the capacity of funded organisations and strengthen community-based services. Setting standards is an important step in ensuring the safety and quality of community services and providing a foundation for continuous improvement.

Areas covered by the standards

There are eleven Standards for Community Services organised into three broad focus areas:

  • People using services: Standards 1-6 focus on ensuring that clients receive individually tailored, culturally sensitive services delivered with respect for their individual rights.
  • People working in services: Standards 7-9 focus on ensuring that client services are provided by staff and volunteers who are appropriately selected, competent, and supported in performing their roles.
  • Governance: Standards 10-11 focus on ensuring that client services are based on a clear vision and set of organisational values, and strong governance arrangements.

Implementation of the standards

From September 2007, implementation of the standards is a condition of all service agreements between the Department of Communities and funded organisations.

Two phases of implementation are planned.

Phase 1, 2008-10

The first three years of implementation is a developmental phase, with a focus on self-assessment and quality improvement rather than compliance. It is expected that organisations will be able to show that they have met the standards by the end of this phase.

In the 2008 calendar year, all organisations receiving more than $100,000 per annum in triennial funding from the Department of Communities (except licensed childcare organisations and organisations recognised under another quality system) will be required to assess their performance against the standards and develop an improvement plan. The outcomes of this self-assessment and improvement planning should provide the necessary evidence for demonstrating that they have achieved the standards by the end of phase 1.

Although organisations receiving less than $100,000 are expected to implement the standards, self-assessment and improvement planning are voluntary.

Phase 2, 2011 onwards

This phase will focus on compliance with the standards. All organisations receiving more than $100,000 per annum in triennial funding from the Department of Communities will have their compliance with the standards monitored. Organisations that received alternative recognition in phase 1 will also have their compliance with the standards monitored. However, information from the alternative quality process may contribute to satisfying some of the department's monitoring needs.

Resources and assistance

Resources will be provided to support implementation of the standards, including:

  • a manual outlining the Standards for Community Services and the process for self-assessment
  • a workbook for recording evidence that includes step-by-step guidelines to conduct a self-assessment
  • online guides and templates for developing and implementing policies
  • small grants to help with the self-assessment process and development of improvement plans.

Community sector development workers will also be available through the Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) to assist organisations implement the standards.

Contact details for QCOSS are available below.

Indigenous organisations will be able to access support from Strengthening Indigenous Non-Government Organisations officers to undertake a self-assessment and implement an improvement plan.

Another resource is the CD-ROM VOICE: Valuing Organisational Improvement and Community Excellence which was distributed in 2006 to all organisations funded by the Department of Communities and Disability Services Queensland. This CD-ROM includes examples of documentation for a variety of administration tasks. Organisations may find some of this documentation useful in implementing the standards.

Responses to some frequently asked questions about the implementation of the standards are provided on this website.

If you have questions or comments about the standards, please refer to the contacts details listed below.

Contacts and feedback

We encourage you to provide feedback on the Standards for Community Services. Your comments are important to us and we look forward to hearing from you. Please contact:

Standards Team

Telephone:
(07) 3227 7978
Email:
standards.team@communities.qld.gov.au

Queensland Council of Social Service

Telephone:
1800 232 569 (ext. 115)
(07) 3004 6909
Email:
sngoqcoss@qcoss.org.au

Last updated 2007-10-01