The HSQF – (Health Services Quality Framework) is the quality assurance framework
for assessing and promoting improvement in the quality of human services.
The HSQF applies to:
- organisations funded to deliver human services under service agreements, or other specified arrangements, with the Department of Communities, Disability Services and Seniors (DCDSS) and the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women (DCSYW)
- organisations funded to deliver child protection placement services in-scope of licensing under an Individual Client Service agreement with DCSYW Child Related Costs Placement and Support (CRC-PAS)
- organisations funded by Queensland Health that have been advised by Queensland Health that they can use HSQF to meet quality requirements.
Development & it's services
The HSQF – (Health Services Quality Framework) was developed in collaboration with the non-government sector to maintain important safeguards for people using services while streamlining quality requirements. It incorporates:
- a set of quality standards, known as the Human Services Quality Standards, which cover the core elements of human service delivery
- an assessment process to measure the performance of service providers against the standards (assessment occurs at organisation level across all in-scope services)
- a continuous improvement framework, which supports the participation of people who use services in quality improvement.
Human Services Quality Standards
The Human Services Quality Standards (the standards) set a benchmark for the quality of service provision. Each standard is supported by a set of performance indicators which outline what an organisation will be assessed against in order to show they meet the standard.
The standards cover the core elements for quality service provision, namely:
- governance and management
- service access
- responding to individual need
- safety, wellbeing and rights
- feedback, complaints and appeals
- human resources.
Compliance with the standards
Organisations are able to demonstrate compliance with the standards through one of three methods:
- Certification under the HSQF – recognition that an organisation has met the requirements of the standard through a process of independent third-party audit.
- Evidence of certification or accreditation against a set of standards/quality framework approved by the department.
- Self-assessment.
The method of demonstrating compliance will depend on the type and complexity of services provided, the vulnerability of the people using the services, and where funded by Department of Communities, Disability Services and Seniors (DCDSS) and/ or the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women (DCSYW), the amount of funding investment.
The Human Services Quality Standards are based on the following principles:
Participation
People using services are included in decision-making about the service they receive
Choice
People using services have the opportunity to make choices about the services, and where and how they received them, within available resources.
