The government funded NDIS and HCP programs help improve the quality of lives of people with disability and senior Australians.
Are you looking for more ways to reach customers, and service, and support your local community? This resource contains everything you need to know about how these government-funded programs can work for your local food business.
The HCP (Home Care Packages) is a government program designed to help Senior Australians access at-home assistance in a range of areas such as personal care. This care can include home modifications and support, such as receiving regular ready-made meals.
Like the HCP, funding from the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) helps people living with a disability establish and fulfil personal goals. The focus is on supporting people so that they can be independent and participate in community life. Participants can elect to include the supply of ready meals in their budget.
To ensure that the HCP program is conducted with integrity and not taken advantage of, the government has adopted regulatory requirements that must be followed. There are health and safety requirements that need to be met, some of which are detailed in the next paragraph. In addition to those, managing invoices can be a stumbling block. Invoices must be issued in an approved format and a third party needs to oversee the transactions.
Before Cookaborough, businesses often saw these requirements as too prohibitive - making it difficult for small, local businesses to service these sectors. The result is often that the larger food manufacturers dominate the space, such as Light n Easy. The feedback we receive from customers is that they much prefer a local meal provider who they can connect with and food that has not been mass-produced.
"We had dreaded the thought of having to use second-rate a more commercial supplier, and Kelly’s mob saved us from that. I really look forward to Friday when some happy person full of smiles drops off the week’s supply. Though I had ordered each dish with care I am still surprised, and we hurry to find what’s there for the week. The great benefit of a declining memory is that each week is new! Even when we moved to Bega, Eastwoods was still next door (or so it seems). With our age package we have to pay for only the food component, which comes to 30%, and that is set up on the site so it takes minimal organisation to ensure a week of fine tucker."
- Eastwood’s HCP Customer
Care Providers are organisations managing funds of either HCP or NDIS Plan managed clients. This is an example of what Care Providers typically require in order for you to service their clients - whether they are NDIS or HCP customers.
Workers Compensation Certificate of Currency (Find your certificate in Victoria here. For other States and Territories please go to the relevant finder page or contact your Insurer).
Public Liability Insurance Policy Certificate of Currency.
Evidence of having completed Food Safety training by a Registered Training Authority to Food Safety Supervisor level.
After working with various food businesses and participants to gain a comprehensive understanding of the program, Cookaborough has developed a solution that automates the regulatory process allowing for a seamless experience for the food business, the participant and the Care Provider including:
Providing a seamless customer sign-up process and also a service for the Care Provider to be able to sign-up on behalf of their clients
Streamlining the ordering process, whether that be via the customer online or over the phone
Only charging the customer 30% of the cost of the meal and issuing an invoice to the Care Provider for the remainder
Providing food businesses with introductions to the Care Provider in their regions that they can approach
Providing food businesses with brochures and resources they can share to the Care Provider and customers about how the service works
“I GET SO MUCH JOY FROM PROVIDING MEALS FOR THE Seniors AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES OF THE SOUTH COAST. I WAS MORTIFIED TO HEAR SOME OF THE STORIES OF WHAT THEY WERE MAKING DO WITH BEFORE THEY STARTED USING US. WE HAVE FORMED A CLOSE CONNECTION WITH MOST OF THESE CUSTOMERS, WHICH GIVES ME GREAT JOY. IT WOULDN’T BE POSSIBLE IF IT WEREN’T FOR HOW COOKABOROUGH DOES ALL OF THE ADMIN, AS IT WOULD BE A NIGHTMARE OTHERWISE.”
- KELLY, EASTWOODS BERGAMUI, NSW.
Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for local food businesses to service their community members who are utilising these programs and want access to high-quality local meals.
We have heard many unfortunate stories of customers with sub-standard meal options to choose from despite having excellent food businesses in their community. At Cookaborough, we have seen the impact of quality meals and the strong community connection that can grow through sourcing locally.
A crucial aspect the government considered when designing the HCP program is the role that high-quality, nutritious meals play in the well-being of Senior Australians. Recent Royal Commissions into the aged care sector echoed these sentiments and highlighted the often poor quality of meals participants receive.
The HCP program allow participants to source their own meal solutions and make the most of the program's financial incentives improving the quality and variety of meals available.
There is a misconception that only selected accredited food businesses can provide these services, which is not the case. In fact, any food business can participate in the program, providing they meet specific regulatory requirements.
Follow these steps to activate your account to enable NDIS & HCP customers to be able to order from you.
HCP Customers can apply themselves:
HCP recipients can sign up themselves via the HCP tab on your Cookaborough menu page.
You will receive a notification that their application is awaiting their Care Provider’s approval.
Their Care Manager will have also received this application.
If the Care Manager accepts it, you will be sent a notification, and the participant will be able to place an order while receiving the discount.
If the Care Manager rejects it, you will need to liaise with them to resolve the issue prior to them accepting it.
Once an order is placed, the invoice is sent to the Care Manager for payment within 3-5 business days.
Once paid, you need to mark it off by going to Orders > Food > Order > mark as paid.
Sometimes you may have a request from a Care Provider directly, to service their client. In this case you have pre-approval from the Care Provider so you can enter & approve HCP applications directly via Customers > HCP & NDIS > Create application.
Cookaborough can also sign you customers up and liaise with the Care Provider. Let us know if this is what you require.
The NDIS allows more than 500K Australians who have a permanent and significant disability access to funds to use for support and services to improve quality of life. Part of these funds include the ability to access meals.
This means for ready made meals, NDIS participants are eligible for a 70% refund as well as the delivery fee for ready made meals, with the remainder paid by their fund.
Similar to the process for HCP, there is a once-off process that you need to go through, however once you are up and running the process is very manageable.
The process for Plan-managed NDIS participants is slightly different than for self-managed NDIS participants.
Plan-Managed
When a customer requests a quote, you will receive a confirmation email.
The customer's Plan Manager will have also received the quote for review.
If the Plan Manager accepts it, you will be sent a notification, and the participant will be able to place an order while receiving the discount.
If the Plan Manager rejects it, you will need to liaise with them to resolve the issue prior to them accepting it.
Once an order is placed the invoice is sent to the Plan Manager for payment within 3-5 business days.
Self-Managed
When a participant requests a quote, you will receive a confirmation email.
No action is required as the platform will automatically generate the required invoice template for the participant to claim back through their Government Portal.
The HCP and NDIS programs are growing significantly, and meals are playing a key role within the programs. There are currently over 300,000 participants in the HCP, and this is growing at least 10% each year.
Due to the nature of the relationship and the funding they receive, these customers are more likely to order multiple meals and repeatedly place orders each week. As they are also only outlying 30% of the actual cost of the meals, they are generally not as price sensitive as others.
For many food businesses using the Cookaborough platform, the HCP and NDIS programs represent the most significant part of their business. The feedback we receive from them is that it is not just because of the additional revenue but for the reward of uplifting the quality of life for people in their community.
Ready to get started? Fill in the form below, and our team will be in touch to help you begin to make the most of these meaningful opportunities presented by NDIS and HCP initiatives.