We understand that life happens, and plans can change. Our goal is to make adjusting your services as simple and fair as possible, while ensuring your rights and preferences are respected. 

This guide explains how we manage cancellations, changes to booked services, and situations where a customer isn’t home or cannot be reached at the time of a scheduled visit. 

What this applies to 

This information applies to all Commonwealth-funded aged care services delivered by Suncare, including services delivered by trusted partners on our behalf. 

It does not apply to: 

• Veterans’ Home Care and other DVA programs (program-specific rules apply) 
• Services Suncare delivers on behalf of another provider (their rules apply) 
• Ending services entirely (covered in your Customer Agreement and Welcome Booklet)

 

Your rights 

We will always: 

• Treat you with dignity and respect 
•  Communicate clearly and in a timely way 
• Provide information in forms that suit your needs (including translated, or accessible formats) 
• Apply our cancellation approach fairly and consistently 
• Consider individual circumstances 
• Keep accurate records and protect your privacy 
• Support you if you have concerns or wish to review a decision 

This commitment supports the Statement of Rights, including your right to information, choice and respect. 

Changing or cancelling a service 

To avoid any fees, please give us at least two business days’ notice if you need to cancel or change a booked service. 

Call us as soon as you can if: 

• You are unwell 
• Your plans or support needs change suddenly 
• There’s an emergency or unexpected situation 

We will always do our best to work with you and reschedule where possible. 

If you cancel late or cannot attend 

If less than two business days’ notice is provided, or if we arrive and cannot deliver the service (for example, you are not home or we cannot gain access), we may charge for the scheduled visit as allowed under aged care funding rules. 

We will not charge a fee if we cancel the service for operational reasons on our side (for example, staffing or scheduling issues). 

When we may waive a fee 

We review every situation individually. We will consider waiving or reducing a fee if there were reasonable or emergency circumstances, such as: 

• You were in hospital 
• You had a health incident 
• Your support arrangements changed unexpectedly 

We may ask for reasonable evidence (for example, a medical note or discharge summary), simply to support correct billing under government rules. 

If we can’t reach you 

If you're unexpectedly not home and we cannot contact you, we will follow our no-response process to make sure you are safe and well. 

How we communicate 

We will explain this cancellation approach when you join Suncare and again if anything changes. Information is available in accessible formats on request. 

We are committed to being clear and upfront so you can make informed choices about your services. 

Please tell us how you'd like to receive this information. We can provide it in the format that suits you. 

Questions or feedback 

If you have concerns about a fee or decision, please contact us. We will talk it through, review the situation and make sure it’s handled fairly. 

You also have the right to give feedback or make a complaint at any time, without fear of negative consequences. 

We're here to help 

If you need to cancel or change a service, or if you'd like this information in a different format (such as large print or another language), talk to your Care Partner, or contact: 

1800786 227
info@suncare.org.au  

Our team is here to support you.