Queensland Community Support Scheme – resources for service providers

The Queensland Community Support Scheme (QCSS) is part of the Queensland Government's ongoing commitment to enabling economic participation, supporting thriving communities, and reducing social isolation for Queenslanders.

QCSS provides low-intensity supports to assist people to actively engage in their community.

The intended outcomes for people being supported through the QCSS are to:

• improve capacity to self-manage and live as independently as possible in their home
• reduce social isolation through increased connection and opportunities for active and independent participation in their community
• support linking and engagement with formal and informal supports and/or services to address long term and emergent needs.

Supports are designed to increase independence, develop skills, and enable people to live in their community, including:

• domestic activities like planning and preparing meals and household chores
• personal care, such as showering and dressing
• shopping, going to the bank or post office
• essential yard maintenance to ensure safety in access and mobility around the external environment of the home
• finding and linking to other supports, services or activities in the community to increase independence and community connection.

To be eligible for QCSS, a person must be under 65 years old (or under 50 years old for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people), and not be eligible for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

People requiring support due to an acute illness, including nursing, convalescent care, post-acute care and support, palliative care and rehabilitation support, are advised to contact 13HEALTH (13 43 25 84), their regular GP, or their local Hospital and Health Service for support services.

The QCSS practice manual (PDF, 944KB) has further information about eligibility criteria.

Key QCSS documents

QCSS practice manual

The QCSS practice manual gives information about:

• planning and delivering support – including the target group, eligibility and support types
• administering supports – including reporting and accountability
• service outlet and government responsibilities.

Read the QCSS practice manual (PDF, 944KB).

QCSS Outcome measurement system (OMS) technical specification

The QCSS-OMS technical specification provides:

• detailed definitions, formats and code values for each of the data elements that need to be reported in the QCSS-OMS
• definitions of data elements and concepts that aren't reported in the QCSS-OMS but enable the derivation of reportable data elements and therefore require a clear definition.

Read the QCSS Outcome measurement system (OMS) technical specification (PDF, 848KB).

Data submission guide

The QCSS-OMS Data submission guide (PDF, 1MB) provides instruction on how to upload QCSS-OMS reports via the QCSS-OMS portal.

Ongoing needs identification (ONI) tools

The following ONI tools are used to consistently assess the level and complexity of a person's support needs to determine the appropriateness of QCSS supports.

• ONI User manual part 1 (PDF, 4.7MB)
• ONI User manual part 2 (PDF, 479KB)
• Core ONI contact information (PDF, 986KB)
• Cultural/language assessment tool (PDF, 162KB).

Quality assurance and reporting

Key information and resources about your obligations:

• Human Services Quality Framework
• Performance report template (DOCX, 43KB)
• Brokerage report template (XLSX, 13KB)

Promotional resources

The following printable promotional resources provide information about the scheme for service users:

• Your rights and responsibilities – a guide (PDF, 89KB) – helps the service user understand their rights and responsibilities
• Your rights and responsibilities – a summary (PDF, 63KB) – summary of the rights and responsibilities of a Queensland Community Support Scheme service user.