Your Rights

You have a right to:

Access

• Healthcare services and treatment that meets your needs

Safety

• Receive safe and high quality health care that meets national standards
• Be cared for in an environment that is safe and makes you feel safe

Respect

• Be treated as an individual, and with dignity and respect
• Have your culture, identity, beliefs and choices recognised and respected

Partnership

• Ask questions and be involved in open and honest communication
• Make decisions with your healthcare provider, to the extent that you choose and are able to
• Include the people that you want in planning and decision-making

Information

• Clear information about my condition, the possible benefits and risks of different tests and treatments, so you can give your informed consent
• Receive information about services, waiting times and costs
• Be given assistance, when you need it, to help you to understand and use health information
• Access your health information
• Be told if something has gone wrong during your health care, how it happened, how it may affect you and what is being done to make care safe

Privacy

• Have your personal privacy respected
• Have information about you and your health kept secure and confidential

Give feedback

• Provide feedback or make a complaint without it affecting the way that you are treated
• Have your concerns addressed in a transparent and timely way
• Share your experience and participate to improve the quality of care and health services

More information

These rights are the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights. They apply to all people in all places where health care is provided in Australia. The Charter describes what you, or someone you care for, can expect when receiving health care.

For more information on healthcare rights, visit www. or to download a poster of the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights, visit the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare website.