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Community Assist Lawn Mowing (CALM)

This new service aims to help residents in our local government area who may be frail and aged, financially disadvantaged, people with disabilities and their carers with no other support to assist them. It is a subsidized lawnmowing service allowing residents up to nine visits per year from Council’s preferred contractors. Customers pay the difference between the agreed price and the subsidized amount of $20 after satisfactory completion of the lawnmowing at each visit.

For an application form and more details please ring Marc Worner in Home Support and Community Services on 98065148 during business hours.

1. Eligibility

This service is for people living in the Parramatta local government area only. It is mainly for people who are frail-aged or have a disability, and in the absence of basic maintenance and support services, are at risk of premature admission to long term residential care and their carers. Priority will be given to people who:

  • Have financial disadvantage
  • Have no other support to assist with lawn mowing
  • Have high medical or other support needs

2. Application

Please call 9806 5148 and, in need, an application form will be sent out or  download an application here. The process will not progress until an application form together with supporting evidence is received by Parramatta City Council (PCC).

3. Assessment

Once PCC receives the fully completed application form together with supporting evidence; a prompt assessment will be carried out to gauge eligibility for this service.

4. Notification

PCC will write to applicants to advise them of the assessment outcome. Ineligible customers will be provided with contact details of alternative service providers.

5. CALM Agreement

If places are available, successful applicants will be sent two (2) copies of the agreement. Applicants must read the terms and conditions, sign and return one copy in the prepaid addressed envelope. The other copy is for your reference.

6. CALM Customer Card

Only when a signed copy of the CALM Agreement is received by PCC the customer will be sent:
a. A customer card and number which identifies you as an approved CALM customer.
b. A list of contractors and their contact numbers.

7. Privacy and Confidentiality

Customers are responsible for contacting contractors and arranging jobs. PCC will provide contractors with customer card number and name only. Once contact is made with a contractor, address details can then be provided to the contractor.

8. Cost of Lawn Mowing Jobs

Contractors will assess yard size (not PCC) to help determine the total cost of each service. Customers will need to negotiate the exact cost of the job with the approved chosen contractor and pay them directly for any difference between the PCC subsidy and the cost of the lawn mowing job.

PCC CALM will pay the contractor $20.00 per lawnmowing job on receipt of a customer signed run sheet.

9. No Gardening

There will be no subsidized gardening services under the new scheme. However, customers may negotiate gardening direct with the approved chosen contractor.

10. Entitlement

Eligible customers are entitled to nine (9) lawnmowing jobs per financial year, subsidised to the value of $20.00 per lawnmowing job.
Customers may use more than one subsidy for each service. Only nine (9) subsidies will be provided in any one financial year. Entitlements will be on a pro rata basis for new customers, depending on time of commencement .

  • July - October = 9 subsidies.
  • November - February= 6 subsidies
  • March - June = 3 subsidies

11. Run Sheet

The Run Sheet is the contractor’s record of jobs done for individual customers. Customers need to be at home at the time of the service. It is the customer’s responsibility to sign these upon satisfactory completion of jobs. This may avoid disputes later. Contractors submit those run sheets each month to PCC in order to get paid.

12. Payments

CALM will pay the contractor $20.00 per lawnmowing job. Any jobs that are not lawnmowing will not be paid by CALM. Customers will need to negotiate the cost of any other jobs with the contractor.

13. Non Use of Service

If customers do not use this service for a period of three (3) months they will be contacted and asked if they still need the service. If no reply advice is received within 21 days of this contact; the service will be immediately discontinued in order to allow those residents on the waiting list to take advantage of this service.

14. Feedback

We kindly request that customers ring us with feedback after the first service and any time thereafter in need; about the performance of the contractor. Your satisfaction is our main aim.

PCC will monitor customer satisfaction levels and the quality of the work during the life of this programme.
Where a dispute arises with a contractor and cannot be resolved, complaints can be directed to the CALM service management. The complaint will be investigated in order to reach an acceptable resolution for both parties.

15.Duration of Service

This is a programme self funded by Council.
As part of the agreement, customers will need to refer themselves to a Home and Community Care (HACC) funded lawn mowing service at the earliest opportunity and show that they are on a waiting list of any of these service providers. See below for list of providers:

  • Hills Community Care - 9761 7611
  • Our Lady of Consolation - 9832 4599

16. Waiting List

If no vacancies exist at the time of this application, eligible applicants will be placed on the CALM WAITING LIST and advised of this outcome. Those same listed applicants will be contacted when a place becomes available in CALM. Meanwhile, we recommend that those applicants contact the other above listed service providers for help.

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