Bloom Healthcare Website Accessibility Statement

Easy Read versions of Bloom's key documents are published on the website and can be downloaded. Interpreters can be arranged through TIS National, the Translating and Interpreting Service, if you ask when you book. If something on the site or in a document is not usable for you, email hello@bloom-healthcare.com.au and say what the problem is. Bloom aims to respond to accessibility enquiries within 3 to 5 business days.

Easy Read version of this accessibility information

Bloom Healthcare is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually working to improve the user experience for everyone and applying relevant accessibility standards wherever possible.

Conformance status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) define requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. These guidelines outline three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA.

Bloom Healthcare is committed to making continuous improvements to ensure our website and digital services are inclusive and accessible. We believe it is our collective responsibility to enable seamless, equitable, and barrier-free access for all users, including those living with disability.

While we aim to make all pages and content on bloom-healthcare.com.au accessible, some content may not yet fully comply with the highest standards due to technological limitations or ongoing development.

Language translation disclaimer

To support accessibility for culturally and linguistically diverse communities, we have enabled Google Translate on our website. This third-party plugin allows users to view our content in multiple languages.

Please note that:

• Google Translate is an automated service and may not always provide accurate or contextually correct translations.
• Bloom Healthcare is not responsible for any errors or inaccuracies in the translated content.

We appreciate your understanding and are continually exploring ways to improve language accessibility for all users.

Feedback

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of the Bloom Healthcare website. If you experience any accessibility barriers or would like to suggest improvements, please contact us:

Email: hello@bloom-healthcare.com.au

We aim to respond to all accessibility-related enquiries within 3–5 business days.

Interpreter services available

Bloom Healthcare can arrange interpreters through the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) for clients and families who require language support. If you would like an interpreter for your appointment or communication with our team, please let us know at the time of booking.

Easy Read documents

Easy Read uses short sentences, plain words and pictures. Bloom publishes Easy Read versions covering:

• Welcome to Bloom Healthcare, an introduction from the directors
• About Bloom Healthcare, covering the mission, feedback, advocacy, privacy, and your rights and responsibilities
• Your Rights
• Advocacy
• Supported Decision Making
• Incident Management and Emergency Management
• Accessibility, including the Easy Read accessibility document
• Individual services: occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology, psychology, exercise physiology, dietetics, Positive Behaviour Support and paediatrics 0 to 9

The service documents explain what each therapy is and what it covers. The occupational therapy one, for example, covers functional capacity assessments, assistive technology, home modifications, and home and living assessments.

If the document you need is not available in Easy Read, ask. Email hello@bloom-healthcare.com.au or call 1300 771 465 and say which document and which format you need.

Interpreters and other languages

Bloom can arrange an interpreter through TIS National for appointments and for communication with the team. Ask for one at the time of booking, not on the day, so the interpreter can be organised in advance. Say which language and dialect you need.

The website also has Google Translate enabled. It is an automated service, so it can be wrong, and Bloom is not responsible for errors in the translated text. Use it to get the gist, and ask for an interpreter or a person to explain anything that affects a decision about your care or your funding.

Getting to an appointment you can actually attend

Access is not only about documents. The service is set up so that most people do not have to travel:

• Clinicians come to you. Home, school, workplace, day program and community settings are the primary delivery model, so mobility, transport and fatigue do not have to stand between you and an appointment.
• Telehealth is available by video or phone across the disciplines, which suits people in regional and remote areas and anyone for whom travel is the hardest part.
• A therapy room can be arranged case by case if that suits you better.

If a particular environment is a problem for you, sensory or otherwise, say so at booking. It can usually be planned around.

If you communicate in ways other than speech

Augmentative and alternative communication is part of what Bloom's speech pathologists assess and support, and communication needs are taken into account in how appointments are run. Tell the intake team how you communicate, what you use, and what a clinician needs to know to communicate with you well.

You also have a right to information in a format you can understand, and to the communication support you need to take part in decisions about your own supports.

Bringing an advocate

An advocate is someone who listens to you, helps you make decisions and speaks up for you. It can be a family member, a friend, someone you trust, or someone from a formal advocacy service.

You can have an advocate present at assessment meetings, service plan reviews, any communication with the provider, and when you give feedback or make a complaint. With your permission, your advocate is given the information they need so they can check that services are working in your interests.

Supported decision making means you make your own decisions with the help you need to make them: clear and accessible information, time, and support from people you choose. Your decisions should be respected and acted on. See the Advocacy Policy and Supported Decision Making pages.

Reporting an accessibility barrier

If a page, document, form or appointment process does not work for you:

1. Email hello@bloom-healthcare.com.au, or call 1300 771 465 if email is not accessible for you.
2. Say what you were trying to do, where it went wrong, and what would have worked instead. "I could not read the referral form with my screen reader" is far more actionable than "the site is hard to use".
3. Ask for the information another way at the same time, so you are not left waiting for a fix to get what you needed.

Bloom aims to respond to accessibility enquiries within 3 to 5 business days. If your concern is about the service you receive rather than the website, use the feedback page instead. Raising either does not affect the supports you receive.

Common questions about accessibility at Bloom

Is there an Easy Read version of the accessibility information?

Yes. The Easy Read accessibility document is published on this page.

Does an interpreter cost me anything?

Ask when you book. Interpreting is arranged through TIS National, and how it is handled is confirmed with you as part of your booking and service agreement.

Can someone read a document to me over the phone?

Call 1300 771 465 and ask. Say which document it is and what you need to know from it.

Can my support worker or family member contact Bloom for me?

Yes, with your permission. If someone is acting as your nominee or guardian, say so at the start so their role is clear.

What if I need information before I decide whether to sign up?

Ask for it before you sign anything. You have the right to clear information about your options, to say no to a provider, and to not be pressured into supports you do not want.

How quickly will Bloom respond to an accessibility problem?

The stated aim is 3 to 5 business days for accessibility-related enquiries.

Is the whole website WCAG compliant?

Bloom's position is that it aims to make all pages and content accessible, but that some content may not yet fully comply with the highest standards because of technological limitations or ongoing development. If you hit a barrier, report it and ask for the information another way at the same time.

Contact

Registration no: 4-JR6F5KX
Provider no: 4050148863

• Accessibility enquiries and alternative formats: hello@bloom-healthcare.com.au
• Phone: 1300 771 465
• Hours: Monday to Thursday 7:30am–6pm, Friday 7:30am–5pm, Saturday by appointment
• Service feedback and complaints: feedback
• General enquiries: contact us

Asking for a format that works for you

The most practical thing to know is that you can ask at any point, not only at intake. If a report is hard to follow, if an email is the wrong channel, if a form is difficult to complete, or if you want the same information explained differently, say so.

Formats and adjustments that can be arranged include Easy Read versions of key documents, interpreting including Auslan, written summaries of what was discussed, plain-language explanations of a report, larger print, and having a support person present. Ask when you make contact so it can be organised before the appointment rather than during it.

Where accessibility sits alongside your other rights

Getting information in a form you can use is not a courtesy. It is part of being able to make informed decisions about your own supports, which is why it sits alongside the advocacy policy and supported decision-making rather than apart from them.

If something about the way information is provided is not working, the feedback page explains how to raise it, and raising it does not put a service at risk.

Known limits

This statement describes what Bloom can arrange. It does not control the accessibility of third-party systems referred to from these pages, including government portals and external forms, and it does not cover the client's own separate website.

Where an external system is the barrier, say so when you call. There is often an alternative route — a phone application instead of an online one, or a service that can complete a form with you — and the team can point to it.