Effective from April 2025

Approved by: Chief Executive Officer

At a Glance

Occasionally, a Member may ask Five Good Friends to perform a specific task that might require handling money for them, such as grocery shopping. We acknowledge there are risks associated with handling Members’ money and have developed this policy to provide clear direction on how to handle Members’ money during a service.

Scope

This policy applies to all Members and workers (Helpers, Third Party Partners, and Five Good Friends Staff).

Objective

The purpose of this policy is to:

• Ensure Members and workers understand the risks of handling Members’ money.
• Set out the Five Good Friends position when a Member asks us to handle their money while providing a service.
• Ensure workers take appropriate steps in handling a Member’s money to avoid a potential disagreement or misunderstanding and to protect the Member’s interests.

Definitions

• In this policy, reference to Member’s money includes using a Member’s EFTPOS / debit / credit card (using Tap & Go or payWave), a reloadable debit card, or cash.

Policy Statements

• We respect each Member’s right to maintain their independence, including managing their finances.
• We will use our best endeavours to ensure that:
  • If a Member asks workers to handle their money in the course of providing services, we do so on a transparent basis.
  • If an issue does arise, we investigate the issue and take appropriate action.
• We acknowledge the risks of working with Members’ money, including:
  • Misappropriation/theft, e.g. a worker uses their position to steal money from a Member.
  • Mishandling, e.g. where a worker accidentally loses a Member’s money.
  • Misunderstanding, e.g. a Member believes they gave the worker more money than they did.