Family Violence Policy
NTI's Policy
-
NTI’s Purpose Statement
NTI’s purpose statement is to “Keep Australian industry moving to a safer and more sustainable future”.
NTI has close links with its customers and partners in the transport and logistics industry and will support them to the best of our ability. NTI is mindful of the prevalence of family violence throughout Australian society.
Definition of Family Violence
Under Australian law, ‘family violence’ is defined as: “violent, threatening or other behaviour by a person that coerces or controls a member of the person’s family…or causes the family member to be fearful.” (Section 4AB, Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).
Family and domestic violence is behaviour that is threatening or controls another family member through abuse or fear to maintain power and control over the other person/s of the family. This can include behaviour that is physically, emotionally, psychologically, sexually and economically threating, coercive or controlling to the other person.
Objective of the Policy
This policy outlines the requirements of the General Insurance Code of Practice on family violence which requires NTI to:
- Ensure safety is paramount for anyone affected by family violence.
- Provide early recognition of family violence.
- Train its employees to help them understand and decide how best to support its customers, and others, who are experiencing vulnerability — including people affected by family violence.
- Protect private and confidential information of customers affected by family violence.
- Minimise the number of times a customer affected by family violence needs to disclose information about family violence.
- Ensure that claims handling processes for claimants affected by family violence are appropriate and sensitive.
- Ensure that collection arrangements are handled sensitively.
- Arrange access to NTI’s Financial Hardship provisions.
- Inform customers, employees, distributors and service suppliers about information and assistance available to people experiencing family violence and where applicable refer these people to specialist services.
- Support its employees and distributors who are affected by family violence experience vicarious trauma after serving affected customers.
-
NTI implements ongoing training to its employees on how they can identify and support customers experiencing vulnerability, including those affected by family violence. It also explores how NTI supports its employees who are affected by family violence or experience vicarious trauma after serving vulnerable customers.
The training module covers the following areas:
- Recognise when a customer requires support due to vulnerability and family violence.
- Understand their responsibilities in relation to customers experiencing family violence or vulnerability.
- Assist customers in a sensitive manner who may be experiencing family violence.
- Understand when to refer customers affected by family violence to internal specialists.
- Understand the purpose of the Family Violence Policy
NTI employees are also trained to practice the following techniques when assisting customer experiencing vulnerability or family violence:
- Respectful communication
- Non judgemental
- Enquiring
- Listening for feelings
- Referring customers to NTI specialist team members for handling
-
NTI employees are trained to ensure that they act with understanding and compassion when dealing with vulnerable customers and that they provide them with extra support as far as reasonably practicable.
Some ways to recognise a customer’s vulnerability are:
- Identifying a heightened emotion not typical for that kind of business conversation
- Customer being fearful around someone listening in or returning at any moment; afraid who might disclose their sensitive information; afraid how NTI will use this information.
- An inability to make payments such as claims excesses, policy premiums etc.
- Discussion of financial hardship, ongoing business or family issues, emotional setbacks
- Listlessness, vagueness and inability to focus on questions, identifying emotions of shock, sadness, anxiety or depression through their words and tone of their voice.
-
NTI collects personal information directly from the customer by the following means:
- over the phone (mobile, telephone and calls made using internet services)
- written forms
- emails and other forms of electronic communications
- through the internet (social media, websites etc.)
- online platforms and mobile applications
NTI will discuss and agree with customers affected by family violence their preferred method of communication.
In respect of information handling:
- NTI has a Privacy Policy which details our requirements and responsibilities when handling personal information and sensitive information.
- NTI ensures secure systems are in place to protect both personal and sensitive information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access and disclosure.
- Customers experiencing financial hardship or family violence will be handled by a specialist team member at NTI.
- NTI ensures that collection of information is handled sensitively.
-
NTI has established a specialised Triage team who will manage escalated Family Violence, Vulnerability and Financial Hardship calls.
With NTI’s Triage Team, NTI can:
- Minimise the number of times a customer affected by family violence needs to disclose information about family violence. If the customer has chosen not to engage in further discussion, the Triage Manager creates a flag in the system to indicate that we do not have to ask the question again to provide some privacy for the customer.
- Support and assist our customers at risk of family violence, vulnerability, and financial hardship with sensitivity.
-
NTI is expected to handle all claims in an honest, fair, transparent and timely manner. The Code sets out a number of time frames in which we are expected to perform certain tasks.
If a claim is made and we do not require any further information and do not need to assess or investigate the claim, we should notify the insured of our decision to accept or deny the claim within ten business days of receiving it.
Where the insured can reasonably demonstrate to us that they are in urgent financial need of the benefits in their insurance policy due to the event causing the claim, we may:
- Assess vulnerability and family violence.
- Fast-track the assessment and decision process.
- Make an advance payment to alleviate their immediate hardship within five business days.
-
Once an application for financial hardship has been approved, we are required to make arrangements to assist the customer. We may agree to:
- Fast-track Financial Hardship requests.
- Pay you in advance an amount to help ease your urgent financial needs.
- Defer the date on which payment must be made.
- Payment in instalments.
- Pay a reduced lump sum amount.
- Defer instalment payments to an agreed date.
- Postponement of one or more instalment payments for an agreed period
-
NTI will consider the risks involved in attempting to recover debts in situations involving family violence – whether from a customer experiencing family violence or from the perpetrator.
-
At NTI we are committed to supporting our team members who are directly or indirectly affected by family violence, this may include:
- Team members personally experiencing family or domestic violence involving themselves or family members; or
- Dealing with customers who may be impacted by family or domestic violence.
Support for all team members is available in the following ways:
- Access to confidential counselling service through the Employee Assistance Program.
- Leave
- Flexible working arrangements
- Training
- Counselling
There will be resources available with a range of nationally accredited support options.
-
This policy aims to reassure affected customers that NTI has support systems in place and to highlight a number of organisations offering specialist services that can be contacted for specialist support.
Emergency
What: Triple 000, Emergency Fire, Police, Ambulance
Hours: 24/7
Contact: 000
Vulnerability Addressed: Emergency physical or mental health conditions
Beyond Blue
What: Mental health support
Hours: 24/7
Contact: 1300 224 636 beyondblue.org.au
Vulnerability Addressed: Grief, Mental health conditions, Unemployment, Fatality, Addiction
Lifeline
What: Crisis support
Hours: 24/7
Contact: 13 11 14 lifeline.org.au
Vulnerability Addressed: Grief,, Mental health conditions, Self-harm
Wesley Mission
What: Wesley Life-force provides access to suicide prevention and crisis support contact numbers from any location in Australia.
Hours: Online tool
Contact: https://www.wesleymission.org.au/wesleylifeforceservicefinder/
Vulnerability Addressed: In NSW - Addiction, Homelessness, Unemployment, Elderly Abuse, Elderly Requires Assistance, Financial Distress, Fatality, Grief
1800 Respect
What: Domestic and family violence
Hours: 24/7
Contact: 1800 737 732 1800respect.org.au
Vulnerability Addressed: Family violence
National Debt Helpline
What: Financial/debt issues
Hours: Mon-Fri 9:00am – 5:00pm (in each state)
Contact: 1800 007 007 ndh.org.au
Vulnerability Addressed: Financial distress
Financial Counselling Australia
What: Qualified professionals who provide information, support and advocacy to people in financial difficulty.
Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30am – 4:30pm (in each state)
Contact: 1800 007 007
Vulnerability Addressed: Financial distress
Department of Human Services
What: If eligible, social work services provide support, counselling and information in difficult times
Hours: Mon-Fri 7:00am-10:00pm
Contact: 132 850
Vulnerability Addressed: Age Disability, Elderly Abuse, Elderly Requires Assistance, Homelessness
IDCare
What: Supports Australians with concerns about their identity or related cyber security
Contact: 1300 432 273 https://www.idcare.org/contact/contact-us
Translating and Interpreting Services (TIS)
What: Interpreting service provided by the Department of Home Affairs for people who do not speak English and for agencies/businesses that needs to communicate with their non-English speaking clients
Hours: 24/7
Contact: 131450 https://www.tisnational.gov.au/
Vulnerability Addressed: Language barriers, Literacy barriers