ANNUAL REPORT 2007-08
© Commonwealth of Australia 2008
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ISSN: 1832-8792
Web address of this report: http://www.humanservices.gov.au/annual-report.htm
Contact officer
Assistant Secretary
Media and Communication Branch
Department of Human Services
PO Box 3959
Manuka ACT 2603
Telephone: 1300 554 479
Fax: 02 6223 4499
Email: enquiries@humanservices.gov.au
Website: www.humanservices.gov.au
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
GUIDE TO THE ANNUAL REPORT
Purpose
The annual report of the Department of Human Services (DHS) reports on the activities and
performance of the three output groups that constitute DHS—the Core Department, the Child Support
Agency (CSA) and CRS Australia—for the financial year ending 30 June 2008. The four agencies that,
with DHS, make up the Human Services Portfolio have other reporting arrangements, as outlined in the
'Introduction and overview' section.
The report follows the guidelines set out in the Requirements for annual reports for departments,
executive agencies and FMA Act bodies, as approved by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and
Audit under subsections 63(2) and 70(2) of the Public Service Act 1999 (the Requirements), and
satisfies the annual reporting requirements set out in the Financial Management and Accountability Act
1997. It also complies with other mandatory reporting requirements set out in the Occupational Health
and Safety Act 1991, the Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and
the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The Requirements clearly outline that the purpose of an annual report is:

to be a means of accountability to the Parliament; and

to be a source of information for Parliament and other stakeholders about a department's
performance in relation to services provided.
This report fulfils that purpose by providing meaningful information on, and analysis of the performance
of, DHS's three output groups, while also providing information on their management and governance
arrangements and other information necessary to fulfil statutory reporting requirements.
Performance reporting
The report defines and measures the relationship between the goals outlined in the 2007-08 Portfolio
Budget Statements (PBS) and the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements (PAES) and the actual
results achieved.
Structure
This report is presented in seven parts:
Part 1—Introduction and overview
Part 1 contains:

a review by the Secretary summarising significant issues and developments in 2007-08, an overview
of DHS's performance and financial results and the outlook for 2008-09; and

an overview of the Human Services Portfolio, explaining the roles of, and relationships between, the
Portfolio Department of Human Services and the four Human Services agencies, and the corporate
governance and financial arrangements that apply to the three output groups that constitute the
Portfolio Department.
Part 2—Output 1: Core Department
Part 2 contains:

an overview of the Core Department's outcome and outputs, its purpose, strategy and structure;

a review and analysis of the Core Department's performance in 2007-08; and

a statement of the structures and processes that the Core Department had in place during 2007-08 to
implement the principles and objectives of management and accountability.
Part 3—Output 2: Child Support Agency
Part 3 contains:

a review by CSA's General Manager;

an overview of CSA's outcome and outputs, its purpose, strategy and structure;

a review and analysis of CSA's performance in 2007-08; and

a statement of the structures and processes that CSA had in place during 2007-08 to implement the
principles and objectives of management and accountability.
Part 4—Output 3: CRS Australia
Part 4 contains:

a review by CRS Australia's General Manager;

an overview of CRS Australia's outcome and outputs, its purpose, strategy and structure;

a review and analysis of CRS Australia's performance in 2007-08; and

a statement of the structures and processes that CRS Australia had in place during 2007-08 to
implement the principles and objectives of management and accountability.
Part 5—Financial statements
Part 5 contains the audited financial statements of the Portfolio Department of Human Services (the
Core Department, CSA and CRS Australia).
Part 6—Appendices
Part 6 consists of appendices that contain detailed information and statistics required under legislation
and reporting regulations.
Part 7—References
Part 7 contains:

a list of abbreviations;

a compliance index; and

an alphabetical index.
PART 1 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
Secretary’s review
Human Services Portfolio
Portfolio Department of Human Services
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
The Department of Human Services (DHS) consists of the Core Department, the Child Support Agency
(CSA) and CRS Australia.
The Core Department provides advice on service delivery policy and provides leadership to CSA, CRS
Australia and the Human Services Portfolio agencies Centrelink, Medicare Australia, Australian Hearing
and the HSA Group. It focuses on achieving a creative, whole-of-government approach to the delivery of
social and health-related services, and on ensuring that the need for effective and efficient
implementation is taken into account in policy design and decision making.
The Child Support Agency (CSA) supports separated parents to transfer payments for the benefit of
their children. It works with the Core Department in administering the Child Support Scheme and with the
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in developing child
support policy.
CRS Australia provides vocational rehabilitation, injury management, assessment and prevention
services to people with disabilities, injuries or health conditions to enable them to gain and maintain
employment.
SECRETARY'S REVIEW
The 2007-08 financial year has been a highly challenging one for the Portfolio Department of Human
Services. It has been particularly demanding for the Core Department which has delivered a significant
refocusing of priorities at the same time as managing considerable downsizing. In addition, the year has
seen the Child Support Agency (CSA) implementing the last stage of a complex package of child support
reforms and CRS Australia adjusting its business to meet the demands of increased government
sourcing of rehabilitation services from the private market.
In this dynamic environment, the Department has performed well in maintaining its focus on its ongoing
business while achieving significant change, placing it in a good position to respond to further challenges
in 2008-09.
The Department of Human Services provides leadership to a Portfolio that has a network of about
40,000 staff and 900 outlets across Australia and handles payments of $100 billion a year. The
Department, which includes the Core Department, CSA and CRS Australia, works in partnership with the
Human Service Portfolio agencies including Centrelink, Medicare Australia, Australian Hearing and the
HSA Group to develop and co-ordinate government health and welfare services and to manage the
relationship with other departments on whose behalf the payments are made.
Access Card Program
For the first part of the year, and in response to the priority of the previous Government, the Core
Department continued work on the implementation of the Access Card Program. Significant progress
made during this period included the completion of detailed business requirements, the development of
a commercial model for the use of the card in the EFTPOS system, and the development of international
smartcard standards. In addition, major procurement processes for a Systems Integrator and for Card
Issuance and Management services were well advanced.
The election of a new Government in November 2007 resulted in a major change in priorities for the
Department and the Portfolio, including the cessation of the Access Card Program. The process of
program closure, including notifying finalisation of and providing feedback on the procurement
processes, terminating the Head Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and subordinate MOUs with
participating agencies, finalising of contracts and program documentation, and disbanding the project
team, was a major focus for the Core Department over the following months. The fact that this was
achieved successfully and with proper probity is a real credit to the professionalism of the staff involved,
particularly as they were working in a climate of uncertainty about their personal futures.
Service delivery reform
On election, the new Government highlighted the need to reform the health and social welfare delivery
systems, and service delivery reform became a core priority for the Department.
Much of the experience, expertise and information gathered during the work on the Access Card
Program was relevant to this changed focus and the Department worked to retain the core skills and
experience that had been gained to apply to service delivery reform. These included, in particular, an
understanding of common data and system standards, a services-oriented architecture operating model
and considerable expertise in user authentication, card technology, business intelligence and program
design. In addition, the Department developed a web-based and interactive geospatial capability for
plotting the type and extent of the Portfolio's service delivery footprint across Australia.
At year's end, work with Portfolio agencies was underway across a range of areas for possible reform of
the service delivery systems in preparation for discussion with other relevant portfolios.
Service delivery policy
On election also, the new Government's Administrative Arrangements Order of 25 January 2008 clarified
the Department's responsibility for the development of policy on service delivery. This service delivery
policy role focused the Core Department on the need to be involved early in the process of policy
development, and on the need to focus on innovative ways to deliver services and to provide the
flexibility necessary to facilitate targeting areas of need.
The issues of social inclusion, Indigenous disadvantage, homelessness, welfare payment reform,
housing affordability and child protection are some of the areas where the Department is contributing to
the service delivery aspects of policy development.
Reorganisation of the Department
These changes in priority had a significant impact on the size and skill sets required by the Department,
leading to a major reorganisation of the Department's structure and working arrangements.
Considerable preparatory work and consultation was undertaken in 2007-08 to prepare the Department
for the reorganisation to come into effect on 1 July 2008. The reorganisation clarifies and reflects the
accountability of the Secretary of the Department for all departmental areas, including the CSA and CRS
Australia, and it aligns the capabilities of the Department with the focus of its reform agenda. The
reorganisation also takes account of the need to bring together the skills and expertise of the
Child Support Agency and the Core Department, focusing particularly on the corporate enabling services
such as IT, finance, human resources, parliamentary business, legal services, audit, security and
property management.
This new organisational structure positions the Department well to implement the new Government's
objectives, particularly in relation to service delivery reform, while continuing to meet its ongoing
responsibilities.
Job Capacity Assessment and Job Capacity Account Programs
Both the Job Capacity Assessment and Job Capacity Account Programs continued to perform well
against their key performance indicators and other measures of quality and effectiveness. More than 80
per cent of assessments were completed within 10 days and referral to employment services remained
high, at 83 per cent of completed assessments.
Following the implementation of the program in 2006-07, the Department focused on ways to improve
systems and processes to support the work of Job Capacity Assessors and to improve the quality of
reports. This work included the development of additional training material for Job Capacity Assessors in
assisting people with partial capacity to work or who are deaf or hearing impaired.
The election of the new Government in November 2007 brought a commitment for a comprehensive
review of the Job Capacity Assessment and Job Capacity Account Programs. As input to the review, the
Department received more than 50 responses setting out stakeholder views, met with key stakeholders
and held a number of workshops with service providers.
The Department commenced work on a range of issues identified in this process, including a review of
training, guidelines and procedures. New quality assurance and performance measurement frameworks
were also developed, to be implemented from 1 July 2008.
Fraud and non-compliance
Co-ordination across the Portfolio of the development and implementation of measures to reduce fraud
and non-compliance continued to be a key focus for the Core Department in 2007-08. The Department
worked with the Human Services agencies to ensure the effective implementation of initiatives from the
previous Budgets and to identify further measures, including data matching with other agencies in line
with privacy principles, for better identification and reduction of fraud and non- compliance.
In 2007-08, the Core Department and the then Department of Finance and Administration established a
working group to develop a more strategic approach to managing fraud and non-compliance, including
consideration of performance measurement, integration of compliance activity and strategies to reduce
overpayments.
Northern Territory Emergency Response
The priority placed by both the former and current Governments on improving the effectiveness of
services for Indigenous Australians to tackle social dysfunction in Indigenous communities, particularly in
the Northern Territory, has been an important focus for the Department in 2007-08.
The Department received specific funding in 2007-08 to co-ordinate the Human Services Portfolio's
implementation of the Northern Territory Emergency Response and for conducting additional Job
Capacity Assessments in the Northern Territory for people with barriers to work.
Income Management Card
The Department was closely involved in the strategic planning for the new Income Management Card
that will support income management in the Northern Territory and the Government's income
management trial in Western Australia in the area of child protection. In 2007-08, the Department
worked in partnership with the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous
Affairs and Centrelink to develop business requirements and the technical capability for a new cardbased solution.
The Department subsequently commenced a procurement process for the card. The card will be
progressively introduced in 2008-09.
Child support reforms
The 2007-08 financial year brought the implementation of the final and most complex stage of the new
Child Support Scheme, to come into effect on 1 July 2008. Meeting this goal, while at the same time
finalising the Building a Better CSA reforms (including a new compliance and enforcement strategy) and
maintaining its ongoing focus on supporting separated families to transfer payments for the benefit of
their children, presented a considerable challenge. Successful implementation of the Child Support
Scheme by year's end and the maintenance of a solid performance across CSA's business areas were
significant achievements.
A major and complex change of this nature in such a sensitive area requires a strong focus on
communication. CSA gave priority during the year to building greater awareness and understanding of
the reforms, including through establishing extended outreach services, building engagement with key
stakeholders, achieving more effective referrals, and partnering with government and non-government
advisers.
Co-ordinated approach to ICT
The Department has taken a Portfolio approach to ICT governance, ICT strategy and ICT procurement
with the introduction of a Portfolio CIO Committee, the development of a Portfolio Interoperability
Architecture and the adoption of a co-ordinated approach to ICT Procurement.
The Department also had a significant co-ordination role in the Portfolio response to the Review of the
Australian Government's Use of ICT run by Sir Peter Gershon.
CRS Australia
CRS Australia had a fairly difficult and challenging first six months of the financial year as it adjusted its
business to meet the impact of the decision to source 30 per cent of programs from the private market
from 1 July 2007. At the same time, the introduction of a new web-based funding and performance
management model required significant competency training for all network staff and involved uneven
job seeker referrals up to the end of December 2007, which increased the difficulty of administration.
For the second half of the year, however, job seeker referrals stabilised and access to management
information improved, facilitating CRS Australia's response to the change in contracting arrangements
for vocational rehabilitation services, and it performed well across all business indicators. In addition,
tight cost and staffing control following the identification of resource problems enabled the unit to end the
year with a small financial surplus.
The year ahead
2008-09 is shaping to be a challenging but rewarding year for the Department, which will operate under
its new organisational structure from 1 July 2008 (Figure 5).
A major focus will be achieving progress on the Government's service delivery reform agenda in concert
with the Human Services Portfolio agencies and with other relevant departments and agencies across
government.
In addition to this specific reform agenda, the Department will continue to provide overall leadership to
the Portfolio with an emphasis on whole-of-portfolio approaches and on optimising overall
responsiveness, innovation and high performance in service delivery. It will also focus on moving to a
more flexible and strategic approach to addressing fraud and non-compliance, and will explore
opportunities to reduce red tape for customers.
The Child Support Program faces the important task of consolidating the recently introduced Child
Support Scheme reforms. It will also work to improve collections by encouraging voluntary compliance,
identifying and amending elements of the Child Support Scheme that are not meeting the needs of
separated parents, and building international partnerships to reduce the amount of debt for children of
separated parents overseas.
The Department will be working with stakeholders to improve Job Capacity Assessment and Job
Capacity Account services, including improving the quality assurance and performance measurement
frameworks. It will be overhauling JCA training, systems, processes and guidelines to reflect the
outcomes of the Job Capacity Assessment Review, the Employment Services Reforms and other review
activity, including the National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy.
CRS Australia will continue to adapt and refine its approach to rehabilitation service delivery in
preparation for the announcement of the Government's reforms in the areas of mental health and
disability employment services. This will give CRS Australia greater clarity on its opportunities for
business in the future.
Particularly in such a dynamic and challenging environment, the Department's achievements would not
have been possible without the dedication and professionalism of its staff. I thank them sincerely for their
work during 2007-08 and look forward to working with them in 2008-09 to meet the exciting challenges
facing the Department and the broader Portfolio in enhancing social and health-related service delivery
for all Australians.
Helen Williams
HUMAN SERVICES PORTFOLIO
In October 2004, the Department of Human Services (DHS) was established within the then Portfolio of
Finance and Administration to improve the development and delivery of government social and healthrelated services to the Australian people. In January 2007, DHS became an Australian Government
Portfolio Department in its own right. In January 2008, the Administrative Arrangements Order was
expanded and now includes responsibility for:

the development of policy on service delivery;

the development, delivery and co-ordination of government services; and

the monitoring and management of service delivery and purchaser/provider relationships involving all
agencies within the Portfolio.
Minister
Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig was sworn in as the new Minister for Human Services on 3 December
2007. In the previous Government, the position of Minister for Human Services was held by Senator the
Hon Chris Ellison.
The Minister is responsible for the administration of the following legislation:

Australian Hearing Services Act 1991, except to the extent that it is administered by the Minister for
Health and Ageing;

Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989, insofar as it relates to the exercise of the powers and
functions conferred on the Registrar under the Act;

Child Support Legislation Amendment (Reform of the Child Support Scheme— Initial Measures) Act
2006, insofar as it relates to the exercise of the powers and functions conferred on the Registrar
under the Act;

Child Support Legislation Amendment (Reform of the Child Support Scheme—New Formula and
Other Measures) Act 2006, insofar as it relates to the exercise of the powers and functions conferred
on the Registrar under the Act;

Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988, insofar as it relates to the appointment of the
Registrar and the exercise of the powers and functions conferred on the Registrar under the Act;

Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Act 1997; and

Medicare Australia Act 1973.
Structure
The Department of Human Services (DHS) consists of the Core Department, the Child Support
Agency and CRS Australia.

The Core Department directs, co-ordinates and brokers improvements to service delivery across
Human Services agencies and develops policy on service delivery.

The Child Support Agency (CSA) helps separated parents transfer payments for the benefit of their
children.

CRS Australia provides vocational rehabilitation, injury management, assessment and prevention
services to people with disabilities, injuries or health conditions to enable them to gain and maintain
employment.
A more detailed description of the Department is provided at page 3 and page 14.
Centrelink serves Australia by assisting people to become self-sufficient and supporting those in need.
Centrelink delivers a range of government payments and services to Australians, including retirees,
families, carers, parents, people with disabilities, Indigenous people and people from diverse cultural and
linguistic backgrounds, and provides services at times of major change.
Medicare Australia looks after the health of Australians through services and payments such as
Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register and
the Australian Organ Donor Register.
Australian Hearing is dedicated to helping people manage their hearing impairment so they have a
better quality of life. Australian Hearing provides a full range of hearing services for children and young
people up to the age of 21, eligible adults, aged pensioners, war veterans, Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people aged 50 and over, and eligible Community Development Employment Project
participants.
The HSA Group is a government business enterprise that focuses primarily on occupational health and
safety and medical assessments.
Figure 1 shows the Portfolio structure of Human Services at 30 June 2008.
Figure 1 Human Services Portfolio structure, 30 June 2008
Performance reporting
Section 63 of the Public Service Act 1999 stipulates that departmental annual reports must be prepared
in accordance with the guidelines approved on behalf of the Parliament of Australia by the Joint
Committee of Public Accounts and Audit in Requirements for annual reports for departments, executive
agencies and FMA Act bodies. DHS has prepared this report in accordance with those guidelines and as
required by the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act).
The agencies within the Human Services Portfolio that do not form part of DHS— Centrelink, Medicare
Australia, Australian Hearing and the HSA Group—publish their own annual reports. Performance
reporting arrangements for all entities within the Human Services Portfolio are outlined below.
Detailed information about the activities and responsibilities of the agencies may be obtained from each
agency's website.
Department of Human Services
Core Department
The Core Department reports in this annual report on its performance, corporate governance and other
matters required by legislation. It reports against the Human Services Portfolio Budget Statements 200708 and the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2007-08.
Internet: www.humanservices.gov.au
Telephone: 1300 55 44 79
Child Support Agency
CSA reports in this annual report on its performance, corporate governance and other matters required
by legislation. It reports against the Human Services Portfolio Budget Statements 2007-08 and the
Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2007-08.
Internet: www.csa.gov.au
Telephone: 131 272
CRS Australia
CRS Australia reports in this annual report on its performance, corporate governance, and other matters
required by legislation. It reports against the Human Services Portfolio Budget Statements 2007-08 and
Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2007-08.
CRS Australia also reports on its performance in delivering vocational rehabilitation services funded by
the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) in DEEWR's annual
report.
Internet: www.crsaustralia.gov.au
Telephone: 1800 624 624
Centrelink
Centrelink, an agency formed under the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Act 1997, provides its
own annual report covering its performance, corporate governance and other matters required by
legislation. It reports against the Human Services Portfolio Budget Statements 2007-08 and Portfolio
Additional Estimates Statements 2007-08.
Internet: www.centrelink.gov.au
Telephone: 1800 050 004
Medicare Australia
Medicare Australia provides its own annual report covering its performance, corporate governance and
other matters required by legislation. It reports against the Human Services Portfolio Budget Statements
2007-08 and Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2007-08.
Internet: www.medicareaustralia.gov.au
Telephone: 132 01 1
Australian Hearing
Australian Hearing publishes its own annual report under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies
Act 1997.
Internet: www.hearing.com.au
Telephone: 131 797
HSA Group
HSA Group is a public non-financial corporation. It publishes its own annual report under the
Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997.
Internet: www.hsagroup.com.au
Telephone: 02 6269 2100■ PORTFOLIO DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
PORTFOLIO DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
The Portfolio Department of Human Services (DHS) comprises the Core Department, the Child Support
Agency (CSA) and CRS Australia. Unless otherwise indicated, references in this document to the
Portfolio Department or to DHS are to these three groups.
Outcome and output structure
DHS's planned outcome is:
Effective and efficient delivery of social and health-related services, including financial assistance, to the
Australian community.
Each of the three parts that constitute DHS produce one output, as defined in the Portfolio Budget
Statements and Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements, to deliver this outcome. These outputs are
set out in Figure 2, which summarises the structure and purpose of DHS at 30 June 2008.
Figure 2 DHS outcome and outputs, 30 June 2008
Corporate governance
This section describes corporate governance matters that are common to the Core Department, CSA
and CRS Australia. The governance arrangements particular to each group are detailed separately in
the output sections of this report.
Executive
Responsibilities
The Secretary is directly responsible to the Minister for Human Services for the leadership, sound
management and performance of DHS. She is responsible for delivering strong organisational
performance by determining priorities and resource allocations across DHS, and for shaping the Portfolio
Department's future.
The General Manager of CSA is responsible for the leadership, management and performance of CSA
within the delegations established by the Secretary. This position also holds the statutory office of the
Child Support Registrar, which has legal responsibility for the administration of child support legislation.
The General Manager of CRS Australia is responsible for the leadership, management and performance
of CRS Australia within the delegations established by the Secretary.
Remuneration
Salary ranges for Senior Executive Service (SES) employees are provided in Appendix 1.
Information on staff members who received, or were due to receive, total remuneration of $130,000 or
more is set out in Note 13 to the financial statements in this report.
Governance framework
Agency Heads Meeting
A regular meeting is held on average every two months to discuss and resolve matters relating to
agencies in the Human Services Portfolio.
The Agency Heads Meeting is attended by:

Secretary DHS (as Chair);

Deputy Secretaries Core Department;

General Manager CSA;

General Manager CRS Australia;

Chief Executive Officer Medicare Australia;

Chief Executive Officer Centrelink;

Managing Director HSA Group; and

Managing Director Australian Hearing.
The Executive Officer to the Secretary provides secretariat services to the meeting.
Audit arrangements
The Department's Audit Committee provides independent assurance to the Secretary on the
appropriateness of the Department's accountability and control framework, particularly those aspects
concerning the 'proper use' of Commonwealth resources under the FMA Act and the management of
risks. The Audit Committee is responsible for CSA and CRS Australia as well as the Core Department.
In broad terms, the Audit Committee reviews, monitors and, where necessary, recommends
improvements to:

internal control processes;

the financial reporting process;

the functioning of the Department's Internal Audit Unit;

the external audit process; and

the Department's process for monitoring compliance with legislation, regulations and government
policy.
In 2007-08, the Audit Committee oversaw the strengthening of compliance and assurance practices
across the Department and improved risk management practices.
The membership structure of the Audit Committee in 2007-08 is shown in Table 6 in Part 2. In 2007-08,
the committee had three members: the Chair and two independent members. Mr Jeff Popple, Acting
Deputy Secretary, chaired the committee in 2007-08. Ms Jenny Morison was an independent member
for the entire year. Mr Len Early was an independent member until November 2007. Mr Peter Kennedy
joined the committee in early 2008. The independent members have specialist skills in financial
reporting, integrity assurance, risk management and corporate governance.
The DHS Audit Committee was supported and advised by the Child Support Agency and CRS Australia
risk committees during the year. The risk committees provided important forums for scrutiny and
assurance of the governance and control arrangements in CSA and CRS Australia.
Financial overview
This section provides a summary of financial performance for 2007-08 of DHS, including the Core
Department, CSA and CRS Australia. Results are shown in the audited financial statements and this
summary should be read in conjunction with those statements.
DHS's total resources are shown in detail in Table 1. The administered and departmental expenses
incurred in delivering the Department's outputs are also detailed in Table 1, as is the budget allocation
for 2008-09.
Table 1 Total resources for Outcome 1, $’000
(1) Budget3
2007-08 $'000
(2) Actual
2007-08 $'000
Variation
(column 2
minus
column 1)
Child Support
1,108,656
1,128,149
19,493
1,156,837
Welfare to Work
149,706
147,463c
-2,243
130,052
Total administered
expenses
1,258,362
1,275,612
17,250
1,286,889
Budgetb 200809 $'000
Administered expenses
Price of departmental outputs
Output Group 1—Core
Department
59,479
62,594
3,115
33,815
Output Group 2—Child
Support Agency
468,114
468,588
474
442,215
Output Group 3—CRS
Australia11
196,845
182,762
-14,083
209,981
Subtotal departmental
outputs
724,438
713,944
-10,494
686,011
Revenue from
government
(appropriations) for
departmental outputs
525,653
528,425
2,762
474,090
Output Group 1—Core
Department
59,479
65,250
5,771
33,815
Output Group 2—Child
Support Agency
466,174
466,175
1
440,275
(1) Budget3
2007-08 $'000
(2) Actual
2007-08 $'000
Variation
(column 2
minus
column 1)
Output Group 3—CRS
Australia1
-
-
-
-
Revenue from other
sources
198,785
185,519
-13,266
211,921
Output Group 1—Core
Department
-
344
344
-
Output Group 2—Child
Support Agency
1,940
2,413
473
1,940
Output Group 3—CRS
Australia1
196,845
182,762
-14,083
209,981
Total price of outputs
724,438
713,944
-10,494
686,011
Total for Outcome 1 (Total
price of outputs and
administered expenses)
1,982,800
1,989,556
6,756
1,972,900
2007-08
2007-08
Core Department
220
167
-53
145
Child Support Agency
3937
3,926
-11
3,520
CRS Australia
1708
1,633
-75
1,748
Average staffing level
5,865
5,726
-139
5,413
Budgetb 200809 $'000
2008-09
Staff
a
Full-year budget, including additional estimates.
b
Budget prior to additional estimates.
c
Payments to Centrelink and CRS Australia are not recognised as an expense in the financial statements as per the
Finance Minister's Orders.
d
CRS Australia is a business operation
Departmental financial performance
DHS's statement of financial outcome shows an operating surplus of $10.0 million, which is 1.4 per cent
of the revenue available to it ($18.6 million in 2006-07, 2.9 per cent of revenue). The lower financial
result than that achieved in 2006-07 took into account a reduction in the vocational rehabilitation market
undertaken by CRS Australia.
A break-even result had been predicted for the 2007-08 year in the Portfolio Budget Statements 200809. However, this was based on a predicted surplus at that time being offset by predicted expenses on
communication campaigns against prior year unspent appropriations. The campaigns were subsequently
not progressed in 2007-08, and expenses against the unspent prior year appropriation were not
incurred. The predicted surplus was therefore not offset.
Statement of financial performance
Revenue
Total revenue received by DHS in 2007-08 was $713.9 million ($648.3 million in 2006-07). $62.5 million
of the 2007-08 revenue was received in the Core Department ($79.2 million in 2006-07), $468.6 million
in CSA ($369.7 million in 2006-07), and $182.8 million in CRS Australia ($197.6 million in 2006-07).
Revenue increased in CSA over the last year due to the implementation of significant change reforms in
the Child Support Scheme, but decreased in the Core Department following the abolition of the Access
Card Program, and in CRS Australia due to a reduction in the share of the vocational rehabilitation
market.
Expenses
DHS's expenses totalled $704.5 million in 2007-08 by comparison to expenses of $630.2 million in 200607. $52.3 million of the 2007-08 expenses were incurred in the Core Department ($73.8 million in 200607), $473.2 million in CSA ($370.1 million in 2006-07), and $179.0 million in CRS Australia ($186.3
million in 2006-07).
Expenses increased from the previous year due to the Child Support Scheme reforms.
In 2007-08, DHS incurred employee expenses of $430.3 million, supplier expenses of $242.7 million,
depreciation and other expenses of $31.3 million, and income tax equivalent expenses for CRS Australia
of $0.2 million.
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
Revenue
487.7
648.3
713.9
Expenses
476.9
630.2
704.5
Statement of financial position
Equity
DHS's total equity as at 30 June 2008 was $136.6 million, representing only a slight decrease during
2007-08 ($141.4 million at 30 June 2007).
Assets
DHS's assets totalled $296.6 million as at 30 June 2008, which was little change from the previous
financial year ($294.7 million at 30 June 2007).
Liabilities
DHS had total liabilities of $160.3 million as at 30 June 2008 ($153.3 million at 30 June 2007).
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
Assets
169.4
294.7
296.9
Liabilities
107.0
153.3
160.3
Figure 3 Departmental revenue and expenses, 2005–06 to 2007–08
Figure 4 Departmental assets and liabilities, 2005-06 to 2007-08
Administered items
DHS receives administered appropriations for expenses in respect of the assessment, registration,
collection and disbursement services that facilitate the transfer of child support payments between
separated parents for the support of their children, as well as for expenses incurred on Job Capacity
Assessments.
The Department also receives dividends on behalf of the Commonwealth from Australian Hearing and
the HSA Group, and competitive neutrality payments from Australian Hearing. All administered receipts
are transferred directly to the Official Public Account.
Figure 5 DHS Organisational structure at 1 July 2008
Departmental reorganisation
Work was underway during the second half of the financial year to achieve improved alignment of the
Department's capabilities with its reform agenda and better integration of a range of enabling services
across the Department. A new organisational structure was developed, which also more closely reflects
departmental accountabilities.
The restructure consolidates the skills and expertise of the Portfolio Department as a whole, particularly
in areas such as information and communications technology, finance, human resources, parliamentary
business, legal services, corporate operations, audit, security and property. This has involved the
integration of activities and resources that currently existed to provide these services across the Core
Department and the Child Support Agency.
This restructure has also brought together expertise in relation to policy, to allow the Department to work
closely with the policy departments to ensure that service delivery implementation issues are factored
into policy design and decision making in line with the revised Administrative Arrangements Order of 25
January 2008.
Figure 5 shows the revised structure to be implemented from 1 July 2008. It clarifies the Secretary's
responsibility for the Portfolio Department, which includes CSA and CRS Australia, and reflects the
extent of her accountability. The restructure strengthens the Portfolio Department by allowing it to
maximise expertise and leverage skills across the organisation.
PART 2 OUTPUT 1 CORE DEPARTMEN
OUTPUT OVERVIEW
The Department of Human Services (DHS) drives the development and delivery of effective and efficient
government social and health-related services for Australians, in partnership with Human Services
Portfolio agencies.
The Human Services Portfolio distributes around $100 billion of health and welfare payments a year, and
delivers more than 200 different services for 14 Australian Government agencies and numerous state
government departments. It does this through a network of almost 40,000 staff and 900 outlets Australiawide.
Given the comprehensive responsibilities of the Human Services Portfolio, the Core Department has an
important role in influencing the strategic focus and co-ordination of service delivery for Australians.
The Core Department is committed to achieving best value for money in service delivery while
emphasising innovation and continuous improvement. It is also committed to working with the service
delivery agencies and with government agencies more broadly to achieve these objectives.
Changing role of DHS
Under the Administrative Arrangements Order of 25 January 2008, the Department of Human Services
has specific responsibility for:

the development of policy on service delivery;

the development, delivery and coordination of government services; and

the monitoring and management of service delivery and purchaser-provider relationships involving all
agencies within the Portfolio.
The addition of the responsibility for developing policy on service delivery clarified the innovative and
developmental role of the Department in this area.
Following the election, the new Government highlighted the need to reform health and social welfare
payment systems, a task which became a major focus for the Department. The Government also
announced the closure of the Access Card Program, signalling a significant shift in the priorities for the
Department and the Portfolio as a whole.
These changes in priority had a significant impact on the size and structure of, and skill sets required by,
the Core Department, leading to the development of new organisational and governance arrangements
across DHS. The organisational change agenda that has been implemented represents a flexible and
responsive organisational structure that is best able to deliver the new priorities and objectives set out
for it.
Objectives
In 2007-08, the Core Department aimed to meet specific targets set out in the 2007-08 Portfolio Budget
Statements and the 2007-08 Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements.
It also aimed to meet the goals set out in its 2007-08 Strategic Plan. Those objectives broadly include:

improving access to Australian Government social and health-related services;

reducing social, health and welfare fraud and non-compliance;

improving the effectiveness of services for Indigenous Australians;

maximising workplace participation;

working with CSA to manage the implementation of Child Support Scheme reforms;

working with CRS Australia to deliver efficient and effective vocational rehabilitation services in a
competitive market; and

providing effective leadership to help the Human Services agencies respond to natural disasters
rapidly and effectively.
Progress in meeting specific targets and broader Strategic Plan objectives is set out under
'Performance'.
Strategy
The Core Department's 2007-08 Strategic Plan describes how the Core Department will achieve its
goals by:

considering community requirements when reviewing services offered by service delivery agencies,
to promote simplicity and innovation;

working in partnership with Human Services agencies and external stakeholders to strengthen
community confidence in service delivery;

working in partnership with government agencies to develop and influence policy and devise
appropriate service delivery mechanisms;

working to ensure that Australians are able to access government services in an efficient, effective
and contemporary way;

balancing individual preferences for service delivery against the risks to taxpayer funds caused by
fraud and incorrect payment; and

working with service delivery agencies to ensure that they deliver value for money in providing
services and that they have sound and sustainable financial governance arrangements.
The Strategic Plan also identifies the Core Department's approach to its work, and the values that guide
its operations. The plan can be accessed through the publications section of the Human Services
website, www.humanservices.gov.au.
Organisational change and restructure
The closure of the Access Card Program and the resulting reprioritisation of activities for the Portfolio
have had a major impact on the priorities, structure and size of the Department.
At the end of November 2007, there were 136 staff employed in the Core Department working on the
Access Card Program. Figure 6 shows the Core Department's organisational structure at that time.
Following the closure of the Access Card Program, staff numbers were reduced, and by 30 June 2008,
65 former Access Card staff remained in the Core Department and were placed in the new structure.
As at 30 June 2008, the Core Department was structured around six divisions as shown in Figure 7.
Work to reorganise the Core Department included building up expertise in areas related to service
delivery reform in line with the new Government's priorities. Working groups were established to focus
on key areas of potential reform. This transitional structure preceded the major organisational restructure
that came into effect on 1 July 2008, as noted in Part 1, 'Portfolio Department of Human Services', and
shown in Figure 5.
As part of the transitional structure, the following changes were made to the divisions that formerly made
up the Office of the Access Card:

the Chief Technology Architect Division absorbed the majority of staff within the Implementation and
Procurement Division;

the Business Division joined with the Stakeholder Engagement component of the Communication
and Stakeholder Engagement (CSE) Division to form the Business and Stakeholder Engagement
Division;

the Service Delivery Operations Division amalgamated the communication component of CSE into
the Marketing and Communication branch;

the Program Management Division absorbed a number of staff from the Implementation and
Procurement Division to help with the closure and reporting of the Access Card Program; and

the Access Card Legal branch was integrated into the Department's legal team.
A significant number of staff on temporary transfer to the Office of Access Card returned to their home
agencies.
As part of this process, the Department worked to retain important expertise from within the Access Card
Program for work on other areas of priority, most significantly service delivery reform.
In order to manage the transition to a new organisational structure, and in particular the reduction in staff
numbers, an Organisational Change Unit was established. This unit worked with staff to find alternative
employment across the public service, liaising closely with the Australian Public Service Commission's
Career Transition and Support Centre from its institution in May 2008. By 30 June 2008, in addition to
the 65 former Access Card staff who were placed in the new structure:

eight staff had resigned from the Australian Public Service (APS), including to take up positions
outside the service;

eight staff who were on temporary transfer had returned to their home departments;

four non-ongoing staff reached the end of their contracts;

44 staff moved to jobs in other Australian Government agencies;

two staff who were not seeking redeployment to another APS position were declared excess; and

one staff member took a redundancy.
As at 30 June 2008, work was continuing with four staff to achieve redeployment elsewhere in the APS.
Figure 6 Core Department—organisational structure when Access Card Program was operational
Structure and functions
Figure 7 Core Department—organisational structure and senior staffing at 30 June 2008
The structure in Figure 7 and the following function descriptions relate to each division at 30 June 2008.
This transitional structure reflected the changes in the Core Department's responsibilities that occurred
in 2007-08, and was a prelude to the full reorganisation to be introduced from 1 July 2008.
Financial Analysis and Corporate
The Financial Analysis and Corporate Division was responsible for:

providing financial management and support services;

providing corporate governance and support structures, covering legislative compliance and audit,
risk management and fraud control processes;

managing human resources, including recruitment, training and development, and occupational
health and safety matters;

managing corporate services, including information technology and security;

dealing with complaints;

co-ordinating ministerial and parliamentary services, including correspondence, briefings and
answers to questions; and

co-ordinating the provision of consistent, accurate and timely Portfolio information to the Minister and
the Secretary.
Service Delivery Operations
The Service Delivery Operations Division was responsible for:

co-ordinating performance monitoring of the Human Services agencies, analysing the results of that
monitoring and developing strategies to improve the service delivery of Human Services agencies;

developing and reporting on performance measures based on ministerial priorities and co-ordinating
the preparation of reports to the Minister on agency performance;

monitoring and advising on Human Services agencies' governance issues, including board
appointments;

providing advice on Australian National Audit Office reports relevant to Human Services agencies;

oversighting service delivery strategic initiatives;

co-ordinating Cabinet Implementation Unit reporting on major project implementation;

managing procurement policy and property strategy for the Human Services Portfolio;

leading the governance of the National Emergency Call Centre project;

co-ordinating drought response, disaster recovery support and pandemic response implementation;

co-ordinating and driving improvements in environmental performance across Human Services
agencies;

taking the lead on strategic information technology issues, such as a Portfolio- wide approach to
managing unauthorised access to customer records, managing the Human Services Portfolio's online
service delivery agenda and business requirements, developing a Portfolio-wide information and
communication technology strategy and managing the portfolio's ICT panel;

administering the Job Capacity Assessment Program and the Job Capacity Account Program, which
involves managing contracts with Job Capacity Assessment service providers to ensure effective
service delivery, reviewing and evaluating program and service provider performance, and providing
input to policy development processes relating to Job Capacity Assessments, service delivery and
related employment and income support issues; and

co-ordinating and leading the Department's marketing and communication activities, which involves
managing corporate communication activities—for example, the annual report, Federal Budget
communication, intranet and internet services, major communication campaigns, media management
and monitoring and providing cross-agency coordination and guidance on marketing and
communication activities across the Human Services Portfolio.
Policy and Strategy
The Policy and Strategy Division was responsible for:

ensuring that service delivery implications were taken into account in the development and
implementation of new policy, particularly those that affect Human Services agencies;

developing a policy and Budget framework that addressed the Minister's priorities and desired policy
outcomes, including the development of the Human Services Portfolio Budget submission;

co-ordinating the input of Human Services agencies to the broader Federal Budget process, including
assessing new policy proposals brought forward from other portfolio ministers;

developing, managing and contributing to the implementation of key government services delivery
reforms, including Child Support Scheme reform and welfare payments reform;

contributing to the whole-of-government agenda to close the gap between Indigenous and nonIndigenous Australians, including improved program design and service delivery mechanisms to
better suit the needs of Indigenous Australians across Human Services agencies, and overseeing the
contribution of Human Services agencies to the Northern Territory Emergency Response;

contributing to whole-of-government policy development to ensure Human Services delivery
considerations are reflected in advice to Government. Current areas of focus include:

homelessness policy;

families, disability, carers and children's policy; and

citizenship and immigration policy.

ensuring service delivery implications are taken into account in the development and implementation
of new fraud and compliance policy across the Human Services agencies, strategically reviewing
fraud and compliance activity, and developing a fraud and compliance strategy;

overseeing the implementation of the 2006-07 and 2007-08 fraud and compliance measures within
the Human Services agencies; and

undertaking specific projects in service delivery.
Chief Technology Architect
The Chief Technology Architect Division was responsible for:

developing new capability analysis to support service delivery reform initiatives and sponsor research
into new technology standards;

co-ordinating strategic Portfolio input on whole-of-government frameworks and standards to enable
interoperability;

governance of Portfolio information and communication technology (ICT); and

co-ordinating Portfolio input to whole-of- government ICT procurement reviews and assessments and
Portfolio ICT procurement strategy.
Business and Stakeholder Engagement
The Business and Stakeholder Engagement
Division was responsible for:

developing customer contact and business processes within participating agencies and service
providers; and

developing advice and options for broad improvements to government service delivery networks.
Program Management
The Program Management Division was responsible for:

co-ordinating the closure of the Access Card Program;

developing advice and options for broad improvements to government service delivery networks; and

developing a geo-demographic interaction simulation tool to map customer and agency interactions.
Legal branch
The Legal branch provided legal services to the Core Department and the Minister for Human Services.
It also helped analyse service delivery policy initiatives. In 2007-08 the branch was responsible for:

ensuring that the Portfolio Department met legal requirements and managed legal risk;

co-ordinating legal advice and information on issues involving the Human Services agencies and
legal matters affecting or involving more than one agency or the Commonwealth generally;

participating in internal service delivery policy analysis and providing legal advice and legal policy
advice, including on specific projects requiring legal support;

co-ordinating and managing the Australian Government's Human Services legislative program;

considering opportunities for improved collaboration in performance of the Human Services agencies'
legal work; and

governance and service delivery reform.
PERFORMANCE
The Core Department is responsible for Output 1 of the Portfolio Department of Human Services:
Facilitation and promotion of effective and efficient delivery of social and health-related services.
Performance measures
In 2007-08, the Core Department revised its performance measures so that they reflect the work of the
Department more accurately andenable it to report in a more meaningful and accountable manner. It
also refined performance indicators and targets for its administered programs—the Job Capacity
Assessment Program and the Job Capacity Account Program.
The measures and targets set out in Table 2 represent the measures published in the Portfolio's 200708 Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements and the Core Department's performance against them.
Table 2 Performance against 2007-08 PAES measures
Measure
Target
Performance
Quantity
On the basis of experience since the
establishment of the Core Department in
October 2004, the Core Department
expects annually to:
In 2007-08, which included a period of
Caretaker Government associated with
the November 2007 federal election, the
Core Department:

process approximately 6,000 items
of ministerial correspondence;

processed 5,947 items of ministerial
correspondence;

provide approximately 1,500
briefings to the Minister and his
office;

provided 1,842 briefings, reflecting
an increase in briefings provided to
the new Government; and

prepare draft answers to
approximately 210 parliamentary
questions on notice including Senate
estimates questions on notice.

prepared draft answers to 25
parliamentary questions on notice
and 160 responses to Senate
estimates questions on notice.
Measure
Target
Performance
Quality
The degree of satisfaction of the
Minister and his office with the quality
and timeliness of advice and the
achievement of key tasks, as expressed
through formal and informal feedback.
Of the briefings for which the current
Minister provided a quality rating, 91 per
cent received a rating of four or five
(based on a scale of one to five).
Price of outputs $59.479 million
Cost of outputs in 2007-08 $52.293
million
Price
Informal feedback provided by the office
of the former Minister, Senator the Hon
Chris Ellison, indicated a generally high
level of satisfaction with the day-to-day
provision of advice by the Core
Department.
The following sections describe how the Core Department contributed to Output 1 and met the
objectives of its Strategic Plan in 2007-08.
Improve access to social and health-related services
In 2007-08, the Core Department worked to give Australians simple and convenient access to Australian
Government social and health-related services across a range of measures.
Access Card Program
For the first part of 2007-08, the Core Department worked towards improving access to social and
health-related services through the Access Card Program. The Access Card Program was discontinued
in line with the new Government's election commitment. Further discussion of this program is under the
section 'Deliver government commitments and Budget measures effectively'.
During the operation of the Access Card Program, working relationships were established and
maintained with more than 205 stakeholders across the Australian Government, all State and Territory
governments, financial services, and health and non-government welfare sectors. These relationships
were established by the Core Department to understand the needs of government and the community.
Important business intelligence capability was developed under the Access Card Program to map
customer demographics and the supply of and demand for proposed registration services taking into
account the diverse nature of communities and their locations across Australia.
In December 2007, this capability was adapted to support analysis of the impact of any proposed
changes to the Portfolio service delivery footprint. It is now possible, using these geospatial technologies
and modelling capabilities, to measure the changing needs and characteristics of Australian
communities and their service requirements. These capabilities will allow better forecasting of customer
demand for programs and services across the various service delivery channels, and will improve the
way service delivery decisions are made in the future. This will assist in better placement of service
delivery outlets and alignment of channel management strategies to support service delivery policy
development.
The geospatial mapping and modelling is also being extended to measure the take-up of the various
programs administered throughout the Portfolio. This will provide a new evidence base to contribute to
identifying health and welfare consumption trends and measuring the impact of service delivery on
program outcomes.
Simplify forms and letters
In 2007-08, the Core Department co-ordinated a portfolio-wide approach to improving the forms and
letters produced by the Human Services agencies, with the objective of making services easier for
customers to access and understand. Most of the focus was on improving the forms and letters
produced by Centrelink, the Child Support Agency and Medicare Australia. During the year, more than
200 letters and 253 forms were reviewed and amended to remove excessive complexity and adopt best
practice design and style based on DHS guidelines that were introduced in 2006. In addition, as a result
of the process, 22 forms were abolished.
In late 2007-08, the Core Department commenced work on ways to reduce red tape for customers. The
aim of this work is to improve the customer's experience in dealing with Human Services agencies, and
the work will be an area of focus in 2008-09.
Improving online access
Increasing online service delivery, to enable greater accessibility, flexibility and efficiency for Human
Services customers, continued to be a priority for the Core Department in 2007-08.
The Core Department continued to work closely with the Human Services agencies to achieve increased
take-up of online services. It also assisted the Australian Government Information Management Office in
its pursuit of a broader online strategy to establish the Australian Government Online Service Point, in
particular, the single sign-on capability that underpins the myaccount portal (a single entry point to online
services and information from Centrelink, Medicare Australia, CSA and the Core Department - see
below).
Human Services agencies conduct approximately 207 million transactions a year. Even relatively small
increases in online activity, therefore, will realise substantial efficiencies and greater convenience for
customers.
In 2007-08, the Core Department examined potential options for expanding the use of online channels to
deliver services by:

consolidating and improving online service delivery channels that have already been established but
are underutilised;

analysing business processes that currently require face-to-face contact or hard copy transactions to
see whether they can be handled online; and

making further investments in technology.
Electronic Medicare claiming
Electronic Medicare claiming initiatives are aimed at enabling patients to claim their Medicare rebate at
participating doctors' surgeries. The Core Department has focused on encouraging Medicare Australia to
meet the Government's expectations and ensure any issues are appropriately addressed.
The Medicare Online solution has been popular with doctors who make claims for bulk-billed services,
with 63.1 per cent of bulk-billed general practitioner (GP) services claimed through this channel as at 30
June 2008. Patient take-up of electronic claiming has been rising, although it remains below forecast
levels.
In 2007-08, the Core Department worked with Medicare Australia to develop a proposal for the 2008-09
Budget, under which the Government provided $8.6 million to fund activities aimed at increasing patient
take-up of electronic claiming.
ECLIPSE
In 2007-08, the Core Department worked with Medicare Australia to drive take-up of ECLIPSE, an
information technology system that provides secure electronic links between health funds, hospitals and
medical practitioners. ECLIPSE provides individuals seeking medical treatment with comprehensive and
upfront financial information, and streamlined billing and rebates.
The Core Department worked with Medicare Australia to review the future support for ECLIPSE for the
2008-09 Budget, which included the announcement of a continued commitment to the program.
Web portal—myaccount
The myaccountweb portal, launched in March 2007, laid the foundation for improved online service
delivery to Human Services customers. The portal is a single entry point to online services and
information from Centrelink, Medicare Australia, CSA and the Core Department. In 2007-08, it worked
reliably and effectively for Human Services customers, although take-up has been slower than initially
forecast.
Communication
In 2007-08, the Core Department supported a cross-Portfolio approach to marketing and
communication. The Cross-Agency Marketing and Communication Working Group, which the Core
Department organised and chaired, was an important vehicle for consultation and information sharing in
this area.
A range of communication materials was developed to support business areas and projects in the Core
Department and across DHS. These materials include the Core Department's Strategic Plan, the DHS
Annual Report and Budget media packs.
The Department of Human Services web channels for the Access Card Program stream, the Job
Capacity Assessment Program stream and the Core Department, were merged and redeveloped in
2007-08 to improve usability, accessibility, consistency, and ongoing maintenance. The Access Card
Program stream was archived when the program was abolished. The Department has developed a
Human Services Portfolio portal (www.humanservices. gov.au), which links the two remaining website
streams - the Core Department and the Job Capacity Assessment Program.
In 2007-08, a monthly internal newsletter, HumanSide, was introduced to engage staff, foster a wider
understanding of what is happening across the Core Department, and encourage a cohesive work
culture within the organisation. In an intranet survey, 80 per cent of staff reported that they have a high
or medium interest in the newsletter. Work is underway to develop the newsletter further in line with
ongoing feedback on areas of interest to staff.
Communication campaigns
In 2007-08, the Core Department developed and managed the implementation of information campaigns
to provide more proactive, consistent and better targeted communication to customers of the Human
Services Portfolio.
Drought assistance
In partnership with Centrelink, and with advice from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and
Forestry, the Core Department conducted the Drought Assistance Campaign in September and October
2007. The campaign used television, radio and print advertising to inform farmers and agriculturally
dependent small businesses about the Australian Government assistance available to them. The
advertising campaign, combined with government announcements and on-the-ground Centrelink activity,
resulted in an increase in calls to the already established Centrelink-operated Drought Assistance hotline
of approximately 30 per cent for the period from mid September to late October 2007. The Drought
Assistance Campaign ceased in December 2007 due to the high level of awareness already achieved.
Of the $2.5 million appropriated funding for the Drought Assistance Campaign, $1.7 million was
expended in 2007-08 and $0.8 million was returned to the Budget.
Southern Murray-Darling Basin
The Southern Murray-Darling Basin Campaign provided information about Australian Government
drought support programs to irrigators in the Southern Murray-Darling Basin affected by reduced water
allocations. The campaign, conducted in September and October 2007, included radio, press and
irrigation- specific rural magazine advertising, as well as public relations activities. The Core Department
conducted the campaign in partnership with Centrelink and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and
Forestry.
Electronic Medicare claiming
In conjunction with Medicare Australia, the Core Department had responsibility for the communication
campaign for electronic Medicare claiming. In 2007-08, the campaign targeted medical practices through
public relations activities. The activities included contacting medical practices directly through Medicare's
Business Development Officer Network, conducting workshops with practice managers, direct mailing to
medical practices and distributing support material to participating medical practices.
Local Liaison Officer Program
During the first half of 2007-08, the Core Department co-ordinated the Local Liaison Officer (LLO)
Program, which helped Members of Parliament and Senators to manage queries from constituents about
Human Services programs.
As part of the new Government's 'Cleaning up Government' election commitment, the program ceased
operating on 14 February 2008.
Following the program's closure, the Human Services agencies implemented arrangements for Members
of Parliament and Senators to contact staff of the relevant Human Services agency directly.
Northern Territory Emergency Response
Improve services for Indigenous Australians
In 2007-08, the Core Department focused on co-ordinating and improving the effectiveness of services
for Indigenous Australians to tackle social dysfunction in Indigenous communities. In particular, the
Human Services Portfolio was involved in implementing a wide range of Northern Territory Emergency
Response (NTER) measures aimed at protecting Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory from abuse
and, over the longer term, at establishing a better standard of living by improving Indigenous health,
education, employment and welfare services.
The Human Services Portfolio received funding of $74.2 million for the NTER measures. Of this amount,
the Core Department was provided with $6.7 million to co-ordinate the implementation of the NTER
measures across the Human Services Portfolio and for conducting Job Capacity Assessments, which
identify a person's ability to work and the barriers they face in getting a job.
The work of the Core Department and the Human Services agencies supported a range of strategies,
including supporting the deployment of government business managers, conducting hearing tests and
changing participation requirements for income support recipients. Human Services agencies were also
involved in the implementation of income management measures. At 26 June 2008, 53 communities and
eight town camps were on income management, with 14,086 customers on income management.
At 27 June 2008, a total of 9,124 NTER child health checks had been completed.
Income Management Card
During 2007-08, the Core Department co-ordinated the development of the new Income Management
Card to support income management in the Northern Territory, the income management trial to help
protect children in Western Australia, and the Cape York trials.
The Core Department developed the technical capability of the Income Management Card and was
involved in the strategic planning for its development and implementation.
The Income Management Card will deliver income-managed funds to customers in a manner that is
efficient and convenient. Card holders will be able to use it to purchase goods and services, but will not
be able to purchase prohibited goods, such as alcohol, cigarettes and pornography.
The Income Management Card will use the EFTPOS system to deliver income-managed welfare
payments to about 20,000 Centrelink customers in income-managed communities in the Northern
Territory and to people referred by child welfare authorities as part as the trial of income management in
selected areas of Western Australia. It will be one of the many mechanisms for the Queensland
Government's Families Responsibility Commission, as part of the Cape York trials. More than $17
million is being invested to provide the personalised, PIN-protected card for customers to use when
purchasing non-prohibited goods and services.
This system will make it easier for people to have access to their income-managed funds. It will also be
less of a burden for business and provide small business, in particular, with an opportunity to participate
in income management through a simple approval process as well as significantly reducing
administration.
The card will be introduced progressively in 2008-09.
Deliver government commitments and Budget measures effectively
In 2007-08, the Core Department monitored progress achieved across the Human Services Portfolio in
delivering policy initiatives and commitments against agreed timeframes and government expectations.
This process also provided an opportunity for the agencies to identify any risks or issues arising from
implementation.
The Core Department also worked with the Human Services agencies to advise the Minister of possible
pressures agencies might face to ensure that government deliberations on future policy development are
informed by the capacity of service delivery agencies to deliver.
In 2007-08, the Core Department's participation in many interdepartmental committees and working
groups, including on the Child Support Scheme, migration and humanitarian matters, welfare payment
reform, Indigenous affairs including the Northern Territory Emergency Response, education, child
protection and mental health, enabled it to fulfil one of its major roles, providing advice to government on
service delivery issues.
The Core Department also provided advice to working groups on a wide range of policy and
implementation issues to ensure that service delivery perspectives were included in their deliberations.
Input from the Human Services Portfolio in the policy development stage of new proposals ensures that
service delivery implications are considered at an early stage of new policy development.
In 2007-08, the Core Department provided comment on service delivery implications for a significant
number of Cabinet submissions in the policy areas of:

social inclusion;

homelessness;

immigration;

Indigenous affairs;

carer payment (child);

welfare payments reform;

removal of discrimination against same-sex couples and their children;

housing affordability; and

health reforms, including new listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Election commitments
Substantial savings were sought from the Human Services Portfolio under the 'Savings for Labor's better
priorities' platform.
Since the 2007 election, the Portfolio has achieved more than $1.3 billion in savings over the four years
2007-08 to 2010-11, of which $271.6 million was realised in 2007-08.
The larger part of these savings came from implementing the new Government's election commitments,
three of which were savings proposals with 2007-08 implications. These were discontinuing the Access
Card Program, reversing the 2007-08 Budget measure to provide additional funding to the Portfolio
Department of Human Services and discontinuing the Local Liaison Officer Program. The first two of
these measures had a particular impact on the Core Department.
A further election commitment was a proposal to establish a Medicare office in Emerald, Queensland.
The Medicare office will be co-located within the existing Centrelink
Customer Service Centre. This was agreed to and announced in the 2008-09 Budget.
Budget strategy 2008-09
As in past years, the Core Department was responsible for co-ordinating the Budget process for the
Human Services Portfolio. The 2008-09 Budget provided an additional $660 million to the Human
Services Portfolio. The funds will be provided over four years to implement 63 measures, of which 54
were brought forward by other portfolios.
These measures included the provision of additional funding for Centrelink's call centres, for maintaining
the investment in the infrastructure established under Centrelink's IT Refresh program and for Medicare
Australia to improve access to the electronic claiming of Medicare rebates.
The 2008-09 Budget also included funding of $10 million in 2008-09 for the Core Department to facilitate
work on reforming service delivery to improve customer convenience and access to services. This
includes extensive analysis of options to improve the future delivery of services by the Human Services
agencies. In addition, funding was provided for the 'Fraud and compliance—assessments to verify
income and assets' Budget measure, which will enable Centrelink to undertake more reviews generated
from data-matching with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Further information on these measures is
set out on page 44.
The Core Department will continue to work closely with Human Services agencies and policy
departments to ensure that these new measures are implemented in a timely and effective manner.
Access Card Program
On 26 April 2006, the previous Government announced that it would introduce an Access Card, built on
smartcard technology, for use in the administration and payment of health, social services and veterans'
benefits.
The aims of the Access Card Program were to:

improve customer service and convenience;

improve the integrity of government outlays by providing better protection for an individual's identity
and through reducing fraud by ensuring that the right people get the right services and payments;
and

increase efficiency and security through technology.
Work on the Access Card Program continued in the Department in the first half of the year. During this
time, detailed business requirements (numbering in excess of 1,500 individual requirements) were
completed. Functional performance specifications were also completed, as was a working prototype of
the card. A geo-demographic capability was developed for mapping customer interactions and advanced
business intelligence.
Following the election, the new Government discontinued the Access Card Program in line with its
'Savings for Labor's better priorities' election commitment.
The new Minister, Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig, confirmed the termination of the Access Card Program
formally on 24 December 2007. This decision also provided the formal authority to cease the major
related procurement activities. Every effort was made to minimise further expenditure while ensuring that
proper process was followed in closing the program.
Program closure process
An extensive process of program closure was adopted following the new Government's decision. This
included work on a range of areas including:

formal notification confirming the termination of the program;

finalisation and closure of all contracts used by the program, or responsibility for continued contract
management handed over to the Department;

the review and finalisation of all program documentation to ensure that any remaining issues, risks
and outstanding actions were dealt with appropriately;

disbanding the program team, with individuals returning to other duties within their home
organisations, assigned to other duties within the Department, outposted to other agencies or moved
to employment elsewhere; and

the completion of a review to assess and evaluate the performance of the program and its
management processes to identify lessons learned.
Following the election, companies involved with the Access Card Program were advised to cease
working on Access Card-related activities. In December 2007 they were formally advised that the Core
Department was ceasing their contracts.
At the time of the election, two major Access Card tenders were under evaluation:

Access Card Systems Integrator; and

Card Issuance and Management Services.
In early December 2007, tenderers were advised that continuation of the program's procurement
process was being reassessed. Tenderers were formally notified in early January 2008 that the program
was closed and, as a result, the Core Department had discontinued the procurement processes.
Tenderers were provided with information on their submissions through formal feedback sessions as
part of the closure of the program.
In early January 2008, the Core Department formally advised Medicare Australia, Centrelink and the
Department of Veterans' Affairs of the termination of the Head Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
for the Access Card and all subordinate MOUs with effect from 11 January 2008.
Following the closure of the Access Card Program, a total of $1.046 billion was returned to the Budget,
including $242.1 million that was appropriated for the 2007-08 financial year.
Benefits
The Core Department and the participating agencies realised significant benefits from work on the
Access Card Program which will prove useful in future work on service delivery reform. The Core
Department gained a detailed knowledge of Human Services agencies' systems and processes, and of
agency and industry capabilities. It also developed strong relationships with service delivery
stakeholders across the Australian Government, the State and Territory governments, and the health
and community sectors.
In addition, the Core Department developed a common cross-agency data model and technical
specifications for online transactions, and made progress in developing policies across the Human
Services agencies in relation to common data and system standards. It also developed a servicesoriented architecture operating model for common processes across the Human Services Portfolio.
The Core Department gained knowledge of the global smartcard industry and helped to develop
international smartcard standards that could drive smartcard technology and infrastructure across
Australia.
Through the Access Card Program, the Core Department improved its technology and business
capability, which it will be able to apply to future service delivery initiatives and to improving the
protection of customer information and addressing fraud.
Specific capabilities, skills and expertise were developed in user authentication, security, business
intelligence, procurement and contract management, program design and policy formulation. This
expertise has already been applied to the maintenance of, and performance improvement in, existing
service delivery programs and will be of value in managing future service delivery initiatives.
The Core Department also developed a unique interactive web-based geospatial capability, known as
the Geo-Demographic Interactive Simulation Tool (GIST). This tool plots the Portfolio's service delivery
footprint across the health and social services landscape. GIST currently supplies a set of rich
information based on Australian Bureau of Statistics census and Portfolio agency data to provide a
comprehensive picture of service delivery demand across Australia.
Service delivery reform
The 2008-09 Budget allocated $10 million to DHS to examine new opportunities for the future delivery of
health and welfare services. This includes funding to develop business cases, risk assessments and
implementation plans aimed at modernising and improving service delivery by Centrelink, Medicare
Australia and other agencies in the Portfolio.
The reform initiatives under development focus on providing simpler and more convenient services to
customers, while achieving government objectives in a more efficient and flexible manner. A series of
working groups have been established to explore specific areas of reform in detail. These working
groups comprise senior officers from across the Portfolio and are working to develop business cases,
risk assessments and, where appropriate, proposed implementation plans.
A detailed work program has been established to develop options, including for:

a faster, more accurate and higher quality service at the front line;

better on-the-ground assistance to regional and Indigenous Australia and to the broader community
in times of emergency;

a greater choice in service delivery channels, including more convenient and better use of online
channels, or face-to-face and telephone services if preferred;

the convenience of being able to access multiple government services in one location through a onestop-shop approach; and

reduced red tape so that people do not have to provide the same information on multiple occasions.
Homelessness
The Core Department's input into the development of the Government's Green Paper on homelessness,
Which way home? A new approach to homelessness, included consideration of the potential role that
services such as the Centrepay system can play in preventing people falling behind financially. The Core
Department's input also included consideration of improving the way vulnerable customers are referred
to housing and other service providers. The Human Services Portfolio will continue to work in this priority
area while the Government considers community responses to the Green Paper.
Develop strategies to reduce fraud and non-compliance
The Portfolio Department and Human Services agencies work with other agencies to ensure that current
activities to address fraud and non-compliance effectively target strategic risks for social, health and
welfare payments. The Core Department also explores opportunities to improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of existing programs to protect taxpayer funds as part of its service delivery reform
agenda.
Build a strategic approach
In 2007-08, the Core Department, with the Department of Finance and Deregulation, established a
working group of officials to develop a more strategic approach to managing fraud and non-compliance,
including consideration of performance measurement, integration of compliance activity, and strategies
to reduce overpayments.
Activities underway
In 2007-08, the Core Department worked with Human Services agencies to ensure the effective
implementation of measures from previous Budgets in this area.
A key measure announced in the 2007-08 Budget was the establishment of a data-link between
Centrelink and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) as part of the 'Fraud and
compliance—residency eligibility validation system for payments and concessions' measure. The
establishment of this link is directed to reducing debts and overpayments for customers travelling
overseas by establishing a real-time link with DIAC.
Human Services agencies use a range of methods to reduce fraud, errors, debts and overpayments,
including pilots to test new sources of information. The 2006-07 Budget measure 'Fraud and
compliance—addressing undeclared unearned income' concerned a pilot to test the feasibility of using
ATO annual investment income reports. The reports were used to identify customers who had not
previously declared investment income, including shares, bank interest, unit trusts and term deposits.
This measure has proved to be a successful data source in identifying incorrect reporting of income to
Centrelink. At 31 March 2008, Centrelink had completed 1,196 reviews, generating average savings per
review of $3,587.
The 'Fraud and compliance—assessments to verify income or assets' measure announced in the 200809 Budget provided additional funding to Centrelink of $138 million and is estimated to deliver net
savings of $589.2 million over four years.
The measure has two elements. The first element allows for additional reviews by Centrelink when
discrepancies are detected through data-matching with the Australian Taxation Office. This element
builds on existing data-matching activities and will increase the number of reviews where people have
failed to declare, or have under-declared, income or assets to Centrelink. Centrelink expects to conduct
an additional 278,000 reviews over four years for this element.
The second element involves building on a data-exchange pilot between Centrelink and the
Commonwealth Bank of Australia to allow Centrelink to identify the undisclosed or under-declared
financial assets of Centrelink customers. Centrelink will expand this initiative to other major financial
institutions, subject to their agreement, over the coming four years. Centrelink expects to conduct an
additional 41,500 reviews over four years for this element.
Both elements of this measure will commence on 1 July 2008.
Drive the Job Capacity Assessment Program
The Job Capacity Assessment Program provides comprehensive assessment of work capacity and
referral to early intervention and support for people with barriers to work.
The Core Department is responsible for the effective administration of the Job Capacity Assessment and
Job Capacity Account programs. Following the successful implementation of the programs in 2006-07, in
2007-08 the Core Department focused on improving guidelines and processes, on assessing service
provider performance and on reviewing program and policy settings.
Following the election of the new Government in November 2007, the Core Department began a
comprehensive review of the Job Capacity Assessment Program, including Job Capacity Account
services, from February 2008. The Minister for Human Services sought input from stakeholders, and
received more than 50 responses from a wide range of stakeholder groups. Stakeholders considered
that the comprehensive assessment model was sound and had many positive features.
This was in line with the findings of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development
(OECD) report, Sickness, Disability and Work: Breaking the Barriers: Australia, Luxembourg, Spain and
the United Kingdom, volume 2, published in December 2007 (the Four Countries Report). The OECD
found that Job Capacity Assessments were 'a promising step as an integrated assessment aimed at
earlier intervention' (page 70 of report) and were 'a more comprehensive approach than other countries'
(page 95 of report).
The Core Department worked with stakeholders to develop new quality assurance and performance
measurement frameworks to be implemented from 1 July 2008, and began an overhaul of training,
guidelines and processes.
Service charter—standards of service delivery
Customers attending a Job Capacity Assessment can expect to receive the standard of service set out in
the Job Capacity Assessment Client Service Charter, which was issued in 2007-08. Customers can
expect:

to receive a high-quality assessment that is fair, comprehensive, timely and transparent;

to receive referrals to the most appropriate interventions and programs of assistance to improve their
current and future work capacity;

to be treated with dignity and have their privacy and confidentiality respected;

to be able to access the premises where Job Capacity Assessment services are delivered;

to receive a professional service;

to be assisted by staff with relevant skills, qualifications, training and competencies; and

to have their human rights protected and not to be abused.
The service charter is available on the website, www.humanservices.gov.au.
Program management
The Core Department drove advances in the Job Capacity Assessment Program in 2007-08 by:

significantly improving systems and processes to support the work of Job Capacity Assessors and to
improve the quality of assessment reports;

outposting departmental staff to Darwin from September 2007 to November 2007 to manage and coordinate high-quality and responsive Job Capacity Assessments as part of the Northern Territory
Emergency Response;

undertaking a rolling program of audits of Job Capacity Assessments and Job Capacity Account
services, with the assistance of independent external auditors (1,301 audits of Job Capacity
Assessments and more than 200 audits of Job Capacity Account services);

developing additional training material for Job Capacity Assessors, including material on providing
evidence for review and appeal processes and assessing customers who have partial capacity to
work, Parenting Payment customers, and those who are deaf or hard of hearing;

reviewing regional and remote servicing;

developing, in consultation with providers of Job Capacity Assessment services, new quality
assurance and performance measurement frameworks and new performance measures, to be
introduced in July 2008; and

commencing a review of training, guidelines and processes in April 2008.
Measuring performance
The standard of performance of Job Capacity Assessments is measured against key performance
indicators that were established in the request for tender (issued in November 2005) and in the service
agreements with Job Capacity Assessment providers.
The key performance indicators relate to:

efficiency and timeliness (value for money and timeliness of interventions);

effectiveness and utilisation (maximisation of program outcomes for eligible participants); and

quality (standard of provider services to clients, to Centrelink and to employment service providers).
Efficiency and timeliness
A key target for the Job Capacity Assessment Program is rapid referral to employment services for
clients with barriers to work, and quick return of reports to Centrelink to expedite income support
decisions.
In 2007-08, the timeliness targets for Job Capacity Assessments were met. Overall, 82.7 per cent of
assessments in non-remote areas were completed within 10 business days, compared to the benchmark
of 80 per cent. In remote areas, 94.1 per cent of assessments were completed within 15 business days
from referral, compared to the benchmark of 80 per cent within 15 days.
Effectiveness and utilisation
Since the Job Capacity Assessment Program was introduced in July 2006, the percentage of clients
referred to employment services has significantly increased.
When the Job Capacity Assessment Program commenced in July 2006, 74 per cent of completed
assessments resulted in a recommended referral to an employment service. In 2007-08, this was 83 per
cent of completed assessments. Table 3 compares referrals in 2007-08 under the Job Capacity
Assessment Program with referrals in 2005-06 under the Early Intervention Pilot Program, which trialled
a comprehensive work capacity assessment.
Table 3 Referrals to employment services by reason for assessment, 2005-06 and 2007-08
Type of assessment
Early intervention pilot
2005-06 (%)
Job Capacity Assessment
Program 2007-08 (%)
Disability Support Pension new claim
38
56
Disability Support Pension review
32
47
Temporary incapacity exemption
51
95
Jobseeker Classification Instrument
(activity-tested customer with barriers
to work)
72
97
All
48
83
Note: Referral data for Job Capacity Assessments relates to recommended referrals, whereas the early intervention pilot data
relates to actual referrals. Changes to policy and process have also affected service referrals.
Because around 50 per cent of assessments are required to inform a Centrelink decision on income
support eligibility, a referral to an employment service may not always be necessary or appropriate. For
example, a person may be eligible for Disability Support Pension or a temporary exemption from activity
test requirements due to illness.
In 2007-08, three-quarters of Job Capacity Assessments that did not result in a recommended referral to
an employment service were for people who had a Disability Support Pension-related assessment. The
majority of other non-referrals were for people with medical certificates.
The OECD, in its Four Countries Report (see page 44), has identified people applying for disabilityrelated income support and people who are out of the workforce due to illness as high priorities for
assessment and support, because they are at high risk of long-term income support dependence.
The significant increase in referrals to employment services for these groups since the commencement
of the Job Capacity Assessment Program recognises that they can often benefit from support services to
help them return to work, and it is a strong indicator of the effectiveness of the program.
Client outcomes
The Job Capacity Assessment Program contributes to good outcomes for clients by making appropriate
referrals to an employment service and providing the right information to assist Centrelink decisionmaking. However, the Job Capacity Assessment is only one step in the process for clients seeking
income support or employment assistance.
Analysis undertaken in 2008 by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
shows that six months after assessment the percentage of customers on income support without
earnings had fallen from 91 per cent to 76 per cent. Around 13 per cent had become self-reliant within
that six-month timeframe, while those on income support with earnings increased from 9 per cent to 11
per cent (Figure 8).
Figure 8 Outcomes for assessed clients who were receiving income support at the time they had their
Job Capacity Assessments
Quality
The quality of Job Capacity Assessments is measured in a number of ways. In 2006-07, the Core
Department engaged independent external quality auditors to review and rate the quality of
assessments. In 2007-08, 1,030 assessments were reviewed. Of reports receiving ratings between 1
July 2007 and 10 January 2008, 98 per cent were rated as satisfactory or better:

22.9 per cent were rated as excellent;

49.2 per cent were rated as good; and

25.8 per cent were rated as satisfactory.
A further measure of quality is acceptance by Centrelink of Job Capacity Assessment reports for
income-support decision making. About 50 per cent of assessments are undertaken to inform Centrelink
decisions on Disability Support Pension, Partial Capacity to Work and exemptions from activity testing
due to medical conditions. In 2007-08, Centrelink accepted 99.4 per cent of Job Capacity Assessment
reports.
In 2007-08, 89 per cent of Job Capacity Assessments were conducted face-to-face, 6.6 per cent were
file assessments conducted at Centrelink's request (usually in cases where a previous assessment only
needed updating or where a customer was unavailable for interview), 4.1 per cent were telephone
assessments, where a face-to-face interview would not be feasible, and around 0.3 per cent were
conducted by video conference. Job Capacity Assessment Guidelines set out that a face to-face
assessment is preferable where possible.
Complaints by customers are another source of feedback on the quality of the Job Capacity Assessment
Program. In 2007-08, the Core Department received a total of 215 complaints from all sources out of
447,158 Job Capacity Assessments. This represents a complaint level of 0.05 per cent, or one complaint
for every 2,080 assessments. A total of five complaints were referred from the Commonwealth
Ombudsman, all of which have been resolved.
In addition, more than 30 per cent of complaints were about issues outside the Job Capacity Assessor's
control, such as dissatisfaction with income support decisions or referrals that were in line with current
policy and guidelines.
Qualifications of assessors
Job Capacity Assessors are allied health professionals. Providers of Job Capacity Assessments must
employ a multidisciplinary range of allied health professionals and provide them with appropriate training
and support to undertake comprehensive work capacity assessments. Allied health professionals who
undertake Job Capacity Assessments must be registered (or eligible to register) with their respective
professional board or other appropriate professional associations as required by State and Territory
legislation. Providers are expected to adhere to appropriate supervision arrangements and relevant
codes of conduct consistent with professional requirements.
In 2007-08, almost 60 per cent of Job Capacity Assessments were completed by psychologists (Table
4). The other allied health professionals performing these assessments are required, as part of their
professional training, to manage symptoms affecting their clients' functioning and to understand and deal
appropriately with their psychological and behavioural issues. Additional training in mental health issues
is also provided.
Table 4 Percentage of Job Capacity Assessments completed, by assessor qualification, 2007-08
Assessor qualification
Assessments (%)
Psychologists and social workers
72.3
Registered psychologist
27.9
Other (over 90 per cent are non-registered psychologists)
32.4
Social worker
12.0
Other allied health professionals
22.3
Registered occupational therapist
9.3
Accredited rehabilitation counsellor
7.5
Accredited exercise physiologist
2.7
Registered physiotherapist
2.5
Speech pathologist
0.3
Nurses and doctors
5.4
Registered nurse
5.2
Registered medical practitioner
0.2
Reviewing provider performance
In addition to ongoing monitoring and quarterly performance reports to individual providers, the Core
Department conducted a national performance review of Job Capacity Assessors from September 2007,
with the assistance of the Australian Government Solicitor.
The Core Department found that both the Job Capacity Assessment Program and Job Capacity
Assessment providers were generally performing well against the key performance indicators of quality,
effectiveness, efficiency and timeliness. Based on this performance review, some adjustments were
made to provider market shares in December 2007. In January 2008, provider contracts were extended
by 12 months, to June 2009.
Job Capacity Account Program
In 2007-08, the Core Department also managed the Job Capacity Account Program. Under this
program, Job Capacity Assessors are funded to purchase short-term allied health professional services,
such as cognitive behavioural therapy and pain management for Job Network clients who need this
assistance to return to work.
The Core Department sets contract requirements and guidelines for selecting Job Capacity Account
services and providers, and for ensuring effective use of services and accountability for government
funding.
Job Capacity Account services make an important contribution to helping people gain employment. An
analysis conducted by the Core Department in 2008 found that outcomes improved significantly for most
Job Capacity Account customers examined. More than 80 per cent of the 200 customers examined in
December 2006 were on income support with no earnings at the time they were referred to a Job
Capacity Account service. After 12 months, 35 per cent remained on income support with no earnings
while 65 per cent reported earnings or were no longer on income support.
Further feedback on the effectiveness of the program comes from a survey of 108 Job Capacity Account
intervention customers undertaken in October 2007 by a Job Capacity Assessment provider. The survey
indicates that customers are highly positive about the program (Table 5, page 50).
Table 5 Survey results from a sample of customers who undertook a Job Capacity Account intervention,
July 2007 to October 2007
Strongly
disagree
(%)
Disagree
(%)
Uncertain
(%)
Agree (%)
Strongly
agree (%)
I believe it's important to have access
to a service such as this
0
1
2
22
75
The service has helped me make
positive changes in my life
1
3
16
40
40
The service was relevant and
worthwhile and met my needs
0
1
7
43
49
It was useful for me to receive this
service before being referred to a Job
Network provider
0
2
18
39
41
The service helped me feel more
confident to work with my Job
Network provider
2
8
29
36
25
I would recommend the service to
other people who have been referred
to a Job Network provider
2
1
7
36
54
Question
Maximise employment participation
The Core Department worked to maximise employment participation through its management of the Job
Capacity Assessment Program. In 2007-08:

Job Capacity Assessments were conducted in more than 1,113 locations around Australia;

447,158 assessments were completed, including 5,830 for people living in remote Indigenous
communities as part of the NTER;

more than 83 per cent of completed assessments resulted in referrals to services. 38.8 per cent of
these were referred to Job Network, 22 per cent to vocational rehabilitation services, 19.7 per cent to
the Disability Employment Network and 17.3 per cent to the Personal Support Program (Figure 9).
Customers were also referred to complementary services, such as literacy and numeracy training
and community support services; and

33,754 customers (7.5 per cent of assessments) were referred to Job Capacity Account services,
exceeding the original estimate of 6.8 per cent.
Figure 9 Job Capacity Assessment Program referrals as percentage of total referrals to services, 200708
Reports by the Commonwealth Ombudsman
The Commonwealth Ombudsman, in Report No. 5 of 2008, Implementation of Job Capacity
Assessments for the Purposes of Welfare to Work Initiatives, identified issues relating to Job Capacity
Assessments which had contributed to the volume of complaints received by the Ombudsman. The
report made 10 recommendations for improving the existing Job Capacity Assessment process. The
Core Department, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Centrelink, and
the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs were invited to
comment on the findings. The Core Department generally agreed with the report's findings and
recommendations. The Core Department has been working with the Ombudsman and other
stakeholders to develop practical approaches to address these issues, including through systems
changes implemented from 2007 as a result of issues identified by the Ombudsman, new quality
assurance and performance measurement frameworks introduced from 1 July 2008, and a review of
training, guidelines and processes commenced in April 2008.
Provide effective leadership to support Portfolio agencies
Through governance processes, the Core Department worked closely with Human Services Portfolio
agencies on service delivery performance and progress against service delivery expectations. These
include expectations set by the Minister for Human Services in his Statements of Expectations, service
delivery standards set in agency business partnership agreements and memorandums of understanding
with client departments. The Core Department also worked closely with the Human Services agencies
on responses to audit reviews and implementation of recommendations.
Key risks and government priorities
During 2007-08, the Core Department continued to work with the Human Services Portfolio agencies on
areas of key risk and priority for government. Areas of focus for this work varied across the agencies.

Work with Centrelink focused on the continuing implementation of the former Government's Welfare
to Work reforms and other policy initiatives (including changes to age pension asset testing),
monitoring service delivery standards, and managing responses to Centrelink's changing customer
base, which included impacts on Centrelink's financial performance.

Work with Medicare Australia focused on implementing and increasing the take-up of electronic
claiming initiatives, on monitoring service delivery performance and on monitoring financial
performance.

Work with Australian Hearing focused on meeting targets for service delivery in Indigenous
communities and on enhancing Australian Hearing's competitiveness in the hearing services voucher
market, where Australian Hearing competes against private providers for business.

Work with the HSA Group focused on monitoring its progress in meeting the expectations in its
corporate plan. The Core Department also worked with the HSA Group executive on long-term plans
for the organisation.

The Core Department's work with CRS Australia focused on its transition to the partially contestable
vocational rehabilitation market that took effect on 1 July 2007.

The Core Department's work with the Child Support Agency focused on the implementation of the
Child Support Scheme reforms and the Building a Better CSA package.

The Core Department also began work across the Human Services Portfolio, in particular with
Centrelink, Medicare Australia and the Child Support Agency, to develop strategies for long-term
service delivery reform that in part drew on the lessons learned from the flexible service delivery trials
that the Core Department initiated in 2006-07.
Some specific areas of focus for service delivery improvement in 2007-08 are summarised below.
Queue times
Reducing queue times is an important part of facilitating access to services. The Core Department
continued to work closely with Medicare Australia and Centrelink to monitor and encourage reductions in
queue times.
During the year, Medicare Australia introduced an electronic queue management system into all 238 of
its offices and implemented an internal target of 95 per cent of customers served in less than 10
minutes. Centrelink implemented an internal target of an average stand-up wait time of less than 10
minutes and an average sit-down wait time of less than 15 minutes.
Nationally, Centrelink averaged 96.5 per cent of measured stand-up time queue wait times below 10
minutes. The Centrelink monthly percentages and time waited over the year indicate consistent
improvement in the stand-up queue wait times for Centrelink. As at May 2008, Centrelink averaged 2
minutes and 6 seconds in the stand-up queue wait times compared with 3 minutes and 2 seconds in
June 2007.
Nationally, Medicare Australia achieved a cumulative figure of 97.1 per cent of customers served in less
than 10 minutes, against the target of 95 per cent in less than 10 minutes.
Audits of Human Services agencies
Audits of service delivery by the Human Services Portfolio agencies were also a key area of focus for the
Core Department, which is classified as having a 'special interest' in the Australian National Audit Office
(ANAO) performance audits across the Portfolio. The audits are of particular interest to the Core
Department as they can identify ways to improve service delivery.
As a special interest party, the Core Department monitors the outcomes and recommendations of
Portfolio performance audits and their implementation. The Department's monitoring of performance
audits identifies opportunities for constructive improvements and shared learnings to be extrapolated
and applied where relevant for better practice service delivery. For example, analysis by the Core
Department of ANAO Audit Report No. 33, 2006-07, Centrelink's customer charter—follow-up audit, and
Audit Report No. 40, 2006-07, Centrelink's review and appeals system—follow-up audit, identified
service delivery learnings that the Core Department was able to share with other Human Services
agencies. For more information on ANAO audits, see 'External scrutiny' (page 60).
Ombudsman investigations
The Core Department also monitors the Commonwealth Ombudsman's investigations and
recommendations for improvements. It works closely with all parts of the Human Services Portfolio to
facilitate the evolution of service delivery to meet customer expectations and satisfaction. For more
information on Ombudsman investigations, see 'External scrutiny' (page 60).
Procurement
The Core Department and the Human Services agencies continued to achieve efficiencies through joint
procurement in 2007-08. The Core Department co-ordinated and chaired strategic procurement groups
and drove the agenda for achieving procurement outcomes that provided value-for-money benefits to the
Portfolio overall.
Between the commencement of joint procurements in January 2006 and the end of the 2007-08 financial
year, the Portfolio achieved around $50 million in savings from shared procurement.
Wherever possible, the Core Department and Human Services agencies achieved procurement savings
by sourcing goods and services through a single approach to the market. Savings were achieved in
tender processes, in streamlined contract negotiations and in leveraged lower prices due to economies
of scale. The Human Services Portfolio also established a number of panels, for example, the General
Management Services Panel (57 providers). The use of these panels not only delivers process and price
savings, but also assists with business continuity and service availability.
The Human Services Portfolio has also been working towards more co-ordinated purchasing of property
services, voice and data communication, ICT infrastructure and bulk printing, all aligned with current
initiatives to deliver efficiencies through whole-of- government co-ordinated procurement for common
government services. The Human Services Portfolio has significant experience in joint procurement
arrangements and its expertise is contributing to the development of the whole-of-government activity in
this area.
Information and communication technology review
In April 2008, the Minister for Finance and Deregulation initiated the Review of the Australian
Government's Use of Information and Communication Technology (the Gershon Review). The review is
to examine and report on the effectiveness and efficiency of the Australian Government's use of ICT to
determine whether the Government is realising the greatest return from its investments. This is a
significant opportunity to shape the future ICT strategy for the next 10 years.
In recognition of the fundamental importance ICT plays as a business tool for all agencies in the Human
Services Portfolio, the Core Department has co-ordinated a Portfolio response to the Gershon Review.■
CASE STUDY
Job Capacity Assessment Services for the Northern Territory Emergency
Response
From September to November 2007, Department of Human Services staff were outposted to Darwin to
co-ordinate Job Capacity Assessments in remote Northern Territory communities as part of the Northern
Territory Emergency Response (NTER).
Their job was to arrange the assessments, organise logistics for the Job Capacity Assessment teams,
liaise with other government agencies and deal with any issues that arose.
They often had to work from their hotel rooms or wherever they could, as desks were limited. In the
communities, Job Capacity Assessors generally conducted their assessments sitting on the ground and
often slept in swags provided by the Department.
More than 5,800 assessments were provided by Human Services Portfolio agencies Centrelink, CRS
Australia and HSA Group, and by private providers, including Advanced Personnel Management and
Mission Australia, as part of the NTER. Most clients were referred to employment and social support
services, such as the Job Network, Vocational Rehabilitation Services and Disability Employment
Network. Some customers reported that this was the first time they were offered help with serious
problems, such as pain management and substance abuse.
For team members in Darwin, the work was at times overwhelming, but it also provided valuable, handson experience of remote service delivery issues and a chance to work with our assessors to ensure that
people in these remote communities are able to receive the services and income support they need.
MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Corporate governance
This section reports on aspects of the Core Department's particular corporate governance arrangements
that function in addition to the whole-of-department measures described in the Overview chapter.
The names and responsibilities of the senior executives of the Core Department are shown in Figure 7,
on page 30.
Governance framework
Table 6 gives details of the membership and functions of the Core Department's governance
committees.
Table 6 Governance committees at 30 June 2008
Members
Name
Functions
Administration
Helen Williams
Facilitates communication
between SES staff across
the Core Department
Secretariat
Leadership Group
Secretary (Chair) All
SES officers
Executive Officer to the
Secretary
Meetings Weekly
Executive Management Committee
Secretary (Chair)
Deputy Secretaries
Helen Williams
Kerri Hartland
Jeff Popple a/g
First Assistant
Secretaries
Audit Committeea
Provides advice to the
Secretary on policy,
management issues and
priorities
Secretariat
Executive Officer to the
Secretary
Meetings
Reviews reports from the
Weekly, after Leadership
Chief Financial Officer
Group
(monthly financial report),
AS Portfolio Coordination
and Corporate
(organisational performance
report) and other
governance committees
Members
Name
Functions
Administration
Deputy Secretary
Core Department
(Chair)
Jeff Popple a/g
Monitors and, where
necessary, recommends
improvements to:
Secretariat
FAS Financial
Analysis and
Corporate (observer)
General Manager
CRS Australia
(observer)
General Manager
Child Support
Agency (observer)
Two independent
members
Jenny Morison
Peter Kennedy
Director Portfolio

risk management
identification and
amelioration;
Coordination (with Internal
Audit)

internal control
processes (including
fraud control);
Meetings

the financial reporting
process;

the functioning of the
Internal Audit Unit;

the external audit
process; and

processes for monitoring
compliance with
legislation, regulations
and Government policy.
Quarterly
Maintains an effective
working relationship with
the ANAO.
AS Portfolio
Coordination and
Corporate (observer)
Chief Financial
Officer (observer)
Chief Internal Auditor
(observer)
ANAO observer
Information Management Committee
FAS Financial
Analysis and
Corporate (Chair)
Chris Dainer
FAS Service Delivery
Operations
Alex Dolan
Provides advice to the
Secretary, through the
Executive Management
Committee, on:
Secretariat

Meetings
strategies and policies
for the effective use of
Director Information
Technology Services
Members
Name
Functions
AS Portfolio
Coordination and
Corporate
Neil Skill
AS Business
Intelligence
Peter Robertson
General Counsel
Kathryn
Johnson
Oversees the development
and maintenance of
Executive Officer to
the Secretary
Kristine Schultz
knowledge management
and sharing
information resources;
and

Administration
Quarterly
the development of
information
infrastructure and
services that support
business outcomes
Reviews the effectiveness
of internal and external
communication
People and Leadership Committee
FAS Policy and
Strategy(Chair)
Jenny Thomson
a/g
FAS Financial
Analysis and
Corporate
Chris Dainer
AS Portfolio
Coordination and
Corporate
Neil Skill
FAS Business
Division
Joe Smith
AS Marketing and
Communication
Cindy West a/g
AS Compliance and
Development
Di White
Executive Officer to
the Secretary
Kristine Schultz
Advises the Secretary,
through the Executive
Management Committee
(EMC), on development of
staff capability, with
particular emphasis on:
Secretariat

corporate culture and
values;
Quarterly

succession planning,
workforce planning and
staff development;

links between the
strategic framework,
business outcomes,
people management
strategies, and people's
day-to-day work;

people management
and leadership
initiatives, particularly in
career development,
support and training;

flexible workplace
practices that help
people to balance their
work and personal lives;
and
Director People
Strategies
Meetings
Members
Name
Functions

Administration
high-level strategic
people management
and leadership needs
Security and Business Continuity Committee
FAS Service Delivery
Operations (Chair)
Alex Dolan
Chief Technology
Architect
Marie Johnson
FAS Financial
Analysis and
Corporate
Chris Dainer
AS Portfolio
Coordination and
Corporate
Neil Skill
Executive Officer to
the Secretary
Chief Internal Auditor
(observer)
Kristine Schultz
Advises the Secretary,
through the Executive
Management Committee,
and oversees, monitors and
reports on the overall
management of security
risks and business
continuity management
Prepares responses to the
Australian Government
Annual Protective Security
Survey
Implements security
education and training
Instigates new distribution
controls, where appropriate
Reviews the protective
security environment
against the requirements of
the Protective Security
Manual
Annually reviews the
Protective Security Plan
Maintains a robust Business
Continuity Management
Plan, including a pandemic
influenza supplement
Maintains a Business
Continuity Procedure
Manual for members of the
DHS Business Continuity
Management Central
Coordination Team
Maintains Business
Continuity Quick Roadmaps
for managers and staff
Secretariat
Agency Security Adviser
Meetings
Quarterly
Members
Name
Functions
Administration
Maintains the Emergency
Management Plan
ANAO = Australian National Audit Office, AS = Assistant Secretary, FAS = First Assistant Secretary, SES = Senior Executive
Service,
a/g = acting
a
The Audit Committee is responsible for CSA and CRS Australia as well as for the Core Department.
Internal scrutiny
Internal audit, risk management and fraud prevention
In 2007-08, the Core Department took a comprehensive approach to managing risks associated with
business continuity, fraud, security, operations and auditing under its three-year Strategic Internal Audit
Program, which was reviewed and updated in May 2007.
The provision of internal audit services was outsourced under the guidance of the Chief Internal Auditor
and the supervision of DHS's Audit Committee.
The Core Department reviewed and implemented an improved Risk Management Framework in 200708. It also reviewed the Department's strategic and business risks ahead of the new organisational
structure implemented on 1 July 2008.
The Core Department tested and refined its business continuity plan during 2007-08.
The Department's Audit Committee provided assurance that Core Department risks were identified,
reviewed and addressed throughout the year.
Ethical standards management
The Core Department requires all employees to behave in accordance with the Australian Public Service
(APS) Values and Code of Conduct and to maintain a high level of integrity, honesty and professionalism
in their work and in their engagement with the broader community.
All new staff are trained in the APS Values and Code of Conduct as part of the general induction
process.
External scrutiny
Judicial or administrative decisions
There were no judicial or administrative tribunal decisions that had a significant impact on the operations
of the Core Department.
Australian National Audit Office audits
Financial statements
In the interim audit of the financial statements for 2007-08 (Audit Report No. 44, 2007-08), the
Department received no A findings and no B findings. The ANAO identified four C findings for the Core
Department in the Interim Management letter for the 2007-08 Financial Statements audit. The
Department implemented processes to address these findings and they were all eliminated in the final
audit report.
Credit card management
The Core Department was among those departments audited in a cross-portfolio audit of credit card
management. The audit found that there was scope to improve the Core Department's management of
credit cards and suggested a number of improvements, which the Core Department accepted and is
putting into place.
Portfolio-wide performance audits
The Core Department examined and analysed performance audit reports that related to Human Services
agencies and provided responses to the ANAO to help it to identify common themes and to ensure that
lessons learned are applied across the Portfolio. The ANAO includes the Department's responses in its
reports, which are available on the ANAO website, www.anao.gov.au.
In 2007-08, the following performance audits affecting the Portfolio were tabled:

ANAO Audit Report No. 8, 2007-08: Proof of identity for accessing Centrelink payments;

ANAO Audit Report No. 16, 2007-08: Data integrity in the Child Support Agency;

ANAO Audit Report No. 17, 2007-08: Management of the IT Refresh programme;

ANAO Audit Report No. 20, 2007-08: Accuracy of Medicare claims processing; and

ANAO Audit Report No. 42, 2007-08: Management of customer debt—follow-up audit.
Reports by the Commonwealth Ombudsman
The Commonwealth Ombudsman, in Report No. 5 of 2008, Implementation of Job Capacity
Assessments for the Purposes of the Welfare to Work Initiatives, identified issues relating to Job
Capacity Assessments that have contributed to the volume of complaints received by the Ombudsman.
The report made 10 recommendations for improving the existing JCA process. The Department of
Human Services, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Centrelink, and
the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs were invited to
comment on the findings. The Department of Human Services agreed in general with the findings and
recommendations, while noting that some contractual and system limitations exist.
Portfolio-wide reports
As with external audit reports, the Core Department monitored and responded to Ombudsman reports in
relation to all agencies in the Human Services Portfolio. The following reports were made in 2007-08:

Application of penalties under Welfare to Work, December 2007—Report No. 16 of 2007; and

Centrelink—Payment of independent rate of youth allowance to a young person, February 2008—
Report No. 01 of 2008.
People
Staffing statistics
At 30 June 2008, the Core Department employed 162 people; of these, 161 were ongoing and one was
non-ongoing. This is a reduction on the staffing figure of 230 people at 30 June 2007, of which 216 were
ongoing and 14 were non-ongoing.
Detailed information on staffing is provided in Appendix 1.
Human resource management
Attracting and retaining staff
The Core Department continued to use temporary transfers to meet its staffing and skill needs in the first
half of 2007-08. As a result of the Access Card Program being abolished in December 2007 and the
resulting reduction in staffing numbers, the Core Department did not recruit any new staff in the second
half of the year, and most staff on temporary transfer returned to their originating departments.
Promoting a safe and supportive workplace
The Core Department participated in the Human Services cross-agency working group to identify,
develop and implement consistent strategies to address occupational health and safety (OH&S)
requirements.
During 2007-08, the Core Department reviewed and implemented training for health and safety
representatives. It also reviewed and refined the structure of its designated work groups by consulting all
staff, continuing its commitment under the OH&S legislation to promote and provide a safe and
supportive work environment for employees.
To ensure a safe and supportive workplace, the Core Department trained and appointed:

five first aid officers to cover its work sites;

two health and safety representatives for the two designated work groups; and

two harassment contact officers.
During the Core Department's Health Week 2007-08, employees were offered influenza vaccinations
and health screens. As a result, 55 employees received influenza vaccinations and 63 employees
undertook health screens. Education and information packages on various health and lifestyle issues
were also distributed.
The Core Department entered into a contract with a new Employee Assistance Program provider to
ensure that ongoing support was available to all staff.
Workstation assessments were conducted for all new employees and for existing employees who
requested them due to a change in their physical work circumstances (for example, a change in work
location). Employees were assessed by a CRS Australia professional who took account of individual
circumstances and requirements.
Appendix 7 provides more details of OH&S performance in 2007-08.
Remuneration
Australian workplace agreements
All ongoing and non-ongoing staff of the Core Department in 2007-08 were covered by Australian
workplace agreements (AWAs). Remuneration arrangements were based on the principles that
remuneration must be:

fair and competitive;

sufficiently flexible to reflect the particular skills, experience and work responsibilities of individual
employees;

designed to reward and remunerate employees reasonably and appropriately for their performance
and contribution to the work of the Core Department;

accountable for efficiency gains, including any reductions in administrative complexity and cost; and

achieved through the simplification of rules governing employment.
Salary ranges for Core Department employees are provided in Appendix 1.
With the implementation of the Australian Government Bargaining Framework, the Core Department
started to develop a common law agreement to replace AWAs, and has commenced planning for a
collective agreement.
Performance pay
The AWAs on which all Core Department staff are employed include eligibility for performance bonuses.
All staff are required to have performance agreements in place for each year. The agreements form the
basis for assessing how each person has performed in their role and how they have developed their
capabilities during the timeframe of the agreement.
End-of-cycle performance assessments are used to determine eligibility for performance bonuses.
Table 7 Performance pay for 2006–07, paid in 2007–08
Level
Staff eligible
Staff paid
Amount paid ($)
Average ($)
APS Level
68
28
53.145
1.898
Executive Level
93
55
191.578
3.483
Senior Executive Service*
33
23
272.424
11.844
Total
194
106
517,147
4,878
*Does not include any bonus paid to the Secretary.
Bonuses are paid when an employee receives a rating of more than three.
At 30 June 2007, there were 216 staff in the Core Department. In total, 194 Core Department staff were
eligible for performance bonuses. Of these, 106 people received performance bonuses, with a total
amount paid of $517,147. This calculation does not include the Secretary to the Department.
The bonuses paid in financial year 2007-08 for performance during the 2006-07 financial year are set out
in Table 7.
Learning and development
The Core Department's People and Leadership Committee commissioned a workforce capability needs
assessment in late 2007. This assessment identified specific knowledge gaps in relation to budgeting,
financial and procurement processes, and the legislative governance requirements of the APS. It also
identified a number of capability requirements common to several divisions— leadership skills, project
management, technical writing, policy analysis, policy development and writing, procurement and
contract management, and specific IT systems knowledge.
To facilitate timely and affordable access to learning and development providers, the Core Department
joined the Leadership, Learning and Development Panel of the Australian Public Service Commission
(APSC) in early 2008. The Core Department also used the APSC's flagship programs, such as the
Career Development Assessment Centre (CDAC) and Indigenous development programs, outbound
programs involving Human Services agencies, mentoring and coaching, and other programs related to
specific technical learning needs.
Seven staff members from the Core Department participated in and successfully completed the 2007-08
CDAC program.
The Core Department's induction program effectively introduced all new staff members to the
Department's workplace culture and expectations and to the APS Values. It also prepared them to
formulate their performance agreements.
Australia Day 2008 Medallions were presented to the former Office of Access Card Tender Evaluation
Team for exemplary professionalism and commitment to ensuring the best outcome in relation to the
evaluation of the Access Card tenders. In addition, Stephanie Priestly received an individual award in
recognition of the hard work, commitment and professionalism she demonstrated over a significant
period of time, which culminated in the Core Department occupying the refurbished building at 65
Canberra Avenue.
Workplace diversity
Implement Reconciliation Action Plans
The Reconciliation Action Plan outlines tasks that the Core Department will undertake to contribute to
the wellbeing and quality of life of Indigenous Australians. In 2007-08, the Core Department
implemented a number of initiatives, including the development and implementation of a communication
strategy to support its Reconciliation Action Plan, participation in the Australian Public Service
Commission Indigenous Entry Level Employment Program, and the acknowledgement of National
Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week through various activities.
Implementation of the Core Department's Reconciliation Action Plan resulted in a renewed commitment
to reconciliation and exploring new and better ways of meeting the challenges associated with the
delivery of services to Indigenous Australians.
During 2007-08, the Core Department continued to demonstrate its commitment to providing a fair and
equitable environment for all staff by raising awareness of a range of events such as Harmony Day and
Reconciliation Week.
As part of its commitments in the Reconciliation Action Plan, the Core Department conducted two
cultural awareness training sessions, which were well attended and well received by staff. The Core
Department sent a representative to the National Indigenous APS Employees' Conference in Sydney in
May 2008.
The Core Department employed an Indigenous trainee in 2007-08, and promoted APSC Indigenous
development opportunities and events to staff across the Department.
Charitable donations
During 2007-08, staff of the Core Department contributed to a number of charitable collections, including
a Christmas Giving Tree and a collection for the Country Women's Association to assist the partners and
children of drought-affected farmers.
Resources
Financial management
The Core Department continued to strengthen financial management and reporting in 2007-08, using
Centrelink's Infolink financial management information system.
During 2007-08 a number of revisions were made to the Chief Executive Instructions and the Financial
Delegations to better reflect the requirements of the Core Department.
The Core Department continued to fulfil its statutory responsibilities throughout the year in respect of
financial management and reporting. Meaningful, accurate and properly supported financial information
was provided to the Department of Finance and Deregulation and to the ANAO as required.
Consultants and services contractors
During 2007-08, the Core Department entered into four new consultancy contracts to the value of
$10,000 or more, involving total actual expenditure of $4,729,328. In addition, one ongoing consultancy
contract was active during the year, involving total actual expenditure of $519,957, (see Table 8).
The Core Department engaged consultants to provide specialist services where skills were not available
in house or where an independent and impartial view from outside the Core Department was required.
Detailed information on consultancy contracts is provided in Appendix 4.
Table 8 Summary of consultancy services contracts, 2005-06 to 2007-08
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
Number of new contracts let
21
43
4
Total actual expenditure on new
contracts
$3.271.449
$26.738.435
$4.729.328
Number of active ongoing
contracts
1
3
1
Total actual expenditure on
ongoing contracts
$52.800
$87.905
$519.957
Number of contracts exempt from
AusTender
Nil
Nil
Nil
Note: Expenditure totals include GST and have been rounded to the nearest dollar.
Asset management
The Core Department does not have a significant holding of fixed assets. The majority of fixed assets
consist of office fit-out and computing equipment.
Purchasing
The Core Department's purchasing activities are consistent with the DHS Chief Executive Instructions
and internal procurement guidelines, which are in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement
Guidelines.
The objectives of the DHS guidelines are to:

meet the Minister's requirements for improved efficiencies in procurement processes across Human
Services agencies;

give agencies greater responsibility and accountability for their purchasing; and

move to common purchasing for all purchases over $1 million by actively participating in joint
procurements.
Purchaser-provider arrangements
The Core Department purchased payroll processing from Centrelink in 2007-08.
PART 3 OUTPUT 2 CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY
GENERAL MANAGER'S REVIEW
The 2007-08 financial year has been a highly challenging one for the Child Support Agency (CSA),
marked most significantly by the implementation of the final and most complex stage of the new Child
Support Scheme commencing on 1 July 2008. These reforms represent the biggest overhaul of the Child
Support Scheme since it was introduced 20 years ago and provide separated families with a more
contemporary child support regime which recognises the intertwined nature of child support and broader
family law issues.
CSA faced a number of significant challenges during the year, most notably:

ensuring implementation of the very large reform agenda, which included finalisation of the Building a
Better CSA reforms, further development and implementation of the CSA's new compliance and
enforcement strategy and the new Child Support Scheme;

sustaining business as usual performance and the improvements in service delivery to separated
parents achieved in 2006-07 while continuing to implement the Australian Government's reform
agenda and renew organisational capability; and

completing the separation of the CSA information technology and communications systems and
accommodation from the Australian Taxation Office.
CSA successfully managed these challenges and delivered child support services while simultaneously
reforming the child support system.
CSA's overall business performance remained solid across all areas. Separated parents, key
stakeholders and Members of Parliament consistently reported that the CSA was improving its services
and making a positive contribution to separated families.
CSA again improved collection of child support and facilitated the transfer of a record $2.82 billion to
receiving parents. This included an additional $73 million from the new Compliance and Enforcement
Program funded as a key element of the overall child support reforms. These outcomes are very positive
ones in the context of the financial pressures facing many Australian families and the reduced child
support payable following the introduction of stages 1 and 2 of the scheme reforms in 2006-07.
Despite the strong collection performance, uncollected child support liabilities again increased and the
total outstanding amount exceeded $1 billion for the first time. While some of this increase is due to the
impact of securing improved tax lodgements, which frequently resulted in higher liabilities, it also reflects
the impacts of increasing international debt, reprioritisation of resources away from proactive debt
collection and reduced workforce capacity due to extensive training in readiness for the new Child
Support Scheme.
CSA also continued to focus on supporting separated families through building greater awareness and
understanding of child support and the pathways in the family law system. Expanded outreach, a
commitment to more effective referrals, partnering with other government and non-government
providers, and the increased penetration of CSA's information and support resources were significant
achievements that helped separated families be more informed, feel more supported and able to make
better choices.
CSA's efforts to engage with key stakeholders in the family law system resulted in stronger, more
effective relationships with stakeholders and enabled them to contribute to important dialogue in relation
to system reforms. Importantly, CSA has created a strong collaborative partnership with the Department
of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. This is an important foundation for
the future, given the ongoing journey of reform.
Looking ahead
The coming year will be no less challenging. CSA will be seeking to consolidate the reforms
implemented over the past two years and strive to further improve services to Australia's separated
families. CSA will have to do this in an environment of reduced resourcing and greater customer service
demands.
CSA's response will be centred on its strategic priorities, which include:

developing smarter, more cost-effective ways of delivering its services to ensure that it at least
maintains, if not improves further, its high standards of service and support to separated families;

developing, supporting and engaging its people; and

appropriately positioning child support within the future of the overall service delivery system.
I look forward to working with my colleagues and CSA's Portfolio partners, stakeholders and customers
to achieve the Government's goals for child support.
Matt Miller
General Manager
OUTPUT OVERVIEW
CSA seeks to ensure that children can rely on their parents for the financial and emotional support
necessary for their wellbeing. In pursuit of this vision, CSA works with the community and service
providers to provide the best possible support to its customers. Its role involves more than collecting
child support; it also involves building shared parental responsibility for children post separation.
Purpose
CSA's purpose is to assist separated parents to transfer payments for the benefit of their children.
CSA administers the Child Support Scheme and works with the Department of Families, Housing,
Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) to develop child support policy and monitor the
scheme's effectiveness. CSA also works closely with other Human Services Portfolio agencies to ensure
efficient and effective delivery of services to the Australian community.
Strategy
The Child Support Agency Strategic Plan 2006-08 sets out the following goals:

improved collection—more money for more kids;

customer service excellence—transform customers' experience;

effective stakeholder relations and engagement—from consultation to engagement;

informed customers and community—aware and knowledgeable customers; and

excellence in service delivery capability—the foundation for a better CSA.
CSA is achieving its goals by improving its service delivery under the Building a Better CSA program, by
increasing enforcement, by developing corporate capability, by enhancing customer and stakeholder
engagement and education, and by fundamentally changing organisational culture to align with the new
strategic intent. CSA is also focusing on early intervention and connecting with other service providers to
improve the support available for families.
The strategic plan also identifies CSA's approach to managing risk and performance, and the values that
guide its operation. The plan can be accessed through the publications section of its website,
www.csa.gov.au.
Structure
In 2007-08, CSA was restructured into the five business groups shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10 Organisational structure and senior staffing at 30 June 2008
External Relations, People and Assurance
External Relations, People and Assurance was responsible for developing and implementing programs
for customers, community members, key stakeholders and staff. The programs involve internal and
external education, communication, marketing and stakeholder engagement. This group also provided
organisational support and other enabling capabilities in areas such as human resources, risk
management, fraud and security, business continuity, audit and business assurance.
Information and Communications Technology
Information and Communications Technology was responsible for providing all information and
telecommunications services and solutions within CSA. The group works with other Human Services
agencies and participates in whole- of-government technology initiatives to share resources and ideas. It
also collaborates on opportunities to improve customer service, drive synergies and realise efficiencies
through technology.
Business Strategy and Innovation
Business Strategy and Innovation was responsible for implementing CSA's reform agenda, which
comprised the Child Support Scheme reforms and the Building a Better CSA program. The group also
maintained CSA's strategic management framework and business evaluation and analysis functions.
Service Delivery
Service Delivery was responsible for registering, assessing, collecting and disbursing child support.
Service Delivery also responds to customers' needs in face-to-face interviews, by mail, by telephone,
through online services, or through referrals and national complaints resolution. The group comprises 85
per cent of CSA's total operations.
National Finance Management
National Finance Management was responsible for CSA's financial management. The group maintains
the financial management and reporting framework that facilitates CSA's legislative and regulatory
compliance and internal control, and supports CSA's business managers, budget holders and staff by
providing them with financial management, procurement and contract management services, advice and
training.
Developments since the end of the financial year
A Department of Human Services restructure effective 1 July 2008 brought together the corporate
services formerly undertaken within the Child Support Agency with those of the Core Department.
Finance, Information and Communication Technology, Legal, Integrity and Assurance, Procurement and
People Services staff were integrated to build expertise to service the Department as a whole.
PERFORMANCE
CSA is responsible for Output 2 of the Portfolio Department of Human Services (DHS):
Delivery of child support assessment, registration, collection and disbursement services.
Table 9 reports CSA's results against the performance measures for Output 2 set out in the Human
Services Portfolio Budget Statements, including adjustments in the Portfolio Additional Estimates
Statements for 2007-08.
The following sections describe how CSA's performance contributed to Output 2 and met the objectives
of its strategic plan in 2007-08.
Improved collection
In 2007-08, CSA improved collection of child support through a combination of support and compliance
and enforcement measures.
Child support transfers
In 2007-08, CSA worked with separated parents to transfer a record $2.82 billion to financially support
more than 1.1 million children in separated families. This compared with $2.68 billion transferred in
2006-07.
Total caseload growth was approximately 1.0 per cent (2.2 per cent in 2006-07), with 808,753 cases at
30 June 2008 (800,960 at 30 June 2007). The overall domestic collection rate was 93.1 per cent (92.8
per cent in 2006-07).
Table 9 Performance measures, 2007-08
Measure
Indicator
Performance
Quality
Increased customer satisfaction with CSA's service
(target rating: >5.7)
5.80 out of 7
Cost
Cost per case (target: <$536)
$535.92
Cost per dollar transferred (target: 16 cents)
16.5 cents
Adequacy
Total amount of child support transferred between
parents (target: $2.8 billion)
$2.82 billion
Independence
Child support transfer rate (CSA collect and private
collect) (target: >96%)
97%
Percentage of private collect cases to total cases (CSA
collect and private collect cases) (target: >52%)
52.1%
$468.114 million
$474.168 million
Effectiveness
Price
CSA is committed to encouraging and supporting parents to manage their child support responsibilities
independently through private collection arrangements. CSA research undertaken in 2007-08 clearly
indicates that parents using private collection arrangements are more satisfied with the child support
system. For parents who are able to cooperate on parental decisions, private collection provides the
most flexibility and satisfaction.
In 2007-08, 52.1 per cent of cases registered with the agency opted for private collection arrangements,
down slightly on the result of 52.6 per cent in 2006-07. The Private Collect ratio in 2007-08 reduced
marginally over 2006-07 levels as expected, primarily due to some customers electing to change from
Private Collect to CSA Collect while the changes from the Child Support Scheme reforms were
introduced.
Compliance and enforcement
CSA expanded and improved its compliance program to build greater integrity into the child support
system and increase public confidence. Key elements of the program and the results of CSA's
compliance and enforcement actions are set out in Table 10.
The collection target for the 'Child support reforms—improving compliance' measure was revised to
$339.3 million to be collected between July 2006 and June 2010. Two years into this four-year program,
CSA had expected that almost 95,000 customers would have been assessed across all elements of the
program. The program is ahead of plan. At 30 June 2008, more than 129,000 customers had been
subject to enforcement activities and $103.3 million in outstanding child support payments had been
collected. Additional funding received by CSA to increase the level of enforced collection resulted in the
collection of $73 million of outstanding child support liabilities in 2007-08.
Table 10 Child support compliance and enforcement actions, 2006-07 to 2007-08
Number of actions
Child support
collected/corrected ($m)
2006-07
2007-08
2006-07
2007-08
Tax lodgement enforcement8
128,050
125,095
16.4
19.7
TRIPs
95,935
87,819
72.8
76.0
Serious avoiders—Intensive
Debt Collection6
-
26,385
-
28.4
Serious avoiders—Income
Minimisers
4,013
5,886
2.9
12.5
Departure prohibition orders
846
924
4.1
5.7
Litigation
479
631
12.8
15.3
TRIP = tax refund intercept payment
a
Collected figure only.
b
Results reported are for the Serious avoiders—Intensive Debt Collection measure which forms part of the 2006-07 'Child
support reforms—improving compliance' Budget measure and do not represent outcomes associated with the 'Child
support debt collection—additional compliance activity' measure arising from the 2003-04 Budget, which was completed
at the end of 2006-07.
In 2007-08, CSA focused on increasing its tax lodgement enforcement activities and on investigating
those who tried to avoid their obligations by under-declaring their true incomes. CSA referred 125,095
non-lodging customers to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for lodgement enforcement attention,
resulting in the lodgement of 94,839 tax returns. This compares favourably with the referral of 128,050
non-lodgers to the ATO in 2006-07, which resulted in the lodgement of 57,247 tax returns. The increase
in the number of returns lodged in 2007-08 was due to a combination of increased referrals in 2006-07
and improved case selection processes.
CSA also continued to focus on investigations into complex financial arrangements possibly designed to
avoid paying the right amount of child support. These actions generated approximately $12.5 million in
additional child support collections during the year.
During 2007-08, CSA commenced the Serious Avoiders—Intensive Debt Collection project, an element
of the 'Child support reforms— improving compliance' measure arising from the 2006-07 Budget. This
measure followed on from the successful 2003-04 'Child support debt collection—additional compliance
activity' Budget measure which was finalised at the end of 2006-07 having actioned 44,993 cases and
generated $141.7 million over four years. During 2007-08 the Serious Avoiders—Intensive Debt
Collection project collected in excess of $28 million.
To inform customers and the community of its activities as well as CSA's wider approach to collecting
and enforcing child support payments, CSA also published a compliance strategy, CSA: Supporting
parents to meet their child support responsibilities 2008-10.
The launch of the strategy by the Minister for Human Services, Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig, was
accompanied by the announcement of several other key compliance initiatives to ensure that all child
support payments are paid on time and in full. New enforcement measures announced include:

optical surveillance in a limited number of serious cases;

new tax return lodgement requirements for the 2007-08 financial year;

a partnership with the Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia; and

the inclusion of certain salary sacrificed contributions to superannuation in child support calculations
from 1 July 2009 for all customers (not just those subject to investigations or change of assessment
applications).
During 2007-08, CSA conducted a four-month pilot surveillance project, with encouraging results. The
pilot was aimed at improving investigations into cases in which customers were strongly suspected of
deliberately attempting to deceive CSA about how much income they actually earn. Optical surveillance
services were then used to provide compelling visual evidence to the CSA's financial investigators.
Optical surveillance will be useful where separated parents tell CSA they are not working and cannot pay
their child support, but there is strong evidence to indicate otherwise. On the basis of the successful
initial outcomes of the pilot, CSA will undertake an extended one-year trial of the optical surveillance
project during 2008-09.
Support programs
CSA continued to work in partnership with a range of government, community and private sector
organisations to support separated parents. This support is designed to help parents deal with and
resolve specific issues affecting their shared parenting responsibilities and to build their understanding
of, and commitment to meeting, their child support responsibilities.
CSA has worked to strengthen and improve CSA's referrals to the Family Relationships Advice Line and
other support services, particularly services dealing with family violence and parents in crisis.
CSA also formed an internal working group to review relevant procedures to better support parents
experiencing domestic violence. The changes introduced as a result of this working group are expected
to commence next year.
Staying Connected—a half-day program delivered in the workplace to help men deal with separation—
received the government sector LIFE Award from Suicide Prevention Australia in September 2008.
Customer service excellence
During 2007-08, CSA, through its 3,260 service delivery staff in 18 metropolitan and regional offices and
27 regional service centres, continued its strong focus on delivering high- quality services to meet the
diverse needs of its 1.4 million customers. CSA's telephony performance remained strong in 2007-08,
given the significant demands and changes during that year. CSA answered 80 per cent of customer
calls within 30 seconds, a small decrease from 85 per cent in 2006-07. There were 2,735,1 23 calls
answered during the year, with an average call length of just less than 9 minutes.
Customer satisfaction
Separated parents again reported a high level of satisfaction with CSA's customer service in 2007-08.
The agency's point-of-service survey, Customers Having a Say, showed the customer satisfaction rating
at 5.8 in 2007-08 (out of a maximum of 7.0), up marginally from 2006-07. This is a good result, given the
impact on customer satisfaction from mid-year of the effects of the new Child Support Scheme and
resourcing constraints resulting in slower responses to parent enquiries.
CSA also undertook additional research to complement ongoing customer service surveys. CSA's
national random phone survey of 600 customers in February 2008 revealed that 69 per cent of paying
parents and 50 per cent of receiving parents agreed that CSA was improving its service delivery to
customers.
Despite the good customer service ratings shown in the customer surveys, in 2007-08 there were
increases in:

complaints (13 per cent more than in 2006-07) (see also 'Resolution of complaints', p. 94' and
'Commonwealth Ombudsman', p. 95);

change of assessment applications (5 per cent more than in 2006-07);

objections to decisions (10 per cent more than in 2006-07); and

appeals to the Social Security Appeals Tribunal (See also 'Social Security Appeals Tribunal', p. 96).
Figure 11 compares the 2007-08 numbers in each category with the 2006-07 numbers. As the Social
Security Appeals Tribunal was given responsibility for reviewing objection decisions in January 2007, no
full-year figures for 2006-07 were available.
Figure 11 Complaints, decision objections, applications for change of assessment and appeals to Social
Security Appeals Tribunal, 2006-07 and 2007-08
All increases can be attributed to the impacts of the Child Support Scheme reforms. In particular, the
increase in change of assessment applications followed letters and advertising explaining the new
scheme, which resulted in increased customer awareness. Much of the increase in objections to CSA
decisions occurred in the final months of 2007-08.
The Complaints Service has been a critical partner with the Change Program in delivering well-targeted
complaints data to measure customer satisfaction in relation to scheme reforms. Over the past 12
months, the Complaints Service identified and addressed systemic issues associated with the
introduction of the new Child Support Scheme.
Change management
During 2007-08, CSA's Service Delivery business group managed significant change in functions across
teams and sites to meet changing resource requirements resulting from the introduction of the new Child
Support Scheme. The approach involved using transition teams for registrations and for information
about the new scheme and business-as-usual teams for dealing with existing customers. This was a
significant change management challenge as it required staff to move from service areas where they
had expertise and confidence to other areas where they required training and induction to be able to
operate effectively.
In 2007-08, CSA took other actions to ensure that its administrative processes met the needs of
customers, such as:

reviewing its existing procedures in relation to administrative handling of compensation, waiver and
legal liability claims;

establishing a business line for enforcement services to provide greater national consistency and a
best practice approach; and

establishing the Service Delivery Reorganisation project to position the Service Delivery business
group to meet the productivity agenda for 2008-09 and effectively incorporate the 400 transition staff
back into Service Delivery.
Communication and support
In 2007-08, CSA took a number of actions to improve the way in which it communicates with and
supports its customers, such as:

creating personalised service teams to provide customers with complex cases with a senior personal
case manager;

providing support for an additional 112,796 new customers (74,500 in 2006-07);

increasing support for parents from non-English speaking backgrounds, spending more than
$696,000 on externally provided telephone interpreter services, an increase of approximately 60 per
cent on the previous year;

commissioning an external review of existing strategies for CSA customers from culturally or
linguistically diverse backgrounds and formulating a new plan to increase outreach services and help
staff to provide equitable access to CSA services;

training approximately 1,900 staff in cultural awareness to enable them to better service Indigenous
customers;

establishing five new Regional Service Centres— in Kalgoorlie, Warnambool, Orange, Mildura and
Tamworth—which have provided services to 4,836 customers since opening;

establishing an extended outreach service through mobile circuits, which visited approximately 200
different locations, meeting with 1,480 parents and connecting them to local services;

providing information sessions on the new scheme to more than 1,000 stakeholders;

delivering 62 community information sessions to provide extensive face-to-face communication to
support scheme reform and give customers an opportunity to connect to a range of stakeholders or
meet with CSA staff about specific case issues; and

referring 8,873 customers to the Family Relationship Advice Line and Family Relationship Centres to
help resolve child support matters and other separation issues, and assisting 687 customers who
were referred to CSA by the advice line and the centres.
Online access
CSAonline continued to provide services for separated parents and employers to enable them to do
business with CSA at a time that is convenient to them. The CSAonline project was a finalist in the IPAA
Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Public Sector Management. A pilot with the Commonwealth
Bank of Australia was launched, which provides an electronic channel to respond to and to receive CSA
legal notices. In 2007-08, enhancements were made to the CSAonline service, for both employers and
customers, to support CSA child support reforms. At 30 June 2008, almost 70,000 customers (an
increase from 50,000 in 2006-07) and 3,201 employers (an increase from 2,283 in 2006-07) had enrolled
to use CSAonline services.
Based on the last 18 months of phone queue, website and CSAonline data, the CSA website has grown
to be the largest inbound customer channel for the CSA.
Figure 12 shows that in March 2008 the CSA public website overtook the CSA phone queue (calls to
131 272) by total number of inbound customer contacts.
In June 2008, the CSA website received 40,000 more visits than there were calls to CSA's phone queue.
Figure 12 Total inbound queue calls vs total website visits by month
Qualifications and assumptions regarding the following queue calls and website visits:
 all inbound queue calls that went to a CSA site were included in the queue calls;
the following were not included in the inbound figures: regional service centre inbound calls, direct
inbound calls to specific phone numbers within CSA, calls between internal CSA phone numbers and
outbound phone calls by CSA staff to customers;
 it was assumed that all inbound queue calls were from existing or prospective CSA customers (no
segmentation data was available);
 it was assumed that all website and CSAonline visits were from existing or prospective customers
(actual share for CSA website is 87 per cent based on November 2007 and April 2008 surveys); and
 email correspondence was excluded.
Effective stakeholder relations and engagement
Stakeholders play an important role in helping separated parents provide the emotional and financial
support that their children require and in influencing policy reform to improve service delivery. CSA
encourages its stakeholders— advocacy groups, researchers, legal bodies, employers, government,
community and non-government providers—to take a collaborative approach to supporting separated
families.
Improved stakeholder engagement
CSA operates national and state child support stakeholder engagement groups to share information and
expertise and to support the implementation of the Child Support Scheme. In 2007-08, the links between
the national group and the groups that operate in every State and Territory were strengthened. The
groups shared information more effectively and were able to provide input and ideas for the
consideration of CSA and FaHCSIA.
CSA participated in many stakeholder conferences, meetings and information sessions by providing
speakers, giving presentations and providing CSA family support products and publications.
In 2007-08, CSA undertook its first stakeholder engagement survey to better understand stakeholder
views and improve its collaboration. Eighty-five per cent of CSA's stakeholders rated CSA's engagement
efforts as very good or good. Further stakeholder engagement surveys will be conducted in 2008-09 to
monitor CSA's ongoing performance in this important area.
Staff responsible for stakeholder engagement were given training to help them build skills in developing
effective relationships with stakeholders and to identify opportunities to collaborate with stakeholders in
working to achieve common goals. CSA trainers also facilitated sessions for more than 1,000 external
stakeholders. After the sessions, 88 per cent of external stakeholders agreed they felt well informed
about the new scheme and 96 per cent of stakeholders agreed the presenters were effective and
knowledgeable.
Tools, resources and checklists were developed to support staff and to bring about greater consistency
in CSA's approach to stakeholder engagement. These resources will be launched early in 2008-09 for
use by staff nationally. An interactive website will also be established to allow staff to share expertise
and best practice in stakeholder engagement.
Local engagement
CSA launched a new Connecting Locally Strategy focused on its regional service centres. As part of the
Connecting Locally initiative, CSA staff operate from a range of regional locations to build relationships
and networks with key stakeholders for the benefit of separating and separated families.
CSA also worked closely with Members of Parliament and Senators to help explain changes to the Child
Support Scheme. A nominated member of staff took responsibility for helping constituents navigate the
child support system and get timely outcomes. CSA has communicated effectively to Members of
Parliament, Senators and their staff in a variety of ways to ensure that CSA's current change agenda—in
particular, the introduction of the new scheme formula—is well understood. Members of Parliament and
Senators have indicated that child support complaints have dropped and now rank third and fourth,
rather than first, in constituents' concerns.
Government and community partnerships
In 2007-08, CSA continued to develop new means of supporting separated families through engaging in
partnership with the following government departments and community organisations:

the Department of Health and Ageing—to pursue joint initiatives on suicide prevention;

the Attorney-General's Department—to improve CSA's response to cases that involve family violence
and to support the Attorney-General's Supporting Children after Separation Program (to commence
in late 2008);

Boystown—to provide better support of and connections for separating families and children through
KidsLine; and

the Shared Parenting Council of Australia— to trial a new support program to help parents who use
the council's website to get answers to child support queries.
In 2007-08, a partnership between CSA and beyondblue: the national depression initiative, led to the
development of a brochure called Separated parents and tough times. This has been extremely popular
with customers and stakeholders. Other important resources, such as CSA's Family separation: a guide
for teens booklet, were developed with extensive input and advice from stakeholders, such as
beyondblue and Kids Help Line.
Informed customers and the community
CSA strives to ensure that customers understand the Child Support Scheme, their child support
responsibilities and the services and support available to assist them. In addition, awareness of CSA's
enforcement programs and the consequences of non-compliance motivates parents to act responsibly
and generates higher community confidence in the scheme.
Communication and education
In 2007-08, CSA maintained its commitment to communication and education activities to increase
customer and community understanding of child support and how it relates to the broader family law
system.
CSA established an integrated communication and education strategy outlining CSA's activities aimed at
informing separated and separating families of their responsibilities to provide financial and emotional
support for their children, including transferring child support payments.
During the year, CSA issued 37 national media releases on the Child Support Scheme reforms, new
service options, compliance initiatives, self-help tools and advice on how to handle specific child support
issues. Independent media analysis found that 90 per cent of all media reports that mentioned the Child
Support Agency or child support were classified as neutral or positive. CSA was especially active in
proactively publicising the Child Support Scheme reforms to support effective service delivery.
CSA also developed and implemented the Government's communication campaign to inform customers
of the new Child Support Scheme. The press and radio advertising began in May 2007 in preparation for
implementation of Stage 3 of the Child Support Scheme reforms from 1 July 2008.
Independent research into the campaign conducted on CSA's behalf shows an overall positive increase
in awareness and attitudes among separated parents and the community in relation to CSA and the
Child Support Scheme (at February 2008). Further research to measure the campaign's success will be
conducted in August 2008, following the campaign's completion.
The campaign successfully encouraged parents to use the updated CSA website to estimate their
assessment and obtain detail, more than doubling website usage in the last few months of the year.
Community information sessions were also expanded and held in a new range of regional areas,
including locations to better suit special needs audiences.
Information products
During 2007-08, CSA developed important new publications, including:

Family separation: a guide for teens—a booklet for teenagers experiencing separation;

The new Child Support Scheme and changes to family assistance—a document detailing the new
Child Support Scheme starting on 1 July 2008; and

CSA: Supporting parents to meet their child support responsibilities 2008-10—a document outlining
CSA's approach to collecting child support and reinforcing the importance of parents paying child
support in full and on time.
CSA also reviewed its range of support and promotional products and updated them to take into account
changes to the scheme or to procedures and to incorporate parent and stakeholder feedback. CSA
distributed around three million publications to CSA staff, parents and stakeholders.
CSA's new customer newsletter, Child Support Matters, provides important information to separated
parents about CSA and child support, particularly in relation to the Child Support Scheme and the
changes introduced on 1 July 2008. Eight editions were sent to all separated parents, and made
available via CSAonline and the CSA website. The newsletter has been well received by these parents,
with high levels of satisfaction and awareness achieved to date. More than 90 per cent of the 4,082
customers who completed a newsletter feedback form (distributed with the second issue in May 2007)
indicated that the newsletter was easy to read.
Self-help booklets in the highly acclaimed Me and My series were again an important information
resource for separated parents and their children, with nearly 500,000 copies reaching separated
parents and other members of the community. This included Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Turkish and
Vietnamese translations of the series to assist non-English speaking parents.
To help newly separated parents understand the Child Support Scheme and their responsibilities,
234,689 Getting started publications were distributed during 2007-08. This is higher than the 2006-07
total of 21 1,000 copies, and reflects the importance CSA places on new customers having the
opportunity to be informed and understand their child support responsibilities. Getting started was
updated in 2007-08 to reflect the new Child Support Scheme and formula, and the new version,
The parent's guide to child support, will be distributed to all new customers from 1 July 2008.
Almost 99 per cent of the more than 1,200 parents who provided feedback on CSA's information
products rated the Me and My booklets, the Getting started publication and the Dealing with separation
CD-ROM as excellent or satisfactory.
Excellence in service delivery capability
CSA strongly believes that it can be successful only if its people are led and developed, and have the
appropriate technology to do their jobs. CSA is leading and encouraging a new culture around people
and relationships, and a whole-of-government approach to service delivery. In 2007-08, CSA continued
to focus on building corporate capability and on developing increased organisational capacity to enable
the delivery of the new Child Support Scheme and to sustain CSA's future performance.
Improving management systems and governance
In 2007-08, CSA established a strategic committee framework to improve CSA's strategic decision
making and provide a strong foundation for improving governance.
The framework consists of five strategic committees—Strategy and Planning, People, Information
Technology, Finance and Performance—with clear terms of reference and responsibilities. The
committees support the National Executive and the organisation by providing improved scrutiny and
decision making. A Planning and Governance Branch was established to embed the new framework into
business operations. These measures have improved the visibility and transparency of organisational
decision making, governance and accountability lines.
In 2007-08, CSA achieved a 100 per cent response rate from relevant CSA employees to the questions
surveying compliance with the FMA Act and Orders. These surveys, together with selected internal
audits during the year, provided a high level of assurance about the control framework in CSA, and
systemic issues were followed up with corrective procedures and training. As a result of this work, there
was a marked reduction in the number of breaches identified, especially in the second half of the year.
CSA initiated a Business Continuity project to address the findings of an internal audit that highlighted
business continuity management as a strategic risk for CSA. This project conducted business impact
assessments and delivered business continuity plans for key CSA services and delivery sites, ICT and
the payroll function.
This has been underpinned by improved risk planning and management practices including the tight
alignment of CSA risk assessment processes and the business planning and performance cycle.
Detailed information on management and governance, including risk management and fraud prevention,
is provided under 'Management and accountability'.
Supporting CSA staff
In 2007-08, CSA conducted an extensive training program for staff as part of the Building a Better CSA
and Child Support Scheme reform initiatives. The $7.6 million training program in support of the Child
Support Scheme reforms ensured that CSA staff had the skills, the knowledge and the behaviours to
support the almost 1.5 million separated parents who will be affected by the new scheme.
CSA designed a nationally consistent technical training program with a customer focus. The curriculum
addressed the needs of staff from entry level, technical, regional outposts and specialist career streams
across 60 training modules. Each training team member had to deliver between 5.5 and 30 days of faceto-face training. The program delivered 40,000 training days in more than 1,500 face-to-face sessions.
CSA implemented a new learning management system to integrate SAP HR records, training records
and e-learning. The first e-learning material—technical practice modules to increase staff confidence
before July 2008—was completed by year's end and more are planned. Online assessments of training
were introduced and completed by staff as evidence of their learning.
Internal communication
In 2007-08, staff communication aimed to ensure that CSA employees have the information they need to
inform customers about the Child Support Scheme and about CSA's services and support for parents.
CSA's internal communication system includes its intranet, General Manager and Deputy General
Manager messages, staff forums, weekly service delivery e-newsletters, monthly news publications such
as Snapshotand Collection Update, monthly briefing packs for team leaders and managers, deskdrops
and team presentations as required.
National presentations ('Roadshows') delivered by senior staff around the country were one of CSA's
primary ways of delivering information about the change program to staff. In 2007-08, these
presentations provided information on the implementation of the Child Support Scheme reforms and
maintained the very high level of staff engagement with, and support for, CSA's new direction. Training
feedback indicated that more than 90 per cent of staff were satisfied with the quality and quantity of
internal communication channels.
MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
This section reports on aspects of CSA's corporate governance that function within the whole-ofdepartment measures and the Secretary's overall responsibility described in Part 1.
Corporate governance
Corporate governance is extremely important in assisting CSA's General Manager in the efficient,
effective and ethical operation of the CSA. CSA's governance arrangements are aimed at enhancing the
accountability, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of the decisions that are made within the CSA.
To deliver CSA's outputs effectively and achieve high levels of performance in a manner consistent with
applicable legal and policy obligations, suitable governance arrangements must be in place.
CSA's approach to governance incorporates:

strong leadership, culture and communication;

governance committees;

clear accountability mechanisms;

the delegation framework;

Chief Executive's Instructions; and

a performance management system.
The names and responsibilities of the senior executives of CSA are shown in Table 11.
Committees
A number of committees assist in the effective governance of CSA, as described in Table 11.
Table 11 Governance committees
Members
Functions
Meetings
Monthly
CSA National Executive Committee
General Manager
(Chair)
Matt Miller
Develop strategic direction
DGM External
Relations, People and
Assurance
Samantha Palmer
Review performance and monitor
the appropriateness of strategy
DGM Information and
Communications
Technology
Patrick Hadley
Develop priorities and strategic
funding allocations
DGM Business
Strategy and
Innovation
Trevor Sutton
Respond to Government and
department issues and requirements
DGM National Finance
Management
Michael Belcher
DGM Service Delivery
Jennifer Cooke
Director General
Manager's Office
(Committee Manager)
David Wirken
Executive Assistant
General Manager's
Office (Committee
Secretariat)
Anne Strudwicke
Strategy, Planning and Resources Committee
DGM Business
Strategy and
Innovation(Chair)
Trevor Sutton
Provide advice on the medium to
long-term strategy for CSA
DGM External
Relations, People and
Assurance
Samantha Palmer
Develop short-term strategies to
support the long-term strategy
Monthly
Members
Functions
DGM Service Delivery
Jennifer Cooke
Oversee the effective prioritisation of
all change activities
DGM National Finance
Management
Michael Belcher
Consider relationships between
current strategies and CSA's future
capability requirements
DGM Information and
Communications
Technology
Patrick Hadley
Promote and support the alignment
of CSA's strategies and plans with
resourcing requirements
AGM Business
Analysis and
Improvements
Greg Amie-Fong
Advise on the allocation of all
resources associated with child
support output, including capital and
project investment, as well as
budget allocations
AGM National Service
Delivery
John Bell
Oversee the effective integration and
implementation of all change
activities
State Manager
Western Australia
Graeme
Charlwood
Monitor and evaluate the
implementation and impacts of
strategies, plans and other change
activities
Director Government
Relations
Anne Leo
AGM Planning and
Change Management
(Committee Manager)
Peter Richards
Executive Assistant to
the DGM Business
Strategy and
Innovation (Committee
Secretariat)
Mellisa Eyre
Meetings
Performance Committee
DGM Service Delivery
(Chair)
Jennifer Cooke
DGM Business
Strategy and
Innovation
Trevor Sutton
Initialise, implement and monitor
strategies and plans for
organisational performance
measurement in consultation with
the Strategy, Planning and
Resources Committee
Monthly
Members
Functions
AGM Compliance
Bruce Young
AGM Information
Management and
Corporate Systems
Kate Muir
State Manager
Tasmania
David Mole
Manager Scheme
Reforms Transition
Bill Volkers
Director Organisational
Performance
Kylie Flannigan
a/g
Director Media
Stephen Dangaard
Director Business
Performance and
Analysis
Daniel Mudd
Accountant, National
Finance Management
Andrew Bailey
Director Procurement
and Contract
Management
Chris Welburn
AGM Planning and
Change Management
(Committee Manager)
Peter Richards
Executive Officer DGM
Service Delivery
(Committee
Secretariat)
Melody Church
Meetings
Monitor and provide advice to the
CSA National Executive on CSA's
performance in:

meeting legal, ministerial and
policy requirements;

meeting the Secretary's
expectations; and

achieving the goals of the
Business Strategy 2006-08.
Analyse organisational performance
and report to the National Executive
on:

achievement of key performance
indicators and business
agreements;

alignment and appropriateness of
performance measures to CSA's
overall organisational risks; and

the impact of change and future
demand across all service
delivery channels in relation to
performance.
Provide options for corrective action
to the National Executive for
consideration
Finance Committee
DGM National Finance
Management (Chair)
Michael Belcher
Oversee CSA's funding agreement
AGM Business
Analysis and
Improvements
Greg Amie-Fong
Establish, monitor and review
financial management and budget
management processes, including
capital planning strategy
Monthly
Members
Functions
AGM People Services
Janice Lappin
Establish and review the application
of accounting policies
AGM National Service
Delivery
Bruce Young
Review and monitor processes,
controls, and procedures in place to
maintain the integrity of accounting
and financial records and statements
AGM Infrastructure
and
Telecommunications
Jamie MacGregor
Monitor compliance with Australian
Government budget and financial
reporting requirements.
State Manager
ACT/NSW
Mina Podbereski
Director Business
Solutions and
Management
Julie Steel
Director National
Financial Management
(Committee Manager)
Rebecca Tyler
Executive Assistant
DGM National Finance
Management
(Committee
Secretariat)
Monica Tyler
Meetings
People Committee
DGM External
Relations, People and
Assurance (Chair)
Samantha Palmer
Provide strategic advice to the CSA
National Executive on workforce
management matters that affect
CSA's ability to achieve its strategic
goals
AGM Planning and
Change Management
Peter Richards
Oversee the development of CSA's
strategic workforce planning and
work programs
AGM Service Delivery
Systems
Massoud
Rassoulzadegan
Set CSA's strategic workforce
management priorities to attract,
train and retain skilled people
Monthly
Members
Functions
AGM Information
Management and
Corporate Systems
Kate Muir
Set CSA's learning and development
strategies to ensure CSA has a
skilled workforce that is able to
achieve CSA's strategic goals
State Manager
Queensland
Lorna Andrews
Influence the acceptance by CSA
staff of changing workforce
management policies and practices
using approaches such as
communications strategies
Director General
Manager's Office
David Wirken
Monitor workforce management
performance, the effectiveness of
workforce management polices and
approaches, and identify emerging
workforce management issues
Director Internal
Communication
Beth Amos
Director National
Financial Management
Rebecca Tyler
AGM People Services
(Committee Manager)
Janice Lappin a/g
Assistant Director
Workplace Health and
Productivity
(Committee
Secretariat)
Gemma Bogden
Meetings
Information and Communications Technology Committee
DGM Information and
Communications
Technology (Chair)
Patrick Hadley
AGM Planning and
Change Management
AGM Strategic
Communication
AGM National Service
Delivery
Provide ICT strategic direction by:

reviewing and approving the ICT
Group Plan; and
Peter Richards

reviewing and approving
architectural directions
Katrina Baird a/g
Monitor delivery against ICT
strategies and plans.
John Bell
Monitor ICT plans to ensure that
they support the CSA strategic plan.
Monthly
Members
Functions
AGM Infrastructure
and
Telecommunications
Jamie MacGregor
AGM Information
Management and
Corporate Systems
Kate Muir
AGM Service Delivery
Systems
Massoud
Rassoulzadegan
State Manager SA/NT
Brenton Halliday
Director Evaluation
and Change
Management
Jo Madden
Director National
Finance and Support
Kevin Wong
Meetings
Monitor technology trends and
opportunities to ensure that CSA can
make full use of them Provide
assurance to the organisation that
ICT is being managed appropriately
and can deliver effectively by
monitoring:

ICT risk planning;

ICT capability management,
including sourcing arrangements;
and ICT performance and
contribution to CSA.
External Member
AGM Strategy and
Planning (Committee
Manager)
Rhod McDonald
Executive Officer DGM
Information and
Communications
Technology
(Committee
Secretariat)
Michelle Fisher
Risk Management Committee
Independent member
(Chair)
Glenys Roper
Provide independent assurance and
assistance to the General Manager
and National Executive on the risk ,
control and compliance framework
Independent member
Di Fielding
Meet compliance requirements of
the Portfolio Department, the
Department of Finance and
Deregulation, the Australian National
Audit Office and other agencies such
as the Commonwealth Ombudsman
and Comcover
Every two
months
Members
Functions
Victorian State
Manager Service
Delivery
Bill Lodge
Independent member
from Centrelink
Brad Clark
Meetings
GM = General Manager, DGM = Deputy General Manager, AGM = Assistant General Manager
Note: Details of the Audit Committee for the Core Department, CSA and CRS Australia are shown in Table 6.
Accountability
The General Manager of CSA is accountable to the Secretary of the Department of Human Services
(DHS) for CSA's overall performance, including its financial and risk management.
The General Manager and the Secretary meet regularly to ensure effective oversight and early
identification of strategic risk issues. The General Manager attends meetings of the DHS Audit
Committee as an observer.
The CSA Executive meets with the Secretary of DHS each month to review CSA's performance from a
governance perspective, which includes its financial performance and operational performance against
its business plans.
Internal scrutiny
Internal audit
Each financial year, CSA undertakes a series of compliance, operational and quality audits of its
operations. Internal audits are performed by independent providers (Ascent Governance, KPMG and
Acumen Alliance, a member of the Oakton Group), by CSA's legal and quality assurance team, or by
CSA's audit and compliance team.
CSA completed compliance and operational audits and reviews of the following operations in 2007-08:

compliance with the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) (quarterly
review);

SAP controls;

staff overpayments;

hospitality;

the National Emergency Call Centre; and

debt management.
No control weaknesses or material risks were identified in the audits, although audit recommendations
identified opportunities for improvement.
Internal managers completed a twice-yearly governance and performance survey of the operations of
areas under their responsibility. This manager self-assessment process ensures that managers and their
staff understand the framework within which they work and against which they are required to report.
Senior staff completed quarterly FMA Act due diligence reports, a cornerstone of the FMA Act
compliance framework. The framework provides the General Manager with assurance that CSA staff are
using public funds appropriately, enabling the General Manager to provide the Secretary of DHS with the
assurance needed to endorse the annual FMA Compliance Certificate.
CSA also monitored the publication of new guidelines and whole-of-government Australian National
Audit Office (ANAO) audit reports to ensure that compliance and best practice were maintained within
the organisation.
Risk management
The assessment, treatment and monitoring of risk are integrated into CSA's business planning
framework and guidelines for project management as core business activities.
Risk management is monitored through internal audit activities and through:

regular review by the Risk Management Committee and Strategy Planning and Resource Committee
(details of these committees are shown in Table 11);

regular monitoring of outcomes by the National Executive; and

management of programs and contracts by line managers.
The objective of CSA's Risk Management Committee is to provide independent assurance and
assistance to the General Manager and the CSA Executive on CSA's risk, control and compliance
framework, and its external accountability responsibilities. The Risk Management Committee reports
quarterly, through the General Manager, to the DHS Audit Committee.
CSA continues to work towards an integrated approach to risk identification and management in all
aspects of its business. The risk management methodology used by CSA is largely based on the
Australia-New Zealand risk management standard AS/NZS 4360:2004. The CSA National Executive
reviewed and updated the CSA strategic priorities and risks with an emphasis on the risk treatments
required to deliver CSA's performance outcomes for 2008-09. The CSA National Executive now owns
the entire strategic risk set.
The results of the 2008 Comcover Benchmarking Survey, which measures the effectiveness of an
agency's risk management framework, practices and systems, were released in June 2008. CSA
received an overall score of 7.2 out of 10 in the 2008 survey, which indicates that it has a
comprehensive risk management framework. CSA participated in the survey for only the first time in
2006, when it scored 3.
The vastly improved score in 2008 reflects CSA's substantial investment in improving its risk
management practices and governance.
Business continuity management
Building on the work completed in 2006-07 on the overarching business continuity policy for CSA, the
Business Continuity Management project was initiated to develop plans at the operational level of CSA.
The project developed business continuity plans (based on business impact assessments) for key areas
of CSA's service delivery. A significant amount of progress has been made on business continuity for
CSA service delivery in 2008-09.
Fraud prevention
CSA's fraud prevention activities include education, fraud control planning, investigation and prosecution
of staff for serious misconduct and fraud, and the monitoring and protection of customer information.
All CSA staff are required to attend face-to-face training in fraud and ethics awareness every two years.
Over the past two years more than 90 per cent of CSA staff attended fraud awareness training. New
employees are given this training on their commencement with CSA. CSA makes policies and guidelines
relating to fraud and ethics awareness available to all staff through its intranet. CSA also regularly
communicates the importance of adhering to these guidelines through its internal communication
channels.
CSA's new fraud control plan, as required under the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines, will be
tabled at the August 2008 DHS Audit Committee meeting and will be in place for two years.
CSA views breaches of the guidelines seriously, and CSA's fraud prevention team investigates all
allegations of fraud and serious misconduct by CSA staff.
In 2007-08, the fraud prevention team received and investigated 132 allegations of serious misconduct
and criminal activity by staff. At 30 June 2008, 53 allegations were still under investigation or awaiting
formal determinations under the APS Code of Conduct.
A total of 79 matters, including six external investigations, were finalised during the financial year with
the following results:

53 matters were found to be unsubstantiated;

7 staff were found to have breached the Code of Conduct;

8 staff members resigned prior to a formal Code of Conduct determination;

5 staff were reprimanded (informal counselling); and

6 external matters were found to be unsubstantiated.
* One staff member who resigned was criminally prosecuted and convicted on 14 charges of
unauthorised access.
During 2007-08, the Fraud Prevention Team Co-ordination Unit handled 227 'Advice Only' files. These
files related to providing CSA management with formal advice, audits and electronic records. The
information provided is used by managers for less serious misconduct matters.
Security
CSA uses the Australian Government Protective Security Manual as the basis for security strategy,
policy and procedures.
CSA has established a range of systems and procedures to protect its staff, information and assets.
CSA's protective security policy provides the framework for achieving its security measures through the
following controls:

physical security;

information security;

personnel security clearances (vetting); and

staff awareness and education.
CSA's security risk management plan for 2008-10 documents CSA's strategies and its implementation
plan for managing identified protective security risks, and builds on previous security risk management
plans.
Management of ethical standards
The actions and behaviours of CSA staff are guided by the Australian Public Service Values and the
Integrated Leadership System. CSA's customer service principles outline how CSA staff members will
treat their customers and colleagues. These principles apply to all CSA staff.
As part of the engagement process, all new staff receive induction training incorporating the APS Values
and Code of Conduct. The entry level program for new customer service officers covers privacy and
secrecy, fraud awareness and customer service principles. National office staff are required to complete
privacy and secrecy and fraud awareness training within six months of commencing work in CSA.
Refresher training for fraud awareness and privacy and secrecy occurs for all staff every 18 months.
Finance and procurement training is mandatory for all executive level staff and above, and for those who
are budget holders.
Privacy
CSA recognises the unique relationship it has with its customers and has developed a privacy
compliance regime to ensure the protection of personal customer information. Given both the volume
and the sensitivity of the personal information CSA handles, it is imperative to CSA operations, including
the customer and public confidence in CSA and the Child Support Scheme, for CSA to maintain a strong
privacy culture and for CSA to be a model agency for sound privacy practices.
Privacy protection and a high level of privacy vigilance in CSA are underpinned by four key strategies:

mandatory, high-quality privacy training of all staff;

the strong support of an effective national network of trained privacy contact officers;

the development of a specialist privacy complaints team to manage privacy complaints to the best
outcome possible; and

mandatory privacy incident reporting and a robust privacy reporting framework.
CSA has remained responsive to the need to continually improve this model. CSA has conducted
regular audits of its privacy performance every two years and used the results of these audits to
continually reassess its approach to the protection of personal customer information.
Resolution of complaints
CSA has a three-step complaint handling service. Staff who have first contact with a customer have the
authority to resolve a complaint at the time that the complaint is first raised. Where resolution is not
possible, the customer can access more experienced and senior staff who will try to resolve the
complaint.
A customer can complain directly to CSA's dedicated and specially trained complaint- handling
professionals, giving the complaints service the independence and objectivity that is necessary for fair
and transparent complaint handling.
In the previous three financial years, the number of complaints made directly to CSA had been declining.
As expected, this financial year the total number of complaints received increased by 13 per cent to a
total of 10,347 compared to 9,151 in 2006-07. The increase is attributable to the impact of the significant
reforms of the Child Support Scheme. As customers continue to respond to the impact of the scheme
reforms, CSA anticipates that this level of complaints activity will continue into 2008-09.
External scrutiny
Customer compensation
In 2007-08, a total of 56 compensation decisions were made by CSA. CSA made 25 offers of
compensation and 21 of these offers were accepted. A total of $38,564 was paid in compensation for the
2007-08 financial year.
The Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration Scheme (CDDA Scheme) was
established in October 1995 to enable Australian Government agencies to compensate people who have
been adversely affected by the defective actions or inactions of agencies and have no other avenues to
seek redress.
Compensation totalling $19,360 was paid under the CDDA scheme in 2007-08. This is a decrease from
$89,317 paid in 2006-07. An amount of $19,204 was paid for legal liability, which is an increase on the
$15,973 paid in 2006-07.
These figures include payments offered in previous financial years and accepted in 2007-08.
Australian National Audit Office
In the interim audit of the financial statements for 2007-08 (Audit Report No. 44, 2007-08) CSA received
no A findings or B findings. The ANAO identified four C findings in the Interim Management letter for the
2007-08 financial statements audit. CSA has implemented processes to address these findings and
hopes to improve performance in these areas before the final audit report is tabled in December.
In addition to the routine audits of the financial statements, the ANAO completed one performance audit
for CSA—Audit No. 16, 2007-08: Data Integrity in the Child Support Agency, which included five
recommendations, and commenced a cross-portfolio performance audit into green office procurement.
Commonwealth Ombudsman
As part of its commitment to a fair and transparent complaint-handling process, where appropriate, a
CSA customer who is not satisfied with the outcome of a complaint managed by CSA may be referred to
the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman received a total of 2,208 complaints about CSA in 2007-08. This is an increase of 23
per cent from the 1,790 complaints received in the previous year. However, the total number of
complaints received is in line with the average number of complaints received by the Ombudsman over
the last five financial years, which is 2,029. The increase in this reporting year was expected, given the
significant reforms to the Child Support Scheme. The CSA will continue to work with the Ombudsman
over the coming year to ensure that complaints are managed in a fair, effective and timely manner.
The Ombudsman finalised 2,125 complaints about the CSA, of which 604 (28 per cent) were formally
investigated. The percentage of complaints formally investigated by the Ombudsman this year was the
same as in the previous year. Of the 604 formal investigations, 43 resulted in a finding of administrative
deficiency being recorded. This represents an increase on the previous financial year, when the
Ombudsman recorded administrative deficiency on 23 occasions. The increase is consistent with the
Ombudsman's introduction of new guidelines for recording administrative deficiency.
On 18 June 2008, the Commonwealth Ombudsman initiated an Own Motion Investigation into the CSA's
administration of Departure Prohibition Orders. CSA is currently assisting the Ombudsman's office with
this investigation.
Minister for Finance
The FMA Act provides that, under certain conditions, the Minister for Finance may waive the
Commonwealth's right to payment of an amount owing to the Commonwealth. Under this provision, CSA
may consider requests to waive child support debts and refer these to the Minister for Finance for a
decision.
CSA has experienced a steady increase in the number of waiver requests received from customers over
the past four years. Requests for waivers of child support debts most commonly arise on the death of a
carer parent where the care of the children is transferred to the surviving parent.
During 2007-08, CSA finalised 119 requests for waiver of debts. The Minister for Finance waived 111 of
those debts, totalling $479,926.
In 2006-07, CSA finalised 51 requests for waiver of debts and the Minister for Finance waived 43 of
these, totalling $219,869.
The Minister for Finance also has the discretion to make act of grace payments to persons who may
have been unintentionally disadvantaged by the effects of Commonwealth legislation and have no other
means of redress. No act of grace payments were made during the reporting period, a decrease
compared with two payments totalling $1 5,778 in 2006-07.
Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Privacy is an integral component of CSA business practices. CSA works in strong partnership with the
Office of the Privacy Commissioner and benefits from the support and advice it provides in relation to
privacy. CSA worked with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner during the year to address issues
arising from complaints made by staff and customers. In 2007-08, the Office of the Privacy
Commissioner initiated five investigations in relation to CSA, the same number of investigations initiated
in 2006-07. A total of 15 complaints were received by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in relation
to the CSA: five resulted in investigations, four required only preliminary enquiries and six were declined.
Social Security Appeals Tribunal
The Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT) provides an independent external review of CSA decisions
about customers' objections to child support assessments or the collection of child support (objection
decisions) and decisions to refuse an extension of time to object. The SSAT provides an inexpensive
and informal mechanism for customers seeking to review a decision and provides a mechanism to
ensure that CSA decisions are transparent and consistent.
In 2007-08, the SSAT received 2,536 applications to review an objection decision, or around 17.39 per
cent of objection decisions made by CSA during 2007-08. Of these, 2,070 were ruled valid and 466
invalid. Generally, applications for review were ruled invalid because no objection decision had been
made before the customer appealed to the SSAT.
The percentage of invalid appeals to the SSAT decreased from the 2006-07 year. The increase in SSAT
appeals is in line with the predicted consequences of the introduction of the Child Support Scheme
reforms.
The SSAT made decisions on 1,293 appeals during the 2007-08 year. The number of appeals to the
SSAT rose significantly in the last few months of 2007-08, in line with the increase in objection decisions,
and at 30 June 2008 the remaining matters had not been heard by the SSAT. Of the appeals where the
SSAT had made a decision, 828 related to change of assessment objection decisions, and the
remainder concerned CSA decisions in other areas, such as care and income decisions. The SSAT
confirmed CSA's decisions in 628 decisions (49 per cent of appeals).
People
Staffing statistics
At 30 June 2008, CSA employed 4,137 people (including employees on long-term leave) under the
Public Service Act 1999. On average, 3,301 staff were employed over the year, 291 more than in 200506. The workforce included 97.4 per cent ongoing and 85.4 per cent full-time employees.
Detailed information on staffing is provided in Appendix 1.
Human resource management
Attracting and retaining staff
Recruitment activities during the year were promoted through CSA's 'Great place to work' campaign. As
CSA competes for a diverse and sophisticated workforce in a tight labour market, this campaign seeks to
increase both the number of applications received and the retention of existing high-quality employees,
by implementing communication activities to position CSA as an employer of choice.
The development of a Casual Employment Register provided the business with the flexibility to draw
staff from a previously untargeted resource pool who may not have been afforded an opportunity through
regular entry-level programs.
A comprehensive retention strategy was developed and endorsed by the National Executive in late
2007. The recommendations outlined in the strategy will be implemented over the next two years.
Promoting a safe and supportive workplace
In 2007-08, CSA achieved excellent results in reducing the number and cost of workers compensation
claims, which resulted in a substantial reduction in its 2008-09 premium (from $8.2 million in 2007-08 to
$2.8 million in 2008-09).
This result was achieved through a number of strategies, including:

increasing the focus on early intervention strategies to stop injuries and illnesses developing in the
first place, such as more formalised reporting to rehabilitation case managers;

introducing an early intervention policy that provides for funding support for minor and low-cost workrelated injuries that may have previously resulted in claims;

delivering a training program to assist supervisors and managers in their day-to- day management of
staff in positive work behaviours, injury management, and injury and illness prevention;

increasing the understanding of the workers compensation premium in the agency through premium
devolution and more effective reporting; and

enhancing the effectiveness of rehabilitation and return-to-work processes to provide effective
support to ill or injured staff and speed up the return to work process.
Appendix 7 provides details of occupational health and safety performance in 2007-08.
Remuneration
Salary ranges for CSA employees are provided in Appendix 1.
Certified agreement
At 30 June 2008, 3,961 staff were employed under Balancing Performance and Wellbeing, the Child
Support Agency Certified Agreement 2005-07.
Collective agreement
The Department of Human Services - Child Support Agency Collective Agreement 2008-1 1, Building a
Better CSA for Everyone, has been voted on and accepted by employees and is awaiting confirmation of
commencement from the Workplace Authority.
The new collective agreement will provide the following additional salary increases for 2008-09:

2 per cent on commencement of the agreement, backdated to 1 March 2008; and

4 per cent effective from 10 July 2008.
In addition to the above salary increases, the new collective agreement also provides the following
entitlements:

flexible working arrangements, including FlexTime and time off in lieu for Executive Level employees,
regular hours agreements, part-time agreements and job share arrangements;

study assistance in the form of both leave and financial support;

an employee assistance program;

year-end closedown;

a new performance management scheme;

salary progression linked to performance that meets or exceeds expectations;

two skills payments in recognition of specific CSA training undertaken;

one reimbursement for expenditure on health or wellbeing activities; and

access to additional annual leave under purchased annual leave arrangements.
Australian workplace agreements
Prior to 24 January 2008, CSA offered Australian workplace agreements (AWAs) to all Senior Executive
Service (SES) and Executive Level (EL) officers. With the implementation of the Australian Government
Bargaining Framework, common law agreements were developed for SES and EL 2 officers, and EL 1
employees were employed under the CSA Certified Agreement 2005-2007, with section 24(1)
determinations under the Public Service Act 1999 used as required.
In accordance with the Australian Government Employment Bargaining Framework, common law
contracts and section 24(1) determinations have only been used as interim arrangements for EL officers
and the scope of the Department of Human Services - Child Support Agency Collective Agreement
2008-201 1, Building a Better CSA for Everyone, includes EL officers, allowing existing EL officers on
AWAs and new EL officers to transition to this collective agreement. Transition arrangements have been
developed to enable AWA employees to terminate their AWA and transition to coverage by the collective
agreement once the agreement commences operating.
Performance pay
In accordance with the SES and Executive Level Performance Management Schemes, CSA SES and
Executive Level employees covered by an AWA may have been eligible for a performance bonus based
on their individual performance assessment at the end of June 2008. SES employees who received a
superior performance rating (4 out of 5) received up to 10 per cent of their annual base salary and those
with an outstanding rating (5 out of 5) received up to 15 per cent of their annual base salary as
performance pay. Executive Level employees who received a superior performance rating received up to
5 per cent of their annual base salary and those with an outstanding rating received up to 10 per cent of
their annual base salary as performance pay.
The performance bonuses paid in 2007-08 for performance during the 2006-07 financial year are set out
in Table 12.
Table 12 Performance pay for 2006-07
Level
Staff eligible
(No.)
Staff paid
(No.)
Amount paid
($)
Average ($)
APS6
1
1
3,227
3,228
EL 1
136
75
211,765
2,824
EL 2
82
51
202,177
3,964
SES Band 1
16
8
SES Band 2 & 3
8
7
Level
Staff eligible
(No.)
Staff paid
(No.)
Amount paid
($)
Average ($)
Total SES
24
15
115,365
8,240
Total all eligible employees
242
141
532,535
3,777
APS = Australian Public Service; EL = Executive Level; SES = Senior Executive Service
Note: To protect privacy, the range for SES classifications has not been disclosed.
Workplace diversity
Under its Workplace Diversity Plan 2006-08, CSA worked to develop an inclusive and supportive
workplace through a number of strategies addressing a range of diversity issues. For example, CSA
applied the principles of reasonable adjustment and provided in-house rehabilitation case managers to
support employees with disabilities. All formal communication and training in CSA used inclusive
language and was delivered in formats accessible to all participants. CSA continues to provide suitable
flexible working arrangements as a retention strategy for all employees. Specific events held in CSA
offices around the country provided a focus for awareness-raising on some common diversity issues.
The events included Harmony Day, National Families Week, NAIDOC Week and International Day of
People with Disability.
The number of first generation immigrant employees whose first language was not English increased by
eight, with that group now representing 3.86 per cent of employees. The number of CSA employees with
a disability increased to 1.73 per cent of employees during the 2007-08 year. The proportion of female
employees remained constant at 73 per cent.
In 2007-08, CSA continued to attract Indigenous Australian employees to improve their employment and
career opportunities and to build the agency's capability for achieving improved service delivery to
Indigenous Australians. CSA's Indigenous Employment and Career Advancement Strategy 2005-08,
which complements targeted recruitment programs such as the Australian Public Service Commission
Indigenous Cadet Program and Indigenous Trainee Program, continued to receive a positive response.
The number of Indigenous employees in CSA decreased by nine over the financial year, yet the number
of Indigenous employees who advanced to a higher classification increased by 12. The proportion of
Indigenous employees in CSA rose from 0.8 per cent of all employees in June 2006 to 1.6 per cent at 30
June 2008.
Indigenous employees continued their involvement in recruitment processes, as well as in leadership
and management training. CSA's Indigenous Staff Network expanded in 2007-08 to include Indigenous
employees around the country and has improved retention by supporting Indigenous employees. The
network has used mentoring and training to develop Indigenous employees, and outreach to Indigenous
communities has increased. CSA has increased the number of Indigenous Relationships Officers by
four, ensuring better customer service to Indigenous Australians.
Training to promote awareness of Indigenous cultures continued to be delivered to all employees, both
to provide better customer service to our Indigenous customers and to promote a more inclusive work
environment for our Indigenous employees.
Resources
Financial management
CSA's operating deficit for 2007-08 was $5.2 million, compared to an operating surplus of $1.6 million in
2006-07.
Expenses in 2007-08 amounted to $474.2 million, an increase of 28 per cent over the 2006-07
expenditure of $370.1 million. The increase was primarily due to an increase in appropriation for the
Child Support Scheme reforms and Building a Better CSA measures. Other factors contributing to the
increase included the revision of balance sheet provisions to reflect the fair value of assets as a result of
an asset revaluation and an actuarial review of employee entitlements carried out during the financial
year.
Financial assets at 30 June 2008 were $88.6 million compared with $75.6 million at 30 June 2007. This
balance comprises $3.4 million in cash at bank, $82.4 million in appropriations receivable and $2.8
million in other receivables.
The movement in financial assets is largely attributable to:

investment in the fit-out of newly leased accommodation and internally developed software to support
the rollout of the Child Support Scheme reforms; and

working capital held against supplier and employee liabilities.
Administered appropriations
The total administered annual appropriation drawn down in 2007-08 was $2.4 million. The total
administered annual appropriation returned to the Official Public Account for 2007-08 was $2.2 million.
Administered Special Appropriations drawn down in 2007-08 totalled $72.9 million. CSA collected and
returned $72.5 million in special appropriations for this period.
CSA transferred $998.3 million in child support payments in 2007-08, which was an increase of $48.6
million from $949.7 million in 2006-07.
Consultants and services contractors
During 2007-08, CSA entered into four new consultancy contracts. This involved total actual expenditure
of $371,380. In addition, two ongoing consultancy contracts were active during 2007-08, involving total
actual expenditure of $667,956, (see Table 13).
CSA engaged consultants to provide a range of services, including financial, business modelling and
human resource services.
Table 13 Summary of consultancy services contracts, 2005-06 to 2007-08
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
Number of new contracts let
20
24
4
Total actual expenditure on new
contracts
$1,847,816
$1,298,458
$371,380
Number of active ongoing
contracts
18
3
2
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
Total actual expenditure on
ongoing contracts
$3,152,273
$911,388
$667,956
Number of contracts exempt
from AusTender
Nil
Nil
Nil
Notes:
1. Expenditure totals include GST and have been rounded to the nearest dollar.
2. Expenditure figures are based on payments recorded in the general ledger.
Detailed information on consultancy contracts is provided in Appendix 4.
Information on expenditure on contracts and consultancies is also available on the AusTender website,
www.tenders.gov.au.
Office accommodation
In 2007-08, CSA had leases totalling 63,184 square metres at 18 sites, with an annual lease cost of $26
million.
CSA has relocated from Australian Taxation Office (ATO) sites in Albury, Geelong, Townsville, Sydney
and Dandenong. The last remaining ATO co-located CSA site is in Belconnen, in the Australian Capital
Territory. CSA is exploring options to separate from this lease to finalise disengagement from the ATO.
CSA is developing strategies to source accommodation in existing leased accommodation at lease
expiry in Perth (2011), Adelaide (2011) and Canberra that complies with the Energy Efficiency in
Government Operations policy and provides a NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating
System) rating of 4.5 or above.
CSA is continuing to address the implementation of co-location with other Human Services agencies,
where appropriate and achievable, as part of a more integrated service delivery.
CSA will continue to apply to all CSA accommodation strategy and practices the principles and
recommendations underlying ANAO Audit Report No. 53 of June 2001 relating to Commonwealth
accommodation.
Asset management
In January 2008, the Australian Valuation Office conducted a review of CSA's assets, in particular the
valuation of leasehold improvements (fit-out), plant and equipment, office equipment, furniture and
fittings, and computer equipment owned by CSA. Assets have been valued on the basis of fair value for
financial reporting purposes, in accordance with the Australian Accounting Standards and the Finance
Minister's Orders.
CSA also carried out a stocktake of information technology assets and other assets.
Asset capitalisation thresholds for 2007-08 remained the same as for 2006-07. The thresholds were
$200,000 for internally developed software, $25,000 for purchased software and $10,000 for leasehold
improvements.
In 2007-08, CSA's computer systems were leased from and managed by EDS under contract with the
ATO. CSA's telephony infrastructure was leased from and managed under contract with NEC.
Purchasing
The CSA's purchasing activities are consistent with the DHS Chief Executive Instructions and internal
procurement guidelines, which are in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines.
Purchaser-provider arrangements
CSA had no purchaser-provider arrangements in 2007-08.
PART 4 OUTPUT 3 CRS AUSTRALIA
GENERAL MANAGER'S REVIEW
Over the past year, CRS Australia continued to play a strong role in enabling Australians to achieve
greater social inclusion through increased participation in employment and the community. Through
more than 170 offices nationally, CRS Australia delivered high-quality and effective programs to
individuals in urban, regional and remote Australia. It continued to invest in new approaches to help
people with a disability or injury to get and keep a job, building on its expansive knowledge developed
over 65 years.
CRS Australia performed well across all business indicators despite a fairly difficult and challenging first
six months. Its major contract to provide vocational rehabilitation services for the Australian Government
was changed dramatically with the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
(DEEWR) sourcing 30 per cent of programs from the market from 1 July 2007. DEEWR introduced key
changes applicable to all providers, including a new funding and performance management model that
required all job seeker data to be entered directly into the new web-based DEEWR system.
Implementation involved the training of all network staff in the new system, changes to previous work
processes and different compliance requirements than those previously administered. Implementation of
these new requirements was successful due to the significant commitment and flexible approach of staff
and managers.
The new DEEWR vocational rehabilitation IT system resulted in very uneven job seeker flows to CRS
Australia in the first six months, resulting in less than optimal resource utilisation. However, job seeker
referrals stabilised in the last six months along with improved access to management information to
inform business operations and financial management. Performance against this key contract was
stronger in the latter half of the financial year.
CRS Australia's revenues are based on commercial funding mechanisms, primarily driven by milestones
and outcomes, with a smaller amount based on hourly fee-for-service arrangements. CRS Australia
ended the year with a small surplus. Service delivery under current pricing applying to remote areas
remains subsidised by more profitable urban and regional units.
In 2007-08, CRS Australia carried out a range of innovative reforms to ensure that it delivered on its
promises. Over 56,000 government-funded job seekers benefited from new approaches to vocational
rehabilitation at some stage during the year.
CRS Australia's national capability and experience in working with Australia's Indigenous population
enabled it to provide timely and effective support in the Northern Territory Emergency Response
initiative. CRS Australia provided Job Capacity Assessments and vocational rehabilitation services in
many remote Indigenous communities and assisted with the overall coordination of support to a range of
other agencies involved in the initiative.
CRS Australia maintained its accreditation under the Disability Services Act 1986 and achieved full reaccreditation in 2007. The independent auditors noted that client feedback was positive, with staff
committed to providing a good service that would help clients ultimately achieve long-term sustainable
employment.
One of its priorities was to improve the way it worked with all purchasers, and its recent efforts in this
area have been recognised. In late 2007, it received a CGU Workers Compensation high commendation
award in the Supplier of the Year category. This was the first time a rehabilitation provider had received
an award from CGU, recognising CRS Australia's strong commitment to continuous improvement.
Effectiveness initiatives in 2007-08 focused on ensuring that resources are located where they are most
needed. CRS Australia researched new ways to deliver effective services, to improve quality
employment outcomes, to undertake work-based assessments and to manage the range of challenges
presented by job seekers. The findings of this research were presented at industry forums and assisted
in the provision of new resources to staff. This evidence-based approach to research will continue to be
developed.
CRS Australia contributed to the new Government's consultations to develop a range of improvements
to mental health and disability employment policies. It also worked with industry bodies to identify key
reform strategies.
Attendance at two international disability forums covering Asian, Canadian, American and European
countries gave CRS Australia an opportunity to share best practice and to expand international networks
of interest.
With around 2,000 staff at more than 170 sites supporting a diverse range of job seekers in many
different communities, effective risk management is very important to ensure all parties are safe and not
exposed to harm. Comcover again rated CRS Australia in the top five of 130 Australian Government
agencies for both risk and insurance management.
CRS Australia will continue to seek to build revenues from vocational rehabilitation and related services
that are complementary to its core capabilities. By focusing on vocational rehabilitation and the strategic
use of allied health interventions, it will continue to improve its effectiveness in helping people with a
disability or injury to get and keep a job.
Once announced, the Government's reforms affecting mental health and disability employment services
will give CRS Australia greater clarity on opportunities for new business. In the interim, work on its
strategic plan will continue, thus ensuring that, within available resources, CRS Australia continues to
provide purchasers with the best possible programs for people with a disability or injury.
Margaret Carmody
General Manager
OUTPUT OVERVIEW
Purpose
CRS Australia's purpose is to meet the needs of purchasers by providing high-quality vocational
rehabilitation assessment, injury management and prevention services to people with a disability, injury
or health condition to enable them to gain and maintain employment.
CRS Australia provides services to job seekers, as well as to commercial and government purchasers,
at more than 170 sites in urban, rural and remote Australia, including through visiting and outreach
services. CRS Australia is the largest provider of expert assessment and vocational rehabilitation
services in Australia.
Operating as a business unit within the Portfolio Department of Human Services, CRS Australia is
required to remain financially viable. It earns revenues from a range of Commonwealth and State
Government organisations as well as from business.
The organisation's bottom-line performance depends on the volume and quality of work that it
undertakes and its capacity to control costs effectively.
Strategy
CRS Australia's 2006-09 Strategic Plan, Focus for the Future, describes how CRS Australia will achieve
its goals by pursuing four strategic themes:

exceeding customer expectations;

growing capability;

building reputation; and

improving effectiveness.
Focus for the Future also identifies the opportunities, challenges and risks that CRS Australia faces. The
plan can be accessed through the publications section of the CRS Australia website,
www.crsaustralia.gov.au.
The strategic plan is supported by annual business plans across national and state functions.
Structure
In 2007-08, CRS Australia was structured into service delivery and support functions as shown in Figure
13.
Figure 13 CRS Australia—structure and senior staffing at 30 June 2008
Service Delivery
Service Delivery is responsible for:

developing and implementing practice and delivery policy, including through research and innovation;

influencing purchaser policy to improve the effectiveness of vocational rehabilitation and related
services;

providing strategic and business analysis data and advice;

conducting quality assurance and ensuring compliance with purchaser contracts and memorandums
of understanding;

managing key accounts and new business strategies;

developing and implementing effective internal and external communication strategies; and

ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of services nationally.
Corporate
Corporate is responsible for:

providing efficient and effective support services to the network;

providing strategic financial advice and management;

managing infrastructure, including ICT services;

managing risk, audit, fraud, security and compliance assurance;

ensuring co-ordinated strategic management and governance; and

developing and implementing workforce planning to attract and retain staff.
Developments since the end of the financial year
CRS Australia received 80 per cent of its revenue through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with
the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). Payments were made
over the year on achievement of individual milestones and outcomes. Funds received must be applied
over the full term of a program, which can be up to two years.
On 30 June 2008, CRS Australia analysed its revenue and expenditure items for DEEWR clients and
determined that $3.45 million that had been received from DEEWR related to work to be performed in a
future financial year. This amount of revenue has been recognised as unearned revenue on the balance
sheet, applying the percentage of completion method for revenue recognition.
PERFORMANCE
CRS Australia is responsible for Output 3 of the Portfolio Department of Human Services (DHS):
CRS Australia's purpose is to meet the needs of purchasers by providing high-quality vocational
rehabilitation, assessment, injury management, and prevention services to people with disability, injury,
and health conditions to enable them to gain and maintain employment.
The measures and targets set out in Table 14 represent the measures published in the Portfolio's 200708 Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements and CRS Australia's performance against them. In 200708, DEEWR was the principal purchaser of CRS Australia services. Performance of the Vocational
Rehabilitation Services Program (VRS Program) is reported in the DEEWR annual report.
CRS Australia also delivered services for the Department of Human Services, the Department of
Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Comcare, other Australian Government
agencies, State and Territory occupational health and safety authorities, insurance companies and
employers.
Table 14 Performance against 2007-08 PAES measures
Measure
Target
Performance

In 2007-08, CRS Australia:
Quantity

Quality
Number of new job seekers
assisted on a rehabilitation
program
Number of rehabilitation
clients achieving durable
employment outcomes

assisted 24,530 new job seekers on a
rehabilitation program

achieved durable employment outcomes
for 8,269 (13 week) rehabilitation clients
Measure
Price
Target
Performance
Certification against Disability
Services Standards
In 2007-08, CRS Australia was recertified
under the Disability Services Standards of the
Disability Services Act 1986.
$196.845 million
CRS Australia's income in 2007-08 was
$182.985 million.
The following sections describe how CRS Australia's performance contributed to Output 3 and met the
objectives of its strategic plan in 2007-08.
Exceeding customer expectations
CRS Australia met the requirements of purchasers, and had a surplus after tax, of $3.4 million at 30
June 2008.
Arrangements with the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace
Relations
CRS Australia maintained a strong working relationship with its primary purchaser, DEEWR, in 2007-08.
Under an MOU with DEEWR, CRS Australia delivered approximately 70 per cent of the Australian
Government's VRS Program.
In 2007-08, CRS Australia commenced using the Specialist Services Application in ES SmartClient, the
information technology system used by all providers of Australian Government employment services, to
deliver services for the DEEWR MOU. This resulted in new work processes and different performance,
reporting and payment arrangements. In 2007-08, 18 new providers of vocational rehabilitation services
were awarded contracts by DEEWR to deliver 30 per cent of the Government's Vocational Rehabilitation
Services (VRS) Program nationally. This enabled CRS Australia's performance to be benchmarked
against that of other VRS providers.
The introduction of the new VRS MOU and ES SmartClient required significant training of staff. All staff
had to develop competency in a new range of administration, compliance and data management tasks.
Significant disruption to job seeker referral flows was experienced in the first half of the financial year,
impacting on performance of milestones and outcomes. The DEEWR ICT system stabilised in the
second half of the year with referral flows being more consistent with expectations. The new MOU also
required CRS Australia to work differently with the job seekers to meet the terms of the MOU and varied
participation requirements.
The change process was challenging due to the number of new administration requirements and a range
of systems issues that affected job-seeker flows and data availability during the year. However, with
appropriate support and training, staff coped well with the changes.
Tailored services
CRS Australia also provided an important range of expert services to Australian Government agencies
and other organisations, including:

Job Capacity Assessments for the Core Department;

wage assessments and case management in business services for the Department of Families,
Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs;

rehabilitation services for serving members of the Australian Defence Force;

rehabilitation services for personnel and veterans covered by Department of Veterans' Affairs
schemes, including the Veterans' Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme;

occupational rehabilitation services for workers compensation insurers; and

injury prevention services for a range of organisations.
The requirements of each contract were clearly articulated to staff and supporting training was provided.
Performance against each contract was actively managed to ensure delivery of purchased services.
CASE STUDY
A partnership to prevent workplace injuries
A safe working environment, as well as being important to staff, is a management issue for every
employer.
CRS Australia works with many employers to address safety and injury issues in the workplace.
'We can find solutions that prevent injury in the first place,' says Claire Hilton, CRS Australia's staff
member in Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory.
CRS Australia has been working with Alcan Gove for the past seven years.
Alcan Gove manages a bauxite and alumina refinery located on the Gove Peninsula on the Gulf of
Carpentaria in the Northern Territory. The nearby township of Nhulunbuy, with a population of around
4,000, was purpose-built to support the refinery.
Claire works with Alcan Gove to make the refinery safe and provides rehabilitation case management.
This includes helping injured workers get back to work, as well as conducting workplace assessments
and injury prevention education.
Alcan Gove's Occupational Health and Safety Manager, Jenny Mills, says the strong relationship with
CRS Australia is based on the fact that staff, such as Claire, live and work in the community.
'Having someone in the local community is really important to us. It helps to gain respect from the
workers because CRS Australia understands the community, the culture and the unique environment of
the remote location,' says Jenny.
'It's the flexibility that I really like. CRS Australia is responsive, professional and very resourceful,' says
Jenny.
The relationship is a true partnership. For Claire, it's a combination of professional satisfaction and a
positive contribution to the local community in which she lives.
'I have enjoyed the experience of meeting staff in the refinery and mine sites and being able to provide
practical recommendations to help them,' Claire says.
'Having someone in the local community is really important to us'
—Jenny Mills, Alcan Gove
Maximise outcomes for purchasers and job seekers
In 2007-08, CRS Australia provided services to support the Government's policies on ensuring quality
assessments and enabling social inclusion and workforce participation for people with a disability and
injury.
CRS Australia assisted a total of 56,320 job seekers through its Australian Government- funded
vocational rehabilitation services programs in 2007-08. This comprised 24,530 new job seekers and
31,794 job seekers who were on programs at the start of the financial year.
All of the government-funded job seekers who were assisted in 2007-08 had disabilities, with an
estimated 26 per cent having mental health conditions as the primary barrier to entering the workforce.
In 2007-08, 12,483 job seekers were successfully placed in employment and 8,269 achieved a 13-week
employment outcome.
A further 159 job seekers commenced study or apprenticeships.
CRS Australia was successful in attracting new business during the year, including business from new
purchasers. Each relationship brings with it a range of performance indicators and CRS Australia has
been proactive in responding to purchaser requirements, as evidenced by increased revenues over the
year.
Accessible services
CRS Australia offices are located to respond to demand for services.
CRS Australia made some changes to office locations over the year in response to demand, furthering
its aim of enabling people to access vocational rehabilitation and other services close to where they live.
Two offices were consolidated and several offices were downgraded to visiting sites.
CASE STUDY
Helping Adam to realise his potential
At 31, after 16 years as a butcher, Adam Woodhouse was forced to look for a different job because of
severe pain in his right arm due to carpal tunnel syndrome and a compressed nerve in his elbow.
This was a challenging time for Adam, who said, 'I've always loved to work, but with my injury, I had no
idea what I could and couldn't do'.
Feeling the stress of having no income and a young family to support, Adam approached Centrelink and
was referred to CRS Australia in Ballina.
Adam met Ann Wilson, a rehabilitation consultant. Ann arranged a vocational assessment, which
identified Adam's skills in customer service and his past experience in managing a local business.
Ann says, 'Adam had a number of transferable skills; he just needed help to realise his potential'.
Adam was encouraged to research the kind of work he wanted to do. He had always been good with
numbers and had dreamt of working in a bank.
Adam's employee services consultant, Beth Taylor, helped him compile a resume and taught him jobsearching skills. This gave Adam the confidence he needed to canvass employers.
Adam gave the manager at the local ANZ bank his resume and was called for an interview soon after.
CRS Australia helped Adam with clothing for his interview and with practice introductions and interview
questions. Adam impressed the panel and was offered a job immediately.
Adam says, 'CRS Australia played such an important role in guiding and coaching me towards getting a
job. The training, preparation and constant encouragement was amazing and I couldn't have done this
without them'.
Adam's been with ANZ for over a year. His dedication to his job has led to several promotions, and he's
very happy with where he is today.
'The training and constant encouragement was amazing; I couldn't have done this without them'
Growing capability
The Government's decision to source 30 per cent of vocational rehabilitation services from the open
market from 1 July 2007 significantly changed CRS Australia's business context, calling for greater
flexibility in both staffing and infrastructure. The new purchasing model was based on the assumption
that demand is resourced wherever it occurs, by comparison to the historical environment that assumed
an annual planned number of programs delivered in any site.
CRS Australia implemented revised budget and forecasting requirements to better align resources with a
reduced number of job seekers and variable demand at the local level.
With the support of managers and staff, CRS Australia introduced a range of strategies to ensure that it
remained flexible and responsive to local circumstances, including:

reviewing practices for supporting allied health professionals, to increase the time available for direct
contact work with job seekers;

reviewing service delivery models and developing new approaches;

developing the Workplace Risk Assessment Tool;

reviewing internal and external benchmarks and performance indicators to ensure their
appropriateness to drive effective practice and performance; and

strategies to ensure compliance with the DEEWR MOU, including gaining additional evidence on
employment outcomes, ensuring that case files and the Smartclient system are kept up to date,
finding additional staff to monitor claiming of milestones and outcomes, and following up outstanding
claims.
Building organisational capability in leadership, in relationship management and in core competencies
continued over the year.
CRS Australia took a new approach to leadership development with a three-tiered program targeting
new and aspiring leaders as well as more experienced staff. This approach will be evaluated once a full
cycle has been completed.
Building reputation
CRS Australia was recognised in a number of forums during the year. It received recognition from CGU
Workers Compensation for being an outstanding NSW WorkCover supplier. It was particularly pleasing
that a number of employer organisations nominated by CRS Australia were successful in the Prime
Minister's Employer of the Year Awards and in the national Diversity® Work Awards. Employers'
attitudes are pivotal to enabling people with a disability to gain and maintain employment. Each year,
CRS Australia aims to improve the way it works with employers to ensure that it remains relevant and
responsive to their workforce needs.
CRS Australia's commitment to active risk management was also recognised, with Comcover again
listing CRS Australia in the top five out of 130 Australian Government agencies as part of its annual
benchmarking survey. CRS Australia has participated in this exercise for the past five years and has
consistently achieved good results.
Service charter
CRS Australia applied both its service charter and the codes of practice required by purchasers.
CRS Australia's service charter remained relevant to the broader range of services delivered by CRS
Australia and continues to be available online at the CRS Australia website, www.crsaustralia.gov.au. It
is currently being updated to reflect the new operating environment.
Marketing materials
Feedback obtained through a stakeholder survey and communications audit showed that CRS
Australia's brand was dated, inconsistent and busy. In response to the feedback, CRS Australia's
marketing material underwent a visual refresh in 2007-08.
CRS Australia's brand was modernised to provide greater levels of consistency and quality across its
suite of material, including brochures, posters, internal templates, stationery and website. Colour coding
by target audience allowed stakeholders to more easily distinguish which material is for them. The use of
white space was enhanced to give a clean and fresh feel and new imagery was introduced to reflect the
diversity of people and services that CRS Australia works with. The refreshed brand was gradually
introduced to ensure a cost- effective transition.
The CRS Australia website was also redeveloped in 2007-08 to better meet the online needs of all
stakeholders. The design, structure, navigation and content were updated, and new features, including
simplified forms, job-seeker testimonials and downloadable tools for employers were added to the site.
The new website went live in May 2008.
Improving effectiveness
Ensuring quality
In 2007-08, CRS Australia had a strong and systematic approach to providing quality assurance to
purchasers. This approach included strong knowledge management practices and systems, case
reviews, seeking feedback from purchasers and job seekers, and national learning and development
strategies. This was underpinned by practical, evidence-based innovation that drew on national and
international best practice.
CRS Australia successfully completed its triennial recertification audit under the Disability Services Act
1986, with no deficiencies recorded, after an audit by accredited auditor SAI Global during 2007. The
auditor visited 16 CRS Australia sites and interviewed 149 job seekers. The purpose of the audit was to
assess the degree of compliance with Standard DSS 2002 (Disability Services Act) and the relevant
code (as applicable) ANZ 7861, and to:

verify the continuing effectiveness of the CRS Australia system;

confirm the interaction between all elements of the system; and

verify a demonstrated commitment to maintain the effectiveness of the system.
The Disability Management System certification is a condition of funding and covers CRS Australia's
provision of vocational rehabilitation services to job seekers on behalf of the Australian Government.
CRS Australia continued to comply with quality assurance requirements and other certification
requirements of purchasers.
Agency efficiencies
CRS Australia participated actively in portfolio- wide reforms to improve the overall efficiency and
effectiveness of government service delivery in 2007-08. This included improvements in purchasing
practice, better support for staff in delivering services to communities and continued sharing of better
practice.
Efficiencies were achieved to fund salary increases and increases in property and support costs. A
review of the vehicle fleet for urban offices to introduce more fuel-efficient four-cylinder cars reduced
both costs and the organisation's environmental impact. The implementation of employee self-service
software automated the processing of 16,000 leave forms, freeing up resources to work on more
strategic functions.
Other efficiencies included reduced telecommunication costs and improved ICT service flowing from ICT
hardware and software investments.
Major ICT projects for 2007-08 included:

installing DEEWR ES SmartClient on all PCs and laptops for online case management to log
progress on vocational rehabilitation job seekers;

undertaking a rolling refresh program for all PCs and laptops as an ongoing process to ensure
currency of the IT desktop environment;

enabling browse audit logging for the SAP business system;

replacing mobile phone handsets and upgrading to the 3G network;

substantially revising the CRS Australia intranet and internet sites;

implementing the SAP Employee Self-Service (ESS) system, which allows staff to access and update
relevant master data records held within the HR payroll module of Nexus; and

implementing the SAP Business Intelligence system, which provides a reporting solution for the
organisation's growing business intelligence requirements.
Evaluation and feedback
During 2007-08, employers indicated a high level of satisfaction with their working relationships with
CRS Australia and with the ease of communication with CRS Australia's local offices. Employers also
valued the work done by CRS Australia to help job seekers and those wishing to return to work.
As part of the organisation's Key Account Management approach, feedback is actively sought on work
undertaken and the changing needs of purchasers. Opportunities for improvement were embraced and
learning was shared across relevant staff.
A number of innovative pilots were undertaken over the year, with evaluation capturing purchaser, jobseeker and staff feedback to inform business decisions. One trial tested a broader role for administrative
stream staff to better align competencies and tasks. This confirmed that administrative staff could
contribute positively to compliance activities and improve administrative support for case managers.
Another trial examined the concept of parallel programming with dedicated vocational services and
employment services teams. Early evaluation findings identified a strong reliance on specific team skills
for success and that it is not always replicable in all teams. Longer term data on effectiveness is being
collected.
The trial of a new role called Rehabilitation Officer, holding a minimum of Certificate IV qualifications and
working in concert with allied health qualified case managers, was under evaluation at the end of the
financial year.
MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Corporate governance
This section reports on aspects of CRS Australia's corporate governance arrangements that function
within the whole-of-department measures and the Secretary's overall responsibility described in Part 1.
The names and responsibilities of the senior executives of CRS Australia are shown in Figure 13.
Committees
A number of committees assist in the effective governance of CRS Australia, as described in Table 15.
Table 15 Governance committees
Members
Functions
Meetings
Fortnightly
Executive Committee
General Manager
(Chair)
Margaret Carmody
Develops and implements CRS
Australia's strategic direction and
priorities for the future
Deputy General
Manager
Corporate
Michael Robinson
Monitors, reviews and manages
progress against CRS Australia's
strategic directions
Deputy General
Manager Service
Delivery
Carl Princehorn
Seeks and responds to staff, job-seeker
and customer feedback
Chief Financial
Officer
Peter Hausknecht
Actively identifies and manages risks
Approves national policies
Monitors performance and approves
remedial action
Strategic and Business Group
General Manager
(Chair)
Margaret Carmody
Makes decisions on national issues
where requested by the Executive, and
provides advice and recommendations
to the Executive
Deputy General
Managers
Michael Robinson
Considers substantial issues relating to
business operations
Carl Princehorn
Monitors performance and provides input
to national projects, Communities of
Practice (Networks of Excellence) and
other internal committees
National Managers John Barnes (a/g)
Chris Harvey
Ann Czajor
Gabriel Herr
Alison Lane
Geoff Mclnnes
Patricia McAlpine
Every six
weeks
Divisional
Managers
Peter Davies
Rowena Hodgson
(a/g)
Susan Kable
Trevor Wilkins
Jacci Young
Chief Financial
Officer
Peter Hausknecht
Information Technology Investment Board
General Manager
(Chair)
Margaret Carmody
Plays a key role in information and
communications technology (ICT)
corporate governance
Deputy General
Managers
Michael Robinson
Has a strategic, high-level and financial
investment focus on ICT
Carl Princehorn
Ensures that ICT is strategically aligned
to business needs
National Manager
Information
Technology
John Barnes (a/g)
Oversees the ICT asset replacement
strategy
Chief Financial
Officer
Peter Hausknecht
Provides leadership in the evaluation
and prioritisation of ICT projects
An external
representative
Vipan Mahajan
Quarterly
Risk Management Committee
Deputy General
Manager
Corporate (Chair)
Michael Robinson
Sets the direction of, monitors and
reviews the risk management, fraud,
audit and protective security control
environments
National Risk
Manager (Agency
Security Adviser)
Adam Smith
Reviews the risk register on a quarterly
basis
A divisional
manager
Jacci Young
Develops the forward audit program for
Executive consideration
Quarterly
Independent
observers from the
Core Department
and CSA
An independent
member
Ray Gunning
(DHS)
Oversees business continuity
management plans and activities
Karen Nagle (CSA)
Develops and monitors risk
management, fraud, audit and protective
security policies and programs of work
Di Fielding
Provides advice and guidance on risk
management issues as required
Occupational Health and Safety Committee
Divisional
Manager (Chair)
Peter Davies
Oversees the development of OH&S
policies and strategies
National OH&S
Adviser
Andrew Lott
Oversees the implementation, operation
and review of the CRS Australia OH&S
agreement
Management
representative
Janelle Graham
Promotes the concept of a healthy
workforce, safe work practices and
awareness of OH&S to employees
National Injury
Prevention
Coordinator
Sharon Leahy
Reviews statistics on hazardous
incidents, injuries and illnesses related to
the work environment and system of
work
Health and safety
representatives
Vacant
Promotes efficiency by reducing
workplace hazards, accidents and
injuries and minimising personal and
organisational losses
Sandina Bailey
Oversees the application of
Commonwealth OH&S regulations,
standards and codes of practice
Quarterly
Helena Cromb
Kate Agus
Jaspreet Cowley
Note: Details of the Audit Committee for the Core Department, CSA and CRS Australia are shown in Table 6.
Accountability
The General Manager of CRS Australia is accountable to the Secretary of the Portfolio Department of
Human Services for the efficient and effective performance of CRS Australia, including its financial and
risk management. In 2007-08, the General Manager and the Secretary met regularly to ensure effective
oversight and early identification of strategic issues, and the General Manager observed meetings of the
DHS Audit Committee.
The CRS Australia Executive met with the Secretary of the Portfolio Department each month to review
CRS Australia's performance from a governance perspective, including financial performance and
strategic issues.
In 2007-08, the CRS Australia Risk Management Committee met five times and provided assurance to
the General Manager on risk, audit, fraud and security issues.
Internal scrutiny
Internal audit
CRS Australia's internal audit and quality assurance processes were used strategically to identify
learning and development opportunities, to improve overall effectiveness and to provide assurance of
consistency and accuracy in decision making, particularly as it applied to decisions under the Financial
Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act).
In 2007-08, extensive work continued to ensure CRS Australia met the certificate of compliance
requirements under the FMA Act. The work included education of managers and delegates, additional
audit processes and certification by managers that processes under their control had been reviewed for
compliance. A breach register of non-compliance against the FMA Act was maintained for reporting
purposes.
CRS Australia also conducted a number of internal audits and participated in a variety of cross-agency
audits, including audits of financial statements.
CRS Australia was again certified through the annual surveillance and certification audit conducted
against the Disability Services Standards on behalf of the Department of Families, Housing, Community
Services and Indigenous Affairs. No major nonconformities were identified during the audit.
DEEWR conducted compliance audits at more than 30 CRS Australia offices during the year as part of
the VRS MOU. It generally found that:

files were in good order, were easy to navigate and contained comprehensive case notes;

staff had a high level of contact with job seekers, leading to strong engagement with them; and

the documentary evidence for employment claims met the MOU requirements.
CRS Australia continued to monitor feedback from these audits to ensure that any areas for
improvement were identified and followed up.
CRS Australia maintained client files and other files that contain a range of personal information, some
of which was of a sensitive nature. CRS Australia had well-developed systems and processes to ensure
that an appropriate level of privacy was maintained.
All managers completed a self-audit package twice in 2007-08 (in November and April), which assisted
them to ensure that the business units for which they were responsible complied with relevant legislative,
statutory and internal policy requirements. Analysis of the results was undertaken and processes were
improved to ensure future compliance where issues were identified.
CRS Australia monitored the publication of new guidelines and whole-of-government Australian National
Audit Office (ANAO) audit reports to ensure that compliance and best practice were maintained within
the organisation.
Risk management
CRS Australia's risk management plan was informed by risk assessments undertaken across all areas of
the organisation, including staff management, business planning, service delivery, business continuity
and management of major projects, change processes, security, fraud and occupational health and
safety (OH&S). During 2007-08, a strategic and operational risk assessment was conducted to
determine the overall risk profile for CRS Australia and appropriate mitigation strategies were
implemented. Testing of various aspects of business continuity plans was also undertaken.
As part of the organisation's commitment to continuous improvement, CRS Australia again participated
in the annual Comcover risk management benchmarking survey to ensure that processes and practices
reflect relevant legislation and standards. In 2008, CRS Australia obtained an 8.2 out of 10 benchmark
rating, which placed the organisation in the top five out of 130 Australia-wide organisations covered by
Comcover.
The membership and functions of CRS Australia's Risk Management Committee are outlined in Table
15.
Fraud prevention
As part of its responsibility to protect the public interest, CRS Australia maintained a fraud control
program that complies with the FMA Act and the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines.
As part of the fraud control program:

fraud risk assessments and fraud control plans were prepared;

appropriate fraud prevention, detection, correction, investigation and reporting procedures and
processes were undertaken by qualified staff;

fraud activity was overseen as part of the organisation's Risk Management Committee charter;

data on fraud was collected and reported annually; and

all processes and procedures were actively reviewed and, where appropriate, updated in accordance
with CRS Australia's continuous improvement strategies.
Ten matters of fraud were investigated during the year. One internal matter is continuing. The other
matters involved four external and five internal allegations of fraudulent activity. In all cases, the
allegations were thoroughly investigated and reported to the appropriate delegate. Recommendations on
appropriate sanctions and prevention strategies were approved and implemented. Where required, the
fraud control plan and risk register were also updated.
In accordance with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines, CRS Australia collected its fraud data
and reported it on an annual basis to the Australian Institute of Criminology.
Security
CRS Australia's protective security framework was based on detailed risk assessments, security reviews
of offices, and assessments of other threats and weaknesses as required by the Australian
Government's Protective Security Manual and the Australian Communications Security Instructions
(ACSI 33).
Protective security activities in 2007-08 included a number of reviews of metropolitan and rural service
delivery sites. Although no major control weaknesses or material risks were identified by the reviews, a
number of additional controls and remediation strategies were recommended to ensure compliance with
minimum mandatory requirements. A security risk assessment was maintained to ensure that identified
risks were addressed.
Management of ethical standards
All new staff members of CRS Australia received a copy of the Australian Public Service (APS) Values
and Code of Conduct as part of their welcome kit when they began work. The values and code were
reinforced through staff induction training, which was conducted nationally, and in local presentations to
staff by managers.
The induction package is currently being modernised to enable more timely delivery to new staff.
All staff were required to follow the APS Values and Code of Conduct both in their delivery of services
and in their interactions with each other. Policies and procedures relating to breaches of the code were
available to all staff on the CRS Australia intranet—CRSNet.
During 2007-08, two staff members were investigated for alleged breaches of the APS Code of Conduct.
The two staff members were found, on the balance of probabilities, to have breached the code. Another
investigation into an alleged breach of the code had not been finalised at 30 June 2008. Of the two
finalised breaches, a sanction of termination of employment was issued for one and no sanction was
imposed for the other.
Resolution of complaints
CRS Australia's complaints management process followed a three-tier resolution model. Complaints are
made initially at the regional level and are escalated to divisional and national levels as required.
During 2007-08, there were no internal reviews of decisions by CRS Australia (see note below relating to
changes to delegates under the Disability Services Act 1986).
External scrutiny
Under the Disability Services Act 1986, a person affected by a decision, or by CRS Australia's failure to
make a decision, can appeal first to the Secretary of DEEWR or that Secretary's delegate and then to
the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) if the matter is not resolved to their satisfaction. DEEWR
retains delegations for decisions made under the Act, except for section 21A (ending rehabilitation
programs) and section 26(2), (4) and (5) (review of decisions) under Part III of the Act, which are
retained by CRS Australia.
Administrative Appeals Tribunal
One continuing matter in the AAT was withdrawn by the client in August 2007. There have been no new
appeals to the AAT.
Australian National Audit Office
Other than the routine financial statements audits, no other audits involving CRS Australia were
conducted by the ANAO in 2007-08.
Commonwealth Ombudsman
The Commonwealth Ombudsman's Office received 24 inquiries about CRS Australia during 2007-08, 23
of which have been closed. Of the four matters investigated, three were resolved with no deficiencies
found in CRS Australia's administration. A further matter was not finalised within the financial year.
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) made two inquiries into complaints
about CRS Australia during 2007-08. One matter was resolved in a conciliation conference and a further
matter is still under investigation by HREOC.
HREOC advised CRS Australia of further complaints made by one individual, all of which were
terminated as being misconceived, lacking in substance, or both. The individual has a number of matters
continuing in the Federal Magistrates Court, where CRS Australia is named as one of a number of
respondents, as a result of the termination of these complaints. CRS Australia and other agencies
represented by the Australian Government Solicitor have made applications for summary dismissal of
some of these matters together with applications under the vexatious litigant provisions.
People
Supporting staff and employing the right people
In 2008, CRS Australia conducted a survey of all staff, with a response rate of 66 per cent. The survey
showed improved performance in the categories of 'Managing performance' and 'Survey follow-up' and
results were steady on the 2007 scores in 'Goals and objectives', 'Recognition and reward', 'Leadership'
and 'Organisational change'. In most categories, CRS Australia tracked above the benchmark of other
organisations going through significant change.
The survey results were provided to all senior and functional managers, who used them to identify action
plans in each division and functional area. The survey results were communicated to all staff, and
actions were included in the 2008-09 business plans following consultation between managers and staff.
In response to feedback from staff, CRS Australia reviewed its approach to internal communication in
2007-08. Messages were grouped into three categories: strategic, operational and good news.
Guidance was developed for managers to ensure that the most appropriate vehicle was used. This new
approach to communicating with staff, particularly by senior managers, will continue to be rolled out in
2008-09.
The Employee Self-Service Portal was rolled out in 2007. Staff can now perform leave and banking
transactions online and review their personnel profiles online. Employee payment summaries will be
issued electronically for the first time in July 2008.
CASE STUDY
Making a difference
As regional manager of CRS Australia's Northern Remote team, David Marshall has a passion for
delivering quality services to people in rural and remote areas.
David has lived and worked in the Northern Territory for the past 20 years and he thrives on working in
some of the most remote locations in Australia. His team work with their communities to help job seekers
find work and to help employers provide a safe workplace.
The region is just under 1.8 million square kilometres, or just over one-fifth of the Australian landmass.
With offices in Katherine, Alice Springs, Mount Isa, Nhulunbuy, Tennant Creek and Kununurra, David
spends around 36 weeks of the year travelling to remote communities.
'This is some of the most pristine country that people save up all their lives to visit, and we work in it,'
David says. 'It's absolutely mind- blowing.'
David says that, because staff live and work in these communities, they are able to build an instant
rapport with job seekers and employers and their impact on communities is visible.
'The people who work for us here make a difference,' David says.
'People in the communities are on such friendly terms that they want to help each other and give job
seekers a go. It's not so much about going through the Yellow Pages to find employers. You go for a
walk down to the local shops,' David says.
David's passion for rehabilitation has extended to his hobbies. He and his wife look after injured wildlife
and are involved in a breeding program to increase the population of a species of endangered wallaby.
'To provide services to as many Australians as we can in our patch—that's what gets you out of bed in
the morning,' David says.
'We can leave a community and feel like we've made a difference'
David Marshall, CRS Australia Regional Manager
Staffing statistics
At 30 June 2008, CRS Australia employed 2,006 people (including employees on long-term leave) under
the Public Service Act 1999. CRS Australia's staffing levels decreased during the year, with 82 fewer
employees than at 30 June 2007. Its workforce comprised 83 per cent ongoing and 61 per cent full-time
employees.
Detailed information on staffing is provided in Appendix 1.
Human resource management
Attracting and retaining staff
In 2007-08, CRS Australia focused on recruiting the right people for today and for the future. It
redesigned all press and online recruitment advertising templates and completely rewrote its external
careers web pages. This improved accessibility and the promotion of the benefits of working for CRS
Australia. In particular, CRS Australia developed pages about the different roles within the organisation
to ensure that candidates are given realistic job previews to enable them to make an informed choice.
These enhancements resulted in an increase in the number of quality candidates.
In 2007-08, in response to the tight Western Australian employment market, CRS Australia conducted a
series of large-scale recruitment campaigns aimed at attracting allied health and employment specialists
to work in Western Australia. This campaign yielded a pool of quality candidates, which can now be
accessed to fill similar future vacancies in the division.
The internal and external 'expression of interest database' launched in 2007 continued to provide a
strong source of candidates for non-ongoing positions and has proven a good investment.
CRS Australia enhanced its capacity to report on its recruitment time line following the release of the
Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) publication Better, faster: streamlining recruitment in the
APS. CRS Australia performed better than the APS average for the time taken between date of
advertising to a verbal offer being made. It averaged 35 days against the APS average of 47 days.
To ensure more timely access to ICT services by new staff, CRS Australia changed its processes in
November 2007. As a result, 100 per cent of new starters had ICT access on their first day of
employment with CRS Australia.
CRS Australia focused on building workforce capabilities through workforce planning, learning and
development activities and ensuring timely management reporting. A range of manager resources were
developed, including regular workforce reports on a range of demographic information, staff absences
and turnover.
While CRS Australia continued to actively manage unplanned leave, 9.02 days per employee of
unplanned leave was taken in 2007-08. This is an increase compared to 2006-07, but still below the APS
median of 9.4 days per employee. The increase in unplanned leave was driven by increased utilisation
of sick leave and carers leave.
Promoting a safe and supportive workplace
In October 2007, CRS Australia implemented Workplace Giving. Staff were consulted and 11 charities
were selected to be part of the program. Eighty-one staff participated in the program and $24,281 was
donated to the selected charities.
In September 2007, CRS Australia initiated a series of Vertical Slice meetings comprising the General
Manager and staff from a range of sites and job roles. These meetings provided staff with an opportunity
to discuss issues, ask questions and provide feedback on matters that were important to them directly
with the General Manager and other senior managers. Meetings were held quarterly and rotated through
a different division each time. Staff were randomly selected and the agendas were driven by the
participants. Meetings were held in Canberra, Adelaide and Melbourne in 2007 and Sydney in early
2008.
CRS Australia implemented necessary policy changes to ensure that it would be fully compliant with the
new OH&S legislative requirements applying from 15 September 2008.
CRS Australia has continued to strengthen its OH&S and Staff Health foundation with regular
teleconference meetings of the National OH&S Committee, policy review work, filling health and safety
representative vacancies, reviewing processes and practices, and health promotion activities such as
Safe Work Week Australia.
An online Incident, Injury and Illness (III) reporting capability was developed in-house and implemented
on 1 July 2007. Early indications suggest that the system is producing more timely reporting of incidents,
improving compliance with section 68 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 (OH&S Act).
Year
Number of III reports
2006-07
190
2007-08
216
An increase in the number of reports, without a commensurate increase in the number of compensation
claims, indicates an improved reporting culture and effective early intervention.
There were no formal Comcare investigations in 2007-08.
An Early Intervention Strategy, introduced from 1 July 2007, provided funding for early intervention
services to help staff who were ill or had been injured return to work sooner. This strategy was well
received by both staff and managers.
Over the past 18 months, aggressive behaviour by a small number of job seekers prompted CRS
Australia to review its Job Seeker Aggression Policy and Guidelines to ensure that staff were more able
to handle incidents when they arose.
Detailed information on occupational health and safety arrangements and performance is provided in
Appendix 7.
Remuneration
Certified agreement
At 30 June 2008, 1,894 staff were employed under CRS Australia's Certified Agreement 2005-08.
Salary ranges for employees under the certified agreement are set out in Table A1.13.
Negotiations are underway to form a new collective agreement to replace CRS Australia's current
certified agreement, which expires on 5 December 2008. The new collective agreement, funded by
productivity improvements, will enhance the organisation's ability to provide vocational rehabilitation
services to the community, while providing a sustainable employment framework to attract and retain
people with the right skills in the right location.
Australian workplace agreements
In January 2008, in accordance with government policy, CRS Australia stopped offering Australian
workplace agreements. At 30 June 2008, 1 1 1 staff were employed under an AWA. Table 16 shows the
numbers at each level.
The salary ranges of CRS Australia staff covered by AWAs are set out in Table A1.15, Appendix 1.
Table 16 CRS Australia staff employed under AWAs, by classification
SES 2
SES 1
EL 2A
EL 2B
EL 1
RC 2
RC 1
APS 6
APS 5
APS 4
Total
1
1
2
16
73
9
0
5
1
3
111
APS = Australian Public Service, EL = Executive Level, RC = Rehabilitation Consultant, SES = Senior Executive Service
Performance pay
The Performance Achievement System aligned each employee's results, behaviour and development
with the organisational and team objectives critical to the achievement of CRS Australia's goals. A threepoint rating scale was used, and only staff who achieved the top rating were eligible for performance
pay.
The performance bonuses paid in 2007-08 for performance during the 2006-07 financial year are set out
in Table 17.
Learning and development
In 2007-08, learning and development activities focused on strengthening CRS Australia's leadership
capability and staff effectiveness in meeting the changing requirements of purchasing organisations.
New practice resources were developed based on internal and international best practice, focusing on
the nature of welfare reform and the increasing complexity of job seekers' needs.
An increased focus on flexible and distance- based learning solutions to meet regional and remote
training needs led to greater internal use of e-learning courses and other distance-based media. Staff
completed extensive learning and development activities in client-centred case management, Job
Capacity Assessments and employment strategies.
Other priorities were to develop inclusion and diversity training and coaching skills for rehabilitation
consultants and to develop a learning strategy for administrative service officers.
Human resource capabilities were built through participation in projects and committees with other
Human Services agencies, professional conferences and seminars, training with the Australian Human
Resource Institute and the APSC, and participation in other human resources professional development
programs.
Table 17 Performance pay for 2006-07, paid in 2007-08
Level
Staff eligible
Staff paid
Amount paid ($)
Average ($)
SES
4
3
38,116
12,705
EL 2
19
11
64,425
5,857
EL 1
120
39
148,936
3,819
APS levels 1-6
1,912
442
1,231,787
2,787
Total
2,055
495
1,483,264
2,996
APS = Australian Public Service; EL = Executive Level; SES = Senior Executive Service
The automation of evaluations of the effectiveness of training led to an improved feedback process and
quality improvements for courses.
In 2007-08, CRS Australia provided 2,265 days of internal learning and development activities and spent
$1.95 million on external training and conference attendance. In 2006-07, 2,576 training days were
delivered. While statistically the number of days has reduced, when compared with 2006-07, the 200708 figure does not include the increased use of self-paced computer-based learning.
CRS Australia's human resource management and development strategies, drawing on internal and
external evidence of best practice, will ensure that it is successful, sustainable and profitable. CRS
Australia will continue to implement recently developed strategies in:

workforce planning to help it shape the current and future workforce;

building capability through the Leader-Led Development Program for managers and the calendar of
learning and development activities for staff; and

attraction and retention strategies to ensure that it has the right people with the right skills for the
future.
Workplace diversity
In 2007-08, CRS Australia continued to participate in the National Indigenous Cadetship Program,
supporting three Indigenous cadets over the year. At year's end, one cadet had completed the cadetship
and has since become a rehabilitation consultant. CRS Australia continued to participate in Centrelink
Indigenous cross-cultural training programs and supported an employee to participate in the APSC
Indigenous Employees Conference. The APSC Leadership and Communication programs were
promoted to Indigenous staff.
Knowledge management
During 2007-08 the eight networks covering specific areas of expertise were reviewed and a
revitalisation plan was developed for implementation early in 2008-09, which draws on international best
practice and modernises the strategy for current needs.
CRS Australia's knowledge management strategies in 2007-08 included:

the quality assurance and improvement program, which integrated the elements of best practice
quality models, including maintaining quality service delivery practices and contributing to the
continuous improvement cycle;

the CRS Australia intranet, which provided access to policy, practices and procedures, and
supported discussion groups and chat rooms;

an organisational library, which supported case management, organisational research, and the
communities of practice;

Harvesting Innovations workshops to capture and share good practices across the organisation;

an active program of research, evaluation and innovation; and

learning and development strategies and coaching strategies.
CRS Australia worked closely with the National Archives of Australia to develop and implement a
Business Classification Scheme and a new Records Authority for record keeping in CRS Australia. This
replaced the last Records Disposal Authority issued in 1991. The new Records Authority, to be
implemented on 1 July 2008, will allow files underpinning new business arrangements since 1991 to be
sentenced, and more accurate and descriptive file titling to be provided for newly created files.
Resources
Financial management
CRS Australia faced a challenging year in 2007-08 with a new performance and funding framework and
a new ICT system associated with the DEEWR MOU. Reduced revenues and a lack of adequate
management information over the first half of the financial year were additional challenges. Vocational
rehabilitation revenues were $14 million, or 9 per cent lower than anticipated. Referrals occurred later in
the year than anticipated. Effectiveness in getting job seekers into employment was also below
expectations primarily because job seekers from 1 July 2007 had higher employment benchmarks (i.e. of
15-30 hours per week) than the previous year's benchmark of 8 hours per week. Lower than anticipated
effectiveness with new employment benchmarks and job seeker groups and lower than anticipated
workers compensation revenues also contributed to this result.
Early identification of lower revenue trends resulted in tight cost control and recruitment limitations,
especially in the first half of the year.
Management information improved significantly over the latter half of the financial year as DEEWR made
more data and reports available to providers.
CRS Australia continued to enhance its systematic internal budgeting and reporting framework. Each
manager received timely management information on financial performance. The framework was
particularly important in 2007-08 as the flow of work was variable and forecasts and predictions had to
be reviewed as new data and trend information became available.
CRS Australia continued to comply with the Australian Equivalents to International Financial Reporting
Standards for all figures included in the financial statements.
Consultants and services contractors
In 2007-08, CRS Australia engaged consultants to provide a range of services, including the provision of
financial statements, and to review and provide recommendations for the CRS Australia website. They
were engaged to provide specialist services where skills were not available in-house or where an
independent and impartial view from outside CRS Australia was required.
During 2007-08, CRS Australia entered into 13 new consultancy contracts, involving total actual
expenditure of $257,054. In addition, 13 ongoing consultancy contracts were active during the year,
involving total actual expenditure of $602,733 (refer to Table 18, page 132).
Information on expenditure on contracts and consultancies is also available on the AusTender website,
www.tenders.gov.au. Detailed information on consultancy contracts is provided in Appendix 4.
Table 18 Summary of consultancy services contracts, 2005-06 to 2007-08
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
Number of new contracts let
9
15
13
Total actual expenditure on new
contracts
$236.410
$410.462
$257.054
Number of active ongoing
contracts
9
13
13
Total actual expenditure on
ongoing contracts
$221.418
$528.019
$602.733
Number of contracts exempt from
AusTender
Nil
Nil
Nil
Note: Expenditure totals include GST and have been rounded to the nearest dollar.
Office accommodation
CRS Australia's national service delivery network consisted of over 170 permanent offices, with over 30
per cent of sites located in rural and remote Australia. Business support operations were located within
the national office in Canberra and divisional offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and
Adelaide. CRS Australia located service delivery outlets conveniently for clients, close to Centrelink
offices, transport systems and other community facilities.
Nine existing offices were relocated within the communities they serve, in most cases with expanded
capability, and five major refits occurred during 2007-08. Partial refits were undertaken at a further four
existing offices to improve facilities and enhance service delivery capabilities. Fifty-seven leases for
existing offices were renewed and there was one consolidation of two offices.
Asset management
CRS Australia's asset management decisions in 2007-08 were driven by business requirements and
took into consideration life-cycle costs, benefits and risks.
A stocktake of assets, which confirmed the location and the condition of each asset, was undertaken in
February 2008. In 2007-08, all asset holdings were reviewed to ensure cost-effectiveness and whole-oflife utilisation. Depreciation and amortisation rates were also reviewed and necessary adjustments were
made.
Purchasing
CRS Australia purchasing activities are consistent with the DHS Chief Executive Instructions and internal
procurement guidelines, which are in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines.
Purchaser-provider arrangements
In 2007-08, CRS Australia had purchaser- provider arrangements in place with the Australian
Government departments of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations; Families, Housing,
Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; Human Services; and Veterans' Affairs.
PART 5 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS DEPARTMENT OF
HUMAN SERVICES
PART 6 APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1 — STAFFING INFORMATION
This section provides statistics on staff, including numbers, gender, locations and salaries, as stipulated
in the Requirements for annual reports for departments, executive agencies and FMA Act bodies, for the
Core Department, the Child Support Agency and CRS Australia.
Core Department
Tables A1.1 to A1.3 contain summary information on the Core Department's actual staffing at 30 June
2008, not including seconded staff. All staff of the Core Department were employed in the Australian
Capital Territory.
All ongoing and non-ongoing staff of the Core Department are covered by Australian workplace
agreements.
Table A1.1 Core Department—staff employed, by classification, gender and employment status, at 30
June 2008
Female
Part-time 1
Male
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
Secretary
1
1
Senior Executive Service
Band 3
1
1
2
Senior Executive Service
Band 2
2
3
5
Senior Executive Service
Band 1
10
9
19
Executive Level 2
1
18
25
44
Executive Level 1
2
22
18
42
Female
Male
Part-time 1
Full-time
Australian Public Service
Level 6
2
Australian Public Service
Level 5
1
Full-time
Total
12
11
25
8
1
10
3
13
Australian Public Service
Level 4
9
Australian Public Service
Level 2
1
Total
6
Part-time
1
1
84
1
71
162
Note: The table does not include three ongoing staff (one SES 2, one SES 1 and one APS 4) who commenced with the Core
Department in June 2008 on a reimbursement basis pending the finalisation of the Core Department's common law contract.
Table A1.2 Core Department—non-ongoing staff employed, by classification, gender and employment
status, at 30 June 2008
Female
Part-time 1
Male
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
Senior Executive Service
Band 1
Executive Level 1
Australian Public Service
Level 6
Australian Public Service
Level 5
Australian Public Service
Level 4
Total
1
1
1
1
Table A1.3 Core Department—standard salary ranges at 30 June 2008
Senior Executive Service Band 2 and Band 3
Minimum ($)
Maximum ($)
140,608
202,476
Minimum ($)
Maximum ($)
Senior Executive Service Band 1
112,486
134,984
Executive Level 2
97,076
110,687
Executive Level 1
80,315
92,014
Australian Public Service Level 6
64,905
74,916
Australian Public Service Level 5
58,605
62,205
Australian Public Service Level 4
52,756
56,243
Australian Public Service Level 3
46,907
50,394
Australian Public Service Level 2
41,058
44,545
Note: Median figures are not provided as they would allow the remuneration of individuals to be identified.
Child Support Agency
Tables A1.4 to A1.8 contain summary information about the Child Support Agency's actual staffing.
Table A1.4 Child Support Agency—actual staff employed, by location, gender and employment status,
at 30 June 2008
Female
Location
SES 3
National office
SES 2
National office
SES 1
National office
NSW/ACT
Part-time
1
Male
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
1
1
3
2
5
5
8
14
1
1
Vic.
1
1
Tas.
1
1
Qld
1
1
WA
1
1
SA/NT
2
2
Female
EL 2
Location
Part-time
Full-time
Full-time
Total
National office
3
34
27
64
NSW/ACT
7
4
11
Vic.
5
6
12
Tas.
1
2
3
2
5
8
Qld
EL 1
APS 6
APS 5
Male
1
Part-time
1
WA
3
3
SA/NT
3
3
National office
19
92
NSW/ACT
4
Vic.
3
69
183
31
9
44
6
19
11
36
Tas.
2
5
1
8
Qld
3
19
17
40
WA
1
7
7
15
SA/NT
1
10
2
13
National office
18
106
47
172
NSW/ACT
13
108
29
150
Vic.
14
76
35
126
Tas.
2
18
9
29
Qld
12
75
2
35
124
WA
6
22
1
13
42
SA/NT
4
28
19
51
National office
8
56
19
84
1
1
1
1
Female
APS 4
APS 3
APS 2
Male
Location
Part-time
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
NSW/ACT
24
84
2
35
145
Vic.
15
66
1
25
107
Tas.
4
11
2
9
26
Qld
16
58
2
26
102
WA
13
24
1
11
49
SA/NT
2
40
10
52
National office
4
33
11
48
NSW/ACT
85
186
3
62
336
Vic.
58
160
5
55
278
Tas.
16
26
3
18
63
Qld
42
112
5
39
198
WA
29
52
3
24
108
SA/NT
10
37
15
62
4
4
8
National office
NSW/ACT
64
264
2
90
420
Vic.
42
153
4
60
259
Tas.
10
36
2
27
75
Qld
29
138
2
58
227
WA
21
43
1
22
87
SA/NT
10
119
53
182
National office
NSW/ACT
1
3
2
1
6
11
Female
APS 1
Male
Location
Part-time
Full-time
Part-time
Vic.
2
4
Tas.
1
Total
7
13
Qld
4
9
1
WA
1
1
1
SA/NT
2
3
2
7
National office
1
1
2
NSW/ACT
1
1
5
3
2
Qld
19
1
Vic.
APS
Cadet
Full-time
1
2
1
WA
1
1
SA/NT
1
1
NSW/ACT
Total
1
627
2,407
1
51
1,059
4,144
APS = Australian Public Service Level, EL = Executive Level, SES = Senior Executive Service Band
Table A1.5 Child Support Agency—actual non-ongoing staff employed, by location, gender and
employment status, at 30 June 2008
Female
Location
Part-time
Full-time
SES 1
National office
EL 2
National office
EL 1
National office
5
APS 6
National office
2
Male
Part-time
Full-time
1
Total
1
2
2
1
6
2
4
Female
Location
Part-time
APS 5
National office
1
APS 4
National office
2
Queensland
1
APS 3
Full-time
Part-time
4
National office
SA/NT
Total
1
2
1
7
1
1
9
6
9
23
1
National office
6
36
1
Tas.
Total
Full-time
1
NSW/ACT
APS 2
Male
1
1
10
1
45
5
2
12
72
APS = Australian Public Service Level, EL = Executive Level, SES = Senior Executive Service Band
Table A1.6 Child Support Agency—staff employed under Australian workplace agreements and certified
agreement at 30 June 2008
Australian workplace
agreement
Certified agreement
Senior Executive Service
24
0
Non-Senior Executive Service
255
3,961
Total
279
3,961
Table A1.7 Child Support Agency—certified agreement salary ranges at 30 June 2008
Minimum ($)
Maximum ($)
Executive Level 2a
N/A
87,955
Executive Level 1
77,906
84,129
APS Level 6/CSO Level 6
62,284
69,810
APS Level 5/CSO Level 5
56,266
60,273
Minimum ($)
Maximum ($)
APS Level 4/CSO Level 4
50,448
55,383
APS Level 3/CSO Level 3
45,262
48,851
Graduate APS
45,262
N/A
APS Level 2/CSO Level 2
40,831
44,068
APS Level 1/CSO Level 1
36,293
38,974
APS = Australian Public Service, CSO = customer service officer
a
Temporary performance—the certified agreement applies to classifications up to EL1; permanent EL2s are covered by
individual AWAs.
Table A1.8 Child Support Agency—Australian workplace agreement salary ranges at 30 June 2008
Minimum ($)
Maximum ($)
Senior Executive Service Band 2
and Band 3
145,600
171,600
Senior Executive Service Band 1
120,000
140,880
Executive Level 2
96,705
115,493
Executive Level 1
81,801
92,678
Note: A remuneration band does not apply to employees on Indigenous Cadet Australian Workplace Agreements.
Remuneration consists of an annual allowance and pro rata salary depending on the length of the work placement.
CRS Australia
Tables A1.9 to A1.15 contain summary information about CRS Australia's actual staffing.
Table A1.9 CRS Australia—ongoing staff employed, by gender and employment status, at 30 June 2008
Female
Male
Part-time 1
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
Senior Executive Service
Band 2
0
1
0
0
1
Senior Executive Service
Band 1
0
0
0
2
2
Executive Level 2A
0
0
0
2
2
Female
Male
Part-time 1
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
Executive Level 2B
1
6
0
9
16
Executive Level 1
11
62
0
50
123
Rehabilitation Consultant
Level 2
423
403
26
95
947
Rehabilitation Consultant
Level 1
12
44
1
13
70
Australian Public Service
Level 6
5
28
1
22
56
Australian Public Service
Level 5
21
38
4
25
88
Australian Public Service
Level 4
22
69
1
17
109
Australian Public Service
Level 3
48
74
0
5
127
Australian Public Service
Level 2
61
57
1
6
125
Australian Public Service
Level 1
3
0
0
0
3
Total
607
782
34
246
1,669
Note: Totals include 38 per cent part-time and irregular/intermittent staff.
Table A1.10 CRS Australia—ongoing staff employed, by location and employment status, at 30 June
2008
NSW
Vic.
Qld
WA
SA
Tas.
ACT
NT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
SES 2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
SES 1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
EL 2A
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
NSW
Vic.
Qld
WA
SA
Tas.
ACT
NT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
EL 2B
0
4
1
3
0
5
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
EL 1
2
30
2
21
3
30
0
7
3
10
0
3
1
9
0
2
RC 2
166 159 108 101 68
112
40
42
46
53
10
16
7
5
4
10
RC 1
5
17
3
12
1
7
2
6
2
12
0
2
0
0
0
1
APS 6
0
2
1
9
1
25
1
3
0
4
0
0
3
7
0
0
APS 5
9
18
5
20
2
5
3
6
1
3
2
5
3
5
0
1
APS 4
9
22
1
11
7
28
2
7
3
6
0
3
1
6
0
3
APS 3
18
22
12
18
10
19
0
4
6
8
0
1
2
7
0
0
APS 2
33
20
9
13
5
14
8
6
3
7
4
3
0
0
0
0
APS 1
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total
242 294 143 209 98
245
57
82
64
104 16
33
17
44
4
17
APS = Australian Public Service, EL = Executive Level, FT = full-time, PT = part-time, RC = Rehabilitation Consultant, SES =
Senior Executive Service
Table A1.11 CRS Australia—non-ongoing staff employed, by gender and employment status, at 30 June
2008
Female
Male
Part-time 1
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
Executive Level 2A
0
0
0
0
0
Executive Level 2B
0
0
1
0
1
Executive Level 1
0
0
0
0
0
Rehabilitation Consultant
Level 2
43
28
2
10
83
Rehabilitation Consultant
Level 1
7
51
3
13
74
Female
Male
Part-time 1
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
Australian Public Service
Level 6
1
2
0
0
3
Australian Public Service
Level 5
6
10
4
5
25
Australian Public Service
Level 4
7
17
3
6
33
Australian Public Service
Level 3
7
18
1
3
29
Australian Public Service
Level 2
40
27
1
0
68
Australian Public Service
Level 1
13
6
2
0
21
Total
124
159
17
37
337
Note: Totals include 48 per cent part-time and irregular/intermittent staff.
Table A1.12 CRS Australia—non-ongoing staff employed, by location and employment status, at 30
June 2008
NSW
Vic.
Qld
WA
SA
Tas.
ACT
NT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
EL 2A
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
EL 2B
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
EL 1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
RC 2
25
9
10
15
5
10
2
4
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
RC 1
1
15
3
14
2
12
1
11
2
7
1
2
0
2
0
1
APS 6
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
APS 5
4
4
2
3
1
4
3
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
APS 4
5
9
1
0
1
8
2
1
1
1
0
1
0
2
0
1
NSW
Vic.
Qld
WA
SA
Tas.
ACT
NT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
PT
FT
APS 3
2
4
1
3
4
8
1
0
0
3
0
0
0
1
0
2
APS 2
12
10
14
7
8
5
1
5
5
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
APS 1
5
3
1
0
1
2
3
0
3
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
Total
55
54
32
43
22
49
13
24
14
12
2
3
3
6
0
5
APS = Australian Public Service, EL = Executive Level, FT = full-time, PT = part-time, RC = Rehabilitation Consultant
Table A1.13 CRS Australia—certified agreement salary ranges at 30 June 2008
Minimum ($)
Maximum ($)
Executive Level 2A
103,945
103,945
Executive Level 2B
87,069
100,522
Executive Level 1
75,334
83,155
Rehabilitation Consultant Level 2
59,470
71,704
Rehabilitation Consultant Level 1
45,277
58,945
Australian Public Service 6
59,470
71,704
Australian Public Service 5
54,565
58,945
Australian Public Service 4
49,019
54,209
Australian Public Service 3
43,988
48,288
Australian Public Service 2
38,570
43,552
Australian Public Service 1
34,185
38,289
Table A1.14 CRS Australia—staff employed under Australian workplace agreements and certified
agreement at 30 June 2008
Senior Executive Service
Australian workplace
agreements
Certified agreement
3
0
Australian workplace
agreements
Certified agreement
Executive Level 2
18
1
Executive Level 1
73
50
Australian Public Service levels 1-6
18
1,843
Table A1.15 CRS Australia—Australian workplace agreement salary ranges at 30 June 2008
Minimum ($)
Maximum ($)
SES Band 1 and Band 2
127,000
164,320
Executive Level 2A
103,945
104,923
Executive Level 2B
87,069
104,000
Executive Level 1
75,334
86,320
Rehabilitation Consultant Level 2
59,470
77,368
Rehabilitation Consultant Level 1
45,277
58,945
Australian Public Service Level 6
59,470
75,490
Australian Public Service Level 5
54,565
59,500
Australian Public Service Level 4
49,019
54,736
Australian Public Service Level 3
-
-
Australian Public Service Level 2
-
-
Australian Public Service Level 1
-
-
APPENDIX 2— FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) requires each Australian Government
department or agency to publish a statement setting out its functions, its arrangements for persons
outside the organisation to participate in policy making or implementation, the documents it has available
for public inspection and the procedures for gaining access to those documents.
Annual statistics on the handling of freedom of information (FOI) requests by Australian Government
departments and agencies are reported on the website of the Department of the Prime Minister and
Cabinet, www.pmc.gov.au.
Arrangements for outside participation
The Department of Human Services is open to the views of non-Australian Government organisations or
members of the community and provides opportunities to contribute to the development of policy and the
implementation of that policy. A non-Australian Government organisation or a person interested in
participating in the Department's formulation of policy or development of programs to implement a policy
should write to the Minister for Human Services or the Secretary of the Department of Human Services.
Core Department
Procedures and contact points
The contact officer at the Core Department can advise on FOI matters and discuss the nature and scope
of an intended request.
A request to the Core Department for access to documents under the FOI Act must be in writing, should
enclose a $30 application fee and should state an address in Australia to which notices can be sent. In
certain circumstances, the fee is not required or can be remitted.
FOI inquiries relating to the Core Department may be addressed to:
FOI contact officer
Department of Human Services
PO Box 3959
Manuka ACT 2603
Phone: 1300 55 44 79
Fax: 02 6223 4697
Categories of documents
The Core Department holds:

internal administration papers and records;

ministerial, interdepartmental and general correspondence and papers;

policy documents, including recommendations and decisions;

requests for legal advice and copies or notes of advice given, and other legal documents;

papers relating to new and amending legislation, drafting instructions and draft legislation;

media releases;

copies of text of various public addresses and presentations;

briefing papers prepared for the Minister for Human Services;

records of Cabinet matters, including Cabinet submissions and Cabinet minutes;

records prepared for the Executive Council;

documents that relate to the Core Department's specific functions—for example, finance;

manuals, instructions and guidelines and policies for staff;

reports relating to research and investigations;

tender and contract documents; and

software, including software documentation and operating instructions.
Child Support Agency
Procedures and contact points
A request to CSA for access to documents under the FOI Act must be in writing, should enclose a $30
application fee and should state an address in Australia to which notices can be sent. In certain
circumstances, the fee is not required or can be remitted.
Where people seek documents containing their own personal information, CSA follows informal
guidelines that eliminate the need for a formal FOI application in most cases.
General FOI information for the Child Support Agency (CSA) is available from the website at
www.csa.gov.au or from any CSA office or regional service centre.
Contact details for CSA offices and regional centres can be accessed from the website or by telephoning
131 272. FOI inquiries and applications relating to CSA may be addressed to:
Victoria and Tasmania
FOI contact officer
Child Support Agency
GPO Box 9815
Melbourne VIC 3001
Phone: 03 9659 5188
Fax: 03 9659 5854
Queensland
FOI contact officer
Child Support Agency
PO Box 9815
Brisbane QLD 4001
Phone: 07 3001 4151
Phone: 07 3001 4160
Fax: 07 3001 4391
Western Australia
FOI contact officer
Child Support Agency
PO Box 9815
Perth WA 6848
Phone: 08 9338 2584
Fax: 08
9338 2899
New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory
FOI contact officer
Child Support Agency
PO Box 474
Newcastle NSW 2300
Phone: 02 4908 7561
Fax: 02
4908 7873
South Australia and Northern Territory
FOI contact officer
Child Support Agency
PO Box 9815
Adelaide SA 5001
Phone: 08 81 12 1876
Fax: 08 81 12 1854
Categories of documents
CSA holds:

ministerial, interdepartmental and general correspondence;

CSA legislation and policy documents and procedural instructions;

proposals for legislation, drafting instructions and draft legislation;

copies of instruments of delegation or authorisation given to, or by, the Child Support Registrar and
regional registrars;

transcripts of proceedings before courts and tribunals;

financial reports, expenditure estimates and expenditure reports;

statistical reports detailing the number of child support cases, assessments issued and amounts
collected;

accounting records;

speeches by senior agency officers, media releases and press clippings; and

the CSA business plan.
Public access to documents
CSA makes child support forms, brochures, CD-ROMS and booklets freely available to the public. Free
copies of policy guidelines, procedural instructions, rulings and determinations are also available. Many
of these documents are available at www.csa.gov.au.
CRS Australia
Procedures and contact points
A request to CRS Australia for access to documents under the FOI Act must be in writing, should
enclose a $30 application fee and should state an address in Australia to which notices can be sent. In
certain circumstances, the fee is not required or can be remitted.
To enable a prompt response, the applicant should provide as much information as possible about the
documents they are seeking. It is also advisable for the applicant to include a telephone number or an
email address to allow officers handling their request to contact them if clarification is needed. Applicants
may be liable to pay charges at rates prescribed by the Freedom of Information (Fees and Charges)
Regulations.
Where people seek documents containing their own information, CRS Australia follows informal
guidelines that eliminate the need for a formal FOI application in most cases. An informal request for
access to documents can be made either verbally or in writing to the relevant rehabilitation consultant.
Information sheets outlining the FOI application process are available for potential applicants. CRS
Australia officers who can advise on FOI matters and discuss the nature and scope of an intended
request can be contacted through the FOI Coordinator, whose contact details are below.
FOI Coordinator
CRS Australia
PO Box 2691
Sydney NSW 2001
Phone: 02 9242 4852
Fax:
02 9242 4855
Categories of documents
CRS Australia holds:

briefs, submissions and reports;

administration documents from areas such as human resources, finance, property management and
resource management;

documents relating to the provision of CRS Australia rehabilitation services, individual case files and
papers;

separate records of management meetings, such as agendas and minutes;

general correspondence and associated categories of documents according to subject matter;

documents, maintained separately, which relate to specific functions;

ministerial, interdepartmental and general correspondence;

internal administration papers;

CRS Australia policy documents;

copies of instruments of delegation;

requests for legal advice and copies of notes and advice given;

briefing papers prepared for ministers, and answers to parliamentary questions;

training materials;

FOI request files and papers relevant to the consideration of those requests; and

financial reports, expenditure estimates and expenditure reports.
Public access to documents
CRS Australia makes brochures and pamphlets freely available to the public. Free copies of the service
charter, code of conduct and the mental health and acquired brain injury kits are also available.
Many of these documents are available at www.crsaustralia.gov.au.
APPENDIX 3—ADVERTISING AND MARKET RESEARCH
Section 311A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 requires the annual report of each Australian
Government department or agency to include a statement setting out particulars of the amounts paid by,
or on behalf of, the department or agency during the financial year to advertising agencies, market
research organisations, polling organisations, direct mail organisations and/or media advertising
organisations. For the 2007-08 financial year, particulars of payments of values less than $10,500
(inclusive of GST) are not required.
The following tables detail payments of $10,500 or more spent on advertising and market research by
the Core Department (Table A3.1), the Child Support Agency (Table A3.2) and CRS Australia (Table
A3.3).
Table A3.1 Core Department—payments for advertising and market research
Advertising agencies
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Eardrum Pty Ltd
To provide radio advertising services for the drought
assistance campaign and Southern Murray-Darling Basin
campaign
$102,924
George Patterson
Y&R
To provide creative advertising services for the drought
assistance campaign and Southern Murray-Darling Basin
campaign
$239,866
Grey Worldwide
Pty Ltd
To purchase creative advertising services for the electronic
Medicare claiming campaign and Access Card Program
web services
$579,334
Universal
McCann
To purchase advertising space for the drought assistance
campaign, Southern Murray-Darling Basin campaign and
electronic Medicare claiming campaign
$2,186,069
Publicis Mojo
To provide creative services for the Access Card Program
campaign
$80,007
Market research organisations
Advertising agencies
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Blue Moon
Research and
Planning Pty Ltd
To undertake market research for the electronic Medicare
claiming campaign
$90,487
Open Mind
Research
To undertake market research for the drought assistance
campaign and Southern Murray-Darling Basin campaign
$118,308
Orima Research
To undertake market research for the Access Card
Program campaign
$90,360
TNS
Development and planning for the customer experience
survey
$15,532
Polling organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Nil
Nil
Nil
Direct mail organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Nil
Nil
Nil
Media advertising organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
hma Blaze
To provide employment, public notice and tender
advertising
$170,360
Table A3.2 Child Support Agency—payments for advertising and market research
Advertising agencies
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Eardrum Pty Ltd
Provide creative advertising services (radio) for the Child
Support Scheme reforms communication campaign
$169,712
Eardrum Pty Ltd
Provide creative and production services for CSA
Roadshow presentations
$84,549
Advertising agencies
Newdcorp (T/A
Vinten Browning)
Provide creative advertising services (print) for the Child
Support Scheme reforms communication campaign
$63,741
Universal
McCann
Provide advertising space (media bookings) for phases 1, 2
and 3 of the Child Support Scheme reforms communication
campaign
$6,100,637#
Market research organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Clientwise
Provide monthly and quarterly Customers Having a Say
reports
$68,268
Department of
Human Services
Portfolio-wide customer experience survey—CSA's
contribution to DHS's contract with TNS
$29,158
Hinds Workforce
Research Pty Ltd
Measurement tool for collection data—employee
engagement surveys (internal staff research only)
$136,988
Millward Brown
Australia
Recording customer feedback (Voicebox) as part of the
data collection for Customers Having a Say reports
$34,100
Niche Strategic
Brand
Management
Undertake market research of proposed Indigenous
products and services
$26,529
Open Mind
Research Group
Undertake market research for the Child Support Scheme
reforms communication campaign
$556,080
Open Mind
Research Group
Recruit customers to participate in CSA Online and C3
Website usability review
$8,239
Open Mind
Research Group
Undertake market research for the development of a new
publication for teenagers from separated families
$14,850
Open Mind
Research Group
Undertake analysis of CSA staff roadshow surveys (internal
staff research only)
$23,907
The Rothcorp
Group
Undertake market research of customers preferences for
the distribution of information (channel strategy)
$70,598
Step Two
Designs
CSA Online and C3 website usability review (included
internal staff research)
$130,670
Polling organisations
Advertising agencies
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Nil
Nil
Nil
Direct mail organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Rothfield Print
Management
Provide storage, distribution and printing services for CSA
publications (including management of the CSA 1800 call
centre service and CSA Webmaster order service)
$4,381,486
Salmat Document
Distribution
Manage document distribution (including CSA customers'
monthly statements and CSA customer newsletters)
$4,018,190
Media advertising organisations
#
Payee
Purpose
Amount
hma Blaze
Place recruitment advertising (national and regional)
$808,785
hma Blaze
Place non-campaign, non-recruitment advertising
$179,579
Telstra White
Pages
Place advertising in the 2008 White Pages directory (capital
cities, regional directories and Telstra White Pages online)
$240,927
This figure includes the amount of $1,802,803 that was reported in the 2006-07 Annual Report which auditors
subsequently advised should be treated as a pre-payment and reported in the 2007-08 Annual Report.
Table A3.3 CRS Australia—payments for advertising and market research
Advertising agencies
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Grey Worldwide
To update CRS Australia's visual brand, including redesign
of publication templates
$62,398
Market research organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Orima Research
To market-test visual brand and numerous publications
$22,836
Polling organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Advertising agencies
Nil
Nil
Nil
Direct mail organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Nil
Nil
Nil
Media advertising organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
hma Blaze
To place non-campaign, non-recruitment advertising in
newspapers
$10,948
Sensis
To place advertising in local, regional and metropolitan
Yellow Pages directories
$110,456
Telstra
To place advertising in White Pages directories
$90,534
APPENDIX 4— CONSULTANCY SERVICES
Under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, Australian Government departments and
agencies are required to describe their policies for the selection and engagement of consultants, and to
publish details of all contracts let during the reporting year to the value of $10,000 or more in their annual
reports.
Information on expenditure on contracts and consultancies is also available on the AusTender website,
www.tenders.gov.au.
Principles
The Portfolio Department of Human Services, incorporating the Child Support Agency and CRS
Australia, follows the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines and adheres to the principle of achieving
value for money by:

encouraging competition by ensuring non- discrimination in procurement and pursuing competitive
procurement processes;

promoting the efficient, effective and ethical use of resources; and

making decisions in an accountable and transparent manner.
The use of consultants also reflects the department-wide principles of:

alignment with the Government's strategic direction;

innovation;

consultation with Human Services agencies to capitalise on purchasing; and

access by the Core Department and Human Services agencies to each other's contracts, where
appropriate.
Selection process
Table A4.1 notes the selection process used for each contract in 2007-08 for the Core Department;
Table A4.2, notes the process for the Child Support Agency; and Table A4.3, notes the process for CRS
Australia. The Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines allow consultancies to be procured through four
types of selection process:

open tender—a procurement procedure in which a request for tender is published inviting all
businesses that satisfy the conditions for participation to submit tenders. Public tenders are sought
from the marketplace using national and major metropolitan newspaper advertising and the
Australian Government AusTender internet site;

select tender—a procurement procedure in which the procuring agency selects which potential
suppliers are invited to submit tenders. Tenders are invited from a short list of competent suppliers;

direct sourcing—a form of restricted tendering, available only under certain defined circumstances,
with a single potential supplier or suppliers being invited to bid because of their unique expertise and/
or their special ability to supply the goods and/or services sought; and

panel—an arrangement under which a number of suppliers, usually selected through a single
procurement process, may supply property or services to an agency as specified in the panel
arrangements.
Table A4.1 Core Department—consultancy services to the value of $10,000 or more let during 2007-08
Consultant name
Description
Pricea
Process
Reasonb
Booz Allen
Hamilton
(Australia) Limited
Lead advisor services to
the Health and Social
Services Access Card
$5.196.600
Open
A.B.C
Booz Allen
Hamilton
(Australia) Limited
Lead advisor services to
the Health and Social
Services Access Card
$2,484,000
Open
A.B.C
Transaction
Resources Pty
Limited
Feasibility study on Income
Management Solutions
$77.000
Direct
A.B.C
Transaction
Resources Pty
Limited
Income Management Card
Pricing Model advice
$78,375
Direct
A.B.C
a
Contract prices include GST.
b
Justification for decision to use consultancy:
A—skills currently unavailable within agency
B—need for specialised or professional skills
C—need for independent research or assessment.
Table A4.2 Child Support Agency—consultancy services to the value of $10,000 or more let during
2007-08
Consultant name
Description
Price3
Process
Reasonb
Yellow Edge Pty
Ltd
Re-engineer CSA human
resource functions and
services
$20,000
Panel
A,B
PricewaterhouseC
oopers
Provide professional
services to assist in the
development and
negotiation of a new
funding agreement with the
Government
$275,000
Panel
A,B
KPMG
Undertake business
continuity development
project
$262,500
Panel
A,B
PricewaterhouseC
oopers
Provide professional
services to assist in the
development and
negotiation of a new
funding agreement with the
Government
$88,000
Panel
A,B
a
Contract prices include GST.
b
Justification for decision to use consultancy:
A—skills currently unavailable within agency
B—need for specialised or professional skills
C—need for independent research or assessment.
Table A4.3 CRS Australia—consultancy services to the value of $10,000 or more let during 200708
Consultant name
Description
Pricea
Process
Reasonb
Key Group
Energy Efficiency Review
$12.500
Direct
A. C
Solved at
Provision of advice to the
McConchie Pty Ltd Records Management
team regarding best
practice
$20.000
Direct
A. B
Heaney Blaylock
and Associates
Pty Ltd trading as
HBA Consulting
$30.000
Direct
A. C
Review of CRS Australia's
Certified Agreement
Consultant name
Description
Pricea
Process
Reasonb
Evolution
Research
Wage Assessment
Consultancy Services
$41.549
Direct
A. B
Heaney Blaylock
and Associates
Pty Ltd trading as
HBA Consulting
Provision of staff
grievance and code of
conduct investigative
services
$52.500
Select
A. C
Quality
Management
Solutions Pty Ltd
Provision of staff
grievance and code of
conduct investigative
services
$52.500
Select
A. C
Acumen Alliance
Investments Pty
Ltd
Provision of Financial
Statement Consulting
Services
$65.000
Open
A. B
iFocus Pty Ltd
Review and provision of
recommendations to
improve the usability of
CRS Australia's Website
$72.255
Select
A. C
International
Survey Research
Pty Ltd
Provision of an employee
staff survey/s
$110.000
Direct
A. C
a
Contract prices include GST.
b
Justification for decision to use consultancy:
A—skills currently unavailable within agency
B—need for specialised or professional skills
C—need for independent research or assessment.
APPENDIX 5—COMMONWEALTH DISABILITY STRATEGY
The Commonwealth Disability Strategy provides a framework to assist Australian Government
departments and agencies to meet their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
Australian Government organisations are required to report annually on their performance in
implementing the strategy.
The Core Department, the Child Support Agency and CRS Australia report their 2007-08 performance
against measures identified in the Department of Families, Housing, Community
Services and Indigenous Affairs' guide to reporting against the Commonwealth Disability Strategy.
Employer role activities are no longer required to be reported on in the annual report. The Core
Department reports on its performance against the roles of policy adviser (Table A5.1), purchaser (Table
A5.2) and provider (Table A5.3); CSA reports against the roles of policy advisor (Table A5.4), purchaser
(Table A5.5) and provider (Table A5.6); and CRS Australia against the roles of purchaser (Table A5.7)
and provider (Table A5.8).
Table A5.1 Core Department—policy adviser role
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 2008-09
Actions for
2008-09
New or revised
policy/program
proposals
assess impact
on the lives of
people with
disabilities prior
to decision
Percentage of
new or revised
policy/program
proposals that
document that
the impact of the
proposal was
considered prior
to the decisionmaking stage
revised
The Core Department, in
consultation with CSA
and CRS Australia, as
appropriate, assesses
the impact of new or
revised program/policy
proposals on the lives of
people with disabilities.
The Core
Department, in
consultation with
CSA and CRS
Australia, will
continue to ensure
that its policy
advising role
includes
consideration of
the impact of new
policy/program
proposals on
people with
disabilities.
Programs/
policies to be
assessed for
their impact on
the lives of
people with
disabilities
People with
disabilities are
included in
consultation
about new or
revised
policy/program
proposals
Percentage of
consultations
about new or
revised
policy/program
proposals that
are developed in
consultation with
people with
disabilities
The Core Department
consults the Human
Services agency
responsible for
delivering the proposed
policy and, where
appropriate, also
consults stakeholders
who may be affected by
the policy. The process
ensures that the service
delivery impact of new
policies on people living
with disabilities is
considered, and that
targeted communication
strategies are developed
to support successful
service delivery.
Policy advisers
ensure that any
consultation about
new or revised
policy/ program
proposals includes
disability
organisations and
advocacy groups.
Consultation
processes to
include disability
organisations
and advocacy
groups
Proposals to improve
the Job Capacity
Assessment and Job
Capacity Account
Programs were
developed in
consultation with
disability organisations
and advocacy groups,
Practical
approaches to
address issues
raised by Job
Capacity
Assessment
Review the
developed and
implemented in
consultation with
disability and
advocacy
organisations.
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 2008-09
Actions for
2008-09
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
including through the
Job Capacity
Assessment Reference
Group and formal
submissions to the Job
Capacity Assessment
Review.
Organisations which
were consulted in 200708 include the Australian
Federation of Disability
Organisations, National
Disability Services, the
Mental Health Council of
Australia, the Human
Rights and Equal
Opportunities
Commission and the
National Welfare Rights
Network.
Public
announcement
s of new,
revised or
proposed
policy/ program
initiatives are
available in
accessible
formats for
people with
disabilities in a
timely manner
Percentage of
new, revised or
proposed
policy/program
announcements
available in a
range of
accessible
formats
Policy announcements
are available on the
website in accessible
formats.
Time taken in
providing
announcements
in accessible
formats
Policy announcements
are available on the
website in accessible
formats in a timely
manner.
Job Capacity
Assessment (JCA)
information is available
in accessible formats on
the JCA website.
Table A5.2 Core Department—purchaser role
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 200809
Actions for
2008-09
Publicly
available
information on
agreed
purchasing
specifications
are available in
accessible
formats for
people with
disabilities
Percentage of
publicly
available
purchasing
specifications
requested and
provided in:
Purchasing and
procurement guidelines
are made available in
accessible formats
upon request.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Time taken to respond
to requests was not
recorded.
Provide
information in a
timely manner
Endeavour to
collect data on
the time taken
to provide
information

accessible
electronic
formats

accessible
formats other
than
electronic

Average time
taken to provide
accessible
material in:

electronic
formats
formats other
than electronic
Processes for
purchasing
goods or
services with a
direct impact
on the lives of
people with
disabilities are
developed in
consultation
with people
with disabilities
Percentage of
processes for
purchasing
goods or
services that
directly impact
on the lives of
people with
disabilities that
are developed in
consultation with
people with
disabilities
No tenders had a direct
impact on people with
disabilities.
JCA to consult
with stakeholders
including disability
organisations on
future tenders.
In 2008-09, the
Core
Department will
consult with
stakeholders
including
disability groups
on any future
JCA tenders.
Purchasing
specifications
and contract
requirements
for the
purchase of
goods and
Percentage of
purchasing
specifications for
goods and
services that
specify that
tender
All tender documents
made reference to
compliance with
relevant
Commonwealth
legislation, including the
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
services are
consistent with
the
requirements
of the
Disability
Discrimination
Act 1992
organisations
must comply
with the
Disability
Discrimination
Act 1992
Disability Discrimination
Act 1992.
Percentage of
contracts for the
purchase of
goods and
services that
require the
contractor to
comply with the
Disability
Discrimination
Act 1992
Percentage of
publicly
available
performance
reports against
the contract
purchasing
specification
requested and
provided in:
Publicly
available
performance
reporting
against the
purchase
contract
specifications
requested in
accessible
formats for
people with
disabilities is
provided

accessible
electronic
formats

accessible
formats other
than
electronic
Average time
taken to provide
accessible
material in:

electronic
formats
Goals for 200809
Actions for
2008-09
All contracts included
the requirement that a
contractor must meet all
requirements as
outlined in the Disability
Discrimination Act
1992.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Website material
complies with Web
Accessibility Guidelines
where possible.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Time taken to provide
information in an
accessible format not
recorded.
Provide
information in a
timely manner
Endeavour to
collect data on
the time taken
to provide
information
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure

Complaints/gri
evance
mechanisms,
including
access to
external
mechanisms,
in place to
address
concerns
raised about
provider's
performance
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 200809
Actions for
2008-09
All tender documents
contain specific clauses
on compliant-handling
procedures.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
formats other
than
electronic
Established
complaints/griev
ance
mechanisms,
including access
to external
mechanisms, in
operation
Table A5.3 Core Department—provider role
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 200809
Actions for
2008-09 j
Providers have
established
mechanisms
for quality
improvement
and assurance
Evidence of
quality
improvement
and assurance
systems in
operation
Job Capacity
Assessment Providers
are required to have
quality improvements
and assurance
mechanisms in place. In
addition, the Core
Department runs
independent quality
assurance audits to
provide feedback to
JCA providers and to
continually improve the
quality of the JCA
program.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Providers have
an established
service charter
that specifies
the roles of the
provider and
consumer and
service
standards
which address
Established
service charter
that adequately
reflects the
needs of people
with disabilities
in operation
Job Capacity
Assessment providers
are required to display
the DHS-approved JCA
charter in all their sites.
This document is also
available on the JCA
website. All JCA
providers are obliged
under the terms of their
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
accessibility
for people with
disabilities
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 200809
Actions for
2008-09 j
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
contract to operate from
premises that are fully
accessible to all
customers referred for
an assessment, and to
conform to all relevant
legislation.
DHS contracted the
services of a consultant
with expertise in
accessibility to develop
a fact sheet and
checklist about
accessibility
requirements.
The checklist has been
applied by site
managers at all JCA
sites. The Human
Rights and Equal
Opportunities
Commission helped to
produce these
documents.
Complaints/gri
evance
mechanisms,
including
access to
external
mechanisms,
in place to
address
concerns
raised about
performance
Established
complaints/griev
ance
mechanisms,
including access
to external
mechanisms, in
operation
Job Capacity
Assessment providers
are required to establish
and maintain a
complaints register for
all sites and ensure all
stakeholders are aware
of the complaints
handling procedures.
Customers are made
aware of complaint
handling processes
through the JCA
Service Charter and the
customer Fact Sheet.
This includes
information on access
to formal complaints
processes, such as the
Centrelink Customer
Relations Unit and the
Commonwealth
Ombudsman. Feedback
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 200809
Actions for
2008-09 j
is actively sought from
customers through the
JCA Hotline and
mailboxes managed by
the Core Department.
Data collected from
complaints is analysed
and informs
improvements to
service delivery.
Table A5.4 CSA—policy adviser role
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 200809
Actions for
2008-09 1
New or revised
policy/program
proposals
assess impact
on the lives of
people with
disabilities
prior to
decision
Percentage of
new or revised
policy/program
proposals that
document that
the impact of the
proposal was
considered prior
to the decisionmaking stage
CSA, in consultation
with the Core
Department and CRS
Australia as
appropriate, assessed
the impact of new or
revised program/policy
proposals on the lives
of people with
disabilities.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Currently, CSA
undertakes no annual
sampling of proposals it
develops.
People with
disabilities are
included in
consultation
about new or
revised
policy/program
proposals
Percentage of
consultations
about new or
revised
policy/program
proposals that
are developed in
consultation with
people with
disabilities
Policy advisers consult
the Human Services
agency responsible for
delivering the proposed
policy and, where
appropriate, also
consult stakeholders
who may be affected by
the policy. The process
ensures that the service
delivery impact of new
policies on people living
with disabilities is
considered and that
targeted communication
strategies are
developed to support
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Goals for 200809
Actions for
2008-09 1
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Policy announcements
are available on the
website in accessible
formats in a timely
manner.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Performance 2007-08
successful service
delivery.
Public
announcement
s of new,
revised or
proposed
policy/
program
initiatives are
available in
accessible
formats for
people with
disabilities in a
timely manner
Percentage of
new, revised or
proposed
policy/program
announcements
available in a
range of
accessible
formats
CSA provides
information to
customers online via
multiple formats (HTML,
RTF and PDF) to
improve accessibility.
CSA ensures that web
pages and PDF
documents are visible
to screen readers in an
appropriate reading
flow.
CSA also provides
media releases online
in HTML format and
information on major
initiatives in the three
formats above.
Time taken in
providing
announcements
in accessible
formats
Table A5.5 CSA—purchaser role
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 2008-09
Actions for
2008-09
Publicly
available
information on
agreed
purchasing
specifications
are available in
accessible
formats for
people with
disabilities
Percentage of
publicly available
purchasing
specifications
requested and
provided in:
100 per cent of these
documents are available
in electronic formats and
other accessible
formats.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements

accessible
electronic
formats

accessible
formats other
than
electronic
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 2008-09
Actions for
2008-09
Average time
taken to provide
accessible
material in:
The time taken to
provide these
documents has not been
routinely recorded.
Provide
information in a
timely manner
Endeavour to
collect data on
the time taken to
provide
information

electronic
formats

formats other
than
electronic
Processes for
purchasing
goods or
services with a
direct impact
on the lives of
people with
disabilities are
developed in
consultation
with people
with disabilities
Percentage of
processes for
purchasing
goods or
services that
directly impact
on the lives of
people with
disabilities that
are developed in
consultation with
people with
disabilities
No tenders placed had a
direct impact on people
with disabilities.
Ensure
consultation where
practical
Where practical,
ensure that any
purchasing
processes that
impact on
people with
disabilities take
account of
specific needs
and
requirements
Purchasing
specifications
and contract
requirements
for the
purchase of
goods and
services are
consistent with
the
requirements
of the Disability
Discrimination
Act 1992
Percentage of
purchasing
specifications for
goods and
services that
specify that
tender
organisations
must comply
with the
Disability
Discrimination
Act 1992
All tender documents
made reference to
compliance with relevant
Commonwealth
legislation, including the
Disability Discrimination
Act 1992.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Percentage of
contracts for the
purchase of
goods and
services that
require the
contractor to
comply with the
Disability
All contracts included
the requirement that a
contractor must meet all
requirements as outlined
in the Disability
Discrimination Act 1992.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 2008-09
Actions for
2008-09
Website material
complies with Web
Accessibility Guidelines
where possible.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
No reporting was
requested.
Provide
information in
accessible formats
where requested
in a timely manner
Provide
reporting in
accessible
formats
requested in a
timely manner
All tender documents
contain specific clauses
on complaints-handling
procedures.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Discrimination
Act 1992
Publicly
available
performance
reporting
against the
purchase
contract
specifications
requested in
accessible
formats for
people with
disabilities is
provided
Percentage of
publicly available
performance
reports against
the contract
purchasing
specification
requested and
provided in:

accessible
electronic
formats

accessible
formats other
than
electronic
Average time
taken to provide
accessible
material in:
Complaints/gri
evance
mechanisms,
including
access to
external
mechanisms,
in place to
address
concerns
raised about
provider's
performance

electronic
formats

formats other
than
electronic
Established
complaints/griev
ance
mechanisms,
including access
to external
mechanisms, in
operation
Table A5.6 CSA—provider role
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 2008-09
Actions for
2008-09
Providers have
established
mechanisms
for quality
improvement
and assurance
Evidence of
quality
improvement
and assurance
systems in
operation
CSA has developed and
implemented a
comprehensive
integrated business
management system
that includes
frameworks for
managing quality
improvement and
assurance.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Providers have
an established
service charter
that specifies
the roles of the
provider and
consumer and
service
standards
which address
accessibility for
people with
disabilities
Established
service charter
that adequately
reflects the
needs of people
with disabilities
in operation
CSA has a client service Maintain current
charter that specifies the arrangements
roles of the provider and
the consumer; this
document is available on
the CSA website.
Maintain current
arrangements
Complaints/gri
evance
mechanisms,
including
access to
external
mechanisms,
in place to
address
concerns
raised about
performance
Established
complaints/griev
ance
mechanisms,
including access
to external
mechanisms, in
operation
CSA has a wellestablished complaints
service that includes
access to external
mechanisms such as the
Commonwealth
Ombudsman.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Information from
complaints is fed back to
business decision
makers to improve
service delivery.
Table A5.7 CRS Australia—purchaser role
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 2008-09
Actions for
2008-09
Publicly
available
information on
agreed
Percentage of
publicly available
purchasing
specifications
Purchasing and
procurement guidelines
were made available in
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
purchasing
specifications
is available in
accessible
formats for
people with
disabilities
requested and
provided in:
accessible formats upon
request.

accessible
electronic
formats

accessible
formats other
than
electronic
Average time
taken to provide
accessible
material in:
Processes for
purchasing
goods or
services with a
direct impact
on the lives of
people with
disabilities are
developed in
consultation
with people
with disabilities

electronic
formats

formats other
than
electronic
Percentage of
processes for
purchasing
goods or
services that
directly impact
on the lives of
people with
disabilities that
are developed in
consultation with
people with
disabilities
Measured by
annual
assessment of
new purchasing
processes that
directly impact
on the lives of
people with
disabilities,
developed by the
agency
Goals for 2008-09
Actions for
2008-09
All requests for
information (in
accessible formats)
were fulfilled within an
average time of 24
hours.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
All contracts included
the requirement that a
contractor must meet all
requirements as outlined
in the Disability
Discrimination Act 1992.
Maintain current
arrangements
Continue to
ensure that any
purchasing
processes that
impact on
people with
disabilities take
account of
specific needs
and
requirements.
Internal audit to
be conducted by
National Service
Delivery Quality
Framework
Team to ensure
all client
purchases of
goods and
services meet
the agreed
program goal
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 2008-09
Actions for
2008-09
Purchasing
specifications
and contract
requirements
for the
purchase of
goods and
services are
consistent with
the
requirements
of the Disability
Discrimination
Act 1992
Percentage of
purchasing
specifications for
goods and
services that
specify that
tender
organisations
must comply
with the
Disability
Discrimination
Act 1992
All tender documents
made reference to
compliance with relevant
Commonwealth
legislation, including the
Disability Discrimination
Act 1992.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Percentage of
contracts for the
purchase of
goods and
services that
require the
contractor to
comply with the
Disability
Discrimination
Act 1992
All contracts included
the requirement that a
contractor must meet all
requirements as outlined
in the Disability
Discrimination Act 1992.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Percentage of
publicly available
performance
reports against
the contract
purchasing
specification
requested and
provided in:
Website material
complied with Web
Accessibility Guidelines
where possible.
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
CRS Australia did not
release any
performance measures
or reports against
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Publicly
available
performance
reporting
against the
purchase
contract
specifications
requested in
accessible
formats for
people with
disabilities is
provided

accessible
electronic
formats

accessible
formats other
than
electronic
Average time
taken to provide
Performance
indicator
Complaints/gri
evance
mechanisms,
including
access to
external
mechanisms,
in place to
address
concerns
raised about
provider's
performance
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
accessible
material in:
contract purchasing
specifications.
Performance reports can
be made available (in
accessible formats)
upon request.

electronic
formats

formats other
than
electronic
Established
complaints/griev
ance
mechanisms,
including access
to external
mechanisms, in
operation
All tender documents
contained specific
clauses on complainthandling procedures.
Goals for 2008-09
Actions for
2008-09
Maintain current
arrangements
Maintain current
arrangements
Table A5.8 CRS Australia—provider role
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 2008-09
Actions for
2008-09
Providers have
established
mechanisms
for quality
improvement
and assurance
Evidence of
quality
improvement
and assurance
systems in
operation
In 2007-08, CRS
Australia:
In 2008-09, CRS
Australia will aim
to achieve:
In 2008-09,
CRS Australia
will:
 successful
review of its
ongoing
compliance with
the Disability
Services
Standards; and
 undergo a
review audit
to ensure
ongoing
compliance
with the
Disability
Services
Standards;
 was recertified under
the Disability Services
Standards of the
Disability Services Act
1986;
 continued
implementing the
Quest for Quality
Program cycle and
use of quality data to
ensure the highest
standard of service
was provided to
clients with
disabilities; and
 continued evaluating
quality in service
 improved quality
of feedback
from clients
regarding their
experience of
CRS Australia's
service and
whether CRS
Australia met
 continue to
implement the
Quest for
Quality
Program
cycle, and use
the results to
identify any
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
delivery through
quality assurance and
improvement reviews
and analysis of client
and customer
feedback.
Goals for 2008-09
their
expectations.
Actions for
2008-09
areas for
improvement
to ensure
clients receive
the highest
standard of
service; and
 implement
new client
feedback
questionnaire
s to ensure
CRS Australia
is effectively
meeting the
needs of
clients with a
disability.
Providers have
an established
service charter
that specifies
the roles of the
provider and
consumer and
service
standards
which address
accessibility for
people with
disabilities
Established
service charter
that adequately
reflects the
needs of people
with disabilities
in operation
CRS Australia staff
Maintain current
observed the standards
arrangements
set out in the DEEWR
Vocational Rehabilitation
Services (VRS) Service
Guarantee and
Employment and
Related Services Code
of Practice in the
delivery of vocational
rehabilitation services.
The code of practice
outlines the commitment
vocational rehabilitation
service providers make
to providing high-quality
services to job seekers
on behalf of the
Australian Government.
The documents are
available in multilingual
translations from
www.workplace.gov.au.
CRS Australia
will obtain
feedback from
clients regarding
their satisfaction
with the
information
given to them
when they
commence
services.
Interpreter
services will
continue to be
made available
to clients who
require
assistance to
understand the
VRS Service
Guarantee and
Employment
and Related
Services Code
of Practice and
the CRS
Australia
Service Charter.
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 2008-09
Actions for
2008-09
Maintain current
arrangements
Ongoing review
and
enhancement of
CRS Australia's
complaints
mechanism as
required will be
undertaken.
CRS Australia's service
charter continued to be
available online at the
CRS Australia website,
www.crsaustralia.gov.au
, which isWC3 compliant
for accessibility.
Appropriate assistance
was arranged where the
client may have had
difficulties in
understanding the
service charter; for
example, where an
Auslan interpreter may
have been required.
Complaints/gri
evance
mechanisms,
including
access to
external
mechanisms,
in place to
address
concerns
raised about
performance
Established
complaints/griev
ance
mechanisms,
including access
to external
mechanisms, in
operation
CRS Australia had a
comprehensive
complaints/ grievance
mechanism which
permitted access to
internal and external
mechanisms such as the
Administrative Appeals
Tribunal, the
Commonwealth
Ombudsman and the
Complaints Resolution
and Referral Service.
Feedback was actively
sought from clients and
purchasers.
Data collected from
complaints was
analysed and integrated
into the business
planning process to
improve service delivery.
A simple feedback form
and office contact details
were available on the
CRS Australia website,
www.crsaustralia.gov.au
.
A complaints
fact sheet will be
accessible to
clients regarding
CRS Australia's
complaints
process.
Six-monthly
complaints
reports will be
provided to the
Executive.
Concerns raised
by clients in
client feedback
questionnaires
will be
monitored at the
local level.
Complaint
trends will be
Performance
indicator
Performance
measure
Performance 2007-08
Goals for 2008-09
Actions for
2008-09
analysed and
integrated in the
business
planning
process to
improve service
delivery.
APPENDIX 6—ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
This appendix reports on the Portfolio Department's performance in relation to ecologically sustainable
development and section 516A(6) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
(EPBC Act). Section 516A of the EPBC Act requires Australian Government departments and agencies
to report on:

how the organisation's outcomes, activities and administration of legislation during the period
accorded with the principles of ecologically sustainable development (ESD)—section 516A(6)(a);

how the outcomes specified for the organisation in an Appropriations Act relating to the period
contributed to ESD—section 516A(6)(b);

the effect of the organisation's activities on the environment—section 516A(6)(c);

any measures that the organisation is taking to minimise the environmental impact of its activities—
(section 516A(6)(d); and

any mechanisms for reviewing the effectiveness of those measures—(section 516A(6)(e).
Core Department
The Core Department is committed to the protection of the environment and recognises its responsibility
to the Australian Government and the wider community to minimise the impact of its operations on the
environment.
The following sections specifically address the requirements of section 516A(6) of the EPBC Act.
Activities and administration of legislation accord with ESD principles
The Core Department did not administer any legislation that impacts directly on ecologically sustainable
development. In its procurement policies, its motor vehicle policy and its practice of sustainable office
management, it accords with ESD principles. Details of those policies and practices are reported under
'Measures taken to minimise the effect of activities on the environment'.
Outcomes contribute to ESD
No outcomes within the Core Department contributed to ecologically sustainable development.
Activities that affect the environment
Due to the Core Department's shared tenancy arrangements, electricity is the only building- related
consumable that can be accurately measured. The Core Department's total electricity use for 2007-08
was 339,509 kilowatts, equating to greenhouse gas emissions of 310 tonnes of carbon dioxide
equivalent (CO2-e).
During 2007-08, the Core Department reduced its vehicle fleet by 50 per cent. This equated to a
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 0.6 tonnes of CO -e.
Table A6.1 sets out the Core Department's impact on the environment as measured by its energy use,
greenhouse gas emissions and other measurable factors.
Table A6.1 Environmental effect of Core Department activities
Measure
Actual 2007-08
Actual 2006-07
Rating
Information
Gas consumption
x
x
x
Data available 200809
Greenhouse gas
emissions
310 tonnes
x
Comparison available
in 2008-09
Energy use
339,509 kWh
x
Comparison available
in 2008-09
Leased square
metres
3,475
2,000.5
Reflects increase in
staff numbers
kWh per m2 of
leased area
97.70
x
Office paper and
cardboard recycled
✓✓
Paper recycling
encouraged
Recycling introduced
Mobile phones and
batteries recycled
3 kg
0 kg
✓✓
Used toner recycled
All
All
✓✓✓
Commingle
recycling
Yes
No
✓✓
Total paper reams
used
5,200
3,900
Reflects increase in
staff numbers
Change in
consumption (%)
33% increase
x
Reflects increase in
staff numbers
White paper with
recycled component
(%)
100%
x
√√√ Positive results achieved
√√ Significant progress
▲ Yet to commence
✓✓✓
Trial system to sort
commingle waste
underway
x
Not yet being reported
Measures taken to minimize the effect of activities on the environment
In 2007–08, the Core Department implemented the following measures to improve environmental
performance and to raise staff awareness of the importance of reducing the effect of the Core
Department’s activities on the environment.
Greenhouse Challenge Plus
As part of the Core Department's commitment to the Greenhouse Challenge Plus program, an energy
and waste audit was conducted in January 2008 to identify areas for improvement. An environmental
resource management student from the Australian National University conducted the audit during a 12day placement with the Core Department as part of the Green Steps program. The audit and its findings
were publicised and discussed across the Core Department.
In response to the audit's findings, the Core Department replaced all building lighting with more energyefficient alternatives, implemented a 'mini-bin' program to encourage recycling and raise awareness, set
the default printing settings to double-sided black and white for all fleet printers, and encouraged staff to
turn off computers and lighting in their areas at the end of each working day.
Reducing the impact of fleet vehicles
In line with Australian Government policy, ethanol-enriched fuel continues to be used in the Core
Department's vehicles whenever possible. By June 2008, the rate of ethanol use in the Core Department
was 96 per cent of fuel consumption, up from 15.64 per cent in 2006-07.
Reducing energy consumption
The Core Department purchased electricity with at least 10 per cent greenpower, and as noted above,
replaced all building lighting with more energy efficient alternatives. Energy use was continually
monitored to identify potential for further efficiencies and opportunities to enhance the Core
Department's environmental performance.
Mechanisms for reviewing and increasing the effectiveness of measures to
minimise the impact of activities on the environment
The Core Department is currently developing processes, including an environmental management
system, to assess and build on the environmental improvements implemented in 2007-08.
Child Support Agency
In 2007-08, CSA continued to develop a corporate environmental management system (EMS), based on
existing CSA and Portfolio Department best practice, to satisfy the requirements of:

compliance with ISO 14001:2004 (on the requirements for an EMS);

Australian Government environmental guidelines;

the Greenhouse Challenge Plus Cooperative Agreement;

the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts' Energy Efficiency in Government
Operations (EEGO) policy; and

recommendations in the report of the Australian National Audit Office's cross- portfolio audit of green
office procurement (tabled in parliament on 22 December 2005).
Environmental issues were highlighted for CSA staff through regular education and reminder campaigns,
and the promotion of events such as World Environment Day and Earth Hour.
The following sections specifically address CSA's environmental performance in terms of the
requirements of section 516A of the EPBC Act.
Activities and administration of legislation accord with ESD legislation
The Child Support Agency did not administer any legislation that impacts directly on ecologically
sustainable development.
Outcomes contribute to ESD
No outcomes within the Child Support Agency contributed to ecologically sustainable development.
Activities that affect the environment
Due to the Child Support Agency's tenancy arrangements, electricity is the only building related
consumable that can be accurately measured. However, reliance on the building owners to supply usage
data for several sites means that the usage data is not currently available. It will be reported as part of
the EEGO Policy reporting data, due by 31 October 2008.
During 2007-08, the Child Support Agency increased its vehicle fleet by seven cars. Data on fuel usage
and greenhouse gas emissions is not currently available from Leaseplan.
Table A6.2 sets out the Child Support Agency's impact on the environment as measured by its energy
use, greenhouse gas emissions and other measurable factors.
Measures taken to minimise the affect of activities on the environment
Environmental management system
In 2007-08, CSA continued to develop a corporate environmental management system (EMS), based on
existing CSA and DHS best practice, to satisfy the requirements of:

compliance with ISO 14001:2004—Environmental Management System;

Australian Government environmental guidelines;

the Greenhouse Challenge Plus Cooperative Agreement; and

the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts' Energy EEGO Policy.
Table A6.2 Environmental effect of Child Support Agency activities
Measure
Actual 2007-08
Actual 2006-07
Rating
Information
Gas consumption
none
none
x
No gas
consumption
Greenhouse gas
emissions
Data not available until
3/10/08
7,069 tonnes CO2
(including fuel)
Energy use
Data not available until
3/10/08
7,037,236 kWh
Tenant Light and
Power
Leased square
metres
63,184
62,493
Measure
Actual 2007-08
Actual 2006-07
Rating
kWh per m2 of
leased area
Data not available until
3/10/08
112.6
Office paper and
cardboard
recycled
All sites
All sites
Mobile phones
and batteries
recycled
All sites
All sites
Used toner
recycled
All sites
All sites
Commingle
recycling
15 out of 17 sites
15 out of 17 sites
✓✓✓
Total paper reams
used
30,840 reams A4 office
37,787 reams A4
office
✓✓✓
Information
✓✓✓
✓✓✓
✓✓✓
18% decrease
✓✓✓
Change in
consumption (%)
18% decrease
White paper with
recycled
component (%)
100% of office white
paper has 50%
recycled
✓✓✓
✓✓
✓✓✓
Approx 50% for office
white paper
Positive results achieved
Significant progress
▲ Yet to commence
x
Not yet being reported
Note: Complete energy usage and emission data will not be available until approximately 31 October 2008. It is difficult to
gather energy data because of the number of sites and the range of electricity contracts.
Other measures taken
A range of measures were taken to reduce CSA's environmental impact. They included:

requiring all fleet vehicles to have four cylinders, a Green Vehicle Guide rating of 10.5 or greater and
a fuel consumption rating of no more than 10.8 litres per 100 kilometres;

ensuring all fleet vehicles are members of Greenfleet to offset emissions;

continuing to increase the proportion of E10 fuel consumed in response to the Australian
Government ethanol-blended fuel policy for fleet vehicles;

monitoring the amounts of paper used, and the number of printer and fax cartridges recycled;

increasing the recycled content of office cut paper to 50 per cent;

monitoring the use of energy and subsequent emission production;

increasing the number of sites with recycling facilities;

negotiating to have a 'green lease schedule' attached to the leases of four sites, two to be finalised,
setting out the legal mechanisms for CSA and the building owners to achieve energy efficiency in
leases;

working with building owners and agents to implement the terms of the 2006 EEGO Policy to ensure
the appropriate NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System, formerly Australian
Building Greenhouse Rating) ratings are achieved;

reviewing the CSA Fit out Guidelines to ensure a reduction in environmental impact in line with the
initiatives of the EEGO Policy; and

installing, where feasible, separate tenant water meters to monitor water usage more effectively.
Mechanisms for reviewing and increasing the effectiveness of measures to
minimise the impact of activities on the environment
As part of its development of an environmental management system, the Child Support Agency is
continuing to develop processes to assess and build on the environmental improvements implemented
in 2007-08.
CRS Australia
CRS Australia is committed to the protection of the environment and recognises its responsibility to the
Australian Government and the wider community to minimise the impact of its operations on the
environment. An environmental management system is in place and all staff have access to guidelines
to help them consider environmental objectives.
The following sections specifically address the requirements of section 516A(6) of the EPBC Act.
Activities and administration of legislation accord with ESD principles
CRS Australia does not administer any legislation that directly impacts on ecologically sustainable
development principles identified under section 516A(6)(a) of the EPBC Act. In its procurement policies,
its motor vehicle policy and its practice of sustainable office management, it accords with ESD principles.
Details of those policies and practices are reported under 'Measures taken to minimise the effect of
activities on the environment'.
Outcomes contribute to ESD
CRS Australia activities promoted and facilitated improving the health, skills and employment of
individuals with a disability or health condition. Its outcomes were relevant to ESD through the
maintenance and development of social and economic capital, but did not contribute to ESD principles
identified under section 516A(6)(a) of the EPBC Act.
Activities that affect the environment
CRS Australia leased more than 170 offices nationally with mostly small tenancies. Due to lease
arrangements, CRS Australia was limited in terms of controlling environmental issues and measuring
outcomes. Energy consumption was the only consumable that could be accurately measured.
Policy and procedures are in place for managing energy consumption. Energy consumption was
reported to management on a monthly basis, and to the Australian Greenhouse Office where the data
was released in the public domain.
CRS Australia's total electricity use and gas emissions are outlined in Table A6.3.
Table A6.3 Environmental effect of CRS Australia activities
Measure
Actual 2007-08
Actual 2006-07
Gas consumption
Data not available
until 31/10/08
448,376 MJ
Greenhouse gas
emissions
Data not available
until 31/10/08
Energy use
Data not available
until 31/10/08
6,029,166 kWh
Leased square
metres
44,221
43,700
KWh per m2 of leased
area
Data not available
until 31/10/08
135.28
Office paper and
cardboard recycled
Yes
Yes
✓✓
Mobile phones and
batteries recycled
146
0
✓✓✓
Disposal process
for recycling
(mobile phones
and batteries) was
introduced
Used toner recycled
913
Yes
✓✓✓
Data on user toner
recycled was not
collated in 200607
Commingle recycling
Yes
No
✓✓
One site currently
being trialled
Total paper reams
used
24,265
24,294
✓✓✓
Change in
consumption (%)
Static
Static
White paper with
recycled component
(%)
86%
11%
✓✓✓
Positive results achieved
✓✓ Significant progress
Rating
✓✓✓
Information
▲ Yet to commence
X
Not yet being reported
MJ = megajoules; GJ = gigajoules
Note: Complete energy usage and emission data will not be available until approximately 31 October 2008 to meet the Online
System for Comprehensive Activity Reporting. It is difficult to gather energy data because of the number of sites and the
range of electricity contracts.
Measures taken to minimise the effect of activities on the environment
In 2007-08, CRS Australia actively promoted and implemented its Environmental Management System
(EMS). The EMS, which is based on the international specification for an environmental management
system, ISO 14001:2004, incorporates environmental considerations in business planning and decisionmaking processes.
CRS Australia signed up to the Greenhouse Challenge Plus in July 2007. Greenhouse Challenge Plus
enables Australian companies to form working partnerships with the Australian Government to improve
energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Reducing energy consumption
As part of CRS Australia's commitment to reducing energy use and meeting government greenhouse
gas emission targets, energy audits were undertaken in seven offices in late 2007 and the
recommendations are currently being implemented.
The measures include:

replacing incandescent lighting with T5 lighting (narrow diameter fluorescent light tubes) where
possible;

encouraging the use of sleep modes for computing and other office machinery; and

using timer switches and sensor switches.
In December 2007, CRS Australia took out new energy supplier contracts with a 5 per cent greenpower
component in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT (energy markets
have not been deregulated in the other states and the Northern Territory).
Reducing the impact of vehicles
In January 2008, CRS Australia renewed its subscription of all 225 vehicles to Greenfleet, a not-for-profit
organisation that focuses on reducing the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from Australian transport.
Greenfleet planted 3,825 trees for CRS Australia, 17 trees for each vehicle subscribed.
CRS Australia's motor vehicle policy required four-cylinder cars to be used for the business fleet in
metropolitan offices, promoted the use of alternative fuel vehicles, and encouraged the use of ethanolblended fuel in government vehicles.
In 2007-08, on average, all vehicles in the CRS Australia fleet exceeded the Government Green Vehicle
Guide efficiency target, and 50 per cent of the CRS Australia fleet was rated in the top half of the Green
Vehicle Guide. The Green Vehicle Guide determines a car's environmental impact in terms of its fuel
consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
CRS Australia also aimed to reduce the travel required by clients by establishing visiting services to rural
and remote areas and by exploring public transport options for clients where appropriate.
Reducing waste and promoting recycling
CRS Australia continued its active participation in the National Packaging Covenant to reduce waste and
promote recycling by enabling multifunction devices, making duplex printing the default on replacement
printers, encouraging the use of electronic publishing and communication, conducting awareness
campaigns to encourage less printing, and purchasing paper with 50 per cent recycled content. In 200708, by comparison with 2006-07 consumption figures, CRS Australia increased its use of paper with a
recycled component by 681 per cent. Paper usage figures are given in Table A6.3.
Green office procurement and office management
CRS Australia took part in the ANAO Green Procurement and Sustainable Office Management survey
undertaken in April 2008.
This survey was undertaken to assess and report on the progress being made by government agencies
in achieving better practice in green office procurement and sustainable office management. Results are
still to be published.
CRS Australia's procurement and property contracts made specific mention of:

whole-of-life costing being used in tender evaluation;

environmental policy and procurement using recycled products, where appropriate and cost-effective,
for property fit-out requests for tender;

a requirement for contractors to try to maintain a reduction in the use of hazardous material within
CRS Australia premises; and

a requirement for the service provider to comply with the National Code of Practice for the
Construction Industry and the Australian Government Industry Guidelines for the National Code of
Practice for the Construction Industry.
Contributing to broader environmental outcomes
CRS Australia participated in broader environmental initiatives such as Earth Hour 2008 and Clean Up
Australia Day. Information was promoted on both the CRS Australia intranet and the external website for
client access.
Publishing in alternative formats
CRS Australia redeveloped its website (www.crsaustralia.gov.au) to make more information available
online, including downloadable versions of publications. Where possible, paper with recycled content
was used for printed stationery and publications. Electronic versions of letterhead and publications were
available on CRS Australia's intranet site to enable staff to access these materials and print locally if
required.
Mechanisms for reviewing and increasing the effectiveness of measures to
minimise the impact of activities on the environment
ESD principles were included in the CRS Australia Strategic Plan 2006-2009, and were a standing
requirement for all service delivery and corporate business plans.
CRS Australia reported monthly through the KPI report to the Core Department on the use of initiatives
to improve the organisation's impact on the environment.
An internal National Staff Awards scheme included a category on environmental initiatives. A team or an
individual could nominate for an award where they have achieved outstanding environmental results.
Mechanisms to increase the effectiveness of measures to minimise CRS Australia's impact on the
environment included raising staff awareness by:

having an online environmental discussion group and publicising initiatives that came out of it;

including environmental articles in the daily media scan;

publishing environmental hints, tips and articles on the intranet site;

promoting and participating in external environmental initiatives such as Earth Hour 2008 and Clean
Up Australia Day;

participating in the Portfolio Department's environmental forum;

on request, holding environmental training sessions in divisions; and

reinvigorating the national Green Team (a network of voluntary environmental champions) and
assisting them with local activities.
APPENDIX 7—OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Section 74 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 (OH&S Act) requires each Australian
Government department to include details in its annual report of:

the health and safety management arrangements of the department;

initiatives taken during the year to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of employees and
contractors of the department;

the health and safety outcomes as a result of initiatives taken during the year;

statistics of any accidents or dangerous occurrences during the year that arose out of the conduct of
undertakings by the department or authority and that required the giving of notice under section 68 of
the OH&S Act;

any investigations conducted during the year that relate to undertakings carried on by the employer,
including details of all notices given to the employer under sections 29, 46 and 47 of the OH&S Act
during the year; and

such other matter required by guidelines approved on behalf of the Parliament by the Joint
Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.
Core Department
Amendments to the OH&S legislation in 2007 introduced new requirements to be implemented in
consultation with employees before September 2008.
In accordance with the new requirements, during 2007-08 the Core Department reviewed its current
arrangements for electing and training health and safety representatives and deputies. In consultation
with all staff, the Core Department established designated work groups and developed health and safety
management arrangements.
The Core Department developed and implemented new arrangements for the Health and Safety
Committee, with membership drawn from a cross-section of the Core Department. The Committee
reports quarterly through the Executive Management Committee to the Secretary. The Committee
facilitated consultations with managers and staff on ways to support and meet obligations under the new
requirements.
The Core Department also participated in the Human Services cross-agency working group to identify,
develop and implement consistent strategies to address OH&S requirements.
During 2007-08, the Core Department worked to support the health and safety of its employees by:

providing targeted education and information;

undertaking specific activities, such as the Core Department's Health Week, which made available
free influenza vaccinations and health screens, which included checks of blood pressure, cholesterol
levels, blood sugar levels, body fat percentage and body mass index, and health information
sessions;

providing workstation assessments for all new employees and existing employees whose work
circumstances changed;

including training in OH&S requirements in orientation programs for new employees; and

providing training for first aid officers to cover the Core Department's work areas.
In 2007-08:

no employees lodged a successful compensation claim;

no notices were given under section 68 (accidents or dangerous occurrences) of the OH&S Act; and

no notices were given under section 29 (provisional improvement notices), section 46 (power to issue
prohibition notices) or section 47 (power to issue improvement notices) of the OH&S Act.
Child Support Agency
In 2007-08, CSA worked to improve overall health and safety across the organisation by:

reviewing and updating existing OH&S policies and guidelines, including strengthening the
Workplace Harassment Policy by including references to bullying and developing new policies on
early intervention and alcohol and drugs. Draft health and safety management arrangements were
also developed to support the departmental restructure that is due to come into effect on 1 July 2008;

conducting health and safety risk assessments for new projects, system upgrades and new work
sites;

conducting quarterly workplace inspections at each site to identify and address any potential OH&S
risks;

conducting workstation assessments for new staff and to support accommodation moves and to meet
individual needs;

increasing resources and organisational focus on the provision of effective early intervention support
strategies;

developing a Partnership Agreement to formalise roles and responsibilities and other arrangements
for the provision of rehabilitation case management and underlying support services;

holding regular rehabilitation case manager network meetings, including a conference in August
2007, to build capability, share information, and resolve issues;

centralising and documenting processes to effectively manage workers compensation suspensions,
reconsiderations and Administrative Appeals Tribunal applications;

supporting Comcare's targeted investigation on bullying in the workplace. The investigation
concluded that CSA had met its duty of care and other requirements under the OH&S Act and
associated regulations focusing on workplace bullying;

implementing an Attendance Management Protocol to ensure appropriate and consistent
management of unplanned leave and to support early referral to a rehabilitation case manager where
appropriate;

delivering 'Leadership for Better Workplaces', a training program designed to assist senior and line
managers in their day-to-day management of staff in the arena of positive work behaviours, injury
management, and injury and illness prevention;

establishing and managing new contract management arrangements to provide improved employee
assistance support and medical services; and

undertaking a range of activities focusing on health and wellbeing, including funding influenza
vaccinations, publishing articles in a variety of communication channels and holding seminars and
awareness sessions.
By establishing targets and devolving the workers compensation premium, CSA actively engaged its
leaders to lower the number of claims and reduce the premium. Better reporting and analysis of claims
information provided managers with status reports on their progress towards targets. Table A7.1 shows
the success of the strategies and targets in reducing Comcare claims and lost time.
During 2007-08, CSA had seven workplace incidents that required notification to Comcare under section
68 of the OH&S Act. No notices were given by or to CSA under sections 29, 46, 47 or 68 of the OH&S
Act during the year.
Table A7.1 CSA—workers compensation claims 2006-07 and 2007-08
2006-07
2007-08
Decrease (%)
New claims lodged with Comcare (lodged in
that calendar year regardless of date of injury)
89
50
44
Claims accepted by Comcare (with a date of
injury in that financial year)
54
29
46
New claims that incurred five or more days of
incapacity (per 1,000 full-time equivalent
employees)
14.3
4.2
71
Total weeks of compensation leave incurred
by new and existing claims (per 1,000 fulltime equivalent employees)
498
308
38
CRS Australia
During 2007-08, CRS Australia notified Comcare of 40 workplace incidents under section 68 of the
OH&S Act. No directions were given under sections 29, 46 or 47 of the OH&S Act. CRS Australia lodged
19 compensation claims with Comcare, of which 16 have been accepted.
The staff health team provided support to staff with both compensable and non-compensable conditions
and to clients who had injured themselves while on program. During the year, the team provided 34
'fitness for continued duties' processes and case management for 53 ongoing compensation claims. The
staff health advisers also documented 64 'one-off' cases (cases that can be handled quickly and that are
not ongoing).
Staff health advisers focused on early intervention and in assisting with return-to-work programs. An
Early Intervention Scheme that commenced on 1 July 2007 provided funds to managers to implement
early interventions, such as workstation assessments and engagement of rehabilitation consultants to
facilitate the safe early return of ill and injured staff.
The CRS Australia National OH&S Committee continued to meet every six weeks by teleconference,
with a two-day face-to-face meeting in September 2007, to review progress against the Organisational
Occupational Health and Safety Business Plan 2006-08.
The meetings also considered what would be included in the CRS Australia Health and Safety
Management Arrangements document.
Following a consultation process with staff, the Health and Safety Management Arrangements were
endorsed. Action is underway to increase the designated working groups from 15 to 23.
The Job Seeker Aggression Policy and Guidelines were reviewed and an organisational risk assessment
of job-seeker aggression was conducted in response to the increased number of incidents. CRS
Australia will introduce local response plans in 2008-09.
CRS Australia also revised its policies and guidelines on rehabilitation, infection control and body
stressing (including occupational overuse syndrome and manual handling).
With the changes to the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1986 and to insurance
arrangements for CRS Australia clients, the number of compensation claims is expected to decrease in
2008-09.
APPENDIX 8—DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAMS
The Core Department did not administer any discretionary grant programs in 2007-08.
CSA did not administer any discretionary grant programs in 2007-08.
CRS Australia did not administer any discretionary grant programs in 2007-08
APPENDIX 9—CORRECTIONS TO ERRORS IN THE 2006-07
ANNUAL REPORT
Core Department
There were no material errors in the Core Department's reporting in the Department of Human Services
Annual Report 2006-07.
Child Support Agency
In Table A3.2, Appendix 9 of the Department of Human Services Annual Report 2006-07, it was reported
that advertising agency Universal McCann was paid $3,260,687 to communicate Phase 1 of the Child
Support Scheme reforms
As $1,802,803 of this expenditure was subsequently treated as a pre-payment in the 2007-08 financial
year, the spend in the 2006-07 financial year should be reported as $1,457,884.
CRS Australia
There were no material errors in CRS Australia's reporting in the Department of Human Services Annual
Report 2006-07.
APPENDIX 10—FRAUD CONTROL CERTIFICATION
PART 7 REFERENCES & INDEX
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
AAT
Administrative Appeals Tribunal
AEIFRS
Australian Equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards
AGM
Assistant General Manager
ANAO
Australian National Audit Office
APS
Australian Public Service
APSC
Australian Public Service Commission
ATO
Australian Taxation Office
AWA
Australian workplace agreement
CDAC
Career Development Assessment Centre
CDDA
Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration
CO2-e
carbon dioxide equivalent
CSA
Child Support Agency
CSE
Communication and Stakeholder Engagement
DEEWR
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
DGM
Deputy General Manager
DHS
Department of Human Services
DIAC
Department of Immigration and Citizenship
EEGO
Energy Efficiency in Government Operations
EMC
Executive Management Committee
EMS
environmental management system
FMA Act
Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997
EPBC Act
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
ESD
ecologically sustainable development
FaHCSIA
Department of Families, Housing Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
FAS
First Assistant Secretary
FOI
freedom of information
FOI Act
Freedom of Information Act 1982
GIST
Geo-Demographic Interactive Simulation Tool
HR
human resources
HREOC
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
ICT
information and communications technology
IT
information technology
JCA
Job Capacity Assessment
LLO
Local Liaison Officer
MOU
memorandum of understanding
NABERS
National Australian Built Environment Rating System
NTER
Northern Territory Emergency Response
OECD
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OH&S
occupational health and safety
PAES
Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements
PBS
Portfolio Budget Statements
RC
rehabilitation consultant
SSAT
Social Security Appeals Tribunal
SES
Senior Executive Service
VRS Program
Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program