Australian Government - Department of Human
Services
ANNUAL REPORT 2005-2006
Department of Human Services
© Commonwealth of Australia 2006
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ISSN 1832-8792
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Email:
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About this report
PURPOSE
This is the second annual report of the Australian Government's Department of Human Services. The
report, which is prepared in accordance with the Requirements for Annual Reports for Departments,
Executive Agencies and FMA Act Bodies - Approved by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and
Audit under subsections 63(2) and 70(2) of the Public Service Act 1999 and the Financial Management
and Accountability Act 1997, documents the activities and performance of the Department of Human
Services to 30 June 2006.
STRUCTURE
The report is in eight parts:

a review by the Secretary summarising significant developments during 2005-06

an overview of the Department of Human Services explaining the roles of, and relationships between,
the core department and the six agencies, and the corporate governance and financial arrangements
that apply to the three organisations comprising the department

three chapters reporting on performance and governance in the core department, the Child Support
Agency and CRS Australia

the audited financial statements of the core department, the Child Support Agency and CRS Australia

appendices containing detailed information and statistics about the core department, the Child
Support Agency and CRS Australia, as required under legislation and reporting regulations

references, comprising a glossary and list of abbreviations, a compliance index and a general index.
READERS
This report is presented for tabling in the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is also designed
to meet the information needs of our staff, other government agencies, the media, researchers, students
and interested members of the public.
Secretary's review
2005-06 was a year of strong achievement for the Department of Human Services and its agencies.
Human Services is about people—34,000 people providing an array of services to others in the
Australian community.
The 97 people of the core department worked collaboratively with the six human services agencies,
policy departments and stakeholders to achieve the Government's priorities.
Together we addressed a clear set of priorities from our Minister, the Hon. Joe Hockey. I am delighted to
say we have demonstrated success against each of them. We have:

developed and won government support for a health and social services access card

implemented Welfare to Work initiatives including the Job Capacity Assessment program

investigated ways to claim Medicare rebates electronically for maximum customer convenience

worked with other departments and the Child Support Agency on the Government's response to the
report of the Ministerial Task Force on Child Support, In the Best Interests of Children – Reforming
the Child Support Scheme, and developed a package of reforms to improve Child Support Agency
service delivery

improved forms and letters to remove unnecessary complexity

increased the use of online services

saved money through fraud prevention and group purchasing.
ACCESS CARD
One of the minister's main priorities and a key achievement has been winning government approval to
introduce a health and social services access card. This marks the beginning of a long, hard road to
implementation. Human Services is implementing this $1.09 billion project to reduce red tape and
streamline the current health and welfare system.
The new access card will reduce the complexity in accessing Australian Government services; remove
the need to contact multiple agencies to update personal information such as a change of address; and
give individuals the option of placing extra information such as emergency contact details on the access
card.
On 24 May, minister Hockey announced the establishment of the Consumer and Privacy Task Force,
headed by Professor Allan Fels, AO. The Task force is consulting with stakeholders and will provide
independent advice to the minister on consumer and privacy matters in relation to the access card.
WELFARE TO WORK AND JOB CAPACITY ASSESSMENTS
An important precursor to Welfare to Work was the voluntary referral of non-activity tested customers
from Centrelink to the Job Network. In 2005-06 109,157 people receiving Parenting Payment or
Disability Support Pension were voluntarily referred to the Job Network. Of these, 98,451 were in receipt
of Parenting Payment and 10,706 were receiving Disability Support Pension. This reflects the ongoing
efforts of the core department, working with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
(DEWR) and Centrelink, to help people into paid employment.
The Welfare to Work reforms announced in the 2005 Budget meant significant changes to the work of
our agencies. These changes relate to policies and programs being implemented from 1 July 2006 and
administered predominantly by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), but
also by the Department of Families, Community Services and indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA), the
Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the core department. In Centrelink alone,
these changes represent an investment of over $600 million over four years, impacting on 43 per cent of
current Centrelink IT systems and requiring adjustments to current processes as well as new business.
As part of the Welfare to Work initiatives, the core department has developed the new Job Capacity
Assessment program to begin in July 2006. This new assessment process determines a person's ability
for work and gets them to the support they need faster. Eighty per cent of the assessments will be done
by three government providers - Centrelink, CRS Australia and Health Services Australia. The remaining
20 per cent of assessments will be undertaken by 15 non-government providers. The department has
developed and delivered a national training package to ensure the providers undertaking the
assessments are nationally consistent in their approach. It is estimated that in the first 12 months of the
program 372,000 assessments will be undertaken.
Significant training was undertaken in Human Services agencies to equip staff to support the
implementation of the Job Capacity Assessment program. For example, CRS Australia trained 191 staff
assessors and 160 staff as administrative support officers. A further 1,500 staff were trained by CRS on
other service changes associated with Welfare to Work, including vocational rehabilitation.
ELECTRONIC CLAIMING OF MEDICARE REBATE IN THE
DOCTOR'S SURGERY
Beginning in November 2005, the core department worked closely with Minister Hockey and Medicare
on electronic claiming. Extensive consultation, undertaken with industry and other stakeholder groups,
culminated in a proposal for government consideration early in the 2006-07 financial year. I am pleased
to report that in August 2006 the Government agreed to this groundbreaking proposal that sees a new
electronic claim process introduced at the doctor's surgery. Patients will pay for their consultation and
then swipe their Medicare card and EFTPOS card to receive their rebate directly into their bank account.
BUILDING A BETTER CSA AND THE GOVERNMENT'S
RESPONSE TO THE MINISTERIAL TASK FORCE ON CHILD
SUPPORT
The core department is working closely with the Child Support Agency (CSA), FaCSIA and Centrelink on
implementing the first stage of the Government's Child Support Scheme Reforms, Building a Better
CSA, announced on 28 February 2006. These reforms support the Government's overhaul of the family
law system, and encourages shared parenting and stronger relationships between intact and separated
families.
The core department is also working with CSA on its customer service reform program. Already the
changes make it easier for customers to interact with the agency. Customers and employers have 24hour access to important services through CSA online. Customer Service Guarantee Receipts are now
supplied with all transactions to give customers the confidence that CSA staff will be accountable for
their actions.
FORMS, LETTERS AND QUEUES
During the 2005-06 financial year, forms, letters and queues have come under close scrutiny as we
began to streamline customer interaction with our agencies. Agencies investigated ways of further
reducing letters through the use of alternative communication channels such as SMS and email. To
facilitate the ongoing review of Human Services agencies' forms and letters, Minister Hockey created the
Forms and Letters Task Force in June, and appointed Senator Richard Colbeck as chair. The role of the
Task Force is to improve the content of forms and letters through the removal of unnecessary
complexity, and abolish forms and letters where possible.
Great inroads have been made - already the 32-page Family Assistance and two-page Medicare
enrolment form have been combined into a single, shorter document. We have also simplified the form
Disability Support pensioners fill out each time their medical circumstances are reviewed. Instead of
answering 29 questions, Disability Support pensioners are only required to fill out an 11 -question form.
The core department has queue management under close scrutiny. Targets have been set to reduce
wait times in Medicare and Centrelink offices. By the end of 2005-06, Centrelink recorded an average
wait time of three minutes and 58 seconds, while Medicare recorded an average wait time of one minute
and 57 seconds.
FAMILY ASSISTANCE OFFICE
The core department is also helping to make it easier for the public to access Family Assistance services
by making them available at Medicare Australia offices. By December 2006, all 238 Medicare offices
around Australia will offer Family Assistance Office services. At the end of the 2005-06 financial year,
over 129,000 Family Assistance Office customers had taken advantage of the new service.
ONLINE SERVICES
A strong focus has also been placed upon improvements to online service delivery. Communicating
these changes has been a priority and between December 2005 and March 2006, radio, print and online
advertisements were run encouraging the updating of Youth Allowance or Austudy details online. In the
first five weeks of 2006, the campaign increased student online claims by 32 per cent.
ABSENTEEISM
Improvements to service delivery and in customer waiting times have been achieved, in part through a
concentrated effort by the core department and agencies to reduce absenteeism. In less than one year,
the reduction in absenteeism in Centrelink has equated to 33,000 extra working days per year.
Figure 1: Unplanned leave levels across Human Services
Figure 1 illustrates the reduction in unplanned leave levels across Human Services from 2004–05 to
2005–06. 2004–05 figures for Health Services Australia are not available and 2005–06 was the first full
year for the core department.
There is still a way to go with reducing absenteeism, but goals have been set and agency chief
executive officers are committed to meeting them. In reducing unplanned staff absences, customer
service improves, workloads are shared more fairly and taxpayer money is saved.
LOCAL LIAISON OFFICER PROGRAM
The Local Liaison Officer program continues to be a great success, available to all federal
parliamentarians to assist in handling constituents' enquiries about Human Services agencies. By the
end of 2005-06, approximately 6,300 referrals had been received through the program; and 99.6 per
cent of these were responded to within two working days. There has been a very high take-up of this
service by parliamentarians.
FRAUD PREVENTION
While our focus has been on improving customer service, we are also intent on saving money. The core
department coordinated a strategic package of reforms announced in the 2006-07 Budget, where the
Government committed a further $282 million to address health and welfare fraud. Savings as a result of
the package are expected to be $548 million over five years.
GROUP PURCHASING
A number of cross-agency working groups have been established to coordinate the agencies' buying
power and save money. In one joint property purchase alone, there was a saving to the taxpayer of $4.4
million over ten years by relocating the Child Support Agency's Penrith and Parramatta offices to
Medicare Australia's headquarters in Parramatta. In information technology service management,
Centrelink now provides IT services to CRS Australia, saving $3.9 million over four years. Centrelink has
also negotiated an air travel contract with Qantas on behalf of 32 Australian Government agencies,
which will save at least $1.2 million per year.
SUMMARY
At the end of our first full financial year the core department has made real inroads to improving service
delivery and making people's lives easier. In improving service delivery to the Australian public, we fulfill
the reason for the department's creation. The coming year will be full of challenges and I have no doubt
the core department will meet them. I congratulate my colleagues in the core department and in all
Human Services agencies on their success and look forward to a rewarding 2006-07.
Patricia Scott
Secretary
OVERVIEW
The Minister
The Department of Human Services (part of the Finance and Administration portfolio) was established
on 26 October 2004 to improve the development and delivery of Australian Government social and
health-related services to the Australian people. The department is responsible for ensuring the
Government is able to get the best value for money in service delivery while emphasising continuous
service improvement and a whole-of-government approach.
The Minister for Human Services in the Forty-first Parliament is the Hon. Joe Hockey, MP, Member for
North Sydney since 1996.
The Minister for Human Services 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 Child Support 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 Child Support Registrar
under the Act

Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Act 1997

Health Insurance Commission Act 1973 renamed Medicare Australia Act 1973 on 1 October 2005.
Human Services
Human Services comprises the following entities:
1. The Department of Human Services (DHS), which consists of the core department, the Child
Support Agency (CSA) and CRS Australia:

the core department's role is to direct, coordinate and broker improvements to service delivery
through the six Human Services agencies (the Child Support Agency, CRS Australia, Centrelink,
Medicare Australia, Australian Hearing and Health Services Australia)

the Child Support Agency's role is to ensure that children of separated parents receive financial
support from both parents

CRS Australia's role is to assist people with an injury or a disability to get a job or return to work
by providing individualised vocational rehabilitation. CRS Australia also helps employers to keep
their workplaces safe.
2. Centrelink, which delivers a range of government payments and services for 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.
3. Medicare Australia, which administers a range of health and payment programs, including
Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Family Assistance Office services, the Australian
Organ Donor Register, the Australian Childhood immunisation Register and Aged Care Payments to
approved aged care providers.
4. Australian Hearing, which helps 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 and aged pensioners, and war veterans.
5. Health Services Australia, which is a government business enterprise established in 1997 focusing
primarily on providing occupational health, safety and medical assessments.
Figure 2 Structure of Human Services, 30 June 2006
How we report our performance
The department, which consists of the core department, CSA and CRS Australia, reports under the
Requirements for Annual Reports for Departments, Executive Agencies and FMA Act Bodies - Approved
by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit under subsections 63(2) and 70(2) of the Public
Service Act 1999 and the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.
The agencies within Human Services that are not part of the department (Centrelink, Medicare Australia,
Health Services Australia and Australian Hearing) report according to different legislative requirements
and publish their own annual reports. Detailed information about the activities and responsibilities of the
agencies may be obtained from each agency's website.
Reporting arrangements for the department and its agencies are indicated below.
The Department of Human Services (DHS)
Core department
The core department reports in this annual report on its performance, corporate governance and other
matters as required by legislation. It reports against the Department of Human Services Portfolio Budget
Statements 2005-06 and Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2005-06.
Internet: www.humanservices.gov.au Phone: 1300 55 44 79
Child Support Agency
CSA reports in this annual report on its performance, corporate governance and other matters as
required by legislation. It reports against the Department of Human Services Portfolio Budget
Statements 2005-06 and Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2005-06.
Internet: www.csa.gov.au Phone: 131 272
CRS Australia
CRS Australia reports in this annual report on its performance, corporate governance and other matters
as required by legislation. It reports against the Department of Human Services Portfolio Budget
Statements 2005-06 and Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2005-06.
CRS Australia also reports on performance in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
(DEWR) annual report in respect of its delivery of vocational rehabilitation services funded by that
department.
Internet: www.crsaustralia.gov.au Phone: 1800 624 824
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 as required by
legislation. Centrelink reports against the Department of Human Services Portfolio Budget Statements
2005-06 and Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2005-06.
Internet: www.centrelink.gov.au Phone: 1800 050 004
Medicare Australia
Medicare Australia provides its own annual report covering its performance, corporate governance and
other matters as required by legislation. Medicare Australia reports against the Department of Human
Services Portfolio Budget Statements 2005-06 and Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2005-06.
Internet: www.medicareaustralia.gov.au Phone: 132 011
Australian Hearing
Australian Hearing is a public non-financial corporation and publishes its own annual report under the
Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 and the Australian Hearing Services Act 1991.
Internet: www.hearing.com.au Phone: 131 797
Health Services Australia
Health Services Australia is a public non-financial corporation and publishes its own annual report under
the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997.
Internet: www.healthoz.com.au Phone: 1300 361 046
THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
Outcome and Output Structure
This section describes the role and functions of the Department of Human Services (DHS). It describes
the department's outcome and output structure, and the corporate governance and financial
arrangements that are common to the core department, the Child Support Agency (CSA) and CRS
Australia.
Unless indicated otherwise, references in this document to the department mean the core department,
CSA and CRS Australia.
The outcome of DHS is:
Effective and efficient delivery of social and health-related services, including financial assistance, to the
Australian community.
At 30 June 2006, each of the organisations that constitute DHS produced one output to deliver DHS'
planned outcome. These are set out in Figure 3.Corporate governance
Figure 3 Department of Human Services outcome and output groups
Corporate governance
This section reports on corporate governance matters that are common to the core department, CSA
and CRS Australia.
CORPORATE GOALS AND VALUES
The governance model supports the Secretary in the management of the department and in assisting
the Minister for Human Services to fulfill his accountability obligations.
This in turn helps the department meet its obligations, including legislative requirements placed on the
department as a part of the Australian Public Service (APS).
APS Values and Code of Conduct
The core department, CSA and CRS Australia all explicitly embrace the APS Values and Code of
Conduct. Commitment to the Values and Code of Conduct is highlighted in the corporate plans, certified
agreements, Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), client and service charters, Chief Executive
instructions and the core department's own values and behaviour statements. Each entity provides
training for staff in the APS Values and Code of Conduct.
THE EXECUTIVE
Executive responsibilities
The Secretary is directly responsible to the Minister for Human Services for the leadership, management
and sound governance of DHS, and for shaping its future. She is responsible for delivering strong
organisational performance by determining priorities and resource allocations.
Six committees operate to assist the Secretary to fulfill her responsibilities. The committees make
recommendations but ultimate authority remains with the Secretary (for further information, see Table 2
on page 46).
The General Manager of CSA is responsible for the leadership, sound 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, sound management and
performance of CRS Australia within the delegations established by the Secretary.
Executive remuneration
Salary ranges for executive employees are provided at Appendix 1.
Information on executive staff members who received, or were due to receive, total remuneration of
$130,000 or more is set out in Note 14 to the financial statements in this report.
GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK
Agency Heads Meeting
The Agency Heads Meeting provides a forum to discuss and resolve matters relating to the six agencies
and the core department. This is a monthly meeting chaired by the Secretary and attended by all heads
of agencies. Table 1 shows the composition of the Agency Heads Meeting.
Audit Committee
The DHS Audit Committee has audit oversight for the core department, CSA and CRS Australia. The
other agencies within Human Services—Centrelink, Medicare Australia, Australian Hearing and Health
Services Australia—have their own audit committees.
The DHS Audit Committee reviews, monitors and recommends improvements in the corporate
governance framework of the core department, CSA and CRS Australia. The Committee's focus is on
internal controls, risk management, compliance and financial reporting. This role includes oversight of
internal and external audit processes within the department. Internal audit services to the core
department, CSA and CRS Australia are provided through a contract.
The Committee has overseen the integration of the corporate governance frameworks of the core
department, CSA and CRS Australia into a wider departmental governance framework consistent with
the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) better practice guide, Public Sector Audit Committees.
Mr. Geoff Leeper, Deputy Secretary of the core department, chairs the Audit Committee and is
supported by two independent members, Ms Jenny Morison and Mr. Len Early, who have specialist
skills in financial reporting, risk management and corporate governance, and the General Managers of
CSA and CRS Australia. The DHS Chief Financial Officer is an attendee, as is a representative from the
ANAO. Committee secretariat services are provided by the Chief internal Auditor. Table 1 shows the
composition of the Committee.
Membership of the Audit Committee is determined by the Secretary in consultation with the Executive
Management Group and is for a fixed term, as determined by the Secretary. The Audit Committee meets
every two months, and as required.
Table 1 Human Services—senior management committees
Agency Heads Meeting
DHS Audit Committee
Secretary, core department (Chair)
Deputy Secretary, core department
Deputy Secretary, core department (Chair)
Chief Executive Officer Centrelink
Chief Executive Officer Medicare
Australia
Two independent members
General Manager, CRS Australia
General Manager, CRS Australia
Agency Heads Meeting
DHS Audit Committee
General Manager, CSA
General Manager, CSA
Managing Director Health Services
Australia
Chief Financial Officer, Core department (attendee)
Managing Director Australian
Hearing
ANAO representative (attendee)
Secretariat: Executive Officer
Secretariat: Chief internal Auditor, core department
RISK MANAGEMENT, INTERNAL AUDIT AND FRAUD CONTROL
The core department actively promotes risk management as an integral part of the DHS business
planning process. In the year to 30 June 2006, the core department identified operational and strategic
risks and is implementing action plans and strategies to manage these risks.
In a cooperative arrangement with Comcover, the core department has developed a phased approach to
preparing its Fraud Control Plan, involving preparation of an Overarching Fraud Control Plan covering
the significant fraud risks faced by the core department, CSA and CRS Australia.
The core department has taken a comprehensive approach to risk—business continuity, fraud, security,
operational and audit—by integrating its management of these risks under its Strategic internal Audit
Plan for 2006-09. The core department has developed a suite of business continuity plans in preparation
for any non-information Technology disasters.
CSA and CRS Australia report on aspects of risk management, internal audit and fraud control specific
to them in their respective 'management and accountability' sections. All significant governance
documents, including risk management, internal audit reports and fraud control plans, are reviewed by
the DHS Audit Committee.
ETHICAL STANDARDS
All members of the core department, CSA and CRS Australia are required to uphold the ethical values
embodied in the Public Service Act 1999 and the APS Values and Code of Conduct. This is clearly
articulated in a number of the core department's documents. Those documents include the core
department's people management policies and security plans; the Chief Executive instructions; and the
Declaration of Confidentiality, Security and Privacy.
The requirement to uphold the highest standards is reinforced on a regular basis at staff meetings and
underpins the charters of the management committees.
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY
The core department recognises the importance of ensuring that Australians have equitable access to
the full range of social and health-related services, and that people are not disadvantaged by service
delivery arrangements. This has been a key consideration in developing improved service delivery
strategies.
The core department in developing communication strategies takes account of culture, language,
disability and remote location requirements of Human Services' customers and the wider community.
The core department's website, updated in June 2006, is compatible with browsers used by people with
impaired vision.
Financial overview
This section provides a summary of the department's financial performance for 2005-06 which covers
the core department, CSA and CRS Australia. Results for the department and administered results are
shown in the audited financial statements; this summary should be read in conjunction with those
statements.
FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
The departmental total resources are shown in some detail in Table 1(a). Details of the price of outputs
and the administered and departmental expenses incurred in delivering the department's outputs are
also detailed in Table 1 (a), as is the budget allocation for the 2006-07 financial year for these items.
Table 1(a) Total Resources for Outcome 1
Actual
Expenses
2005-06 (2)
$'000
Budget 200506a(1) $'000
Variation (2) (1) $'000
Budget 200607b $'000
Administered Expenses
Child Support
1,027,566
1,050,670
23,104
969,206
Welfare to Work
-
-
-
131,382
Total administered
expenses
1,027,566
1,050,670
23,104
1,100,588
Price of Departmental Outputs
Output 1: Core department
22,694
23,447
753
26,398
Output 2: Child Support
Agency
295,770
288,895
-6,875
378,318
318,464
312,342
-6,122
404,716
312,342
-6,122
404,716
Output 3: CRS Australia
Subtotal departmental
outputs
Revenue from government (appropriation)
for departmental outputs
318,464
Budget 200506a(1) $'000
Actual
Expenses
2005-06 (2)
$'000
Variation (2) (1) $'000
Budget 200607b $'000
Revenue from other
sources
172,258
169,232
-3,026
234,588
Total price of outputs
490,722
481,574
-9,148
639,304
1,532,244
13,956
1,608,510
Total for Outcome 1 (total 1,518,288
price of outputs and
administered expenses)
Average staffing level
2005-06
2006-07
4,692
5,817
a This column shows the full year budget, including additional estimates and supplementary additional
estimates
b This column shows the budget prior to additional estimates
DEPARTMENTAL FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
The department's Statement of financial performance reports an operating surplus of $10.8 million which
is 2.2% of the revenue available to the department. The result was more than the operating result of $6.6
million forecast in the latest Budget Statements for the 2005-06 year.
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
REVENUE
The department was appropriated $298.3 million in the 2005-06 Budget. In the Portfolio Additional
Estimates Statements (PAES) 2005-06 in February 2006, the department was provided additional
funding of $10.8 million. A further $9.4 million in the Supplementary Estimates process in May 2006
brings the total appropriation for 2005-06 to $318.5 million. Of this, $22.7 million was for the core
department and $295.8 million for CSA.
In addition, the department recognised further revenue of $169.2 million primarily from the provision of
rehabilitation services by CRS Australia (Figure 4). Total revenue received by the department in 2005-06
was, therefore, $487.7 million.
Figure 4 Departmental revenue by agency
Expenses
The department's expenses totalled $476.9 million: $23.4 million in the core department, $289.0 million
in CSA and $164.5 million in CRS Australia (Figure 5).
Figure 5 Departmental expense by agency
The department incurred employee expenses of $300.2 million, supplier expenses of $160.8 million,
depreciation and other expenses of $14.7 million, and CRS Australia incurred income tax equivalent
expenses of $1.2 million (Figure 6).
Figure 6 Departmental expense by type
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
Equity
The department's total equity is $62.4 million, representing an increase of $13.5 million during the 200506 financial year. This reflects retention of the 2005-06 surplus of $10.8 million as well as the impact of
the transition to the Australian Equivalents to international Financial Reporting Standards (AEIFRS).
Assets
The department's assets total $169.4 million and can be categorised as:

cash

fixed assets (infrastructure, plant and equipment, land and buildings)

intangibles (non-physical assets such as software)

receivables

other non-financial assets (prepayments).
The department has $79.2 million recorded as a receivable in the Official Public Account. Of this
amount, $3.3 million is held on behalf of the core department, $36.6 million for CSA and $39.3 million for
CRS Australia.
Liabilities
The department has total liabilities of $107.0 million. This consists of employee provisions of $68.3
million, building-related provisions of $15.1 million, trade creditor provisions of $22.2 million and other
payables of $1.4 million.
Administered items
CSA's administered activities include the provision of assessment, registration, collection and
disbursement services that facilitate the transfer of child support payments between separated parents
for the support of their children.
The core department receives dividend revenue from Australian Hearing and Health Services Australia,
and competitive neutrality revenue from Australian Hearing. All administered receipts are transferred
directly to the Official Public Account.
Output 1 Core department
Figure 7 Core department—organisational structure and senior staffing
Highlights/key achievements
During 2005-06, the core department:

supported the Minister for Human Services to successfully present to the Government a proposal for
a health and social services access card. This work involved leading a cross-portfolio group involving
14 government departments and multiple agencies to develop a proposal and a business case for the
use of smartcard technology. In April 2006, the core department received government approval for a
$1.09 billion access card to improve customers' access to health and social services

coordinated a fraud and compliance package announced in the 2006-07 Budget. The Government
has committed $282.3 million to address health and welfare fraud. Savings as a result of the package
are expected to be $548.4 million over five years

designed and developed the Job Capacity Assessment program to identify a person's capacity to
work and refer them to the most appropriate employment service. This is a key element of the
Government's Welfare to Work initiative

worked with the Child Support Agency (CSA) in developing and implementing the new arrangements
contained in the package the government announced on 28 February 2006, to reform the Child
Support Scheme and the way that CSA delivers its services. This will be achieved by building greater
organisational capability to support these new strategies, particularly including improved support for
CSA staff as they work to provide services to parents

facilitated the deployment of Family Assistance Office (FAO) services to Medicare offices. At the end
of the 2005-06 financial year, 129,025 customers had used the service

improved service delivery and reduced customer waiting times through leading Human Services
agencies to reduce staff absenteeism. Absenteeism in Centrelink offices was reduced by an
equivalent of approximately 33,000 staff days a year. Targets are now in place for CSA and
reductions in unplanned leave are occurring

drove the reduction in call centre wait times in Centrelink by 14 per cent to an average wait time of
two minutes and 40 seconds

was the first Department to give effect to the recommendations of the Uhrig Review of the Corporate
Governance of Statutory Authorities and Office Holders, by improving transparency and
accountability in the management of Centrelink and the Health insurance Commission (HIC, since
renamed Medicare Australia). This was achieved by abolishing the boards of Centrelink and the
Health insurance Commission on 30 September 2005, and having Chief Executive Officers appointed
by and reporting to the Minister through the Secretary

monitored queue wait times in Centrelink and Medicare offices. By the end of 2005-06, in each
agency, an average wait time was recorded of three minutes and 58 seconds and one minute and 57
seconds respectively

established procurement guidelines and delivered procurement savings across the Human Services
agencies. For example, Centrelink now provides information technology support services to CRS
Australia, which will save an estimated $3.9 million over four years

improved customers' understanding of government services through the following campaigns using
the 'talk about' theme:

Drought Assistance Campaign

Support the System that Supports You

Students Online.
About us
The core department's role is to improve the delivery of social and health-related services to the
Australian people and to ensure the government is able to get the best value for service delivery.
The core department does this by taking a leadership role with the six Human Services agencies
ensuring they have a solid framework in which to operate.
The core department also works with other Australian government departments in a whole-ofgovernment approach, ensuring that the way in which services are delivered is considered when new
policies are planned.
The core department is small and strategic. It has approximately 100 committed people who are able to
respond quickly to an issue and push ahead with reform.
The core department does this by:

taking a customer perspective in reviewing services offered by Human Services agencies

ensuring that products and services meet customer needs

ensuring that Australians are able to access government services in a contemporary way including
via the telephone and internet

balancing customers' preference for services with the risks to taxpayer funds caused by fraud and
incorrect payment

ensuring that the service delivery agencies deliver better value for money in service provision and
have justifiable and sustainable financial arrangements.
SERVICE DELIVERY—STRATEGY AND COORDINATION DIVISION
The Service Delivery—Strategy and Coordination Division consists of five branches: Service Delivery—
Strategy and Coordination; Service Delivery—Policy implementation; Marketing and Communication;
Service Delivery—Policy Development; and the E-Claiming Project. The division is responsible for:

ensuring that service delivery implications are taken into account when new government policies are
being planned or considered

providing advice on existing service delivery issues as part of strategic reviews of government policy

coordinating independent reviews of significant information technology, property and procurement
initiatives in Human Services agencies as required

developing and implementing a cross-agency service-delivery strategy, including improving the
delivery of online services

ensuring that changes in new policy, in the deployment of new programs and in the delivery of
services are effectively communicated to stakeholders

progressing the E-Claiming Project

ensuring an effective, efficient cross-agency and customer-centred approach in Human Services
agencies in relation to information technology capabilities, general procurement and property.
DELIVERY ANALYSIS AND CORPORATE DIVISION
The Delivery Analysis and Corporate Division consists of three branches—Delivery Analysis; Finance;
and Corporate. The division is responsible for:

monitoring the performance of the Human Services agencies and the services they provide

providing management and support services to the core department

meeting a range of government reporting requirements—including parliamentary and ministerial,
financial, governance and people management reports

improving service delivery for members of parliament, senators and their constituents through the
Local Liaison Officer program.
JOB CAPACITY ASSESSMENT DIVISION
The Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) Division (formerly known as Comprehensive Work Capacity
Assessment (CWCA)) was established in June 2005 to lead the implementation of the new JCA
program, a key part of the Australian Government's Welfare to Work package. The program will begin
operating on 1 July 2006. A detailed description of the JCA program, and how it will work, is on page 42.
LEGAL SERVICES
Legal Services Branch is responsible for:

providing legal services to the core department and the Minister for Human Services

ensuring the core department meets legal requirements and manages legal risk

coordinating legal advice and information on issues involving Human Services agencies and on
particular legal matters affecting or involving more than one agency or the Commonwealth generally,
including in relation to information policy issues

participating in internal service delivery policy analysis and providing legal advice and advice on legal
policy, including on specific projects requiring legal support

coordinating and managing the Human Services legislative program

considering opportunities for improved synergies in performance of the Human Services agencies'
legal work.
OFFICE OF ACCESS CARD
The Office of Access Card is responsible for implementing the Australian Government's initiative to
introduce a new health and social services access card that will be phased in between 2008 and 2010.
The Smart Technologies and Services inter-Departmental Committee worked from June to October 2005
to develop a detailed proposal to offer consumers more convenient and reliable access to government
services and benefits, with an option of introducing an Australian government smartcard or other
appropriate technology.
The Smart Technologies and Services Task Force was created in October 2005 in response to a
decision by government to further pursue smart technologies to improve consumer access to
government services. The Task Force's key objective was to oversee the development of a detailed
business case for the potential introduction of smartcard technology to improve service delivery and
convenience for consumers accessing Australian government health and social services.
Following the Prime Minister's announcement on 26 April 2006, that the Australian Government would
proceed with the introduction of an access card for health and social services, the Office of Access Card
was established.
An outline of the preparatory work done by the core department in the lead-up to the government's
announcement of this initiative, and a description of the functions of the access card, are on page 36.
Performance
Outcome
Effective and efficient delivery of social and health-related services, including financial assistance to
the Australian community
Output 1—Core department
Facilitation and promotion of effective and efficient delivery of social and health-related services
The core department's performance is measured in terms of quality (including timeliness), quantity and
price. The core department coordinates the provision of briefings to the Minister and the responses to
correspondence written to the minister on behalf of Human Services.
In 2005-06, the core department received 7,195 items of correspondence. Of this figure, 72 per cent
were responded to within 14 days.
The number of written briefings provided to the Minister or his office during 2005-06 was 1,834.
Draft answers to 112 parliamentary questions on notice were prepared during 2005-06. Of this number,
50 per cent of Senate and 71 per cent of House of Representatives questions on notice met internal
timeframes for timeliness of response.
The core department regularly reviews its procedures and processes to ensure an excellent level of
service to the Minister.
SERVICE DELIVERY
Strategy and coordination
The core department is responsible for ensuring a coordinated approach is adopted by Human Services
agencies in relation to property, procurement and information technology (IT) matters, and for
developing a service delivery strategy aimed at ensuring the effective, efficient and sympathetic delivery
of health and social services.
Procurement policy
DHS Revised Procurement Guidelines were implemented in December 2005 to improve efficiencies
through joint procurement across Human Services agencies. As a result agencies now consult with each
other to put in place joint arrangements for the supply of diverse items such as IT (for example a single
contract for the supply of laptops), travel (a single contract with a travel services supplier) and legal
services (a single panel contract for the supply of legal services across Human Services). These
combined contracts will save Human Services agencies one per cent of their expenditure on external
suppliers over a full year. By the end of the 2007 financial year the combined travel contract alone will
save $800,000 across all agencies.
Property-related decisions
The DHS property group drives opportunities to achieve efficiencies in property procurement, co-location
and property management. Initiatives aimed at leveraging across the agencies in property have resulted
in savings of over $400,000 in the 2005-06 financial year.
Co-locations
In May 2006, CSA relocated its Penrith and Parramatta offices to a new site in Parramatta, co-locating
with Medicare Australia's new NSW state headquarters. As a result of the efficiencies in using a
common fit-out provider and common cleaning and security contracts, the savings to CSA are
anticipated to be approximately $4.4 million over 10 years. As part of CSA's strategy to move its Penrith
office to Parramatta, and to ensure that this move had no detrimental impact on CSA's customers in
Penrith, CSA established a Regional Service Centre at Centrelink's existing Penrith office.
There are now 21 sites across Australia where CSA is making use of Centrelink office space in
permanent co-located arrangements. Centrelink provides CSA with a full range of office services that
enable CSA to extend its service delivery in regional Australia.
To provide improved services to its clients, Australian Hearing increasingly uses the offices of other
Human Services agencies as visiting sites where Australian Hearing does not have a full time office.
This use of an existing location, such as CRS Australia's office in Gladstone, enables Australian Hearing
to provide a full time drop off site for repair and maintenance and appointment booking services from a
visiting site.
Technology-related initiatives (other than procurement)
The core department investigated ways in which the use of IT can improve the delivery of services and
the efficiency of Human Services' operations. Two examples in 2005-06 were the availability of Family
Assistance services, a program that operates on Centrelink systems, from Medicare offices, and the
provision of Centrelink IT services to CRS Australia.
Development and delivery of services
Service delivery principles
The core department was instrumental in bringing the six agencies together to identify and agree on a
set of principles that will underpin the development and implementation of services delivered by these
agencies. The principles will help ensure that Human Services agencies deliver services that are citizencentric, timely, cost-effective, that ensure quality outcomes and that support government objectives.
Service charter
The core department played a key role through the Service Delivery Working Group in promoting a set of
Standard Service Charter Elements and Principles that seeks to align the charters of all Human Services
agencies with a set of elements and principles that are central to improving service. The standard
elements include reporting mechanisms to ensure accountabilities for government and the Australian
public.
Human Services agencies have endorsed the charter's standard elements principles. Current service
charters or other relevant documents are being updated to include these elements and principles.
Customer relationship management
The core department brought Human Services agencies together to address service delivery issues and
share best practice. These initiatives resulted in the formation of a Human Services-wide network of
Family Assistance Office operational staff and a series of workshops to review and address a broad
variety of issues, including a common process for changes of a customer's name and address, and
approaches for managing aggressive customers.
DHs Health and Welfare services Portal
The core department developed and deployed in April 2006 an early prototype of a Health and Welfare
Services Portal (an internet site that provides access from one point to online health and welfare
services from Centrelink, Medicare Australia and CSA) for public review, useability testing and feedback.
When this system is fully operational, expected to be early 2007, Australian citizens will be able to
access the full range of health and welfare services that are available on-line with a single log-on which
will reduce the need to access multiple web sites.
Policy
Service delivery policy development
The core department aims to strategically respond to government priorities through analysing,
coordinating and influencing policy and service delivery. In 2005-06, the core department had
responsibility for preparing the 2006-07 budget strategy for itself, Centrelink, Medicare Australia and
CSA. It also drafted the Portfolio Budget submission and a separate cross-portfolio submission on fraud
and compliance. The core department also provided advice and input to government on the service
delivery implications of a variety of new policies being considered by other portfolios, and in particular
the government's response to the report of the Ministerial Taskforce on Child Support.
Budget strategy 2006-07
The core department coordinated input to the 2006-07 budget process. In summary, the core
department or its agencies will receive an additional $2.1 billion over four years to implement and
operate the 75 initiatives contained in the 2006-07 Budget.
The 2006-07 budget measures follow two broad themes: to provide more efficient service delivery and
improved access to services for customers; and to deliver improvements in the detection of fraud and
ensure compliance across Human Services agencies. The package of fraud and compliance measures
addresses issues across Human Services and the departments of Employment and Workplace
Relations; Families, Community Services and indigenous Affairs; Education, Science and Training; and
Health and Ageing.
Measures of particular note include:

additional funding to meet the annual increasing demand on call centres. The funding is expected to
result in more callers getting through to the call centres, particularly during peak periods, and faster
speed in answering calls. Part of the funding will be allocated to enhancing telephone voice
recognition technology. The technology makes possible a convenient automated telephone selfservice that can be accessed outside of normal business hours. Enhanced technology will boost the
number of services people can access over the phone, allowing customers to check the interpreter
booking service and find office locations

additional funding to establish two Remote Area Service Centres in the Northern Territory towns of
Borroloola and Wadeye. Funding for the 10 established centres will continue. The centres provide a
permanent infrastructure for the delivery of Australian government services and payments related to
employment, health, welfare and education.
The core department will continue to work closely with its agencies and policy departments to ensure the
government's new initiatives are implemented on time and within budget.
Policy and service delivery reform agendas
Access card
On 26 April 2006, the Government announced the introduction of the new access card system—a $1.09
billion initiative. Through the Smart Technologies and Services Task Force, the core department worked
hard to develop advice for government. The core department:

conducted extensive consultations with state and territory governments, business and financial
institutions and a wide range of consumer, privacy, and rural and remote advocacy organisations.
Advice from privacy advocates and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner ensured that privacy and
consumers' rights were considered at all times throughout the development of the proposal

formed and headed an interdepartmental committee to progress the proposal. The committee
consisted of 14 government departments and agencies, including Human Service agencies, the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Attorney-General's Department, the Australian
Taxation Office, Office of the Privacy Commissioner, the Department of Finance and Administration,
the Department of Health and Ageing, and the Department of Veterans' Affairs

worked with organisations to produce independent reports on privacy and legal issues, and also with
KPMG to produce the final business case that contributed to the final successful Cabinet submission.
The health and social services access card will improve customer access to government health and
social service benefits. It will:

reduce the number of cards and vouchers required to access various government services and
payments, replacing 17 health and social services cards and vouchers

enhance security for customers' personal information

eliminate the need to repeatedly provide personal details to different health and social service
agencies

eliminate the need to contact multiple agencies to update basic information such as change of
address or a new family member

allow people to provide voluntary personal information.
The access card will be phased in over a two-year period beginning in early 2008. It will be available to
anyone over 18 years of age—or younger, if required—who registers and is entitled to claim Australian
government health or social service benefits. Until then, there will be no change in the way benefits are
currently accessed.
Once the registration period ends in 2010, the access card will be required to access Australian
government health and social service benefits. Another major achievement was the establishment of the
Consumer and Privacy Task Force in May 2006. Headed by Professor Allan Fels, the Task Force
provides independent advice to the Minister for Human Services on consumer and privacy issues.
Its primary focus will be to achieve a balance between what is expected to be consumer demand for
greater access card functionality, and any concerns about data protection and privacy issues.
The Task Force consulted with consumer and privacy advocate groups to work out the best way to
conduct genuine, informed and long-term consultation.
Medicare E-Claiming Project
The Medicare E-Claiming Project was established in November 2005 to develop options for government
consideration in order to improve service delivery to recipients of Medicare benefits. The key aim of the
project is to have a service that enables patients to claim a Medicare benefit electronically from their
doctor's surgery and have this benefit deposited directly into their chosen bank account. The service will
also deliver easier and faster payment of bulk-bill rebates to doctors. Extensive consultation has been
undertaken with industry and other stakeholder groups and culminated in a proposal for government
consideration early in the 2006-07 financial year.
Cross-portfolio submission on fraud and compliance
The core department co-ordinated a strategic package of reforms across government with 17 fraud and
compliance measures announced as part of the 2006-07 Budget. This package focuses on addressing
new areas of exposure, including high-profile, complex and international cases. Enhancing Centrelink's
ability to detect and investigate these cases and improving the Director of Public Prosecutions' capacity
to prosecute the more serious social security fraud will result in substantial returns to taxpayer funds, as
well as having a deterrent effect. The package includes extra resources to scrutinise financial
intelligence from the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and serious fraud
tip-offs from members of the public, as well as recruiting specialist intelligence analysts dedicated to
uncovering elaborate fraud cases.
The fraud and compliance package, totalling $282.3 million in operating costs over four years, is
estimated to provide $548.4 million in savings for health and welfare services over five years.
Voluntary referrals to the Job Network
Over the past year, voluntary referrals from Centrelink to the Job Network for non-activity tested
customers have been sustained at a high level. In 2005-06 a total of 109,157 people receiving Parenting
Payment or Disability Support Pension were referred to the Job Network by Centrelink. Of these, 98,451
were in receipt of Parenting Payment and 10,706 were receiving Disability Support Pension. This reflects
the ongoing efforts of the core department, with the Department of Employment and Workplace
Relations (DEWR) and Centrelink, to support people into work.
This referral rate was sustained through an improved 'work first' message to clients at every contact with
Centrelink. It also reflects the continued success of the outbound call strategy to customers in receipt of
Parenting Payment. In 2005-06, over 131,000 Parenting Payment customers were contacted through the
outbound call strategy, with 25,713 accepting an offer of a referral to the Job Network as a result of the
call.
Data from DEWR shows that more than 46,000 Parenting Payment customers received jobs through Job
Network in 2005-06. An additional 11,000 jobs were achieved for Disability Support Pension customers.
Figure 8 Monthly voluntary referrals to the Job Network from Centrelink (Disability Support Pension,
Parenting Payment Partnered and Parenting Payment Single)
Figure 9 Cumulative voluntary referrals to the Job Network from Centrelink (Disability Support Pension,
Parenting Payment Partnered and Parenting Payment Single)
Other service delivery policy issues
During 2005-06, the Service Delivery Policy Branch provided and coordinated advice on a broad range
of policy reforms, including on welfare reform, employment, health and indigenous service issues, to
ensure that service delivery realities are taken into account.
The core department has contributed to the development and implementation of policy across a number
of portfolios. Specific policy initiatives include Welfare to Work, the childcare rebate, family law reforms,
reviews of child support and Family Tax Benefit quarantining.
The aim is to make sure that service delivery issues are considered during the early phases of policy
development to ensure new policy can be implemented quickly and effectively.
Child support reforms
On 28 February 2006, the Government announced a package to reform the Child Support Scheme and
the way that CSA delivers its services. These child support reforms support the Government's reform of
the family law system, which aims to encourage shared parenting and strengthen relationships between
intact and separated families.
Indigenous
The core department, in partnership with the six Human Services agencies, is committed to improving
the delivery of social and health-related services to indigenous Australians.
Statements of commitment to reconciliation with indigenous Australians were signed by the Minister, the
Acting Secretary of DHS, and each Agency Head on 30 May 2006.
Services in Centrelink's existing indigenous Call Centre in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and
Queensland have been expanded to include services offered by all Human Services agencies. Call
centre staff are able to assist customers with enquiries across the broad range of services offered by
Human Services agencies. Where enquiries are complex, call centre staff were able to transfer
customers to staff at specific agencies, and approximately 800 customers benefited from this service
during 2005-06.
The indigenous Ambassador program was officially launched by the Minister on 30 May 2006.
Indigenous ambassadors Artie Beetson and Kyle van der Kuyp play an important role in working with
indigenous communities to ensure they have the best possible access to Australian government
services. The ambassadors have visited communities around Australia to assist in communicating
government messages about participation, welfare and health services available to indigenous people
and communities.
Centrelink's Remote Area Service Centres (RASCs) are available in 10 locations across the top end of
Australia. RASCs provide a range of government services, including those delivered by Medicare
Australia and Australian Hearing.
Reducing red tape
The core department has undertaken a number of activities to reduce red tape, including through the
simplification of and reduction in forms and letters, increased access by customers to online services
and delivery of cross-agency services from single locations.
Delivery analysis
The core department closely monitors the Human Services agencies' functions, directions and financial
positions. The agencies report regularly on ongoing performance issues, including audit reports and
progress on policy implementation. The core department also manages and reviews the governance
structures of Human Services agencies.
Governance reviews
From 1 October 2005, the Centrelink Board and the Health insurance Commission were replaced by
Chief Executive Officers appointed by, and reporting to, the Minister through the Secretary, consistent
with the Uhrig Review of the Corporate Governance of Statutory Authorities and Office Holders. The
Health insurance Commission was renamed Medicare Australia.
To provide greater clarity in the definition of each agency's purpose, direction and objectives, the
Minister's Statements of Expectations of the Chief Executive Officers of both Centrelink and Medicare
Australia are published on the core department's and the agencies internet sites. The Centrelink and
Medicare Australia Chief Executive Officers have responded with Statements of intent, agreed with the
Minister and published on their websites, describing how they propose to meet the expectations of the
Minister.
During 2005-06, the core department assessed the governance arrangements in respect to Australian
Hearing against the Uhrig Review's governance models. The existing Board arrangement for Australian
Hearing has been confirmed and will continue.
Delivery performance and financial analysis
The operational and financial performance of Human Services agencies is regularly assessed and
analysed. The Minister is briefed on emerging issues and areas with the potential to offer improvements
to service delivery.
The core department reports to the Minister regularly on the implementation of activities to achieve the
government's objectives of efficient and effective social and health-related service delivery.
Forms and letters review
Human Services agencies are reviewing forms and letters to eliminate those that are unnecessary and
to simplify those that remain. Some examples to date are:

Disability Support pensioners whose medical circumstances are reviewed each year now complete
an 11-question form, reduced from a 29-question form

a new four-page combined Family Assistance and Medicare claim form now replaces the 32-page
Family Assistance claim form and two-page Medicare enrolment form previously completed by
families after the birth of a baby.
In all, Human Services agencies plan to eliminate or simplify forms and letters associated with around 18
million transactions per year.
Unscheduled absences
A report prepared in October 2005—Review of Absence Management in DHS Agencies—by David
Spedding of Dilma Consulting Pty Ltd found that three Human Services agencies had unacceptably high
levels of unscheduled absences, two agencies had low levels of unscheduled absences and one
agency's unscheduled absences were similar to the Australian Public Service (APS) average as
published in the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) Audit Report No. 52 of 2002-03, Absence
Management in the Australian Public Service.
To ensure accurate monitoring of the level of absenteeism, a standard definition of absenteeism has
been agreed for all Human Services agencies. The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC)
adopted the same definition for the whole APS. The agencies set target levels of absenteeism and must
report on absenteeism to the core department monthly. Over the course of 2005-06, Centrelink has
reduced absenteeism by one day per full-time equivalent staff member per year, equivalent to an
increase of about 200 staff. In CSA there has been a 7 per cent reduction in unplanned leave in 2005-06
compared to 2004-05.
Comcare premiums
In an effort to minimise workplace injury and the associated costs in terms of time off work, premium
levels and injury costs, the core department established a working group to review all processes and
procedures associated with the management of workers' compensation claims. Significant progress has
been achieved by the group, including:

reviewing and re-drafting occupational health and safety (OH&S) policies

analysing and re-designing in-house OH&S provisions

developing consistent workers' compensation management procedures.
As part of the action plan developed by the cross-agency working group, the core department signed the
Comcare Statement of Commitment on 23 June 2006, which commits the department to work towards
achieving reductions in injuries and therefore premiums. All agency heads have similarly committed to
working towards reductions in workplace injuries.
Agency audit and risk management
The core department's audit and risk management activities focus on the following areas:

providing responses to ANAO reports that relate to Human Services agencies

examining and analysing all ANAO performance audits, identifying common themes and lessons to
be applied as better practices within Human Services agencies.
These activities, when combined with other regular reports and Executive meetings provide the core
department with the opportunity to proactively manage potential issues in a timely way.
Local Liaison Officer program
The Local Liaison Officer (LLO) program commenced in February 2005 and is now a well-established
service available to all federal parliamentarians to assist them with handling constituents' enquiries or
grievances about Human Services agencies. Local liaison officers are assigned to every federal
electorate as a single point of contact for information and support about Human Services agencies. By
the end of the financial year 2005-06, approximately 6,300 referrals had been received through the
program, 99.6 per cent of which were responded to within two working days. There has been a very high
take up of this service by Parliamentarians.
Job Capacity Assessments
In the past twelve months, the core department has:

conducted and finalised a competitive tender process resulting in 15 private and community
organisations being selected as Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) providers in addition to the three
government providers

developed and provided high-quality training and supporting documentation to all JCA providers.
Face-to-face training sessions for providers took place in each capital city and were attended by
representatives from all provider organisations. Seven training sessions were attended by
approximately 200 staff. Two JCA staff delivered training at each site

convened the first national JCA conference, held on 13 June 2006. Up-to-date and critical information
was provided to all delegates, who represented all 18 JCA provider organisations

developed extensive service provider guidelines to ensure all JCAs consistently meet a high standard

developed accessible online training through the DEWR learning centre, allowing providers to
undertake essential training at their own pace in an online environment and for training outcomes to
be monitored electronically

formed strong and effective working relationships with other departments and agencies and
stakeholder groups to ensure that the highest standard of services is provided and that policy
development has been informed by client needs.
In 2005-06, the core department has worked to set up the systems required for the new JCA program to
function efficiently and effectively from its inception on 1 July 2006.
JCAs will be used to identify a person's ability to work and any barriers they may face in getting a job.
Barriers to work may include physical or psychological disability, alcoholism, drug addiction or
homelessness. Under the new system, people will be referred more quickly to an assessment and, if
appropriate, will be directly referred to relevant services to maximise their employment potential.
The core department aims to improve assessment of work capacity for people with barriers to work by
working closely with providers, and encouraging communication and feedback from stakeholders,
including members of the JCA Reference Group for external stakeholders, which provides a forum for
communication about JCAs. Generally, assessments are to be provided within 10 working days of the
referral being made. Assessments will be comprehensive, taking into account any medical, work
capacity or psychological barriers. Referral to services occurs at the time of the JCA. This early
intervention and support will help people find work that best suits their abilities.
Once a person's capacity for work has been assessed, they are directly referred to an employment or
support service that meets their individual needs. Services include Job Network, Disability Employment
Network, Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Personal Support Program or Job Placement, Employment
and Training.
The JCA Account, a new stream of funding announced in the 2005-06 Budget, provides a funding
stream for job capacity assessors to refer people to short-term assistance programs that address their
barriers to work. Under the initiative, job capacity assessors are able to refer individuals to a short-term
service or support program where they are assessed as being ready for Job Network once they have
received that short-term support. Job capacity assessors are able to fund those services from the JCA
Account. Organisations supplying short-term services funded under the JCA Account are engaged by
the job capacity assessor.
Marketing and communication
Communication campaigns
To improve the Australian public's understanding of Government social and health-related services and
as part of its commitment to provide more proactive, consistent and better targeted communication to
Human Services' customers, the core department conducted three pilot communication campaigns
during 2005-06. These campaigns featured a low-key interview concept, dubbed 'talk about'.
Drought assistance
The Drought Assistance Campaign was carried out from 4 to 17 September 2005 in affected areas. The
campaign informed farmers of the assistance available to them via Centrelink. It comprised advertising,
direct mail and an unpaid media component. As a result:

calls to the Drought Assistance Hotline tripled (average of 489 calls a day, compared with an average
of 160 calls a day before the campaign). Figure 10 illustrates the number of calls before, during and
after the campaign
Figure 10 Call centre statistics—Drought Assistance Campaign

research indicated that the proportion of farmers surveyed who believed they had a good
understanding of drought assistance rose from 49 per cent to 70 per cent. Awareness of the specific
measures rose by up to 30 per cent

the percentage of farmers who reported they would apply for drought assistance was 25 per cent,
with a further 8 per cent likely to apply

for farmers who are already receiving some assistance, 74 per cent were willing to apply for the
improved measures and some 58 per cent of farmers who had applied before but did not qualify were
intending to try again.
Support the System that Supports You
The core department developed and broadcast low-cost commercials between September 2006 and
January 2006 that targeted Centrelink clients using daytime television. These no-frills advertisements
explained in simple terms the customer's responsibility to update their details, and the consequences of
not doing so. The campaign complemented the mass media campaign managed by DEWR. Overall, the
campaign contributed to:

81,000 customers voluntarily updating their circumstances

19,700 customers calling the dedicated line to report changes or check their details

23,000 tip-offs provided on alleged fraud, contributing to an average weekly saving of $1.4 million.
Students Online
Between December 2005 and March 2006, the core department produced radio, print and online
advertisements to encourage students to update their Youth Allowance or Austudy details online.
The campaign was conducted in two parts, the first targeting the mothers of Youth Allowance recipients
in Years 11 and 12, the second targeting mature-age university students receiving Austudy.
In the first five weeks of 2006, significant increases in students lodging claims online were recorded. This
represented 32 per cent of total claims and exceeded the campaign target of 20 per cent of total claims.
Management and accountability
Corporate governance
This section reports on aspects of the core department's corporate governance that differ from, or
function in addition to, the whole-of-department measures described in the 'Overview' chapter (see page
13).
Table 2 provides information on the committees that made up the core department's corporate
governance framework in 2005-06.
During the year, a review was undertaken of the core department's corporate governance framework.
The recommendations of the review were considered by the Executive Management Group. Any
changes to the corporate governance framework arising from the review will be implemented in 2006-07.
Table 2 Core department—committees for corporate governance
Committees
Executive
Management
Group
Strategic
Management
Group
Audit Committee
Frequency of
meetings
Members
Functions

Secretary (Chair)


Deputy Secretary
Manages high-level
corporate strategy

All SES staff

Advises on senior staffing
arrangements, internal
resource allocation and how
to meet government
expectations of the core
department

Secretary (Chair)

Fortnightly

Deputy Secretary

Provides the Secretary with
strategic management
support and advice
All Division heads

Deputy Secretary
(Chair)

6 times a year

independent
Members (two)
Risk management
identification and
amelioration

General Manager,
CRS Australia
Internal control processes
(including fraud control)

Financial reporting process

Monitoring of the
Department's internal Audit
Units


General Manager,
CSA
Weekly
Committees
People and
Leadership
Committee
information
Management
Committee
Security
Committee
Members
Functions

External audit process

Human Services' process for
monitoring compliance with
legislation, regulations and
government policy

Develops the core
department's

capability, with particular
emphasis on:

Secretary (Chair)

Deputy Secretary

All Division heads

Assistant Secretary
Corporate


Assistant Secretary
Service DeliveryPolicy Development
defining and developing
the corporate culture and
shaping values

guiding succession
planning, workforce
planning and staff
development

identifying people
management and
leadership initiatives

Director People
Strategies

Elected staff
representative

Deputy Secretary
(Chair)

AS Service Delivery—
Strategy and
Coordination

strategies and policies for
effective use of
information resources

Assistant Secretary
Corporate


Assistant Secretary
Marketing and
Communication
development of
information infrastructure
and services that support
the core department's
business outcomes

Director IT Support

IT Security Adviser

Deputy Secretary
(Chair)

Assistant Secretary
Corporate

Agency Security
Adviser

Provides advice to Executive
Management Group on:

Oversees development and
maintenance of knowledge
management and sharing in
the core department

Reviews the effectiveness of
internal and external
communications

Oversees, monitors and
reports on overall
management of security
risks within the core
department, including
security policy, planning and
risk management
Frequency of
meetings
Quarterly
Quarterly
Quarterly
Committees
Members
Functions


Reviews the protective
security environment in the
core department against the
requirements of the
Australian Government's
Protective Security Manual

Conducts an annual review
of the core department's
Protective Security Plan

Instigates new information
distribution controls, where
appropriate

Works with the Audit
Committee in relation to
fraud control and the
management of privacy
issues

Prepares responses to the
Australian Government
Annual Protective Security
Survey
IT Security Adviser
Frequency of
meetings
Figure 11 Department of Human Services corporate governance framework
INTERNAL SCRUTINY
The core department continues to undertake a range of activities designed to establish appropriate
internal scrutiny mechanisms. In line with the governance framework, management committees have
met to discharge their responsibilities under the committee charter.
Under the aegis of the DHS Audit Committee, the Chief Executive instructions were reviewed and
Financial Delegations updated.
An Overarching Fraud Control Plan was developed and will be updated as the fraud control plans for the
core department, CSA and CRS Australia are updated.
No instances of fraud, or suspected fraud were detected or investigated in the core department during
2005-06.
In addition, the DHS Audit Committee has arranged for strategic and operational risk assessment
exercises to be conducted for the core department, CSA and CRS Australia.
The Security Committee has had carriage of the development and monitoring of the core department's
Protective Security Plan and has approved a core department staff security awareness program, which
will be run early next year.
EXTERNAL SCRUTINY
Administrative tribunals, litigation and Ombudsman
The core department has not received any Administrative Appeals Tribunal appeals, notice of impending
litigation or notice of investigations by the Ombudsman.
Australian National Audit Office
The Auditor-General issued two cross-agency audit reports that include information on the operations of
the core department:

Report No. 28 2005-06 Management of Net Appropriations Agreements, tabled 31 January 2006 The
core department was found to be in compliance with net appropriation legislative requirements.

Report No. 48 2005-06 Audit of Financial Statements of General Government Sector Entities for the
Year Ending 30 June 2006, tabled on 22 June 2006. The core department participated in this annual
audit of financial controls and financial statements.
The 2005-06 interim audit identified no 'A' or 'B' findings for the department or CRS Australia.
There were however, four 'B' findings related to CSA.
Corrective action taken by CSA since the interim audit is expected to result in a reduction from four to
two 'B' findings.
OUR PEOPLE
As at 30 June 2006 the core department employed 97 individuals. A total of 94 staff were employed in
the core department under the Public Service Act 1999. This figure includes all ongoing and nonongoing employees. Inclusion of staff on short-term secondment from Human Services agencies brought
this figure to 97.
Detailed information on staffing is provided at Appendix 1.
Human resource management
Since November 2005 recruitment rounds have seen a significant growth in the numbers of staff
employed by the core department on either an ongoing or non-ongoing basis. This is mainly as a result
of new government initiatives.
The core department has made good use of secondments, drawing on talent from within the Human
Services agencies. In many cases, seconded staff have worked in the core department for three to six
months before returning to their home agency. The secondment of staff to the core department from
Human Services agencies has provided support and collegiality and allowed the core department to
draw on their wealth of experience.
A number of committees and working parties across Human Services were established this year to
ensure targeted reform. This strategy has enabled improvements in communication between Human
Services agencies, aided in ensuring greater consistency in reporting, and facilitated the development of
a clear human resources management strategy across Human Services agencies. These include:

DHS Absence Management Committee

Human Services indigenous Employment Task Force

Human Resources Policy and Practices Working Group

DHS Superannuation Committee

DHS WorkChoices Committee

DHS OH&S working groups.
Remuneration
Australian Workplace Agreements
All ongoing and non-ongoing staff of the core department are covered by Australian Workplace
Agreements (AWAs). Employees on secondment remain covered by the employment conditions of their
home agencies. The core department has successfully implemented the WorkChoices AWAs under the
new WorkChoices legislation.
Remuneration arrangements are 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
achieved through the simplification of rules governing employment.
Salary ranges for core department employees are provided in Appendix 1.
Performance pay
All core department staff are employed on AWAs, which include an eligibility for performance bonuses.
At 30 June 2005, there were 54 staff in the core department. Not all were ongoing staff of the core
department; some were on secondment. In total, 29 core department staff were eligible for performance
bonuses. Of these, 24 people received performance bonuses, with a total amount paid of $96,300. This
amount does not include any bonus paid to the Secretary.
The performance bonuses paid in financial year 2005-06 for performance during the 2004-05 financial
year are set out in Table 3.
Table 3 Core department—performance pay
Level
Staff eligible
Staff paid
Amount paid ($)
Average ($)
APS
5
3
4,794
1,598
EL
15
12
34,513
2,876
SESa
9
9
56,993
6,333
Total
29
24
96,300
a Does not include any bonus paid to the Secretary.
Performance Management Scheme
The core department's Performance Management Scheme (PMS) draws extensively on the integrated
Leadership System developed by the APSC. Under this scheme, all staff were required to have
performance agreements, including learning and development plans, in place for 2005-06.
These agreements form the basis for assessment of how a person has performed in their role and how
they have developed during the timeframe of the agreement. The assessment is also used to determine
performance bonuses. Bonuses are paid when an employee receives a rating of four (superior) or five
(outstanding) on a scale of five.
Enhancing performance
The core department's induction program begins the development of workforce capability by introducing
all new staff to the workplace culture, expectations and values, and prepares them to consider what is
needed for their performance agreements. All induction intakes are briefed by the Secretary, the
Executive and other senior staff on what is expected of them and the department.
Workforce capability requirements were identified through various sources such as the organisational
learning needs analysis conducted for the 2004-05 State of the Service Report, staff survey, individual
learning and development plans and consideration by the People and Leadership Committee.
Workforce capability is addressed organisationally by utilising the APSC's flagship programs such as the
Career Development Assessment Centre (CDAC), and indigenous recruitment initiatives, outbound
programs with Human Services agencies, mentoring and coaching and other programs that are related
to individual technical learning needs.
In addition, 11 staff attended Centrelink's Outbound program to gain a better understanding of
Centrelink's operations and customer needs.
During the 2005-06 period the core department delivered skill development and learning to:

68 staff members to equip them with further technical skills to perform in their specific roles

58 staff members to increase organisational capability through leadership and strategic planning.
The core department conducted a regular seminar series designed to raise staff understanding of the
development and implementation of service delivery innovation. Speakers included Dr Shergold,
Secretary, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Matt Miller, General Manager, CSA and senior
staff from Centrelink.
Another learning and development initiative included Executive Coaching. As part of the PMS, all
ongoing Senior Executive Service (SES) staff have participated in 360-degree review and coaching
feedback. As a strategy of the PMS, 12 officers have commenced formal executive coaching to enhance
leadership development.
Four SES officers have attended the SES Band 1 Orientation Program and a number of other courses
related to their roles. The core department also participated in the recently introduced APSC program for
SES Band 3: Leadership Mastery. Four other SES officers attended programs overseas, one attending
the Public Service Summit in Stockholm.
Workplace diversity
During 2005-06, the core department continued to build its ongoing commitment to providing a fair and
equitable environment for all staff. The DHS Diversity Plan was developed through consultation with all
staff and launched during 2005-06. This is an integrated plan that incorporates the indigenous
Employment Strategy, the Disability Strategy and the Diversity Strategy. The plan ensures that diversity
is considered in all aspects of Human Services' work, particularly in recruitment and people
management strategies.
During National Reconciliation Week, 27 May to 3 June, the core department, in partnership with the six
Human Services agencies, signed a State of Commitment to Reconciliation. This recognises Human
Services' commitment to providing equal life opportunities for all Australians. We work to achieve this
goal through improving the delivery of social and health-related services to indigenous Australians.
A staff survey was conducted that built on the work undertaken in 2004-05 to develop the core
department's culture and characteristics and valuing of staff differences. Following the survey, staff focus
groups were held to further define and enhance the DHS Values Statement. As the core department
continues to evolve, this work has proven valuable in assisting to embed APS values into all work
practices.
Occupational health and safety
The core department's human resources policies and principles manual and associated OH&S manual
underwent a comprehensive review in January 2006, with substantial improvements made.
During 2005-2006, the core department continued to focus attention on the physical work environment.
A number of staff were trained as health and safety representatives.
The core department has taken a lead role in the Human Services cross-agency OH&S committees to
identify, develop and implement consistent strategies to address OH&S requirements.
Health Week was a feature of the core department calendar, with a health promotion theme. Forty-two
members of staff participated in health and lifestyle assessments, and 24 employees took advantage of
flu shots. Other activities included the distribution of education and information packages on various
health and lifestyle issues. Organisational health activities included a healthy morning tea, staff bike ride
and barbecue, and an all-staff health trivia competition.
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Financial management
The department's financial management awareness and capability improved in 2005-06 with a
strengthened framework of policies, guidelines, systems and controls, and the introduction of more
comprehensive and informative monthly management reporting and forecasting.
The department fulfilled its statutory responsibilities throughout the year in respect of financial reporting
and management, and provided meaningful and properly supported financial information to the ANAO to
facilitate timely completion of their 2005-06 audit of the core department.
Use of consultants and services contractors
See Appendix 4.
Competitive tendering and contracting
The core department, CRS Australia, and CSA went to the market in September 2005 for internal audit
services. Ascent was awarded the contract.
Purchasing
All Human Services agencies and the core department, now follow DHS Procurement Guidelines which
took effect from 1 January 2006. The objectives of these guidelines are to:

better meet the Minister for Human Services' requirements for improved efficiencies in procurement
processes across agencies

give agencies greater responsibility and accountability for their purchasing

move to common purchasing for all purchases over $1 million by actively participating in joint
procurements.
The guidelines, which are in addition to the relevant Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines that apply
to purchasing by Human Services agencies, are published on the DHS internet site and all suppliers and
potential suppliers are encouraged to recognise the guidelines in their offers to supply goods and
services.
Output 2 Child Support Agency
Figure 12 Child Support Agency organisational structure and senior staffing
Highlights
During 2005-06, the Child Support Agency (CSA):

transferred an estimated $2.56 billion in child support payments, which benefited almost 1.2 million
children

reduced the total outstanding domestic child support debt from $739 million to $729 million

through the intensive Debt Collection (IDC) initiative, collected $41.5 million in outstanding child
support, bringing the total collected under this program to $93 million since July 2003

established an agreement with the New Zealand Child Support Scheme (in addition to the existing
Australia-New Zealand Reciprocal Agreement) for the collection of outstanding arrears for 4,500
cases where the non-resident parent now resides in Australia

developed and commenced implementation in March 2006 of a major service delivery improvement
program—Building a Better CSA (BBCSA)—following the Government's approval of the reforms and
an additional $150 million in funding over four years

successfully completed all enabling work to support implementation of Stage 1 of the Child Support
Scheme Reforms (CSSR), following the government's approval on 28 February 2006

launched CSAonline, a new 24/7 service-delivery channel for parents and employers in April 2006

collaborated closely with the Attorney-General's Department, the Department of Families, Community
Services and indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA) and the core department in the planning for
implementation of the Government's new Family Relationship Centres and Family Advice Line from
July 2006

improved referral and support services for separated parents were provided through the introduction
of 'warm transfers' for customers to other service providers, new information resources, new
partnerships with support services and improved stakeholder engagement

realised procurement savings (approximately $455,000), and achieved best practice sharing and
service delivery synergies through collaboration with the core department and other Human Services
agencies

implemented a comprehensive attendance management strategy that reduced unplanned leave by
1.6 days per full time equivalent employee by 30 June 2006

improved customer satisfaction levels, as measured by CSA's real-time customer feedback system,
Customers Having a Say (CHAS). Overall, 78 per cent of customers rated CSA's customer service
as satisfactory or better

staff were rated highly for their professionalism, as measured by the 'Professionalism Survey'. Out of
a possible score of 5.0, CSA staff averaged 3.9 in 2005-06, up from 3.8 in 2004-05.
General Manager's review
This year has been another challenging but successful year for CSA.
We built on the solid foundation of our past performance and again delivered strong performance across
all our business areas. This resulted in even better outcomes for separated parents and their children
than in 2004-05. These outcomes were achieved while simultaneously developing a major reform
agenda to significantly improve our customer service and implementing the first stage of the
Government's Child Support Scheme Reforms (CSSR), announced on 28 February 2006.
I want to acknowledge the vital contribution of CSA's professional and committed staff to these
successful outcomes. Despite the challenges of a rapidly changing and sometimes difficult operating
environment, they have worked collaboratively with each other and our partners to ensure success. It is
also appropriate to recognise the very significant assistance to CSA from the core department and our
sister agencies within Human Services.
IMPROVING OUR SERVICE
CSA recognises the imperative of improving customer service, particularly for the 15 per cent of parents
who are dissatisfied with their treatment or outcomes.
As foreshadowed last year, we focused on implementing new and improved ways to provide services to
separated parents. We have consciously shifted our thinking from 'clients' to 'customers' to reflect the
type of service experience we want parents to receive and our staff to deliver. We recognise it is
important, wherever possible, for parents to be supported and encouraged to have positive relationships
with each other and with CSA. It is in their interests and those of their children.
We introduced a number of new customer service offers during the year:

CSAonline: a secure internet service providing 24/7 access to individual customer accounts

CSA Customer Service Guarantee and receipt number to improve traceability and CSA accountability

'warm transfers' from CSA to Centrelink or Crisis Support Services on a national basis.
SUPPORTING PARENTS
Partnering and working collaboratively with other key stakeholders remained a key focus in 2005-06.
We developed a number of new partnerships to deliver joint products and services. Our partnerships
with beyond blue and the Australian Division of General Practice were established to promote increased
awareness and understanding of the risks posed by depression during separation and where to go for
support.
We worked closely with our colleagues in the Australian Government and the non-government sector to
ensure that support services for parents from the Government's family law reforms would be ready to
commence in 2006-07. In particular, we worked closely with the Attorney-General's Department and
Family Relationship Centre providers to establish a supportive referral network.
IMPROVING OUR COMMUNICATION
Over the last year we adopted a more proactive and responsive approach to interaction with the media
to build greater public confidence in CSA's performance and increased awareness of child support
issues. The impact of this approach is evident in more positive media coverage, less adversarial
attitudes of parents, and fewer complaints.
IMPROVING OUR CAPABILITY AND CAPACITY
Given the very substantial reform agenda facing CSA, it was important that our capability and readiness
for implementing the reforms was put on a sound footing during 2005-06. A number of key organisational
reviews of corporate support services were conducted and actions initiated to address problems
identified.
Significant enhancements were made to improve CSA's financial management systems and capabilities.
Major efforts to address unacceptably high levels of unplanned staff absences and workers'
compensation claims commenced during the year. CSA worked closely with the core department, Health
Services Australia, CRS Australia and Centrelink to explore the causes of, and to develop
comprehensive strategies to address, these problems. It is very pleasing to report that we reduced the
level of unplanned leave compared with the previous year. More importantly, there is now a depth of
engagement in CSA that suggests the ambitious new targets for the coming year will also be achieved.
A greater emphasis on early intervention and proactive case management has seen similarly promising
reductions in levels of workers' compensation claims during the latter half of the year.
Reviews of corporate support capability were also completed across information and communications
technology and corporate services. This work has provided a forward work program to be implemented
alongside the CSSR and Building a Better CSA (BBCSA).
With coordination by the core department, CSA was able to leverage its improvement of goods and
services from joint arrangements with other Human Services agencies. These procurement savings
together with access to other agencies' provider panels enabled more cost-effective operations for CSA.
We also benefited from sharing of best practice and working together with our sister agencies on joint
service delivery issues, particularly joint delivery to remote indigenous communities.
In 2006-07, CSA will continue on its journey of reform, particularly focusing on implementation of both
the BBCSA and the CSSR. Importantly, we will also ensure a high standard of delivery of the existing
Child Support Scheme while the reforms are implemented.
I look forward to working with my dedicated and professional team, with our colleagues in the other
Human Services agencies, and our other partners in government and the community to achieve these
important outcomes.
Matt Miller
General Manager
About us
CSA administers the Child Support Scheme in Australia.
CSA operates under three main Acts. These are:

the Child Support (Registration & Collection) Act 1988, an Act to make provision for the collection of
certain periodic maintenance payments, and for related purposes

the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989, an Act to make provision for determining the financial
support payable by parents for their children, and for other purposes

the Family Law Act 1975.
In addition to CSA's relationship with the core department, CSA assists FaCSIA to develop policy
relating to the Child Support Scheme.
CSA has 36 sites around Australia to deliver services to separated parents. Twenty-one of these sites
are Regional Service Centres (RSCs), most of which are co-located with Centrelink offices.
Performance
Outcome
Effective and efficient delivery of social and health-related services, including financial assistance to
the Australian community
Output 2—Child Support Agency
Delivery of child support assessment, registration, collection and disbursement services
Traditionally, CSA's performance has been measured in terms of the cost, effectiveness and price of its
outputs (see Table 4) and an important measure of effectiveness is the increasing number of Private
Collect cases (parents not using CSA as the payment making mechanism).
Table 4 CSA—key performance measures, 2005-06
Measure
Target
Performance in 2005-06
Quantity
In 2005-06, CSA expected to handle
cases involving 1.4 million parents.
CSA handled approximately 780,000
cases involving 1.4 million parents and
over 1.1 million children.
Adequacy
In 2005-06, the CSA expected to
transfer $2.4 billion in child support
between parents.
CSA facilitated the transfer of $2.6 billion
in child support between parents.
Independence
The CSA aimed to meet specific
targets as follows:
Effectiveness
Cost per case

child support transfer rate (CSA
Collect and Private Collect) >
95%
An estimated 95.8% of child support
liabilities raised since the Child Support
Scheme began (1988) has been credited.

percentage of Private Collect
cases to total cases (CSA Collect
and Private Collect cases) >
52.5%.
52.6% of child support cases were
managed using Private Collect
arrangements.
Target
Actual
< $352
$358
Measure
Target
Performance in 2005-06
Cost per dollar
transferred
Target
Actual
Less than 12.0 cents
11.0 cents
Price
$278.0 million full-year estimate
(excludes new policy funding)
$278.0 million (appropriation—excludes
new policy funding)
Detailed reports on CSA's performance against each of those measures follow.
Figure 13 sets out the movement in the child support collection rate associated with 'CSA Collect'
domestic cases since 2003-04.
Figure 13 Child support collection—total credits applied to total liabilities (CSA Collect domestic cases),
2003–04 to 2005–06
During 2005-06 CSA created a new strategic plan. This plan embeds the very substantial reform agenda
facing the agency. The Strategic Plan provides a new framework of five goals, which are reported on
below. The goals represent the CSA's future direction as well as reflecting much of the focus of the six
challenges from CSA's 2004-05 Business Plan. There is, however, a stronger emphasis on the specific
needs of separated parents (CSA's customers) and the service response required to achieve improved
outcomes for those parents and their children.
GOAL 1: IMPROVE COLLECTION OF CHILD SUPPORT
Strategies:

implement comprehensive compliance strategies that ensure the right amount of child
support is paid on time

improve the fairness and accuracy of CSA's processes and procedures to maximise voluntary
compliance

provide support programs that encourage parents to accept/meet their child support
responsibilities.
In 2005-06 CSA assisted parents to transfer $2.56 billion to financially support almost 1.2 million children
in separated families. This is an increase on the 2004-05 result of $2.38 billion. Also, in 2005-06 CSA
successfully reduced Australia-sourced child support debt by almost $9.1 million, building upon similar
results in 2004-05.
CSA collected an additional $41.5 million in child support in 2005-06 through the intensive Debt
Collection (IDC) initiative, and contacted more than 9,000 new customers with a debt to arrange for
payment of the arrears.
CSA's active international caseload grew during 2005-06 by 3,320 cases (15.8 per cent) to 24,312. This
follows previously high annual caseload growth and reflects the impacts of globalisation, the increased
utilisation of international child support arrangements and improved service relationships between
central authorities.
Australia and New Zealand are very effective at collecting child support on a reciprocal basis. CSA
entered into an additional bilateral agreement with New Zealand Child Support during the year to register
and collect child support on approximately 4,500 targeted cases from New Zealand. This agreement
deals with the backlog of cases that New Zealand has where the paying parent resides in Australia.
Under this particular arrangement, CSA has received 1,450 cases and collected and transferred
$636,560 in maintenance back to New Zealand Child Support.
CSA continued to encourage parents' independence and self-reliance in managing their child support
responsibilities. To achieve this, CSA seeks to understand parents and their specific needs in order to
offer them appropriate products and services following separation.
During the year, CSA expanded the delivery of the acclaimed Staying Connected program (a half-day
workplace program to help men deal with separation) through tendering for community providers. The
program provides child support information to men in their workplace. The program's outcomes have
exceeded expectations, attracting national and international interest and recognition. This year
participants included Victoria Police and Australia Post.
CSA also provided a Parent Support Service to all parents displaying emotional and/or psychological
distress, or who were assessed as being at risk of harm either to themselves or others. The service is
specifically designed to support parents over the telephone and includes two follow-up calls after the
initial call as part of the service. The Parent Support Service is delivered by an external provider with
staff trained to support parents in distress.
CSA is committed to encouraging and supporting parents to manage their child support responsibilities
independently, using Private Collect arrangements. Success in this area has continued, with 52.6 per
cent of cases registered with CSA transferring their child support privately at the end of 2005-06, up from
52.2 per cent in 2004-05.
During 2005-06 CSA commenced a number of projects to ensure the fairness and accuracy of CSA's
processes and procedures. A review was commenced to establish whether CSA's systems and
processes were biased in favour of any particular group of parents. CSA also commenced an internal
review of the quality of its objections process to inform CSA's readiness for the pending Social Security
Administrative Tribunal (SSAT) review jurisdiction. These projects aim to build customer and stakeholder
confidence in CSA decisions and maximise voluntary compliance. Maximising voluntary compliance—
whether through increased private collection arrangements or more parents making regular, timely
payments to CSA—will positively impact on the lives of Australian children living in separated families.
During 2005-06 CSA continued to implement strategies to improve compliance by maintaining a focus
on:

Departure Prohibition Orders (DPOs)

non-lodgement of tax returns

the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)

litigation

proactive audits of avoiders and minimisers.
Through the use of DPOs customers with a significant debt can be prohibited from leaving the country
until their debt is cleared. During the 2005-06 reporting period, 482 new DPOs were issued and 294
finalised and/or revoked. Total collections and corrections were $6,751,931. CSA has commenced
working more closely with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and the Australian
Federal Police in order to further improve the efficiency and effectiveness of DPOs.
In 2005-06 CSA referred over 14,000 customers to the ATO for lodgement-enforcement action. This is a
decrease on the 2004-05 figure of 24,000. However, CSA has also negotiated an increase in referrals to
the ATO and expects this figure to increase to over 125,000 referrals in 2006-07.
For customers unwilling to enter into arrangements to make their child support payments, further
compliance options include intercepting tax refunds via the ATO. In 2005-06 CSA intercepted over
80,000 refunds, which generated over $62 million in additional child support.
As a last resort, CSA is required to take legal action for enforcement. Litigation action in 2005-06
resulted in 786 cases finalised and $7.7 million in unpaid child support being collected. CSA also
proactively sought out customers who avoid and minimise their child support and in 2005-06 reviewed a
total of 702 cases resulting in an additional $3.8 million.
In 2006-07 CSA will continue to improve collection through the implementation of a comprehensive new
compliance and enforcement program, which includes significantly increased outputs across all areas.
Proactive investigation of avoiders and income-minimisers will be significantly increased to improve
system integrity.
GOAL 2: CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE
Strategies:

respond to every customer with empathy and provide prompt, accessible, consistent,
complete and unbiased support

provide tailored service options and referral systems to customers with complex child
support issues

broaden staff accountability to achieve the best possible outcome for the customer.
During 2005-06 CSA increased its focus on improving customer service and customer satisfaction
through initiatives ranging from increased staff training to the creation of online services for customers.
CSAonline was launched in April 2006 and has received positive feedback from CSA customers.
CSAonline enables parents to review their child support statements and letters and update their personal
details online at any time, thereby providing greater convenience for parents. By the end of June, over
6,000 customers had registered for the service.
In April 2006, CSA also introduced a service guarantee to parents, which involved the generation of a
customer receipt number for all customers. This initiative was received positively by customers and staff
and assists in improving levels of responsibility and accountability with the CSA.
CSA's emphasis on customer service was reinforced by the changing structure of the organisation at a
regional level. During 2005-06 CSA changed the role of Regional Registrars to State Managers to better
reflect the expected emphasis on the local leadership role. In addition, two national roadshows were held
to engage staff on the important changes affecting the CSA, and to focus on improving customer
service.
During 2005-06 the General Manager and State Managers participated in regular talkback radio to
provide improved accessibility for parents and provide an additional customer-focused face to the
agency. CSA followed up all individual callers and introduced matt@csa.gov.au, a direct email address
for listeners wishing to contact the General Manager. In addition, Local Liaison Officers ensured
Members of Parliament were provided with timely and accurate responses for their constituents. CSA
also continued to present public information sessions for customers to discuss their individual concerns
and to inform the community about CSA services.
These customer service improvement initiatives resulted in further increases in customer satisfaction
levels. Results from CSA's real-time customer feedback system, Customers Having a Say (CHAS),
showed improvement over the good 2004-05 results. The CHAS feedback is based on the CSA charter
elements, with customers ranking their service according to accuracy, extent to which they felt informed,
promptness, objectiveness, respect and resolve. In 2005-06 there were significant improvements in the
elements of 'informed', 'promptness' and 'objectiveness'. The remaining elements also showed an
increase on the 2004-05 results. Overall, a total of 78 per cent of customers gave ratings indicative of
satisfaction with the service provided by CSA staff.
Similarly CSA's other key customer service rating index—the Professionalism Survey—also confirmed
positive gains in customer satisfaction above already high levels. In 2005-06 the average customer
rating of CSA staff professionalism was 3.9 (out of a maximum score of 5) compared with 3.8 in 200405.
Another indicator of CSA's success in improving customer service is the continuing decline in complaints
received and upheld under independent review. Total complaints received in 2005-06 were 10,403
compared with 12,258 in 2004-05, a decrease of nearly 18 per cent.
CSA continued to improve the quality of its decisions. Objections to CSA decisions also declined again
this year despite the increased number of active cases. There were 19,148 objections in 2005-06
compared to 19,508 in 2004-05.
To further improve customer service, a new service delivery model that will significantly enhance the
organisation's approach to customer relationship management has been developed.
Through creating a strong focus on the 'customer as a whole' rather than viewing the customer through
individual business processes, CSA will create a more customer-centric approach including personalised
case management for customers with complex needs. This personalised service offer will be primarily
through a face-to-face service channel.
A range of other specific activities will also drive customer service improvements. These will include
smaller, better performing frontline teams; call recording of all customer telephone calls; better quality
and increased training and support for frontline staff; system enhancements to CUBA (CSA's case
management information system), and further enhancement of CSAonline.
GOAL 3: EFFECTIVE STAKEHOLDER RELATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT
Strategies:

engage stakeholders to play an active role in supporting separated parents

partner with government and community stakeholders to develop and deliver products and
services

collaborate with key stakeholders to provide more seamless services.
As a key service delivery agency in the family law system, CSA works with other relevant government
agencies to ensure children in separated families are financially supported by their parents. This
collaborative approach helps to deliver parental understanding of the system, focuses their attention on
the needs of their children and builds on opportunities to encourage their access to the wide range of
services available. This approach is a customer-centric rather than a transaction-based approach and
helps to proactively address the many issues facing separated parents. This, in turn, increases their
ability to meet their child support responsibilities.
During 2005-06, CSA worked collaboratively with the Attorney-General's Department, FaCSIA and
Centrelink to develop the referral and service models for the Family Relationship Centres and the Family
Relationship Advice Line. Training for all staff involved commenced in June 2006 after the appointment
of the service providers by the Attorney-General's Department.
CSA worked collaboratively with Centrelink to assist parents with both Centrelink-related and child
support issues. Staff also worked with Crisis Support Services to support parents who display emotional
and/or psychological distress. In addition, CSA developed a partnership with beyondblue to promote
community understanding that separation is a key risk factor for depression and related disorders. This
partnership has significantly helped to raise awareness of depression and provide support to help
parents deal effectively with it.
CSA was also presented with a Commended Award from Suicide Prevention Australia in recognition of
the contribution CSA has made to the community through initiatives such as the Parent Support Service
and the Being Connected program for newly separated unemployed parents.
CSA recognises the vital importance of effectively engaging key customer representative groups and
has worked hard during 2005-06 to create better partnerships to promote greater understanding of the
child support system and to provide improved access to support services.
State Managers reviewed the membership of their stakeholder advisory panels during 2005-06 and
worked to develop stronger relationships and outcomes for customers through better engagement.
During 2005-06 CSA proactively sought opportunities to work closely with advocacy groups such as the
Lone Fathers Association, Sole Parents Union, Dads in Distress and the Stepfamily Association of
Victoria, to address both individual parent issues and concerns regarding the child support system.
Through these enhanced relationships, CSA has received constructive feedback concerning both policy
development and service delivery. CSA has attended advocacy group meetings and conferences and
ensured that advocacy groups have access to key CSA staff for advice and assistance. Maintaining and
improving these relationships enables advocacy groups to work with CSA to improve service to
customers.
The External Relations Group was established midway through the year to enhance stakeholder
engagement for CSA through a range of activities with other agencies in the family law system. In 200607 CSA will continue to integrate stakeholder engagement within CSA's internal processes and engage
government and community stakeholders to provide a more seamless service for separated parents.
GOAL 4: INFORMED CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNITY
Strategies:

increase customer understanding of child support, the broader Family Law System and the
options available to them so they can make informed choices

increase stakeholder understanding of CSA, our products and services and the
interrelationship between the Child Support Scheme and the Family Law System.
CSA placed a significantly greater emphasis on communication activities in 2005-06 with the creation of
an External Relations Group and a strong focus on proactive communication.
CSA proactively increased its interactions with national, suburban and regional media to increase
customers' understanding of child support delivery and CSA's self-help tools, and to help them make
informed choices. During 2005-06 CSA staff regularly appeared on talkback radio to provide information
to the community and parents about CSA services. In addition, CSA issued more than 60 media
releases profiling new service delivery options, self-help tools, compliance initiatives, and information
sessions for parents. A total of 51 community information sessions were held during the year, where
CSA staff met with and discussed services with almost 1,500 members of the community. During this
time CSA's media coverage shifted from being inherently negative in character to being consistently 70
per cent positive in coverage since November 2005.
CSA continued to deliver communication and self-help products to assist separated parents. The 'Me
and My' series of self-help booklets is designed to assist parents with their parenting and financial and
emotional issues after separation. This series commenced in 2003-04 as the result of a collaborative
effort with CSA's partners (both government and non-government) in the Family Law System. Me, My
Kids, and My Ex was released, with over 90,000 copies distributed by 30 June 2006. This information
resource provides hints and tips to help parents form a workable relationship after separation for the
benefit of their children.
CSA also developed a comprehensive Getting Started information booklet for new CSA customers to
enable them to make better informed decisions regarding their child support circumstances. This guide
was also made available to existing customers on request. In 2006-07 every new customer will be sent a
copy of the booklet. This equates to more than 100,000 separated parents who register with CSA every
year. This information will help separated parents understand child support and their responsibilities.
CSA also continued to review and improve its customer letters, forms, fact sheets, publications and
website during 2005-06 in order to enhance customer understanding and reduce complexity. The top 24
letters and 11 forms were reviewed. Five forms were eliminated, six were improved and a further 29
letters will be reviewed in early 2006-07. At the same time CSA will also commission and complete a
review of the customer account statement and assessment notice, the most significant written
communication sent to customers, with over 6.5 million sent each year.
During 2006-07 CSA will continue to build customer and stakeholder understanding of the Child Support
Scheme, CSA products and services and CSA's role within the Family Law System, through expanded
education and communication campaigns and increased collaboration with Family Law System partners.
CSA will maintain its new focus on media visibility and seek additional opportunities to build greater
stakeholder understanding and involvement in developing and contributing information resources.
GOAL 5: EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE DELIVERY CAPABILITY
Strategies:

create a work environment that supports staff to deliver excellent service

provide staff with development, support and leadership to build a culture that will shift customer
service to a new level

improve CSA's internal systems, financial management capability and governance processes

gather customer feedback and use it to inform continuous improvement of our business.
CSA strives to ensure that its people have the capability, commitment and resources to deliver
appropriate child support outcomes by focusing on reducing unplanned leave, improving leadership and
staff training, and ensuring internal systems provide the support staff require to provide excellent
customer service.
During 2005-06 CSA implemented a comprehensive strategy to address unplanned leave. Strategies to
engage staff in reducing unplanned leave included the distribution of information cards, wellbeing
promotion days at work sites, increased reporting on unplanned leave rates, posters to reinforce the
importance of supporting teams by being at work, workshops on unplanned leave, training for managers
and regular messages to staff via the CSA intranet site. CSA also worked with Health Services Australia
to investigate the causes of the high levels of unplanned leave and to develop appropriate responses.
Centrelink provided CSA assistance with site-specific analysis and leadership workshops which have
been central to the response.
As a result, CSA reduced the number of days of unplanned leave per full-time equivalent staff member
to 16.27 days, significantly less than its original target of 16.97 days. This represents a 9 per cent
reduction on the 2004-05 figure of 17.86 days. CSA will sustain its focus on unplanned leave in order to
achieve the 2006-07 target of 14.29 days (a further reduction of 12 per cent).
CSA held a number of national roadshows during the year to provide all staff with the opportunity to hear
about changes affecting them and the CSA in a face-to-face forum. Staff responded positively to this
opportunity and provided significant feedback for the future direction of the agency. Of greatest
significance is that 94 per cent of staff support the change agenda.
During the year, a number of reviews were undertaken to evaluate CSA's capability and readiness for
implementing its reform agenda. Significant reviews included:

strategic architecture review of our information and communication technology

records management

Information Communications and Technology (ICT) capability

readiness for the implementation of Social Security Appeals Tribunal review of its decisions

financial management and administered funds reporting priorities

corporate services

objections process

Privacy Regime

project management capability.
As a result of these reviews, CSA has implemented change initiatives to improve business practices and
its positioning for delivery of the reform agenda.
In addition to these reviews, CSA also received support from Health Services Australia and CRS
Australia to assess CSA's workers' compensation-related management systems and practices. Reviews
were also conducted on cases with prolonged absences from the workplace to ensure all appropriate
management strategies were in place. A joint working group involving the core department, CRS
Australia and CSA developed an action plan to implement a number of strategies during 2006-07 to
address increasing premium costs through prevention, early intervention and best practice in case
management. These strategies are also closely linked with strategies to manage unplanned leave.
During 2005-06 CSA invested approximately $800,000 in external training activities for staff in addition to
a range of learning programs that were developed and delivered internally to meet special requirements.
A corporate guideline for training and development of staff was also developed to ensure national
training products are of a consistent and high standard.
In 2006-07 CSA will implement a range of initiatives to further support staff to provide quality customer
service. These initiatives include the introduction of smaller frontline teams, training for staff on the
scheme changes, customer interactions and leadership skills, the ongoing development of a new
performance framework, a range of information technology system enhancements, and ongoing
research into customer preferences, which will be integrated into all aspects of CSA business.
Management and accountability
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
This section reports on aspects of CSA's corporate governance that function in addition to the core
department's governance arrangements described on page 46.
The CSA General Manager is accountable to the Secretary of the Department of Human Services for the
overall performance of the agency, including its financial and risk management. The General Manager
and Secretary meet regularly to ensure effective oversight and early identification of strategic issues,
some of which might potentially involve or impact on other Human Services agencies.
Committees
To assist in the effective governance of CSA, the General Manager established new governance
committees in 2005-06. These are set out in Table 5. The new committees reflect changes in CSA's
National Executive structure introduced during the year, particularly the re-alignment of reporting
relationships for the former Regional Registrars (now State Managers).
Table 5 CSA—committees for corporate governance
Committee
Members
CSA National
Executive
CSA General Manager
(Chair) Deputy General
Managers (seven) Executive
Officer
Service Delivery
Executive
Deputy General Manager,
Service Delivery (Chair)
Assistant General Manager,
National Service Delivery
Risk
Management
Committee
Functions

Determines CSA's strategic
direction

Reviews CSA's performance
and monitors strategy
appropriateness

Determines priorities and
strategic funding allocations

Addresses operational
performance issues

Monitors and proposes
changes in service delivery
priorities and strategies

Monitors the consistency of
service delivery and reviews
states' service delivery
performance

independent Chairman
Deputy General Manager,
Corporate Services Deputy
General Manager, information
& Communications
Technology (ICT)
Frequency of
meetings
Monthly
Monthly
Provides independent
assurance and assistance to
the General Manager and the
National Executive on CSA's
risk, control and compliance
framework, and external
accountability responsibilities
Bi-monthly

Oversees CSA's funding
agreement
Monthly

Monitors CSA's financial
position and ongoing financial
sustainability

Reviews and monitors
processes, controls and
procedures in place to
maintain the integrity of
CSA's accounting and
A State Manager Assistant
General Manager, Change
Management independent
member from Centrelink
Finance Steering
Committee
Deputy General Manager,
Finance (Chair)
Deputy General Manager,
Corporate Services
Deputy General Manager,
Business
Committee
Members
Functions
financial records and
statements
Strategy and innovation
Deputy General Manager,
Service

Establishes and reviews the
application of accounting
policies
Deputy General Manager,
information, Communication
and Technology

Monitors CSA's compliance
with Commonwealth budget
and financial reporting
requirements
Chief Finance Officer, core
department

Establishes, monitors and
reviews financial
management and budget
management processes,
including capital planning
strategy

Considers and approves
Delivery
Director, CSA National
Financial Management Group
Management Accountant,
CSA National Financial
Management Group
information
Communications
and Technology
Steering
Committee
Deputy General Manager,
information, Communication
and Technology (Chair)
Deputy General Manager,
Business Strategy and
innovation Deputy General
Manager, Service Delivery
Frequency of
meetings

the ICT Strategic Plan

major IT business and
infrastructure projects

ICT Sourcing Strategy

Oversees implementation of
these plans

Determines and monitors
performance of the change
agenda strategies, priorities
and funding

Determines change
governance framework
All CSA Deputy General
Managers

Commissions change
initiatives for review
Executive Director Reform
Delivery

Ensures effective integration
of the change agenda and
business as usual
Quarterly
Deputy General Manager,
Corporate Services
Change Steering
Committee
General Manager, CSA
(Chair)
Assistant General Manager
Change Management
External Delivery Assurance
Advisor
Deputy Secretary, core
department Deputy
Secretary, Department of
Monthly
Committee
Members
Functions
Frequency of
meetings
immigration and Multicultural
Affairs
Security
Committee
Deputy General Manager,
Corporate Services (Chair)

Provides assurance and
assistance to the General
Manager and the National
Executive on CSA's security
risk, control and compliance
framework, and its external
security accountability
responsibilities
Twice per year
(minimum)

Advises on OH&S matters in
CSA
Quarterly
Deputy General Manager,
Service Delivery
Deputy General Manager,
information, Communication
and Technology
Director, Security and Fraud
Prevention
Director, Human Resources
Management
Director, Legal Services
National
Occupational
Health & Safety
Committee
Deputy General Manager,
Corporate Services (Chair)
Director, National Human
Resource Management
Assistant General Manager,
National Service Delivery
National Community and
Public Sector Union (CPSU)
organiser Two CSA staff
CPSU delegates
INTERNAL SCRUTINY
Internal audit
Each financial year, CSA undertakes a planned series of compliance, operational and quality audits of its
operations. Internal audits are generally performed by CSA's internal audit providers—Ascent
Governance, CSA's Legal and Quality Assurance team and CSA's Governance, Risk Management and
internal Audit team.
In 2005-06, CSA audited the following operations for quality:

change of assessment processes

stage 2 registrations

compensation

discharge of arrears procedures

employer withholding

objections.
These quality audits provide CSA with a framework to monitor its performance against procedural
instructions as well as to evaluate the quality of our decision making under the child support legislation
generally. They are conducted by CSA's Legal and Quality Assurance team. While each audit has
specific findings, they generally confirm that, where staff adhere to procedural instructions, there is a
corresponding increase in the level of correct decision making. Where low levels of compliance with the
procedures are found, recommendations focus on improving the instruction or making it more accessible
to staff. Other common areas for improvement are documentation by staff and meeting designated
timeframes.
CSA also completed compliance and operational audits and reviews in 2005-06 of the following
operations:

compliance with the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act)

Comsuper delegations, as required each year by the boards of the Public Sector Superannuation
Scheme (PSS) and the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS)

attendance and leave.
Other audits commenced but not concluded in the financial year were audits of processes relating to the
following procedural instructions:

additional change of assessment procedures

objections

care procedural instructions.
An independent audit into CSA's privacy environment was conducted by an external company, Aulich &
Co., who also provided training and awareness raising.
No major control weaknesses or material risks were identified in the above audits, although all audit
recommendations identified opportunities for continuous improvement. These recommendations will be
tracked to ensure improvement strategies are implemented.
Internal managers complete a twice-yearly governance and performance survey of the operations of
areas under their responsibility. This self-assessment process ensures that managers and their staff
understand the framework within which they work and against which they are required to report.
CSA also continuously monitors publication of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) better
practice guides and audit reports to ensure that compliance and best practice are maintained.
Risk management
Risk management is an integral part of CSA's strategy and planning processes. CSA's business
planning framework as well as its guidelines for project management and procurement integrate the
assessment, treatment and monitoring of risk as core business activities.
Monitoring of risk management occurs through:

regular monitoring of outcomes by the CSA National Executive

regular review by the CSA Risk Management Committee and Change Steering Committee

activities of internal audits

program and contract management by line managers.
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
Australian - New Zealand risk management standard AS/NZS 4360:1999.
Fraud prevention
CSA's fraud prevention activities range from raising staff awareness of fraud by means of training and
fraud control planning, through to the investigation and prosecution of allegations of serious staff
misconduct and internal or external fraud.
CSA's fraud awareness training is delivered to CSA staff both face to face and via an e-learning
package. The training includes information modules on security, fraud awareness, ethics and privacy
issues. CSA also has policy and guidelines that are easily accessible to all CSA staff via the agency's
intranet, C3.
CSA's latest fraud control plan was completed in 2005-06, as required under the Commonwealth Fraud
Control Guidelines.
The Fraud Prevention Section investigates and responds to all allegations of fraud and/or serious
misconduct by CSA employees. On occasions, the CSA needs to work with other agencies—such as
law enforcement agencies—to fully investigate the allegations. CSA views breaches relating to fraud and
privacy very seriously.
In December 2005, CSA finalised the transition of the fraud prevention function from the ATO to an inhouse capability. Since then, 77 allegations involving serious misconduct and/or criminal activity by staff
and 13 allegations of external fraud committed by CSA customers were received. Of these 90
allegations, 14 were unsubstantiated, 13 were referred to management or other agencies for action
including possible disciplinary or criminal proceedings, seven staff either resigned or were dismissed, 12
staff were sanctioned under the Public Service Act 1999 and a further 44 allegations are still under
investigation.
Security
In 2005-06, a total of 967 security incidents were reported. This represents a slight increase compared
with the 922 security incidents reported during 2004-05. Security incidents reported during the 2005-06
reporting year included alleged theft in the workplace and threats of assault to other customers, staff and
third parties by CSA customers. Also included were threats of self-harm and/or harm to children. The
slight increase in the reported number of incidents is due to CSA's increased focus and education of
staff on the importance of reporting security incidents.
CSA's security environment requires constant monitoring and regular review. CSA continues to use the
Protective Security Manual (PSM) as the basis for security strategy and has reviewed security policy and
procedures with respect to the 2005 PSM release. In 2005-06, CSA conducted formal security
assessments of buildings, off-site records storage, facilities for the destruction of classified information
and security surrounding CSA's community information sessions, which are public forum meetings held
across Australia in public venues and attended by staff, CSA customers and the general public.
An independent security risk assessment of customer contact areas was conducted by the Australian
Federal Police.
Since the publication of the DHS Annual Report 2004-05, CSA has combined the Security, Fraud
Prevention and Records Management teams into one section. This allows for an integrated approach to
CSA's integrity framework.
EXTERNAL SCRUTINY
Privacy
CSA has a strong commitment to protecting its customers' privacy. CSA has a national network of
privacy officers, who collectively ensure that concerns of customers and staff in relation to privacy are
addressed quickly and efficiently.
Privacy compliance and awareness is among the topics covered in staff induction and other training
programs. In 2005-06, CSA required all CSA staff to attend a new national training program on privacy
awareness. As at the end of June 2006, more than 88 per cent of staff had attended this training. This
mandatory training will continue in 2006-07 until all staff have attended. Awareness in relation to privacy
is also reinforced regularly via staff communiques on the CSA intranet.
Most privacy concerns and potential breaches of privacy are resolved internally without going through
the channel of a formal complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC). Indeed, the OPC
encourages complainants to attempt to resolve their issue with CSA before making a formal complaint to
the OPC and the OPC undertaking a formal investigation of the complaint.
Over recent years, the OPC has experienced a significant increase in the number of complaints going to
that Office resulting in some delays in its ability to formally investigate complaints and refer these to
agencies such as CSA. To assist with this, the OPC has implemented a process whereby it refers
complaints to an agency, such as CSA, prior to formal investigation. This process is known as early
referral. In 2005-06, as in the previous financial year, CSA accepted early referrals from the OPC of
complaints, prior to the OPC initiating investigations of five new matters. Three of these were finalised
during the year, while one progressed to a formal investigation by the OPC, and one is currently
pending.
In 2005-06, the OPC began a total of five formal investigations into CSA-related matters. The
investigations into these complaints had not been completed at the end of the financial year.
Customer compensation and waiver of debt
The Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration Scheme (CDDA Scheme) is an
administrative scheme, established in October 1995, to enable Commonwealth agencies to compensate
people who have been adversely affected by the defective actions or inactions of agencies but who have
no other avenues to seek redress.
In 2005-06, CSA finalised 142 claims for compensation. Forty-one offers for compensation were made,
and 26 of these were accepted. Compensation of $41,252 was made under the CDDA Scheme
(compared with $16,757 in 2004-05), and $39,706 was paid in payments for legal liability (compared with
$514 in 2004-05). These figures include payments offered in previous financial years and accepted in
2005-06.
The FMA Act provides that, under certain conditions, the Minister for Finance and Administration may
waive the Commonwealth's right to payment of an amount owing to the Commonwealth. Under this
provision, the CSA may consider requests to waive child support debts and refer these to the Minister for
Finance and Administration for a decision.
During this financial year, CSA finalised 70 requests for waiver of debts. The Department of Finance and
Administration waived 55 of those debts, totalling $236,333 (compared with $70,542 in 2004-05). 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 upon the death of a
carer parent where the care of the children is transferred to the surviving parent.
The Minister for Finance and Administration has the discretion to make act of grace payments to
persons who may have been unintentionally disadvantaged by the effects of Commonwealth legislation
and who have no other means of redress. One act of grace payment, for a total of $1,296, was made
during the reporting year (compared with $519 in 2004-05).
Complaints to the Ombudsman
The Ombudsman received 1,927 complaints about CSA in 2005-06, a slight decrease compared with
2,015 in the previous year. The Ombudsman finalised 1,969 complaints in 2005-06. The number of
instances in which the Ombudsman identified an agency defect decreased in 2005-06, from 130 in 200405; however, due to a recent change in the manner in which the Commonwealth Ombudsman
categorises and stores data in relation to complaints, the Commonwealth Ombudsman will not be
reporting on these numbers for 2005-06.
CSA draws valuable lessons from issues raised through the Commonwealth Ombudsman and uses
these lessons to improve the quality of the service it provides to its customers. CSA has a good working
relationship with the Ombudsman and works pro-actively with the Ombudsman throughout the year to
manage complaints in a fair and effective manner.
Australian National Audit Office
In addition to the 2005-06 annual financial statement audit, CSA participated in the following two ANAO
reference audits.
ANAO Performance Audit Report No. 26 2005-06, Forms for Individual Service Delivery
CSA was one of four agencies participating in this audit. The objectives were to:

distil the practices adopted in the selected agencies that contributed to better form design and
communication

provide feedback about the useability, delivery and receipt of selected forms and the effectiveness of
the processes and practices underpinning them.
The ANAO made one recommendation for improvement in the useability of forms, particularly those
issued by Human Services agencies. However, the audit recommendation and suggested approaches to
characteristics, design and review of forms presented in the report are commended to all agencies that
use forms for service delivery to individuals. Following this audit, CSA took action to improve more than
half its forms to meet ANAO recommendations and it continues to review the remainder.
ANAO Performance Audit No. 22 2005-06, Cross Portfolio Audit of Green Office
Procurement
The objective of the audit was to assess and report on the progress being made by agencies subject to
the FMA Act and entities subject to the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 in realising
value for money from the procurement process, with a specific focus on buildings, services and products
using 'whole-of-life cycle' assessments, and in the consideration and management of environmental
impacts in specifications and contracts. The emphasis of the audit was on 'green office' procurement and
sustainable business practices, and value for money within this context. As such, the audit report
provides a status report on the implementation of ecologically sustainable development (ESD) within the
office environment of the Australian Government. CSA is currently implementing an Environmental
Management System (EMS) based on Australian-New Zealand standard AS/NZS ISO 14001: 1996 and
is taking into consideration the recommendations arising from this audit.
OUR PEOPLE
As at 30 June 2006, CSA employed 3,449 people (including employees on long-term leave) under the
Public Service Act 1999. More details about staffing are available in Appendix 1 of this report.
Human resource management
In 2005-06, CSA's primary human resource management focus has been on reducing its workers'
compensation premium and unplanned leave. Consequently, the following key strategies held priority:

pro-active management of attendance

enhancing occupational health and safety and injury management practices

enhancing the capability of managers and team leaders

promoting workplace diversity.
Various management tools were developed, including:

a Team Leader Resource Kit designed to support managers to build performance and wellbeing

periodic performance reports on injury management and workers' compensation

an attendance scorecard that highlights individual work area performance against set targets.
CSA has been working with the core department, Comcare, CRS Australia, Health Services Australia,
and other Human Services agencies to enhance its leave and workers' compensation management
practices.
In 2005-06 CSA established an in-house Rehabilitation Case Management capability which has
contributed to achieving a 23 per cent reduction in the number of compensation claims involving five or
more days incapacity compared to 2004-05.
CSA reduced unplanned leave from 17.86 days per full time equivalent in 2004-05 to 16.27 days in
2005-06, that is, by more than 1.6 days per staff member.
CSA has also invested in the planning and preparation to develop CSA's learning and development
capacity and capability, especially for team leader and manager development. This will be critical in the
effective support of CSA's change program.
REMUNERATION
Certified Agreement
The Child Support Agency Certified Agreement 2005-07, Balancing Performance and Wellbeing, has
been in place since its certification on 16 March 2005. The agreement has a nominal expiry date of 15
December 2007.
The number of CSA staff employed under the Certified Agreement and their salary ranges are set out in
Appendix 1. The agreement offers the following non-salary benefits:

Flexbank, which provides for the accrual and storage of flex-time during CSA's peak business
season and the conversion of up to five days of accrued flex-time annually to cash

flexible working arrangements, including regular part-time agreements, regular-hours agreements,
flex-time and time off in lieu

study support

Christmas-New Year close-down.
Australian Workplace Agreements
Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) are offered to all Senior Executive Service (SES) officers and
all Executive Level (EL) officers. Offers of AWAs are also made to other officers as individual
circumstances arise, particularly in recognition of specialist skills and knowledge.
CSA AWAs link individual performance to the achievement of corporate objectives and to pay outcomes,
including payment of performance bonuses.
The number of CSA staff covered by AWAs and their salary ranges are set out in Appendix 1.
Performance pay
Total performance bonus payments to SES and Executive Level staff for performance during 2004-05
are set out in Table 6.
Table 6 CSA—performance pay
Level
Staff eligible
Staff paid
Amount paid ($)
Average ($)
EL 1
6
5
18,237
3,647
EL 2
50
32
156,412
4,888
SES Band 1a
7
7
0
SES Band 2a
1
1
0
SES Band 3
1
0
0
Total
65
45
174,649
a Deferred Salary Payment of 6 per cent of salary. Range not disclosed to protect privacy.
Learning and development
In 2005-06, CSA invested approximately $800,000 in training activities for staff using external service
providers. In addition, a range of learning programs were developed and delivered internally in order to
meet special requirements.
During 2005-06, a guideline on training product development was established. The guideline outlines the
standards for all national training products to ensure that national consistency and quality standards are
met.
Business coaching is a program dedicated to building customer service teams' technical proficiency.
Priorities are analysed at national, state and business-process levels to ensure an integrated approach
that aligns business coaching with current and future organisational needs. Business coaches receive
formal training to effectively deliver one-on-one support to staff.
All new staff undertake a CSA induction program at each site either via a six-week entry-level training
program (ELP) or on an individual basis. The induction includes an overview of CSA structure, legislation
and systems and is also supported by self-paced learning modules.
During 2005-06, the induction program was reviewed and further developed to include support materials
for local managers. The review has resulted in the establishment of a workshop for all new starters and
covers all core corporate governance modules.
In the 2005-06, approximately 440 new customer service officers (CSOs), or 70 per cent of new recruits
to CSA, participated in the ELP. The ELP introduces new recruits to CSA's culture and to the work
processes involved in delivering services to customers.
CSA uses a range of strategies to enhance the leadership capability of staff at team-leader level (CSO
Level 6) and above.
In 2005-06, leadership development provided for team leaders included targeted staff management
initiatives designed to meet business performance outcomes, technical training and staff performance
management training. Team leaders are also supported by individually tailored development plans.
Learning opportunities for both Executive Level 1 and Executive Level 2 staff included services provided
both internally and externally. External development opportunities were predominantly accessed via the
Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) leadership programs; they included subjects related to
corporate governance, legislation, leadership and management, and career development.
At the SES level, a range of external development opportunities such as executive coaching and
leadership programs were also accessed throughout 2005-06.
Workplace diversity
CSA developed a new Workplace Diversity Plan 2006-2008, which was launched in March 2006. This
plan includes measures to ensure that CSA works towards a culture of diversity, and supports people
with particular needs. CSA has already met some of the measures of this plan, and is progressing well
on many others.
All formal communication and training in CSA utilises inclusive language, and visuals and other media as
appropriate to the participants. Where possible, training is provided in more than one format to overcome
accessibility barriers. Special needs of participants, such as a disability or language barrier, are taken
into account on a case-by-case basis.
As part of the DHS Indigenous Employment Taskforce, CSA has developed strategies to recruit
Indigenous people through the APSC Indigenous Graduate Program, Indigenous Cadet Program and
Indigenous Trainee Program.
Internal communications
Over the past twelve months, the need to update staff on major Australian Government initiatives—
changes to family law, Welfare to Work initiatives and the two reform programs (BBCSA and CSSR)—
has required CSA to significantly enhance its internal communications framework.
Internal communication plan
During 2005-06, CSA developed and implemented an internal communication plan, which incorporates a
strategic approach for all areas of CSA. It is anticipated that this plan will form the basic blueprint for all
internal communications over the next four years, as CSA faces many challenges that include legislative,
structural, and cultural changes. The communication strategy aims to ensure relevant, timely, consistent
and coordinated internal and external communication activities.
The internal communications framework has two key objectives:

to improve internal communication processes

to deliver best-practice communication to support the cultural change program, optimum delivery of
CSA outputs, and achievement of internal priorities.
The strategy aims to:

determine the range of multiple two-way communication channels through which staff can obtain
information and deliver feedback/input

promote face-to-face communication as the most effective communication channel

ensure messages are delivered consistently CSA-wide, but with allowances for local flexibility in the
use of each channel or tool being applied

create a program of key messages that are scripted and cascaded through management, including
structured feedback loops

ensure communication and staff engagement is timely and well managed

ensure some channels enable the General Manager to communicate directly with all staff in a timely
manner.
The strategy, feedback and outcomes will be regularly assessed for improvements, compliance,
appropriateness, responses to messages and suggestions for new messages.
Key issues and enhancements in 2005-06
In 2005-06, the key issues communicated to internal staff were:

'Building a Better CSA': More than 50 road show sessions were held with staff across the country in
March and June 2006 to explain the government's change agenda to staff, outline the expected plans
(to date) and progress achieved. One road show was videotaped for staff who were not able to
attend

implementation of CSA's first change package in April (consisting of CSAonline, the Customer
Service Guarantee and receipt number for each customer transaction and changes to the CSA's
computer system, CUBA)

phase 1 of the CSSR (to be implemented from 1 July 2006)

CSA's focus on reducing unplanned leave.
Internal communication tool enhancements introduced in 2005-06 included:

fortnightly messages to all staff from the General Manager, with supplementary messages from
deputy general managers delivered to their respective groups

video messages

implementation of a new Attendance Management channel on CSA's intranet (C3)

introduction of a staff Q&A channel on C3, mainly dealing with the change program
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Financial management
CSA's operating surplus for 2005-06 was $7.7 million, compared with an operating deficit of $1.3 million
in 2004-05. The net result was due to an underspend in BBCSA and CSSR funding of $6 million and to a
business-as-usual surplus of $1.7 million. The underspend in BBCSA and CSSR can be attributed to a
later than expected date of approval for both measures.
Expenses in 2005-06 amounted to $289.0 million1 an increase of 5 per cent over the previous year's
expenditure result of $276.2 million. The increase is related to employee expenses, due to pay rises
contained in the Certified Agreement; write-down and impairment of assets, reflecting the write-off of
software and other assets previously capitalised, that fell under new Human Services-harmonised
thresholds; and an increase in expenditure on suppliers, which partly reflects a ramp-up in activity at
June 2006 in relation to BBCSA and the CSSR.
At 30 June 2006, CSA held financial assets of $42.1 million compared with $25.7 million at 30 June
2005. This consisted of cash at bank of $3.6 million, appropriations receivable of $36.5 million, and other
receivables of $2.0 million. The increase in financial assets is largely attributable to the achievement of
an operating surplus of $7.7 million and working capital provided by increases in suppliers and employee
liabilities.
Administered appropriations
The total administered annual appropriation drawn down in 2005-06 was $2.8 million. Of this, $0.7
million related to funding the Newly Separated Unemployed Parent (NSUP) initiative.
The total administered annual appropriation returned to the Official Public Account for 2005-06 was $2.0
million. Administered special appropriations drawn down in 2005-06 totalled $69.2 million. CSA collected
and returned $69.3 million in special appropriations for this period. CSA transferred $902.1 million in
child support payments in 2005-06, an increase of $74.0 million on the 2004-05 financial year.
Use of consultants and services contractors
The policies and procedures for selecting consultants and approving expenditure to engage them are set
out in the DHS Chief Executive instructions (CEI) and corporate guidelines.
During 2005-06, CSA engaged consultants to provide a range of services, including market research,
business modelling and human resource services. CSA entered into 20 new consultancy contracts. This
involved total actual expenditure of $1,847,816. In addition, 18 ongoing consultancy contracts were
active during 2005-06. They involved total actual expenditure of $3,152,273 as at 30 June 2006.
Larger consultancy contracts (those to the value of $10,000 or more) are detailed in Appendix 4.
Competitive tendering and contracting
CSA adheres to the Australian Government's policy in seeking value for money in service delivery. Its
strategy of sourcing services considers internal and external service providers.
During the 2005-06 reporting period, nine consultancy contracts of a value greater than $10,000 were
direct-sourced (that is, CSA directly approached a provider). These nine contracts were direct-sourced
on the grounds of value. Of these, only one contract was over the $80,000 threshold specified by the
Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines (CPGs). This contract was supported by a statement pursuant
to regulation 8(2) of the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1977, whereby
justification was provided as to why this contract was obtained without conducting a formal tender,
consistent with the CPGs. No contracts let during the financial year excluded the Auditor-General from
access to the contractor's premises.
No contracts were exempted from publication in AusTender in 2005-06 by the Secretary of DHS or the
CSA General Manager.
The core department, CRS Australia, and CSA went to the market in September 2005 for internal audit
services. Ascent was awarded the contract.
1 Includes new policy funding of approximately $9.3 million for 2005–06.
Office accommodation
CSA continues to work with other Human Services agencies to realise synergies in co-locating offices,
and is gradually disengaging from accommodation facilities shared with the ATO.
During 2005-06, CSA's office in Parramatta moved to new premises shared with the state headquarters
of Medicare Australia. The building houses 360 CSA staff as well as 700 Medicare Australia staff. As
part of the move, most staff from CSA's office in Penrith relocated to the office in Parramatta. A new
Regional Service Centre located in the Penrith Centrelink office was established to service customers in
the Penrith area. The new Parramatta office was officially opened by the Minister for Human Services in
May 2006.
Purchasing
All Human Services agencies, including the core department, now follow DHS Procurement Guidelines
which took effect from 1 January 2006. The objectives of these guidelines are to:

better meet the Minister for Human Services' requirements for improved efficiencies in procurement
processes across agencies

give agencies greater responsibility and accountability for their purchasing

move to common purchasing for all purchases over $1 million by actively participating in joint
procurements.
The guidelines, which are in addition to the relevant CPGs that apply to purchasing by Human Services,
are published on the DHS Internet website and all suppliers and potential suppliers are encouraged to
recognise the guidelines in their offers to supply goods and services.
Asset management
No asset valuations were undertaken in 2005-06.
CSA undertook a stocktake of information technology assets and other assets.
Asset capitalisation thresholds have been increased to align with the Human Services thresholds. For
internally developed software the capitalisation threshold has been increased from $50,000 to $200,000
and the threshold for leasehold assets has increased from $2,000 to $10,000. These changes have
resulted in net asset write-downs of $291,000 in 2005-06.
In 2005-06, CSA's computer systems were leased from and managed by EDS under contract with ATO,
and its telephony infrastructure was leased from and managed under contract with NEC.
Records management
In October 2005, the DHS General Purchasing Synergies Working Group (GPSWG) identified the need
to adopt a consistent records management process across Human Services. As a direct consequence of
this directive, CSA created the Records Management Network Group. This group now oversees all
records management activities in CSA.
As part of the GPSWG, CSA began transferring its record management functions from the ATO to
Centrelink, a move that is proving to be efficient and cost-effective. The memorandum of understanding
between CSA and the ATO for registry services (via the Tower Registration Information Management
(TRIM) system) ceased on 30 June 2006 and a new service provider was required. On 30 June 2006,
Centrelink was selected to assist CSA in managing its records.
The project scope for the transition included 'transition out' activities from the ATO and CSA private
storage providers and 'transition in' activities to Centrelink to be able to accept and manage CSA
records.
The project management of the transition of CSA records commenced in October 2005 with an
anticipated finalisation date of late September 2006. This transition will see 925,000 records registered
(on TRIM) compared with the current 14,000, providing greater accountability of CSA records and a far
higher retrieval rate.
In 2005-06, CSA began its first National Archives of Australia (NAA) Records Self-Audit Review. The
review was started in order to provide a benchmark for the beginning of the process and to provide
future direction to achieve best practice in records management.
The Records Management Team—in consultation with CSA state representatives—completed a
National Batch Filing Procedural instruction (Pi), a process whereby documents received from customers
by CSA staff are filed in batches on a regular basis. Work has also commenced on a National Change of
Assessment and Objection Pi, anticipated for release in the next financial year.
The Records Management Team has developed a communication strategy and begun staff education.
This includes publishing updates and articles on the intranet to advise of the transition process and its
progress as well as any changes in records management procedures, development of policy and PIs. All
new entry- level programs for new employees include a component on records management. Additional
records management education workshops will be delivered nationally in the near future.
Business continuity planning
In 2005-06, work continued to consolidate CSA's business continuity plan. This plan includes
documentation on how to recover information technology and telephony services in the event of a
business interruption. Procedures were developed for evacuations, and action cards and check lists to
refer to in case of a power outage. In addition, documentation of the CSA framework for business
continuity was consolidated and a Tools and Resources booklet was prepared for use by all staff. The
aim is to ensure that, if there is a business disruption, staff are aware of all procedures to follow, of
actions to take and of their responsibility for business continuity.
Output 3 CRS Australia
Figure 14 CRS Australia—organisational structure and senior staffing
Highlights
During 2005-06 CRS Australia:

placed 12,269 job seekers in employment of which 10,156 found continuing employment. This is the
first year CRS Australia has exceeded 10,000 job seekers in continuing employment. Of the 10,156
job seekers who achieved 13 weeks of continuous employment, 84 per cent were still employed after
26 weeks representing an excellent conversion rate for this target group

provided services to 43,945 Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) job
seekers, exceeding the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) requirements for new job seekers by
10 per cent

opened a new office in Grafton, New South Wales and expanded a range of other offices in
readiness for the significant increase in vocational rehabilitation programs expected from 1 July 2006

implemented new approaches to rehabilitation with welfare reform groups, such as parents and youth

had its commitment to innovative knowledge management practices recognised with a national
Platinum Knowledge Award from the international knowledge management association actKM

revised and published key case management book, CRS Australia - Case Management: A
Framework for Success, used by many practitioners across Australia

was the first Australian Government agency to successfully upgrade its core information technology
systems to the latest version of SAP (mySAP). Facilities management functions were also
successfully moved into Centrelink, with significant savings achieved

worked constructively with other Human Services agencies to improve purchasing and property
management and to share best practice in service delivery.
General Manager's review
This year has focused on ensuring delivery of consistent, high-quality employment and return-to-work
outcomes for the Australian Government and other customers. The newly formed senior management
team has also been focused on ensuring organisational readiness for the Welfare to Work reforms from
1 July 2006.
WORKING WITH JOB SEEKERS TO IMPROVE EFFECTIVENESS FOR
GOVERNMENT
CRS Australia's continued focus on each individual's ability has seen the results achieved in 2005-06
again exceed the benchmarks set by DEWR. 43,945 new job seekers were assisted during the past
year. All of these job seekers have a disability, with an increasing proportion having mental health
conditions, rising from 23 per cent in 1996 to 30.6 per cent in 2006. 12,269 job seekers were
successfully placed in employment, with 10,156 of these (about 80 per cent) achieving a 13-week
employment outcome at an average of 25 hours per week. Eighty-four per cent of these job seekers
continued in employment for 26 weeks after initial placement. An additional 8 per cent were active in
study, training part-time, or volunteer work (secondary outcomes).
CRS Australia independently surveyed 1,000 job seekers that had completed their program. The survey
aimed to gain data on longer term employment outcomes, acquire insights into the workforce experience
of the respondents, and receive feedback on our services.
These former job seekers told us how they felt about our services. The results of the survey showed a
very high level of satisfaction with our services:

seventy-eight per cent of job seekers employed for 13 weeks agreed that their CRS Australia
program gave them the support they needed to get their initial job

of those that were no longer employed at the time of our survey, only 14 per cent considered that
CRS Australia could have done more to help them keep the job

sixty-six per cent of job seekers with an employment outcome had done a range of activities to
enhance their employment prospects, and 69 per cent agreed that their CRS Australia program was
the main reason they were able to participate in these activities.
The survey also showed that, once in employment, job seekers went on to achieve even better
outcomes: 23 per cent received increases to wages since their initial placement and a further 42 per cent
of those who moved on to other jobs received higher wages than in their original placement. This finding
is consistent with international research indicating that part-time employment typically leads to longer
hours and better paid employment.
These outcomes are achieved through our excellent network of allied health professionals, support staff
and managers. Our staff have continued to exhibit innovative and flexible approaches to bring out the
best in job seekers.
CRS Australia aims to enable people to access vocational rehabilitation services close to where they
live. We achieve this by aligning the location of service delivery units with the geographic distribution of
working-age people receiving income support. About 10.8 per cent of programs are delivered in rural
and remote areas, and about 100 visiting services operate in addition to the organisation's 174
permanent sites.
WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS
During 2005-06, CRS Australia also provided a range of services to Australian government agencies and
other organisations, including:

rehabilitation services for veterans and military personnel under the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA)

occupational rehabilitation services for workers compensation insurers

career planning services for the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST)

wage assessments and case management in business services for the Department of Families,
Community Services and indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA).
WORKING WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES
As part of the Department of Human Services, CRS Australia has participated actively in reforms to
improve the overall effectiveness of service delivery. This participation has yielded improvements to
purchasing practice, support for staff in delivering services to communities, and more general sharing of
better practice.
Excellent working relationships exist with our primary purchaser, DEWR. The coming year will see a new
memorandum of understanding (MOU) and a milestone and outcome-based funding model. Our existing
internal focus on milestones and outcomes will position us well for the commencement of the DEWR
funding model on 1 July 2006.
Significant effort over the past year has been directed to ensuring that our network is well placed to
handle increased demands from 1 July 2006. With an estimated growth in Australian Governmentfunded rehabilitation programs of over 60 per cent, each site's capacity has been strengthened wherever
possible and an external provider panel is being established. These strategies will ensure sufficient
capacity exists for the anticipated higher demand for programs.
ASSURING QUALITY FOR GOVERNMENT
CRS Australia maintained certification under the Disability Services Act 1986, with no deficiencies
recorded. The certification audit was conducted by an accredited auditor, SAI Global, who indicated:
... the audit revealed CRS Australia is an organisation committed to quality and has a strong focus on
best practice in the provision of services and meeting and exceeding outcomes for people with a
disability. There was a high level of implementation of the documented management system and
compliance with the Disability Service Standards.
The audit process identified a number of areas for continuous improvement, including:

introducing a broader opportunity for capturing job seeker feedback to further improve job seeker
participation in continuous improvement

assisting job seekers with the verification of wages and working conditions when placing clients in
employment

improving and enhancing the usability of our intranet, CRSNet, to support changes in service
delivery.
Internal audit and quality assurance processes are used strategically to identify learning and
development opportunities, undertake improvements to overall effectiveness and provide assurance of
consistency in decision making, in particular as it applies to decisions under the Disability Services Act
1986 and the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.
Quality service delivery is underpinned by a strong commitment to lifelong learning and active
knowledge sharing. New internal products have been developed using internal and international best
practice, focusing on the work-first nature of welfare reform and the increasing complexity of job seekers.
To make our work more effective and efficient, a range of research and evaluation projects were
undertaken, and eight Communities of Practice (Networks of Excellence) identified and promulgated
best practice across the organisation. During the year, CRS Australia was awarded a platinum award for
its Networks of Excellence from actKM. CRS Australia is now nationally recognised as an outstanding
knowledge management organisation.
IMPROVING OUR WORKPLACE
The quality of CRS Australia's achievements reflects the excellence of its staff. A staff survey showed
the very high commitment of staff members to organisational goals and objectives—a commitment
demonstrated in their work. CRS Australia aims to provide staff with a family-friendly workplace and
relevant professional development opportunities. The new Certified Agreement was finalised in
December 2005 and reinforces the organisation's commitment to being an attractive place to work and
offering work-life balance. Significant progress has also been made in ensuring that our workplace is
safe and supportive, where all staff contribute to our success.
CRS Australia ended the year with a small budget surplus, which will contribute to further improving
service delivery for people with disabilities in 2006-07.
Margaret Carmody
General Manager
About us
CRS Australia is the largest provider of expert assessment and vocational rehabilitation services in
Australia. It operates within the Department of Human Services (DHS).
CRS Australia is the sole provider of vocational rehabilitation services funded under the Disability
Services Act 1986. These services are purchased from CRS Australia by the Australian Government.
CRS Australia's core business is helping people with a disability, injury or health condition to enter or
remain in the workforce. It provides services to eligible job seekers, as well as to a range of commercial
and government clients, from over 174 sites in urban, rural and remote areas across Australia, and
through visiting and outreach services.
Performance
Outcome
Efficient and effective delivery of social and health-related services, including financial assistance, to
the Australian community
Output 3—CRS Australia
Delivery of vocational rehabilitation services to eligible people who have an injury, disability or health
condition
CRS Australia's performance is measured in terms of quality, quantity, effectiveness, efficiency and
price. Reports on CRS Australia's performance against each of those measures follow.
As DEWR is the principal purchaser of CRS Australia services, performance against the DEWR MOU is
reported in more detail in the DEWR annual report.
Table 7 CRS Australia—performance measures, 2005-06
Measure
Target
Performance
Quality
Certification against the Disability
Services Standards
Certified December 2005
Quantity
23,225 new job seekers assisted on
a rehabilitation program
25,488
37 per cent of rehabilitation job
seekers achieving durable
employment outcomes
36 per cent
Effectiveness of employment
outcome: CRS Australia undertakes
an annual audit of outcomes
achieved by CRS Australia job
seekers to ascertain how many are
still in employment at 26 weeks
84 per cent
Efficiency: CRS Australia must
maximise the number of job seekers
assisted with a rehabilitation
program and operate as a viable
business unit
Funded job seeker programs exceeded by
10 per cent
The price of CRS outputs in 200506
$170.4m total
Effectiveness
and efficiency
Price
Small operating surplus
$141.7 million (vocational rehabilitation)
Table 7 presents the performance standards from the Department of Human Services 2005-06 Portfolio
Additional Estimates Statements that apply to CRS Australia.
CRS Australia assisted a total of 43,945 job seekers through its Australian Government-funded
vocational rehabilitation programs in 2005-06. Of these, 25,488 were new job seekers and 18,457 were
existing job seekers who were on program at the start of the financial year. During the year, 10,156 job
seekers achieved a 13-week durable employment outcome, which represents 36 per cent of all job
seeker vocational rehabilitation programs completed in the period.
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY
CRS Australia is committed to working towards a future in which all Australians achieve their potential for
economic and social participation and the cost of injury and disability to the community is reduced. As a
consequence of this commitment, CRS Australia provides a network of offices and staff across
metropolitan, rural and remote Australia, which ensures all Australians eligible for CRS Australia's
services have reasonable access to them. In line with a community service obligation, CRS Australia
provides services in over 100 sites in rural and remote Australia and assistance to people who have an
injury or disability and whose jobs are in jeopardy.
As part of implementing the Commonwealth Disability Strategy, CRS Australia has a comprehensive
disability action plan in place to improve access and opportunities for people with disabilities. Detailed
performance reporting against the Commonwealth Disability Strategy is contained in Appendix 5.
In May 2006, CRS Australia reviewed its Workplace Diversity Strategic Plan 2004-06 to ensure that it
gave effect to the Australian Public Service (APS) Values and that it addressed the issues raised in the
Australian Public Service Commission's (APSC's) State of the Service Report 2004-05. CRS Australia
will revise its Workplace Diversity Strategic Plan to incorporate the findings of the evaluation.
CRS Australia understands that people undertaking vocational rehabilitation programs often experience
barriers not related to disability, such as accommodation or family problems, as well as social isolation
and the impacts of prolonged disadvantage. CRS Australia is committed to seeking opportunities for
better service coordination and to being an active partner in local communities to ensure its job seekers
achieve optimal outcomes.
PURCHASER-PROVIDER ARRANGEMENTS
In 2005-06 CRS Australia had significant purchaser-provider arrangements in place with the following
Commonwealth agencies: Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR); the
Department of Families, Community Services and indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA); the Department of
Education, Science and Training (DEST); and the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA).
Further performance information for CRS Australia is reported in their respective annual reports.
Management and accountability
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
This section reports on aspects of CRS Australia's corporate governance that function in addition to the
core department governance arrangements described on page 46.
The CRS Australia Executive meets with the Secretary of DHS on a monthly basis to review CRS
Australia's performance from a governance perspective. These meetings review financial performance,
keeping a clear focus on viability and sustainability in the longer term. They also review key account
relationships, workforce issues and major projects. The General Manager reports directly to the
Secretary of DHS and meets regularly with her to discuss emerging issues.
CRS Australia's governance framework includes:

national and state-based committee structures focused on strategic and operational management

clear accountabilities and delegation

strong controls in information technology and work process systems

audit, research, evaluation and continuous improvement

business plans, budgets and individual performance achievement on an annual basis aligned with
key business objectives.
A regular reporting cycle for all activities is maintained. CRS Australia's Strategic Directions document is
available at www.crsaustralia.gov.au
Committees
To assist in the effective governance of CRS Australia, the committees set out in Table 8 below have
been formed.
Table 8 CRS Australia—committees for corporate governance
Committee
Members
Functions
Frequency of
meetings
Internal
Executive
Committee
General Manager Deputy
General Manager
(Corporate) Both Deputy
General Managers
(Service Delivery)
Develops CRS Australia's strategic
direction and determines priorities
for the future Monitors, reviews and
manages progress against CRS
Australia's Strategic Directions
across corporate and service
delivery Seeks and responds to
staff and job seeker and customer
feedback Actively identifies and
manages risks Approves national
policies.
Fortnightly
Strategic and
Business
Group
Committee
General Manager (Chair)
Deputy General Managers
National Managers
Divisional Managers Chief
Financial Officer
Makes corporate decisions on
national issues where requested by
the Executive, and in other cases
provides advice and
recommendations to the Executive
Every six weeks
Receives and discusses substantial
issues relating to our business
operations
Monitors and provides input into
national projects, Communities of
Practice (Networks of Excellence)
and other internal committees.
Frequency of
meetings
Committee
Members
Functions
information
Technology
investment
Board
Executive National
Manager IT Chief
Financial Officer An
external representative
Plays a key role in IT corporate
Quarterly
governance Has a strategic, highlevel and financial investment focus
on IT Ensures that IT is strategically
aligned to business needs
Oversees the IT asset replacement
strategy
Provides leadership in the
evaluation and prioritisation of IT
projects.
Risk
Management
Committee
Deputy General Manager
Corporate (Chair)
National Manager IT
National Risk Manager
(Agency Security Adviser)
IT Security Adviser
National Manager Service
Delivery Support A
divisional manager A
regional manager
independent
representatives from the
core department and CSA
An independent observer
Sets the direction of, monitors and
Quarterly
reviews the risk management,
fraud, audit and protective security
control environments Reviews risk
register on a quarterly basis
Develops the forward audit program
for Executive consideration
Oversees business continuity
management plans and activities
Develops and monitors risk
management, fraud, audit and
protective security policies and
programs of work Provides advice
and guidance on risk management
issues as required
INTERNAL SCRUTINY
Internal audit
During 2005-06, CRS Australia undertook internal audits and took part in cross-agency audits, including
audits of financial statements. CRS Australia participated in the annual surveillance audit conducted
under the Disability Service Standards. The independent auditors, SAI Global, commended CRS
Australia on very effective service management and delivery practices. There were no issues identified
at any site that required corrective action. Some suggestions were made for continuous improvement.
Internal managers complete a twice-yearly self-audit package, which assists them to survey the
operations of areas under their responsibility and to ensure that they and their staff understand the
framework within which they work and against which they are required to report.
CRS Australia also continuously monitors the publication of new guidelines and generic Australian
National Audit Office (ANAO) audit reports to ensure that compliance and best practice are maintained
within the organisation.
Risk management
CRS Australia's business planning framework and guidelines for project management and procurement
integrate the assessment, treatment and monitoring of risk as core business activities. During 2005-06, a
strategic and operational risk assessment was conducted to determine the overall risk profile for CRS
Australia, and appropriate mitigation strategies were implemented.
Fraud prevention
As part of its responsibility to protect the public interest, CRS Australia utilises a fraud control program
that complies with the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 and the Commonwealth
Fraud Control Guidelines. As part of this program:

fraud risk assessments and fraud control plans that comply with the Guidelines are prepared

appropriate fraud prevention, detection, investigation and reporting procedures and processes are in
place and are undertaken by qualified staff as per the Guidelines

data on fraud is collected and reported annually
Four matters of fraud were investigated during the year. One matter is continuing. The other three
matters (one internal and two external) were referred to the appropriate delegate and have been
finalised. One resulted in termination of a staff member, one client had their program closed and one
external provider will not be used again for future business.
Security
CRS Australia's protective security framework is based on detailed risk assessments and security
reviews of offices, and other threats and weaknesses, as required by the Australian Government's
Protective Security Manual (PSM) and the Information and Communications Technology Security
Manual (ACSI 33).
Protective security activities for 2005-06 included a number of protective security risk reviews of
metropolitan and rural service delivery sites. While no major control weaknesses or material risks were
identified as part of these reviews, a number of recommended additional controls to ensure compliance
with government best practice have been implemented.
EXTERNAL SCRUTINY
Privacy
CRS Australia maintains job seeker and other files that contain a range of personal information, some of
which can be of a sensitive nature. The agency has well-developed systems and processes to ensure an
appropriate level of privacy of job seeker related information is maintained.
CRS Australia did not receive any complaints from the Privacy Commissioner during 2005-06.
Australian National Audit Office
There were no audits by ANAO of CRS Australia in 2005-06 other than the annual audit of Financial
Statements.
The ANAO made one recommendation from its Forms for individual Service Delivery audit relating to the
useability of forms, particularly those issued by Human Services agencies. CRS Australia has a review
of its forms underway and will ensure there is alignment with the ANAO recommendation.
Reviews, appeals and complaints
CRS Australia's complaint management process follows a three-tier complaint resolution model whereby
attempts to resolve the complaint are initially made at the regional level and then at the divisional and
national levels as required.
Pursuant to the Disability Services Act 1986, a person affected by a CRS Australia decision—or its
failure to make one—can appeal first to the Secretary of the Department of Employment and Workplace
Relations or their delegate, then to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) if the matter is not
resolved to their satisfaction.
During 2005-06, there were eight internal reviews, the same number as in 2004-05.
The decisions forming the basis of these internal reviews were:

decision to close programs
2

decision not to provide a specific service element
1

decision not to fund a specific training course
2

decision not to fund equipment or modifications
1

decision not to provide a rehabilitation program
1

decision not to waive program costs
1
Seven of these complaints were resolved. The other matter was appealed to the AAT, and is continuing.
One client lodged an appeal under Freedom of information (FOI) with the AAT in 2005-06, but was
referred back to CRS Australia for internal review. A client with an outstanding FOI matter from 2004-05
made an application to the Federal Court but this was dismissed in April 2006.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman's office made two inquiries about CRS Australia. Of these, neither was
found to reflect maladministration on the part of CRS Australia.
Six complaints against CRS Australia were lodged with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission (HREOC) during 2005-06. In one matter, the applicant voluntarily withdrew. In three matters
the Commissioner terminated the complaints. Two other matters are continuing.
OUR PEOPLE
As at 30 June 2006, CRS Australia employed 1,999 people (including employees on long-term leave)
under the Public Service Act 1999. CRS Australia's staffing levels decreased during the year, with one
less employee than at 30 June 2005. Its workforce comprised 88.89 per cent ongoing and 61.13 per cent
full-time employees.
Further CRS Australia staffing statistics are at Appendix 1.
Human resource management
During 2005-06, CRS Australia has placed emphasis on the following strategic areas:

improving recruitment and retention

developing and implementing the new Certified Agreement and Australian Workplace Agreements

building workforce capabilities and ensuring timely management reporting

enabling workplace diversity

reducing absenteeism and actively managing occupational health and safety issues.
CRS Australia provides all new staff members with a copy of the APS Values and Code of Conduct as
part of their welcome kit when they begin work. The Values and Code are reinforced through staff
induction training, which is conducted at a national level, and in presentations to staff made at the
request of managers or teams. Managers are asked to make such presentations annually.
Managers and staff are required to use the APS Values and Code of Conduct in their decision making
and in their interactions with each other. Policies and procedures relating to breaches of the Code are
available to all staff on the intranet, CRSNet.
A range of manager resources have been developed, including regular workforce reports on a range of
demographical information, staff absences and turnover.
CRS Australia's 2006 employee opinion survey was conducted in March 2006 by an external consultant.
The results were provided to senior managers and are being used to identify areas of improvement in
each Division and functional area. Strategies to address the areas identified as needing improvement
are being developed and will be included in relevant business plans.
Emphasis was also placed on developing human resource capabilities through participation in Human
Services' projects and committees, professional conferences and seminars, and training with Australian
Human Resource institute, the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC), and other human
resource professional development programs. CRS Australia has also contributed to the APSC Absence
Management Working Party, the DHS Absence Management Committee, the Workers' Compensation
Premium Reduction Working Group and DHS reference group examining superannuation choice of
funds. CRS Australia has set a target of 8.9 days unscheduled leave per full time equivalent staff
member and has implemented a range of strategies to meet this target.
CRS Australia has been working with Comcare, the Child Support Agency (CSA) , Health Services
Australia and other Human Services agencies on its leave and workers' compensation management
practices.
REMUNERATION
Certified Agreement
The CRS Australia Certified Agreement 2005-2008 (the Certified Agreement) was certified by the
Australian Industrial Relations Commission and entered into force from 5 December 2005.
The Certified Agreement has a commitment to work-life balance and to mature-aged workers and has
improved flexibility for both maternity and parental leave.
The Certified Agreement provides for continued productivity gains and affordability. Salary increases are
related to both productivity and performance.
Some of the non-salary benefits under the agreement are as follows:

flexible working hours and locations

personal leave days that can be utilised for illness, care of immediate family and household members
or compelling circumstances

study assistance

child and elder care information and referral services

access to the Employee Assistance Program

flu vaccinations

eyesight testing

support for professional and personal development

an additional two paid days at the end of the year for the Christmas/New Year stand down (supported
by a four minute increase to the length of the working day for full-time employees and pro-rata
additional increase to work for part-time employees)

non-cash recognition rewards

CRS Australia national awards that recognise the contribution of high-performing teams and
individuals.
The number of staff employed under the Certified Agreement at 30 June 2006 was 1,913.
Australian Workplace Agreements
CRS Australia currently offers Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) to all Senior Executive Service
(SES) and other staff to attract and retain staff with essential skills. The agreements provide flexible or
specially tailored remuneration and conditions.
As at 30 June 2006, there were 86 employees employed under AWAs. Non-SES staff AWAs may
include some or all of the following:

private use of motor vehicles or an allowance in lieu

skills allowance

retention bonus.
Remuneration for CRS Australia officers is summarised at Appendix 1.
Performance pay
The performance bonuses paid in financial year 2005-06 for performance during the 2004-05 financial
year are set out in Table 9.
Table 9 CRS Australia—performance pay
Level
Staff eligible
Staff paid
Amount paid ($)
Average ($)
APS
1,828
1,452
1,687,297
1,162
EL
123
102
225,217
2,208
SES
4
4
46,025
11,506
Total
1,955
1,558
1,958,539
1,257
Note: APS=Australian Public Service; EL = Executive Level; SES=Senior Executive Service
Learning and development
As part of ensuring that CRS Australia is well placed to assist in the Welfare to Work initiatives its
learning and development activities during the year focused largely on developing and delivering
training/ learning strategies to equip staff to support these initiatives and in particular Job Capacity
Assessments. Specifically, CRS Australia delivered skill development and learning to:

191 staff members, to equip them to be Job Capacity Assessment assessors

160 staff, to enable them to serve as Job Capacity Assessment administrative support officers.
In addition, CRS provided training to 1,500 staff on the service changes that the new arrangements with
DEWR will bring about.
Other learning and development activities through the year included the following:

coaching skills for senior rehabilitation consultants

Advanced Case Management Tutorial Model to promote improvement in employment outcomes for
clients

Functional Capacity Evaluation coaching.
Formal evaluation determined that these courses were effective for the staffing groups that received the
training.
During the financial year, CRS Australia also provided training for managers, including training on
change management for 44 managers and coaching for performance for 37 managers.
Current work in progress within the CRS Australia Learning and Development team includes:

redevelopment of the Acquired Brain injury training package

implementation of a more flexible delivery approach for national training courses

development and evaluation of change management training for managers.
CRS continued to deliver 12 core training courses, on a national level, to promote skill and learning
within the allied health staff in the CRS Australia network. These courses were delivered on 67
occasions to the network this year.
The courses making up the national training schedule were delivered by a pool of 35 trainers who were
engaged as required. The CRS Learning and Development Trainer Management project evaluated the
delivery of training on an ongoing basis and provided support to the trainers via regular six-weekly
teleconferences.
Workplace diversity
CRS Australia engaged Diversity@work to review the effectiveness of its Workplace Diversity Strategic
Plan 2004-06 and to identify areas for improvement. The review confirmed that the plan was generally
consistent with the Australian Public Service Commission best-practice guidelines. It also made a
number of recommendations; these will be incorporated into the 2006-09 version of the plan.
During the year, CRS Australia developed an Indigenous Employment Strategy aimed at increasing the
number of Indigenous employees on our staff. Strategies include participating in the APSC Indigenous
Graduate, Cadet and Traineeship programs to increase recruitment of Indigenous Australians, and
providing support mechanisms to improve retention of the Indigenous Australians already employed.
Internal communications
As an organisation focused on achieving outcomes through people, CRS Australia knows the
importance of maintaining communications for a wide range of purchasers and job seekers and
connecting people who are dispersed across the country. CRS Australia use various media and
technologies to keep staff, job seekers and customers informed about important issues.
During 2005-06, to guide communication CRS developed its Building our Future internal
communications plan. This was in preparation for the changes in the way CRS does business mainly as
a result of Welfare to Work. It was imperative that CRS Australia staff be kept informed about business
changes and future directions. The plan includes:

monthly updates from the Executive on key areas of change

a dedicated email address for staff to lodge enquiries relating to business changes

a tool kit for managers, including presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint to assist managers in
communicating with staff about business changes

dedicated CRS Australia intranet (CRSNet) pages that include frequently asked questions,
discussion groups, update bulletins and supporting resources.
Key communication channels include:

CRSNet—the news page is updated daily, and opens automatically as each staff member logs on

General Manager's Bulletin, an electronic newsletter

Service Delivery Bulletin, an electronic monthly newsletter

Managers Human Resources update, covering topical people management issues

Occupational Health and Safety newsletter, an electronic monthly newsletter

CRSNews, our national staff newsletter, printed in hard copy quarterly

annual managers' conference and divisional/regional forums

governance meetings, as outlined at 'Corporate governance', above

Senior Rehabilitation Consultant conferences, held both at national and divisional levels as required.
Major issues addressed through internal communication channels during 2005-06 included:

consultation on the 2005-08 Certified Agreement

business changes associated with the Welfare to Work initiatives

SAP upgrade (technological upgrade from version 4.6C to mySAP) to better position us in the future
to build cutting edge applications and support software.
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Financial management
CRS Australia has continued to show a strong financial performance in 2005-06 even though it was
required to undertake significant investment in additional staff and infrastructure in order to prepare for
the Welfare to Work changes occurring on 1 July 2006. CRS Australia nevertheless exceeded its MOU
milestones with DEWR by 10 per cent and, through targeted cost management, delivered a small
operating surplus for 2005-06.
A review was conducted in 2004-05 of all accounting policies that would be affected by the adoption of
Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) Australian Equivalents to international Financial
Reporting Standards (AEIFRS) that apply from 2005-06. CRS Australia carried out a number of changes
to accounting policy from July 2005 (described in the Department of Human Services Annual Report
2004-05). CRS Australia made adjustments to its opening equity position for AEIFRS to reverse
previously expensed make good assets and to recognise the decrease in value of employee provisions
from the discounting of non-current annual leave. As a result, CRS Australia is now in compliance with
AEIFRS requirements, and both its 2005-06 closing balances and its 2004-05 comparatives are
calculated on this basis.
During 2005-06, the Human Resources and Financial Management information System (HR/FMIS) was
upgraded to mySAP, which has led to considerable improvements in available functionality for the
processing and reporting of financial information.
CRS Australia continued to adhere to its systematic internal budgeting and reporting framework. Each
cost centre's performance with regard to revenue and costs is readily available against budget within two
working days of the end-of-month close-off.
In the past year, CRS Australia processed more than 45,000 invoices worth more than $52 million. This
was carried out through our centralised accounts processing area with the assistance of a distributed
administrative and financial officer network. We continued to meet our high standards for the timely
payment of vendors, including small business, reaching over 99 per cent payment timeliness by the end
of the reporting year. CRS Australia achieves this by consistently focussing on sustaining working
partnerships with business, recognising their value in our service delivery.
Use of consultants and services contractors
The policies and procedures for selecting consultants and approving expenditure to engage them are set
out in the DHS Chief Executive Instructions (CEI) and corporate guidelines.
During 2005-06, CRS Australia entered into nine new consultancy contracts to the value of $10,000 or
more. All contracts comply with the CRS Australia purchasing and contracts policy and procedures and
are consistent with the Chief Executive Instructions (CEIs) and the DHS purchasing policy. The
consultants were engaged to carry out specialist services that were not available in-house or that
required an independent and impartial view from outside CRS Australia. Details are in Appendix 4.
There were no contracts let during the financial year that excluded the Attorney-General from access to
the contractors' premises. No contracts were exempted by the Secretary from publication in the
Australian Government's Purchasing and Disposal Gazette.
Competitive tendering and contracting
No specific competitive tendering and contracting events were managed by CRS Australia during 200506. The facilities management function previously provided by the private sector was insourced to
Centrelink with significant savings being achieved.
CRS Australia published an expression of interest to establish a provider panel for the provision of
vocational rehabilitation programs in 2006-07. This panel will be used to supplement CRS Australia's
capability in a period where significant growth is forecast.
The core department, CRS Australia, and the Child Support Agency went to the market in September
2005 for internal audit services. Ascent was awarded the contract.
Office accommodation
The national service delivery network consists of 174 permanent offices, with over 100 sites in rural and
remote Australia. Support for business operations takes place within National Office in Canberra and
divisional offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. CRS Australia seeks to locate
service delivery outlets conveniently for clients, in close proximity to Centrelink offices, transport systems
and other community facilities.
During 2005-06, one new office was opened, in Grafton, NSW, and 13 existing offices were relocated,
with expanded capability in most cases, within the communities they serve. A partial refit was
undertaken at 16 existing office locations to improve facilities and enhance service delivery capabilities.
The Fitzroy office in Victoria was consolidated with the Melbourne Central office in response to declining
business levels over recent years.
Purchasing
All Human Services agencies and the core department, now follow DHS Procurement Guidelines which
took effect from 1 January 2006. The objectives of these guidelines are to:

better meet the Minister for Human Services' requirements for improved efficiencies in procurement
processes across agencies

give agencies greater responsibility and accountability for their purchasing

move to common purchasing for all purchases over $1 million by actively participating in joint
procurements.
The guidelines, which are in addition to the relevant Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines that apply
to purchasing by Human Services, are published on the DHS website and all suppliers and potential
suppliers are encouraged to recognise the guidelines in their offers to supply goods and services.
Asset management
Asset management decisions are integrated with strategic business planning and include life-cycle
costs, benefits and risks. All asset holdings are reviewed annually to ensure cost-effectiveness and
whole-of- life utilisation. Depreciation/amortisation rates are reviewed annually and necessary
adjustments are recognised in current and future reporting periods. A stocktake of assets was
undertaken in May 2006, which confirmed the location and the condition of each asset.
CRS Australia updated its asset recognition threshold levels to be consistent with the levels applied by
the rest of Human Services. This update has had an impact on the financial statements for 2005-06. The
new asset thresholds are set out in Table 10.
Table 10 CRS Australia, asset thresholds, 2004-05 and 2005-06
Asset description
Old (2004-05)
New (2005-06)
General equipment
$2,000
$2,000
Office fit-out
$5,000
$10,000
Purchased software
$2,000
$25,000
internally developed software
$5,000
$200,000
If a purchase is below the relevant threshold of one of the categories above, it is expensed in the year of
acquisition. The application of these revised thresholds to existing CRS Australia asset purchased from
1 July 2005 has resulted in a reduction to the overall fixed asset base of approximately $0.2 million.
Knowledge management
CRS Australia is a knowledge-based organisation with a focus on expertise and best practice. This is
supported by:

CRS People Management Framework, which includes:

strategies for obtaining and retaining the right staff

recruitment, induction, training and development processes

'discretion versus direction' principles (for enabling and empowering staff)

eight Communities of Practice (Networks of Excellence), each of which consists of various highly
skilled staff working in a specific service delivery area or in business administration, and aims to
identify, support and promote best practice across the organisation

an active program of research, evaluation and innovation

our quality assurance and improvement program, which integrates 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:

provides access to evidence-based rehabilitation practices

is the source of policy, practices and procedures

supports discussion groups and chat rooms

an organisational library, which supports case management, organisational research, and the
Communities of Practice

Environmental Scanning, a periodic document published on the intranet, highlighting data and
information relevant to CRS Australia's business.
In 2005, CRS Australia received the prestigious Platinum Knowledge Award—the highest level
available— for our Networks of Excellence from actKM. The actKM Knowledge Awards are presented
annually to public-sector organisations that achieve business improvements via knowledge-related
initiatives or projects.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Appendices
Appendix 1—Staffing statistics
This appendix contains information on staffing in the core department, the Child Support Agency and
CRS Australia, at 30 June 2006.
CORE DEPARTMENT
Tables 11, 12 and 13 contain summary information on the core department's actual staffing at 30 June
2006, not including seconded staff.
Table 11 Core department—ongoing staff employed, by classification, gender and location, at 30 June
2006
Location and
classification
Australian Capital
Territory
Female
Male
Part-time
Full-time
Secretary
-
1
SES Band 3
-
-
SES band 2
-
-
SES band 1
-
6
Executive Level 2
1
13
Executive Level 1
-
APS Level 6
Part-time
Full-time
Total
-
1
2
2
4
4
5
11
1
14
29
16
-
8
24
1
3
-
3
7
APS Level 5
-
4
-
-
4
APS Level 4
-
3
1-
Departmental total
2
46
2
-
4
36
86
Note: APS = Australian Public Service; SES = Senior Executive Service
Table 12 Core department—non-ongoing staff employed, by classification, gender and location, at 30
June 2006
Location and
classification
Australian Capital
Territory
Female
Male
Part-time
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
Secretary
-
-
-
-
-
SES Band 3
-
-
-
-
-
SES Band 2
-
-
-
-
-
SES Band 1
-
-
-
-
-
Executive Level 2
-
1
-
-
1
Executive Level 1
-
-
-
-
-
APS Level 6
-
-
-
1
1
APS Level 5
-
1
-
1
2
APS Level 4
-
2
-
2
4
Departmental total
-
4
-
4
8
Note: APS = Australian Public Service; SES = Senior Executive Service
Table 13 Core department—indicative salary ranges, at 30 June 2006
Classification
Minimum ($)
Maximum ($)
SES Band 3
150,800
187,200
SES Band 2
130,000
145,600
SES Band 1
104,000
124,800
Executive Level 2
87,776
105,144
Executive Level 1
72,592
87,776
APS Level 6
58,552
71,552
APS Level 5
53,040
58,552
APS Level 4
47,736
53,040
Classification
Minimum ($)
Maximum ($)
APS Level 3
42,328
47,736
APS Level 2
36,816
42,328
Note 1: APS = Australian Public Service; SES = Senior Executive Service
Note 2: Median figures are not provided, as they would allow the remuneration of individuals to be
identified.
Note: APS = Australian Public Service; SES = Senior Executive Service
CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY
Table 14 CSA—Ongoing staff employed, by classification and gender, at 30 June 2006
Female
Classification
Male
Part-time
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
SES Band 3
-
-
-
1
1
SES band 2
-
3
-
1
4
SES band 1
1
5
-
4
10
Executive Level 2
2
31
-
35
68
Executive Level 1
21
118
1
63
203
APS Level 6
58
229
5
94
386
APS Level 5
55
261
3
84
403
APS Level 4
163
581
17
202
963
APS Level 3
178
762
13
352
1,305
APS Level 2
18
19
1
22
60
APS Level 1
3
1
-
4
8
499
2,010
40
862
3,411
Departmental total
Note: APS = Australian Public Service; SES = Senior Executive Service
Table 15 CSA—non-ongoing staff employed, by classification and gender, at 30 June 2006
Female
Classification
Male
Part-time
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
SES Band 3
-
-
-
-
-
SES Band 2
-
-
-
-
-
SES Band 1
-
-
-
1
1
Executive Level 2
-
-
-
-
1
Executive Level 1
-
-
1
-
4
APS Level 6
-
-
1
1
4
APS Level 5
-
-
-
-
3
APS Level 4
-
-
1
1
3
APS Level 3
1
1
-
2
12
APS Level 2
1
1
-
2
10
APS Level 1
-
-
-
-
-
Departmental total
2
2
3
7
38
Note: APS = Australian Public Service; SES = Senior Executive Service
Table 16 CSA—staff employed under Australian Workplace Agreements and Certified Agreement, at 30
June 2006
Classification
AWA
Certified Agreement
SES
10
-
Non-SES
117
3,322
Total
127
3,322
Note: SES = Senior Executive Service
*Please note employees acting at SES level have been recorded in these figures under their nominal
salary level
Table 17 CSA—Certified Agreement salary ranges, by classification, at 30 June 2006
Classification
Minimum ($)
Maximum ($)
Executive Level 2a
$81,319
$81,319
Executive Level 1
$72,028
$77,779
APS Level 6/CSO Level 6
$57,585
$64,543
APS Level 5/CSO Level 5
$52,021
$55,726
APS Level 4/CSO Level 4
$46,642
$51,205
APS Level 3/CSO Level 3
$41,847
$45,166
Graduate APS
$41,847
$41,847
APS Level 2/CSO Level 2
$37,750
$40,743
APS Level 1/CSO Level 1
$33,555
$36,034
Note: APS = Australian Public Service; CSO = Customer Service Officer
a = Temporary performance
Table 18 CSA—Australian Workplace Agreement salary ranges, at 30 June 2006
Classification
Minimum ($)
Maximum ($)
SES Band 3
$150,800
$187,200
SES Band 2
$130,000
$145,600
SES Band 1
$104,000
$124,800
Executive Level 2 (2)
$97,072
$106,780
Executive Level 2 (1)
$89,410
$98,350
Executive Level 1
$75,630
$85,687
Note: SES = Senior Executive Service
CRS AUSTRALIA
Table 19 CRS Australia—ongoing staff employed, by classification and gender, at 30 June 2006
Female
Classification
Male
Part-time
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
SES Band 2
-
1
-
-
1
SES Band 1
-
-
-
2
2
Executive Level 2A
-
-
-
2
2
Executive Level 2B
1
6
-
6
13
Executive Level 1
9
54
-
43
106
APS Level 6
4
18
2
23
47
APS Level 5
17
23
5
25
70
APS Level 4
25
54
4
21
104
APS Level 3
20
62
-
7
89
APS Level 2
86
85
2
5
178
APS Level 1
4
7
-
1
12
Rehabilitation Consultant
Level 1
20
88
-
15
123
Rehabilitation Consultant
Level 2
453
448
19
110
1 030
Departmental total
639
846
32
260
1,777
APS = Australian Public Service; SES = Senior Executive Service
Note: staff numbers comprise 38 per cent part-time and irregular/intermittent staff
Table 20 CRS Australia—non-ongoing staff employed, by classification and gender, at 30 June 2006
Female
Classification
Male
Part-time
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
Executive Level 1
-
2
-
1
3
APS Level 6
2
-
-
1
3
APS Level 5
7
3
1
3
14
APS Level 4
7
8
1
3
19
APS Level 3
9
4
2
-
15
APS Level 2
26
16
3
1
46
APS Level 1
16
6
-
-
22
Rehabilitation Consultant
Level 1
6
27
1
6
40
Rehabilitation Consultant
Level 2
24
23
3
10
60
Departmental total
97
89
9
27
222
APS = Australian Public Service
Note: Staff numbers comprise 48 per cent part-time and irregular/intermittent staff
Table 21 CRS Australia—Certified Agreement salary ranges, by classification, at 30 June 2006
Level
Minimum ($)
Maximum ($)
Executive Level 1
$70,304
$76,082
APS Level 6
$54,895
$63,081
APS Level 5
$50,922
$53,931
APS Level 4
$45,746
$49,598
APS Level 3
$41,051
$44,180
APS Level 2
$35,995
$39,847
APS Level 1
$31,902
$35,031
Rehabilitation Consultant Level 2
$54,895
$65,604
Rehabilitation Consultant Level 1
$42,254
$53,931
APS = Australian Public Service
Table 22 CRS Australia—Australian Workplace Agreement salary ranges and allowances, by
classification, at 30 June 2006
Level
Minimum ($)
Maximum ($)
SES Bands 1 and 2
$121,500
$161,500
Executive Level 2
$92,896
$108,610
Executive Level 1
$81,942
$95,220
SES = Senior Executive Service
APS = Australian Public Service
Appendix 2—Freedom of information
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) requires each Australian government agency to
publish a statement setting out its roles, structure and functions, the documents it has available for public
inspection, and the procedures for gaining access to those documents.
Section 8 of the Act requires each agency to publish information on the way it is organised, its powers
and decisions, and arrangements for public involvement in its work. This appendix, in conjunction with
information elsewhere in this annual report, meets the requirements of section 8 of the FOI Act.
Statistics on the department's handling of FOI requests will be made available on the website of the
Attorney-General's Department at www.ag.gov.au
CORE DEPARTMENT
Procedures and contact points
Contact officers at the core department can advise on freedom of information (FOI) matters and discuss
the nature and scope of an intended request.
Formal applications for access to documents under the FOI Act must be made in writing or by
completing a form, where available.
FOI inquiries relating to the core department may be directed to:
FOI Contact Officer
Department of Human Services
PO Box 3959
Manuka ACT 2603
Fax: 02 6233 4487
Telephone: 1300 55 44 79
Categories of documents maintained
Documents the core department holds are:

separate records of Cabinet matters, including Cabinet submissions and Cabinet minutes

separate records prepared for the Executive Council

general correspondence and associated documents according to subject matter

documents maintained separately that relate to the department's specific functions—for example,
finance

manuals, instructions and guidelines for the use of departmental staff.
Access to documents
None of the documents held by the core department is:

open to the public as part of the public register or otherwise, in accordance with an enactment other
than the FOI Act, subject to a fee or other charge

available for purchase by the public

customarily made available to the public other than free of charge on request under the FOI Act.
CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY
Procedures and contact points
The Child Support Agency (CSA) has protocols and procedures to ensure uniformity of practice and
congruence with the requirements of the FOI Act. CSA's procedures are also consistent with established
DHS protocols and this further strengthens its commitment to the obligations of the FOI Act. In addition,
the principles of freedom of information are reflected in its daily interactions with customers and in the
informal access it gives them to personal information about themselves.
Formal applications for access to documents must be made in writing, and personally delivered or
mailed to a CSA office or regional service centre. The CSA website lists all its offices and regional
service centres; people may also call 131 272 for details of CSA locations.
Where people seek documents containing their own information, CSA follows informal guidelines that
eliminate the need for a formal FOI application in most cases.
General FOI information is available from www.csa.gov.au or from any CSA office. FOI contact officers
(telephone 131 272) can advise on FOI matters and discuss the nature and scope of an intended
request. FOI inquiries relating to CSA may be directed to:
FOI Contact Officers
CSA office or regional service centre (see CSA website)
Telephone: 131 272
Categories of documents maintained
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

answers to parliamentary questions

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 officers, media releases and press clippings

publications, fact sheets and other educational material

the CSA business plan.
Access to documents
CSA makes child support forms, brochures and booklets freely available to the public. Free copies of
policy guidelines, 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, enclose a $30
application fee and 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 and to help the agency meet its obligations under the FOI Act, 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. An information
sheet, outlining the FOI application process, is available for potential applicants.
CRS Australia has in place a set of DHS protocols and procedures to ensure uniformity of practice and
congruence with the requirements of the FOI Act. In addition, the principles of FOI are reflected in daily
interactions with clients and the informal access to personal information given to clients.
FOI inquiries relating to CRS Australia may be directed to:
The FOI Coordinator
CRS Australia
PO Box 2691
Sydney NSW 2001
Requests to CRS Australia for information can also be made electronically via the website at
www.crsaustralia.gov.au A link is provided from the website's 'Privacy and Security' page.
Categories of documents maintained
Documents held by CRS Australia include:

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

answers to parliamentary questions

training materials

FOI request files and papers relevant to the consideration of those requests

financial reports, expenditure estimates and expenditure reports.
Access to documents
CRS Australia follows informal access guidelines in cases where individuals seek access to documents
that contain their own information, eliminating the need to lodge a formal FOI application. An informal
request for access to documents can be made either verbally or in writing to the relevant rehabilitation
consultant.
Appendix 3—Advertising and market research
Section 311A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 requires Australian government agencies to
report all payments of $1,500 or more made to advertising agencies or to organisations carrying out
market research, polling, direct mailing or media advertising.
The following three tables detail the use of such agencies by the core department, the Child Support
Agency (CSA) and CRS Australia in 2005-06.
CORE DEPARTMENT
Table 23 Core department—payments for advertising and market research, 2005-06
Advertising agencies
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Universal McCann
To provide advertising space for the community
information and education program
$2,591,771
George Patterson Y &
R
To provide advertising for the community information
and education program
$710,045
Eardrum
To provide radio advertising for the community
information and education program
$301,359
Market research organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Open Mind Research
Group
To undertake market research for community
information and education program and smartcard
technology
$328,725
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Nil
Nil
Nil
Polling organisations
Direct mail organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Advertising agencies
Nil
Nil
Nil
Media advertising organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
HMA Blaze
To provide employment and tender advertising
$276,515
CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY
Table 24 CSA—payments for advertising and market research, 2005-06
Advertising agencies
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Nil
Nil
Nil
Market research organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Blue Moon Research
and Planning Pty Ltd
To conduct market research on a new self help
booklet (Me and My Changing Family)
$25,080
Colmar Brunton Social
Research Pty Ltd
To market test customer reactions to the prototype
screens of CSAonline
$60,720
Blue Moon Research
and Planning Pty Ltd
To market test CSA customers reaction to new CSA
printed and online corporate products, such as the
new tagline and the new website.
$20,680
Chantlink and
Associates
To measure CSA's customer perceptions of the
professionalism of CSA staff
$21,364
Client Wise Pty Ltd
To conduct customer satisfaction research
$85,030
Colmar Brunton Social
Research Pty Ltd
Evaluation of the "Being Connected" telephone service
$36,586
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Nil
Nil
Nil
Polling organisations
Advertising agencies
Direct mail organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Rothfield Print
Management
To conduct the mail-out of CSA publications to CSA
offices and customers
$751,534
Salmat
To conduct mail-outs to promote Community
Information Sessions
$63,997
Salmat
To manage document distribution (including CSA
customers' monthly statements)
$2,689,865
Media advertising organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
HMA Blaze
To conduct recruitment advertising
$411,649
HMA Blaze
To place CSA standard advertising (i.e. noncampaign, non-recruitment) in various newspapers
$164,004
CRS AUSTRALIA
Table 25 CRS Australia—payments for advertising and market research, 2005-06
Advertising agencies
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Nil
Nil
Nil
Market research organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Market Solutions
To conduct research to verify the sustainability of CRS
Australia's client employment outcomes at 26 weeks.
$29,999
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Nil
Nil
Nil
Polling organisations
Advertising agencies
Direct mail organisations
Payee
Purpose
Amount
Health Communication
Network
To include CRS Australia pamphlet, strip advertising
and forms in quarterly Medical Director CD-ROM
information package, mailed out to 16,000 GPs in July
2005
$18,730
Media advertising agencies
Payee
Purpose
Amount
HMA Blaze
To place CRS Australia recruitment advertising
$454,069
HMA Blaze
To place CRS Australia standard advertising (i.e. noncampaign, non-recruitment) in various newspapers
$131,766
SENSIS
To place advertising in local, regional and metropolitan
Yellow Pages directories
$95,922
Google advertising
To place key words on Google search engine for CRS
Australia
$3,653
Other advertising (contributing to the above categories)
Payee
Purpose
Amount
The School of Thought
To undertake changes to recruitment campaign
strategy, creation of three radio scripts, and creation of
vocational rehabilitation DVD script
$4,925
Appendix 4—Use of consultants and service contractors
Australian government agencies governed by the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997
are required to report all consultancy service contracts let during the reporting year to the value of
$10,000 or more.
All DHS contracts have been listed on AusTender.
The Government's purchasing policy requires all agencies to follow the Commonwealth Procurement
Guidelines, which were revised in January 2005. The core principle in the guidelines is value for money,
which is achieved by:

encouraging competition by ensuring non-discrimination in procurement and pursuing competitive
procurement processes

promoting the efficient, effective and ethical use of resources

making decisions in an accountable and transparent manner.
Additional principles, which apply to the core department and all Human Services agencies are:

alignment with government strategic direction

innovation

consultation with other Human Services agencies to capitalise on joint purchasing efficiencies

where appropriate, access by the core department and other Human Services agencies to each
others contracts.
The tables in this appendix note the procurement procedure used for each contract. Procurement
procedures are of four types:

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

select tender—a procurement procedure in which the procuring agency selects which potential
suppliers are invited to submit tenders, in accordance with the mandatory procurement procedures

direct sourcing—a procurement process, available only under certain defined circumstances, in
which an agency may contact a single potential supplier or suppliers of its choice and for which
conditions for direct sourcing apply under the mandatory procurement procedures

panel—an arrangement under which a number of suppliers, usually selected through a single
procurement process, may each supply property or services to an agency as specified in the panel
arrangements.
Table 26 Summary statement
Core department
CSA
CRS Australia
Number of new consultancy services
contracts let during the reporting year
21
20
9
Total actual expenditure on all new
consultancy contracts let during the
reporting year (inclusive of GST)
$3,271,449.06
$1,847,816
$236,409.52
Number of ongoing consultancy
contracts that were active in the
reporting year.
1
18
9
Total actual expenditure in the reporting
year on the ongoing consultancy
contracts (inclusive of GST)
$52,800
$3,152,273
$221,417.82
Contracts exempt from AusTender
Nil
Nil
Nil
The following three tables detail the use of consultancy service contracts by the core department, the
Child Support Agency (CSA) and CRS Australia in 2005-06.
Table 27 Core department—consultancy services to the value of $10,000 or more let during 2005-06
Consultant
name
Description
Contract price
(GST inclusive)
Selection
process
Justification
Dilma Consulting
Pty Ltd
To provide analysis
and report on leave
entitlements
$17,600
Direct sourcing
B
PriceWaterhouse
Coopers
To provide advice on
financial
management
systems
$39,000
Panel
B
AGS
To provide legal
advice
$13,200
Direct sourcing
B
IBM
To perform an
independent review
of specific IT
incidents in
Centrelink
$62,400
Panel
B
Booz Allen
Hamilton
To perform an
independent review
of specific incidents
in Centrelink
$151,328
Panel
B
Brandmark
Consulting Group
Pty Ltd
To provide
communication
advice
$50,018
Panel
B
The IISM Group
To provide an
independent review
of IT components for
FAO
$22,000
Panel
B
Acumen Alliance
To provide
assistance in the
review of the
Centrelink Funding
Model
$27,500
Panel
B
Brandmark
Consulting Group
Pty LTD
To provide
communication
advice
$82,208
Panel
B
SMS Consulting
Group
To provide advice on
an IT strategy
$60,000
Panel
B
Kaz Technologies
To develop and
validate an
$1,925,000
Panel
B, C
Consultant
name
Description
Contract price
(GST inclusive)
Selection
process
Justification
independent health
and social services
access card
business case
Booz Allen
Hamilton
To perform additional
work for the review of
specific incidents in
Centrelink
$24,000
Panel
B
SMS Consulting
Group
To provide
independent advice
on call centres
$89,700
Panel
C
Pacific Privacy
Consulting
To provide advice on
privacy issues
$25,000
Select tender
B
Clayton Utz
To provide privacy
advice
$75,000
Select tender
B
Booz Allen
Hamilton
To perform an
independent review
of the PBS online
system
$155,000
Panel
B
IBM
To perform a followup review of the
specific incidents in
Centrelink review
$62,500
Panel
B
Booz Allen
Hamilton
To perform a followup review of the PBS
Online System
$174,000
Panel
B
Porter Novelli
To provide public
relations advice
$80,000
Direct sourcing
B
PriceWaterhouse
Coopers
To perform a postimplementation
review of Aged Care
Payments
$56,000
Panel
B
Porter Novelli
To provide public
relations advice
$80,000
Direct sourcing
B
a 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 28 Child Support Agency—consultancy services to the value of $10,000 or more let during 2005–
06
Consultant
name
Description
Contract price
(GST inclusive)
Selection
process
Justificationa
Acumen Alliance
(ACT) Pty Ltd
To undertake a
review of CSA
financial position
$40,500
Direct sourcing
B
Accenture
Australia
Holdings Pty Ltd
To undertake a
review of
implementation of
taskforce system
changes
$11,000
Panel
B
Colmar Brunton
To conduct market
research
$40,000
Direct sourcing
B
Focal Point
Consulting
To provide business
modelling support
$35,000
Direct sourcing
B
Focal Point
Consulting
To provide business
modelling support
$38,000
Direct sourcing
B
Select Australasia To provide HR
consultancy services
Pty Ltd
(victoria and
Tasmania)
$11,563
Panel
B
David Jess &
Associates Pty
Ltd
To conduct a
procurement review
$10,000
Panel
B
intelligent
Outcomes Group
To perform a security
risk assessment
$16,422
Direct sourcing
B
icon Recruitment
Pty Ltd
To provide staff
recruitment services
$46,400
Panel
B
Acumen Alliance
To prepare draft
Chief Executive
instructions and
corporate guidelines
$35,000
Direct sourcing
B
Consultant
name
Description
Contract price
(GST inclusive)
Selection
process
Justificationa
Ascent
Governance Pty
Ltd
To undertake review
of CSA administered
accounts
$14,880
Direct sourcing
B
Ascent
Governance Pty
Ltd
To undertake review
of CSA administered
accounts
$47,316
Direct sourcing
B
Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu
To conduct a service
delivery review
$100,000
Panel
B
Australian
Government
Solicitor
To provide an
outposted lawyer to
CSA (victoria and
Tasmania)
$65,000
Panel
B
Bull & Bear
Special
Assignments
To provide human
resources
consultancy services
- Queensland
$105,454
Direct sourcing
B
Ascent
Consulting
To provide
resources, advice
and expertise to
establish an
operational Program
Office
$118,181
Panel
B
PriceWaterHouse
Coopers
To provide a Chief
Financial Officer
while recruitment
process underway
$230,000
Panel
B
Yellow Edge Pty
Ltd
To review and
evaluate corporate
services delivery
$39,600
Panel
B
Changedrivers
Pty Ltd
(subcontractor is
Bull & Bear)
To conduct
professional
recruitment services
$315,500
Panel
C
Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu
To undertake IT
architecture review
$528,000
Panel
B
Notes: HR = human resources; IT = information technology
a 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 29 CRS Australia—consultancy services to the value of $10,000 or more let during 2005-06
Consultant
name
Description
Contract price
(GST inclusive)
Selection
process
Justificationa
Solved at
McConchie Pty
Ltd
To undertake a
review of
recordkeeping
practices
$10,560
Select tender
B
Plaut Australia
Pty Ltd
To develop a SAP
Product Dependency
Plan
$14,850
Select tender
C
Evolution
Research
To provide Business
$30,000
Services wage
assessment refresher
and review training
Direct sourcing
B
SAP Australia
To upgrade SAP
software
$11,000
Direct sourcing
B
Market Solutions
Pty Ltd
To provide research
and analysis of
longer-term
employment
outcomes achieved
by job seekers of
CRS Australia
$69,249
Select tender
B
Information
Management
Integration Pty
Ltd
To assist the
development of a
new case
management IT
solution
$71,000
Select tender
B
SAI Global
Certification Pty
Ltd
To provide
surveillance audits
against the Disability
Services Standards
2002
$34,000
Open tender
C
Peoplebank
Australia Pty Ltd
To undertake a
review of records and
information
management
$53,328
Select tender
C
Consultant
name
Description
Contract price
(GST inclusive)
Selection
process
Justificationa
$15,000
Select tender
B
strategies, policies
and practices
CSC Australia
Pty Ltd
To provide an
analysis of the use of
the ControllingProfitability Analysis
module of SAP R/3
a 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
This appendix provides information on the performance of the core department, the Child Support
Agency (CSA) and CRS Australia in meeting the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992
and the Commonwealth Disability Strategy. The strategy requires all Australian government departments
and agencies to ensure that people with disabilities have the same access to all mainstream Australian
Government policies, programs and services as other Australians.
Performance
In tables 30-32, the core department reports on its performance against the roles of purchaser and
employer; CSA and CRS Australia report against their roles as purchasers, providers and employers.
The level of performance for 2005-06 is recorded against performance indicators and measures
identified in the implementation guide of the Department of Families, Community Services and
indigenous Affairs.
Table 30 Commonwealth Disability Strategy—purchaser role
Performance
indicator
Performance measure
Core
department
Child Support
Agency
CRS Australia
Publicly available
information on
agreed
purchasing
specifications is
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
Purchasing and
procurement
guidelines are
made available
in accessible
formats upon
request
Purchasing and
procurement
guidelines are
made available in
accessible
formats upon
request
The time taken
to provide these
documents has
not been
routinely
All requests for
information (in
accessible
formats) are

accessible electronic
formats

accessible formats
other than electronic
Average time taken to
provide accessible
material in:
There were no
requests for
documentatio
Performance
indicator
Performance measure
Core
department
Child Support
Agency
CRS Australia

electronic formats

formats other than
electronic
n in other
formats
recorded There
were no
requests for
documentation in
other formats
fulfilled within five
days
Measured by. annual
sample of publicly
available specifications
developed during the
period
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 Measured
by. annual assessment of
new purchasing
processes that directly
impact on the lives of
people with disabilities
developed by the agency
All contracts
include the
requirement
that a
contractor
must meet all
requirements
as outlined in
the
Commonwealt
h Disability
Discrimination
Act 1992.
All contracts
include the
requirement that
a contractor
must meet all
requirements as
outlined in the
Commonwealth
Disability
Discrimination
Act 1992.
All contracts
include the
requirement that
a contractor must
meet all
requirements as
outlined in the
Commonwealth
Disability
Discrimination
Act 1992.
Purchasing
specifications and
contract
requirements for
the purchase of
goods or 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 Percentage of
contracts for the
purchase of goods and
services that require the
contractor to comply with
the Disability
Discrimination Act 1992
All tender
documents
made
reference to
compliance
with relevant
Commonwealt
h legislation,
including the
Disability
Discrimination
Act
All tender
documents
made reference
to compliance
with relevant
Commonwealth
legislation,
including the
Disability
Discrimination
Act
All tender
documents made
reference to
compliance with
relevant
Commonwealth
legislation,
including the
Disability
Discrimination
Act
Measured by. annual
sampling of tenders for
the provision of goods
and services required by
the agency Annual
sampling of contracts for
the provision of goods
and services required by
the agency
Performance
indicator
Performance measure
Core
department
Child Support
Agency
CRS Australia
Publicly available
performance
reporting against
the purchase
contract
specifications
requested in
accessible
formats for
people with
disabilities is
provided
Percentage of publicly
available purchasing
specifications requested
and provided in:
accessible electronic
formats accessible
formats other than
electronic Average time
taken to provide
accessible material in:
Website
material
complies with
Web
Accessibility
Guidelines
where
possible
Website material
complies with
Web
Accessibility
Guidelines
where possible
Website material
complies with
Web Accessibility
Guidelines where
possible
All tender
documents
contain
specific
clauses on
complainthandling
procedures
All tender
documents
contain specific
clauses on
complainthandling
procedures
All tender
documents
contain specific
clauses on
complainthandling
procedures

electronic formats

formats other than
electronic
Measured by. annual
assessment of all
performance reports
undertaken for purchase
contracts
Complaints/grieva
nce mechanisms,
including access
to external
mechanisms, in
place to address
concerns raised
about the
providers'
performance
Established
complaints/grievance
mechanisms, including
access to external
mechanisms, in operation
Measured by. annual
assessment
Table 31 Commonwealth Disability Strategy—provider role
Performance
indicator
Performance measure
Core
department
Child Support
Agency
CRS Australia
Providers have
established
Evidence of quality
improvement and
assurance systems in
operation
Not applicable
in 2005-06
CSA has
developed and
implemented a
comprehensive
integrated
business
management
system that
includes
frameworks for
managing quality
In 2005 CRS
Australia was recertified under
the Disability
Services
Standards—
Disability
Services Act,
supporting its
commitment to
quality
improvement and
mechanisms for
quality
improvement and
assurance
Measured by. annual
assessment of quality
improvement and
assessment systems
Performance
indicator
Performance measure
Core
department
Child Support
Agency
CRS Australia
improvement
and assurance
assurance in
service delivery
Continued
implementation
of the Quality
Assurance
Improvement
Program cycle
and use of
quality data to
ensure the
highest standard
of service is
provided to
clients with
disabilities
Continued
evaluation of
quality in service
delivery through
quality assurance
and improvement
reviews and
analysis of client
and customer
feedback
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 Measured by.
annual assessment of
provider's service charter
This occurs at
the individual
agency level
CSA has a client
service charter
that specifies the
roles of the
provider and the
consumer. This
document is
available on the
CSA website
CRS Australia's
Service Charter
specifies the role
of the agency
and the
consumer and
identifies CRS
Australia's
performance
standards. The
charter is
provided to
clients at the
commencement
of their program
and is also
available on CRS
Australia's
website, which is
Performance
indicator
Performance measure
Core
department
Child Support
Agency
CRS Australia
WC3 compliant
for accessibility
All clients
continue to
receive a client
information kit
containing the
service charter at
the early stages
of their program
provision
Appropriate
assistance is
arranged where
the client may
have difficulties
in understanding
the service
charter; for
example, where
an Auslan
interpreter may
be required
Complaints/grieva
nce mechanism,
including access
to external
mechanisms, in
place to address
issues and
concerns raised
about
performance
Established complaints/
grievance mechanisms,
including access to
external mechanisms, in
operation Measured by.
annual assessment
Not
applicable
CSA has a wellestablished
complaints
service that
includes access
to external
mechanisms
such as the
Commonwealth
Ombudsman
Information from
complaints is fed
back to business
decision makers
to improve
service delivery
CRS Australia
has a
comprehensive
complaints/grieva
nce mechanism
(currently being
reviewed), which
permits access to
internal and
external
mechanisms
such as the
Administrative
Appeals Tribunal
Feedback is
actively sought
from clients and
customers,
including the
collection and
analysis of data
from a
complaints
database, and is
Performance
indicator
Performance measure
Core
department
Child Support
Agency
CRS Australia
integrated into
the business
planning process
to improve
service delivery
Existing
resources
continue to be
operationalised
through the QAIP
cycle and via
national service
delivery
initiatives
Table 32 Commonwealth Disability Strategy—employer role
Performance
indicator
Performance measure
Core
department
Child Support
Agency
CRS Australia
Employment
policies,
procedures and
practices comply
with the
requirements of
the Disability
Discrimination Act
1992
Number of employment
policies, procedures and
practices that meet the
requirements of the
Disability Discrimination
Act 1992
Requirements
of the Act
incorporated
in employment
policies,
procedures
and
guidelines,
including
maintaining a
log of policy
and
procedural
compliance
with the Act
Requirements of
the Act
incorporated in
employment
policies,
procedures and
guidelines,
including
maintaining a log
of policy and
procedural
compliance with
the Act
Requirements of
the Act
incorporated in
employment
policies,
procedures and
guidelines,
including
maintaining a log
of policy and
procedural
compliance with
the Act
CSA continues
to annually
review the
following policies
or programs in
keeping with the
Disability
Discrimination
Act:
CRS Australia
continues to
annually review
the following
policies or
programs in
keeping with the
Disability
Discrimination
Act:
Measured by. annual
assessment of
employment policies,
procedures and practices
DHS
continues to
annually
review the
following
policies or
programs in
keeping with
the Disability
Discrimination
Act:
 orientation
program
 human
resources
management
 orientation
program
 human
resources
Performance
indicator
Performance measure
Core
department
 orientation
program
 human
resources
manageme
nt
procedures
and
corporate
guidelines
 recruitment
manageme
nt
procedures
Child Support
Agency
procedures
and corporate
guidelines
 recruitment
management
procedures
CSA has
reviewed the
Workplace
Diversity Action
Plan to ensure it
complies with the
best practice.
CRS Australia
management
procedures
and corporate
guidelines
 recruitment
management
procedures
CRS Australia
has reviewed the
Workplace
Diversity Action
Plan to ensure it
complies with the
best practice.
DHS has
reviewed the
Workplace
Diversity
Action Plan to
ensure it
complies with
the best
practice.
Recruitment
information for
potential job
applicants is
available in
accessible
formats on
request
Percentage of
recruitment information
requested and provided
in:
 accessible electronic
formats
 accessible formats
other than electronic
Average time taken to
provide accessible
information in:
 electronic format
 formats other than
electronic
Measured by. annual
sampling of all
recruitment information
Potential
applicants are
informed
through the
DHS website
that service
information
can be
provided in
alternative
formats
99% of
applicant
information
was provided
in electronic
formats
Applicant kits
are provided
in accessible
formats via
website, email
Potential
applicants are
informed through
the CSA website
that service
information can
be provided in
alternative
formats 95% of
applicant
information was
provided in
electronic
formats Average
time to provide
electronic
formats: six
hours 5% of
applicant
information was
provided in hardcopy format
Average time to
post hard-copy
Potential
applicants are
informed through
the CRS
Australia website
that service
information can
be provided in
alternative
formats Internal
and external
recruitment
agencies and
panels are made
aware of
procedures for
handling
requests for
information in
accessible
formats Applicant
kits are provided
in accessible
formats via
Performance
indicator
Performance measure
Core
department
Child Support
Agency
CRS Australia
or by printed
packs sent by
post
formats is six
hours from time
of request to
time it reaches
Australia Post
website, email or
by printed packs
sent by post
Average time
to provide
electronic
format is on
the same
working day of
request.
Less than 1 %
of applicant
kits were sent
out in hard
copy. All kits
were provided
as pdf and rtf
on the DHS
Internet site,
and via the
DHS
recruitment
email inbox.
Disability
Register is
created to
capture details of
applicants
requiring
information in
alternative
formats
Closing date for
receipt of
applications can
be extended by
the Manager
upon request on
a case-by-case
basis
Agency recruiters
and managers
apply the
principle of
'reasonable
adjustment'
Percentage of recruiters
and managers provided
with information on
'reasonable adjustment'
Measured by. annual
sampling of information
provided on 'reasonable
adjustment'
100% for
recruiters
100% for
managers
100% for
recruiters 100%
for managers
100% for
recruiters 100%
for managers
Performance
Performance measure
Core
department
Child Support
Agency
CRS Australia
Training and
development
programs
consider the
needs of staff
with disabilities
Percentage of training
and development
programs that consider
the needs of staff with
disabilities Measured by.
annual sampling of
training and development
programs
100%
100%
100%
Training and
development
Percentage of training
and development
100% of the
core
100% of CSA's
training and
100% of CRS
Australia's
indicator
Performance
indicator
Performance measure
Core
department
Child Support
Agency
CRS Australia
programs include
information on
disability issues
as they relate to
the content of the
program
programs that include
information on disability
issues as they relate to
the program
department's
training and
development
programs
consider the
needs of
employees
with
disabilities
development
programs
consider the
needs of
employees with
disabilities
training and
development
programs
consider the
needs of
employees with
disabilities
Complaints/grieva
nce mechanism,
including access
to external
mechanisms, in
place to address
issues and
concerns raised
by staff
Established complaints/
grievance mechanisms,
including access to
external mechanisms, in
operation Measured by.
annual assessment
No complaints
or grievances
were received
in this
reporting
period
CSA Certified
Agreement
2005-2007 and
CSA's Corporate
Guidelines
include
established
processes for
handling
complaints that
include access to
external
mechanisms All
staff are
provided with
advice on the
complaints/griev
ance process
during
orientation, and
can access the
relevant
guidelines via
CSA's intranet
on an ongoing
basis
All relevant
human resource
policies include
reference to
complaint and
grievance
mechanisms,
including access
to external
mechanisms
Staff are advised
of complaints
and grievance
mechanisms as
well as any
changes to
human resource
policies through
the certified
agreement,
intranet and
during induction
Measured by. annual
sampling of training and
development programs
Exit interview
data and
Employment
Assistance
Program service
reports continue
to be monitored
Harassment
Contact Officer
(HCO)
information is
being placed
more prominently
on the intranet
and further
recruitment and
Performance
indicator
Performance measure
Core
department
Child Support
Agency
CRS Australia
support for HCOs
is under way
The agency's
internal and
external
complaint
mechanisms are
being reviewed
to identify the
potential barriers
for staff with
disability
Appendix 6—Ecologically sustainable development and
environmental performance
Under section 516A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Australian
government agencies are required to report on:

how the agency's outcomes, activities and administration of legislation during the period accorded
with the principles of ecologically sustainable development (ESD)

the effect of the agency's activities on the environment

any measures the agency is taking to minimise the environmental impact of its activities

any mechanisms for reviewing the effectiveness of those measures.
The main environmental impacts of the Core department and Human Services agencies arise from their
generation of waste, use of transport and consumption of electricity, water, paper and other goods.
CORE DEPARTMENT
Over 2005-06 the core department has taken a number of steps to reduce its environmental impact.
These include replacing CRT monitors with LCD monitors, advising staff to shut down their PCs
overnight, and programming office equipment to enter energy conserve mode when not in use. The core
department has increased its recycling capacity and continues to encourage staff to recycle wherever
possible. Ethanol-enriched fuel has been promoted in line with government policy. The department
promoted National Walk to Work Day on Friday 7 October 2005.
The core department continues to monitor energy usage and paper consumption with the goal of
identifying opportunities for improvement.
CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY
During 2005-06, CSA showed its commitment to improving its environmental performance by continuing
to progress the Environment Management System (EMS) launched the previous year. The EMS ensures
that CSA maintains the principles of ESD throughout its operations and continues to improve its
environmental performance.
To provide a benchmark for future operations, CSA released its 'Environmental Performance Report for
2004-05'. This report details CSA's environmental performance against our identified environmental
aspects.
During the year, as its major environmental activities, CSA:

developed and promoted a new environmental policy, the CSA Green Procurement Policy and the
usage of ethanol-enriched fuel in line with government policy

released paper reduction initiatives

promoted 'National Walk to Work Day' and 'National Recycling Week' to encourage good
environmental behaviour by staff

piloted and successfully implemented a new waste management system in CSA's Melbourne site

formed 'Green Teams' in Melbourne Central, Albury, Geelong, Dandenong and Hobart sites to
implement the EMS locally.
CSA continued to monitor environmental performance of its operations by:

monitoring the amount of office paper purchased

monitoring electricity used at CSA separately leased sites

conducting waste audits at Melbourne for the EMS

reporting on the number of printer cartridges recycled by 'Close the Loop'.
New initiatives currently under way at CSA include conducting:

energy audits in CSA's separately leased sites to identify areas where CSA can achieve efficiencies

a 'Travel Smart' survey at Melbourne to determine staff travel arrangements resulting in an action
plan to reduce staff travel by vehicles.
CRS AUSTRALIA
During 2005-06, CRS Australia continued its commitment to the protection of the environment,
recognising its responsibility to the Australian Government and the wider community to minimize the
impact of its operations on the environment. Ethanol-enriched fuel has been promoted in line with
government policy.
Measures taken to reduce the organisation's environmental impacts in 2005-06 included:

subscribing our entire motor vehicle fleet (220 cars) to Greenfleet* as a way of reducing greenhouse
gas emissions

reducing the number of cars in our fleet and commencing an education program to promote the use
of alternative fuel vehicles

enabling most multi-function devices (MFD) deployed across CRS Australia offices with duplex
printing as the default

configuring all replacement printers with duplex printing as the default

developing an eco-aware intranet site to raise staff awareness

implementing an automatic computer shutdown at 9.00pm on Friday nights

starting a recycling initiative for mobile phones

including environmental clauses in appropriate tender documentation and recycling clauses in
appropriate national contracts

achieving continued gradual improvement in energy efficiency, particularly in the 'office, tenant, light
and power' category

conducting regular reviews of the operating times of larger air conditioning systems

using architectural services that comply with the government green policy requirements for tenant fitouts and refurbishments

using a life-cycle costing approach for purchasing decisions, incorporating environmental impacts
where relevant

investigating sites using more than 10,000 megajoules per person per year to identify opportunities to
reduce energy consumption.
* Note: Greenfleet is a not-for-profit organisation that plants trees to offset the greenhouse gas
emissions produced by cars.
Appendix 7—Service charters
CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY
CSA's Client Charter outlines the agency's commitment to quality service. The charter explains
responsibilities to parents and parents' responsibilities to CSA, and provides information about customer
contact channels. The supporting charter package provides further information about the values and
staff behaviours that enable CSA to meet its Customer Charter commitments. The Client Service Charter
is scheduled to be revised in the next reporting period.
CSA uses a leading-edge evaluation system to measure parents' perceptions of how well CSA meets its
service commitments. The Customers Having A Say (CHAS) survey average ratio as of 30 June 2005
was 5.55. This increased to 5.69 in May 2006.
Feedback during 2005-06 indicated that CSA delivers professional services to its customers. The
Professionalism Index is an independent survey which measures overall customer satisfaction levels.
The overall rating for 2005 was 3.8. The rating for 2006 was 3.9.
CRs AUSTRALIA
CRS Australia's service charter outlines the organisation's commitment to providing high-quality
vocational rehabilitation and consultancy services to clients, and details what clients can expect from the
organisation.
CRS determines that the charter is being met for service recipients through its internal Quality
Assurance Improvement Program process, which includes:

feedback sought from each service recipient

focus groups conducted internally and by external consultants

surveys of service recipients.
CRS Australia uses feedback from service recipients and achievement of employment goals as a basis
for the quality of service provision. A survey conducted 26 weeks after service recipients were placed in
employment demonstrated improved outcomes for a large number of service recipients: 84 per cent
were still in employment at over 26 weeks; 46 per cent had increased the hours they worked per week;
and 75 per cent agreed that CRS Australia provided the support needed to get and keep a job.
CRS Australia's Service Charter will be reviewed in September 2006 to ensure it continues to meet the
needs of service recipients in the environment of welfare-to-work requirements and other reforms.
Appendix 8—Occupational health and safety
CORE DEPARTMENT
The core department began negotiations with the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) on an
Occupational Health and Safety Agreement in accordance with Section 16 (3) of the Occupational
Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991. Negotiations are expected to continue into
next financial year.
The Agreement covers the election of health and safety representatives and sets out the roles and
responsibilities of all managers, employees, health and safety representatives, the Occupational Health
and Safety (OH&S) Committee and the CPSU.
Two Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) and two Deputy HSRs were elected and trained during
the year.
In January 2006, the core department's Human Resources Policies and Principles and associated
OH&S Manual were comprehensively reviewed and substantial improvements made.
The core department has taken a lead role in the cross-portfolio OH&S committees to identify, develop
and implement consistent strategies to address OH&S requirements.
Workstation assessments were conducted for all new employees and for existing employees whose
circumstances had changed. Inspections of all electrical equipment were conducted. All new employees
were trained in OH&S requirements through induction programs.
Health Week was a feature of the core department's calendar with a health promotion theme. Forty-two
staff participated in health and lifestyle assessments and twenty-four employees took advantage of flu
shots. Other activities included the distribution of education and information packages on various health
and lifestyle issues. Organisational health activities included a healthy morning tea, staff bike ride and
barbecue, and an all staff health trivia competition.
No accidents or dangerous occurrences that required the giving of notice under section 68 occurred
during the year.
No investigations were conducted during the year.
No directions were given to the employer under section 45 during the year; and no notices were given to
the employer under sections 29, 46 and 47.
While the core department had no compensation cases it has vigorously pursued with Human Services
agencies strategies to reduce OH&S incidents, unplanned leave and compensation costs. The
Department has committed to Comcare to actively work to achieve agreed OH&S and rehabilitation
performance improvement targets for 2002-2012.
CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY
During 2005-06, CSA had six workplace incidents that required notification to Comcare.
There were no directions given under Section 45, nor were there any notices given under Sections 46,
47 or 26 of the Act.
In 2005-06, staff lodged 126 compensation claims, 114 of which had been accepted at 30 June 2006.
There were 130 compensation claims lodged and 119 claims accepted in the previous year, 2004-05.
CSA has had an overall reduction in Comcare claims in 2005-06; and current data shows a reduction in
average claim costs. Nevertheless, there has been an increase in the 2005-06 premium compared with
the 2004-05 premium due to the impact of ongoing claims from previous years.
As an element of the Human Services Plan, CSA as part of the Department of Human Services has
committed to Comcare to actively work to achieve agreed OH&S and rehabilitation performance
improvement targets for 2002-2012.
In 2005-06 CSA participated in Comcare's program of reviews of past investigations, which it conducts in
order to satisfy itself that actions have been taken to implement the recommendations of those
investigations.
Following an extensive review of CSA's case management model in 2004-05, and consultation with
employees, Comcare and other APS agencies, CSA implemented an in-house Rehabilitation Case
Management (RCM) model in July 2005. Nine Rehabilitation Case Managers were appointed nationally.
This model is proving effective. In 2005-06 there were 58 compensation claims involving five or more
day's incapacity. This is significantly less than in 2004-05 when there were 75 such claims.
Health Services Australia has recently undertaken a review of our case management model to ensure
the ongoing effectiveness of our processes and procedures.
CSA's OH&S reporting framework provides targeted reporting and enables improved management of
OH&S issues at a state level. CSA continues to strive for best practice in OH&S reporting by working
collaboratively with CRS Australia, Health Services Australia and other Human Services agencies to
further streamline CSA's OH&S reporting framework. Regular reporting is provided to the CSA Executive
and to State Managers.
CSA has workplace inspection procedures for each site. The inspection process identifies issues and
facilitates early intervention and management of health & safety hazards. This is a proactive risk
management process. HSRs, and managers who have been trained in the workplace inspection
process, carry out quarterly inspections.
A working group comprising representatives from CSA, CRS and the core department are implementing
a plan to reduce the Comcare premium. The plan focuses on improved reporting; training and support;
and a policy review against recommended best practice.
CRS AUSTRALIA
During 2005-06 there were 27 workplace incidents notified to Comcare under Section 68 of the
Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991.
There were no directions given under Section 45, nor were any notices given under Sections 46 or 29 of
the Act.
There were two improvement Notices issued, one under Section 47 regarding motor vehicle selection
and driver training education, and the other under Section 68 regarding reporting procedures to
Comcare.
In 2005-06, 19 staff and eight clients lodged compensation claims. Nine claims by staff and two by
clients had been accepted at 30 June 2006.
The Staff Health Team provides support to staff with both compensable and non-compensable
conditions as well as clients who have injured themselves while on program. Case managers are
focused on early intervention and in assisting with return-to-work programs. As well as managing
ongoing claims and non-compensable issues during 2005-06, the Staff Health case managers dealt with
60 new cases and documented 78 'one-off' cases. In general terms, 'one-off' cases are those that can be
handled quickly and are not of an on-going nature.
CRS Australia has had an overall reduction in Comcare claims but an increase in the cost per claim.
This resulted in an increase in the 2005-06 premium compared with the 2004-05 premium. CRS
Australia is working with the core department and CSA in a plan to reduce the Comcare premium. The
working group has developed a plan focused on improved reporting, training and support as well as
policy review against recommended best practice. This plan will provide the focus for our OH&S efforts
over the next few years and will be fully integrated into overall workplace policies. As part of this plan,
the Department of Human Services has signed a statement of commitment with Comcare to actively
work towards attainment of the OH&S and rehabilitation performance-improvement targets for 20022012.
Appendix 9—Discretionary grants
CORE DEPARTMENT
There were no discretionary grant payments made by the core department in 2005-06.
CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY
There were no discretionary grant payments made by CSA in 2005-06.
CRS AUSTRALIA
There were no discretionary grant payments made by CRS Australia in 2005-06.
Appendix 10—Correction to material errors in Annual Report
2004-05
This appendix provides corrections to material errors in the DHS Annual Report 2004-05.
CORE DEPARTMENT
The staffing figures for the core department at Table 9 and Table 10, Appendix 1, of the DHS Annual
Report 2004-05 may be confusing.
The total number of staff reported in the published tables was 60. The correct total number of staff was
54. The error occurred as a result of double counting some staff in the published Table 10. At the time
the tables were being prepared, some staff were in the process of changing their status from nonongoing to permanent, which resulted in them being counted twice.
As published

Table 9 did not include the ongoing staff of the APS who were seconded to DHS

Table 10 included the seconded staff to the department as well as non-ongoing staff, and as a result
overstated the numbers.
Corrected data

Table 9 remains the same—it is the figure for the ongoing staff of the core department

Table 10 has been corrected for the six staff that had been counted twice.
The corrected tables are provided below in their entirety.
Staffing statistics 2004-05
The following tables provide corrected summary information on the core department's actual staffing at
30 June 2005, not including seconded staff.
Table 33 Staff employed, by classification, gender and location, as at 30 June 2005
Location and
classification
Australian Capital
Territory
Female
Male
Part-time
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
Secretary
-
1
-
-
1
SES Band 3
-
-
-
1
1
SES Band 2
-
1
-
2
3
SES Band 1
-
4
-
1
5
Executive Level 2
-
7
-
3
10
Executive Level 1
-
1
-
3
4
APS 6
-
4
-
3
7
APS 4
-
3
-
1
4
Departmental total
-
21
-
14
35
Australian Capital Territory
Table 34 Non-ongoing staff employed, by classification, gender and location, as at 30 June 2005
Location and
classification
Australian Capital
Territory
Female
Part-time
Male
Full-time
Part-time
Full-time
Total
4
8
5
6
Australian Capital Territory
Executive Level 2
Executive Level 1
-
4
1
-
Location and
classification
Australian Capital
Territory
APS 5
APS 4
Departmental total
Female
Part-time
Male
Full-time
-
Part-time
-
-
2
-
7
-
Full-time
Total
1
1
2
4
12
19
CSA
The DHS Annual Report 2004–05, on page 221, provided incorrect values for total liabilities and equities
in 2003–04. The following table provides the correct values for assets and liabilities in 2003–04.
Table 35 Assets and liabilities 2003–04
Category
Published figures $'000
Corrected figures $'000
Current assets
$28,929
$22,963
Non-current assets
$26,588
$40,755
Current liabilities
$22,963
$28,929
Non-current liabilities
$40,755
$26,588
CRS AUSTRALIA
There was an error in CRS Australia's General Manager's Review (page 88) regarding clients who
achieved sustained employment outcomes (employment of at least eight hours per week for 13 weeks)
during 2004-05.
It read:
Outcomes for people who commence CRS Australia programs are very good: of the more than 45 per
cent who are placed in jobs, 86 per cent are still employed six months after the end of their CRS
Australia programs, and 38 per cent of those placed in jobs achieve sustained employment (employment
of at least 8 hours a week for 13 weeks); and 86 per cent of those who achieved sustained employment
are still employed six months after the end of their CRS Australia program.
It should have read:
Outcomes for people who commence CRS Australia programs are very good: 47.1 per cent of people
who commence CRS Australia programs are placed in jobs; 38 per cent of all clients who commenced a
program achieved a sustained employment outcome (13 weeks continuous paid employment); of these
38 per cent, 86 per cent are still employed six months after the end of their CRS Australia program.
Appendix 11—Fraud control certification
References
Abbreviations and acronyms
AASB
Australian Accounting Standards Board
AAT
Administrative Appeals Tribunal
ACSI 33
Australian Government Information and Communications Technology Security Manual
AEIFRS
Australian Equivalents to international Financial Reporting Standards
ANAO
Australian National Audit Office
APS
Australian Public Service
APSC
Australian Public Service Commission
ATO
Australian Taxation Office
AUSTRAC
Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre
AWA
Australian Workplace Agreement
BBCSA
Building a Better CSA
CDAC
Career Development Assessment Centre
CDDA
Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration Scheme
CEI
Chief Executive instructions
CHAS
Customers Having a Say
CPGs
Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines
CRS
Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service
CRSNet
CRS Australia intranet
CSA
Child Support Agency
CSO
customer service officers
CSS
Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme
CSSR
Child Support Scheme Reforms
CUBA
Child Support Agency's case management and information system
CWCA
Comprehensive Work Capacity Assessment
DEST
Department of Education, Science and Training
DEWR
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
DHS
Department of Human Services
DVA
Department of Veterans' Affairs
DPO
Departure Prohibition Orders
ELP
entry-level training program
EMS
Environmental Management System
ESD
ecologically sustainable development
FaCSIA
Department of Families, Community Services and indigenous Affairs
FAO
Family Assistance Office
FMA Act
Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997
FTE
full-time equivalent
GPSWG
General Purchasing Synergies Working Group
HIC
Health insurance Commission
HREOC
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
HR/FMIS
Human Resources and Financial Management information System
IDC
intensive Debt Collection
IT
information technology
JCA
Job Capacity Assessment
MOU
memorandum of understanding
NSUP
Newly Separated Unemployed Parent
OH&S
occupational health and safety
OPC
Office of the Privacy Commissioner
PI
Procedural instruction
PMS
Performance Management Scheme
PSM
Protective Security Manual
PSS
Public Sector Superannuation Scheme
RASCs
Remote Area Service Centres
RSCs
Regional Service Centres
SES
Senior Executive Service
TRIM
Tower Registration information Management
DHS 1103 October 2006