Australian Government - Department of Human Services ANNUAL REPORT 2005-2006Department of Human Services

© Commonwealth of Australia 2006

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ISSN 1832-8792

Web address of this report:

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/publications/annual_reports.htm

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Email: annual.report@humanservices.gov.au

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About this reportPURPOSEThis 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.

STRUCTUREThe 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.

READERSThis 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 review2005-06 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 CARDOne 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 ASSESSMENTSAn 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 SURGERYBeginning 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 SUPPORTThe 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 24-hour 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 QUEUESDuring 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 OFFICEThe 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 SERVICESA 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.

ABSENTEEISMImprovements 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 PROGRAMThe 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 PREVENTIONWhile 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 PURCHASINGA 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.

SUMMARYAt 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

OVERVIEWThe MinisterThe 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 ServicesHuman 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 performanceThe 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 departmentThe 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 AgencyCSA 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 AustraliaCRS 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

CentrelinkCentrelink, 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 AustraliaMedicare 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 HearingAustralian 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 AustraliaHealth 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 SERVICESOutcome and Output StructureThis 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 governanceThis section reports on corporate governance matters that are common to the core department, CSA and CRS Australia.

CORPORATE GOALS AND VALUESThe 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 ConductThe 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 responsibilitiesThe 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 remunerationSalary 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 MeetingThe 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 CommitteeThe 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

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 CONTROLThe 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 STANDARDSAll 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 EQUITYThe 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 overviewThis 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 OVERVIEWThe 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

Budget 2005-06a(1) $'000

Actual Expenses 2005-06 (2)

$'000Variation (2) -

(1) $'000Budget 2006-

07b $'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

Budget 2005-06a(1) $'000

Actual Expenses 2005-06 (2)

$'000Variation (2) -

(1) $'000Budget 2006-

07b $'000

Output 2: Child Support Agency

295,770 288,895 -6,875 378,318

Output 3: CRS Australia

Subtotal departmental outputs

318,464 312,342 -6,122 404,716

Revenue from government (appropriation)

for departmental outputs 318,464 312,342 -6,122 404,716

Revenue from other sources

172,258 169,232 -3,026 234,588

Total price of outputs 490,722 481,574 -9,148 639,304

Total for Outcome 1 (total price of outputs and administered expenses)

1,518,288 1,532,244 13,956 1,608,510

2005-06 2006-07

Average staffing level 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 PERFORMANCEThe 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

REVENUEThe 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

ExpensesThe 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

EquityThe department's total equity is $62.4 million, representing an increase of $13.5 million during the 2005-06 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).

AssetsThe 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.

LiabilitiesThe 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 itemsCSA'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 departmentFigure 7 Core department—organisational structure and senior staffing

Highlights/key achievementsDuring 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 usThe 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-of- government 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 DIVISIONThe 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 DIVISIONThe 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 DIVISIONThe 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 SERVICESLegal 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 CARDThe 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 coordinationThe 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 policyDHS 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 decisionsThe 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-locationsIn 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 servicesService delivery principlesThe 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 citizen- centric, timely, cost-effective, that ensure quality outcomes and that support government objectives.

Service charterThe 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 managementThe 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 PortalThe 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.

PolicyService delivery policy developmentThe 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 2006-07The 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 self-service 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 agendasAccess cardOn 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 ProjectThe 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 complianceThe 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 NetworkOver 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 reformsOn 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.

IndigenousThe 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 tapeThe 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 analysisThe 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 reviewsFrom 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 analysisThe 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 reviewHuman 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 absencesA 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 premiumsIn 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 managementThe 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 programThe 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 AssessmentsIn 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 communicationCommunication campaignsTo 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 assistanceThe 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 YouThe 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 OnlineBetween 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 accountabilityCorporate governanceThis 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 Members Functions Frequency of meetings

Executive Management Group

Secretary (Chair)

Deputy Secretary

All SES staff

Manages high-level corporate strategy

Advises on senior staffing arrangements, internal resource allocation and how to meet government expectations of the core department

Weekly

Strategic Management Group

Secretary (Chair)

Deputy Secretary

All Division heads

Provides the Secretary with strategic management support and advice

Fortnightly

Audit Committee Deputy Secretary (Chair)

independent Members (two)

General Manager, CRS Australia

General Manager, CSA

Risk management identification and amelioration

Internal control processes (including fraud control)

Financial reporting process

Monitoring of the Department's internal Audit Units

External audit process

Human Services' process for monitoring compliance with legislation, regulations and government policy

6 times a year

People and Leadership Committee

Secretary (Chair)

Deputy Secretary

All Division heads

Assistant Secretary Corporate

Assistant Secretary Service Delivery-Policy Development

Director People Strategies

Elected staff representative

Develops the core department's

capability, with particular emphasis on:

defining and developing the corporate culture and shaping values

guiding succession planning, workforce planning and staff development

identifying people management and leadership initiatives

Quarterly

information Deputy Secretary Provides advice to Executive Quarterly

Committees Members Functions Frequency of meetings

Management Committee

(Chair)

AS Service Delivery—Strategy and Coordination

Assistant Secretary Corporate

Assistant Secretary Marketing and Communication

Director IT Support

IT Security Adviser

Management Group on:

strategies and policies for effective use of information resources

development of information infrastructure and services that support the core department's business outcomes

Oversees development and maintenance of knowledge management and sharing in the core department

Reviews the effectiveness of internal and external communications

Security Committee

Deputy Secretary (Chair)

Assistant Secretary Corporate

Agency Security Adviser

IT Security Adviser

Oversees, monitors and reports on overall management of security risks within the core department, including security policy, planning and risk management

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

Quarterly

Committees Members Functions Frequency of meetings

Survey

Figure 11 Department of Human Services corporate governance framework

INTERNAL SCRUTINYThe 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 OmbudsmanThe core department has not received any Administrative Appeals Tribunal appeals, notice of impending litigation or notice of investigations by the Ombudsman.

Australian National Audit OfficeThe 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 PEOPLEAs 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 non-ongoing 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 managementSince 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.

RemunerationAustralian Workplace AgreementsAll 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 payAll 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 SchemeThe 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 performanceThe 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 diversityDuring 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 safetyThe 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 managementThe 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 contractorsSee Appendix 4.

Competitive tendering and contractingThe core department, CRS Australia, and CSA went to the market in September 2005 for internal audit services. Ascent was awarded the contract.

PurchasingAll 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 AgencyFigure 12 Child Support Agency organisational structure and senior staffing

HighlightsDuring 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 reviewThis 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 SERVICECSA 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 PARENTSPartnering 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 COMMUNICATIONOver 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 CAPACITYGiven 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 usCSA 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.

Effectiveness

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:

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.

Cost per case Target

< $352

Actual

$358

Cost per dollar transferred

Target

Less than 12.0 cents

Actual

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 2004-05.

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 2006-07 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 accountabilityCORPORATE GOVERNANCEThis 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.

CommitteesTo 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 Functions Frequency of meetings

CSA National Executive

CSA General Manager (Chair) Deputy General Managers (seven) Executive Officer

Determines CSA's strategic direction

Reviews CSA's performance and monitors strategy appropriateness

Determines priorities and strategic funding allocations

Monthly

Service Delivery Executive

Deputy General Manager, Service Delivery (Chair)

Assistant General Manager, National Service Delivery

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

Monthly

Risk Management Committee

independent Chairman Deputy General Manager, Corporate Services Deputy General Manager, information & Communications Technology (ICT)

A State Manager Assistant General Manager, Change Management independent member from Centrelink

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

Finance Steering Committee

Deputy General Manager, Finance (Chair)

Deputy General Manager,

Corporate Services

Deputy General Manager, Business

Strategy and innovation

Deputy General Manager, Service

Delivery

Deputy General Manager, information, Communication

Oversees CSA's funding agreement

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 financial records and statements

Establishes and reviews the application of accounting policies

Monitors CSA's compliance

Monthly

Committee Members Functions Frequency of meetings

and Technology

Chief Finance Officer, core department

Director, CSA National Financial Management Group Management Accountant, CSA National Financial Management Group

with Commonwealth budget and financial reporting requirements

Establishes, monitors and reviews financial management and budget management processes, including capital planning strategy

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

Deputy General Manager, Corporate Services

Considers and approves

the ICT Strategic Plan

major IT business and infrastructure projects

ICT Sourcing Strategy

Oversees implementation of these plans

Quarterly

Change Steering Committee

General Manager, CSA (Chair)

Assistant General Manager

Change Management

All CSA Deputy General Managers

Executive Director Reform Delivery

External Delivery Assurance

Advisor

Deputy Secretary, core department Deputy Secretary, Department of immigration and Multicultural Affairs

Determines and monitors performance of the change agenda strategies, priorities and funding

Determines change governance framework

Commissions change initiatives for review

Ensures effective integration of the change agenda and business as usual

Monthly

Security Committee

Deputy General Manager, Corporate Services (Chair)

Deputy General Manager,

Provides assurance and assistance to the General Manager and the National Executive on CSA's security

Twice per year (minimum)

Committee Members Functions Frequency of meetings

Service Delivery

Deputy General Manager, information, Communication and Technology

Director, Security and Fraud Prevention

Director, Human Resources

Management

Director, Legal Services

risk, control and compliance framework, and its external security accountability responsibilities

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

Advises on OH&S matters in CSA

Quarterly

INTERNAL SCRUTINY

Internal auditEach 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 managementRisk 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 preventionCSA'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 in-house 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.

SecurityIn 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

PrivacyCSA 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 debtThe 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 OmbudsmanThe 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 2004-05; 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 OfficeIn 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 DeliveryCSA 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 ProcurementThe 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 PEOPLEAs 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 managementIn 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 AgreementThe 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 AgreementsAustralian 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 payTotal 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 developmentIn 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 diversityCSA 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 communicationsOver 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 planDuring 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 2005-06In 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 managementCSA'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 appropriationsThe 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 contractorsThe 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 contractingCSA 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.11 Includes new policy funding of approximately $9.3 million for 2005–06.

Office accommodationCSA 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.

PurchasingAll 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 managementNo 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 managementIn 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 planningIn 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 AustraliaFigure 14 CRS Australia—organisational structure and senior staffing

HighlightsDuring 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 reviewThis 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 GOVERNMENTCRS 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 ORGANISATIONSDuring 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 OUTCOMESAs 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 Government- funded 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 GOVERNMENTCRS 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 WORKPLACEThe 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 usCRS 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 and efficiency

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

Funded job seeker programs exceeded by 10 per cent

Small operating surplus

Measure Target Performance

business unit

Price The price of CRS outputs in 2005-06

$170.4m total

$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 EQUITYCRS 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 ARRANGEMENTSIn 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 accountabilityCORPORATE GOVERNANCEThis 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

CommitteesTo 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

Makes corporate decisions on national issues where requested by the Executive, and in other cases provides advice and

Every six weeks

Committee Members Functions Frequency of meetings

Financial Officer recommendations to the Executive

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.

information Technology investment Board

Executive National Manager IT Chief Financial Officer An external representative

Plays a key role in IT corporate governance Has a strategic, high-level 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.

Quarterly

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 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

Quarterly

INTERNAL SCRUTINY

Internal auditDuring 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 managementCRS 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 preventionAs 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.

SecurityCRS 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

PrivacyCRS 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 OfficeThere 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 complaintsCRS 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 PEOPLEAs 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 managementDuring 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 AgreementThe 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 AgreementsCRS 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 payThe 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

Level Staff eligible Staff paid Amount paid ($) Average ($)

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 developmentAs 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 diversityCRS 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 communicationsAs 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 managementCRS 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 contractorsThe 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 contractingNo specific competitive tendering and contracting events were managed by CRS Australia during 2005-06. 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 accommodationThe 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.

PurchasingAll 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 managementAsset 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 managementCRS 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 STATEMENTSAppendicesAppendix 1—Staffing statisticsThis appendix contains information on staffing in the core department, the Child Support Agency and CRS Australia, at 30 June 2006.

CORE DEPARTMENTTables 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 Female Male

TotalAustralian Capital Territory Part-time Full-time Part-time Full-time

Secretary - 1 - - 1

SES Band 3 - - - 2 2

SES band 2 - - - 4 4

SES band 1 - 6 - 5 11

Executive Level 2 1 13 1 14 29

Executive Level 1 - 16 - 8 24

APS Level 6 1 3 - 3 7

APS Level 5 - 4 - - 4

APS Level 4 - 3 1- 4

Departmental total 2 46 2 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 Female Male

TotalAustralian Capital Territory Part-time Full-time Part-time Full-time

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 AGENCYTable 14 CSA—Ongoing staff employed, by classification and gender, at 30 June 2006

Classification

Female Male

TotalPart-time Full-time Part-time Full-time

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

Departmental total 499 2,010 40 862 3,411

Note: APS = Australian Public Service; SES = Senior Executive Service

Table 15 CSA—non-ongoing staff employed, by classification and gender, at 30 June 2006

Classification

Female Male

TotalPart-time Full-time Part-time Full-time

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 AUSTRALIATable 19 CRS Australia—ongoing staff employed, by classification and gender, at 30 June 2006

Classification Female Male Total

Part-time Full-time Part-time Full-time

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

Classification

Female Male

TotalPart-time Full-time Part-time Full-time

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 informationThe 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 pointsContact 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 maintainedDocuments 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 documentsNone 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 pointsThe 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 maintainedCSA 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 documentsCSA 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 pointsA 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 maintainedDocuments 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 documentsCRS 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 researchSection 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 DEPARTMENTTable 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

Advertising agencies

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

Polling organisations

Payee Purpose Amount

Nil Nil Nil

Direct mail organisations

Payee Purpose Amount

Nil Nil Nil

Media advertising organisations

Payee Purpose Amount

HMA Blaze To provide employment and tender advertising $276,515

CHILD SUPPORT AGENCYTable 24 CSA—payments for advertising and market research, 2005-06

Advertising agencies

Payee Purpose Amount

Nil Nil Nil

Market research organisations

Advertising agencies

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

Polling organisations

Payee Purpose Amount

Nil Nil Nil

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

Advertising agencies

HMA Blaze To place CSA standard advertising (i.e. non-campaign, non-recruitment) in various newspapers

$164,004

CRS AUSTRALIATable 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

Polling organisations

Payee Purpose Amount

Nil Nil Nil

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. non-campaign, non-recruitment) in various newspapers

$131,766

Advertising agencies

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 contractorsAustralian 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 $62,400 Panel B

Consultant name

Description Contract price (GST inclusive)

Selection process

Justification

independent review of specific IT incidents in Centrelink

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 independent health and social services access card business case

$1,925,000 Panel B, C

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

$89,700 Panel C

Consultant name

Description Contract price (GST inclusive)

Selection process

Justification

on call centres

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 follow-up review of the specific incidents in Centrelink review

$62,500 Panel B

Booz Allen Hamilton

To perform a follow-up 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 post-implementation 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 To undertake a $40,500 Direct sourcing B

Consultant name

Description Contract price (GST inclusive)

Selection process

Justificationa

(ACT) Pty Ltd review of CSA financial position

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 Pty Ltd

To provide HR consultancy services (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

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

Consultant name

Description Contract price (GST inclusive)

Selection process

Justificationa

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 Services wage assessment refresher and review training

$30,000 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 strategies, policies and practices

$53,328 Select tender C

CSC Australia Pty Ltd

To provide an analysis of the use of

$15,000 Select tender B

Consultant name

Description Contract price (GST inclusive)

Selection process

Justificationa

the Controlling-Profitability 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 StrategyThis 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.

PerformanceIn 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:

accessible electronic formats

accessible formats other than electronic Average time taken to provide accessible material in:

electronic formats

formats other than electronic

Purchasing and procurement guidelines are made available in accessible formats upon request

There were no requests for documentation in other formats

Purchasing and procurement guidelines are made available in accessible formats upon request

The time taken to provide these documents has not been routinely recorded There were no requests for documentation in

Purchasing and procurement guidelines are made available in accessible formats upon request

All requests for information (in accessible formats) are fulfilled within five days

Performance indicator

Performance measure Core department

Child Support Agency

CRS Australia

Measured by. annual sample of publicly available specifications developed during the period

other formats

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 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.

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

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

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

All tender documents made reference to compliance with relevant Commonwealth legislation, including the Disability Discrimination Act

Publicly available Percentage of publicly Website Website material Website material

Performance indicator

Performance measure Core department

Child Support Agency

CRS Australia

performance reporting against the purchase contract specifications requested in accessible formats for people with disabilities is provided

available purchasing specifications requested and provided in: accessible electronic formats accessible formats other than electronic Average time taken to provide accessible material in:

electronic formats

formats other than electronic

Measured by. annual assessment of all performance reports undertaken for purchase contracts

material complies with Web Accessibility Guidelines where possible

complies with Web Accessibility Guidelines where possible

complies with Web Accessibility Guidelines where possible

Complaints/grievance 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

All tender documents contain specific clauses on complaint-handling procedures

All tender documents contain specific clauses on complaint-handling procedures

All tender documents contain specific clauses on complaint-handling procedures

Table 31 Commonwealth Disability Strategy—provider role

Performance indicator

Performance measure Core department

Child Support Agency

CRS Australia

Providers have established

mechanisms for quality improvement and assurance

Evidence of quality improvement and assurance systems in operation

Measured by. annual assessment of quality improvement and assessment systems

Not applicable in 2005-06

CSA has developed and implemented a comprehensive integrated business management system that includes frameworks for

In 2005 CRS Australia was re-certified under the Disability Services Standards—Disability Services Act, supporting its commitment to

Performance indicator

Performance measure Core department

Child Support Agency

CRS Australia

managing quality improvement and assurance

quality improvement and 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

Performance indicator

Performance measure Core department

Child Support Agency

CRS Australia

Australia's website, which is 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/grievance 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 well-established 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/grievance 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

Performance indicator

Performance measure Core department

Child Support Agency

CRS Australia

analysis of data from a complaints database, and is 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

Measured by. annual assessment of employment policies, procedures and practices

Requirements of the Act incorporated in employment policies, procedures and guidelines, including maintaining a log of policy and procedural compliance with the Act

DHS continues to annually review the following policies or

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:

Requirements of the Act incorporated in employment policies, procedures and guidelines, including maintaining a log of policy and procedural compliance with the Act

CRS Australia continues to annually review the following policies or programs in keeping with the Disability Discrimination

Performance indicator

Performance measure Core department

Child Support Agency

CRS Australia

programs in keeping with the Disability Discrimination Act:

orientation program

human resources management procedures and corporate guidelines

recruitment management procedures

DHS has reviewed the Workplace Diversity Action Plan to ensure it complies with the best practice.

orientation program

human resources management procedures and corporate guidelines

recruitment management procedures

CSA has reviewed the Workplace Diversity Action Plan to ensure it complies with the best practice.

Act:

orientation program

human resources 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.

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

Potential applicants are informed

through the DHS website that service information can be provided in alternative formats

99% of applicant information was provided

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

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

Performance indicator

Performance measure Core department

Child Support Agency

CRS Australia

electronic

Measured by. annual sampling of all recruitment information

in electronic formats

Applicant kits are provided in accessible formats via 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.

formats: six hours 5% of applicant information was provided in hard-copy format Average time to post hard-copy formats is six hours from time of request to time it reaches Australia Post

handling requests for information in accessible formats Applicant kits are provided in accessible formats via website, email or by printed packs sent by post

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

indicator

Performance measure Core department

Child Support Agency

CRS Australia

Training and Percentage of training 100% 100% 100%

Performance indicator

Performance measure Core department

Child Support Agency

CRS Australia

development programs consider the needs of staff with disabilities

and development programs that consider the needs of staff with disabilities Measured by. annual sampling of training and development programs

Training and development programs include information on disability issues as they relate to the content of the program

Percentage of training and development programs that include information on disability issues as they relate to the program

Measured by. annual sampling of training and development programs

100% of the core department's training and development programs consider the needs of employees with disabilities

100% of CSA's training and development programs consider the needs of employees with disabilities

100% of CRS Australia's training and development programs consider the needs of employees with disabilities

Complaints/grievance 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/grievance 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

Exit interview data and Employment Assistance

Performance indicator

Performance measure Core department

Child Support Agency

CRS Australia

Program service reports continue to be monitored

Harassment Contact Officer (HCO) information is being placed more prominently on the intranet and further recruitment and 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 performanceUnder 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 DEPARTMENTOver 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 AGENCYDuring 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 AUSTRALIADuring 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 fit-outs 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 chartersCHILD SUPPORT AGENCYCSA'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 AUSTRALIACRS 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 safetyCORE DEPARTMENTThe 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 AGENCYDuring 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 AUSTRALIADuring 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 2002-2012.

Appendix 9—Discretionary grantsCORE DEPARTMENTThere were no discretionary grant payments made by the core department in 2005-06.

CHILD SUPPORT AGENCYThere were no discretionary grant payments made by CSA in 2005-06.

CRS AUSTRALIAThere were no discretionary grant payments made by CRS Australia in 2005-06.

Appendix 10—Correction to material errors in Annual Report 2004-05This appendix provides corrections to material errors in the DHS Annual Report 2004-05.

CORE DEPARTMENTThe 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 non-ongoing 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 2004-05The 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 Female Male

TotalAustralian Capital Territory Part-time Full-time Part-time Full-time

Australian Capital Territory

Secretary - 1 - - 1

SES Band 3 - - - 1 1

SES Band 2 - 1 - 2 3

SES Band 1 - 4 - 1 5

Location and classification Female Male

TotalAustralian Capital Territory Part-time Full-time Part-time Full-time

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

Table 34 Non-ongoing staff employed, by classification, gender and location, as at 30 June 2005

Location and classification Female Male

TotalAustralian Capital Territory Part-time Full-time Part-time Full-time

Australian Capital Territory

Executive Level 2 - 4 - 4 8

Executive Level 1 - 1 - 5 6

APS 5 - - - 1 1

APS 4 - 2 - 2 4

Departmental total - 7 - 12 19

CSAThe 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 AUSTRALIAThere 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

ReferencesAbbreviations 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