Output 3—CRS Australia: General Manager's review
CRS Australia continued to function as a very effective business unit within
the Australian Government during 2004–05.
In October 2004, CRS Australia was transferred from the Department of Health and Ageing to the Department of Human Services. The responsibility for purchasing vocational rehabilitation programs under the Disability Services Act 1986 was transferred from the Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS) to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), consolidating in DEWR the policy responsibility for employment assistance services.
These changes have enabled CRS Australia to focus on being a specialist employment service for people with disabilities, and to strengthen coordination with other employment assistance services.
In the 2005–06 Budget, the government demonstrated the importance it places on vocational rehabilitation in the Welfare to Work policy. Vocational rehabilitation programs to assist unemployed people with disabilities will increase by approximately 42,000 over the three years from July 2006.
In 2004–05, CRS Australia worked with more than 42,000 government-funded clients, including 25,426 new clients. Increasingly, the typical CRS Australia client has more than one type of serious disability and has been unemployed for a long period. Outcomes for people who commence CRS Australia programs are very good: more than 45 per cent are placed in jobs; 38 per cent of those placed in jobs achieve sustained employment outcomes (employment of at least eight hours a week for 13 weeks); and 86 per cent of those who achieve sustained employment are still employed six months after the end of their CRS Australia program. Another 9 per cent are active in study, training part-time or volunteer work (secondary outcomes), and
8.5 per cent are job ready when the opportunity to work arises. Where a person’s current circumstances mean that they are unsuitable for assistance from CRS Australia, we direct them to appropriate assistance.
CRS Australia aims to enable people to access rehabilitation services close to where they live by aligning the location of service delivery units with the distribution of working-age people on income support. About 32 per cent of programs are delivered in rural and remote areas, and about 100 visiting services operate out of the organisation’s 176 permanent sites.
During 2004–05, CRS Australia also provided a range of services to government agencies and other organisations, including:
- rehabilitation services for veterans and military personnel under the Department of Veterans’ Affairs
- occupational rehabilitation services for workers compensation insurers
- career planning services for the Department of Education, Science and Technology
- wage assessments and case management in business services for FaCS.
The quality of CRS Australia’s achievements reflects the excellence of its staff. A staff survey showed the very high commitment of staff members to organisational goals and objectives— a commitment demonstrated in their work. CRS Australia aims to provide staff with a family-friendly workplace and relevant professional development opportunities. Stakeholder surveys and client exit surveys reflect the high level of satisfaction of clients (those who receive the services) and customers (those who purchase the services) with the services of CRS Australia. CRS Australia operates to meet and exceed the Disability Services Standards of the Disability Services Act 1986.
CRS Australia is a ‘knowledge organisation’ that supports and encourages the flow and exchange of information. During the year, its information technology infrastructure was replaced and its intranet reinvigorated.
CRS Australia also places emphasis on evidence-based, continuous improvement. In 2004–05, a range of research and evaluation projects and eight Communities of Practice (Networks of Excellence) were supported, to make our work more effective and more efficient, and to contribute to policy development for people with disabilities. CRS Australia participated in a trial to investigate ways to quickly assess and direct people to appropriate assistance.
CRS Australia ended the year with a small budget surplus, which will contribute to further improving service delivery for people with disabilities in 2005–06. The small surplus gives us flexibility as we prepare to respond to the future needs of our clients and customers, especially in the light of increasing demand for vocational rehabilitation and related services.
David Graham
General Manager