Annual Report 2005–06
Output 2 - Child Support Agency: General Manager’s review
Page contents:
- Improving our service
- Supporting parents
- Improving our communication
- Improving our capability and capacity
This year has been another challenging but successful year for CSA.
We built on the solid foundation of our past performance and again delivered strong performance across all our business areas. This resulted in even better outcomes for separated parents and their children than in 2004–05. These outcomes were achieved while simultaneously developing a major reform agenda to significantly improve our customer service and implementing the first stage of the Government’s Child Support Scheme Reforms (CSSR), announced on 28 February 2006.
I want to acknowledge the vital contribution of CSA’s professional and committed staff to these successful outcomes. Despite the challenges of a rapidly changing and sometimes difficult operating environment, they have worked collaboratively with each other and our partners to ensure success. It is also appropriate to recognise the very significant assistance to CSA from the core department and our sister agencies within Human Services.
Improving our service
CSA recognises the imperative of improving customer service, particularly for the 15 per cent of parents who are dissatisfied with their treatment or outcomes.
As foreshadowed last year, we focused on implementing new and improved ways to provide services to separated parents. We have consciously shifted our thinking from ‘clients’ to ‘customers’ to reflect the type of service experience we want parents to receive and our staff to deliver. We recognise it is important, wherever possible, for parents to be supported and encouraged to have positive relationships with each other and with CSA. It is in their interests and those of their children.
We introduced a number of new customer service offers during the year:
- CSAonline : a secure internet service providing 24/7 access to individual customer accounts
- CSA Customer Service Guarantee and receipt number to improve traceability and CSA accountability
- ‘warm transfers’ from CSA to Centrelink or Crisis Support Services on a national basis.
Supporting parents
Partnering and working collaboratively with other key stakeholders remained a key focus in 2005–06.
We developed a number of new partnerships to deliver joint products and services. Our partnerships with beyondblue and the Australian Division of General Practice were established to promote increased awareness and understanding of the risks posed by depression during separation and where to go for support.
We worked closely with our colleagues in the Australian Government and the non-government sector to ensure that support services for parents from the Government’s family law reforms would be ready to commence in 2006–07. In particular, we worked closely with the Attorney-General’s Department and Family Relationship Centre providers to establish a supportive referral network.
Improving our communication
Over the last year we adopted a more proactive and responsive approach to interaction with the media to build greater public confidence in CSA’s performance and increased awareness of child support issues. The impact of this approach is evident in more positive media coverage, less adversarial attitudes of parents, and fewer complaints.
Improving our capability and capacity
Given the very substantial reform agenda facing CSA, it was important that our capability and readiness for implementing the reforms was put on a sound footing during 2005–06. A number of key organisational reviews of corporate support services were conducted and actions initiated to address problems identified.
Significant enhancements were made to improve CSA’s financial management systems and capabilities.
Major efforts to address unacceptably high levels of unplanned staff absences and workers’ compensation claims commenced during the year. CSA worked closely with the core department, Health Services Australia, CRS Australia and Centrelink to explore the causes of, and to develop comprehensive strategies to address, these problems. It is very pleasing to report that we reduced the level of unplanned leave compared with the previous year. More importantly, there is now a depth of engagement in CSA that suggests the ambitious new targets for the coming year will also be achieved. A greater emphasis on early intervention and proactive case management has seen similarly promising reductions in levels of workers’ compensation claims during the latter half of the year.
Reviews of corporate support capability were also completed across information and communications technology and corporate services. This work has provided a forward work program to be implemented alongside the CSSR and Building a Better CSA (BBCSA).
With coordination by the core department, CSA was able to leverage its improvement of goods and services from joint arrangements with other Human Services agencies. These procurement savings together with access to other agencies’ provider panels enabled more cost-effective operations for CSA. We also benefited from sharing of best practice and working together with our sister agencies on joint service delivery issues, particularly joint delivery to remote Indigenous communities.
In 2006–07, CSA will continue on its journey of reform, particularly focusing on implementation of both the BBCSA and the CSSR. Importantly, we will also ensure a high standard of delivery of the existing Child Support Scheme while the reforms are implemented.
I look forward to working with my dedicated and professional team, with our colleagues in the other Human Services agencies, and our other partners in government and the community to achieve these important outcomes.
Matt Miller
General Manager