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Annual Report 06–07
Output 3: CRS Australia—Performance
Developing innovative strategies and service delivery models
New strategies
A number of new strategies were implemented during 2006–07 in anticipation of the introduction of partial contestability for vocational rehabilitation services from 1 July 2007. Strategies included:
- ensuring that services remain flexible and responsive to local circumstances;
- reviewing practices for supporting allied health professionals, to increase their time available for work with job seekers; and
- reviewing internal and external benchmarks and performance indicators, to ensure they remained appropriate to drive effective practice and performance.
Agency efficiencies
CRS Australia participated actively in portfolio-wide reforms to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of government service delivery in 2006–07. This included improvements in purchasing practice, better support for staff in delivering services to communities and more general sharing of better practice approaches.
Arrangements with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
CRS Australia maintained its good working relationship with its primary purchaser, DEWR, in 2006–07. Under the new MOU reached with DEWR during the year, CRS Australia retains an estimated 70 per cent of the Australian Government’s vocational rehabilitation programme.
In 2006–07, the MOU resulted in new work processes and performance targets, and different funding arrangements. One significant outcome of the MOU is that from 2007–08 the majority of performance targets will enable CRS Australia’s performance to be benchmarked with that of other service providers.
CRS Australia staff gained experience in working with the new DEWR funding model and MOU conditions during 2006-07. Significant training was rolled out to ensure staff were appropriately trained to use ES Smartclient, the case management system used by all providers of Australian Government employment services. ES Smartclient will allow staff to track and manage individual cases as job seekers move through CRS Australia programmes. This experience and training, along with strong existing expertise, will mean that CRS Australia staff are well prepared to deliver competitive levels of service when other service providers enter the vocational rehabilitation market from 1 July 2007.
Best practice and knowledge sharing
CRS Australia’s high-quality service delivery in 2006–07 was underpinned by a strong commitment to lifelong learning and active knowledge sharing.
Eight Networks of Excellence (Communities of Practice) continued to identify, support and promote opportunities to apply best practice and improve effectiveness and efficiency throughout CRS Australia. A range of research and evaluation projects were undertaken in areas such as seasonal employment, participation reporting and exploring vocational options. CRS Australia commenced a trial of the use of webcam technology to improve knowledge sharing across virtual teams.
CRS Australia also completed the development of a business warehouse that integrated the electronic information sources across CRS Australia and external sources into one database, and provided managers with a more flexible reporting tool. The warehouse will be implemented in July 2007 and will provide better management information to inform business operations.
Staff members also completed innovative research in a number of service-related areas, including substance abuse, personal disclosure, work training, administrative support and employment strategies. This research will be used to improve and enhance service delivery strategies to benefit all stakeholders.
CRS Australia staff made a range of presentations at international and national conferences, including meetings of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, the International Forum on Disability Management, Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health, the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions, ACT Knowledge Management, the Case Management Society of Australia, and the Australasian Pain Society. Staff research papers were published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry and the Journal of Rehabilitation.
In January 2007, CRS Australia staff delivered presentations and training on case management, return to work services and the benefits of early intervention to 20 staff from the Malaysian Social Security Organisation, as part of a Malaysian Government initiative on return to work.