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third party providers for some 10 years and currently some 70 per
cent of its calls are answered by these providers.
Particular attention will be given to ensuring the additional operators
are carefully selected, trained and fully comply with Commonwealth
privacy and security requirements.
No services or data will go offshore. The Department will work
closely with the Privacy Commissioner on the implementation of the
initiative.
The Government is also working hard to reduce the need for people
to call in the first place, including through improvements to digital
services, website capability and processing times.
How will this improve Departmental services?
The additional operators will add capacity to the Department’s
existing Centrelink call centre workforce.
The Department will use this additional capacity to help reduce call
wait times.
This is in addition to other work the Department is doing to reduce
the need for people to call Centrelink in the first place, including
improvements to the Department’s digital services, website
capability and processing times.
What type of work will the additional operators be doing?
The details of the work will be determined through the engagement
of the accredited provider.
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It could, for example, include calls relating to less complex Centrelink
work involving online helpdesk services, myGov helpdesk functions,
applications for Advance Payments, income reporting requirements.
It will not involve enquires relating to the Government’s Online
Compliance Initiative or Medicare or Child Support Services.
Are there plans to expand to other services such as Medicare and Child
Support?
No. The operators will only assist with handling less complex
Centrelink phone enquiries.
Why is the Department engaging a commercial provider to deliver these
services? Why doesn’t it just hire more public servants?
The provision of the additional operators will increase the
Department’s capacity to respond to peaks in demand and enable its
highly trained staff to focus on more complex work.
This is not a new approach. For example, the Australian Taxation
Office has successfully delivered telephony services with accredited
third party providers for some 10 years and currently some 70 per
cent of its calls are answered by these providers.
The Department of Human Services can be equally successful in
leveraging third party expertise and capability.
How do you know that there are existing Australian providers who can
provide these services?
The Australian Taxation Office has successfully delivered telephony
services with Australian based accredited third party providers for
some 10 years and currently some 70 per cent of its calls are
answered by these providers.
s 47E(d)
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Is this the beginning of privatising government services?
No. The Department will continue to be fully accountable for the
delivery of all Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support services.
The Department will also continue to have its staff deliver the vast
majority of Centrelink services and 100 per cent of all Medicare and
Child Support services.
o
The operators will only complement the provision of some
Centrelink telephony services.
This is not a new approach. For example, the Australian Taxation
Office has successfully delivered telephony services with accredited
third party providers for some 10 years and currently some 70 per
cent of its calls are answered by these providers.
It makes sense for the Department to use an accredited provider to
deliver a small range of Centrelink services so that it can focus on
more complex work and address demand, particularly in peak
periods.
Will the Government scale beyond the 250 full‐time equivalent roles?
The Government has announced it will provide funding to put in
place the 250 full‐time equivalent roles to assist with handling less
complex Centrelink phone enquiries in order to improve capacity.
o
It is not appropriate to release the details of the funding given it
is for a commercial procurement process.
The current focus is on establishing the pilot. The key objective is to
bolster the Department’s call centre capacity to make it easier for
Australians to access Centrelink services.
How much will this cost?
It is not appropriate to release the details of the funding given it is for
a commercial procurement process.
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How will this be implemented?
The Department will implement the Government’s announcement in
a staged approach.
The Department has been consulting with staff and their
representatives on the implementation of the measure. The formal
consultation period commenced on 10 May 2017 and concluded on
7 June 2017.
Work will also commence on the procurement of an existing
accredited Australian provider of telephony services to assist with the
piloting of these services.
This procurement process will occur in line with Commonwealth
procurement rules, including satisfying value for money
requirements.
The Department will also work closely with the Privacy Commissioner
on the implementation of the measure.
The piloting of these services will only start once the Government is
satisfied that all the necessary operational, technical, privacy and
security requirements have been met.
How will the additional operators be engaged?
The Department will engage an existing accredited Australian based
provider of telephony services to the Australian Government.
Once selected, the Department will then work with the provider to
train the operators.
As part of this, the Department will ensure that the operators fully
comply with existing Commonwealth privacy and security
requirements.
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Importantly, no services or data will go offshore and the Department
will work closely with the Privacy Commissioner on the
implementation of the initiative.
Will the Department use a company like Probe for both debt collection
and the additional telephony services?
The Department will not speculate on who the provider will be,
particularly as the commercial procurement process is yet to begin.
The procurement of the accredited provider will be undertaken in
line with the Commonwealth procurement rules and it would be
inappropriate to speculate on the successful outcome of that
process.
Where will the operators be located? Will it be in regional Australia?
The Department will work with the selected provider to determine
the location of the operators.
How soon will this be introduced?
The Department has commenced consultation on the
implementation of the measure and anticipates it will take a number
of months to have the operators in place.
How will the pilot be evaluated?
A rigorous evaluation will be undertaken by the Department towards
the end of the pilot to determine the impact of the use of the
operators.
How can you guarantee the privacy and security of personal
information?
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The Department will ensure the operators fully comply with existing
Commonwealth privacy and security requirements.
No services or data will go offshore and the Department will work
closely with the Privacy Commissioner on the implementation of the
measure.
Services will also be delivered using Departmental systems and cyber
security protections. The Department will also closely monitor the
quality of the services provided by the operators once they are in
place.
All operators will complete mandatory privacy training and be
required to abide by Departmental policies to protect information in
line with the
Privacy Act 1988.
Is the plan to engage a third party provider in response to the
Department’s staff voting down a new Enterprise Agreement for the
third time?
No. The engagement of the additional operators is not related to the
Enterprise Agreement in any way.
This initiative is part of the Government’s ongoing effort to improve
the delivery of services to Australians and reduce call wait times. This
includes trying to reduce the need for people to call Centrelink in the
first place and making improvements to digital services, website
capability and processing times.
The Department will consult staff and their representatives and take
their views into account.
At the same time, the Department will continue to bargain with the
CPSU before the Fair Work Commission on a new Enterprise
Agreement.
The Department is committed to giving staff the opportunity to vote
on a new Enterprise Agreement as soon as possible.
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How is the Department managing the staff consultation on this
measure?
The Department regularly consults its staff and their representatives
on a wide range of issues.
The Department has commenced consultation with staff and their
representatives on the implementation of this measure.
The department met with the CPSU on 10 May 2017 to provide them
with a briefing on the measure
The Department has an information site on its intranet and dedicated
channel for staff to provide comments and thoughts about the
implementation and suggestions including how it could be improved.
The formal consultation period commenced on 10 May 2017 and
concluded on 7 June 2017. However, staff and their representatives
are able to continue to provide feedback.
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BACKGROUND
This measure was announced in the 2017 Budget.
There is media attention on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
announcement to outsource call centre operations in
The Canberra Times on 17 May 2017
(Attachment A Page 5),
There has also been media attention on the announcement of this measure, including a story
on Channel 9’s
A Current Affair on 10 May 2017 (Attachment B).
o
The story details claims that their reporters have tested several Centrelink ‘hotlines’ to
see how long the average caller has to wait and also includes statements from Shadow
Minister for Human Services, the Hon Linda Burney MP.
s 47E(d)
The
Department of Human Services Agreement 2011–2014 (the Enterprise Agreement)
requires the Department to consult with its employees and their representatives on issues of
‘major change’ where such a change is likely to have a ‘significant effect’ on employees, as
defined by the Enterprise Agreement. These consultation obligations are enforceable under
the
Fair Work Act 2009.
s 47E(d)
Cleared by:
Name: Barry Jackson
Date last
June 2017
Position: Deputy Secretary
updated:
Phone: s 47F(1)
Contact
Name: Hamid Heydarian
Date created:
08 June 2017
Officer
Position: National Manager
Phone: s 47F(1)
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Attachment A – Canberra Times – 17 May 2017
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Attachment B ‐ Current Affair – 10 May 2017
Channel 9 Melbourne (A Current Affair, Tracy Grimshaw, 10 May)
Special report on Centrelink's call centres' waiting times. Extra funding will be allocated for Centrelink's call
centre staff. There are claims that Centrelink's waiting times have gotten worse. Three years ago, Joe
Hockey spent billions of dollars to address the wait time. Minister for Human Services Alan Tudge says the
average call time is 15 minutes, and it is reasonable. The average waiting time in January was 31 minutes.
Neil Mitchell, 3AW commentator, says there are no other options. The Government will employ 250 new staff
for its call centres. They will also plan to drug-test 5000 Dole recipients. Jo Ucukalo, Handle My Complaint,
says it is better to visit a Centrelink shopfront.
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