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Excellence in Government client service recognised through 2002 Service Charter Awards

The Hon Tony Abbott MP
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service

Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service, the Hon Tony Abbott MP, today presented awards for excellence in Service Charters to Commonwealth agencies.

The Service Charters initiative began in March 1997 with the Government's More Time for Business report, a key message of which was the need to create a client service culture in the public service.

This Government is committed to the design and delivery of Government programs that meet the needs of the community and Service Charters have had a significant impact on service standards and on Agency efficiency in many organisations.

Use of external benchmarking and customer interaction, a powerful commitment to service and well considered strategies for obtaining better services and access on line have been benefits from the implementation of Service Charters.

Awards were presented for use of Service Charters across three categories including demonstrated excellence in core service delivery and organisational culture, driving online service delivery, and in services to rural, regional and remote Australians.

Service Charters provide an important mechanism for targeting service delivery to the general public. These Awards are an important way to promote continuous improvement and best practice and recognise those Commonwealth agencies that have achieved a high standard of service to the public.

Agencies recognised in the Gold Category included the Child Support Agency, Health Insurance Commission and ComSuper. The Australian Federal Police and Passports Australia within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade were also acknowledged through this year’s Awards.

My congratulations to all winners and nominating agencies for their work in this vital area as part of the Government’s commitment to meet the needs of all Australians through delivery of its programs.

Information on the Service Charters — Awards for Excellence winners is attached.

For more information contact Simone Holzapfel on 0417 656 668.

Background - Service Charters–Awards for Excellence

The Service Charters–Awards for Excellence scheme has been operating since 1999. It provides an incentive for Commonwealth departments and agencies to improve the quality and efficiency of service delivery through the application of their service charters. The objective of the Awards scheme is to recognise the high standard of service provided to the Australian public by departments, agencies and their staff. The Awards also encourage departments and agencies to set even higher levels of performance.

Awards were given in three categories in 2002:

1. Demonstrated excellence in integrating service charters into core service delivery outcomes and organisational culture

Gold (3 Awards)

Child Support Agency
Comsuper
Health Insurance Commission

Silver (2 Awards)

Australian Federal Police
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade — Passports Australia

2. Demonstrated excellence in service charters driving online service delivery

Silver (2 Awards)

Child Support Agency
Health Insurance Commission

3. Demonstrated excellence in service charters driving service delivery to rural, remote and regional Australians

Gold Child Support Agency

The Child Support Agency was recognised for achievements ranging from its comprehensive approach to business management, demonstrated by strong links between customer knowledge and business systems, advances in technology and client feedback and particular achievements in the delivery of services to rural, regional and remote Australians.

Comsuper demonstrated particular achievements through the use of external benchmarking and polling of customers and a strong commitment to equity. The Judging Panel noted the innovative use of customer feedback to drive continuous improvement.

The Health Insurance Commission demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement through regular customer research and feedback including formal stakeholder forums as well as demonstrating that charter objectives are linked closely into staff training strategies. The Judging Panel was impressed by the wide consultation on service and online content and the consequent improvement in data availability.

Other Award winners included the Australian Federal Police who demonstrated that value to the client was a key driver in setting priorities and clear evidence of initiatives to interact with the customer base and to obtain feedback. Passports Australia from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade were also acknowledged for the use of client satisfaction surveys and their outcomes being incorporated into changed processes to reflect client needs, as well as demonstrating favourable comparisons with international standards and benchmarking.

Nominations were assessed by Rob Walley on behalf of Standards Australia, Lewis Hawke from the Institute of Public Administration Australia, Kate Schulze from the National Farmers’ Federation, Margaret Cooper OAM from the National Disability Advisory Council and Mike Jones from the Australian Public Service Commission.