Services Australia Mid-Year Report Event

E&OE

Thanks very much, Bevan, and to the team at Services Australia, and to David, for asking me to be part of this event today.

It’s lovely to be joining you here in person, but also for those that are participating online, I would also like to acknowledge Country and just thank Uncle Warren for his Welcome to Country.

We do believe it’s important to have a Welcome to Country and also to acknowledge Country at the beginning of significant proceedings, which this one is. And I hope everyone has a great day here today.

I’ve got a speech, but then as Bevan said, happy to take some questions at the end.

And I thought I should begin by saying I’m absolutely thrilled to have been appointed permanently to the role of government services. As people would know that before the last election, I was a bit of a stand-in minister – not that the PM ever said that – but it was towards the end of the term after Minister Shorten left.

And I was really thrilled, I could see the opportunities that came from combining Government Services, Finance and the Public Service under one minister. And I can tell you, I’m not going to waste that opportunity that comes with having that combined portfolio.

So, it really is a pleasure to be here and to be part of the Mid-Year Report Event. And it gives me, really, my first opportunity since becoming Minister, following the successful election campaign that we had, just to give you a couple of my views of what I’ve learned already and the areas that – and there’s so many, and I’m not allowed to speak for an hour and a half, so really don’t take this as it’s the only things that I’m interested in – but some of the big moving pieces that I think will consume quite a bit of our shared time over the next three years.

So, to begin, I think it’s really important to start and acknowledge there are things that are going really well, and government services and Services Australia should be very proud of that. We’ve seen big improvements in a whole range of areas, and I feel that under David and his team’s leadership, a real focus on customers, customer experience and a focus on the people that we’re here to serve.

Having said that, I think there’s an acknowledgement there are areas that we need to do better, that we need to continue to focus on. And there’s going to be all those challenges that come around that we didn’t even know were an issue – I know that they’ll be coming, I don’t know what they are, but I know they’ll coming – and how we deal with that.

The other point I’d like to make is, Services Australia really is the front face of the Federal Government, of the Australian Government, in terms of the reach and the connection with the Australian community. State governments have much more direct contact with their local community and the Federal Government. That’s something I’ve learned since shifting from the ACT government to here. The Federal Government is much more removed in a sense from the delivery of traditional government services, except in this instance here.

I know there’s other big things like the tax office, but let’s just focus on Services Australia, because there’s a huge opportunity there, I think, in that trusted role that Services Australia plays.

So, we know that you have contact with almost every household in Australia, even those that probably don’t think they have contact with you, have contact with you. 27.1 million customers, I’m advised. And I think from my point of view and the Government’s point of view, the overarching priority for Services Australia really is to ensure that each one of those customers receives services that are easy to use, that are respectful, that are responsive, that are safe, and that they’re focused on the customer’s needs.

This vision is guided by a deeply held belief in the Albanese Government that effective, efficient, safe and helpful government services aren’t just something that’s nice to have, but they’re fundamental to that social compact that exists between the people and the public service.

And I think one of the interesting things out of the election campaign, I thought, was the value that was placed on the public service by the Australian community. And that was the first time I’ve really seen that overwhelming support, in a sense. Obviously, cutting public servants and all those kinds of games have been played in politics for a long time, but usually to a much more positive reception than what was received. And I have to say that I think part of that – the reason for that – is through Services Australia, you’ve been able to, through your work, translate to the Australian people why it’s important that we resource public services.

So, that’s a very, very significant, I think, difference or a change that’s happened over time and one that I’m very pleased to have seen.

So, a couple of things here – because I’m not reading off my set speech, which I’m terrible at – but there is a huge potential in the digital transformation underway. And I think Services Australia has a very open – to use one of the terms teachers always use about my daughter – a very open mindset about how we approach that. And I’m really excited by that.

I also have the DTA and functions in Finance which relate to data and digital, which I think line up very nicely with some of the work that Services Australia does. And I want to be very forward leaning on that.

But having said that, we are always going to need our network of service centres. We are always going to need people who engage directly with people who serve their local communities every day.

But we also know that customers, if they trust the service, millions of them are doing it every day, are already increasing their demand for services online. So, last year we know there was 1.1 billion digital transactions under government services. About 2 million people use Medicare claims tracker. And in fact, more people sign into MyGov each month than visit Kmart online or Woolworths online. I think I need to fact check that, but I’m told that that is true.

And so, I think part of what we have to do and part of my job is to make sure that people realise we aren’t forcing them to go online. We aren’t forcing them to take a pathway. It really is about meeting people where they are and ensuring that when they choose those services and if those services actually work for them, that they want to use them.

The challenge here of course, is to make sure that everyone who wants to come on the digital journey or that experience is making sure that no one gets left behind through that. And I’ve had stakeholders engage with me about concerns around First Nations people, about CALD communities, about communities that are disengaged or disenfranchised in some way. So, that balance and that challenge will always be there.

And I know that we’ve got – I can see Victor [Dominello] and Caroline [Edwards], who are part of the Advisory Group who are doing a lot of thinking about this and providing advice to me directly.

And the opportunity for the digital transformation, for the use of AI, again, it’s going to be a piece of my job over the next three years as I look at that across the public service, but in government services as well. The opportunity that comes there is unlimited, but we don’t want to shoot ourselves in the foot by getting that wrong and reducing trust and slowing down some of the work we need to do there. So, finding that balance and making sure that we are genuinely meeting people where they are and offering them choice of service is going to be really important.

We can’t be seen to be going, “everyone, you are all coming this way and get a mobile phone and a digital ID and join us.” That’s not going to be the approach. It wouldn’t be successful, it wouldn’t be fair, it wouldn’t be right. And it would also mean that I think our success or otherwise utilising new technologies would be significantly challenged.

So, another area, and I know there’s a lot more to talk about there, but I’m going to race through so you can ask the questions. The other area which – I know we’ve just had a meeting with David and his team – is really in the area of gender-based violence and more broadly some of the challenges of our legislative authorities, which some of you may be aware of.

We’ve had a lot of discussions with people about that. We’ve had some reports come out recently, the Ombudsman report being the most notable in the last little while. But the Government has committed and it’s going to be a big piece of work, again – probably expensive, with my Finance hat on but again, it’s the right thing to do – which is to make sure we are looking at our systems and making sure that they don’t perpetuate violence or systems that can be weaponised.

We’ve been very clear as a government that we want to end gender-based violence in a generation. We are telling a whole range of other organisations what to do and how to do that, whether it be through Respect@Work, whether it be through some of our funding directly into services, whether it be our engagement with the states.

So, we can’t do that one and not look at ourselves when we are clearly being told that our systems, whether it be child support, family payments, are being used and weaponised in the form of financial violence, predominantly against women. So, that is another piece of work, again, Service Australia will be right in the thick of that, with the ATO, with Treasury, obviously, and others.

But it’s absolutely the right thing to do and I’m sending all of my departments a very clear message that I want to do that and do that as quickly as possible, even if it means we demonstrate it through tranches of work, which may be the case, because no doubt that the ICT systems need to be rebuilt and all of those sorts of things. But it’s the right thing to do and I’m really excited about it.

And I think once we get that in place, it’ll be much better for the Services Australia staff who are the ones actually dealing with this and dealing with the traumatised customers who come in going, “why am I being penalised?” So, I think it’ll be much better for the organisation when we line that up.

We’ve got a lot of legislative work that needs to be done with some of the advice around making sure that our legislative powers – and again, this is very important for staff who are making those decisions, actually have the authority to do that. I think – the easiest way to describe it is, lining up the practical intent of the policies and decisions that are being made by Government and making sure that the legislation aligns with that. So, best leave that there. But there’s a lot of work to do and we are very keen to do it.

On the quarterly data that we’ve just released, something that’s come out today or the last day, it’s really pleasing results. And the organisation should really take the time to pat yourselves on the back for that. It’s really important. It’s important not just because it means people are getting their services and their payments in much easier and quicker times, but it’s again that social compact that exists between the public and the public service. We are funded by their tax dollars. This is us saying, “yep, and we are making sure you are getting the services that you fund us for.”

And again, playing to that very strong message that we had from our point of view that the public service needs to be resourced in order to do the job properly. And again, another piece of work David and I are working on is that ongoing resourcing. What is the right resourcing for Services Australia? We’ve put some investment in, you demonstrated that investment is actually driving the results, and we have to finalise what that means for the long term and there’s a piece of work underway there.

So, just to finish, I think I wanted to come back just to the area – because for me, the great opportunity and the privilege of serving in this position is being able to focus on the customers and the people. And if there’s one message I can leave with you today, it’s that that is what guides me, it motivates me and that’s why it’s a privilege to serve in these jobs.

But I’ll mention two things. One, one of the things that has really cut through to me was I was visited by a young woman who was about 20 and she asked to meet with me. She was a student here at uni, and she came in and she told me her story, which was that her father had weaponised child support payments to keep her mother in poverty and to keep her and her siblings in poverty essentially for their whole childhood. And how she thought that was unfair and she thought someone should do something about it. Well, we are the people that can do something about that. And it’s an extraordinary responsibility but an enormous privilege. And so, I am always thinking about those people.

And so, this is, I don’t want to necessarily finish on this point, but I think we should always be thinking about how we make those customers’ lives better going the extra yard, whether it be through managing your teams or the services you provide at that Services Australia interface across the table or online.

And then the story I’ll finish off with, and I want to put it in the context that there’s – as I’ve said in these remarks – so many good things happening and so many good staff. I’m meeting them all around the country. I’ve got a few more states to get to actually visit some sites, but wherever I go, I’m going out and visiting staff and talking to them about their jobs. And I’m absolutely amazed at the work they do. But then occasionally a letter lands on my desk and I read it, and I think, how could this happen? How could this happen?

And it was a story of a young couple who actually ended up having to write to their MP to have, essentially, to have their problem acknowledged. And it shouldn’t have to be like that. My view is that the customer should not end up in their local MP’s office going, “this is my story.”

And it essentially was a family, she needed parenting payments, documents were requested. It took her 14 hours, and she documented through three pages on the 5th of February, on the 6th of February, on the 7th of February, on the 8th of February, she documented every contact she had and what she was told. She should be a note taker because there was very detailed note, let’s just say.

She had a newborn; she wasn’t getting paid. Her family went into financial hardship. She had two children close together. It took her 14 hours, two visits with a newborn into a service centre. She made a complaint. Nobody took her seriously until some service officer on the 9th of April – she started, I think, representations of Services Australia on the 15th of January – on the 9th of April, someone actually said, “okay, hang on, we’ll try and resolve this.” And it was resolved by the 5th of May, and in the end Services Australia paid $16,000 in parental leave payments that were owed to her.

Now, to me, when I read that classic example, and I know it’s not the majority, but it’s those cases that should make us think, well, how do we make that less sticky? How could we resolve that earlier? How do we make sure, and this is in my head, and I say to my colleagues, they shouldn’t have to come to you. We should be able to resolve these and make sure you get what you want. And so, I think that’s what drives me and that’s part of my responsibilities.

But I work in partnership with you and I absolutely am very dedicated to spending the next three years trying to make sure that everyone gets the service they deserve in the way that they want to receive it, and that staff and this organisation are resourced properly and supported properly and have exciting opportunities to be part of making Services Australia the best it can be.

Because I really see unlimited potential for Services Australia – when we get some of those other areas on track – having more responsibility, not less, because it is trusted, you do have that contact. And you’ve got great people and great organisation to do it.