United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

The Child Support Agency (CSA) was established in 1988 to administer the Australian Government’s Child Support Scheme, to reduce child poverty created from family separation.

CSA transfers more money for more children than any other similar worldwide, and does so more efficiently.

The Australian Child Support Scheme differs from most other schemes around the world because it’s administered by government rather than being a primarily court-based system. This creates a unique set of challenges, namely creating and implementing a system that delivers targeted services to meet individual needs, particularly in the emotion charged environment of family breakdown.

The primary focus of CSA from 1988 until 1995 was meeting the legislative requirements to collect and transfer child support for the benefit of children. This focus on efficiency led to success as a collection agency and CSA became a world leader in the public administration of child support. However, success was achieved at a cost – parents were becoming increasingly dependent on CSA to manage their child support responsibilities.

Over recent years, the nature of separated parenting has changed and the Child Support Scheme, child support policy, and the broader family law system, were not keeping up with changing attitudes towards the family unit and separated parenting. The primary concerns of many separating and separated parents were contact and emotional issues, and CSA was disconnected from the broader family law system in being able to assist parents with these issues.

Parents had problems accessing appropriate counselling and support services: many family and community service providers had limited capacity to adequately help parents with issues they faced after separation. It was also expensive, time-consuming and difficult for parents with conflict to have their issues resolved through the family law courts.

CSA’s efficiency-based approach was perceived by customers, their representatives and stakeholders as insensitive, inconsistent and unaccountable. Parents were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with CSA’s service and were escalating issues externally to the media and increasingly complaining to their Member of Parliament or the Ombudsman.

CSA was not providing customers with appropriate support or adequate information and education about their options.

Important stakeholders felt they had little capacity or stake in how CSA delivered services to separated parents, and many – including community representatives and members of government – were highly and publicly critical of CSA.

Within CSA, customer service teams were large and unwieldy, comprising some inadequately skilled staff and team leaders with limited training and development opportunities. CSA focused strongly on process performance at the team level, and segmented customers to improve efficiency as opposed to improving service.

The Australian Government believed that CSA needed to make a substantial shift from higher efficiency to higher quality and sensitive customer service, as dissatisfaction increased. In 2006, the Government committed $150 million into the ‘Building a Better CSA’ (BBCSA) package of reforms to improve the delivery of services to the more than 1.4 million parents who are customers of CSA, and around 1.2 million children.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
The ‘Building a Better CSA’ (BBCSA) program has delivered key service delivery improvements. The reduction in ‘political noise’ indicates the program’s success, with 85% of media coverage since 2006 being positive. Complaints reduced significantly, and customer satisfaction measured through the ‘Customers Having a Say’ initiative and random surveys, increased (ie 74% of receiving parents agree CSA’s service delivery is improving). CSA developed information and support tools to help staff address customer perceptions of bias and procedural unfairness, and equip them to transform customer experience through service excellence. A new internal communication system was established to support staff and the cultural change program. Regular staff ‘roadshows’ evaluation reveal more than 90% of staff believe CSA is heading in the right direction and have skills to provide better customer service,. More than 80% believe they have necessary info and support from leaders. CSA’s online services expanded with the award-winning CSAonline service enabling customers to perform many transactions online, anytime. Almost 60,000 customers actively use CSAonline since its introduction in April 2006. All customers now receive a call receipt number, and calls are now recorded, improving transparency and accountability. A new Service Delivery Model was implemented to ensure customers better service. Team sizes were reduced to no more than 12 and 120 new Team Leaders and Technical Support Officers now assist staff with more complex matters. Personalised Services teams were introduced to case manage parents with complex issues. Five new Regional Service Centres were opened to offer increased face-to-face services in regional areas. CSA improved its letters and forms and website, developed new products such as translated booklets for multicultural customers, a publication for teenagers, a regular CSA newsletter, and a brochure explaining customers’ rights and options following CSA decisions. CSA’s publications are increasingly popular with users. 99% of customers rate CSA publications as excellent or satisfactory. The teen publication received significant media interest, featuring national television, radio and press coverage, with almost 25,000 copies ordered since August 2007. The Child Support Matters newsletter includes a feedback form. Almost nine out of 10 customers rate it as excellent or satisfactory and almost 60% of customers recalled receiving it (tracking research) CSA, and the policy agency, the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), jointly run the Child Support National Stakeholder Engagement Group, which consists of representatives from advocacy groups, government, community groups and the academic sector. The joint engagement with stakeholders aims to minimise duplication of effort for both government and stakeholder groups and ensure coherent policies and a coordinated approach to service delivery in child support and related areas. CSA developed partnerships with organisations such as BeyondBlue, the national depression initiative, to better support separated parents. CSA’s focus on higher quality customer service has made CSA even more efficient and cemented the agency’s position as world leader in child support administration. CSA’s child support collection rate has increased from 86% to over 90%. The rate of customers’ transferring child support payments privately has increased from 40% to over 52%.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
In 2003, the Australian Government established the Department of Human Services (DHS) and appointed a new Minister to oversee its operations. To radically improve CSA’s service delivery and shift its strategic direction, the Minister recruited a new General Manager for CSA. Matt Miller was appointed as General Manager in 2005, and quickly set about creating a new vision for CSA that better aligned it with meeting changing parental needs and community attitudes. Along with his Executive team, he put together a funding bid to enable substantial improvements to CSA. In 2005, the Government committed to investing $150 million over four years through the BBCSA reforms package to ensure that CSA’s customers – 1.4 million separated parents, their children and the broader Australian community – received better service from CSA. The CSA Executive and DHS worked with the Government to design a comprehensive package of reforms. After defining the scope and receiving Government commitment, CSA worked with other Departments and agencies to design the detailed approach. In a number of cases, pilots were conducted to test how particular initiatives should be implemented nationally and sustained across the business. The design of particular initiatives was continually refined through pilots, testing and feedback. At the commencement of BBCSA, CSA engaged a specialist firm, Ascent Consulting, to undertake a ‘health check’ of how CSA was positioned to deliver the changes. Ascent Consulting found CSA faced a significant lack of project management skills in the organisation. Immediate strategies were put in place to address this, including employing several project management experts to work alongside CSA business experts to develop, design and implement the BBCSA strategies. Ascent Consulting also advised CSA to finalise governance arrangements. A number of steering committees and working groups with representatives across the Australian Government were convened to design and administer the BBCSA program. These included: DHS Service Delivery Steering Steering Committee which included representatives from CSA, DHS, FaCSIA, Centrelink, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. National Executive – Change which included representatives from CSA and independent, critical ‘friends’ from two other Australian Government agencies. A number of roles within CSA were given responsibility for implementing and evaluating BBCSA program outcomes. These included: • General Manager • Deputy General Manager, Change Program • Executive Director, Reform Delivery • BBCSA Program Office, Program Managers and Output Project Managers CSA also established a new Child Support National Stakeholder Engagement Group, comprising representatives from: • Advocacy Groups, eg National Council of Single Mothers and their Children, Dads in Distress, Lone Father's Association, Sole Parents Union, Shared Parenting Council • Support Service Providers/Peak Bodies, eg Australian Council of Social Services, Relationships Australia, Family Services Australia, Catholic Social Services, Crisis Support Services inc Mensline, Interrelate, Anglicare, beyondblue, Starlight Children’s Foundation • Family Researchers, eg Australian Institute of Family Studies, • Courts, Review bodies and Legal Practitioners, eg Family Court, Federal Magistrates Court, Social Security Appeals Tribunal Family Law Council • Government Agencies, eg Attorney-General’s Department, Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination, Centrelink, Department of Human Services, State Families and Health Departments, Local Government community and health programs

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The BBCSA budget measure was announced as part of the 2006-07 Australian Budget. It is one of eight budget measures relating to Child Support Reform, which CSA is either the lead or contributing agency. The Cabinet implementation plan was endorsed by the Secretary of DHS on 31 October 2006 and subsequently lodged with the Cabinet Implementation Unit (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet) in November 2006. The implementation plan was developed by the BBCSA Program Office, in collaboration with the steering committees, working groups and CSA officers outlined under the previous question. The plan was framed against the BBCSA program’s three objectives, which were: 1. Develop a customer-focused approach to service delivery, characterised by more accessible, consistent, responsive, professional, accountable and empathetic interactions with customers. Strategies: • Reducing team sizes • Increasing the mobile workforce • Expanding Regional Service Centres • Case management framework for complex cases • Increasing online services • Call recording • Modernising IT systems 2. Develop a customer-focused organisational culture that eliminates bias and community perceptions of the need for greater procedural fairness in customer outcomes by: • Supporting staff to be professional, empathetic and objective in their interactions with parents • Improving staff decision making • Improving the handling and resolution of complaints about CSA customer service – openness to consider complaints Strategies included: • Revised and increased technical training for customer staff • Customer service skills training programs • Increased number of staff available to deal with customer enquiries and case management • Rewriting every procedural instruction to ensure procedures were fair, transparent and met customers’ needs 3. Increase proactive engagement with parents and stakeholders to provide a better understanding of their rights, responsibilities and options under the child support system, and the role of CSA within the family law system. These improvements were characterised by: • Better access to information • Information that’s relevant and easier to understand – parents feel they are in a better position to make informed decisions • Productive working relationships with stakeholders to achieve common goals Strategies: • Revising customer letters and forms • Ongoing communication and education strategy for customers and stakeholders • Increasing production and distribution of information products • Establishing the Child Support National Stakeholder Engagement Group • Adopting a proactive media engagement program to ensure public servants were actively involved in the media – taking questions, promoting understanding and ‘myth-busting’ A governance framework was implemented to ensure the service delivery reforms were implemented on time and on budget. Project management expertise was contracted in, to work in parallel with CSA business experts. An External Assurance Advisor was appointed in June 2006 to monitor the effective delivery of the program. CSA systematically measures and tracks customer satisfaction, complaints feedback and reporting in the media and to date, improvements have occurred in all three areas.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
Under the leadership of General Manager Matt Miller, the BBCSA program focused on specific issues and strategies each year for the four years of the program. CSA needed to immediately reduce the ‘political noise’ by addressing issues being raised by Members of Parliament, customers and stakeholders, and engage them in the BBCSA program ahead. In the first year (2005-06), CSA focused on media and stakeholder engagement, resolving individual customer problems, and developing the rest of the BBCSA program and wider Child Support Scheme reforms agenda. CSA also conducted qualitative and quantitative research to establish benchmarks for measuring future improvements to service delivery. In 2006-07, CSA focused on implementing the BBCSA program. Reduced team sizes, increased mobile workforce, expansion of Regional Service Centres (RSCs) and face-to-face services – Personalised Services and case management framework for complex cases. These strategies were implemented between April 2006 and November 2007. Five new RSCs were opened (CSA now has a total of 27 RSCs), team sizes were reduced, and the Personalised and Specialised Services functions were established. Increased online services This strategy was implemented between April 2006 and April 2007. Call recording This strategy was implemented between June 2006 and July 2007. Modernised IT systems A system architecture review was completed in September 2006, and the strategy implemented between September 2006 and November 2007. Revised and increased technical training for customer staff and customer service skills training programs These strategies were implemented between October 2006 and November 2007. Customer expectations were defined and the Customer Commitment was developed and communicated to customers. Customer service staff received increased technical training, Customer Focus training was rolled out to all staff, and the Customer Service Principles and the Fairness Framework were developed and communicated to staff. Revised customer letters and forms This strategy was implemented between November and December 2006, with all letters and forms reviewed to meet customer expectations and Ministerial Taskforce requirements. Ongoing education and communication strategy for customers and stakeholders This strategy was developed from September 2006 and implementation continues. Communication strategies were developed for a range of internal and external target audiences, including paying and receiving parents, special audiences such as Indigenous and multicultural customers, employers, Members of Parliament, and stakeholders generally. A new product for teenagers was developed and distributed, publications were translated and marketed to multicultural customers and intermediaries, products for Indigenous customers were scoped and developed, and Regional Service Centres, Community Information Sessions and support products were advertised. Engaging and working with stakeholders The Child Support National Stakeholder Engagement Group met for the first time in March 2007, and continues to meet monthly. Matt Miller adopted the proactive media program in April 2005, giving him immediate visibility and traction, and allowing him to focus on reducing the political ‘noise’ surrounding child support. Increased production and distribution of information products This strategy was implemented in July 2006, with the establishment and promotion of a publications hotline and online ordering system. In 2007-08, CSA is focusing on bedding down the improvements made under the BBCSA program, and implementing the Child Support Scheme Reforms program — the largest reforms being undertaken by any Australian Government or Agency at the present time.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
CSA addressed a number of challenges as it moved from development to implementation of the BBCSA program. Clear mitigation strategies, along with changing factors in the broader family law and government environment, helped to reduce the impact of many risks identified during the design phase. The main challenges CSA encountered are described below. Leading and motivating staff to help them make the ‘Customer Focus’ shift This strategic shift has been a challenge for some staff, particularly those who have been with CSA for a substantial length of time – and there is a number of these officers. For some, the number of changes has been overwhelming. The creation of smaller team sizes and the Technical Support and Development Team has also supported CSA’s customer service staff. The structure ensures support is provided in the most efficient and timely manner, and can be accessed in a variety of ways including via a technical support phone queue, email, and individually at desks. CSA conducts regular staff ‘roadshows’ to inform and involve staff in the program, provides detailed information on the intranet site, delivers comprehensive training programs and support materials, and ensures staff feel valued through formal and informal rewards and recognition activities. Building leadership capability and performance Committed and engaged leaders are critical to success, and CSA aims to ensure leaders have the information and tools they need about the BBCSA program through biannual National Leadership Forums. The robustness of the agency’s project planning and management is also being challenged, with tight timeframes, strict governance requirements and the ever-increasing importance of collaboration across agencies, government and with key stakeholders. CSA has addressed this challenge through the BBCSA program steering committees, which help build a shared understanding of the outcomes sought, the development of working groups comprising a range of representatives to implement the projects, and comprehensive project management training and support for staff. Organisational capability and collaborative capacity Before 2005, CSA under-invested in building its corporate capability and as a result, the ability of the organisation to implement and bed down significant change is being tested. There has also been a lack of staff in key service delivery functions, as well as under-development of leadership and collaborative capabilities. To address these areas, national leaders have worked together to identify resourcing priorities and shifting them where required, and provided staff with opportunities to develop and apply new skills. Workforce planning has been critical in ensuring CSA has enough productive staff to fulfil new roles and meet increased customer expectations. For critical roles, CSA has sourced the services of experts and consultants to guide staff in delivering the BBCSA program. Sustaining service improvements and meeting customer expectations CSA is committed to meeting customers’ expectations, which have been raised by the BBCSA program. The challenge CSA faces is ensuring customers’ needs and expectations continue to be met and exceeded, which means service sustainability is tested. CSA is addressing this obstacle through strategic workforce planning, ongoing recruitment and training, open communication at the national leadership level, and ensuring managers and staff are clear about the agency’s priorities and strategic direction.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
The BBCSA Budget measure was announced as part of the 2006-07 Australian Budget. Over four years, the BBCSA program will implement three major service delivery objectives: • Improvements in customer service delivery (funding $106 million) • CSA organisational change – improved customer focus and training (funding $23 million) • Improved communication to customers and stakeholder engagement (funding $22 million) All individual BBCSA projects had a detailed resourcing plan that was specific to each project. These plans were assessed and monitored by the Program Office on a monthly basis. For each BBCSA project, the following critical resources were identified along with timings, costs, and strategies to acquire and manage those resources. This is detailed below. Critical resource: External Delivery Assurance Advisor Critical to: Whole BBCSA program Duration: July 2006 – Sept 2008 Strategies to acquire and manage this resource: Select tender out to market May 2006 for the provision of General Management Services. Tarcus Pty Ltd appointed June 2006. Estimated cost: $580,000 Critical resource: Project management skills (Ascent Consulting) Critical to: Whole BBCSA program Duration: April – June 2006 Strategies to acquire and manage this resource: Select tender out to market April 2006 for the provision of General Management Services. External Project Management consultants (Ascent Consulting) appointed April 2006 to provide framework and training for internal staff. Ascent Consulting provided services from June 2006 – July 2008. Estimated cost: $116,000 Critical resource: Performance Framework Critical to: Whole BBCSA program Duration: April 2006 – June 2007 Strategies to acquire and manage this resource: Engagement of expert consultant to assist with the development of performance indicators. Estimated cost: $68,000 Critical resource: Staffing – operational and project development and delivery Critical to: Whole BBCSA program Duration: July 2006 – June 2010 Strategies to acquire and manage this resource: 30 per cent increase in number of customer service officers (approximately 1,000 staff). Appointment of specialist recruitment agencies. Appointment of contractors. Estimated cost: Specified for each output Critical resource: Accommodation Critical to: Whole BBCSA program Duration: July 2006 – June 2010 Strategies to acquire and manage this resource: Development and sign-off National Accommodation Plan, and CSA Accommodations Team developed short list of suitable sites and commenced leasing negotiations. Estimated cost: Specified for each output Critical resource: Training Critical to: Reduced team sizes, increased mobile workforce, reform of change of assessment process, customer focus and Child Support Scheme reforms Duration: July 2006 – June 2010 Strategies to acquire and manage this resource: Overarching training program scoped. Estimated cost: Specified for each output

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The BBCSA program addressed all facets contributing to customer service and took a whole of organisation approach. Sustainability of the approaches is managed through: • Strategic plan driving the intent and new direction • Embedding new behaviours in a revamped performance management system • An aligned rewards and recognition system • An aligned corporate governance approach • Individual accountability managed through Executive performance management • Governance approaches throughout the design and build phases, including establishment of business sponsors, steering committees and executive change sponsorship • Realigning and refocusing the performance measurement framework • Support strategies reminding staff of the customer focus and reinforcing the changes • Ongoing management of continuous improvement • Enhancing corporate capability around workforce planning, training and development, and business modelling to ensure more targeted resourcing of customer strategies. The formal BBCSA monitoring and evaluation process, as described in the response below, will contribute to the sustainability of achievements and inform ongoing quality improvements. Building leadership capability The role of leaders in CSA is critical in the change. Through the authentic leadership style of General Manager Matt Miller CSA has encouraged its leaders at all levels to actively champion its agreed new direction and support their staff through the change. This involves: • Creating a vision for a customer-focused CSA, and communicating the vision through every level of CSA • Providing the example of how people in a ‘Better CSA’ behave, and constructively challenging colleagues when they do not model a customer-focused CSA • Leaders setting a high benchmark for service delivery to their own team members • Leading and supporting people to manage change, not just developing and implementing new operating systems • Helping people to try new ideas and take risks with new behaviours, and letting people know it’s okay to let go of ‘how we used to do things’ if it no longer fits with the BBCSA vision • Consistency of messages across ‘one CSA’ • Leaders following through on what they say they will do – giving life to the customer service principles • Acknowledging that people cope with change differently, listening, and offering flexibility Performance management framework A new CSA performance management framework was developed to help drive the behaviours and actions necessary to support the BBCSA objectives and outcomes. How BBCSA could be replicated for international agencies International child support agencies could apply CSA’s experience in developing and implementing the BBCSA initiative in the following ways: Fundamentally examining key elements of their service delivery model: • Service delivery team sizes • Case management approach • Regional presence and mobile workforce • Availability of online services • Feasibility of call recording • Staff capability for customer service Examining key elements of organisational climate and culture: o Employee engagement o Employee customer focus o Customer service and technical skilling training o Employee accommodation and resources o Employee wages and conditions o Leadership capability o Employee autonomy and decision-making capability. Once these elements have been described, measured and examined, strategies to address inadequacies and inefficiencies in key areas should be developed in a collaborative leadership effort, and with ongoing communication with employees at all levels.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
As CSA moves towards 2010, the focus of the BBCSA program will be on ‘connecting locally’ to ensure customers in every part of Australia can easily access child support, family law and other support services when and where they choose. Improving service delivery connectedness will be the key strategy for ensuring local connection. CSA will offer a more personalised service to separated parents and their families in regional and rural Australia, deliver new and expanded outreach services in these communities, and focus more on partnerships with local service providers. An evaluation team has been established to specifically examine how successfully BBCSA outcomes are being delivered. Each project and program has been required to undertake evaluations regarding implementation, as well as Post Implementation Reviews once projects are finalised. The BBCSA Evaluation Framework will be used to measure the overall success of BBCSA. The Framework will ensure that rigorous outcome evaluations are undertaken at both a formative and summative level, and that robust methodologies will be employed for all evaluation. BBCSA Outcome Evaluations will examine the progress towards the achievement of desired outcomes previously outlined. The first evaluation was conducted to determine the impact of reduced team sizes, new team leader roles, and technical and business support models on both staff effectiveness and customer satisfaction. A number of BBCSA KPIs have been identified as high priority for demonstrating the vision of a better CSA. They are critical indicators of the performance of individual BBCSA projects as well as markers of overall success of the initiative. These include: 1. Customer satisfaction 2. CSA culture rating 3. Repeat escalation rating 4. Improved perceptions of CSA rating 5. Aware and knowledgeable parents 6. Aware and knowledgeable stakeholders 7. Staff capability The remaining indicators of success for the Initiative have been defined as: 8. Customers paying regularly 9. Complaints rating (MPs and Ombudsman) 10. Upheld review rate 11. Fair decisions rate 12. Customer fairness rate 13. External escalation rate 14. Stakeholders Having a say 15. Useful information products 16. Staff impact and readiness rate 17. Employee engagement measure The success of the CSA’s BBCSA initiative can be characterised by: • The importance of working with stakeholders • Working ‘horizontally’ • Listening to customers • Employee engagement • Structured approach to priorities • Mobilising and trusting each other’s expertise • Executive leadership capability development. As a result, CSA has experienced the following benefits: • Increased workforce productivity • Improved financial performance • Facilitation of informed executive decision making • Understanding of CSA’s cultural dynamics • Achievement of organisation goals by linking actions to business outcomes. • Improved organisational communication effectiveness. Lessons learned include: • The importance of planning and scheduling • The importance of project management methodology – risk management, planning, scheduling, evaluation, budget, setting milestones, monitoring progress, appropriate reporting and communication of achievements. • Celebrating success • Communication and engagement with the business and external stakeholders. • Relevant and clear governance arrangements - role clarity, role responsibility and decision making


Institution Name:		Child Support Agency
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Madeleine Samuels
Title:		Communication Manager
Telephone/ Fax:		61262728779
Institution's / Project's Website:		61262728898
E-mail:		madeleine.samuels@csa.gov.au
Address:		40 Cameron Avenue
Postal Code:		2617
City:		Belconnen
State/Province:		ACT
Country:		Australia

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information