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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 12 Hansard (13 November) . . Page.. 4124 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

Mr Speaker, I am sure members will recall that, in debating the motion on Aboriginal reconciliation and multiculturalism in November last year, Mr Whitecross expressed his concern that these kinds of motions will be seen as all about words and not about actions. Under the previous Government each ACT government agency was required to do just that - focus on the words, words and more words. They were to develop a specific access and equity policy for identified target groups; to develop separate access and equity plans; and to appoint access and equity officers sitting in policy areas to write that up. That regime, of course, was all about words and did not translate into measures to assist those at the front counter. This resulted in a plethora of plans, with little understanding of their customers' needs or wants, even less action, and certainly no evaluation of their achievements or otherwise.

In contrast, the approach of this Government has been to move positively, stop the talk and get on with delivery. This Government's policy is about opportunity and fairness, so that the community can be assured they will know about and have access to the services to which they are entitled. Service to the community and responsiveness to the needs of the public are core values for the ACT Public Service, as expressed in section 7 of the Public Sector Management Act. We have used one of the public service reforms, a customer focused public service, to ensure that service delivery is fair and accessible.

A key element of the customer focused public service is the customer commitment strategy. The customer commitment strategy is an acknowledgment that customers of government agencies have a right to information about government services and to high-quality, cost-effective goods and services; a clear expression of what services are available from an agency; a clarification of what level of service the customer can expect; and a matching of services and their delivery to the customers' needs and expectations.

The customer commitment strategy is based on the following core principles: Firstly, customer service information - clear, plain language to identify the agency, the agency's purpose, its customer base and its services, including the date of publication of the commitment to service statement. Secondly, consultation and choice - evidence that the views of those who use and provide service have been considered in the ongoing process of setting the commitments to service, and that the service provider has clearly identified the customer base. Thirdly, openness and equity - publication of the commitment to service standard as a separate document, stating the commitments to service that a customer can reasonably expect, ensuring customers of the service are able to easily access the information, which may be in different mediums. Fourthly, suggestion and complaint procedures - avenues by which a customer may provide feedback on the level of service provided and how customer inquiries and complaints are handled. Fifthly, courtesy and helpfulness - service with a smile, friendly and welcoming and knowledgeable staff, and the use of name badges. Sixthly, joint value creation - details of how the customers can assist the service provider to improve delivery. Seventhly, value for money - a clearly stated commitment by agencies to provide efficient and effective services within existing resources. Lastly, monitoring, review and performance reporting - sets out how agencies will monitor and review their service performance and compliance with their statement.

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