Media Release
(29k)25 September 2008
Centrelink — still caring for the community after 11 years
Minister for Human Services, Senator Joe Ludwig, has congratulated Centrelink for embracing its compassionate side as the agency celebrates its 11th birthday.
“As Centrelink marks another year this week, I’m very pleased to see staff playing a more inclusive and collaborative role across the welfare sector,” Senator Ludwig said.
“The Rudd Government is committed to progressing a social inclusion agenda. With over 6.5 million Australians accessing Centrelink services, it is clear Centrelink will have a large role to play in this mission.”
“Centrelink is a central player in important programs such as the Northern Territory Emergency Response, the delivery of flexible services through the Drought Bus and its efforts to tackle homelessness.”
“I wish Centrelink’s 26,000 staff a very happy birthday and applaud their efforts in doing a difficult job extremely well.”
The Senator said this year Centrelink’s birthday coincided with the agency’s National Awards in Canberra.
“I congratulate the winners on their outstanding achievement and exceptional performance,” Senator Ludwig said.
“It’s not always an easy job, but these dedicated men and women continue to find innovative ways to expand their role to benefit their fellow Australians.”
“Last year, Centrelink Social Workers assisted more than 54,000 Australians who were homeless or experiencing accommodation problems.”
“Centrelink’s outreach servicing teams have been at the forefront of addressing the issue of homelessness for many years and I commend their engagement with the community sector and the important work they do.”
For more information about the services Centrelink offers to customers experiencing accommodation problems visit the website www.centrelink.gov.au.
Centrelink National Award winners
Ross Divett Memorial Award
Tim Webster, Centrelink Indigenous Response Team
Tim is an inspirational leader working in the Centrelink Indigenous Response Team, delivering Income Management to remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. Tim’s innovative approaches to gaining community support, including his magic skills – which are a hit with the kids – has helped build strong relationships with communities.
Customer Service Award
Tanya Maloney, Remote Area Service Centres
Tanya, Acting Remote Area Service Centre Manager on Palm Island, Queensland, identified major service and program gaps, which were impacting on living standards in the community, particularly for children. Tanya set about closing these gaps and has had enormous success by utilising her strong negotiation skills and winning the support of the local community, delivering improved outcomes for residents.
Employee Profile Award
Robert Luke, Special Benefit and Refugees Servicing
Robert, from Melbourne, has been recognised for his exceptional initiative and leadership in the development and implementation of the Special Benefit and Refugee Servicing Team. He’s also well known for his dedication to helping and training staff to ensure a comprehensive and quality service for customers.
Network and Relationships Award
Jill Garratt, Senior Social Worker
Jill has been recognised for her role in Centrelink’s response to the Mackay floods. Jill impressed with her ability to balance community liaison and response coordination to ensure the highest level of service possible was provided to those devastated by this natural disaster.
Responsiveness to Government Award
Families and Child Care IT team
This team has been recognised for its ability to implement major changes to IT systems in an extremely short time frame, to ensure systems were able to quickly reflect new policy.
Centrelink Gold Business Award
Digitisation project
This project is designed to improve efficiency by ensuring information required for Business Integrity is captured once, can be instantly retrieved and shared simply, and leads to improved response times for customers.
CEO Special Commendation
Fraud Investigation Manual Development Team
This team has been recognised for the introduction of the online Centrelink Fraud Investigation Manual (FIM). The online manual further enhances Centrelink’s ability to undertake consistent and compliant fraud investigation activities that meet the Australian Government Investigation Standards. The FIM was implemented nationally across 11 Fraud Investigation Teams, and the team trained in excess of 600 Centrelink investigation and intelligence staff.
Media Contact
Sarah Cosson — 0423 823 843.
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