Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

First and foremost we are investing in our staff, which is the most important asset the Commonwealth has in terms of human services delivery. We are putting more people on the phones. Since March this year the department has recruited 720 staff to deal with the surge in demand. The government has provided some $200 million to keep on 600 of those staff until February next year.

Second, we are redeploying staff to ensure that there are in fact more people available to deal with waiting times. The new arrangements with Telstra that we are developing will also provide more flexibility and provide us with further options in ensuring that we can be more effective in our response to demands from the public.

Third, we are working with staff so that we can provide a better service to the people seeking assistance from the Commonwealth. I have established a joint working group between DHS senior management and the Community and Public Sector Union to provide advice on better ways of operating. (Time expired)