Auditor-General’s report, Ministry of Social Development: Using a case management approach to service delivery – Progress in responding to the Auditor-General's recommendations

The Auditor-General’s follow-up report Ministry of Social Development: Using a case management approach to service delivery – Progress in responding to the Auditor-General's recommendations was presented to the House of Representatives today.

This report looks at the progress that the Ministry has made in responding to recommendations in our 2014 report.

The Ministry has made progress on responding to our four recommendations, but has not fully addressed them. It has made improvements to case management by:

• working with other agencies;
• investing in training, support, and performance management for staff;
• improving its information technology systems, including improving access to, and uptake of, digital services; and
• using data on client attendance to more accurately predict the number of staff needed in front-line positions.

We encourage the Ministry to continue the work it is doing to address our recommendations and:

• progress a sector response to working-age adults with complex needs;
• complete the active listening, communication, and empathy training it has introduced for all case managers; and
• report on the number of scheduled (proactive) appointments clients miss, so that it can show whether its efforts to reduce the number of missed appointments are working.

This report is also available as an epub (click link to download).

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