Introduction

1. Australia is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. The 2006 Census of Population and Housing indicated that 22 per cent of people in Australia (4.4 million people) were born overseas¹, and since that time this has continued to grow.² At the census date, 16 per cent of Australians spoke a language other than English, 17 per cent of whom did not speak English well or at all.³ In total, almost 400 different languages were spoken in homes across Australia.⁴

2. People from a diverse cultural and linguistic background (DCALB) can face barriers to accessing government services. In addition to difficulties with English language and literacy, other barriers can include: the effects of torture and trauma; fear of government; cultural misunderstandings; and discrimination. To help people overcome these barriers, the Australian Government’s 2011 multicultural policy, The People of Australia—Australia’s Multicultural Policy, ‘acknowledges that government services and programs must be responsive to the needs of our culturally diverse communities’. Further, the policy ‘commits to an access and equity framework to ensure the onus is on government to provide equitable services to Australians from all backgrounds’.

Providing Centrelink services to DCALB customers

3. As one of the Australian Government’s primary service delivery agencies, the Department of Human Services (DHS) has a key role in helping to meet the commitments outlined in the multicultural policy. DHS administers more than $130 billion in payments and delivers over 200 services to the community on an annual basis. A significant part of DHS’ responsibilities is the delivery of Centrelink services.⁵

4. In 2010–11, Centrelink administered $90.5 billion in payments and provided services to 7.1 million customers. Around 20 per cent of these customers are identified as being from a DCALB.⁶ Within the DCALB customer group there are sub-groups, in particular migrants with limited English competency and many refugees, who can be particularly disadvantaged by cultural and linguistic barriers. DHS data indicates that of all customers accessing Centrelink services, approximately six per cent require an interpreter⁷ and around two per cent have entered Australia as refugees.⁸

5. DCALB customers are located across Australia and in all DHS Service Zones.⁹ The higher numbers of DCALB customers are generally in metropolitan areas, with 39 per cent of customers in the Sydney Service Zone being from a DCALB. The uneven geographical spread of DCALB customers, and the variation in their needs, creates challenges to providing consistently accessible services across the 313 customer service centres (CSCs) and 25 call centres¹⁰ that deliver Centrelink services.

6. The growing diversity within the DCALB customer group resulting from the increased variety in the countries, cultures and languages of new arrivals is also another challenge. A comparison of the most commonly used languages for all DCALB customers with the languages used by more recently arrived DCALB customers illustrates this increasing diversity. The main preferred spoken languages, other than English, for all DCALB customers are Vietnamese, Greek, Arabic, Italian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Turkish and Serbian; whereas the current languages in high interpreter demand for more recently arrived DCALB customers are Arabic, Karen, Burmese, Persian, Dari, Chin, Chaldean, Assyrian, Dinka, Nepali and Kirundi.¹¹

The Multicultural Servicing Strategy

7. The Multicultural Servicing Strategy (MSS), Supporting Multicultural Australia 2010–13¹² , formalises the approach to providing Centrelink services to DCALB customers. The MSS is the latest version in a series of strategies targeted at DCALB customers, which started with the previous Department of Social Security. Broadly, the objective of the MSS is to ensure that services are accessible, flexible and meet the needs of DCALB customers so that they can access and participate in government programs and achieve equitable outcomes.

8. The MSS has four main components—Language Services, the Multicultural Services Officer (MSO) Program, Stakeholder Engagement Strategies, and Employee Support Tools and Strategies. In support of the MSS, at least $35 million has been spent across the main components in each of the last two years.¹³

9. Centrelink language services for DCALB customers include free interpreter services in around 235 languages, and a Multilingual Call Centre where customers can speak directly to bilingual staff in 33 languages. In 2010–11, the Multilingual Call Centre received 824 000 calls. There is also a range of translated written and audio information available on the DHS website.

10. The MSO Program is a national network of around 70 employees, located across the Service Zones, whose responsibilities include:

• disseminating information to, and gathering feedback from, customers and community organisations;
• participating in local community and inter-agency networks with the aim of improving services to DCALB customers;
• being information conduits between the Multicultural Services Branch (MSB)¹⁴ and the Service Zones;
• integrating multicultural service issues into Service Zone business priorities; and
• providing training and support to staff on multicultural service delivery.¹⁵

11. In addition to MSOs’ community engagement role, there are broader stakeholder engagement strategies for the MSS, which include:

• state and national community consultation forums to provide feedback on the quality and effectiveness of services to DCALB customers;
• a national newsletter—The Journey—to provide information on events and changes to policies and payments affecting DCALB customers; and
• regular information via SBS radio, community radio stations and ethnic newspapers throughout Australia.

12. Further to the support and training that MSOs provide to Customer Service Advisors (CSAs), there are a range of support tools for staff on the intranet, including: online learning packages; fact sheets on different cultural and linguistic groups; and A Guide to Ethnic Naming Practices that provides the naming conventions of 66 different language groups.

13. The MSS, including its objectives, is currently being revised to reflect the new departmental arrangements and the Service Delivery Reform program.¹⁶ DHS has advised that it is progressively extending the MSS from covering only Centrelink services to all the services delivered by DHS, including Medicare and Child Support services.

Audit objective, criteria and scope

14. The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the management of the MSS for the delivery of Centrelink services. The management of the MSS was assessed against the following criteria:

• there are effective planning arrangements to identify and address the evolving needs of DCALB customers;
• service delivery arrangements meet the current needs of DCALB customers; and
• there are effective performance monitoring and reporting arrangements which are used to improve service delivery.

15. Given the nature of the audit topic, a wide range of government and non-government stakeholders (including multicultural community organisations) were interviewed. In addition to the documentary evidence, data and interviews with DHS staff, the conclusions and findings of the audit draw on the stakeholder interviews. Further, a desktop review of eight overseas organisations that play a role in social policy, services and payments was conducted to inform the audit.

16. The audit scope did not include:

• other DHS services delivered to multicultural customers, such as Medicare services;
• Centrelink services for Australian customers living overseas (many of whom are from a DCALB); and
• DHS services targeted at Indigenous customers.

17. In 2009 the Commonwealth Ombudsman reviewed Centrelink’s interpreter services and concluded that Centrelink’s policies generally aligned with best practice principles in the use of interpreters. Therefore, the audit did not focus in detail on this aspect of the MSS.¹⁷

Overall conclusion

18. Australia is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse countries in the world. Since 1945, seven million people have migrated to Australia, and today one in four Australians were born overseas.¹⁸

19. People from a diverse cultural and linguistic background (DCALB) can face barriers, particularly difficulties with English language and literacy, which impact on their ability to participate in society and access government services. The Australian Government’s The People of Australia—Australia’s Multicultural Policy, promotes four policy principles that support Australia’s approach to multiculturalism. Principle 2 is of particular relevance to the Government’s expectations around participation and the services available to people from a DCALB:

Principle 2: The Australian Government is committed to a just, inclusive and socially cohesive society where everyone can participate in the opportunities that Australia offers and where government services are responsive to the needs of Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.¹⁹

20. As a key Australian Government service delivery agency, DHS plays an important role in contributing to this commitment. Reflecting the diversity of the Australian population, approximately 20 per cent of the 7.1 million customers receiving Centrelink services are identified as coming from DCALBs, with around six per cent of customers requiring an interpreter to access Centrelink services.²⁰

21. The approach to providing Centrelink services to DCALB customers is formalised in the Multicultural Servicing Strategy (MSS)—Supporting Multicultural Australia 2010–13. The MSS comprises four main components—Language Services, the Multicultural Services Officer Program, Stakeholder Engagement Strategies, and Employee Support Tools and Strategies.

22. Overall, through effectively managing the MSS, DHS identifies and addresses the current and evolving needs of DCALB customers accessing Centrelink services. The coordinated interaction between the four components of the MSS, driven by the Multicultural Services Branch (MSB) and Multicultural Services Officers (MSO), allows priorities to be determined and subsequent strategies to be developed and implemented. Complementing the central focus is a flexible approach at the Service Zone level, which allows services to be tailored to the local communities. Notwithstanding the overall success of the approach to delivering Centrelink services to DCALB customers, there are opportunities to improve the management of the MSS. These include strengthening the performance management and reporting arrangements to better support management’s decision-making and build on the services currently provided to DCALB customers.

23. The governance and coordination arrangements for the MSS support a consistent understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the many staff involved. As the central area responsible for multicultural services, MSB provides a strategic framework for the MSS and gathers, analyses and disseminates information to support the strategy and shape its future directions. More broadly, among the MSOs, Service Zone managers and front-line Customer Service Advisors (CSAs), there is a common recognition of the important role all staff have in making services accessible to DCALB customers.

24. A central component in the effective management of the MSS is the MSO Program. A national network of around 70 MSOs, based in all Service Zones, often works in active partnership with other local service providers such as Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions, Humanitarian Settlement Service providers and Job Services Australia providers to deliver coordinated services to DCALB customers. MSOs also provide outreach services to individual DCALB customers and support and train front line staff to provide culturally competent services. Stakeholders and staff provided consistently positive feedback about the work performed by MSOs.

25. Providing accessible and flexible services to DCALB customers is an objective of the MSS. Through the MSS, accessibility is addressed in many ways including: providing language services and translated written information to DCALB customers; conducting training and providing support to staff; and using targeted measures such as refugee servicing units. Closely linked to accessible services are flexible services that evolve in response to the changing needs of DCALB customers. Examples of the flexibility in DHS’ approach to delivering Centrelink services to DCALB customers include: having strategies to find interpreters in emerging languages²¹; and developing audio/visual information on Centrelink services for DCALB customers with low literacy levels in their own language.

26. A desktop review comparing Centrelink multicultural services with eight international organisations playing a role in social policy, services and payments indicates that DHS delivers a comparatively wide range of multicultural services. The Multilingual Call Centre which enables customers to speak directly to bilingual staff about Centrelink services in 33 languages is one example of the wide range of services. Only one other organisation offered a similar but reduced service, providing 11 languages on a bilingual basis.

27. As previously mentioned, performance measurement and reporting is the main area where there is scope for improvement with the MSS. The processes and strategies underpinning the MSS, combined with the views from a wide range of stakeholders and staff, support the conclusion that Centrelink services are accessible and flexible. However, there is an absence of regular and reliable data and reporting on important indicators for DCALB customers, such as their relative levels of satisfaction with Centrelink services and the relative accuracy and timeliness of their payments. This makes it difficult for DHS to directly assess the impact of the MSS and make management decisions in response. Stakeholders are likewise limited in their ability to assess the effectiveness of the MSS through external reporting by DHS.

28. The limited customer satisfaction data that is available suggests that DCALB customers with no or low language barriers are as satisfied with Centrelink services as the general customer population. Those customers with less proficiency in English appear to still have relatively high levels of satisfaction, however, these are somewhat lower than the general customer population.

29. To help DHS better understand the impact of various components of the MSS, the ANAO has made one recommendation aimed at improving performance measurement and reporting. In this context, the planned expansion of the MSS from Centrelink services to all DHS services provides an opportunity to build on the current arrangements. Further, from an operational perspective, the established expertise and existing processes and strategies will form a sound basis for an expansion of the MSS, which is consistent with the Australian Government’s expectation that government services are responsive to the needs of Australians from DCALBs.

Key findings

Governance and coordination (Chapter 2)

30. The governance and coordination arrangements for the MSS are effective in supporting consistent, accessible and flexible services for DCALB customers across the 16 Service Zones, and the network of 313 CSCs and 25 call centres. Relevant staff have a good understanding of their various roles under the MSS, with ownership for the MSS appropriately shared between MSB and the Service Zones.

31. MSB and the MSO Program are important components of the governance arrangements. MSB provides effective support and coordination, while encouraging flexibility for local priorities and circumstances at the Service Zone level. MSOs and their supervisors have accountabilities and responsibilities to both their Service Zone and to MSB. MSOs regularly interact with MSB, for example, to report on national MSS priorities and local-level initiatives. MSOs and their supervisors also have influential relationships with CSC managers, which facilitate the negotiation of training for staff and the sharing of information gathered from stakeholder engagement. These interactions and relationships help to provide an effective link between MSB and the Service Zones, as well as being a key mechanism for embedding multicultural issues at the CSC level.

Accessibility and flexibility (Chapter 3)

32. Improving access to government services for DCALB customers is a key principle of the Australian Government’s multicultural policy and Access and Equity Framework.²² DHS’ management of the MSS is effective in improving access for DCALB customers to Centrelink services and facilitates the flexibility to respond to their evolving needs. A desktop review of multicultural services delivered by eight foreign government organisations playing a role in social policy, services and payments shows that, based on publicly available information, a comparatively wide range of multicultural Centrelink services are delivered.

33. Refugee servicing units improve access to services for recently arrived refugee customers, while the language services and translated materials directly improve access for customers with limited English proficiency. Stakeholders were generally satisfied with the language services offered to access Centrelink services, which is consistent with a 2009 Commonwealth Ombudsman report²³ that concluded that Centrelink’s policies aligned with best practice for the use of interpreters. While challenges remain in finding high quality interpreters in emerging languages, DHS has demonstrated initiative and flexibility in locating these skills. A range of other issues facing DCALB customers, such as understanding DHS letters and the cost of using mobile phones to contact call centres in cases where customers do not have fixed phone lines, are less readily resolved due to resource and other constraints.

34. To help improve customer accessibility, staff are provided with support and training to assist them with using interpreters, and to increase their cultural awareness and understanding. The majority of training and support for staff is delivered informally by MSOs. The effectiveness of this training was reflected in staff feedback and stakeholders’ positive views on the cultural competency of front-line employees. The development work currently being undertaken in DHS around mandatory core training provides an opportunity to also enhance formal training requirements and include an element of multicultural training in the final package.

35. Closely linked to accessibility is flexibility in service delivery. Several initiatives show that DHS has identified and responded to the changing needs of DCALB customers by adopting a flexible approach to delivering Centrelink services. These initiatives include: active strategies to find interpreters for emerging languages to meet the growing diversity of DCALB customers; and developing audio/visual information materials on Centrelink serices for groups of DCALB customers who arrive in Australia with low literacy levels in their own language.

36. Flexibility in service delivery can also depend on the funding model underpinning a program or strategy. Rather than having a direct budget, the different components of the MSS are funded through various internal budgets, where the funding arrangements are not generally directly based on the number and diversity of DCALB customers. The planned expansion of the MSS from Centrelink services to all DHS services provides an opportunity to share the benefits of the MSS more broadly. However, as the number of DCALB customers and services covered by the MSS increases, so too will the number of activities and resources required. Therefore, one important consideration for DHS will be resource allocation for the MSS.

37. Measuring customer satisfaction provides an important indicator of whether DHS is providing accessible and flexible services, and meeting the diverse needs of its DCALB customers. The limited survey results that are available suggest that customers for whom language is not a particular barrier to accessing Centrelink services are generally as satisfied as other customers. However, the results also suggest that those customers who face language barriers are somewhat less satisfied than overall customers. Reliable customer satisfaction results are required to more accurately assess the views of DCALB customers with limited English proficiency.

Engagement with external stakeholders (Chapter 4)

38. DHS effectively engages with external stakeholders about the delivery of Centrelink services, both in terms of information sharing and active participation arrangements.²⁴ The engagement arrangements with external stakeholders at the national level focus on information sharing with Australian Government agencies and peak multicultural community organisations. MSB plays the central role in engaging with these external stakeholders.

39. The engagement with external stakeholders in the states and territories is mainly undertaken by staff in the Service Zones, in particular by the MSOs. At the Service Zone level, these external stakeholders include: federal, state, territory and local government agencies; multicultural community organisations; and non-government service providers such as Job Services Australia providers, Humanitarian Settlement Service p.0roviders and English language training organisations.

40. DHS has a wide range of engagement arrangements in relation to the delivery of Centrelink services, and is perceived by external stakeholders as a valued contributor or partner. Broader stakeholder engagement has also enabled DHS to collect and share feedback on issues encountered by DCALB customers in relation to Centrelink services and other government agencies’ policies.

Performance measurement and reporting (Chapter 5)

41. In order to assess performance it is important that agencies have in place key performance indicators (KPIs) that enable the measurement and assessment of progress towards meeting relevant objectives. KPIs should cover both the outputs being delivered and the outcomes being achieved, as they relate to the overall objective(s). In addition, a mix of quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (descriptive) indicators, with associated targets, allows agencies to assess the appropriateness, success, shortcomings and/or future directions of programs and strategies.

42. The public and internal processes used to measure and report on the performance of the MSS include a range of quantitative and qualitative output measures, such as the number of languages in which services are provided and descriptions of the partnerships undertaken with community stakeholders. While many of the qualitative output indicators contain elements that are consistent with the SMART²⁵ criteria, the lack of targets, historical data and clarity around the definition of quantitative indicators means that an important part of the reporting on the performance of the MSS is limited.

43. In addition to the shortcomings with the output measures for the MSS, there are very few regular and reliable outcome indicators that measure, for example, DCALB customers’ satisfaction levels, complaint levels or the accuracy and timeliness of payments made to DCALB customers. The lack of such indicators limits the ability of DHS and stakeholders to accurately assess the direct impact and effectiveness of the MSS.

44. Much of the customer and survey data collected in relation to Centrelink services includes indicators of whether the customer is from a DCALB. There is scope to make further use of existing data to improve the performance monitoring and reporting for the MSS, particularly in relation to the outcome areas outlined above.

45. Customer satisfaction is a key outcome indicator for determining the effectiveness of the MSS. DHS regularly conducts customer surveys, however no results have been publicly reported for DCALB customers in recent years. The satisfaction results for DCALB customers that have been internally reported are generally only reliable for those DCALB customers who speak English. DHS has advised that as part of the Service Delivery Reform program, it is re-examining its approach to customer surveys. This presents an opportunity to put in place a system from which DHS can obtain and report results for DCALB customers, including for those customers who do not speak English.

46. Another relevant indicator is complaint levels for DCALB customers compared to complaint levels for all customers. However, for a number of reasons, including that DCALB customers are more likely to make a complaint via community groups rather than using the more common complaint channels, the level of complaints from DCALB customers are under-reported. The current work around the implementation of a common DHS approach to the recording and reporting of feedback provides an opportunity to investigate ways in which to better capture complaints made by DCALB customers to community groups. A common approach would also allow such complaints to be subject to the same quality assurance processes that apply to complaints made through other channels.

47. DHS also has a range of service quality indicators for the Centrelink services it delivers, such as measures of the accuracy and timeliness of payments. Generally, these are only reported for all customers, that is, there is no standard disaggregation for DCALB customers. DHS advised that it would be possible to disaggregate a number of these service quality indicators for DCALB customers and/or other DCALB sub groups (such as refugee customers). Disaggregation by DCALB customer groups would assist with identifying any performance gaps when the results for DCALB customer groups were compared to those for all customers.

Summary of agency response

48. The Department of Human Services (the department) welcomes this report. It accurately reflects the work the department undertakes to address the needs of customers from a diverse cultural and linguistic background.

49. It is pleasing that the auditors encountered consistently positive feedback about the work performed by the department’s front line multicultural staff – the Multicultural Service Officers. In addition, the conclusion that the strategies within the Multicultural Servicing Strategy (MSS) and the corresponding services and processes are flexible and accessible is welcomed, particularly as this conclusion was drawn from a range of stakeholders and staff. The report also acknowledges the wide range of multicultural services the department offers when compared with eight international agencies.

50. The department will continue to build on the strong performance highlighted in the report.

Footnotes

[1]   Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Historical Population Statistics, 2008, Census Tables - Cat. No.3105.0.65.001, 2008.

[2]   Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1301.0 – Year Book Australia, 2009-10, 2010.

[3]   Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Historical Population Statistics, 2008, Census Tables, Country of Birth of Person, Proficiency of Spoken English/Language by Sex Cat. No. 2068.0, 2008.

[4]   Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006 Census of Population and Housing: Media Releases and Fact Sheets, 2007.

[5]   On 1 July 2011, the Human Services Legislation Amendment Act 2011 integrated the services of Centrelink and Medicare Australia into the Department of Human Services (DHS). In this report, references to Centrelink prior to July 2011 are references to Centrelink as an agency. References to Centrelink after July 2011 are references to the activities of DHS, which delivers Centrelink services and payments.

[6]   Centrelink, Supporting Multicultural Australia 2010–2013, [Internet]; Centrelink, 2010, available from <www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/individuals/our_objectives.htm> [accessed on 10 June 2011]. DHS defines DCALB customers as those people who were born overseas in non-English speaking countries (and so excludes those born in New Zealand, USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland or South Africa), or for whom English is not the main language spoken at home.

[7]    The estimated figure is likely to be an underestimate. DHS advised that the requirement to record whether a customer requires an interpreter has only been mandatory since September 2000, therefore, some long-term DCALB customers requiring an interpreter may not be included in the data.

[8]    A customer is counted as a refugee if they have held a selected range of Refugee or Humanitarian visa sub-classes.

[9]   Service Zones refer to geographical areas of Australia. DHS’ network is divided into 16 Service Zones.

[10]   Call centres are now known as DHS Smart Centres.

[11]   Centrelink, Supporting Multicultural Australia 2010–2013, op. cit.

[12]   ibid.

[13]   Funding for the MSS has been estimated and is likely to be an underestimate as DHS was unable to provide a figure for total expenditure.

[14]    The Multicultural Services Branch (MSB) performs a range of co-ordinating and support functions for the MSS, including the interpreter and translation services, and multicultural communication and marketing. MSB supports the MSO Program and manages relationships with other organisations at the national level, for example, the National Multicultural Advisory Group.

[15]    Centrelink, Supporting Multicultural Australia 2010–2013, op. cit.

[16]   Announced in 2009, and running until 2021, the Service Delivery Reform program has three objectives: to make people’s dealings with government easier through better delivery and coordination of services; to achieve more effective service delivery outcomes for government; and to improve the efficiency of service delivery.

[17]   Commonwealth Ombudsman, The Use of Interpreters, Report No. 03/2009, 2009.

[18]   Australian Government, The People of Australia—Australia’s Multicultural Policy, 2011, p. 2.

[19]   ibid, p. 5.

[20]   Data provided by DHS.

[21]   Emerging languages are languages of newly arrived DCALB customers that have not previously been required in Centrelink.

[22]   The Access and Equity Framework sets out four principles for Australian Government funded service delivery (‘responsiveness’, ‘communication’, ‘accountability’ and ‘leadership’) and provides a guide for agencies to deliver and report on services and programs that are responsive to the needs of Australians from DCALBs. Australian Government, Access and Equity in Government Services Report 2008–10, 2011.

[23]    Commonwealth Ombudsman, Use of Interpreters, Report No.  03/2009, 2009.

[24]   Engagement with external stakeholders encompasses varying levels of participation, which the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development classifies into: information sharing arrangements, through which a government agency disseminates information to and collects information (such as feedback) from stakeholders; and active participation arrangements, which involve a more advanced relationship that is based on the principle of partnership.

[25]   SMART is one of a number of methodologies that can be used to determine if a group of selected indicators contain a range of characteristics (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timed) that allow for the identification of effective delivery of a program objective.