Departmental overview

Strategic Statement 2002–05

The FaCS Strategic Statement clearly sets out FaCS' strategic directions and what the department has to do to achieve its three outcomes.

In essence, the statement is the 'linchpin' of all policy and planning approaches, management processes and performance reporting.

Our vision

FaCS is committed to achieving its vision of 'a fair and cohesive Australian society'.

Our purpose—what we are here to do

FaCS takes the lead and works with others to help families, communities and individuals build their self reliance and make choices through:

• economic and social participation
• prevention and early intervention
• a responsive and sustainable safety net.

Our three outcomes—the difference we will make

Whatever their role, everyone in FaCS works towards achieving three outcomes, which are:

• Families are strong
• Communities are strong
• Individuals reach their potential.

(These came into effect formally from the 2003–04 Budget.)

FaCS Priorities Plan 2002–03

FaCS' Priorities Plan is a working document revisited every 12 months. The plan is designed to help and guide everyone in FaCS with business and other planning. It provides a focus for each person in FaCS to think about their work and how it links with the Government's objectives and what happens in the rest of the department.

The five key policy areas in our 2002–03 Priorities Plan are:

• Structural ageing
• Welfare reform
• Australian Government and state and territory relationships
• Children and youth
• Implementation and service delivery policy

Taking a life cycle approach

“The focus of policy in Australia, as in other OECD countries, is shifting towards a life cycle approach in which investments are made to help drive outcomes in the longer term. This is based on the recognition that problems affecting individuals in a given phase of their life course often influence their opportunities at a later stage, as well as their children's.”

—Wayne Jackson, Deputy Secretary

FaCS recognises that problems affecting individuals at particular points in the life cycle—for instance, in childhood, as teenagers, in education or work, finding a partner, having children, family breakdown, being unemployed, planning for retirement and so on—can influence what happens to them (and their children) later in life.

The life cycle policy context (see Figure 1) underpins the important work FaCS is doing across several transition points.

Figure 1 The life cycle context (Text description)

Rather than simply responding to needs as they arise, we recognise that problems affect individuals at particular points in the life cycle.

We also understand that help for people going through difficult times, like joblessness, is more effective if governments work in partnership with the business and community sectors and with families themselves.

What FaCS spends and where

Total expenses in 2002–03 were $60.0 billion—that is around 8 per cent of Australia's gross domestic product.

The expenses are closely linked to the demographic profile of FaCS' clients.

• Payments to families—22 per cent of total portfolio expenses
• Payments to people of workforce age (including Newstart Allowance, Parenting Payment and Disability Support Pension)—36 per cent of expenses
• Age Pension payments—30 per cent of expenses.

The age profile of clients in terms of the proportion of administered expenses is shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2 Total FaCS administered expenses across life stages 2002–03 (Text description)

Taking a cross-government approach

“Repositioning the social support system to help jobless people increase their economic and social participation requires FaCS to partner with other Australian Government departments, with state and territory jurisdictions and with a wide network of service provider organisations. Our goal is to achieve coherence and a 'joined-up' approach from the initial research and policy design level through to the delivery of assistance on the ground. Our experience to date with welfare reform evidences that the whole is definitely greater than the sum of the parts.”

—Serena Wilson, Executive Director, Welfare Reform

In delivering on the Government's welfare reform agenda, FaCS has continued to work with a number of departments, state and territory governments, service providers and other stakeholders.

As part of welfare reform, the Australians Working Together (AWT) package announced in 2001 consisted of a wide range of measures running across a number of portfolios.

Since then, we have worked very closely with relevant departments and agencies, including the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), the Department of Education, Science and Training, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and Centrelink.

In 2002–03, FaCS and DEWR worked together to successfully introduce several AWT measures.

The evaluation of AWT is also a joint exercise between FaCS and DEWR, in collaboration with the other agencies involved. One important aspect of this will be a longitudinal data source called the Jobseeker dataset, which will merge separate FaCS and DEWR databases into the one database. For the first time, we will be able to follow the progress of people as they take up income support and move into and out of different forms of vocational assistance.

Engagement for our children's future

“The national agenda is about getting all our children onto positive pathways of development, education and behaviours. The dividends will benefit not just the kids, but they'll go right into their capacity to contribute throughout adult life.”

—Mark Sullivan, Secretary, FaCS

Increasingly, the evidence shows that intervening early and effectively—in areas like protection, development, health and education—has lasting impacts on children's lives as they grow up and on the communities in which they live.

On 20 February 2003, Minister Anthony launched the first step in the development of a National Agenda for Early Childhood, with the release of a consultation paper Towards the development of a National Agenda for Early Childhood.

The consultation paper was a discussion starter, aimed at getting people talking about what a National Agenda for Early Childhood might look like.

Public consultations on the paper were held from May to June 2003 in a mix of metropolitan, regional and rural locations. The consultations included stakeholders from children's services, family support, health, education and the criminal justice system.

As well, the paper was presented at the Community and Disability Services Ministers Conference; the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council; the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs; and the Standing Council of Attorneys-General for discussions between Australian Government and state ministers on future opportunities for collaboration.

FaCS has received 183 written submissions on the agenda. We will release a report on the outcomes of all the consultations and submissions in late September 2003.

Coming out of the consultations were some strong messages about the need for society to better value children and of the fact that there needs to be greater recognition of the role that the family plays in early child development. There is therefore a strong need to support and enable parents to provide a nurturing home environment for their children. The support ranges across the three priority action areas of early child and maternal health; early learning and care and supporting child friendly communities, identified in the consultation paper.

Making systems simpler

“In a system that is terribly complex, it's almost impossible to fix individual problems without making broader changes. That's why we are trying to re-design and simplify the welfare system.”

—Senator the Hon Amanda Vanstone, Minister for Family and Community Services

In 2002–03, FaCS made a concerted effort to simplify our processes and policy development systems.

In terms of policy, the next stage of the welfare reform process got underway in December 2002 with Senator Vanstone and Tony Abbott, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, jointly launching a consultation paper called Building a simpler system to help jobless families and individuals.

Drafted by FaCS in consultation with DEWR, other agencies and the Welfare Reform Consultative Forum, the paper promoted community discussion about reforming income support for working-age people so that it leads to participation and self reliance, provides stronger incentives for paid work and better tailors assistance and requirements to individual circumstances.

Between March and May 2003, consultations were held across the country to allow the community to put forward their views on the objectives, design principles and key features of a new working-age payment system. Participants included income support recipients, welfare organisations, business, service providers and academics. In addition, the department had received 210 written submissions by the end of June 2003.

FaCS began working with other agencies on a report to government on broad options for reform, drawing on the findings from the consultation process.

Internally, FaCS took steps to make its own systems simpler. In April 2002, the Executive Board agreed to the development of a single, integrated system for managing non-government organisation funding arrangements. This will include a new Internet based Online Funding Management system to support all aspects of our relationships with service providers.

The changes are needed because FaCS administers a diverse range of complex funding programs that have different arrangements, business processes and systems. Separate branches manage the programs in a climate of ongoing and changing policy requirements.

Incorporating an interface with Centrelink, the new online system will support the whole life cycle of the department's relationship with service providers—from establishing programs to submitting acquittals. In future, providers will be able to do most of their business with us electronically, reducing time-consuming manual processing. For FaCS, it will mean standardised funding applications and better data management.

As part of another simplification initiative called Simple Service Solutions, FaCS streamlined the administration of services for young people. For example, consolidated funding agreements and guidelines were developed on operational requirements for three FaCS-funded programs—the Youth Activity Service and Family Liaison Worker program, Reconnect, and the Job Placement, Employment and Training (JPET) Program. This was aimed at reducing the burden of excessive reporting and administrative processes for non-government organisations. The next step is to streamline accountability requirements, so that providers have more time to focus on helping young people make the most of their lives.

Using our network

“Our 500 staff in over 20 locations across the network don't just service the capital cities. Staff in our New South Wales office travelled over a million kilometres last year and we now have staff outposted in Port Hedland, Hall's Creek, Gympie and Moree, which enables FaCS to better understand community needs across Australia.”

—Cate McKenzie, Executive Director, Alliance and Delivery Frameworks

While the majority of staff work at National Office in Canberra, FaCS also has a presence in state and territory capital cities and in a number of rural and regional areas.

In 2002–03, state and territory offices (STOs) continued to use their specialist expertise and locational advantages to help achieve outcomes.

Essentially, STOs represent the 'face of FaCS' to local communities. This includes developing and maintaining partnerships with communities, peak groups, service providers, tertiary institutions, state and territory governments, local governments, and the regional offices of other Australian Government departments. STOs also maintain strong and effective relationships with their colleagues in Centrelink.

Increasingly, network staff are focusing on:

• developing integrated solutions that meet the needs of families and communities
• using their on-the-ground experience to develop and implement policies
• anticipating and managing issues, often before they occur
• supporting communities (particularly rural, remote and Indigenous communities) in developing funding proposals
• managing a number of FaCS-funded programs.

Supporting our people

“What makes FaCS a good place to work is the people and the diversity and breadth of work. The people are very supportive, knowledgeable and very committed. I'm proud of the leadership role the department plays in the human services area.”

—Glenys Beauchamp, Executive Director, Community Development and Support

FaCS recognises that the capability, diversity and health of our people is a priority. To achieve outcomes, we need to build people's skills and capabilities, support managers and employees, and plan for the future workforce. We also implement and promote initiatives that give employees opportunities to spend more time with their families, work flexible hours, or take on volunteer work in their communities.

In 2002–03, FaCS was a joint winner in the large business category of the prestigious Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Work and Family Awards.

Other highlights for the year included:

• recruiting 25 graduates with degrees in economics, law, the arts and sciences. Within their first 12 months, graduates have three rotations in the department, including the chance to work in STOs. This year, they were also involved in outbound activities, such as visits to Centrelink customer service offices and call centres.
• holding the Senior Leadership Program 'Thriving with success and balance', which targeted FaCS EL2 officers. Designed around feedback from EL2 staff and senior management, the program used well-known speakers who shared their personal and professional experiences. Workshops and group activities on coaching skills and leadership were also held.
• using intensive consultations, scenario planning, data collection and analysis to identify current and future workforce needs. This highlighted areas FaCS needs to focus on, including our ageing workforce and higher than average turnover rate. In response, FaCS will develop a Very Experienced Workers Strategy to help retain experienced and skilled people.

In the coming year, FaCS will implement a targeted recruitment strategy, so that FaCS takes a more strategic approach to attracting, recruiting, developing and retaining effective people. FaCS will also implement an Indigenous recruitment and retention strategy, which aims to increase the proportion of Indigenous staff in FaCS to 1.5 per cent of total staff by 1 June 2004 and 2.5 per cent of total staff by June 2005.

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