Energy Concessions

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:20): My question is to the Minister for Human Services. Will the minister advise whether energy concessions will continue to be managed in their entirety by the Department of Human Services? Has the department undertaken any work regarding a third party provider taking over the delivery of energy concessions?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (15:20): I thank the honourable member for his question. Prior to the election all of us would have received a lot of policy requests from various organisations. One of these actually related to the matter of energy concessions. In particular, the organisation SACOSS had taken the view that energy concessions could be better delivered through the energy retailers rather than through the Department of Human Services, as it is now known, or the department for communities and social inclusion.

There is a process which is now underway which I think has been publicly reported on. A program of reforms is underway to progress priority recommendations, which includes the implementation of identified administrative efficiencies to simplify processes and reduce manual handling, development of a data warehouse to enable business intelligence and inform further service improvements, and developing improvements to the online application process.

We are also exploring alternative models for the administration of the energy concession in consultation with the Department for Energy and Mining. That will involve understanding the processes occurring in other jurisdictions, analysis of a fixed versus percentage-based concession amount, investigating the potential risks and a thorough analysis of the potential benefits and costs of new models for Concessions SA customers and government.

These matters are being examined at the moment and we will continue to consult with various stakeholders, in particular the South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) and energy retailers going forward.