Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-06-08 Daily Xml

Contents

SERVICE SA

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (14:57): I have a supplementary question arising from the answer. Is the minister aware that some Service SA outlets are finding it more efficient to deploy an officer to direct customers to the relevant terminal rather than rely on the ticketing technology that has previously been used?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (14:57): Indeed, the triage system that is in place in some Service SA call centres is an additional element to the successful customer service facilitation that is being offered. Most service centres now have a ticket numbering system and they have a multi-line system so that very simple transactions can be very quickly processed. More complicated ones are put into another line where a greater complexity of issues can be dealt with.

In those particularly busy outlets an additional service is added and in fact, I received correspondence just the other day commending Service SA for this triage system. In some places what happens is that an officer comes out to the front of the service centre and assists people with the ticketing system if they are not sure about where to go and what to do. More importantly, they seek to find out what the person's inquiry is about and ensure that if it requires filling in a form they know where to go to get the form so that they can fill in the form while they are sitting and waiting.

If they are required to have present any particular ID or other material the officer lets them know what they need to have available and ensures that the person has all those things ready—it might be a copy of their licence or their birth certificate or whatever—and that they have all the appropriate documents all ready to go so that when it is their turn to be provided with a service it is much simpler and more efficient and more effective. That triage system is just one more aspect of the efficient and effective customer service approach that Service SA takes. It puts a great deal of time, thought and consideration into streamlining processes to ensure that people are fast-tracked with their inquiries.