Employment, health and child support services are to be brought together under one roof in a major shake-up to welfare services delivery announced yesterday.
In an address to the National Press Club Minister for Human Services Chris Bowen said many of the functions of Centrelink, Medicare and the Child Support Agency would be streamlined, with the goal of providing a single point of contact for those accessing services.
Mr Bowen said by the end of 2012 there would be around 40 co-located offices nationally and programs to take services to remote regions would be expanded.
A single national phone number and website for contacting all Department of Human Services agencies would be in place by the end of next year and under a proposal accepted by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Medicare and Centrelink would become part of the department.
Acting Centrelink chief executive Carolyn Hogg has also been named as the permanent head of the agency.
“This will be a bigger reform than the creation of the Department of Human Services itself,” Mr Bowen said.
“Our current service delivery is not up to scratch. Better coordination of service delivery mechanisms will result in better services for Australians and savings for government, some of which can be reinvested in better service delivery.”
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