Centrelink
Encyclopedia
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
. The majority of Centrelink's services are the disbursement of social security payments. Centrelink delivers services primarily on behalf of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services & Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).
Centrelink differs from earlier welfare agencies as it acts merely as a conduit for the delivery of services. Centrelink's client agencies provide funding for payments and are responsible for policy development, including development of social security entitlement and payment policies. Services are delivered according to Business Partnership Agreements (BPAs) negotiated periodically with each client agency, although Centrelink does receive some direct funding from the federal budget.
Department of Social Security (Australia)
The Department of Social Security is the name of a defunct governmental agency in Australia, which administered the Social Security system.The DSS was replaced by Centrelink in 1997....
(DSS) and the functions of the former Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) Student Assistance Centres. It also took on a referral role for employment assistance such as to the DEEWR-administered Providers of Australian Government Employment Services (PAGES), originally Job Network
Job Network
Job Services Australia is an Australian Government-funded network of organisations that is contracted by the Australian Government, through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations , to deliver employment services to unemployed job seekers on Government income...
, which were created through the privatisation of the functions of the Commonwealth Employment Service
Commonwealth Employment Service
The Commonwealth Employment Service was an Australian Government employment agency established in 1946 with the introduction of the Re-establishment and Employment Act 1945 and continued to exist under the provisions of the Commonwealth Employment Service Act 1978.-History in the last 1990...
(CES). The reforms aimed to simplify access to Commonwealth services by providing a 'one stop shop', and to encourage efficiency through a purchaser-provider service delivery relationship.
The United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
has implemented strikingly similar unemployment/welfare policies, which also have official titles based on informal, colloquial terminology; eg. New Deal
New Deal (UK)
The New Deal is a programme of active labour market policies introduced in the United Kingdom by the Labour government in 1998, initially funded by a one off £5bn windfall tax on privatised utility companies. The stated purpose is to reduce unemployment by providing training, subsidised employment...
, Jobseeker's allowance
Jobseeker's Allowance
Jobseeker's Allowance is a United Kingdom benefit, colloquially known as the dole . It is a form of unemployment benefit paid by the government to people who are unemployed and seeking work. It is part of the social security benefits system and is intended to cover living expenses while the...
and Work Fare.
Centrelink International Services
Centrelink International Services (CIS) is the customer service centre/call centre responsible for:(a) paying Centrelink customers who leave Australia permanently or long-term ("portability
Portability (social security)
The portability of social security benefits is the ability of workers to preserve, maintain, and transfer acquired social security rights and social security rights in the process of transferring from one private, occupational, or public social security scheme to another...
"),
(b) processing claims for Australian pension under international agreements from customers living outside Australia,
(c) assisting customers in Australia claiming a pension from another country,
(d) paying Australian pensions under international agreements, and
(e) advice and assistance to other Centrelink offices on matters involving portability, residence or international agreements.
Located with CIS is Centrelink's International Branch, which handles all policy and administration issues for Centrelink's international social security program. CIS and Centrelink International Branch are located in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and employ around 450 staff, speaking 18 languages. The National Manager for Centrelink International is Michelle Lees.
CIS has approximately 82 000* customers in over 150 countries and a further 8,000† customers in Australia. The vast majority of international customers are located in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. CIS pays approximately A$14 million† to Australian pensioners each fortnight. Over 330,000† people living in Australia receive a foreign pension, and CIS assists with over 22,000† claims for foreign pensions each year.
Foreign pensions bring in over A$1 billion† per year to the Australian economy, compared to the A$365 million* per year which leaves Australia in pension payments.
†all figures approximate, as at 12 August 2008
Australia's International Social Security Agreements
| Country | Date Commenced | Date Revised (if relevant) |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
1958 | terminated 1 March 2001 |
| Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
1 September 1988 | 1 October 2000 |
| Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
1 September 1989 | 1 January 2003 |
| Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
3 June 1991 | 1 January 2003 |
| Malta Malta Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in... |
1 July 1991 | 1 July 2005 |
| Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,... |
1 April 1992 | 1 January 2006 |
| Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
1 April 1992 | 1 April 2003 |
| Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... |
1 November 1992 | 1 October 2002 |
| Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
1 December 1992 | 1 October 2002 |
| Cyprus Cyprus Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the... |
1 January 1993 | |
| New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
1 January 1995 | 1 January 2002 |
| Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
1 January 2001 | |
| U.S.A. | 1 October 2002 | |
| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
1 January 2003 | |
| Slovenia Slovenia Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of... |
1 January 2004 | |
| Chile Chile Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far... |
1 July 2004 | |
| Croatia Croatia Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ... |
1 July 2004 | |
| Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
1 July 2005 | |
| Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
1 January 2007 | |
| Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
1 January 2008 | |
| Republic of Korea | 1 October 2008 | |
| Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
1 October 2008 | |
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
1 January 2009 | |
| Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
1 July 2009 (expected commencement date) | |
Centrelink's IT
Centrelink operates one of the largest and highest throughput OLTP database systems in Australia, and is one of the largest users in Australia of Model 204Model 204
Model 204 is a Database management system for IBM and compatible mainframes, which was first deployed in 1972. It incorporates a programming language and an environment for application development. It can deal with very large databases and very high transaction loads.Model 204 relies on its own...
. Ann Steward led the implementation of 'Refresh', a project described as a "major new service capability initiative". She was in overall charge of Centrelink's enterprise architecture and strategic planning and technology strategies.