The Centrelink Experiment

Centrelink was established in 1997 as part of the Howard government’s bold experiment in re-framing social policy and re-shaping service delivery. Centrelink was the embodiment of a key tenet of the Howard vision for public service: a specialised service delivery ‘provider’ agency separated from the...

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المؤلفون الرئيسيون: Halligan, John, Wills, Jules
التنسيق: Online
اللغة:الإنجليزية
منشور في: ANU Press 2021
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الوصول للمادة أونلاين:458842
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author Halligan, John
Wills, Jules
author_browse Halligan, John
Wills, Jules
author_facet Halligan, John
Wills, Jules
author_sort Halligan, John
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Centrelink was established in 1997 as part of the Howard government’s bold experiment in re-framing social policy and re-shaping service delivery. Centrelink was the embodiment of a key tenet of the Howard vision for public service: a specialised service delivery ‘provider’ agency separated from the policy functions of the ‘purchaser’. Carved out of a monolithic Department of Social Security, Centrelink was established along ‘business lines’ operating 320 service centres and delivering payments to 10 million Australians. Although enjoying ‘monopoly provider’ status, the organisation was required to deliver services to many different clients on behalf of its ‘purchasing departments’ (up to 25 in total) under the terms of quasi-contractual service agreements. It was meant to demonstrate a greater level of both transparency and accountability for the administration of payments amounting to over $60 billion of Commonwealth expenditure. For many years there was a real ‘buzz’ around the Centrelink experiment and staff and clients were generally enthusiastic about the transformation. However, after around eight years, the experiment was reined in and Centrelink was placed under closer ministerial direction and under a new managing department. The experiment continues, but its trajectory reflects the different pressures impacting on such dedicated ‘services delivery agencies’. John Halligan, Professor of Government at the University of Canberra, is a foremost Australian expert on public sector governance and has published extensively on the evolution, form and behaviour of the public sectors in Australia and overseas. This volume is the culmination of an exhaustive empirical study of the origins and experience of ‘the Centrelink Experiment’. I commend this book to researchers, policy practitioners and students with an interest in policy innovation, change management and the realpolitik of public sector reform. John Wanna, Sir John Bunting Chair of Public Administration, The Australian National University
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-347592025-01-25T07:29:38Z The Centrelink Experiment Halligan, John Wills, Jules australia administrative agencies public welfare administration centrelink Accountability Board of directors Chief executive officer Customer service Social security thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government Centrelink was established in 1997 as part of the Howard government’s bold experiment in re-framing social policy and re-shaping service delivery. Centrelink was the embodiment of a key tenet of the Howard vision for public service: a specialised service delivery ‘provider’ agency separated from the policy functions of the ‘purchaser’. Carved out of a monolithic Department of Social Security, Centrelink was established along ‘business lines’ operating 320 service centres and delivering payments to 10 million Australians. Although enjoying ‘monopoly provider’ status, the organisation was required to deliver services to many different clients on behalf of its ‘purchasing departments’ (up to 25 in total) under the terms of quasi-contractual service agreements. It was meant to demonstrate a greater level of both transparency and accountability for the administration of payments amounting to over $60 billion of Commonwealth expenditure. For many years there was a real ‘buzz’ around the Centrelink experiment and staff and clients were generally enthusiastic about the transformation. However, after around eight years, the experiment was reined in and Centrelink was placed under closer ministerial direction and under a new managing department. The experiment continues, but its trajectory reflects the different pressures impacting on such dedicated ‘services delivery agencies’. John Halligan, Professor of Government at the University of Canberra, is a foremost Australian expert on public sector governance and has published extensively on the evolution, form and behaviour of the public sectors in Australia and overseas. This volume is the culmination of an exhaustive empirical study of the origins and experience of ‘the Centrelink Experiment’. I commend this book to researchers, policy practitioners and students with an interest in policy innovation, change management and the realpolitik of public sector reform. John Wanna, Sir John Bunting Chair of Public Administration, The Australian National University 2021-02-10T12:58:18Z 2013-11-05 00:00:00 2020-04-01T14:56:37Z 2008 book 458842 OCN: 863057219 http://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/33801 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/34759 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg n/a n/a n/a https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/33801/1/458842.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/33801/1/458842.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/33801/1/458842.pdf ANU Press 10.26530/OAPEN_458842 10.26530/OAPEN_458842 975ba519-3ce2-4517-95bf-b847729fbcf1 218 Canberra open access
spellingShingle australia
administrative agencies
public welfare administration
centrelink
Accountability
Board of directors
Chief executive officer
Customer service
Social security
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
Halligan, John
Wills, Jules
The Centrelink Experiment
title The Centrelink Experiment
title_full The Centrelink Experiment
title_fullStr The Centrelink Experiment
title_full_unstemmed The Centrelink Experiment
title_short The Centrelink Experiment
title_sort centrelink experiment
topic australia
administrative agencies
public welfare administration
centrelink
Accountability
Board of directors
Chief executive officer
Customer service
Social security
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
topic_facet australia
administrative agencies
public welfare administration
centrelink
Accountability
Board of directors
Chief executive officer
Customer service
Social security
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
url 458842
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