ACCAN Customer Service Project (25 August 2009)

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3.2. Australia

The first notable activity in Australia regarding customer service charters was in 1994 when several states (NSW, SA, WA) began implementing service charters for Government agencies based heavily on the UK experience. In 1994 the Western Australian Government published Developing customer service charters: a practical guide.[10] For a short period service charters were mandatory in WA.

In 1996 AAMI Insurance launched their Customer Service Charter. This was the first high profile charter in the private sector (it is still the best known charter in Australia today).

In 1997 the Commonwealth Government issued a directive known as the ‘More time for business’ statement. The directive required all federal agencies that deal with the public to develop service charters.

Telecommunications sector service charters first appeared in the period immediately prior to and after the part privatisation of Telstra and the deregulation of the telecommunications industry in 1997-1998.

In 2000 Victorian public transport operators released customer service charters, overseen for a short period by a Customer Service Charter Committee that included community representatives (this is another good example of post privatisation service charters).[11]

Some local government service charters were developed in the period 2001-2004, although most of these have subsequently fallen into disuse.[12] By 2003, the Australian Public Service Commission reported that sixty-eight APS agencies had a service charter in place (many of these were internal).[13]

In 2005 the Victorian Essential Services Commission developed a Customer Services Code containing requirements for mandatory customer service charters for water utilities (these requirements are still in place in the latest version of the Code in 2008).[14]

In 2005-2006 there was considerable activity in the energy sector as service charters were implemented post privatisation in Victoria and Western Australia. Customer Service Charter Guidelines were published by the WA Economic Regulation Authority in 2006.[15]

There was continued activity in the Commonwealth public sector regarding service charters from 2003 to 2009. For example, ASIC proposed a service charter in 2006[16] (although really targeted at small business / professional customers).

From 2005-2008 a ‘customer charter award’ was included in the Australian Customer Service Institute annual awards. Winners included ANZ, AAMI and Medicare. It is important to note that the award criteria are based on the International Customer Service Standard – a private standard that is NOT affiliated with the International Standards Organisation (ISO) in any way and is NOT an official Australian Standard.

Finally, there has been some renewed interest in customer service charters in the communications industry in Australia, including the potential development of a draft set of Customer Service Charter Principles by the Communications Alliance scheduled for later in 2009.[17]

The following table summarises the peak periods of Australian activity on customer service charters.

 

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[10] Public Sector Management Office, Developing customer service charters: a practical guide – improving customer service and quality in the WA public sector, Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Western Australia, June 1994, <http://www.dpc.wa.gov.au/PSMD/Publications/Documents/Organisational Performance Management/Non-Current - Developing Customer Service Charters.pdf>.

[11] P Batchelor (Minister for Transport), Putting the public back in public transport, media release, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Victoria, 26 May 2000, <http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/MediaRelArc02.nsf/3a3fd087b7891fcc4a25688e00141c97/62ad3adcce5988554a2568ee00146260>.

[12]Local Government Focus, ‘Customer service charters bring positive results’, Australia’s National Local Government Newspaper Online, Victoria ,February 2003, <http://lgfocus.com.au/editions/2003/february/cuschart.shtml>.

[13] Australian Public Service Commission, op. cit.

[14] Essential Services Commission, Customer service code: metropolitan retail and regional water businesses, Melbourne, 25 June 2008, <http://www.esc.vic.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/B58C15C5-5585-49E5-9BF3-EF88317394D8/0/CODAmendedUrbanCustomerCode20080710.pdf>.

[15] Economic Regulation Authority, op. cit.

[16] Australian Securities and Investments Commission, ASIC service charter: an ASIC better regulation initiative, Canberra, June 2006, <http://www.asic.gov.au/servicecharter>.

[17] S Conroy (Minister for Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy), Commsday summit, Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Swissotel Sydney, 31 March 2009, <http://www.atug.com.au/NBN/ConroyCommsDay.pdf>.

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