ACA NSW continues advocacy work through politicians

The New South Wales branch of the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) has urged members who are having issues with parent complaints in relation to “confusing or incorrect information from Centrelink staff” to collate the information and share it with ACA NSW who will intervene on their behalf.

The move from ACA NSW to advocate for members through involving politicians comes in the wake of yesterday’s “Dob in a doozy” announcement, where services were asked to submit examples of “unfair” and “outrageous” assessment and rating commentary and outcomes.

In instructions provided on their website, ACA NSW asks members to inform parents that “the Federal Department of Education and Training has asked for specific information, in order to follow these complaints up and have them resolved.” The information requested is as follows:

• the Centrelink staff member’s name and ID number

• the time and date of the call

• the matter being discussed and what they were informed

ACA NSW said they intend to leverage assistance in resolving CCS issues and misinformation from the relevant local Federal Member of Parliament’s electorate staff, indicating that many member services were experiencing issues with parental complaints in relation to CCS application and delivery.

Those based in NSW, the ACA NSW said, could then forward the requested information to their service provider, who could then speak with ACA NSW to gain “assistance or intervention.”

Through ACA NSW member service providers, ACA NSW will also be asking families to provide the following, to assist in resolving complaints:

• the parent(s)’ name(s) and CRN(s);

• their child(ren)’s name(s), CRN(s) and date of birth(s);

• their residential address; and

• the parent(s)’ contact details (ideally mobile number and e-mail address).

Services in NSW who were interested in knowing more about the option of involving ACA NSW in complaints resolution were invited to contact ACA NSW on 1300 556 330 or via email: [email protected].