New agreements with our service providers come into effect on 1 July 2019, alongside significant improvements to the way we administer and manage contracts.
New agreements with our service providers come into effect on 1 July 2019, alongside significant improvements to the way we administer and manage contracts.
The department is taking a modern and dynamic approach to contracting, with service specifications and requirements now publically available on the service provider section of the DCP website.
By clearly defining expectations in a central accessible location, we are supporting better consistency in the services provided to children and young people while improving transparency and accountability for all parties.
We are committed to continuous improvement in partnership with the sector. This is essential to ensure that our contracted services are dynamic, evolving and of high quality to best meet the needs of young people and families.
We have developed an OOHC service contract content consultation guideline to support a methodical engagement approach underpinned by the IAP2’s Public Participation Spectrum and the state government’s Better Together Principles of Engagement. This approach aims to:
- strengthen consistency between same or similar service types
- clearly define roles, responsibilities and expectations
- support sectorwide collaboration and improvement efforts
- reduce administrative burden and rework.
This has been an intensive process for both the department and our service providers, involving a series of sector briefings, round table discussions, surveys and one-on-one discussions. We would like to sincerely thank our service providers for their ongoing engagement with us throughout the change process, and for maintaining a strong focus on improving outcomes for vulnerable children and young people. Your feedback, ideas and input have been invaluable, and have shaped and improved the new agreements.