Post by Banker on Jan 27, 2012 12:46:20 GMT 7
Come on Members, Contact them & let them know your views now is a good time,
The federal Department of Human Services (DHS) is asking for recommendations and personal stories to help improve service delivery to LGBTI individuals and the community as a whole.
The Queensland Association for Healthy Communities, with the National LGBTI Health Alliance, is calling for people to come forward with their experiences — good and bad — with DHS bodies such as Centrelink and Medicare, and any LGBTI diversity training programs the community is aware of.
The call for feedback was one of the recommendations of an LGBTI advisory group set up by former Human Services Minister (now Health Minister) Tanya Plibersek.
“One of the outcomes from their initial meetings was to understand the experiences of LGBTI people interacting with the [DHS] and get some real-world accounts,” Healthy Communities executive director Paul Martin told the Star Observer.
“Our hope and expectation is that this well of experience can be used to better improve the delivery of service to LGBTI people.”
The advisory group also hopes to identify all existing LGBTI diversity training in Australia to provide a basis for developing the best possible training for department staff interacting with the community.
Data collection was identified as a major focus of attention — including sexuality and sex and gender identity in all DHS forms and interactions — in the hope it would yield details to inform policy as well as facilitate specialised case management and referrals.
The advisory group will look for suggestions about terminology to include in departmental forms and intake procedures that will help LGBTI people feel sufficiently safe and respected to reveal their sexuality and/or sex and gender identity.
The DHS has the largest footprint of all Commonwealth government departments, with around 40,000 employees, and is the government’s main service delivery agent.
It includes Medicare, Centrelink, the Child Support Program, CRS Australia (which assists people with an injury or disability to find or return to employment), and Australian Hearing. It also delivers payments on behalf of nine other government policy departments.
INFO: Feedback is welcome before Monday, January 30. Contact Healthy Communites at 07 3017 1777 or email info@qahc.org.au
goo.gl/np4iK
The federal Department of Human Services (DHS) is asking for recommendations and personal stories to help improve service delivery to LGBTI individuals and the community as a whole.
The Queensland Association for Healthy Communities, with the National LGBTI Health Alliance, is calling for people to come forward with their experiences — good and bad — with DHS bodies such as Centrelink and Medicare, and any LGBTI diversity training programs the community is aware of.
The call for feedback was one of the recommendations of an LGBTI advisory group set up by former Human Services Minister (now Health Minister) Tanya Plibersek.
“One of the outcomes from their initial meetings was to understand the experiences of LGBTI people interacting with the [DHS] and get some real-world accounts,” Healthy Communities executive director Paul Martin told the Star Observer.
“Our hope and expectation is that this well of experience can be used to better improve the delivery of service to LGBTI people.”
The advisory group also hopes to identify all existing LGBTI diversity training in Australia to provide a basis for developing the best possible training for department staff interacting with the community.
Data collection was identified as a major focus of attention — including sexuality and sex and gender identity in all DHS forms and interactions — in the hope it would yield details to inform policy as well as facilitate specialised case management and referrals.
The advisory group will look for suggestions about terminology to include in departmental forms and intake procedures that will help LGBTI people feel sufficiently safe and respected to reveal their sexuality and/or sex and gender identity.
The DHS has the largest footprint of all Commonwealth government departments, with around 40,000 employees, and is the government’s main service delivery agent.
It includes Medicare, Centrelink, the Child Support Program, CRS Australia (which assists people with an injury or disability to find or return to employment), and Australian Hearing. It also delivers payments on behalf of nine other government policy departments.
INFO: Feedback is welcome before Monday, January 30. Contact Healthy Communites at 07 3017 1777 or email info@qahc.org.au
goo.gl/np4iK
