Capturing Citizens Voices

1

• Capturing Citizens Voices
• The Pension Review
• Andrew Whitecross

2
The Pension Review - Background

• Pensioner and welfare groups had long lobbied the
  Government to increase the rate of pension.
• They felt that pension rates had failed to keep
  pace with living costs and that the system was
  too complex .
• On 15 May 2008 the Government announced that Dr
  Harmer would lead a review into the pension
  system, as part of the broader Inquiry into
  Australias Future Tax System.

3
Pension Review Terms of Reference

• The appropriate levels of income support and
  allowance.
• The frequency of payments.
• The structure and payment of concessions or other
  entitlements.
• Payments examined Age Pension, Service Pension,
  Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment.

4
Context and Challenges

• The Review had to consider
• how much to pay pensioners
• how to index pensions over time
• How to target pension to those in need
• how to deliver pension reform
• how to make it work with services.
• Today I want to focus on how we went about
  designing how to deliver improved and increased
  assistance through Pension Reform.

5
Consultation Process

• Published background paper spelling out initial
  analysis around terms of reference
• More than 1,800 written submissions received
• Public meetings held in all capital cities and
  some regional centres Focus Groups were used to
  drill down and tease out issues raised in the
  public meetings
• A 1800 hotline and email address were
  established to assist participation due to
  distance or disability.
• Meetings with state and territory governments
• Review also informed by Reference Group of
  representatives from seniors, carers and
  disability groups, as well as academia.

6
Quality improvement in policy design

• Public meetings distilled policy and service
  delivery issues that Review team could
  investigate
• Frequency of payments
• Transparency of payment structure
• How pensioners used payments to budget.
• Focus Groups allowed detailed policy and service
  delivery discussions with pensioners
• What did pensioners really understand about
  supplements
• Did they help with budgeting
• How important was frequency of payments

7
Simplification of supplements

• Review and consultation process determined that
  payment of four minor supplements could be
  improved through integration and flexible
  delivery
• New Pension Supplement, combining four small
  allowances Utilities, Telephone, Pharmaceutical
  GST Supplement.
• Flexibility in how supplement delivered
• Fortnightly initially with scope form next July
  to have about half taken as a lump sum.

8
Advance Payments

• Pensioners considered that Advance payments
  limited in timing and amount they could access
• 500 once a year
• Discussion at public meetings and focus groups
  led to recommendations of better access to
  advance pension payments through
• an increase in the maximum allowable advance and
  
• Increase in the number of times an advance could
  be accessed in a year

9
Conclusion

• Focus groups can improve the policy design
  process by
• Clarifying issues raised in consultations
• Testing preliminary conclusions about design
  approaches
• Giving weight to customer experience over policy
  theory.
• Outcome is more customer control over day to day
  management of their circumstances.