Customer service

Communicating with Defence members

Every day DHA interacts with Defence members and their families, maintenance providers, builders, agents and lessors. These people and organisations are DHA’s customers and DHA’s success is measured by their levels of satisfaction, especially those of the Defence members and their families who live in DHA properties.

DHA communicates with Defence members in a variety of ways, reflecting the expectation that modern electronic communications will be available to support the delivery of services. There is no substitute, however, for a personal level of case management which is facilitated by staff in HMCs across the country.

HMC staff are regular participants in briefings to Defence members in the lead up to the peak posting period. These briefings encourage ongoing contact between HMCs and Defence units and formations in relation to housing matters. DHA also provides online access to the full range of its housing management services. Communication and marketing materials are used to inform Defence members and their families of the services available and how to use them.

DHA maintains hard copy publications and online information to help customers understand and access services. These are distributed through HMCs and stakeholder groups such as the Defence Special Needs Support Group, DFA and the Defence Community Organisation (DCO).

DHA understands the difficult circumstances Defence families can face when moving on posting. In response, during 2012–13, DHA provided customer service training to frontline staff and conducted workshops to improve personal resilience during the stressful peak posting period.

Customer Service Institute of Australia

DHA first sought certification with the Customer Service Institute of Australia (CSIA) in 2005–06 as part of a broad strategy to improve its performance at the customer interface. The CSIA offers evaluation and certification by independent assessors against 29 International Customer Service Standards. Certification is a recognised benchmark in both the public and private sectors. In addition, CSIA offers valuable insight and coaching in customer service. Since 2005–06, DHA has been recertified four times, in 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11 and 2011–12. DHA was reassessed in August 2013.

Satisfaction with customer service

DHA’s quarterly housing survey measures member satisfaction with overall customer service experienced in DHA-managed properties. Survey results remain above the DHA target of 80% with 92% of 3,271 participants indicating that they were satisfied with their experience of DHA’s customer service. Sample sizes in past years ranged from 3,636 to 5,739.

Figure 4: Defence member satisfaction with DHA’s customer service overall while in DHA properties, 2008–09 to 2012–13

Complaints management

The vast majority of customers are satisfied with the services DHA provides, especially with the quality of its new housing. They tell us so through regular surveys. However, DHA also receives complaints, mainly in relation to maintenance, neighbourhood disputes and the application of Defence housing policy. Complaints can be referred directly to DHA by tenants, other Defence personnel, lessors, the Defence Ombudsman or Ministers. All DHA staff members are able to log complaints and may request assistance from Customer Relations Managers (CRMs) in their region to handle complaints. DHA’s objective is to manage complaints at the point at which customers first express dissatisfaction. Logged complaints are reported to Defence on a monthly basis.

In 2012–13, 765 complaints were received nationally by DHA. This was a 14.1% reduction compared to 2011–12 (891 complaints). The four main reasons generating complaints were repairs and maintenance (236), customer service (130), housing condition (64) and neighbourhood disputes (67). All complaints are managed in accordance with DHA’s complaints resolution process, which is outlined in the DHA Customer Service Charter. In the event that a customer is not satisfied with the handling of their complaint they can request a review of the response. The Customer Relations team in Head Office oversees these escalated complaints and provides assistance in complaint resolution. The majority of complaints are resolved at the local level.

Regional HMC highlights

Region	Office/s	Client Services Delivered	Highlights
Northern Territory	Darwin Katherine	2,560 properties managed 2,566 allocations 5,167 inspections 10,889 RA processed 1,104 leases managed 4 Customs properties managed 35,417 maintenance work orders raised	50 new houses delivered on Larrakeyah Major upgrades on 48 properties on Larrakeyah Barracks began Contracts exchanged for the removal of 128 houses from RAAF Base Darwin 59 properties upgraded on RAAF Base Tindal Handover of 50 houses in Stage One at Muirhead
North Queensland	Townsville Cairns	2,212 properties managed 2,697 allocations 5,876 inspections 9,720 RA processed 1,737 leases managed 1 Customs property managed 31,442 maintenance work orders raised	Civil works for Stage One of Rasmussen development begun Upgrade works in progress on Defence-owned properties in remote locations Townsville and Cairns DCO family days
South Queensland	Brisbane Ipswich Toowoomba	3,086 properties managed 3,755 allocations 8,369 inspections 11,796 RA processed 2,436 leases managed 32,478 maintenance work orders raised	Development agreement with the Queensland Government finalised UDIA Award for Small Residential Subdivision for Gordon Olive Estate and finalist, Medium-to-Large Density Development for View Terrace Everton Park Ipswich office reopened
Sydney	Parramatta	3,034 properties managed 4,117 allocations 8,218 inspections 20,592 RA processed 1,868 leases managed 30,744 maintenance work orders raised	Civil works and house construction underway at Ermington Lindfield development began Launch of Voyager Point development; civil works substantially complete Internal restructure into two regions – East Sydney and West Sydney
Hunter	Raymond Terrace	1,052 properties managed 915 allocations 3,014 inspections 2,989 RA processed 867 leases managed 12,779 maintenance work orders raised	Singleton and Williamtown DCO family days Raw Challenge endurance test raised $400 for charity
Australian Capital Territory	Canberra	2,045 properties managed 2,043 allocations 5,502 inspections 5,459 RA processed/ 1,688 leases managed 20,521 maintenance work orders raised	Civil works at Weston development began Soldier Career Management Agency families re-housed in Canberra Canberra DCO family day Exceeded 2012–13 MCA targets and initiated 2013–14 and 2014–15 programs
Nowra	Nowra	298 properties managed 541 allocations 1,369 inspections 1,393 RA processed 298 leases managed 4,392 maintenance work orders raised	Nowra DCO family day
Riverina	Wagga Wagga Wodonga	686 properties managed 809 allocations 2,051 inspections 1,355 RA processed 492 leases managed 9,311 maintenance work orders raised	Upgrade of 35 houses at Kapooka Village began Wagga Wagga and Wodonga family days
Victoria/Tasmania	Melbourne Puckapunyal Cerberus Sale Hobart	1,405 properties managed 1,257 allocations 4,454 inspections 3,148 RA processed 568 leases managed 15,922 maintenance work orders raised	Opened the first of 85 houses being upgraded at HMAS Cerberus Relocation of Melbourne and Sale offices Completed 115 out of 165 houses in the Yallambie upgrade program Successful fourth annual Puckapunyal Garden Competition
South Australia	Adelaide	965 properties managed 1,089 allocations 3,297 inspections 4,700 RA processed 799 leases managed 13,218 maintenance work orders raised	Largs North development began Largs North community park (Meyer Reserve) opened Flinders Foundation, Trailblazer Challenge raised $2,800 RAAF Edinburgh DCO family day
Western Australia	Perth	1,009 properties managed 1,219 allocations 1,813 inspections 5,451 RA processed 650 leases managed 7 AMSA properties managed 11,012 maintenance work orders raised	Welcome to the West DCO family day Raised $360 for staff member undergoing cancer treatment Heritage listed Artillery Barracks Cottages purchased Two Port Hedland properties refurbished

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