Objective 2: Service delivery
- Our business strategies
- Our performance against key indicators
- Our major outcomes
- Our service delivery model
- Our housing solutions
- Tenant satisfaction with property
- Our maintenance service
- Our lessor services
- Customer service
Our business strategies
- Be the supplier of choice for housing and related services for ADF members and their families.
- Support the operational needs of the DoD through the provision of high quality tenancy, maintenance and housing allocation services for ADF members and their families.
- Provide a workplace culture that places a premium on good governance, customer and client satisfaction, stakeholder engagement, internal collaboration and teamwork.
Our performance against key indicators
| KPI | Target | Achievement | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Members satisfied with their Service Residence | >80% | 87% |  |
| Members satisfied with overall customer service | >80% | 93% | |
| Members satisfied with completed maintenance | >80% | 96% | |
| Lessors satisfied with overall customer service | >90% | 95% | |
Our major outcomes
Established two housing contact centres, in Adelaide (SA) and Townsville (QLD), that enable business hours to be extended.
Housed 15,425 ADF families in DHA-managed properties nationally.
Managed the payment of rent allowance for 14,298 ADF members in private rental accommodation.
Maximised pre-allocation with 95.4% of properties selected prior to the ADF member arriving in their new location.
Managed 13,099 properties on behalf of lessors and achieved 95% customer satisfaction.
Contractors completed over 258,000 individual maintenance items.
Managed 209,649 Living-in Accommodation allocations with 61% booked through our online system.
Conducted over 11,600 periodic property inspections.
Prepared 7,293 properties for new tenants.
Achieved a Customer Service Institute of Australia re-certification with an overall score of 7.72 out of 10.
Our service delivery model
We manage property allocation and the resulting tenancies of ADF families and single ADF members. As part of this, we maintain our properties to a high standard, present them appropriately for allocation, and provide ADF members and their family general support throughout their posting.
Through service agreements with the DoD, we are responsible for delivering ADF members and their families a range of housing related services. This includes portfolio and stock management, housing allocation, property management, repairs and maintenance, accommodation booking services and the administration of allowances where ADF members rent housing from the private market.
Where we manage properties on behalf of a private investor, we are also responsible for tenancy management, property inspections, repairs and maintenance, annual rent reviews to market value, and organising optional services on request such as pest inspections.
Staff located in Head office oversee these activities plus customer service and management of our relationship with the DoD. Staff in regional offices and contact centres deliver the bulk of the services.
Regional offices
We have offices in capital cities, major regional centres and on some ADF bases and establishments around Australia. Staff in these regions are a valued source of local knowledge on community services and housing market conditions. They are the most customer facing of all staff, responsible for ensuring properties are suitable for tenanting, conducting all welcome visits, and undertaking property inspections.
Regional staff also regularly participate in briefings to ADF members, attend local events and liaise with other Defence-related organisations. This is especially important leading up to the peak posting period. These activities encourage ongoing contact between regional offices, ADF members and their families in relation to housing matters.
Contact centres
We have four contact centres located around Australia:
- Centres in Adelaide (SA) and Townsville (QLD) are responsible for national housing matters. They are the first point of contact for ADF members and their family on housing matters, including allocations and RA.
- A centre in Newcastle (NSW) is responsible for responsive maintenance and the management of contractors and some services for lessors. They are the first point of contact for ADF members and their families to report maintenance issues. A third party manages emergency requests outside of business hours.
- A centre in Brisbane (QLD) is responsible for on-base Living-in Accommodation, including the booking and allocation of rooms where ADF members have general queries or cannot access computerised systems.
Self-service availability
Our web-based system, Online Services, is the primary tool used by ADF families and single ADF members. It is self-service oriented, enabling them to view DHA-managed properties within their rent band; lock down available properties for tenancy; report maintenance issues; view documentation; apply for RA; among other things.
In 2014–15, we continued to enhance the functions available through Online Services, as well as the quality of information available. We also installed kiosks in each of our regional offices to provide ADF families and single ADF members another means of accessing Online Services.
Our housing solutions
Allocation of housing
We aim to maximise the number of properties available to ADF families and single ADF members at all times, but particularly during the peak posting cycle. During the off-peak periods we aim to minimise vacancies and minimise the number of ADF families receiving an allowance for renting privately (referred to as rent allowance or RA).
The DoD determines ADF member housing entitlements. The current system uses the member's rank and their family composition to determine their eligibility to properties within rent bands. Individual properties are segmented into rent bands based on their geographic location and market rent. The DoD reviews the rent bands and ADF member entitlements annually. We are responsible for administering any changes.
As at 30 June 2015, 15,425 ADF members and their families occupied DHA-managed housing. ADF families directly sourced the balance of Defence-subsidised housing through the private rental market. In addition, 8,332 ADF families lived in their own home and were not eligible for housing assistance.
Service Residences
Throughout 2014–15, we notified ADF Pay to commence ADF member housing contributions within a 10-day period, achieving a monthly average of 95% in line with our target.
We carefully managed property vacancies, achieving average monthly vacancy rates of approximately 8.9%.
Our allocation system allows for pre-allocation of properties—whereby ADF members select a property in the location they are posting to, through Online Services, before leaving their current location—achieving a rolling 12-month average of 95% per-allocation. This greatly assisted in reducing posting stress and the DoD's costs.
Tenant satisfaction with property
We survey ADF families annually who have lived in their DHA-managed property for more than 12 months to measure satisfaction. In 2014–15, 87% of 2,265 participants were satisfied with their DHA-managed property. This is similar to the result achieved in 2013–14.
Figure 3: Tenant satisfaction with DHA-managed housing, 2010–11 to 2014–15
Where the ADF family is tenanting a newly constructed, acquired or leased property, they are surveyed to measure satisfaction in terms of the property's quality and level of amenity. Satisfaction of ADF families living in new properties has been consistently high. In 2014–15, 82% of 91 participants were satisfied with their newly constructed property. In the same survey, 88% of the 43 participants were satisfied with their newly acquired property. Both results are statistically similar to those achieved in 2013–14.
Tenant satisfaction with customer service
Our quarterly housing survey measures ADF family satisfaction with overall customer service experienced. In 2014–15, survey results remain above our target of 80%, with 93% of 3,210 participants indicating that they were satisfied with their customer service experience. This result is similar to that achieved in 2013–14.
Figure 4: Tenant satisfaction with customer service, 2010–11 to 2014–15
Living-in Accommodation
Through an agreement with the DoD, we manage the booking and allocation of on-base Living-in Accommodation (LIA) for about 11,000 ADF members (31,000 rooms/40,000 beds).
In 2014–15 we celebrated our first full year of managing LIA having transitioned all ADF bases to our new system during 2013–14. Based on our own learnings and user feedback, we implemented many system improvements to better support ADF exercises and training.
In total, we managed 209,649 allocations in the reporting period. Of these, 61% of requests were generated by DoD users via our online system. This is an excellent result, allowing us to provide the DoD with better tracking of national occupancy and usage levels to inform decision-making.
Rent allowance
In addition to supplying and managing housing for ADF members, we are responsible for administering the payment of rent allowance (RA) to those accommodated in the private rental market. ADF members are responsible for finding the accommodation, but must engage us to seek approval for RA.
In the normal course of events, administering RA involves approving the start of a housing-related allowance, managing occupancy adjustments during tenancy, conducting an annual review to confirm a continuation of entitlement, and administering the termination at the end of the approved arrangement. As at 30 June 2015, we had 14,298 RA tenancies under management, with 22,311 new tenancies approved during 2014–15.
Our maintenance service
Routine and emergency maintenance
Our contact centre receives and takes action on national tenant requests for maintenance during business hours. This includes property-related damage, defects and deterioration. Tenants can check the status and progress of their maintenance request through Online Services. It is our policy to respond to requests within 28 days.
After hours, we provide emergency maintenance assistance. This includes serious flooding, complete loss of power, gas leaks and sewer blockage where the immediate health, safety or security of tenants or the property may be threatened. In general, a contracted maintenance provider will respond to emergency requests within four hours.
In 2014–15, our contact centre responded to 128,349 calls and 28,414 emails from tenants requesting maintenance. They also managed requests for assistance during major regional weather events, including significant storms in the Hunter Valley in April 2015.
Contractor management
In 2014–15, we contracted 809 local maintenance businesses to our panel across Australia. Wherever possible, we use local maintenance service providers in each region to provide tenants and lessors a prompt, high-quality service. Using sophisticated management software, including mobile technology solutions, our contractors completed over 258,000 individual maintenance items in 2014–15.
Tenant satisfaction with maintenance
We survey ADF families throughout the year to measure their satisfaction in terms of customer service, contractor service and overall satisfaction with our maintenance service. In 2014–15, performance with completed and invoiced maintenance continued to be strong, with 96% of 7,883 participants expressing satisfaction with the overall service. This is similar to results achieved in 2013–14.
Figure 5: Tenant satisfaction with maintenance, 2010–11 to 2014–15
Our lessor services
Lessor satisfaction with customer service
We undertake surveys to measure lessor satisfaction at various stages of their lease term. The largest of these is the annual lessor survey that measures satisfaction with customer service and aspects of property management.
In 2014–15, survey results remained above our target of 90%, with 95% of 1,426 respondents indicating that they were satisfied with their customer service experience. This result is below that achieved in 2013–14 (97%). Satisfaction with value-for-money of our property management service (89% of 1,428), feedback from the periodic inspections (86% of 1,411) and maintenance service (94% of 1,404) continued to perform strongly. There was no statistically significant differences when comparing last year's results.
The majority of respondents (80% of 1,423) indicated they would recommend investing in one of our properties to others within the next 12 months. Pleasingly, 63% of 1,423 respondents reported that they had already recommended our SLB program in the last 12 months.
Figure 6: Lessor satisfaction with customer service, 2010–11 to 2014–15
Customer service
We strive to provide the highest quality of service to our diverse range of customers.
Our service charter
Our commitment to customer service is set out in our customer service charter. Our charter is available electronically on our website (dha.gov.au/about-us/customer-relations). Hard copies are also available in our regional offices.
How we measure customer satisfaction
Each year we conduct a number of surveys with tenants7 in DHA-managed housing and lessors to measure their level of satisfaction with products and services we provide. We use the results to measure our performance against KPIs and target areas of our business for improvement.
Staff with qualifications and experience in survey methodology design and manage all of our surveys. We send letters and/or emails inviting participation. Results do not identify individuals or individual responses. More information about our surveys is available on our website (dha.gov.au/about-us/customer-relations).
How we manage compliments and complaints
In addition to seeking feedback via surveys, we invite general feedback, compliments and complaints from our customers, clients and the public. Our charter documents the various ways you can send feedback.
In 2014–15, we received around 85 formal compliments nationally from ADF members, their families and lessors. This was less than the previous year; however, we also received informal feedback via our social media channels, staff and third parties. We ensure that individuals praised for their customer service efforts are formally recognised.
We received just over 1,000 formal complaints nationally from ADF members, their families and lessors during 2014–15. This was an 8% increase on the previous financial year (947 complaints received). The four main topics of complaint were repairs and maintenance, customer service, disputed tenancy charges, and the condition of the property respectively.
We manage all complaints in accordance with the resolution process set out in our service charter. Most complaints are resolved at a local level, with assistance from our national team as needed.
How we benchmark our customer service
We first sought certification from Australia's peak customer service organisation, the Customer Service Institute of Australia (CSIA), in 2005–06 as part of an ongoing strategy to improve performance at the customer interface.
The CSIA offers evaluation and certification by independent assessors against 25 international customer service standards. This includes 'service perspective attributes' where we involve customers in the design of products and/or services, through to 'relationship attributes' where we formally establish strategies for developing relationships with customers and business alliances.
Certification is a recognised benchmark in both the public and private sectors. CSIA assessors audit us annually and award recertification. We have achieved recertification each year since 2005–06. We also seek their expertise, valuable insight and coaching in customer service as needed.
The CSIA last undertook an audit of our operations in August 2014. We achieved an overall score of 7.72 and were awarded recertification. This was an excellent result and an improvement on the previous year.
During 2014–15, we have worked hard to implement applicable recommendations of the assessors and focus on areas scored below our overall score. Based on their recommendations, we will also participate in their future customer service awards.
Footnotes
7 The ADF member or their partner/spouse may complete surveys.