AGY-6558 | Service NSW

Full description

Service NSW was established on 18 March 2013, as a Division of the Government Service responsible to the Premier and a separate government agency within the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) cluster. However, it was a "non-operating entity until the employees, assets and liabilities of the Service NSW program were transferred from the Department of Premier and Cabinet to Service NSW Division effective from 14 June 2013". (1)

Service NSW's authorising legislation was the Service NSW (One-stop Access to Government Services) Act 2013 which came into effect on 21 June 2013. (2) The Act enabled Service NSW by conferring functions on its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) "to provide one-stop access to customer services for NSW government agencies and for other agencies and persons." (3)

The CEO had the following main functions in relation to customer service:
(a) Receipt of applications or fees for, or related to, authorities granted under the Act, or otherwise obtained from a Government agency;
(b) Issue of authorities and other functions relating to authorities granted under an Act, or otherwise obtained from a Government agency;
(c) Provision of information or advice about Government services or State legislation or any other matter;
(d) Receipt of payment or claims for payment, or making of payments;
(e) Any function of an agency of the Commonwealth Government, an agency of the Government of another State or Territory or an agency of the Government of another country, as referred to in section 9;
(f) Any function of a person (other than a Government agency or an agency referred to in paragraph (e)) as referred to in section 10;
(g) Any function that is ancillary to a customer service function. (4)

The Act also extended powers of delegation, and sub delegation of a customer service function under other Acts or instruments to the CEO. (5)

The CEO was able to enter into agreements with Government agencies, the Commonwealth Government, Governments of other States or Territories, Governments of other countries, or non-government entities to exercise customer service functions of the organisations, and in the case of Government agencies to sub delegate these functions. (6)

The mission of Service NSW was to "simplify the way customers do business with government" and to transform its "customers' experience through excellent service and quality at an optimal cost to serve".(7) By 2014, the Service allowed people to complete transactions and services from the following agencies: Roads and Maritime Services; Fair Trading; NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages; Office of Environment and Heritage; Department of Primary Industries; Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing; Department of Family and Community Services, including Housing NSW; Department of Planning and Environment; and the Office of State Revenue. (8) These services were offered in the form of an internet and phone service which was open 24 hours a day, and service centres.

From 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2015, Service NSW opened 36 one-stop shops, six digital stores and began transitioning 29 store-in-a-store (or council agents) from Roads and Maritime Services to Service NSW, providing direct services from 24 government agencies. (9) Service NSW supplied on its website a 'Service NSW Government Directory' which provided information on government departments, agencies, boards, committees and trusts in New South Wales. (10)

From 1 July 2014, Service NSW was transferred to the Treasury and Finance cluster under the Office of Finance and Services division. (11) From 1 July 2015 the Office of Finance and Services was renamed to the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation. (12)

By 2017, Service NSW delivered services of over 40 government agencies to customers and businesses through 79 service centres, 32 council agencies and six self-serve digital kiosks, a virtual contact centre with one single phone number, a transactional website and the Service NSW App. (13)

At the abolition of the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation, on 1 July 2019, staff from Revenue NSW were transferred to the Department of Customer Service. (14)

By 2021, Service NSW had partnered with 70 government agencies with total of 110 service centres across the state, 69 of which were in regional NSW, 32 council agencies, 10 digital self-serve kiosks, and four Mobile Service Centres, covering 99 per cent of NSW Local Government Areas. (15)

Endnotes
1. Public Sector Employment and Management (Service NSW Division) Order 2013 (2013 No.106); notified on NSW Legislation Website, 13 March 2013; Public Sector Employment and Management (Service NSW Division Staff Transfer) Order 2013 (2013 No 434); NSW Legislation Website, 16 August 2013; Service NSW Annual Report 2012-2013, pp.2, 9, 12.
2. Service NSW (One-stop Access to Government Services) Act 2013 (Act No. 39, 2013), s.2.
3. The Service NSW (One-stop Access to Government Services) Bill 2013, Explanatory note, pp.1 - 4 Parliamentary Counsel’s Office Website, Legislation, http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/bills/docref/34668705-5a51-e5c4-85b3-f5b8846d33f2 (accessed 2 April 2013).
4. Service NSW (One-stop Access to Government Services) Act 2013, op. cit., ss. 4, 5.
5. Ibid., s.7.
6. Ibid., ss.8-10.
7. Service NSW Website, Our Organisation, http://www.service.nsw.gov.au/about-us/our-organisation (accessed 15 April 2014); Service NSW, Annual Report 2012-2013, op. cit., pp.4, 9-10.
8. Service NSW, Annual Report, 2013-2014, p.6.
9. Service NSW Website, Building Service NSW, http://www.service.nsw.gov.au/building-service-nsw (accessed 15 April 2014); ibid., p.5; Service NSW, Annual Report 2014-2015, p.9.
10. Service NSW website, http://www.service.nsw.gov.au/nswgovdirectory (accessed 1 July 2014).
11. Administrative Arrangements (Administration of Acts—Amendment No 2) Order 2014 (2014 No 412), Sch.1; NSW Legislation website, 14 June 2014.
12. Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Public Service Agencies) Order 2015 (2015 No 2), cls.5, 12 (1); NSW Legislation website, 29 May 2015.
13. Service NSW, Annual Report, 2016-2017, p.14.
14. Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Public Service Agencies) Order 2019 (2019 No 159), cl.25; NSW Legislation website, 2 April 2019.
15. Service NSW, Annual Report, 2020-2021, p.7.