Foreword

Work and Income, one of the main service delivery arms of the Ministry of Social Development, provides income support and work assistance to large numbers of New Zealanders. Its contact centre answers about 6 million calls a year. I undertook a performance audit to assess and report on the contact centre’s management systems and the relationships between the contact centre and the rest of Work and Income.

Overall, I was pleased to find that the contact centre’s management systems follow industry good practice, and the contact centre is well integrated with the rest of Work and Income.

I have recommended improvements in two areas: how the contact centre measures and reports on the service it provides to callers, and the need for the contact centre to have an annual business plan. The contact centre has agreed to these recommendations.

This performance audit involved many staff at the contact centre, in other parts of Work and Income, and in other areas of the Ministry of Social Development. I thank them all for their co-operation.

K B Brady
Controller and Auditor-General

4 December 2006