References and revision history
October 2012
October 2012
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© State of Victoria, Department of Health and Human Services May, 2017.
Where the term ‘Aboriginal’ is used it refers to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Indigenous is retained when it is part of the title of a report, program or quotation.
Available at www.dhhs.vic.gov.au
Contents
References 7
Key responsibilities 9
Revision history 12
New revision history format 14
References
Symbol / Reference // Legal Services
/ Support Services
H / Other Departmental policy and procedure manuals
/ Refers to an online reference
Refers to an appendix in this document
/ Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006
AHSO / Aboriginal Housing Services Officer
AHV / Aboriginal Housing Victoria
ALO / Agency Liaison Officer
ASB / Anti-social Behaviour
COC / Code of Conduct for the Victorian Public Sector 1995
COMAC / Community Management Accommodation
CMU / Complaints Management Unit
CSU / Client Services Unit
Cth / Commonwealth
CYPA / Children and Young Persons Act 1989
DFNAA / Domestic (Feral and Nuisance) Animals Act 1994
The Director / Director of Housing
The Department / Department of Human Services
DPCS / Drug, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981
EA / Evidence Act 1958
EO / Executive Officer
FOIA / Freedom of Information Act 1982
FSO / Field Services Officer
FVPA / Family Violence Protection Act 2008
HA / Housing Act 1983
HCC / Housing Call Centre
HiiP / Housing Integrated Information Program
HIR / Housing Information and Referral
HM / Housing Manager
HRA / Health Records Act 2001
HSM / Housing Services Manager
HSO / Housing Services Officer
ID / Identification
IPA / Information Privacy Act 2000
IPP / Information Privacy Principles (part of the Information Privacy Act)
MCAT / Maintenance Claims Against Tenant
NTV / Notice to Vacate
OA / Ombudsman Act 1973
OP / Order for Possession
PA / Privacy Act (Federal) 1988
PRA / Public Records Act 1978
PSMEA / Public Sector Management and Employment Act 1988
RGS / Rental General Stock
RSPCA / Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals
RTA / Residential Tenancies Act 1997
RDS / Rent Deduction Service
SARS / Supported Accommodation Rights Service
SHASP / Social Housing Advocacy and Support Program
SAAP / Supported Accommodation Assistance Program
TA / Tobacco Act 1987
TM / Team Manager
TR / Tenant Responsibility (charge)
THM / Transitional Housing Manager
VCAT / Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
VICSERV / Psychiatric Disability Service of Victoria
VHS / Victorian Homelessness Strategy
WIA / Water Industry Act 1994
Key responsibilities
Role/Title / Responsibility /Asset Manager / Manages housing with an integrated strategy recognising the life cycle relationships to maintain and improve the quality and viability of the property.
Appeals Information Officer / Processes appeals and makes recommendations on appeals to the Manager, Housing Appeals.
Better Hearing Australia / A booking service for provision of the deaf oral language – i.e. clients who rely on lip reading.
Complaints Network member / Primary point of contact between region and both the Complaints Management Unit (CMU) and the Department’s Complaints and Whistleblower Unit; also provides advice to regional staff on complaints management.
Client Services Unit (CSU) / Provides operational support to Housing Services
Prepares draft Ministerial correspondence replies
Writes operational material (i.e.:Application Forms, Information Sheets and Handbooks)
Manages the Interpreting and translating contracts.
Director, Client Services and Programs / Responsible for the administration of housing services to all Departmental clients. Delegated to make final decisions on complaints not resolved at the second level of the housing complaints process.
Also makes the final decision on appeals made successful at tier two.
Executive Director, Client Services and Programs (Director of Housing) / Has statutory role as Director of Housing under the Housing Act. Makes final decisions on complaints not resolved at first two levels of the Housing Appeals and Complaints.
Field Services Officer (FSO) / Inspects properties on behalf of the Department and makes recommendations based on their suitability, for example, suitability for major modifications, extra bedrooms.
Finance and Business Services (F and BS) / The Departmental business unit responsible for supporting internal and external stakeholders through the provision of corporate support and direct client services, including financial and performance reporting, business support services and delivery of the Director of Housing’s Home Loan Programs.
Freedom of Information Unit / Refers to all Coordinators and Officers in Head Office and the Regions whose function is to coordinate process and make decisions on Freedom of Information applications to DHS.
Good Practice Unit (GPU) / Develops detailed procedures that reflect policy intent
Writes policy and procedure manuals/guidelines
Co-ordinates state-wide policy and procedure changes
Provides policy and procedure advice.
Housing Appeals, Complaints Management and Home Finance Review Office / Considers appeals lodged by clients who are dissatisfied with decisions made in relation to a housing service.
Housing Appeals Information Officer / Liaises and provides advice to clients, investigates individual appeals and prepares recommendations for the Appeals Manager.
Housing Manager / Exercises delegated authority in accordance with this manual and as outlined in the Departmental Delegations document.
Housing Services Manager (HSM) / Exercises delegated authority in accordance with this manual and as outlined in the Departmental Delegations document.
Housing Services Officer (HSO) / Applies policy and procedures as outlined in this manual in accordance with their delegated authority.
Legal Services / Provides legal advice, advocacy and assistance in preparation for VCAT hearings.
Manager, Housing Complaints / Administers the complaints processes and makes recommendations on complaints to the Director, Public Housing and Community Building, Director of Housing or other Directors as appropriate.
Manager, Complaints Management Unit / Senior complaints officer in the CMU within the Housing Complaints Management Unit.
Manager, DHS Corporate Complaints Unit / Manages and coordinates complaints across all programs in DHS, including whistleblower complaints and other complaints referred by the Ombudsman and the Privacy Commissioner.
Media Unit / Liaises with members of the media when issues of public interest arise or are promoted/ advertised.
Multilingual Telephone Interpreter Services (MTIS) / Provides interpreters for Centrelink clients who are experiencing difficulties with Centrelink services. Bookings are made by the client through Centrelink regional offices.
National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) / A national standards body owned by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments that sets and maintains the standards of translation and interpreting at four accreditation levels.
Ombudsman / A person appointed by the Commonwealth or State Government under the respective Ombudsman Acts, as an independent reviewer of administrative action (essentially, the Commonwealth Ombudsman investigates Commonwealth government matters, and the Victorian Ombudsman investigates Victorian government matters). An Ombudsman investigates complaints about administrative action, or may conduct an investigation on their own motion or upon reference from Parliament or the Governor in Council. The Ombudsman has no power to compel a department or authority investigated to take action in response to the report, but can make a special report to Parliament if there is no adequate response.
ONCALL / Provides written translations in the requested language for the Department.
Policy Strategy and Communications / Develops policy for Executive approval.
Privacy Commissioner (Victoria) / Appointed by the Governor in Council to administer the Information Privacy Act 2000 including the power to investigate complaints relating to privacy issues in the Victorian public sector. The Victorian Privacy Commissioner may refer complaints to the Federal Privacy Commissioner or the Ombudsman.
Note that the Health Services Commissioner administers the Health Records Act 2001, with similar powers and functions to the Privacy Commissioner, in relation to personal health information (which includes disability information).
Program and Service Adviser (PASA) / The main point of liaison between The Departmental and people in the community housing sector or who are in receipt of or likely to require homelessness assistance.
Property Services and Asset Management (PSAM) / The Departmental business unit responsible for the provision of a range of property related services including managing property and maintenance contracts, property upgrades, major redevelopments, acquisition and compliance audits.
Public Housing Client Services / Provides information, material and operational support to Departmental staff in relation to service development and delivery, planning and budgets.
Regional Director / The senior manager with responsibility for the administration of all DHS programs and services within a specified region.
Regional Housing, Primary and Complex Care Manager (RHPCC) or equivalent position / Will undertake level two reviews of complaints not resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant at level one. This review may be undertaken by another equivalent manager at the region’s discretion.
Strategy and Corporate Finance / Develops policy for Executive Approval.
Team Manager / Exercises delegated authority in accordance with this chapter and as outlined in the Departmental Delegations document.
Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) / TIS are a Commonwealth interpreting service provided by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Departmental staff use TIS only when VITS is unable to provide the required telephone interpreting service.
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) Chairperson / Considers, reviews and makes determinations on applications made to the tribunal within the boundaries of the Residential Tenancy Act and the Housing Act
Victorian Deaf Society / Provides interpreting services in Australian Sign Language (Auslan) and Deaf Oral Language in all situations where deaf people use these sign languages.
VITS Language Link (VITS) / Provides on-site, telephone interpreters and a recorded information service, to assist Departmental staff in the delivery of housing services to clients of non-English speaking backgrounds.
Revision history
The following table shows the development of this manual.
Version / Amend./ Section Number / Pages From / Effective / Details /1.0 / All / Nov 2002 / First issue of the manual
1.1 / 4.7.3 / 1-15 / Feb 2002 / Clarification of Appeals Tier-two independent review procedure
1.2 / All / Aug 2002 / First issue of Reference for OOH Tenants chapter
1.3 / All / Nov 2002 / First issue of the Release of Information chapter
1.4 / All / Nov 2003 / The ‘Housing Assistance Consumer Charter’ and ‘Housing Maintenance Service Standards Charter’ have been completely revised and combined into one document. Document re-issued as the ‘Public Housing Customer Service Charter’.
2.0 / All / June 2004 / Complete re-issue of the manual to include one central table of contents.
3.0 / All / Sept 2005 / Re-issue of the manual to incorporate DHS publishing guidelines, including change of font to Verdana.
3.0 / 2.7.5 / 19 / Sept 2005 / Requests for OOH statistical data should now be sent to Corporate Planning and Performance, Level 21/555 Collins St, not Budgets and Analysis.
3.0 / 2.8.7 / 29 / Sept 2005 / Inclusion of privacy ‘Frequently asked questions - MPs, Correspondence and FOI’ document as an appendix
3.0 / 3.5.1 / 7 / Sept 2005 / Inclusion of reference to DHS document ‘Language Services Policy’.
3.0 / 3.9.4 / 9 / Sept 2005 / Clarification of policy to confirm that children or persons under 18 years must not be used as interpreters.
3.0
3.1 / 3.9.5
All / 9 / Sept 2005
August 2006 / Inclusion of policy where clients refuse the use of an interpreter.
Update to address details for Head Office business units.
3.2 / 2.2 / 3 / October 2006 / Definition of tenant clarified to show distinction between tenant who has a tenancy agreement with the Director of Housing and a tenant in community managed housing.
Definition of tenant in community managed housing added.
Through-out / April 2007 / Added hyperlinks to OOH policy and procedures websites.
Chapter 2
Chapter 3 / Oct 2007 / Renamed Release of Information chapter to ‘Access to and disclosure of client information’
Updated Access and disclosure of client information chapter to reflect new arrangements with Centrelink Income Confirmation eService.
Updated Interpreters and Translating Chapter to reflect new contract arrangements.
3.3 / Chapter 2 / Nov 2007 / Renamed ‘Access to and Disclosure of Client Information’ chapter to ‘Privacy and Office of Housing Clients’.
Clarified that client representatives can sign authority on behalf of Centrelink clients where legal documentation confirms they are permitted to.
4.0 / Throughout / October 2008 / Included the provisions in the Victorian Charter of Human Rights.
4.1 / Chapter 4 / November 2010 / Section 4.6.2 - Review of the Original Decision updated to include Team Manager as a delegate to overturn a decision as per HiiP functionality.
4.2 / Chapter 6 - Appendix / June 2011 / Details of consultant updated in Letter to Loss Adjuster
New revision history format
Date / Chapter / Section / Details /October 2012 / All / • Updates to Business Practice Manual as per new style guides
• New numbering to Chapters
•
•
•
•
Business practice manual - references and revision history Page 7