Are Service NSW Centres about to be privatised? 

These questions were raised by Shadow Minister for Finance, Services and Property Clayton Barr when he came through Goulburn briefly on Monday.

“The State Government recently snuck through a regulation appointing seven private companies to do the work of Service NSW,” Mr Barr said. 

He said the Goulburn Service NSW Cente would be affected by this decision to allow international private corporates to deliver essential services in NSW.

“This will threaten the security of people’s personal information. Service NSW holds everyone’s intimate details – where they were born, where they live and what health conditions they have. This will now be in the hands of private companies who can use it to their own advantage” Mr Barr said.

“I cannot understand why the government would appoint seven private companies if they have no plans to outsource the work of Service NSW? It is clear this is a continuation of the Berejiklian Government’s rapid privatisation agenda.”

In June, Mr Barr moved a disallowance motion in the NSW Parliament in an attempt to prevent the government from going ahead with their decision, but it was voted down. 

Member for Goulburn Pru Goward has completely rejected the claims, calling them “false, misleading and fear mongering.”  

“There are no plans to privatise Service NSW or reduce jobs. The jobs of the Service NSW team in Goulburn are safe,” Ms Goward said. 

“I strongly resent a member of the Opposition throwing unfounded allegations around, frightening staff and hoping people fall for it and he gets away with it. Service NSW remains a flagship agency of the government.”

She said it was recently announced that another 24 Service NSW Service Centres would be rolled out across rural and regional NSW over the next 18 months. 

“Contrary to claims this is a new arrangement, Service NSW’s telephone service (Contact Centre) has been operating under this model since Service NSW opened in 2013, with Datacom Australia, an outsourced provider, assisting with after hours and overflow calls. It’s a solution that makes sense in terms of service delivery and value for the taxpayer,” she said. 

“This blended model arrangement is not new and allows Service NSW to scale up and down to suit customer and client demand.

“The recent regulation change was required as part of a tender process to create a panel of outsourcers to get maximum value for taxpayers while continuing to ensure a great quality of service.

“As part of the tender process, Service NSW leveraged the existing panel of suppliers to the ATO, drawing upon the best practice capability in the market.”

Ms Goward said the State Government takes the privacy and management of personal information seriously.

“Service NSW has introduced rigorous mechanisms to protect personal information held or accessed by Service NSW or its authorised representatives,” she said.

“These measures include compliance with applicable legislation, operation of a Privacy Management Plan, adherence to best practices in digital information security management and alignment to the NSW Digital Information Security Policy. 

“A provider can only access a customer’s information once the customer has provided their details while carrying out a transaction. External providers are contractually obliged to stick to rigorous privacy and information security standards and processes.”