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Service NSW

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-116597

Hansard session: Fifty-Seventh Parliament, First Session (57-1)


Service NSW

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (17:04:02):

I discuss the many successes of Service NSW over the past seven years. Last year alone seven new centres were opened, almost 120,000 customers were served and the customer satisfaction rate both in store and online was 98 per cent. That is an outstanding achievement and I thank the Minister for Customer Service, Victor Dominello, for his continued commitment and advocacy for Service NSW. It was a tough year for all of the staff at Service NSW in 2020 as they played such a critical role in supporting our community through the bushfires and the COVID‑19 pandemic. Throughout the bushfires they provided 8,000 homes with clean‑up assistance and 22,000 Small Business Support Grants. They received 40,000 calls to their bushfire support hotline.

I cannot thank those selfless individuals enough for their ability to go above and beyond to keep the entire State of New South Wales safe. Moreover, their response throughout the COVID‑19 pandemic was impeccable. Ten thousand additional Small Business Support Grants were provided, 23,000 people visited their digital COVID support website and 12 different types of licence and registration fees were waived as a lifeline to individuals, families and businesses. Without that ongoing support our State would not be where it is today. Those men and women who have given so much to our community through these challenging times are the unsung heroes who deserve to be acknowledged here today.

Another program that has been an enormous success for individuals, not just in my community but throughout the State, is the Cost of Living program, which provides individuals with a one‑on‑one conversation where they can discuss what grants, rebates or savings they may or may not be able to apply for. There are 70 in total. They include toll relief, Active Kids and Creative Kids vouchers as well as the compulsory third party insurance refund scheme. As of June last year, 55,000 appointments have been made and it has saved the people of New South Wales a combined total of just over $1 billion.

I note that we have a brand-new Service NSW centre in the Roselands shopping centre, which will service the St George region along with the Canterbury-Bankstown community. That centre provides ease of access for residents of suburbs including Beverly Hills, Riverwood, Narwee and Penshurst to Service NSW, where they can utilise all of their wonderful services. It is one of seven centres opened in 2019‑20 that are being incorporated into some of the fastest-growing parts of Sydney to ensure that everyone can have access to their many services right across New South Wales.

Yet another success over the past year for Service NSW is its digital driver licence program, which allows everyone with a valid driver licence to have an online version that is available on their smartphone. That is such an impressive innovation and a fantastic leap forward in our Government's endeavour to digitise processes for ease of use. In my area alone there have been almost 8,000 downloads in Hurstville and 3,000 in Riverwood, Penshurst and Peakhurst. That is a fantastic development that puts the most modern technology at our fingertips. I have no doubt that those projects and ideas will continue to evolve our digital space.

That leads me to the success of our QR code, which enables individuals to register when they check in and out of venues. During the height of the pandemic, QR codes were critical in tracking movement and potential COVID‑19 cases. They played such an important role in keeping our people safe. Those simple, modern and easy‑to‑use developments will continue to make our great State the leader in this type of technology. I thank Service NSW for its role in that. I thank every member of the Service NSW team for all of their hard work over the past year, throughout these difficult times. I also make special mention of everyone who has assisted in getting the Service NSW centre opened at Roselands. It is a huge win for the entire St George region and for the south‑west of Sydney. I cannot wait to hear all of its wonderful success stories.

Mr MARK TAYLOR (Seven Hills) (17:08:25):

I commend the member for Oatley for his private member's statement on Service NSW and echo his comments about the fantastic services and programs provided by that organisation, particularly the Active Kids and Creative Kids programs that he mentioned. I always tell the story of a Lalor Park mum who went to Service NSW at Blacktown, got Active Kids vouchers for her three kids and went back to the Lalor Park Junior Rugby League Club. It was a $105 registration and she had a $100 voucher for each child. For $5 she got a free pair of football boots. It was a fantastic outcome for a family of three young boys who got to play the sport that they loved. I also recognise all the Service NSW workers at Blacktown and Castle Hill who do a fantastic job. I look forward to Service NSW Northmead opening in the future.