EXAMPLE: Waste and inefficiency generated by a ‘simple’ DVA request
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I’m a DVA Gold Card holder on top tier TPI payments.
As such, there are certain entitlements I can benefit from, no questions asked.
For example, I can request to have my home windows cleaned twice a year.
That’s an entitlement – I don’t have to justify the need. I simply ask – they deliver.
Or so I thought!
But, asking for a simple window wash wasn’t a simple, efficient task on just my second time using the entitlement in the past three years.
My wife made the phone call (because I don’t do human interactions when I can avoid them) to DVA in mid November last year, hoping to have clean windows for the Christmas visitors.
Long story short, the window-washing company came in June.
- In the mean time, there was one DVA employee engaged to receive the initial request.
- A second DVA employee phoned us in February to say our request was approved and would be outsourced and that ‘they’ will contact us.
- Two weeks later with no contact made, my wife phoned DVA again and was assured that ‘they’ would eventually call, but that ‘they’ were very busy and that “we’re all very busy”.
- ‘They’ eventually called us in March to coordinate a window-washing appointment for the ‘earliest available date’ – Saturday 20 June.
Now, bear in mind, ‘they’ are some sort of admin company, based in Brisbane, tasked to coordinate an appointment between a householder in Warrawong NSW and a local-to-us window-washing company.
And, as far as admin goes – their invoice for my $10 co-payment was dated 9 July, delivered on 29 July with payment date no later than 30 July!
I can assure you, my wife paid within 10 minutes of me opening the envelope – and phoned DVA 10 minutes after that in the forlorn hope that the next window-washing appointment might be secured in time for Christmas this year.
On this occasion, my wife asked the nice DVA lady (who sounded like the same nice DVA lady she spoke to twice in the interactions above), “if my husband is ‘entitled’ to window washing, why so much rigmarole to get it organised?”
The answer was that each request requires a new needs assessment completed – in fact, a new needs assessment needs to be completed if the previous needs assessment was more than three months ago.
This despite having already been assessed with total and permanent incapacity.
I guess the admin gods need their tick boxes – the external admin company needs their slice of government money – and (hopefully) the poor old window washer at the bottom of the food chain eventually gets an appropriate fee for his actual hard labour at some timely point after delivering the service.
BTW, both window-washing companies (because ‘they’ assign a different one on each occasion, to spread the love) said they’d be happy for us to contact them direct and they would sort out the DVA claim.
But, we’re not brave enough to buck the system (even if it would cut out a lot of wasteful, inefficient rigmarole).
Brian Hartigan
CONTACT Editor-at-large
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I can relate to Brian’s description, but I had to only wait 4 months, but what Brian has stated is almost word for word re my telephone conversations with DVA. I was asking for a Spring Clean, Windows, Gutters, High places Exhaust Fans, Air Conditioning outlets,AND especially Low places, Skirting boards, under the fridge etc, places I could not safely get to. My first request was 18 months to two years ago and the people that came were great, a man and a woman, they spent a good 7 or 8 hours. The second request for a spring clean was a nightmare, you are dealing with two agencies, I had to go through another assessment. Our conditions don’t change, DVA know out condition because they get the bills for services rendered by medical professionals, so why may us jump through hoops all over again. Then I had to wait for the intermediary organisation that finds contractors to do the work, they said they would get back to me, but I had to wait again. It was too ladies this time, NO Gutters were cleaned, no Aircon vents or Exhaust fans touched, I had to call them back as they were escaping out the door, to have them clean behind the fridge. They were only there 3 to 3.5 hours this time, the Windows were cleaned but the fly screens were only wiped with a damp cloth, where as the previous guy pressure washed them. I sent a written response to the agency, I was charged $45 ($5 per hour) the agency apologised and I was told that they (the Cleaners) would have their invoice reduced to compensate and another contractor would come. The next contractor was brilliant, but he said they have only given me 1 hour to fix what was not done by the first team. But he did more and felt bad that I had been scammed by the first team. So Brian is spot on about what happens with attempts to get work done around the house, even down to what was said when I telephoned to see when someone was going to come – “but that ‘they’ were very busy and that “we’re all very busy”.