Community Partnership Specialist Officers (CPSO) 101-24041534
Expand allThis document explains how CPSOs work with external organisations to support vulnerable customers.
Community Partnerships
Community Partnerships are an intensive form of community engagement. Community Partnership Specialist Officers (CPSOs) work in partnership with a specific local non-government organisation (NGO) to deliver wraparound support for customers who are experiencing homelessness and other serious servicing barriers. CPSOs:
- collaborate directly with a partner NGO to deliver payments and services to people with the most barriers to service access
- work with other agency staff, including Community Outreach Specialist Program (COSP) specialists, agency professionals, (such as Social Workers and Assessors), local service centre leadership, and national program teams to enhance how we support people experiencing vulnerability
Services provided to customers
CPSOs:
- collaborate primarily with the clients or service users of the partner NGO, often in conjunction with partner NGO staff and volunteers
- provide end-to-end wraparound support for customers, helping them to access and navigate all agency payments and services
- provide support to people with the most significant barriers to services via the agency’s usual channels (such as by phone or in a service centre)
- support agency specialist staff to better connect with customers who have significant servicing needs to address practical issues and ensure agency expectations and obligations are right for the customer’s circumstances
- refer customers to agency specialists and other community supports, as needed
Services provided to partner non-government organisations (NGOs)
CPSOs work in partnership with a specific NGO on a full-time basis to:
- design, negotiate and deliver a local service offer in line with the services provided by the NGO
- regularly act on feedback provided by the partner NGO by collaborating across agency business areas, and across government (where appropriate) regarding local community issues, customer servicing barriers and opportunities for improvement
- undertake regular formal reviews of the local service offer, sharing insights, information, and data with the partner NGO to decide local priorities, areas of focus and opportunities for improvement
CPSOs and other specialist staff
CPSOs work with a range of agency leaders and specialists, including:
- local service centre leadership teams
- Community Engagement Officers (CEOs), Indigenous Service Officers (ISOs) and Multicultural Service Officers (MSOs)
- Social workers and Assessors
- Personalised Services Officers (PSSO)
The Resources page contains links to Office Locator and the Community Partnerships intranet site.