Customer research activities 104-23040337

To help improve our services, Services Australia regularly:

• undertakes a range of research activities, and
• requests feedback from people who use our services

Current and non-current customers may be contacted by the agency or invited to participate through a research company.

Services Australia give contracted research companies details about customers when it is needed for their research. This includes for delivery of the Customer Satisfaction Research Program. The details are confidential and are:

• not used for any purpose except for the specific research activity
• not given to anyone else
• destroyed or returned when the research is over

During research activities customers are never asked for their personal financial details, including bank details.

The agency and research companies are bound by confidentiality and privacy laws. The contracts with research companies contain legally binding provisions to protect customers privacy.

Customers can get details about privacy on the Services Australia website. See Resources page for the link.

There are provisions in the legislation governing most of the programs that Services Australia delivers that allow the release of limited recipient details for government research purposes.

Customer details are released after there has been appropriate internal checks and approvals for each project. Only the details that are relevant and needed for each research project is given. It may include:

• their name
• contact phone number
• contact email
• the type of payment or service they get

Services Australia and the research providers used are bound by Commonwealth Privacy and Confidentiality Laws.

The contracts with the research providers also contain specific provisions to protect customer and the agency's information.

Customers do not have to take part in any research activities. The choice to participate is voluntary and will not affect any payments or services a customer receives. Customers may agree to participate in one research project and decline another.

A customer's Centrelink record can be updated to be excluded from any research lists given to a researcher in the future.

For health research, see Health research mailouts - Medicare.

There is not an equivalent system based process for Child Support customers.

Note: research is different to telemarketing. The Do Not Call Register does not cover these research activities.

Staff can access a list of current research projects commissioned by the agency. This can help them respond to public queries about contacts from a research company.

Services Australia use reputable, independent research companies to do research work on their behalf. Customers may prefer to give their responses about the agency to someone who is not staff.

Customers can view Australian research companies that comply with the Code of Professional Behaviour. The Resources page contains a link to the Research Society website.

If the customer has any concerns, feedback or complaints about the research, see Research Providers index item in the Complaints and feedback index. This gives details on how to record it in the Customer Feedback Tool (CFT).