As we collectively transition services into new delivery models, or to different service providers, or set up services for new clients - we need to plan.
Supported by the draft Human Services Transition Policy, we are piloting tools and templates and refining them before release to government and non-government service providers to guide transition planning discussions.
We are also testing the transition tools with ACT Council of Social Services (ACTCOSS) and are piloting elements of these tools with selected commissioning cycles. Thank you to those who are supporting us with this important work.
You may notice that each directorate is applying the Policy differently, however we are all working towards a common set of whole-of-government templates to support transitions.
CSD transition approach
Importantly for CSD, it is a relational approach – discussions with providers, problem solving and planning together, and working through challenges for staff, systems, and clients.
For CSD the Policy is applied sector by sector in a way that is relevant to the scale of transition. The Policy is helping program managers to scope potential transitions and to plan transition management in partnership with existing and appointed providers.
CSD Commissioners procuring providers for new service models or services are trialling whole of program/subsector transition plans as part of the procurement approach to manage multiple transitions across a sub-sector in a phased and seamless way. This level of planning applies to both government and non-government services that would be delivered under a new model or to meet a new community need.
CSD is also trialling a process to track how transitions unfold, identify challenges early and support actions that ensure service continuity and good client management through transition.
ACT Health transition approach
ACT Health acknowledges that transitions are challenging and are a source of anxiety for both sector partners and commissioners, and as such, we are committed to getting transitions right.
ACTHD will be working closely with our sector partners and other key stakeholders, including Peak Organisations, to navigate the range of transitions which are likely to take place through commissioning.
While the Managing Transitions Policy provides the overarching structure for how transitions are understood through the commissioning lens, feedback from sector partners indicated that under the Policy, we needed to take a practical implementation approach to Health Commissioning transitions, particularly noting the disproportional impacts on providers who may be transitioning in and out of service delivery.
To this end, ACT Health has developed a Transitions Implementation Model to inform and support transitions of service that take place between an incoming and outcoming provider. More information on the Transitions Implementation Model can be found here.
The directorate will pilot the Model with the STIBBV, PHSYP and ATOD commissioning cycles over the coming months, and the lessons learned from these pilots, as well as ongoing dialogue with our sector partners, will inform continuous improvements to the ACT Health transition approach.
Find out more about the transition approach for ACT Health services.
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Page updated: 07 Mar 2024
