Recommendation 4

The Department does not know how many cases its case managers can feasibly process in a day, which hampers its workforce planning. Based on a 2021 work study, the Department expected its case managers to be able to process 2.8 cases per day. However, it no longer considers 4 this standard to be achievable because assessing what support an applicant needs has become more complex, with more applicants having mental health and neurodivergent conditions. To improve productivity and the consistency of decision-making, the Department introduced in late 2025 a standard operating process, which it aims to roll out to all its offices by summer 2026. It then plans to complete a new study to assess, given the change in caseload and what it now takes to make appropriate decisions, how many cases on average case managers can process per day. Case managers’ productivity is also hampered by the fact that the scheme relies on three IT systems, which require case managers to transfer information manually from one system to another. The Department plans to reform the IT platform by June 2026, integrating the three separate systems. recommendation a. The Department should undertake the planned work study and use it to set an up-to-date productivity standard for the number of cases its case managers can process in a day. It should share the results of the study with the Committee by the end of 2026, along with an action plan of how it plans to meet the new standard. b. In its Treasury Minute response to this report the Department should confirm whether it successfully introduced an integrated IT system by June 2026, and specifically whether that has put an end to the need for case managers to transfer information manually between the separate systems.