Victorian Ombudsman Report

Today the Victorian Ombudsman published the report of her investigation into State Trustees’ performance in administering the financial affairs of clients with a disability. We have fully co-operated with the Ombudsman in the course of her investigation, which commenced in July 2018.

We acknowledge the Ombudsman’s findings, accept her recommendations, and are in the process of making improvements in response. We apologise to our clients for the failings identified in the report.

The investigation provided us with a chance to identify how we can do better. Some key themes of the findings are that we need to respond faster, and better support our clients and our people.

So far, we are redesigning our operating model, and improving our client service processes. We are also providing better training, to help attract and retain skilled people. And we’re looking at how we can speed up some client payments and better communicate with our clients.

While we have already introduced several changes, there is much more that needs to be done. We acknowledge the strong reliance placed on us when we administer a person’s affairs. We are committed to meeting the challenge of fulfilling the Victorian community’s expectations of us in carrying out this important role.

State Trustees will continue to update clients as further improvements are introduced.