RoboDebt; Not My debt; CentreLink Enquiry

HI all,

Earlier this year the Federal Government commissioned the Senate to complete an enquiry into the Design, scope, cost-benefit analysis, contracts awarded and implementation associated with the Better Management of the Social Welfare System initiative . The less confusing version is: "CentreLink and the experiences of people during the so-called 'robo-debt' collection.” 

My submission is at http://www.aph.gov.au/…/Com…/SocialWelfareSystem/Submissions No. 116.

It was great to read so many organisations highlighted the needs of the many vulnerable people in the community who have lots of difficulty in accessing numerical and financial information, or even knowing what are their Rights. 

I was invited to present to the Senate enquiry in person (teleconference). On Thursday 27 April, 2017, I presented to the Australian Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs regarding my submission, access and information at CentreLink, both low adult literacy and also low computer literacy in our community.

The Hansard recording of my hearing presentation is here. Look under Launceston 27 April, 2017.

The Advocate" http://www.theadvocate.com.au/…/…/centrelink-english-learnt/ and "The Examiner" http://www.examiner.com.au/…/462…/centrelink-english-learnt/ also reported on my presentation, as well as other presentations from the Launceston hearing, including mentioning my evidence.

I included some information on numerical literacy in my submission. In my presentation I focused more specifically on the breadth and extent of low literacy skills in our community, and also the lack of computer literacy (and access to the hardware/internet) in the community, required to access CentreLink.

I could have also discussed the huge percent of adults with low Numerical Literacy in our community, but there is only so much you can emphasize in a 35 minute conversation. The import of my message was heard.

Another submission used the term "CentreLink English" to describe how difficult it is to read and understand information from CentreLink. I was asked about whether I had heard this term before! No, but just imagine you walk into a new job. Everyone uses acronyms, phrases and words that are familiar to them, but completely unfamiliar to you, the outsider. Yes, that is what CentreLink English is like.

The report from this enquiry is due out in early June 2017.
Next: is to hear what will happen for change. 
What will the recommendations be? I will keep you posted.

  

I am here to help you develop and build awareness of the need for government documents to be accessible for people with non functional literacy. I am advertising a 2 day training “Learn to write Easy English” for June 19 & 20 in Melbourne. Flyer and booking links or contact me using any of the methods below.

Cathy Basterfield

Access Easy English

www.accesseasyenglish.com.au

cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au

0466 579 855 

Facebook:    /accesseasyenglish

Twitter: @accesseasyengl@accessseasyengli

How much do you understand about money?

In Australia, recent discussions have continued around the need to improve the quality of financial planners.  This is in light of a number of high profile cases in the banking and superannuation industry.

Constantly we hear, the financial literacy of our community is low. Therefore the solution always seems to be, to improve the training of the financial  planners, better governance and stronger consumer protection regulation.

However, the longer term solution is cited as improving the financial literacy programs in schools.......

See the article in The Age on 22 July 2014.

mmmmm this may help those students with financial and numeracy skills in 30 -40 - 50 years time when they are at retirement age . This is the age when most people have their largest amount of money, and may  need to talk with a financial planner about their retirement financial plans. 

Why is it always the reader who has the problem?

There is another solution. And it is not a solution that will take 30-40-50 years to show improvement.  What about writing and producing numerical information for the current level of literacy in the community?  Then, individuals can go to a financial planner with a greater understanding of their own finances, and engage with meaningful questions about options. 

Additionally, professionals in the industry, do need to learn to unpack and stop using the lingo of their profession, and talk to the person in a way the person understands. This is in no way restricted to just this industry.

Evidence has shown in the development of insurance information, and even more significantly in medical, technical and IT, emergency, and social areas of life, when information is written at the level the person who is expected to use the information is reading there is 

·         greater persistence to engagement with the material;

·         greater reading;

·         greater understanding;

·         greater change in behaviour.

This use of everyday language, rather than professional or business or corporate language is further beneficial to all industries and businesses, as research has shown there are fewer calls to Call Centres requesting information, fewer angry  and confused customers and greater numbers of return customers. Reason: the customer has a greater understanding of what they have signed up to.

The technique referred to is Easy English.  Cathy Basterfield, who owns and operates Access Easy English, is recognised both nationally and internationally in the original and ongoing development of Easy English. Cathy would be pleased to talk with you further about how to improve the engagement of customers, by improving the written communication between you and your customers.

Cathy

Cathy Basterfield

Access Easy English

Consultant Speech Pathologist

www.accesseasyenglish.com.au

cathy@accessseasyenglish.com.au

0466 579 855

Money, Money, Money, and Literacy

How many people understand their superannuation details or insurance options (life, car, house, boat, or any other insurance)? What about the complexities of your medicine dosages and when you need to take them, particularly when you are unwell. 

Last night, the ABC Melbourne, Lateline program interviewed David Whitely, the chief executive of Industry Super Australia, http://www.industrysuper.com which represents the country's largest superannuation funds, including HESTA, HOSTPLUS, Cbus and Australian Super. The discussion was about the proposed changes the Federal government are considering to the Future of Financial Advice laws. www.abc.net.au

 Excerpt from the Lateline Program:  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-24/fofa-on-hold/5342552

 "EMMA ALBERICI (Journalist): Well in fact, Senator Arthur Sinodinos on this very program just a few weeks ago said that his advice to consumers was that they needed to get more informed because, "... at the end of the day, that's the best sanction on financial advisors". What do you think of that tip from Senator Sinodinos?

DAVID WHITELEY: Well I think the thinking about superannuation and how people invest and save for their retirement has moved considerably in the last decade. It's now recognised that people tend to discount the future. That is, that they pay much more attention to what's occurring today than they might do 40 years down the track. It's quite clear that there's relatively low levels of financial literacy across the Australian community. And when we have a compulsory super system or pension system, we need to make sure that the regulatory framework is designed to take into account how we know people behave; that is, the system is designed to act in people's best interests. "

So where does the data come from to confirm this statement from David Whitely?

Data released by the ABS in 2013, as part of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Literacy Competencies (PIAAC) has some significant data on prose literacy, numerical literacy and problem solving in technology-rich environments literacy. www.abs.gov.au  #4228

Often we cite the Prose literacy. Non-functional literacy (Prose) in Australia is 44% or 7.3 million Australian adults.

 In fact numerical literacy, which involves reading, understanding and interpreting numbers and mathematical concepts and information is even more significant. Current data from 2013 has identified “53.5% or 11.7 million adult Australians do not have the skills in numeracy to be able to complete Level 2 tasks, or below, rating them as being non-functional in numeracy.”

“Tasks from level 2 include a range of common contexts where maths content is fairly explicit or visual...... Involves calculating with whole numbers and common decimals, per cents and fractions; simple measurement and spatial representation; estimation; and interpretation of relatively simple data and statistics in texts, tables and graphs.”  www.abs.gov.au  #4228

Read more detail on PIAAC in my November 2013 blog. http://accesseasyenglish.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/notes-on-current-adult-literacy-skills.html

If it is recognised by the financial industry there are "relatively low levels of financial literacy”, maybe there are other strategies that need to be considered.

Can information be written in everyday words and language and style, so that we do understand and can be better informed about our superannuation and other financial needs?  Yes. It is possible to write information using everyday words, terms and styles of writing. 

Think about other times numeracy is part of the reading you do? I will start a list for you. See how many other things you can add to this list.

·         Work entitlements

·         Pay and Super Payments

·         Salary packaging or Salary sacrifice

·         Bills

·         Mobile Phone contracts

·         Insurance

·         Timetables

Let's talk about how your organisation can improve how information is presented so more Australians have an opportunity to be informed about their choices in their financial literacy and other areas of their life.

Cathy

Cathy Basterfield

Access Easy English

cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au

0466 579 855

www.acceseasyenglish.com.au