The Social Services Regulator's Strategic Plan 2025–27

Our vision

Social services are safe and treat people with agency and dignity

Our purpose and principles:

  • Effective
  • Fair
  • Proportionate
  • Clear
  • Inclusive
  • Accountable
  • Collaborative

Our outcomes

The safety of social services users is at the centre of social services delivery

Descriptors of success:

  • Service providers and carers who pose an unacceptable risk to service users are excluded from service
  • Service user feedback and service provider notifications inform our regulatory response
  • Aboriginal service users feel safe and respected
  • Personal characteristics of service users are considered and respected
  • Service user information is appropriately collected, used, shared and protected.

Service providers understand their obligations and deliver safe services

Descriptors of success:

  • Providers understand the Social Services Standards and the Child Safe Standards and their compliance obligations
  • Providers integrate meeting the Standards into their operations
  • Providers comply with their obligations under the Worker and Carer Exclusion Scheme
  • Service providers report that public guidance and education is accessible and useful
  • Service providers continuously improve their services to reduce avoidable harm.

A responsive, proactive and connected regulator

Descriptors of success:

  • Continuous improvement of guidance and communications to ensure they are effective, consistent and accessible and respond to sector feedback
  • A proactive approach to compliance monitoring that includes working with peer regulators and agencies
  • Effective analysis of intelligence and information sharing with relevant agencies to achieve a connected and integrated view.

Strengthened and more streamlined regulation

Descriptors of success:

  • Enforcement actions are proportionate and based on risk
  • A regulatory approach informed by intelligence and analysis
  • Duplication and efficiencies are identified to reduce regulatory burden
  • Right tools, people and processes are applied at the right time

Our Strategic focus areas

Regulatory approach

  1. Embed a risk-based regulatory framework in our regulatory activities
  2. Support a culture of continuous improvement across the sectors, standards and schemes we regulate
  3. Implement the Government’s child safety reform program
  4. Capture, analyse and use data, information and intelligence to inform activity and improvements
  5. Review and adjust regulatory approach based on first three years of operation.

Peer regulation

  1. Build and strengthen peer regulator relationships
  2. Identify and work with key peer regulators to map the social services regulatory landscape
  3. Proactively share information to reduce harm and decrease regulatory burden and duplication
  4. Work with peer regulators to ensure service users are connected to support when they need it
  5. Work with co-regulators to promote and enforce Child Safe Standards.

Engagement with service users, providers and stakeholders

  1. Proactively engage with and consider the needs of the diverse stakeholders who access, provide and interact with the social services we regulate
  2. Increase awareness of the role of the Regulator
  3. Develop sector specific engagement strategies and guidance that supports compliance
  4. Actively seek the advice and perspectives of Aboriginal people on cultural safety and self-determination.

Our people

  1. Foster a workplace culture that prioritises learning, continuous improvement and staff wellbeing
  2. Support our people to use their expertise and experience effectively and invest in their capability
  3. Ensure our people have the role clarity and resources to do their jobs well
  4. Ensure our people have awareness of cultural safety and regulate in a way that recognises the strengths and resilience of Aboriginal people.

Business Systems and processes

  1. Enable risk-based decision making through effective collection, analysis and reporting of information
  2. Streamline systems and processes to reduce administrative burden and duplication with a focus on registration and incident reporting
  3. Continually implement protocols to protect our systems and information
  4. Efficiently manage our budget to meet our statutory obligations and regulatory outcomes.

Accountability and transparency

  1. Build confidence in independence of the Regulator
  2. Promote our role and impact to stakeholders, duty holders and the community
  3. Seek and act where appropriate on feedback from stakeholders and regulated entities
  4. Deliver on government expectations
  5. Meet compliance and reporting obligations

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Regulatory reform

Updated

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