Best Practice in State Government
Awarded to a team working in state government which has delivered best practice outcomes and made a significant contribution to service delivery for the benefit of Queensland.
Focus
Significant team contribution to service delivery via an initiative, program or project.
Open to
- Teams only.
- Currently working in the Queensland state government sector, or having worked in the sector during the preceding financial year.
Nominated by
Team or third party.
Criteria
Teams must show how they have made a difference to state government and exceeded their scope of work by demonstrating:
C1 Excellence in public administration and management.
C2 Active use of best practice in state government through their initiative, program or project.
C3 Effective engagement with relevant internal and/or external stakeholders.
C4 Improved service delivery to Queensland.
2010 WINNER in Best Practice in State Government
DNA Improvement Strategy, from Queensland Police Service and Queensland Health Forensic Services
The accumulation by DNA laboratories of backlogs of items requiring analysis is a significant problem both within Australia and overseas resulting in long delays in the identification of offenders.
The DNA Improvement Strategy recognised that rapid reporting of DNA results has the potential to save police resources by directing investigations from an early stage. Most importantly, it has the potential to resolve crimes in a timely manner, preventing recidivism.
In partnership with Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services (QHFSS) Queensland Police Forensic Services investigated how laboratory throughput could be improved. This resulted in traditional laboratory sampling methods being taken into the field, not only saving time but dramatically reducing the risk of inter-case contamination within the laboratory. QPS forensic officers are now trained and resourced to submit all samples in vials that can be loaded directly into the analytical instrument. This practice represents a world first.
The reduced size of the items being submitted for analysis also means that they can now be transported to the laboratory by secure post, eliminating the substantial delays associated with hand delivery. Prior to this initiative it took up to 16 weeks to analyse prioritised samples. Routine cases could take over a year. QHFSS is now able to meet all of the service requirements of the QPS without developing a backlog. Turn around times for all cases have been dramatically reduced, with the majority of cases now being completed within three to five weeks.
2010 HIGHLY COMMENDED in Best Practice in State Government
Skilling Solutions Queensland, from the Department of Education and Training
Skilling Solutions Queensland (SSQ) is the Department of Education and Training’s free training and career information service. SSQ was established in 2005 as a pilot service to provide a one-stop-shop for Queenslanders to obtain information about their training and career options within the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector.
The concept was included as an action item in the Queensland Skills Plan 2008 and has now been aligned with the Department of Education and Training’s -Towards Q2 target: that 3 out or 4 Queenslanders will hold a formal qualification by 2020. It has been tasked with increasing the number of Queenslanders who gain formal qualifications through recognition of prior learning (RPL).
SSQ provides training and career information through individualised, face to face interviews and can also assist Queenslanders to fast-track gaining formal qualifications through recognition of workplace skills and experience. Linkages have been established with several training organisations to provide formal skills assessments to referred customers utilising the SSQ RPL subsidies. This enables more Queenslanders to obtain qualifications in a shorter timeframe, subsequently increasing the number of qualified workers in Queensland and raising the workforce capability of industries.
Skilling Solutions Queensland has 16 customer service centres across Queensland as well as a mobile van servicing remote communities in North, Central and South West Queensland. To date, SSQ has provided training and career information through 90,707 customer interviews. Of these, 35,670 have been referred for RPL and almost 9,000 have achieved a qualification through RPL after an interview with SSQ.
2009 WINNER in Best Practice in State Government
Fortitude Valley Station Refurbishment, From QR Passenger Pty Ltd
The judging panel chose this nomination of the station upgrade from Brunswick Street Station to the renamed Fortitude Valley Station as an excellent example of a major infrastructure project completed with minimal disruption to community activity and normal business. The challenge of keeping Fortitude Valley Station open for commuter access while the project was still in operation was well met. The team coped with the pressure of service delivery in a high profile site and maintained passenger safety in a major entertainment precinct which had a 24 hour operation period on weekends.
The extensive community engagement activities were an extra element not normally found. The community consultation was exemplary engaging disability groups, schools, artists and the community to take account of special interests and needs in the development of the new station.