Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee, , 35:14 to 40:16
Senators inquire about contracts for an aged care image library, My Aged Care promotional magnets, and the development of an upcoming public relations campaign.
Topics: Procurement, Government advertising, Health
Speakers: Ms Rachel Balmanno, Senator Chris Gatenby, Ms Leanne Ringwood, Senator Ellie Whiteaker, Ms Amy Laffan
Okay. Um I might just move to uh contracts, that's still the same officials. Um just over some recent contracts that have been awarded uh from the department. Uh one is an aged care image library, it's contract number 424030. Uh the contract was for 161,000 for an aged care image library, and I'm just wondering of that, how many images were actually produced and what its main purpose was for and application?
Having uh looked after the the communications functions for for some time, I I would know at a general level what that is, we can get the number of actual images. Uh but we routinely when we're doing communications, whether it's through our website, whether it's through newsletters, public communications, we don't just use stock images off the internet, we don't use AI-generages, those sorts of things. We make sure we're using uh images of of real Australians. Uh so we routinely uh commission people to actually refresh that it those images for us so that they are of actual situations in this case in age care.
Okay, but will you take that on notice how many images?
Certainly.
That'll be right. Um another one was the MyAge Care Magnets, uh, which I noticed was about just under 30,000. That's CN428930.
Again, one not the first time we've purchased my age care magnets, so I can speak to that one. Uh I would have to take on notice the number, but the magnets have proven to be a very effective way of keeping the phone number and the way of ways of contacting my age care front of mind for older people in their families. So while generally we do not uh do a large amount of merchandise, the magnets and having them on someone's fridge has proven to be an incredibly effective tool, and we we've looked at that and evaluated that use.
So we could understand just yeah, the number that were produced and for the purpose, but also um how you as my Senator colleague just requested, um, how do people actually receive that? Do they get it in mail? Does the RAS or the assessor provide that? How does that actually work? How does it actually get received?
There'll be a range of different ways. So we do uh sort of public-facing uh communication activities, uh for example uh we have uh pop-ups in shopping centres and things like that to actually consult with older people. Yeah, thank you, Amy. Uh oh, here we go. Magnets, I'll let you answer that in a second. Pop-ups in shopping centres and libraries and things like that. So the magnets are often handed out as part of that consultation uh and reminding people, so giving them guidance about my age care, but also something to be able to make that contact later.
Thank you. Um got a couple more.
Do you have the number of magnets and I do?
Amy Laffan, First Assistant Secretary, People Communication and Parliamentary Division. There were two thousand MyHare branded magnetic grocery list pads.
Uh the cost was $28,000, uh, 28,462.
I'm going to in a minute. You do have more magnet-related questions. Sorry, I didn't mean that.
No, no, no more magnet, but I do have one just on the age care campaign overall.
Right. Finish with that and then I'll share the question.
The contract for CN425985 on the public relations services for aged care was 275,000. Um can you just provide a bit more detail about that campaign? Anything you can put on notice, um, conscious of time, but uh the main focus for that campaign that you can provide us as well, anything on notice is always useful as well.
Ringwood uh manages that campaign.
So Leanne Wingwood Assistant Secretary, People, Communication and Parliamentary Commission. Good morning, Senator. So the department is uh working on a campaign and has authority to do so under the uh Australian government advertising guidelines. Uh to encourage people to uh plan are for aged care, so to take steps to understand other types of services that are available, how they can access it, what those kind of processes are. The campaigns under development at the moment, that contract relates to work that is is happening to help prepare resources uh and uh things like that. Uh so uh it will obviously be subject to Australian government uh campaign approval processes and so timing for that campaign is is for government to decide, but that supports that work.
And when's it expected to start and finish? What's the length of the Campaign.
So timing is subject to government approvals, Senator, but we are planning at this stage to be launching that campaign next year.
Okay.
Thank you, Senator Gatingby. I will give the call to Senator Brown.