2018 - 19 Annual Report for the Lifetime Support Authority
This annual report will be presented to Parliament to meet the statutory reporting requirements of the Motor Vehicle Accidents (Lifetime Support Scheme) Act 2013 (SA) (the Act) and the requirements of Premier and Cabinet Circular PC013 Annual Reporting.
This report is verified to be accurate for the purposes of annual reporting to the Parliament of South Australia.
Submitted on behalf of the Lifetime Support Authority by:
Juliet Brown OAM, Chair, Lifetime Support Authority Board
Tamara Tomic, Chief Executive, Lifetime Support Authority
Overview: about the agency
Agency Purpose:
Through the LSS, the LSA funds and plans necessary and reasonable treatment, care and support for people who sustain very serious injuries in motor vehicle accidents in South Australia, regardless of fault. It commenced on 1 July 2014 and has now been in operation for five years.
On average, the LSS expects to accept around 50 new participants each year. This equates to a person sustaining very serious injuries every eight days on South Australian roads. These injuries include brain or spinal cord injury, amputations, burns and blindness.
The LSA administers the LSS in accordance with the LSS Rules which outlines the eligibility criteria and how treatment, care and support needs are assessed.
Objectives:
The functions of the LSA under Section 16 of the Act include:
- Delivery of the Lifetime Support Scheme (LSS).
- Support and funding for research, education and programs relating to the provision of high quality services for participants in the LSS.
- Review of the LSS Rules.
- Disseminating information about the LSS.
- Management of the LSS Fund.
The LSA’s Strategy aims to ensure the continued delivery of a person centred LSS, which is well governed and financially sustainable. Its three strategic themes are:
- Person-Centered Services
- Scheme Sustainability
- Research, Education and Programs
The LSA is responsible to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing.
It is governed by a six member LSA Board, with three sub-Committees – Audit, Applications & Rules, and Finance & Investment.
During 2018–19, the Board members were:
- Juliet Brown OAM (Chair)
- Arabella Branson (Chair of the Applications & Rules Committee)
- Melinda OLeary
- George Potter
- Joseph Ullianich (Chair of the Audit Committee)
- Kenneth Williams (Chair of the Finance & Investment Committee)
LSA Staff
The Chief Executive, Tamara Tomic, leads the LSA which is comprised of Services, Corporate and Organisational Performance directorates.
The LSA had 59.44 FTE employees at 30 June 2019.
There were no changes as a result of machinery of government changes.
Not applicable.
The agency’s performance
Participant Information
Data for participants accepted from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2019.
Participant Experience Survey - Satisfaction Rate:
- FY 2018 - 98%
- FY 2019 - 98%
Participants accepted by Financial Year:
- FY 2018 - 61
- FY 2019 - 52
Participant by Injury:
- Amputation(s) - 14%
- Brain Injury - 69%
- Burns - 1%
- Spinal Cord Injury - 16%
Participants age:
- 0 - 17 Years - 6%
- 18 - 25 Years - 18%
- 26 - 40 Years - 22%
- 41 - 55 Years - 25%
- 56 - 64 Years - 14%
- 65 + Years - 15%
The LSA’s contribution to the Government’s objectives during 2018-19 are detailed below.
Government Objective | LSA Strategic Theme | Key Achievements |
Better Services | Person centred services | Refer to information in LSA’s specific objectives and performance. |
Lower Costs | Scheme sustainability | Refer to information in LSA’s specific objectives and performance. |
Strategic Theme 1 – Person Centred Services |
Key achievements:
|
Strategic Theme 2 – Scheme Sustainability |
Key achievements:
|
Strategic Theme 3 – Research, Education and Programs (REP) |
Key achievements:
|
Program name | Performance |
Placements | The LSA actively engages universities to provide student placements, with a focus on Allied Health students. During the year, the LSA hosted placements for three allied health student and two non-allied health students. The LSA provided two work experience opportunities as part of our commitment to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees with their professional development. |
Performance management and development system | Performance |
Performance Review | 100% of LSA staff completed bi-annual performance assessments. |
Learning and development | LSA staff participate in professional development activities including training, conferences and study assistance. Online learning is facilitated through the LSA’s learning management system. |
Program name | Performance |
Wellbeing Framework | Over 90% of LSA staff have participated in specific Wellbeing and Resilience Training. |
Mental Health First Aid | Staff attended mental health first aid training. |
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) | LSA staff are provided with access to an independent and free counselling service through the Employee Assistance Program. |
Workplace injury claims | 2018-19 | 2017-18 | % Change |
Total new workplace injury claims | 1 | 1 | N/A |
Fatalities | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Seriously injured workers* | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Significant injuries (where lost time exceeds a working week, expressed as frequency rate per 1000 FTE) | 0 | 0 | N/A |
*number of claimants assessed during the reporting period as having a whole person impairment of 30% or more under the Return to Work Act 2014 (Part 2 Division 5).
Work health and safety regulations | 2018-19 | 2017-18 | % Change |
Number of notifiable incidents (Work Health and Safety Act 2012, Part 3) | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Number of provisional improvement, improvement and prohibition notices (Work Health and Safety Act 2012 Sections 90, 191 and 195) | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Return to work costs** | 2018-19 | 2017-18 | % Change |
Total gross workers compensation expenditure ($) | $895 | $126 | -610% |
Income support payments – gross ($) | 0 | 0 | N/A |
**before third party recovery
Executive classification | Number of executives |
Non-SAES - EXECOC | 1 |
Non-SAES - EXECOA | 3 |
The Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment has a workforce information page that provides further information on the breakdown of executive gender, salary and tenure by agency.
Financial performance
The LSA funds treatment, care and support services for LSS participants, and levies collected each year are intended to fund the estimated full lifetime costs for new participants accepted into the Scheme during the year.
Levy collections during 2018-19 amounted to $156.0 million (compared to $151 million in 2017-18). The average annual levy paid by motor vehicle owners ($104.59) increased by only 2% compared to 2017-18.
The total expenditure for treatment, care, and support services in 2018-19 was $17.9 million (compared to $14.9 million in 2017-18). The types of treatment, care and support provided are shown in the table below. All were within the amount modelled by the independent actuary.
2018-19 | 2017-18 | |||
$'000s | % | $'000s | % | |
Hospital | 5,192 | 29.0% | 4,540 | 30.4% |
Attendant Care and Support | 6,480 | 36.2% | 4,580 | 30.7% |
Rehabilitation | 3,265 | 18.2% | 2,900 | 19.4% |
Equipment | 1,695 | 9.5% | 1,570 | 10.5% |
Home and Vehicle Mods | 473 | 2.6% | 690 | 4.6% |
Medical Treatment Services | 570 | 3.2% | 450 | 3.0% |
Other | 224 | 1.2% | 210 | 1.4% |
TOTAL | 17,899 | 14,940 | ||
As at 30 June 2019, the LSA’s net central estimate of outstanding liabilities was $502.0 million (compared with $381.8 as at 30 June 2018), calculated by the independent actuary.
The LSA invests with Funds SA, the South Australian Government owned corporation which invests and manages funds of approved authorities. The LSA investment strategy delivered returns of 8.2% for the year ending 30 June 2019 and exceeded the investment return objective.
The following is a summary of external consultants that have been engaged by the agency, the nature of work undertaken, and the actual payments made for the work undertaken during the financial year.
Consultancies with a contract value below $10,000 each
Consultancies | Purpose | $ Actual payment |
All consultancies below $10,000 each - combined | N/A | $0 |
Consultancies with a contract value above $10,000 each
Consultancies | Purpose | $ Actual payment |
Bound Consulting Group | Independent Organisational Review | $10,650 |
KPMG | Review of Lifetime Support Authority Operating Model | $15,969 |
Finity Consulting Pty Ltd | Actuarial advisory services | $388,544 |
Magoo Actuarial Consulting Pty Ltd | Actuary peer review services | $44,100 |
Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) Pty Ltd | Internal audits and reviews of LSA operations | $206,865 |
Total | $666,128 |
The following is a summary of external contractors that have been engaged by the agency, the nature of work undertaken, and the actual payments made for work undertaken during the financial year.
Contractors with a contract value below $10,000
Contractors | Purpose | $ Actual payment |
All contractors below $10,000 each - combined | Various | $59,032 |
Contractors with a contract value above $10,000 each
Contractors | Purpose | $ Actual payment |
BDO Advisory (SA) Pty Ltd | IT project management | $61,180 |
Cassandra McNeilly | Website design and maintenance | $25,897 |
Data Drift | Establishment of data analytics function | $144,260 |
Enabled Solutions Pty Ltd | LSS App development and maintenance | $18,600 |
Enrite Solutions Australia Pty Ltd | System development and support | $102,029 |
Enrite Solutions Australia Pty Ltd | Lantern Pay support | $60,037 |
Enrite Solutions Australia Pty Ltd | System development and support | $10,467 |
Hacklabs Pty Ltd | Cybersecurity services | $24,750 |
Halewood Pacific Pty Ltd | Finance Project implementation and management | $119,000 |
Lantern Pay | System integration review | $15,000 |
Le Faire Consulting | Advice for financial management system and modelling development | $64,318 |
Oakton Services Pty Ltd | LSA enterprise platform review | $39,525 |
Satalyst Pty Ltd | MyPlan Bot development and implementation | $43,850 |
Showpony Advertising | Marketing and communication support | $29,494 |
Taryn Schubert Communications | Communications services | $10,138 |
The Missing Think | Coaching and training | $14,200 |
Underwood Executive Pty Ltd | Recruitment services | $35,597 |
University of South Australia | LSS participant survey | $45,250 |
Willis Reinsurance Aust Ltd | Reinsurance brokerage services. | $135,000 |
Total | $998,598 | |
Notes: This table does not include attendant care and other providers engaged for direct support and services relating to participants as they are considered treatment, care and support expenses. The figures contained in this table are represented in whole dollars which may result in a rounding error when compared to the total figure. | ||
Risk management
The LSA Board has an Audit Committee which oversees the LSA’s risk management approach. The Audit Committee meets four times a year and considers risk management at each meeting.
The LSA has a risk management policy, procedures and framework in place to support its risk management activities.
Fraud detected in the agency
Category/nature of fraud | Number of instances |
Suspected fraudulent activity by a Service Provider | 1 |
Suspected misuse of a Government Purchase Card | 1 |
NB: Fraud reported includes actual and reasonably suspected incidents of fraud.
The LSA has in place a Fraud and Corruption Policy (Policy). The Policy incorporates the South Australian Public Sector Fraud and Corruption Control Policy, the Code of Ethics for the South Australian Public Sector and the LSA Code of Conduct and Participant Service Charter.
All staff and Board members are required to conduct themselves to the highest ethical standards and adhere to behaviour that promotes and maintain public confidence and trust.
Data for previous years is available at this website.
Number of occasions on which public interest information has been disclosed to a responsible officer of the agency under the Whistleblowers Protection Act 1993:
- Zero
Data for previous years is available at this website.
Act or Regulation | Requirement |
Not applicable | Not applicable |
Public complaints
Complaint categories | Sub-categories | Description | Number of Complaints 2018-2019 |
Service quality | Service responsiveness | Family member of LSS Participant complaint about attendant care service provision | 1 |
Service quality | Timeliness | Family member of LSS Participant misunderstanding regarding standard approval timeframe for second opinion medical service | 1 |
Total | 2 |
Additional Metrics | Total |
% complaints resolved within policy timeframes | 100 |
Data for previous years is available at this website.
Service improvements for period
Service improvements that responded to customer complaints or feedback |
In response to a complaint, the LSA undertook a review of internal practice regarding requests for change of service planner. In addition to complaints, the LSA conducts an annual Participant Survey which is focussed on measuring participant satisfaction with the Scheme and identifying areas for improvement. In response to the 2018 Participant Survey results, the LSA is implementing the following continuous improvement initiatives:
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