Dear Here to Help, Sometimes, I feel like I am caught in a dystopian novel, like Catch 22, when I am dealing with bureaucracy. It’s so frustrating! After spending hours on hold to one organisation, I am told that I don’t have the necessary authorisations and then...
Dear Here to Help, Recently, my 86yo dad rang the ambulance on a Friday night. When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics suggested that he should not go to hospital, but should wait until Monday to see his GP. The paramedics said Dad was likely to wait...
Dear Here to Help, Sometimes, government makes decisions that just don’t make sense. And I really want to find a way to change those government decisions, so that they work better. But when I talk to colleagues in my profession/industry, they tell me to “leave well...
Thanks Nicole Davidson for a fun and interesting discussion about negotiating in real life, with government ...
Public policy describes government decisions. Like most processes, it comes with its own particular terminology. I have discussed some of this terminology in previous columns. Today, let’s discuss “regulatory failure”, another public policy term. Regulatory failure admits that government gets its decisions wrong sometimes. Let’s start by...
Another fabulous Associations Forum National Conference for 2022! It was my privilege to be invited to present on "Developing Policy and Position Statements", together with Dr Daniel Mulino and Dr Joe Power, very competently chaired by Bernard Rupasinghe. Thank you to the attendees for your great, insightful...
Dear Here to Help, I really struggle to understand government, how it works, and how to engage with government. Is there some kind of “golden bullet” that gets the attention of government? Thank you for your query. There are, indeed, some key phrases that can help you better...
Dear Here to Help, As a small business owner, I interact with government. I find these interactions complex and confusing – in particular the words they use sound like a foreign language. What do their words mean? Why don’t they seem to understand my communications with them? Do you...
Dear Here to Help, I tested positive for covid a few days ago and received a letter from the NSW government, which says “this notice confirms that you were required to self-isolate from 11-01-2022 to 19-01-2022… You may leave isolation if you do not have a...
I was talking with two parents of children with disability and the subject turned to the NDIS. Parent A (let’s call her Jane) – I’m so pleased I finally got my daughter officially recognised as being on the autism spectrum and we have qualified for NDIS...