If you would like to view previous versions of the eBulletin, please refer to our public web site page under the heading archived eBulletin

As most of you would be aware, HSNet issued a User Satisfaction Survey to all our members during September. We wish to thank you for taking the time to complete the survey. The results will be evaluated during November and an update will be provided in the next issue of the eBulletin in early 2008.

In early October, the HSNet team members Zoe Petridis,  Vanja McCarthy, Hasanthi Premachandra and Margaret Colquhoun visited the New England region to conduct HSNet workshops. The workshops were held at TAFE facilities in   Moree, Glen Innes, Gunnedah and Tamworth. Regional staff from government agencies and NGOs in the human services sector attended the workshops. Participants were guided through ‘hands on’ group activities to gain skills in accessing resources available on the HSNet website including searching for information on ServiceLink and using the eReferral tool.

We would like to thank all TAFE and human services staff who assisted us during the workshops. Thank you also to our participants who kindly took their time to attend and provided invaluable feedback about and interest in HSNet, ServiceLink and eReferrals.

Workshops held at our Sydney facility continue in their popularity and tend to fill up quickly. The October workshop is currently at its full capacity but there are still places available in the workshops scheduled on 16 November and 7 December.

To register your interest, please contact the HSNet Support Desk on (02) 9228 4200 or send an email to hsnet@hsnet.nsw.gov.au

If you are unable to attend our Sydney-based workshops and are interested in finding out about HSNet and its tools, we would be happy to provide training sessions in your area if there are training facilities available and a sufficient number of participants.

An eReferral Pilot Project betweenthe NSW Home Care Service Referral and Assessment Centre (RAC), Newcastle/Lake Macquarie Community Options Program, the Hunter Commonwealth Carer Respite Centre, Carelink and Novacare commenced in June this year. A total of 61 eReferrals have been sent by the participating agencies so far. The project will be evaluated in December this year and HSNet looks forward to presenting the findings in the eBulletin early next year.

Since the last eBulletin there have been several changes in our team.   Three new staff have    joined in three temporary positions that were created to continue to grow and support HSNet.

Robin Nahum, Project Development Manager
Robin has recently joined us on a one year secondment from the Attorney-General's Department. He will be developing requirements and is responsible for implementing major changes to the HSNet software and the way in which it is used. Robin has an extensive background in system development and now specialises in project management and business analysis.

Zoe Petridis, Business Development & Communications Manager
Zoe Petridis, who until recently held the HSNet Senior Project Officer position, has been appointed to the role of Business Development & Communications Manager. In this role, Zoe continues to promote and encourage the use of ServiceLink with a special focus on government agencies. Much of Zoe’s time will be spent assisting DADHC and Health with the implementation of the Access Points projects in designing, documenting and delivering specific training for both Access Points staff and participating NGOs.

Vanja McCarthy, Senior Project Officer
Vanja has been appointed to the Senior Project Officer role for one year. Vanja has extensive experience in the government sector in the areas of training, communications, business analysis and development of business processes and policies surrounding new system implementation. In her new role, Vanja will continue to promote and encourage the use of HSNet and its components among the NGOs, manage Client Management Systems (CMS) group subsidies, conduct presentations and manage ongoing training workshops.

Margaret Colquhoun, Project Support Officer
Margaret came on board earlier in the year as Support Desk Officer and was successful in her application for the Project Support Officer role. In her new role, Margaret will work closely with Robin and Zoe providing project and administrative support, promoting and distributing new material about HSNet to new members, conducting presentations and training.

Suzy Nour, Support Desk Officer
Suzy is our newest staff member and is acting in the role of Support Desk Officer. She has over 11 years experience providing desktop and helpdesk support to Central Corporate Services Unit (CCSU) clients.

Finally, we bid a fond farewell to Drew Duckworth, Data Administrator who has taken a year off to travel overseas. Drew commenced with the team three years ago and during this time has been responsible for the management of human services data and user administration in ServiceLink directory.

Want to reduce the number of emails you’re receiving from HSNet about updates to your groups? Try changing your email notification settings so you receive a daily or weekly digest. Here’s how:

•  Go to http://www.hsnet.nsw.gov.au/groupemail.aspx and change your settings. The available options are:

- Individual emails: every time a Group is updated, you receive an email  notification. This is useful for Group Managers and in Groups where you want immediate notification of updates.

- Daily Digest: receive just one email per day about updates to this Group. If you have other Groups set to 'Daily Digest', they will be included in the same email. This is the default option when you first sign up, and is best for high volume Groups.

- Weekly Digest: as for 'Daily Digest', but emails are sent on a weekly basis.

- Off: select this option if you do not wish to receive email notifications for this Group. All the content will still be available on the site when you next visit.

Over the Christmas period, the HSNet team and Service Desk will be unavailable from Monday 24 December 2007 till Tuesday 1 January 2008.

Human Services Network
Level 3, Bligh House
4-6 Bligh Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000

Telephone: 02 9228 4200
Fax: 02 9228 3024
Email: hsnet@hsnet.nsw.gov.au 
Website: http://www.hsnet.nsw.gov.au/