Stralian Hearing Annual Report 2003–04 - Australian Hearing

Corporate profile
Australian Hearing competes with about 140 private service providers to provide
services to Voucher clients.
To be eligible to receive services under the Australian Government Hearing
Services Program a person must be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident
21 years of age or older, and a:
“Our network
provides a reach
that is unrivalled
by any other
service provider.”
Audiologists travel to remote regions
of Australia to see Indigenous clients.
AUSTRALIAN HEARING IS THE NATION’S LARGEST PROVIDER OF
HEARING SERVICES. It was established by the Australian
Government in 1947 to provide services to veterans
who had suffered hearing damage during World
War II, and also to assist children whose hearing
was affected by a series of rubella epidemics.
A statutory authority that reports to the Minister
for Ageing, Australian Hearing is divided into three
key areas:
• Hearing centre operations
• Corporate services
• National Acoustic Laboratories
NETWORK STAFF
Australian Hearing centres are staffed by clinicians,
technicians and customer support staff, led by
a district manager. The 75 centres are grouped
into 13 regions, each managed by a regional manager.
Regional clinical advisers provide staff development,
expert advice, review and set clinical standards and
monitor the quality of service delivery.
SERVICE STREAMS AND CLIENTS
Australian Hearing delivers hearing services to the
private market (Voucher) and the community service
obligation (CSO) sectors. Voucher and CSO services are
controlled and administered under the Australian
Government Hearing Services Program by the Office
of Hearing Services (OHS).
• pensioner concession cardholder or a dependant of a cardholder;
• Department of Veterans’ Affairs gold or white repatriation cardholder
(specifically for war related hearing loss) or a dependant of a cardholder;
• sickness allowance recipient or their dependant;
• referred Commonwealth Rehabilitation Services of Australia client; or
• member of the Australian Defence Force.
Australian Hearing is the sole government provider of services to CSO clients.
These include:
• Australian citizens or permanent residents under 21 years;
• eligible adults with complex rehabilitation needs;
• eligible Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders;
• eligible clients in remote areas.
Australian Hearing’s 75 centres across all states and territories provide services to
assess hearing, fit hearing aids or other appropriate devices, provide counselling,
listening skills training and more extensive rehabilitation programs to help eligible
clients manage their impairment.
YOUNG AND OLD
Australian Hearing’s
clients are at both
ends of the age
spectrum. More than
a third of our younger
clients are under the
age of 10 years, and
about 50 per cent of
our adult clients are
80 years and over.
8 AUSTRALIAN HEARING ANNUAL REPORT 2003–04 CORPORATE PROFILE 9