Community Engagement

Building on the ACT Government's Community Engagement Framework, TAMS embraced community engagement by establishing a Community Engagement Unit, within the Office of the Chief Executive, in November 2005.

In early 2006, TAMS established a Community Advisory Group (CAG), which reflects the diversity of local Canberrans. The CAG is advisory in nature and exists to:

• provide information and advice about the community, that will help directly target community engagement activities to relevant audiences;
• assist to analyse the most appropriate engagement techniques;
• advise on any issues that may arise from consultation mechanisms;
• assist in communicating constraints and opportunities with community engagement mechanisms; and
• provide a forum for a broad range of community members to express their perspectives on TAMS services.

The CAG operates in a spirit of cooperation and negotiation under the framework of the ACT Government's Community Engagement Policy.

In early 2006 TAMS and the CAG developed a Community Engagement Policy (below) that specifically addressed the needs of the Department. The Policy provides a capacity for the community to influence and improve the delivery of the Department's services, as well as provides a framework to collect valuable feedback to include in decision-making processes. This ensures that TAMS continues to offer targeted services that meet community needs, and helps guide priorities into the future.

Community Engagement Policy ( PDF 1.4Mb)

Community Engagement Events and Activities

• Ainslie Shops Upgrade
• Deakin Shops Upgrade
• Bunda Street Refurbishment
• Community Consultation for Eddison Park Master Plan
• ACT Disabled Parking Review 2007
• Community Consultation on Belconnen and Tuggeranong Skate Parks 
• Community Consultation on Playground Safety Program
• New Regional Community Facilities for Former ACT School Sites
• Community Consultation to Improve Parking in Fyshwick
• Focus Groups for TAMS and People with Disabilities in the ACT Community

Community Engagement Feedback

Tharwa Bridge Community Consultation—December 2007

Chief Minister Jon Stanhope has announced that following community consultation and advice from experts, the ACT Government will retain the existing Tharwa Bridge and provide design construction to allow for general traffic to use the bridge.  This will cost the ACT Government approximately $14 million.

Tharwa Bridge Community Consultation

Community Satisfaction Surveys

The main purpose of the surveys are to determine members of the ACT community’s level of satisfaction with a range of products and services offered by TAMS. These surveys are conducted twice a year and will be used as a benchmarking tool to measure future customer satisfaction levels for TAMS.

• Community Satisfaction Survey—December 2007 ( PDF 171 Kb)
• Community Satisfaction Survey—June 2007 ( PDF 99 Kb)

Wheelchair Accessible Taxis

In 2005, the Minister for (then) Urban Services, Mr John Hargreaves MLA, formed a Reference Group to provide recommendations to improve services provided by wheelchair accessible taxis (WATs).

At the end of 2006, the Public Transport Policy Unit within TAMS sought feedback from WAT users, particularly in the period since the formation of the Reference Group.

TAMS arranged and facilitated two focus groups, held in March 2007, to gauge perceptions and satisfaction levels of WAT taxi users.

Attached is a summary of our findings.

• Wheelchair Accessible Taxis Community Consultation—March 2007 ( PDF 81 Kb)