Context
The Companion Card Management Service (CCMS) underpins the NSW Companion Card program, enabling people with significant and permanent disabilities to attend events and venues with a support person at no cost.
The legacy system had become severely outdated, with a large backlog of requests significantly delaying access to a service that cardholders reported improved their lives weekly or even daily. Manual data entry, errors, reliance on auxiliary staff, and high operating costs further constrained the program.
Key Challenges
- Regulatory Divergence: Units followed different standards, complicating enterprise-wide compliance.
- Data Sovereignty Constraints: Centralising sensitive records was commercially and legally unviable.
- Legacy Infrastructure: Existing platforms lacked the flexibility for cross-domain intelligence and rapid deployment.
Our Approach
Automation of processes – eliminating manual data entry and introduced errors.
Faster application processing – reducing the backlog and enabling quicker issuance of cards.
Staff capacity release – freeing 35+ hours per week for staff to focus on affiliate recruitment and healthcare provider education.
Modern IT architecture – creating a scalable foundation for integration with MyGov, Service NSW, and healthcare networks.
Cost efficiency – transitioning to a sustainable operating model that would reduce recurring costs and deliver ROI in under two years.
Outcomes
- Elimination of backlogs, timely access for people with disabilities
- Faster processing & better data quality
- 15% annual member growth
- 10% annual affiliate growth
- Hundreds of 1000’s $$ in annual savings