Safe NT
Here in the Northern Territory, we have the Working with Children Clearance or "Ochre card" which is required if you work or volunteer at any organisation that works with children. It largely seems to be a pointless exercise as they appear to issue them to just about anyone, but it raises revenue for the NT Govt and allows them to say "well we did something!" if anything bad happens.
The company I work for asked all staff to get them on the off chance that we needed to go to anywhere that required one. I got mine and in two years never had any need for it. It expired in 2017 and I tried to renew it online.
For some reason, to renew online you have to have a renewal reference number. Your personal details and the card number are not enough. I managed to lose my renewal notice, so tried to contact their support to find out what it was. Getting through on the phone was impossible, so I tried to contact support by email. This was the experience and I am seriously not making this up.
---
To: 'safent.police@nt.gov.au'
Sent: Monday, 3rd July 2017 8:31 AM
Hi,
My Ochre card has expired and I need to renew it. My details are:
<DETAILS OMITTED>
When I go to the renew section on the website, I am asked for the ochre card number and a renewal reference. Can you let me know the renewal reference please?
Regards,
XXXXXX
---
From: SAFE NT [mailto:Police.SafeNT@pfes.nt.gov.au]
Sent: Monday, 3 July 2017 8:32 AM
Dear Sir/Madam
Your request has been received by SAFE NT and will be actioned promptly by our Customer Service Officers.
If you wish to follow up on the progress of this matter, or provide additional information regarding this issue, please reply to this email and quote reference number #nnnnnnn in the subject line.
SCREENING ASSESSMENT FOR EMPLOYMENT (SAFE NT)
Incorporating Working With Children Screening unit
Email: safent.police@nt.gov.au
---
Sent: Wednesday, 26 July 2017 2:31 PM
To: 'SAFE NT' <Police.SafeNT@pfes.nt.gov.au>
Hi,
I haven’t heard anything back regarding this request yet.
---
Sent: Tuesday, 29 August 2017 1:45 PM
To: 'SAFE NT' <Police.SafeNT@pfes.nt.gov.au>
Hello,
Can somebody please action this request.
I need to renew my card, but do not know my renewal reference.
---
Sent: Wednesday, 20 September 2017 1:45 PM
To: 'SAFE NT' <SafeNT.Police@nt.gov.au>
Hello,
I still have not heard anything in response to this email and its multiple follow-ups. Of course, It has only been 11 weeks since my initial email which received an automated response stating that it would be actioned "promptly". This does leave me wondering what the SAFE NT definition of promptly is.
I did notice some apparent confusion in the email addresses used. My initial email went to safent.police@nt.gov.au. The response came back from police.safent@pfes.nt.gov.au. I foolishly responded to this (as advised by the automated response) expecting a reply. I am now attempting the original email address again to see if there is anybody there.
Assuming anybody ever actually reads this email and can be bothered to respond, can you tell me which method of communication I should attempt to use to contact you in future as I cannot get through on the phone and my emails are apparently ignored.
Do you use smoke signals, carrier pigeons or ham radio?
Regards,
XXXXXX
---
From: SAFE NT [mailto:Police.SafeNT@pfes.nt.gov.au]
Sent: Friday, 1 December 2017 10:49 AM
Dear XXXXXX,
We are very sorry that we have not responded to your emails.
Unfortunately your card has been expired for more than 2 months and we are unable to renew it, if you still require a Working with Children Clearance then you will need to apply for a new application.
Regards
XXXXXX
---
To: 'SAFE NT' <Police.SafeNT@pfes.nt.gov.au>
Sent: Friday, 1 December 2017 11:03 AM
Hi XXXXXX,
Thank you for (finally) responding.
Had my initial request been responded to "promptly" (as I understand the meaning of the word) on the 3rd July as promised by the auto response, then I would have been 3 weeks within the 2 month window.
However, it seems the SAFE NT definition of promptly is about 22 weeks. I won’t bother getting a new card.
Regards,
XXXXXX