Most DHA househunters happy

* An annual survey of Defence Housing Authority members shows 80 per cent of them are satisfied with the total relocation experience managed by DHA. DHA have now finished a trial it hopes will improve even more the process of finding a new home.

RESULTS from the latest Defence Housing Authority (DHA) annual relocation survey show the majority of members – 80 per cent – are satisfied with the total relocation experience managed by DHA and more than half – 62 per cent – are satisfied with the process of finding their new home.

National operations manager Kevin O’Brien says DHA takes customer service seriously and regularly surveys Defence members to identify any problem areas so they can iron them out.

DHA would still like to improve its service levels even more.

“While most Defence Force members who we help move are satisfied with the overall experience, the feedback we have been getting from them is that we could make the process of finding their new home easier,” Mr O’Brien said.

“The key is an early indication of which homes will be available. Faster listing of homes to HomeFind [at www.homefind.com.au] will result in earlier selection of homes for Defence members and their families.”

To make this happen, DHA is asking members to submit their preferred arrangements as soon as possible after they receive their posting orders.

DHA is currently reviewing the results of a trial that was run from March to May. The trial involved sending members, who had received a posting, a letter with a simple tear-off card and reply paid envelope to help speed up confirmation of posting intentions.

The quicker the member returned this information, the quicker their home was able to be listed on HomeFind – which meant more choice for other members and their families.

Over 4674 Defence families chose their home through the HomeFind web site in the past six months (from November 1, 2004 to April 30, 2005).

Once the results of the trial are evaluated, DHA hopes to implement this new process for all members who receive a posting.

“The feedback that we receive from members every day is invaluable, and helps us to provide a better service. We conduct regular surveys with our customers and strive to make improvements everywhere we can,” Mr O’Brien said.

Phone DHA’s customer service line on 1800 249 711 from 8am-6pm.

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