New collaboration with Thriving Communities Partnership

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is delighted to announce a formal collaboration with Thriving Communities Partnership as an ambassador and partner. Thriving Communities Partnership is a not-for-profit, member-led organisation dedicated to uniting essential services providers and associated organisations to support inclusive access across Australian communities.

Committed partners share a goal that everybody has fair access to essential services they need to thrive in contemporary Australia. These services include utilities, financial services, telecommunications, and transport.

The vision of Thriving Communities Partnership aligns with the TIO’s purpose of providing a fair, independent, and accessible external dispute resolution service.

As an ambassador, the TIO will collaborate in cross-sector initiatives facilitated by the partnership. As a member, the TIO is invited to attend and contribute to fortnightly webinars, masterclasses, and other working group events such as roundtables, report launches, and an Annual Partner Strategy Forum.

By bringing organisations together to share knowledge, the partnership aims to create a fair and connected system, so that everyone in Australia can achieve an adequate standard of living, and live free from discrimination.

In addition to contributing to a shared goal, the benefits of this partnership include capability building, connection with other partners, and leveraging initiatives such as co-design workshops using human centred design techniques and processes.

TIO Communications and Engagement Lead Georgina Wood is looking forward to working with Thriving Together Partnership on the day-to-day operational opportunities and participating in cross-collaboration initiatives.

“This is a wonderful initiative to be a part of. I’m looking forward to learning from the network and being able to bring the TIO’s knowledge and enthusiasm to Partnership webinars and working groups.

“The Disaster Planning and Recover Collaborative Research Project is just one example of the work that we can learn from and contribute to. And our consumers and members will benefit from those learnings when it comes to disaster planning, especially in the lead up to summer’s bushfire and floods season.”

James McDonald, Assistant Ombudsman Early Resolution, is excited to be the Partnership’s strategic relationship contact.

“Thriving Communities Partnership has created an amazing community of diverse organisations who are committed to share knowledge and remove barriers for people who need help. The partnership creates pathways for frontline workers to refer complex issues, which often span multiple sectors, to these organisations and existing services like the TIO, in a really simple and clear way”.

As the TIO continues to improve accessibility, the organisation looks forward to future opportunities to collaborate, ideate, present, workshop, or share learnings with other organisations.