Dannevirke Work and Income closing for upgrade

The Dannevirke service centre will be closed from Monday until December 14. Photo / Leanne Warr

The Dannevirke Work and Income service centre is closing temporarily on November 22 to
improve "privacy and security" for clients, community liaison Sandra Crosbie says.

The centre would be divided into zones with one space for staff only, a space where staff can talk with clients face to face, and a dedicated employment space in front.

She said the upgrade would make the service centre more pleasant and modern looking, with new furnishings and surroundings.

There would also be a flexi-desk style of working, which meant case managers would generally not be at only one desk during the day.

"They can move to other workspaces," Crosbie said.

Having dedicated zones also meant clients could talk with a case manager without fear of their privacy being breached.

Service centre manager Aroha Peakman-Walker said the site would be closed until December 14 so the new space could be up and running as quickly as possible.

"While we're closed, we're still able to offer people the help they need over the phone and online.

"All our staff are still working during the temporary closure. This means our clients will still receive the full amount of service and support."

Even though there would be no face-to-face meetings during the upgrade, clients could still leave things in the drop box and they could still talk to specialist teams throughout the region.

Dannevirke's service centre was not the only one to receive an upgrade as these have been carried out in other service centres.

"The other service centres around the country that have been upgraded have had really good feedback from clients, staff and community groups," Peakman-Walker said.

Clients would be able to see how the new centre worked once it reopened on the Tuesday.