Communities and Justice

Housing Client Service Officer

  • Client Service Officers (CSOs) are the frontline of Housing Services and provide a broad range of tenancy and property management services and advice.

    DCJ Careers: Client Service Officers

    Client Service Officers (CSOs) are the frontline of Housing Services and provide a broad range of tenancy and property management services and advice.

    Transcript

    (Client Service Officer talking to a client on the phone.)

    Anne, Client Service Officer, Housing Contact Centre: I'm a Client Service Officer CSO at the Housing Contact Centre. Been working with the call centre for near on 20 years now.

    Alex, Client Service Officer, Housing Contact Centre: Been here three and a half years. I help people in need whenever they call in.

    Rebecca, Client Service Officer, Housing Contact Centre: I work at the Housing Contact Centre in Liverpool, and I've been employed here for 20 years.

    (Rebecca talking to a client on the phone.)

    Noemi, Client Service Officer, Tenancy Team: I work in the Liverpool tenancy team and I've been with the department 13 years.

    Adrian, Client Service Officer, Outreach Team: I work for the sort of outreach team in Northern New South Wales around Tweed Heads.

    (Adrian driving to visit a client.)

    Anne: We're basically here to help people, those that are vulnerable in the community that may be homeless or maybe looking for accommodation, and they just need some help with steps to lead them on the way.

    Alex: We've been able to help people get into emergency accommodation and give a helping hand just when they need it the most.

    (Housing Contact Centre helped people effected by bush fires.)

    Noemi: So 300 properties I manage. So within those properties could be single people it could be a family of five.

    (Noemi taking picture of a property for assessment.)

    Adrian: We basically go out into the streets, into the parks and we find homeless people we put them into temporary accommodation if they're so willing to go into and we try to find suitable housing for them.

    (Adrian driving to visit a client.)

    Noemi: A day in the life of a Client Service Officer would include doing a counter shift where you sit on the counter and serve people of a morning or afternoon. Doing client service visits, we visit my 300 properties that I manage. It would be taking forms and doing rent subsidies. It could be any number of complaints that come in and I try and sort it out for the tenants.

    (Noemi assessing a property.)

    Anne: To start the day with calls come into the housing contact centre. So it's a call centre. We're taking calls all day log into the computer, set ourselves up. We take many calls, many different lines, after a while, it can become a bit draining, but you move forward and then you may just be working off the phones processing applications.

    Alex: I'll come in the morning and go into the kitchen, make myself a cup of coffee and check the news. See if there's anything that might impact our day. And from there, we'll take calls.

    Rebecca: Nothing's ever the same. Calls are always different. We answer general inquiries and then we go on to help homeless people. We help domestic violence people. We help so many different people.

    (Adrian interacting with a colleague in the call centre.)

    Adrian: Recently we found a gentleman in a van who had cancer. Couldn't do chemo because he was in his van. He's now in temporary accommodation doing chemo again and his life is back on track.

    Anne: The training at the HC is absolutely brilliant. You're not just thrown in there. There's always plenty of training available.

    Alex: You should definitely bring along with you, your energy levels, having enthusiasm.

    Anne: You really have to have a lot of empathy for the clients and your communication skills have to be, I would say superlative. 

    Noemi: The workload can be quite heavy, but if you have good time management skills, you will be fine.

    Anne: But I would say the main challenge would be trying to determine yourself how you're going to help a certain client. And each client is different. We always say here, put a different hat on, okay, today I've got to have this hat on because this person needs this type of assistance. What do I do?

    Adrian: The challenges also include the mental health issues involved. The drug and alcohol issues. All of which we wrap services around, try to work with people. It doesn't preclude them from our programme. The advantages of working for the department in this sort of role, any sort of role the job opportunities are literally endless.

    Noemi: There's heaps of career progression within housing.

    (Noemi walking the Rebecca in the office.)

    Rebecca: Always room for advancement. If that's the way that you want to go.

    (Alex talking to a client on the phone.)

    Alex: I joined this department because of the fantastic service that our people in the site been providing to those in need.

    Noemi: What I love about being a CSO is the people that I get to meet, some of our clients are beautiful, the people I work with, and I love the variety that the role has.

    (Noemi walking the Rebecca in the office.)

    Anne: At the end of the day, we do have an impact and that it's real people.

    Rebecca: We help so many different people. And everybody that I work with is very supportive of each other. And it's just a great place to work.

    Adrian: Basically, we go home, and we can talk to our partners and our friends and family, knowing that we're actually changing people's lives. It's incredible feeling.

    Alex: Being a part of the team. Just made it all inspiring.

What is it like to work here?

"I take pride in assisting vulnerable clients in need. As the first point of contact over the phone, I have the privilege of addressing their concerns directly. The hope and smiles we bring to our clients, even through the smallest actions, give me a strong sense of accomplishment. I am fortunate to be part of an outstanding team that is both supportive and a pleasure to work with."

- Hari, Client Service Officer

Role overview

Client Service Officers (CSOs) are the frontline of Housing Services and provide a broad range of tenancy and property management services and advice. 

Housing Services is part of the Housing, Disability and District Services and Emergency Management division under the Department of Communities and Justice. Housing Services is one of the largest providers of social housing in the world, providing a range of housing solutions to meet the needs of approximately 800,000 people every year.

In partnership with the community, industry and individuals, Housing Services provide safe and affordable housing opportunities for those most in need so that they can live with dignity, find support when needed and achieve independence.

Key skills

  • show sensitivity and understanding when resolving clients housing needs
  • stay calm in highly pressured environments and work through difficult issues
  • be motivated and committed to achieving challenging goals
  • assess information and evidence, in accordance with policies and legislation
  • adapt to new technology
  • engage, influence, and negotiate from an informed and credible position
  • demonstrate accountability by assessing work outcomes and share learnings
  • plan and prioritise workloads to meet deadlines, in a fast paced environment.

Role requirements

  • Current driver’s licence and willingness to drive within NSW.

Different types of Client Service Officers

Client Service Officer

  • assess and triage clients that present as homeless for social housing assistance
  • work in a variety of locations including local offices, in the field and client’s homes
  • provide advice and assistance to clients on housing options based on their eligibility
  • provide referrals where additional support requirements are identified
  • engage and partner with non-Government organisations
  • work directly with clients in the field and at times outside usual business hours, when undertaking Assertive Outreach duties
  • manage a portfolio of 350 - 400 tenancies across an allocated location
  • inspect vacated properties for maintenance, safety and damage
  • monitor rent accounts and initiate debt recovery action, including client service visits
  • investigate allegations of anti-social behaviour within the tenancy
  • monitor property condition and facilitate maintenance
  • manage client information to ensure confidentiality, accuracy and integrity.

Client Service Officer – Housing Contact Centre

  • respond to phone enquiries within a call centre environment
  • provide information about housing assistance options to clients and members of the public
  • assess and determine eligibility for Housing Services products and services
  • initiate, coordinate and prioritise actions in response to calls
  • facilitate wellbeing checks through specialised projects
  • follow-up on referrals, applications, and tenancy/housing related issues
  • maintain call records, system entries and client/service databases
  • provide administrative support, processing, and reporting.

Additional information

Flexibility

35 hour week Monday to Friday.

Training

Attend CSO Induction training for two weeks, with the first week to take place in Sydney city, followed by online training during the second week. For those who reside outside of Sydney metro, all expenses will be paid for by DCJ.

Certificate

Paid Certificate IV in Social Housing accredited training, on the job over 12 months.

Development

Ongoing learning and development opportunities available on the job.

Pre-employment checks
  • Reference checks (minimum of 2 referees)
  • health declaration
  • conduct and performance checks (for existing public service employees)
  • National Criminal History checks
  • eligibility to work in Australia
  • other pre-employment checks as required.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

Housing Services provides services to various communities across the state, making it important to have a diverse and inclusive workforce that contributes to better outcomes for our communities.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make a significant impact to the organisation by improving the way we interact with Indigenous communities and help inform and shape cross-cultural services.

Last updated:

09 Apr 2025