Modernising Client Management Systems for Better Care at Achieve Australia
Achieve Australia partnered with Solution Minds Consulting (SMC) to modernise its client and workforce management capability through Project Connect. In a highly regulated, people-centred environment, Achieve’s priority was clear, ensure technology, processes, and ways of working supported safe, consistent, and high-quality care, while enabling staff to spend more time with the people they support.
SMC was engaged after Achieve had selected its preferred vendor to provide independent advisory, governance, and delivery leadership. From the outset, the program was approached as more than a technology implementation. It was a transformation program focused on establishing a clear target operating model, uplifting organisational change maturity, and building readiness for sustainable change.
What followed was a two-phase journey that tested resilience and judgement, while demonstrating the long-term value of doing the foundational work well.
About Achieve Australia
Achieve Australia is a not-for-profit disability services provider supporting people with disability to build extraordinary lives. As an NDIS-registered organisation, Achieve delivers services across multiple regions, placing strong emphasis on safety, compliance, and continuity of care.
As service demand grew, existing systems and manual processes increasingly limited visibility across client information, incident management, and workforce coordination. Achieve recognised that digitising its client management systems was essential to support better care, stronger oversight, and sustainable service delivery.
Phase 1: Establishing Strong Foundations for Change
The Challenge
Achieve had selected a new client and workforce management solution and was preparing to move into delivery. Given the critical role client data and frontline processes play in day-to-day care, leadership needed confidence that the solution, operating model, and organisation were genuinely ready for change.
The challenge extended beyond technology. Achieve needed to align processes, clarify roles, prepare its workforce, and ensure change could be absorbed safely without disrupting care delivery.
SMC’s Role
SMC was engaged to act as an independent advisor and transformation lead, supporting Achieve to validate solution fit while establishing the foundations required for successful and sustainable change.
SMC supported Achieve with:
- Independent validation of solution capability against care, compliance, and operational requirements
- Development of a target operating model to support future-state service delivery
- Design of a consistent process framework across client, workforce, and incident management
- Guiding product development priorities to align the solution with Achieve’s operating model
- Detailed Plan and Prepare activities across process, data, integrations, testing, and change.
- Establishment of governance frameworks, reporting, and risk management
- Design and mobilisation of a strategic change approach, including a change readiness network
- People and business readiness assessment focused on frontline impact.
Execution and Governance
Phase 1 involved a substantial body of work before any implementation commenced. Extensive workshops, interviews, and planning activities were undertaken to define the future-state operating model, standardise processes, uplift data readiness, and embed change capability across the organisation.
A strategic approach to change was mobilised through a change readiness network, building local ownership, improving communication, and lifting organisational change maturity. By the time delivery was paused, Achieve had significantly strengthened its capability to absorb and sustain change.
As this work progressed, material changes emerged in the vendor’s operating position, raising concerns about delivery risk. Rather than proceeding at risk, Achieve made a disciplined, governance-led decision to pause the program.
Outcomes
Although the original implementation did not proceed, Phase 1 delivered substantial and reusable value, including reduced delivery risk and improved executive confidence:
- A clearly defined target operating model and process framework
- Improved organisational change maturity and readiness for transformation.
- A mobilised change readiness network embedded across the business.
- Clear validation of solution strengths, limitations, and required enhancements.
- Stronger governance and decision-making frameworks
- A controlled pause that avoided disruption to frontline services
Critically, this foundational work was retained and became a key enabler for the next phase of the program.
Phase 2: Re-using Foundations to Re-establish Delivery Confidence
The Opportunity
When it became clear the original vendor could not continue in its previous form, Achieve made a deliberate decision to reset Project Connect. Rather than restarting entirely, the organisation chose to re-deploy its incumbent platform, while requiring a significant uplift in functionality to meet current and future needs.
The foundational work completed in Phase 1 allowed Achieve to pivot with confidence, re-using the target operating model, process framework, and change assets already developed.
SMC’s Role
SMC remained engaged as Achieve’s independent advisor to support the re-launch of Project Connect, leveraging and extending the work completed in Phase 1.
This included:
- Reconfirming scope and Minimum Viable Product definition against the established operating model
- Re-using and refining process designs and change materials.
- Maintaining governance and vendor accountability
- Oversight of product uplift and requirements traceability
- Data migration, testing, and deployment planning
- Continued mobilisation of the change readiness network to support adoption
Execution and Delivery
Phase 2 adopted a conservative, pilot-led delivery approach designed to protect service continuity. The organisation was better prepared to absorb change, with clearer roles, standardised processes, and an established change network already in place.
Key elements included:
- Pilot deployment to validate real-world care workflows
- Clear Go / No Go decision points
- Product enhancements aligned to client management and incident reporting
- Strengthened integration planning across HR, payroll, CRM, and NDIA systems
- Change management embedded as a core delivery discipline
Outcomes
Project Connect is preparing for pilot go live, with executive confidence maintained despite technical challenges. Outcomes achieved to date include:
- Re-established executive confidence and delivery control
- Stronger Board assurance and risk management
- A platform aligned to the agreed operating model and care processes
- Re-use of Phase 1 assets, reducing rework and delivery risk.
- Higher organisational change maturity and readiness
- Reduced risk to clients, staff, and service continuity
Clear Value Across Both Phases
Across both phases, SMC supported Achieve to:
- Modernise client management systems in a way that protects care quality.
- Establish a target operating model and process framework to support change.
- Uplift organisational change maturity through a structured readiness approach
- Re-use foundational work to enable a confident program reset.
- Navigate disruption with strong governance and judgement.
- Strengthen executive confidence, Board assurance, and risk management.
Project Connect demonstrates how disciplined, upfront transformation work can deliver lasting value, even when delivery conditions change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Legacy client management platforms and limited integration created inefficiencies, compliance risk, and scalability constraints.
The target operating model provided clarity on how people, processes, and technology needed to work together to support care delivery. This ensured system decisions were grounded in operational reality rather than technology alone, and that future changes supported safe, consistent, and high-quality care.
The change readiness network created local ownership and two-way communication across the organisation. It helped lift organisational change maturity early, ensured frontline perspectives informed design decisions, and built confidence and capability ahead of implementation.
Pausing a program of work takes a well-informed focus on business outcomes and robust program and project control. It also requires leadership and courage. Pausing and executing a structured pivot allowed Achieve to avoid proceeding at risk and potentially disrupting care delivery. The organisation retained the value of the significant foundational work already completed, while creating space to reset vendor relationships.
Process designs, operating model artefacts, change materials, and readiness insights developed in Phase 1 were directly reused and refined in Phase 2. This reduced rework, accelerated the program reset, and lowered delivery risk when the program was re-launched.
Success means modern systems supported by clear processes, confident staff, and strong governance. Together, these enable Achieve to deliver safe, high-quality care consistently, while remaining resilient and adaptable as the organisation continues to evolve.
SMC supported the program end-to-end, including business case support, vendor validation and guidance, project planning, implementation support, change management, and governance.
More efficient operational processes and ease of use for staff, more efficient rostering, improved award interpretation, better incident management, integrations across key systems and improved management and compliance reporting.
Ongoing governance, optimisation, and benefits realisation through Review & Optimise.