STARservice Development Program
STARservice Online Development Program
STARservice Community Organisation Development Program
STARservice Community Organisation Development Program. Communities for All
What is a STARservice?

A STARservice is a well-run community organisation where quality employees work alongside valued volunteers in a safe and welcoming environment.

The STARservice Development Program (STARservice) is a joint initiative of the South Australian Office for Recreation and Sport and the Department of Human Services and is all about continuous improvement.

By measuring your community organisation against the STARservice criteria, you are on the way to providing the best environment possible for your participants and the wider community.

Where did the 18 questions come from for the STARservice Program?

You have told us what a successful organisation looks like.

Further research and ongoing consultation with local community organisations supported the five key areas and 18 steps to becoming a STARservice.

The program was piloted with a diverse range of South Australian community organisations who provided their feedback as they went through the development, planning and ‘actioning’ process.

So what does a successful STARservice look like?

The Department of Human Services believes a successful organisation is one with a clear vision going forward, one which is financially stable, one with quality employees and has a strong participant base with a pool of volunteers sharing the workload.

Should my organisation complete the STARservice – Development Program?

The STARservice – Development Program has been designed for use by community organisations of all sizes. The program will be valuable for your organisation whether you believe your organisation is already a STARservice or has some work to do.

If you are a community organisation looking to develop but are not ready or required to undertake a quality accreditation program, the STARservice Development Program was created specifically for you.

STARservice's will also be recognised by the government and other organisations that value the role that well-run organisations can play in our community.

Where do I start?

Start by reading through this online tool, and thinking about how your organisation meets or is working towards meeting each of the criteria.

It is recommended to discuss these questions with participants of your organisation from the board/committee level to employees and volunteers. Discussing where different people think your organisation is positioned can be a very positive process in itself.

Don’t worry if you cannot answer ‘Yes’ to every question the first, second or even the third time. The STARservice process is all about organisations identifying areas that need work and then planning to take positive actions to address those concerns over time.

To operate legally within South Australia, all organisations must meet the criteria in items 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 17 and 18. These are identified with *. If you answer ‘No’ to any of these, you must address them immediately.

Please contact the Service Excellence team if you require assistance in these areas.

How to complete the online STARservice development tool?

Get started by clicking the 'Start/Update Your Development' button above. Preferably use a generic organisation email address (e.g. admin@yourcommunityorg.com) and an easy to remember password so you can easily access & review your confidential answers in the future.

The first part of the online STARservice development tool will ask for some basic information about your organisation. This will enable the Department of Human Services to keep you updated with information on becoming a STARservice and may be displayed on websites and in other public documents.

You can now work your way through the 18 key questions to start thinking about how your organisation meets or is working towards each of the criteria.

As you work through you must ‘Save’ your answers as you go. You can log out at any time and come back to complete each section but always ‘Save’ at the bottom of the page to prevent loss of your data.

When you answer ‘Yes’ to a question, you will be asked for additional information to help the Department of Human Services build a better profile of organisations throughout South Australia. You don’t need to be able to tick every box, but if you can’t, you might wish to reconsider your answer or decide how your organisation can further improve in this area.

When you answer ‘No’ to a question, suggestions and links to resources are provided so you can address that criteria and gradually improve your organisation. These resources are being constantly updated and new links will be added over time.

Answering a question with ‘In progress’ allows you to show that you are addressing the issue but that you still have some work to do. It also allows you to suggest the type of resources and assistance that would make it easier for your organisation to improve.

Once you have completed all of the STARservice development questions, follow the instructions provided for saving, printing and submitting your answers.

Your organisation’s action plan can also be produced at this stage for further reference and motivation to keep your organisation moving ahead.

Offline Options

We highly recommend you use the online development tool. The benefits include:

  • save, print & update your details over time
  • receive an easy to print action plan
  • access up to the latest resources, information and training
  • provide valuable feedback to us and your key stakeholders
  • go on our STARservice register
  • receive STARservice promotion material

If you would also like to review the questions in a printed format, prior or in conjunction with using the online development tool, you can download our printable development booklet here.

Start your Organisation Development