Public sector customers are members of the public who use public services.

In different departments customers may also be known by other titles such as clients, passengers, patients, visitors, students, parents or inmates.

Some departments work with stakeholders who in turn provide services directly to customers. In this case meeting the needs of the stakeholders (internal customers) is important so they can deliver better services to the public.

Consequently all customers are not the same. 

Depending on the nature of the service, services need to be designed so they are flexible and bring benefits to the broad cross section of the community, in particular:

• Aboriginal individuals and communities.
• Vulnerable individuals (disabilities, mental health illnesses).
• People from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
• Disadvantaged individuals and communities (children and young people).
• Regional Communities.

When getting customer feedback, it is important to not just rely on the views of existing customers. You can also get feedback from:

• Customers who are currently using the service.
• Past customers who have used the service previously, but who are not currently using the service.
• People who are eligible to receive the service but who have not done so.
• Potential future customers.