Public Sector Customer Service · Foundations · 2 × 3 hours

Public Sector Customer Service Foundations

Six hours of practice-rich live training that builds skill, confidence and consistency for council, department and agency teams.

Book a ticket on a live online public course, or train your whole team privately, online or onsite.

Trusted by government organisationsFederal, state and local government: councils, departments, courts, regulators and emergency services across Australia have trusted CX Skills to train their people. See who we’ve trained

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics logo
  • Australian Government Department of Defence logo
  • NDIS logo
  • Transport for NSW logo
  • Victoria State Government, Justice and Community Safety logo
  • Western Australia Police logo
  • Ambulance Victoria logo
  • Legal Aid NSW logo
  • Federal Circuit Court of Australia logo
  • Magistrates’ Court of Victoria logo
  • Queensland Treasury logo
  • Electoral Commission Queensland logo
  • Child Support Agency logo
  • Australian Government Department of Human Services logo
  • ACT Government logo
  • Government of South Australia, Department for Education logo
  • Department of Transport Victoria logo
  • City of Hobart logo
  • City of Casey logo
  • Logan City Council logo
  • Mackay Regional Council logo
  • Camden Council logo
  • City of Boroondara logo
  • City of Moonee Valley logo

What’s in it for you

Immediate impact, with skills that stick

Staff can use the Session 1 framework on real enquiries straight away, and the gap before Session 2 lets them try it and come back with questions.

Session 2 goes deeper on difficult situations and explaining decisions, so staff handle pressure calmly and consistently.

  • Consistent service across teams
  • Clearer explanations of decisions and policy
  • Calmer handling of sensitive enquiries
Public sector customer service officer with a headset and lanyard

Understand your role

Clarity, fairness, empathy and consistency.

A repeatable framework

Structure any interaction, routine or complex.

Plain English

Professional, respectful and easy to understand.

Handle sensitive situations

Stay calm when community pressure escalates.

Explain decisions

Processes, eligibility and outcomes, without jargon.

Guided practice

Real public sector scenarios with coaching.

The course

Two sessions: build the foundations, then apply them

Public Sector Customer Service Foundations runs over two live 3-hour sessions. Session 1 builds the framework, and Session 2 applies and embeds it.

It expands on Essentials with more practice, coaching and a deeper focus on difficult situations and explaining decisions.

  • 2 × 3 hoursLive online or onsite
  • Online or onsitePublic online; private either way
  • Public or privateOne ticket or your whole team
  • PracticalScenarios from your own enquiries

What’s covered: six modules over two sessions

Session 1 builds the foundations. Session 2 applies and embeds the skills.

Session 1
Module 1

Understanding Public Sector Service & Your Role

What high-quality public sector service looks like.

  • Rising expectations
  • Building trust
  • Clarity and fairness
Module 2

The Public Sector Conversation Framework

The heart of the course: a clear, repeatable structure for any interaction.

  • Open professionally
  • Ask effective questions
  • Close to reduce repeat contact
Module 3

Communicating with Clarity, Confidence & Care

Language that is professional, respectful and easy to follow.

  • Plain English
  • Tone control
  • Setting expectations
Session 2
Module 4

Handling Difficult, Emotional or Sensitive Situations

Stay calm and in control when pressure escalates.

  • De-escalating emotion
  • Empathy and policy
  • Keeping on track
Module 5

Explaining Decisions, Next Steps & Policy Clearly

Explain outcomes, even when the answer is “no”.

  • Presenting options
  • Checking understanding
  • Fewer repeat contacts
Module 6

End-to-End Simulations

Guided practice with real public sector scenarios.

  • Practical scenarios
  • Guided coaching
  • Habits to use immediately

Three ways to train

Book a ticket for one person, bring the course to your whole team, or learn at your own pace.

Public course

Join a scheduled live online class

  • Live online via Zoom
  • Fixed dates, easy to plan ahead
  • Book one ticket or several
  • Save 15% when you book 3 or more
See upcoming dates

Private team training

Your team only, as-is or tailored

  • Live online or onsite, on your dates
  • Your enquiry types, policies and scripts
  • Essentials, Foundations or PRO
  • Minimum 5 participants
Talk to us about your team

Self-paced online

Short video lessons, any time

  • From $9.15 per person a month
  • 400+ practical lessons and quizzes
  • Manager dashboards, custom pathways
  • Certificates for every course
Explore self-paced

Want to go further? See Public Sector Customer Service PRO

Compare public sector courses

Compare the three public sector courses

All three courses teach the same framework. Essentials is a fast 3-hour version, Foundations adds practice and deeper skills, and PRO embeds the framework fully.

ComparePublic or privatePublic Sector Customer ServiceEssentialsThis coursePublic Sector Customer ServiceFoundationsPrivate onlyPublic Sector Customer ServicePRO
Length1 × 3-hour sessionlive online or onsite2 × 3-hour sessionslive online or onsite3 × 3-hour sessionslive online or onsite
Price$335per person, ex GST$495per person, ex GST$665per person, ex GST
AvailabilityPublic or privatePublic or privatePrivate only
Best forNew starters, or anyone who needs a clear, repeatable framework.Anyone who wants skills to stick through practice.Teams handling complex, high-stakes enquiries.
Includes
  • A repeatable service framework
  • Questioning and clear wording
  • Setting clear expectations
  • Tips for email and the counter
  • Everything in Essentials
  • More role plays with live coaching
  • Complaints and de-escalation
  • Public sector scenarios
  • Everything in Foundations
  • Complex, high-stakes enquiries
  • A wider range of real scenarios
  • Sharper judgement and confidence
LinkView EssentialsYou’re on this pageView PRO

Not sure which course suits your team? Ask for a recommendation

Getting sign-off?

Everything your manager needs, in one PDF

Download a two-page fact sheet for Public Sector Customer Service Foundations: outcomes, modules, format, price and options, plus how it compares with our other public sector courses.

Course fact sheet (PDF)

Outcomes, modules, format, price and how to book, ready to forward or attach to an approval.

Download the fact sheet

Prefer to talk it through?

Not sure which course or format suits your team? Get in touch and we’ll help you choose.

Talk to us

Upcoming live public courses

Book a Public Sector Customer Service Foundations course

Public courses run live online via Zoom over two 3-hour sessions, so staff can join from any location, including regional sites. Pay by card or request an invoice with purchase order details at checkout.

  • Live, expert-ledPractice with live coaching
  • Workbook includedAn on-the-job reference
  • 15% off 3 or moreBooked in one transaction
  • 25% off for membersACXPA member pricing
Next available9Feb2027

Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 February 2027

  • Session 1 Tue 9 Feb · 1:30–4:30pm AEDT
  • Session 2 Wed 10 Feb · 1:30–4:30pm AEDT

Online via Zoom · Bookings close Mon 8 Feb, 6:30pm

$495per person, ex GSTBook tickets15% off 3 or more tickets 4.9/5 · 374 reviews

More dates

Times shown in Melbourne time (AEST/AEDT).

Who it’s for

Who is public sector customer service training for?

Anyone who supports the community through services, information or regulation, from new starters to experienced officers.

Customer service officers

Phone, email and in-person enquiries across departments and services.

Front counter staff

The first point of contact for visitors, clients and residents.

Contact centre agents

Inbound calls, follow-ups and multichannel enquiries.

Administration teams

Internal and external enquiries handled with clarity and care.

Complaints and escalations

Staff managing sensitive or emotional situations calmly.

Regulatory and compliance

Officers explaining decisions, rules and processes clearly.

Looking for the full range of public sector training? See all public sector courses

Standards and real results

Want training built on the standards used to rank council call centres?

CX Skills is the official training partner of ACXPA, which publishes the Australian Call Centre Rankings for councils. Every quarter, ACXPA mystery shops selected councils on real resident enquiries and scores every call against 48+ metrics.

Our public sector courses are built on the same ACXPA Global Contact Centre CX Standards, so your team learns the behaviours council service is actually measured on.

Overall CX combines how easy it is to reach the council with the skill of the person who answers. Our training focuses on the skill side: the part your team controls on every call.

How the ratings work

  • OutstandingAbove 91%
  • Exceeds76% to 90%
  • Meets61% to 75%
  • Below45% to 60%
  • PoorBelow 45%

Each council’s overall score sets its colour band on the board.

  • Built on the standards ACXPA uses to score council calls
  • Want your own council’s score? ACXPA benchmarking mystery shops your council every month
  • ACXPA members save 25% on every live public course
🏆 Best Council Call Centres in Australia
Rolling Live 3 Month LeaderboardThe best council call centres in Australia for inbound phone enquiries assessed across over 48 metrics from the Global Contact Centre CX Standards.

Data accurate as of September 2026

Ratings are based on the ACXPA Global Contact Centre CX Standards.

ACXPA for councils

Want to save $123.75 on this course?ACXPA members pay $371.25, not $495, plus a year of council sector insights, tools and peer support

ACXPA gives council teams sector insights, maturity audits, frameworks, learning and peer support across contact centre, customer service and complaints teams.

It’s independent, practitioner-led and vendor-free, and Business Membership starts from $497 for five people.

  • 50+hours of live expert access a year
  • 65+tools, templates and resources
  • 18calculators
  • 25%off CX Skills live public courses

Plus member tools council teams can use straight away

Maturity audits

CX, Call Centre and Customer Service maturity audits that show where the friction sits and what to fix first.

Customer Service Health Check

A diagnostic that assesses your customer service across 17 dimensions.

Customer Response Templates

480 customer response variants: 40 situations, three tones and four outcomes.

H.E.A.T. Model Cheat Sheet

A quick de-escalation reference for emotionally charged resident enquiries.

Self-paced training

Structured courses staff complete around operations, with certificates to track capability.

Eight specialist hubs

Customer service, CX, complaints, coaching, onboarding, call centres, WFM and benchmarking.

An ACXPA Individual Membership is $197 ex GST a year, and Business Membership starts at $497 for a team of five, under $100 per person.

Every member gets 25% off CX Skills live public courses: five people on one $495 Foundations course save $619, more than the membership costs.

Reviews

What participants say

Verified reviews from government employees who’ve completed our training.

4.9

374 verified reviews across all CX Skills courses

Read every review
4.9

Public sector training · 89 reviews

5.0

On Google · 39 reviews
Independently verified

View all testimonials

FAQs

Public Sector Customer Service Foundations FAQs

Format, pricing, content and who the course suits.

Still have questions? Get in touch
Who should attend?
Customer service staff in councils, government departments and agencies. It’s ideal when you want more practice than Essentials, and when your team handles emotional, sensitive or complex enquiries.
What’s covered?
Six modules over two sessions. Session 1: Understanding Public Sector Service & Your Role, The Public Sector Conversation Framework, and Communicating with Clarity, Confidence & Care. Session 2: Handling Difficult, Emotional or Sensitive Situations, Explaining Decisions, Next Steps & Policy Clearly, and End-to-End Simulations.
How is it different from Essentials and PRO?
Essentials teaches the framework in one 3-hour session. Foundations runs over 2 × 3 hours with more practice. PRO runs over 3 × 3 hours and is private only.
How much does it cost?
Public courses are $495 per person (ex GST) for six hours of live training. Save 15% when you book three or more people in the same transaction, and ACXPA members save 25%. Private training is priced for your organisation.
How is it delivered?
Public courses run live online via Zoom over two 3-hour sessions. Private courses can be live online or onsite at your workplace (travel costs may apply).
Will the course definitely go ahead?
Public courses need a minimum number of participants to run, so we reserve the right to reschedule or cancel a date if too few people book. It rarely happens, and if it does we’ll let you know as early as possible and you can move to another date or get a full refund.
Do participants receive a certificate?
Yes. Everyone who completes the course receives a digital certificate of completion.
Is the course ACXPA certified?
Yes. Public Sector Customer Service Foundations is ACXPA certified and built on the standards ACXPA uses to assess customer service.
Is there a lower-cost or self-paced option?
Yes. Our self-paced library is a much cheaper way to build customer service skills at your own pace, from $9.15 per person a month, with short courses and 1-minute videos your team can fit around their work.

An ACXPA membership is another option: members save 25% on live public courses and get 12 months of tools, templates and live sessions.
Can I get something to share with my manager?
Yes. Download the fact sheet (PDF) for the outcomes, modules, format and price in one short document. Public courses can also be paid by invoice at checkout.
How do I book?
Choose a date in the upcoming dates and book online by card or invoice. For private training, talk to us or call us on +61 3 9008 7287.

Talk to us

Questions about training your team?

Book a call to talk it through, or send us a message and we’ll get back to you.

Book a callDownload the fact sheet

Prefer the phone? Call +61 3 9008 7287 (Mon–Fri, 8:30–17:30 Melbourne time) or email hello@cxskills.com.au.

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Ready to lift every community enquiry?

Book a ticket on a public course, train your whole team privately, or start self-paced today.