Celebrating 100 years: Anitha and Stefan's Story

When Stefan Laskovsky joined ComSuper in 2007, the first person he met was Anitha Peter. While the duo instantly clicked, he assumed the partnership would be a short-term one as he didn’t intend on staying for long.

“I think because I was still young, I was like, ‘it’s not going to keep me interested,’” he recalls.

“But here I am, 15 years later. I do love it.”

Fast forward those 15 years, and Stefan and Anitha, whose tenure pre-dates Stefan by one year, are working in partnership as Manager and Team Leader, respectively, of the Reconsiderations Team. During their time they have experienced many winds of change, including office moves, the transition from ComSuper to CSC, and the impact of fast-moving societal changes on their work.

“We laugh about it now – we were in Building four at Belconnen, and then we got told we were all going to Building three, and we thought that was great,” Stefan recalls of their time in Chandler Street.

“I used to really like going to Building three because the doors would open for you, the taps would go on for you, and I thought it was quite luxurious. Then we came to this building (7 London Circuit) and we thought, ‘why were we excited over that?’”

From infrastructural to organisational, another significant change was the period of transition of ComSuper to CSC, one which Anitha has vivid memories of. In a time of great uncertainty, she witnessed many colleagues moving on to other roles in the APS, fearful of upcoming workforce changes and the prospect of forgoing their public service entitlements. While at the time there may have been a slither of temptation to follow suit, she is grateful she made the decision to stay.

“In the APS, everything takes more time. I’m glad that I didn’t leave and get another APS job, I think I made a good decision to stay back and experience this sort of government agency,” she says.

“I think the way the work is done is more progressive now, and faster - if you want to get something done, you go to your executive and it is done.”

As part of the Reconsiderations Team, the duo and their small team work with customers who are unhappy with decisions made elsewhere in the business - they are the final line of contact within CSC before a customer’s grievance goes external. In a line of work that is as rewarding as it is challenging, the pair cites their greatest ongoing challenge as the need to apply legislation drafted many years ago, which no longer reflects of the state of society.

“To give a small example, ‘what is a relationship?’ a relationship has changed,” says Anitha.

“We have to be within the confines of the legislation, but at the same time look outside the box to better reflect the current things happening within society, and somehow link it together.

“So in the meantime, what best can we do? You can’t go against the legislation, but we must be within the boundaries and interpret it in a broader way, taking into account what it means now in the current environment.”

Challenges aside, the pair remain passionate about their role, living and breathing the value of ‘customer driven’ 15 years since that first meeting at the Belconnen ComSuper office.

“Everything has always been for the benefit of the member, which is what I love because that’s what we stand for,” Stefan says.

“That’s what has really kept us here and kept us going, as well as the people here in the organisation – it has been a real family environment.”