After 13 years on its central Dunedin site, Work and Income is on the move, making way for the new Dunedin Hospital.
Regional commissioner Jason Tibble said the government department was "on the hunt for new premises'' and looking for input from its clients on the ideal location.
In May, Minister of Health Dr David Clark announced the new Dunedin Hospital would be built on the former Cadbury site and in the block occupied at present by Work and Income, at the corner of Cumberland and St Andrew Sts.
"We have enjoyed our current central location and wherever we ultimately move to, it's very important that everyone can find us easily,'' Mr Tibble said.
"We help around 300 people a week who come to our offices, whether that be with financial assistance, help with housing, or support to find a job.
"We have another 150 appointments a week carried out on phone.
"We are keen to get our clients' views on what's most important to them as we start looking for a new site.
"We have invited them to complete a short survey to understand what is important to them when visiting our site.''
The survey asks questions about the importance of visitor parking and where the ideal location for a service centre might be.
It also asks whether visitors to the Work and Income site plan other appointments to businesses during the same trip.
The survey has been emailed to Dunedin Central, South Dunedin and Mosgiel clients and hard copies are available in those Work and Income service centres.
If you did not receive an email and would like to complete the survey, please use the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DunedinWorkandIncome.
The survey closes on Sunday.
"This is an exciting opportunity for us to have a new site that works for all of our visitors,'' Mr Tibble said.
"Of course, we may be constrained by availability of property, but we are confident that we can find somewhere that works.''
While the new hospital build is not starting for some time, the Dunedin Central Work and Income office needs to plan to move sometime in 2019.
BRENDA HARWOOD @thestar.co.nz
