The financial year ending 30 June 2016 was particularly eventful for the Department of the House of Representatives. I am pleased to report that the department performed strongly throughout the year against budget and other performance measures. The staff of the department worked admirably during periods of change and uncertainty in the final year of the Forty-fourth Parliament, and I am confident the House was well supported by the department in discharging its legislative and representative functions.

The year was marked by three significant changes in senior leadership: in the Australian Parliament, the Australian Government and the Australian Parliamentary Service. First, the Hon Tony Smith MP was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives on 10 August 2015 following the resignation of the Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP. A change in the speakership in the course of a parliament is an event of particular significance for the department, and immediate priority was given to supporting the new Speaker and helping familiarise him with his role and functions.

Second, on 15 September 2015, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP took office as Prime Minister of Australia. A change such as this will affect the department in many ways—from subtle differences in what might be described as the ‘atmospherics’ of Parliament House, to more concrete effects, such as the need to move members between office suites in Parliament House following new appointments to the ministry. Where a reshuffle is extensive or involves senior members of the government, as occurred twice in the final months of the Forty-fourth Parliament, logistics can be challenging and labour intensive for the staff of the Serjeant-at-Arms’ Office. The changes to the ministry resulted in many changes to the chair and membership of parliamentary committees, which had a major impact on the department’s work in supporting committees

Third, in December 2015, Rob Stefanic was appointed secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services. Mr Stefanic comes to the role with extensive experience in parliamentary and public sector administration. I welcome his appointment and the constructive, professional way he and his staff have engaged with me and the department. A collaborative, strategy-focused approach was also in evidence during the regular meetings of the heads of the four parliamentary departments, which I have been pleased to chair this calendar year.

In addition to these leadership changes, a number of other significant and unusual parliamentary events had an impact on the work of the department during the reporting year, not least the prorogation of the parliament on 15 April 2016 and the commencement of a second session on 18 April 2016. While it is reasonably common for parliament to be prorogued immediately before a general election, the last time members and senators had assembled for a second session following prorogation was in 1977.

Most notable, however, was the manner in which the Forty-fourth Parliament came to an end. On 9 May 2016, the Governor-General dissolved both the Senate and the House of Representatives in preparation for a general election on 2 July 2016. This was only the seventh ‘double dissolution’ in Australia since 1901 and the first since 1987. I am pleased to report that the department responded well to these unusual events. Legal and administrative machinery exists to facilitate leadership changes at the highest levels of government and to resolve disputes between the two Houses of the parliament—and the changes I refer to were all soundly based in constitutional law, convention and parliamentary practice.

It is also true, however, that this machinery is seldom used. I was very pleased that the department was able to play a role in ensuring that the work of the House of Representatives and the parliament continued smoothly throughout the reporting year as these unusual events unfolded. This is due in no small part to the expertise, professionalism and resilience of all my colleagues.

The 2015–16 reporting year also saw a number of pleasing developments in the corporate sphere of the department’s operations. We have for many years undertaken a process of benchmarking our leadership and human resources practices against standards set by the UK-based organisation Investors in People. I am delighted to report that, in August 2015, following a review by an Investors in People assessor, the department’s accreditation was upgraded from bronze to silver in recognition of our sound approach to people management and development. Our accreditation at a higher level reflects the effort we put into improving our performance in 2015, in part in response to the issues identified by the Investors in People review.

In 2015–16, for the first time, the department conducted a series of interviews with members of the House who had announced their intention not to stand for re-election. The aim of the interviews was to obtain the members’ candid reflections on their time in parliament, give them an opportunity to make suggestions for improving the function of the House and committee system and (given our annual members’ survey could not be conducted this year due to the dissolution of the parliament in early May) offer feedback on the department’s effectiveness in supporting the work of the House and its committees. The findings of the 19 interviews conducted will inform our briefings of senior parliamentary office-holders when the Forty-fifth Parliament commences.
I thank the members interviewed, who were so generous with their time.

The past 12 months have also been a professionally satisfying period for me as Clerk. In January 2016, I accompanied the Speaker to the 23rd Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. This biennial event is an opportunity for Presiding Officers to discuss topics of mutual interest and build relationships with their Commonwealth counterparts. The 23rd conference was a great success.

I conclude by acknowledging the spike in workload for most areas of the department as a result of the Forty-fourth Parliament drawing to an end somewhat earlier than expected. The challenge was met by staff providing support to the Chamber as legislative priorities evolved and by colleagues in the Committee Office who helped to conclude a large number of inquiries and finalise reports at short notice. I commend the staff of the department for their hard work during the 2015–16 reporting year and look forward to the challenges and opportunities that will come with the opening of the Forty-fifth Parliament early in 2016–17.

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