Chapter 2Annual reports of agencies
Annual reports of departments and agencies
2.1The committee selected the annual reports of the following entities for closer examination:
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry portfolio
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; and
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority.
Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communication and the Arts (excluding Communications and the Arts) portfolio
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts; and
Australian Rail Track Corporation.
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
2.2The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) tabled its 2022–23 annual report in the Senate on 20 October 2023 out of session. The report summarises the activities and achievements of DAFF over the previous reporting period.
Secretary’s review
2.3The Acting Secretary, Ms Cindy Briscoe, reviewed DAFF’s key initiatives, successes, and challenges for the year including:
transferring some of the functions of DAFF across to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW);
the consolidation of offices into a new building called Agriculture House
improving access to key overseas markets;
challenges associated with the outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and lumpy skin disease (LSD) in Indonesia, and the measures taken to mitigate risk to Australia;
initiatives like operation Avoca that were designed to detect biosecurity risk material and redeveloping outbreak.gov.au and staff training to better respond to crisis, while working with states and territories to develop the National Statement on Climate Change and Agriculture; and
difficulties associated with disease outbreaks and increased travel resulting in the department struggling to deliver essential services and policy and program responsibilities.
Purpose and objectives
2.4DAFF outlines its purpose as ‘working together to safeguard and grow sustainable agriculture, fisheries and forestry for all Australians’. The department listed three key objectives to achieve this purpose.
2.5These objectives include:
Objective 1: Support industry to grow towards a $100 billion agriculture, fisheries, and forestry industry by 2030 amid changing global market conditions;
Objective 2: Strengthen our national biosecurity system to provide an appropriate level of protection to Australia’s people, our environment and economy from the biosecurity threats of today and tomorrow; and
Objective 3: Increase the contribution; agriculture, fisheries and forestry make to a healthy, sustainable and low-emissions environment.
Key activities
2.6This section examines key activities that support DAFF’s objectives, they have outlined two or three key activities for each which have been broken down below, outlining which activities have and have not been achieved. Overall, the department have achieved most of their key activities to support their objectives.
Objective 1
2.7Key activity 1 to ‘Support sector productivity, resilience and growth through science, policy and partnership’, was overall not achieved. Measure IG-01 was not achieved with the market sector growth rate being 0.27 per cent higher than the agricultural productivity growth rate. The target was for the difference to be greater than or equal to 0. This was partly explained by periods of drought and other climatic events. Measure IG-02, Equal or reduced cost of levies administration compared with levies disbursed was achieved. Measure IG-03 was not achieved with the same amount of farm businesses making new capital investments as the previous reporting period, again attributed to climatic events that inhibited business growth.
2.8Key activity 2 to ‘Maintain and expand exports and access to international markets’ was achieved with the key measure IG-04 measuring the amount of point-of-entry failures that were caused by departmental actions; with no instances of failure occurring.
2.9Key activity 3 to ‘Streamline export regulations and compliance arrangements.’ was also achieved, with the department meeting Measure IG-05 by making electronic certification paperless.
Objective 2
2.10Key activity 1 to ‘Effectively prepare for the management of biosecurity risk through pragmatic policy, fit-for-purpose regulation and mature preparedness was overall not achieved. Measure BI-01 saw an increase in non-compliance (for approved arrangements), with regulations administered by the department, rising by 12.09 per cent and non-compliance with regulations administered by the department for international travellers rising by 1.56 per cent. Measure BI-02 was partially achieved with 5 of 12 Biosecurity service standards being met, against the target of all standards being met.
2.11Key activity 2 to ‘Effectively detect biosecurity risk through intelligence-led targeting, technology-supported inspections and efficient detection methods’ was achieved with Measure BI-03 highlighting a vast improvement of risk-based interventions in mail and traveller pathways courtesy of African swine fever measures. Measures BI-04 was partially achieved with a reduction in the number of consignments of imported goods where khapra beetle is detected across three out of six pathways, with all six being the target.
2.12Key activity 3 to ‘Minimise the impact of biosecurity incursions through appropriate post-biosecurity and post-border measures’ was achieved with six biosecurity exercises completed, up from the 2021–22 baseline of one exercise.
Objective 3
2.13Key activity 1 was to ‘Promote the sustainable management of Australian and regional fisheries and a sustainable fishing industry’ however, it was removed because it was too narrow to contribute towards achieving the broader objective.
2.14Key activity 2 to ‘Increase the contribution that agriculture makes to a healthy, sustainable environment’, is according to the department ‘on track’ due to the lengthy target date of 2025. The department states that data to show an improvement from the previous reporting period is not available, however investment programs are in place to achieve this target.
Staffing and financial information
2.15DAFF reportedly employed a total of 7 783 people during the reporting period, of whom 6 868 were ongoing and 915 were non-ongoing.
2.16DAFF reported a comprehensive income loss of $51.810 million in 2022–23 against a budgeted loss of $34.246 million. The difference was attributed primarily due to under-recovery of regulatory costs, additional machinery of government costs and low cash reserves.
2.17Other key financial details include:
total expenses—$1.376 billion;
total own-source income—$557.4 million; and
revenue from the Australian Government—$767.3 billion.
Committee comment
2.18For the purposes of its report to the Senate, the committee considers the department’s 2022–23 annual report to be compliant with reporting requirements and to be ‘apparently satisfactory’.
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority
2.19The 2022–23 Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) Annual Report presented information on the operations and performance of the agency during the reporting period. The report was tabled in the Senate on 18 October 2023.
Acting Chair and Chief Executive Officers report
2.20The Acting Chair, Dr Steve Jeffries AM, and the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Melissa McEwen highlighted the challenging year the APVMA has had. They emphasised that the previous year had seen reviews and investigations into the agency’s regulatory priorities and posture, governance and culture, the results of which have been a catalyst for change. The ongoing redevelopment of the APVMA was best described by Dr Jeffries and Dr McEwen stating that ‘The agency at the end of the reporting period is very much not the same agency it was at the start’.
2.21Some of the reforms that were highlighted in the report include:
strengthening chemical review processes and addressing substances listed for chemical reconsideration that have not been attended to;
establishing improved formal reporting to government of the agency’s performance and significant issues;
updating all existing human resources policies and procedures; and
reforming procurement and ICT technology to support compliance with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
Purpose and objectives
2.22The APVMA states their purpose as:
We regulate agricultural and veterinary chemicals to manage the risks of pests and diseases for the Australian community and to protect Australia’s trade and the health and safety of people, animals and the environment.
2.23The agency has outlined four strategic objectives to support their purpose, these being:
(1)agricultural and veterinary chemicals are efficiently and effectively regulated;
(2)through clear and transparent stakeholder engagement we support and encourage compliance with the regulatory framework;
(3)The APVMA is a trusted regulator and recognised globally for its leading practice; and
(4)Our workforce is supported and developed to deliver an efficient and effective contemporary regulatory practice.
2.24Strategic objective 1 was partially met with the APVMA falling short of their goal of 100 percent of applications being finalised within legislative timeframes at 96.8 percent and, the target of 100 percent of applications that pass quality audits under the Quality Management Framework, also reaching close to the goal at 99 percent.
2.25Strategic objective 2 was also partially met with the performance measure of proportion of stakeholders that report a high level of satisfaction with the APVMA, specifically the quality of collaborative engagements being 65 percent almost met at 64 percent. While the percentage of stakeholders that report a high level of satisfaction regarding the clarity, transparency and constituency of the APVMA’s guidance was averaged at 64 percent clearly missing the target of 70 percent.
2.26Strategic objective 3 was met with most performance measures being exceeded in relation to staff training and agency reform, however the performance measure ‘Percentage of reconsiderations completed in accordance with Chemical Review Program Plan’ failed to reach the target of 100 percent considerably, with the actual performance being 33 percent.
2.27Strategic objective 4 was met, as a result of the performance indicator measuring Proportion of APVMA staff that report a high level of engagement with the APVMA reaching 70 percent, reaching close to the targeted goal of 75 percent.
APVMA review and reform
2.28The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry announced an independent investigation into the APVMA on the 25 November 2022. This report was conducted by Ms Mary Brennan during between December 2022 and February 2023. While the report provides a list of the reforms that have been initiated at the APVMA, it fails to provide any substantive details regarding the findings of the investigation, other than a brief mention of referrals that were made to NSW Police and the Australian Public Service Commission.
Staffing and financial information
2.29APVMA reportedly employed a total of 203 people during 2022–23, of which, 180 were ongoing and 23 were non-ongoing.
2.30APVMA reported a total income of $47.2 million which resulted in a net operating surplus of $5.08 million for the 2022-23 period.
2.31Other key financial details include:
total expenses—$42.12 million;
total own-source income—$45.54 million; and
revenue from the Australian Government—$1.66 million.
Committee comment
2.32For the purposes of its report to the Senate, the committee considers the agency’s 2022–23 annual report to be compliant with reporting requirements and to be ‘apparently satisfactory’.
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communication and the Arts
2.33The 2022–23 annual report of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA) outlined the department’s activities and achievements during the reporting period. The report was tabled in the Senate on 20 October 2023 out of session.
Secretary’s review
2.34Secretary Mr Jim Betts, Secretary of the DITRDCA continued on from the previous reporting periods and outlined the six priority outcomes the department has embarked upon to achieve their diverse purposes and objectives. The review proceeds to touch on some of the main DITRDCA wide highlights, first and foremost the Net Zero unit, which has been established to help advance the governments ambition of reaching net-zero by 2030.
2.35Throughout the 2022–23 reporting period, the Secretary outlined DITRDCA’s achievements across each facet of its operations, its infrastructure achievements included:
the induction of the High-Speed Rail Authority board;
agreement to invest in the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games; and
$9.3 billion in funding for the Infrastructure Investment Program
2.36Transport achievements included:
starting the National Road Safety Grants program;
improving Disability Standards for Public Transport to reduce discrimination for those with accessibility needs; and
the commencement of the Aviation White Paper, Safety Data Sharing Platform and Jet Zero Council, which all aim to facilitate a sustainable and security focused transition of Australian aviation.
2.37Regional, Cities and Territories achievements included:
the Regional Investment Framework;
negotiating City and Regional Deals across the country, bringing the total deals to nine and two respectively; and
the creation of a Regional Data Hub which offers a catalogue of collated data sets that will help all levels of government with decision making.
2.38For more details about the Communications and the Arts part of the portfolio, please see the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee Report on annual reports No 1 of 2024.
Purpose and performance
2.39DITRDCA has presented a summary of their performance against five purposes stretched across six outcomes. These purposes are as follows:
supporting an efficient, sustainable, competitive, accessible, safe and secure transport system through infrastructure investment;
improving living standards and facilitating economic growth in cities and regions;
providing governance frameworks and services to support communities in the Territories;
enabling people in Australia to connect to effective and safe communications services as well as enabling investment in communications technologies, for inclusiveness and sustainable economic growth;
supporting sustainable and inclusive creative and cultural sectors and protecting and promoting Australian content and culture.
2.40For the 2022–23 reporting period, DITRDCA had 38 targets to support the various purposes. Of these targets 15 were met and two were substantially met.Only one target was not met, which was Performance measure 31 ‘Progress against the National Arts and Disability Associated Plan’.
Key activities
2.41This section examines the key activities under the infrastructure investment, transport connectivity, and aviation objectives as these areas fell under the purview of the committee. For more details about the Communications and the Arts part of the portfolio, please see the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee Report on annual reports No 1 of 2024.
Infrastructure investment
2.42DITRDCA highlights the completion of the Monash Freeway Upgrade project in Melbourne, Victoria. The project cost $683.8 million, which saw additional lanes added to sections of one of Melbourne’s busiest freeways, with the intended purpose of reducing congestion and extending managed motorway technology further along the freeway towards Beaconsfield.
2.43Other activities reported under infrastructure investment that were completed in 2022–23:
Bruce Highway upgrade between Maroochydore Road and Mons Road Interchange;
Warrnambool Rail Line Upgrade Stage 1;
METRONET Lakelands Station; and
the removal of the Torrens Road Level Crossing in Ovingham as part of the Metro Intersection Upgrade in Adelaide.
Transport connectivity
2.44DITRDCA highlighted their ongoing cooperation with other government entities regarding the Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030, with the commencement of the Safety Action plan 2023–25 beginning in the latter half of the reporting period, with the strategy aiming to reduce road deaths by 50 percent and serious injuries by 30 percent by 2030.
2.45During the reporting period, DITRDCA led the Australian delegation at the 14th and 15th meetings of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for the Intersessional Working Group. The prime objectives of this delegation as part of the working group were the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. The department was also involved in the 79th meeting for the decision-making IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee which agreed to more ambitious greenhouse gas emission strategies.
2.46Other activities under transport connectivity included:
development of Fuel Efficiency Standards for light vehicles and
supporting a Strategic Fleet Taskforces fulfilling the terms of reference and reporting by 30 June 2030.
Aviation
2.47DITRDCA highlighted their commitment in aviation to the development of a White Paper to set the policy direction for Australian aviation to at least 2050. This was made possible by DITRDCA releasing the terms of reference for a White Paper on the 7 February 2023. Over 192 submissions were received in response, and the department hopes to release the paper in 2024
2.48Other activities reported under aviation included:
preliminary flight paths for the new Western Sydney Airport were released;
approval of new masterplans for Melbourne and Hobart airports;
continual upgrades of remote air strips with fifty-five successfully completed upgrades during the reporting period; and
continual upgrades of regional airports with forty-four successful projects.
Staffing and financial information
2.49DITRDCA reportedly employed a total of 1 907 people during the reporting period, of whom 1 791 were ongoing and 116 were non-ongoing.
2.50DITRDCA reported a comprehensive income of $9.8 million in 2021–22 against a budgeted loss of $17.7 million. The surplus of $27.5 million has been primarily attribute to an underspend in the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) measure.
2.51Other key financial details include:
total expenses—$424.6 million;
total own-source income—$15.5 million; and
revenue from the Australian Government—$414.3 million.
Committee comment
2.52For the purposes of its report to the Senate, the committee considers DITRDCA’s 2022–23 annual report to be compliant with reporting requirements and to be ‘apparently satisfactory’.
Australian Rail Track Corporation
2.53The 2022–23 Annual Report of Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) was tabled in the Senate on 7 November 2023. The report details the activities of the agency over the previous year.
Chair’s report
2.54The Chair, Mr Peter Duncan AM, highlighted the difficult year the ARTC has had a due to adverse weather events and other natural disasters impacting the ARTC’s network operations, whilst also summarising the results of the review into the Inland Rail project.
2.55Other activities Mr Duncan noted over the reporting period included:
the nearing completion of the capacity improvement projects for the Southern Sydney Freight Line;
establishing the Safeworking Services Panel as a means of providing a more rigorous approach to engaging with external providers to focus on greater track protection for their employees and contractors; and
the Contractor Safety Management Program led to new tools and procedures to help reduce the risk of injury.
Performance
2.56The ARTC stated its purpose as ‘To improve Australia’s productivity by making rail the mode of choice inthenational logistics chain’.. The ARTC has separated its performance overview across five key areas that help to achieve the goal outlined in the statement of purpose.
2.57These being:
the ARTC’s financial performance, their safety record;
the performance of the Interstate Network; and
Hunter Valley Network as well as customer and stakeholder feedback.
Finance
2.58The report highlighted the ARTC’s access revenue increased marginally over the past financial year, rising to $747.9 million from $744.8 million in 2021–22 albeit their total revenue is less than the previous financial year. The report also highlighted its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, and impairments $205.6 million albeit net profit after tax is deficit of $1.8 billion, higher than the previous year’s deficit of $655.1 million the previous financial year. The ARTC attributed this change to the significant expenses incurred as part of the aforementioned factors above, that impacted their operations. This resulted in the ARTC incurring greater levels of debt and not paying dividend.
Safety
2.59Safeworking events, which is a subset of data combining the total number of Level 1 significant injury events and Level 2 major injury events, were targeted to be less than 20 as per the ARTC’s Corporate Plan 2022–23, however by June 2023 34 safeworking events were recorded. The frequency rate was higher among employees at 2.88 in the previous reporting period, which was an increase compared to the previous reporting period and higher than the target of less than 2.21. The frequency of injuries amongst contractors fell considerably to 2.95, down from 10.32 in 2021–22 achieving the target for a frequency of less than 8.36.
Interstate Network
2.60The Interstate Network is described in the annual report as being used by customers for the transportation of ‘general and bulk freight, including groceries and beverages, consumer goods, grain, minerals and steel, as well as passengers’. This part of the ARTC network saw a marginal increase in train journeys per day rising to 219 per day from 212 in 2021–22, despite the network impacts. However, the amount of general and bulk freight being transported decreased slightly.
Hunter Valley Network
2.61The Hunter Valley Network is in New South Wales which supports the export of coal, grain, general, and bulk freight via the Port of Newcastle. While the Hunter Valley Network also saw a small increase in train journeys per day, extreme weather resulting in incidents like flooding impacted the operations of this part of the ARTC’s network. In turn this explains the reduction in coal tonnes transported at 146.59 million coal tonnes compared to 153.83 million coal tonnes in 2021–22. There was also a small decrease in general and bulk freight transported.
Inland Rail
2.62Inland Rail is the most significant project the ARTC is currently undertaking, with the project designed to connect Melbourne to Brisbane via regional Victoria, New South Wales and Southeast Queensland. By upgrading existing track and constructing new track, Inland Rail aims to improve logistics across the eastern states. Sections of track in New South Wales between Narrabri and North Star opened in 2023, while construction in Victoria commenced as another listed milestone for the year.
2.63The project has faced several challenges over the years culminating in a review by Dr Kerry Schott AO, whose 19 recommendations were released by the Australian Government in April 2023.
2.64Of these recommendations four were highlighted in the report that have received priority measures. These recommendations are:
prioritising the sections of Inland Rail between Beveridge in Victoria and Parkes in New South Wales for completion by 2027;
progressing major works to complete construction on the Narrabri to North Star Phase 1 project by mid-2023 Progressing essential activities north of Parkes (New South Wales and Queensland) to gain the required environmental and planning approvals and secure land required for all remaining sections of the Inland Rail corridor; and
establishing Inland Rail as a subsidiary company of ARTC, including the creation of an Inland Rail Board and appointment of a permanent Chief Executive to oversee the future delivery of the program.
Staffing and financial information
2.65ARTC reportedly employed 2 037 people during the reporting period, of whom 1927 were ongoing (permanent) and 110 were non-ongoing(temporary/contract).
2.66ARTC reported a net loss of $1.8 billion in 2022–23, compared to a net loss of $655.1 million in 2022–23. The net loss was largely attributed to natural disasters.
2.67The ARTC received $68.8 million in government grants and funding during the reporting period, over $10 million more compared to the previous reporting period.
Committee comment
2.68For the purposes of its report to the Senate, the committee considers the ARTC’s 2022–23 annual report to be compliant with reporting requirements and to be ‘apparently satisfactory’.
Senator Glenn Sterle
Chair