I am pleased to present this year’s Secretary’s Review.

The year was one of generational milestones in the life of Australian Parliament House (APH), as we opened the doors to the community for the 30th anniversary Open Day and delivered the most significant upgrades to security and infrastructure since its opening in 1988.

The 30th anniversary Open Day held on 6 October 2018 saw over 8,000 people come through the doors to enjoy and experience their House—furthering our ongoing commitment to making this iconic building, and the work that takes place within it, accessible to the public.

Significant advancements have been made this year to strengthen our physical and cyber security capability. In addition substantial efforts were directed to reviewing and implementing measures under the reissued whole-of-government Protective Security Policy Framework to further improve our security governance, personnel security, physical security and information security.

A significant cyber security attack in early 2019 reinforced the need for ongoing vigilance and strengthened resilience in this area. DPS worked closely in partnership with the Commonwealth security and intelligence agencies during and after the incident. The committed and better practice responses from our Information Services Division minimised disruption to the nationwide parliamentary network.

The completion of most of the physical security upgrade projects, delivered the largest and most complex security investment in the building’s history. This means building occupants and visitors now have greater protection from potential security threats which were not anticipated at the time the building was designed and built.

This work was not without challenges. Security works in a number of areas including the Senate and House of Representatives entrances were delayed in mid to late 2018 when the managing contractor advised of performance and financial issues with a subcontractor. Despite being an issue beyond our legal and contractual control, the department worked closely with the managing contractor to navigate issues with the subcontractor and then to resume project progress within the shortest time possible. A replacement subcontractor commenced in January 2019 and the Senate and House of Representatives entrances were completed and both were operational from 19 August 2019. I would like to thank parliamentarians, staff, building occupants and visitors for their patience during these works.

The journey to completion for many of these multi-year projects has at times meant disruption for the people who work within and visit Parliament House. DPS project management and communication efforts, combined with the patience, engagement and cooperation from our colleagues in the other parliamentary departments have, where possible, resulted in minimal disruption for building occupants.

Australian Parliament House is an internationally recognised building of significant architectural achievement and incorporates many complex and symbolic design elements. The implementation of the Management of Design Integrity Framework in 2018–19 will ensure future upgrades to the building and surrounds are guided by the design intent of the original Architects in response to a 20-volume brief that took seven years to develop. The framework not only provides our people with clarity and practical assistance when managing building, repair and design projects, it sets out an integrated consultative approach for project development, design and delivery.

I would like to express my appreciation to Ms Pamille Berg AO Hon FRAIA and Mr Harold Guida LFRAIA AIA, as the moral rights administrators on behalf of nominated architect the late Romaldo Giurgola AO LFRAIA AIA, for working with us to complete the framework which ensures that practical and appropriate design solutions for capital works and maintenance are discussed at the earliest possible stages.

Their work to assist us to complete the Central Reference Document (CRD) continued this year with the first revision of the existing 31 draft chapters now achieved. Work is now underway on seven new chapters and other additional material to address issues not covered in the original 2004 draft, including symbolism within Parliament House, the design intent of the Party Rooms, and references to Walter Burley Griffin’s design for Canberra within the design intent of Parliament House.

All chapters of the revised CRD will be enriched with illustrations, footnotes and bibliographies to provide fuller descriptions of the architect’s design intent for each significant element of Parliament House. The final phase of the project regarding publication is expected to be completed in 2020–21.

A number of technology achievements were made in 2018–19 with the implementation of an electronic voting system and an offsite data centre. The electronic voting project led by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon Tony Smith MP was an outstanding collaborative effort between DPS and the Department of the House of Representatives. Using in-house expertise, cloud technology and agile methodologies, DPS built an application to allow digital recording of votes on the floor of the House of Representatives. This replaced the paper-based system and meant division results were more accessible and published faster. The system has been developed ready to facilitate full electronic voting by members at some point in the future. The establishment of an offsite data centre will greatly enhance the resilience of the parliamentary ICT environment and support the continued operation of our core ICT systems in the event of an infrastructure failure or disruption at Parliament House.

Following the prorogation of the 45th Parliament, and in partnership with the parliamentary departments, DPS supported exiting parliamentarians and commenced planning for the commencement of the 46th Parliament. During the election period, we took the opportunity to conduct a refresh and reset of all vacant office suites. We improved the induction experience for new parliamentarians with a streamlined digital onboarding system and enhanced induction presentations tailored to the needs of new parliamentarians.

I thank the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon Tony Smith MP, and the President of the Senate, Senator the Hon Scott Ryan, for their continuing support of me and of the department in 2018–19. I also thank my fellow heads of the parliamentary departments—the retiring Clerk of the House of Representatives, Mr David Elder, the Clerk of the Senate, Mr Richard Pye, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Ms Jenny Wilkinson, and the Parliamentary Librarian, Dr Dianne Heriot for their goodwill and collegiality as we work to better serve the Parliament of Australia.