| Outputs |
Produce, publish and manage information resources about the activities of the Senate and its committees.
Liaise with the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) and others in relation to the ICT systems and resources that underpin the support provided to the Senate, including system enhancement and development. |
Manage the production of: Dynamic Red (ParlWork); Senate Daily Summary; The Week Ahead; StatsNet; and Senate Discovery. |
All publications were published within agreed timeframes set out in the 2020–21 office work plan. |
Coordinate the Senate’s public information resources and produce and publish material for the department in multiple formats. |
Current, accurate and relevant information was available about the role and work of the Senate and its committees as required.
Ongoing improvements were made to the availability and accessibility of information resources. |
Develop, manage and participate in projects to improve information dissemination. |
A number of projects to streamline work practices and to improve the delivery of information were successfully implemented. |
Liaise with DPS and the other parliamentary departments on ICT matters. |
The requirements of the Senate and the department were effectively represented in the ICT priorities of the Parliament. |
Manage the Senate’s Twitter account. |
Through @AuSenate, the department engaged with and informed followers about the work of the Senate. |
Overview
The Senate Public Information Office (SPIO) is led by the Clerk Assistant (Table) and the Director, SPIO, Matt Keele. The Director and the SPIO team work closely together to deliver services to the Senate, the public and the department. The Clerk Assistant (Table) is also responsible for strategic leadership in relation to the department’s ICT dependencies, including liaison with the Department of Parliamentary Service’s Information Services Division.
SPIO produces and publishes an array of information resources so that people can understand and engage in the work of the Senate and its committees. This work is undertaken against the strategic goal of improving the department’s approach to publishing and sharing information and being responsive to the evolving ways in which senators and the public expect to find and consume information.
SPIO also coordinates the department’s involvement in forums and projects affecting the production and dissemination of Senate and departmental information resources.
Throughout the reporting period, SPIO continued to work closely with colleagues from DPS Information Services Division to support remote working arrangements due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The disruption caused by the pandemic has resulted in revised timelines for many projects that had completion dates on or before 30 June 2021. New timelines for completion of these will need to be renegotiated in 2021–22.
The cost of the office for 2020–21 was $1.4m ($1.4m in 2019–20), with staffing levels maintained at an average of 10 full-time equivalent.
Information resources
SPIO supported each of the 48 sitting days in this reporting period by producing and publishing the following information resources relevant to the meetings of the Senate, and meeting corresponding performance results:
- The Week Ahead – 13 editions
- Dynamic Red (and ParlWork web-application) – 48 editions with an average of 116 updates per day
- Senate Daily Summary – 48 editions
- Senate Discovery – 9 episodes, and
- compilation and publication of statistics about the work of the Senate: StatsNet and Statistical Summary.
In this reporting period, the office’s work to develop and publish information resources also included:
- StatsNet – back capture to 2012 of statistical information and further enhancements to the website user interface
- continuing to assist with the development of a website launched to commemorate the 50th year of the operation of the modern Senate committee system
- producing video, print and web resources for the Parliamentary Education Office (PEO), notably the Pass the bill game (interactive learning content), and resources to enhance the delivery of virtual classrooms
- establishing the Senate YouTube channel
- producing the department’s corporate reporting and planning documents, and
- ongoing development of Senate Connect (senators’ intranet) and SENNET (departmental intranet).
SPIO also managed the Senate’s Twitter account, @AuSenate, providing regular and frequent updates about the work of the Senate and its committees. Through Twitter, the department is able to increase its outreach, engage with citizens and others and respond quickly to requests for information.
Projects and support
During the reporting period, SPIO continued to collaborate with DPS and the Department of the House of Representatives (DHR) on a number of ICT projects to enhance the systems that underpin our work and to create new resources. During this period six projects were completed:
- enhancements to the SCID-report builder systems, tools used by the Committee Office to manage inquiry data and to draft and publish reports – completed August 2020
- development of a YouTube channel to promote awareness of the work of the Senate – completed September 2020
- enhancements to the Senate’s online statistical collection, StatsNet – completed February 2021
- implementation of the Senate Division Recording System – February 2021
- migration of the department’s financial management system from on-premise infrastructure to TechOne cloud – completed April 2021
- migration of the Senate digitised historical records collection, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Library, to make digital copies of Senate tabled papers more accessible – completed May 2021
SPIO provided extensive support to the department by coordinating, with DPS, the rollout of the Windows 10 operating system and Microsoft 365 applications, as well as a laptop rollout project – completed February 2021 and June 2021 respectively.
Other significant work during 2020–21 which is expected to be completed in the next reporting period includes:
- Passage of Legislation – an online interactive flowchart illustrating the parliamentary processes relating to bills, and
- Online Tabled Documents project (with DPS, DHR and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet), a system to receive and publish digital copies of tabled documents.
Performance outlook
In 2021–22, SPIO will continue its information resource production, projects and support programs and ICT liaison, in line with the department’s strategic aims and to achieve its service delivery to senators and the public.
The office will continue to work with DPS and others to progress various ICT projects designed to strengthen and streamline the systems and resources that enable the department’s work.
With the implementation of Windows 10 and Microsoft 365, new opportunities are available to modernise systems which produce and publish information. SPIO will develop an information portal to increase digital literacy within the department and will work with business areas to identify and implement efficiencies through the use of off-the-shelf Microsoft products such as Teams and OneDrive. Other projects that will benefit from the introduction of these platforms include the redevelopment of the committee report builder system and the streamlining of production practices for updates to Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice.
Lessons learned throughout the COVID-19 pandemic continue to emphasise the need for ICT systems that provide mobility and seamless user experience between office and remote working arrangements, for senators and staff alike. Working with DPS, SPIO will continue to bed down new ICT capabilities to support the remote participation of senators and members in parliamentary proceedings.
SPIO’s work will continue to focus on capacity building throughout the department to support digital innovation to mitigate the department’s strategic risks in relation to ICT systems and resources and workforce capability.