Recommendations and suggestions

The working group considers that:

1. Financial requirements for the 1997-98 Budget be prepared interms of a five - department structure (paragraph 1.4.2).
2. Depending on Presiding Officer and legislative approval, arrangementsfor the two - department structure take full effect from 1 January1998 (paragraph 1.4.2).

3. The allocation of functions be as follows:

   DEPARTMENT OF THE SENATE	$m	DEPARTMENT OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	$m
   Parliamentary Library	15	Hansard	9
   Parliamentary Information Systems Office	16	Sound and Vision Office	8
   		Parliamentary Security	11
   Facilities Management	16	Building Management	25
   Parliamentary Education Office/Guides/Art Works	4	Parliamentary Relations Office	2
   Total	51	Total	55

   Note: Amounts identified are indicative only and include an amount for corporate management.
   (paragraph 2.1.2)

   
   
4. The established principle that funds and staff follow functioninto the host department be followed (paragraph 2.2.1).
5. Services delivered by each joint function be the subject ofa service level agreement (SLA) agreed between the Clerks of theHouses (paragraph 2.2.3).
6. For joint functions, a Parliamentary Joint Services Board ofManagement be established, comprising the President of the Senate,the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and both Clerks (paragraph 2.2.4).
7. Procedures be established so that any officer of a joint programwill, if so requested, appear before a parliamentary committeeexamining the funding or affairs of that program (paragraph 2.2.7).
8. Implementation be staged over a period of time and an interimstructure in the corporate management areas of the two chamberdepartments be maintained for a transitional period (paragraph 2.4.2).
9. The top structures of both departments be designed to providethe appropriate level of support to the two Clerks (paragraph 2.4.4).
10. The building management function be retained in its presentform (paragraph 2.5.1).
11. The Clerks agree, when considering joint functions, that bothdepartments be represented on each departmental audit committee(paragraph 3.1.3).
12. The 1997-98 Budget cover for the chamber departments new policyproposals be moved from the Joint House Department to the chamberdepartments (paragraph 3.3.4).
13. Future Portfolio Budget Statement coverage of joint functionslocated administratively within a chamber department be tabledin both Houses and be available for examination during any estimatesprocess (paragraph 3.3.5).
14. All permanent recruitment into the parliamentary departments'corporate management areas, and to positions to which suitablecorporate management staff could be transferred, be temporarilyfrozen (paragraph 3.4.2).
15. The Presiding Officers give a formal undertaking that, asfar as is practicable, any staff reductions be by redeployment,natural attrition or voluntary redundancy (paragraph 3.4.4).
16. In the event that potentially surplus officers remain afterseparations because of natural attrition or voluntary redundancy,there should be a spill of positions at the levels/classificationsof the affected officers (paragraph 3.4.4).
17. Consultation with staff and staff associations should continueon an ongoing basis during implementation (paragraph 3.5.4).
18. Each chamber department retain a separate but strengthenedcorporate management area (paragraph 3.6.3).
19. The role of the Steering Committee should continue until implementationis complete (paragraph 1.2.2).

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