Navigation: Previous Page | Index | Next Page
Chapter 1- DEPARTMENTS
Department of Health and Family Services 1997-98
Timeliness
1.5 The report was presented to the President on 28 October 1998 and tabled in both houses of Parliament on 10 November 1998, within the required 15 sitting days.
Quality
1.6 The annual report provides detailed analysis of Departmental programs and activities. The report, as in previous years, places a strong emphasis on measuring program performance against clearly stated objectives. Overall, the report is well organised and access to information is enhanced by an effective system of indexing. The Committee is pleased that several of its comments and suggestions made in its last report have been satisfactorily addressed by the Department.
Reporting requirements
1.7 All reporting requirements are met.
Performance reporting
1.8 The Department provides concise information on its programs in the performance reporting section of the report. An overview of activities, objectives, achievements and underachievements is provided for each program as well as detailed analysis against performance indicators. Additional information on consultancies, staffing and a range of other matters is included in Appendices to the report. A volume of supplementary papers provides additional information relating to the Department's portfolio responsibilities.
1.9 The Department states that:
This year's annual report builds on the Department's performance and reporting regime where each year prospective performance indicators and targets for each sub-program are published in the Portfolio Budget Statements at the time of the Federal Budget. Our performance is then reported at the end of the financial year against those indicators and targets in our annual report (p.4).
1.10 The Department notes that this approach `ensures that the Department's performance can be assessed against clearly defined benchmarks which are announced ahead of time' (p.4). The Committee believes that the Department's approach to performance reporting assists in the evaluation and proper Parliamentary scrutiny of the Department's programs.
1.11 As in previous years, the report provides an assessment of the Department's achievements, as well as a discussion of areas of `underachievement' indicating where goals have not been met, or where improvements in program performance are needed. In the current report, the Department acknowledges `underachievements' in the areas of managing the residential aged care reforms; continuing difficulties with States and Territories in relation to signing revised Home and Community Care (HACC) agreements; and delays in the corporatisation of the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service and Australian Hearing Services (p.5). The Committee notes that problems with finalising the HACC agreements were also commented upon in the Department's 1996-97 report.
1.12 In its 1998 report, the Committee suggested that where significant `underachievements' are identified in the various program areas, more detail should be provided in the report on discussing how the Department intends to address the issues raised. The Committee is pleased to note that the current report provides additional information on areas of underachievement by program (see, for example, pp.73-4, 120, 154).
Consultancies
1.13 The report indicates that the Department engaged 381 consultants during 1997-98, an increase from 1996-97 when 235 consultants were engaged (p.272). A detailed breakdown of individual consultancies across programs, including the justification for particular consultancies is provided in the report (pp.274-82). The Committee notes that there has been a significant increase in expenditure on consultancies in 1997-98 where expenditure totalled $23 911 488 when compared with the previous year's expenditure of $14 852 372 (p.272). Reasons for the increased expenditure on consultancies in 1997-98 should have been included in the report.
Department of Social Security 1997-98
Timeliness
1.14 The report was presented to the President on 30 October 1998 and tabled in the Senate on 10 November 1998 and in the House of Representatives on 11 November 1998, within the required 15 sitting days.
Quality
1.15 The report provides a well presented and detailed overview of the Department's programs and activities. The report contains comprehensive performance reports on each of the Department's programs (pp.39-318) as well as a portfolio and corporate overview (pp.11-22). Information on staffing, consultancies and other areas of the Department's portfolio responsibilities are contained in Appendices to the report. The Committee is pleased that several of its comments and suggestions made in its last report have been satisfactorily addressed by the Department in the current annual report.
Reporting requirements
1.16 All reporting requirements have been met.
Performance reporting
1.17 The report noted that following the separation of Centrelink from DSS, the Department is refocussing its role towards primarily policy formulation and advice, with Centrelink as the primary service delivery organisation (pp.3-4). While the report notes that `in an environment of increasing emphasis on both outcomes and outputs, the department is still refining how, as a policy organisation, it can properly measure and monitor performance', the Department stated that it aims to give a more transparent assessment of its performance against program objectives in future reports (p.9).
1.18 As in previous years, the report identifies a number of key performance indicators for each of its programs and performance outcomes are measured against these objectives. The report also notes that as part of the Department's 1997-98 Strategic Partnership Agreement with Centrelink, Centrelink provides DSS with quarterly performance reports covering timeliness, accuracy and data on customer satisfaction (pp.319-21).
1.19 In its last report, the Committee noted that performance reporting could be enhanced if the report contained more information about the areas of `underachievement' in addition to concentrating on achievements. The Committee also suggested that further details on areas where performance did not meet Departmental targets should be provided in future annual reports. In response to these comments, the Committee is pleased to note that the Department has directly responded to these concerns by including in this year's annual report, performance reports on the operation of the DSS/Centrelink Strategic Partnership Agreement. The annual report also includes information on performance outcomes against objectives, as well as useful program performance summaries.
External scrutiny
1.20 The Departmental annual report provides information on a number of reviews both internal and external into its programs and operations conducted during 1997-98 (pp.299-311).
1.21 The Committee notes that ANAO report (Report No.37: Protection of Confidential Client Information from Unauthorised Disclosure) acknowledges the Department's strong commitment to the protection of client information from unauthorised release. Nevertheless, the ANAO identified scope for further improvement in certain areas including checks and controls on access by staff to client data and the strategic management of confidentiality issues. The report noted that the Department `is currently working towards improvements in these areas' (p.305). Some discussion of strategies in this regard should have been included in the report.
1.22 The Committee notes that in 1997-98 the Commonwealth Ombudsman received 69 complaints about DSS compared to 9262 complaints in 1996-97. The report stated that the reduction in the number of complaints is linked the fact that Centrelink now provides direct service to DSS clients on behalf of the Department. (p.305).
Consultancies
1.23 The report provides details on consultancies, including information on the amounts paid and the `justification' for individual consultancies (pp.322-34). Information on the amount spent on consultancies by program is also provided (p.324).
1.24 In 1997-98 the Department approved 113 consultancies (where the amount paid was $2000 or greater) with an overall expenditure of $5 753 900 (p.323). This compares with 134 consultancies approved in 1996-97 and an overall expenditure of $4 021 174. The report noted that the increased expenditure on consultancies in 1997-98 was due to various consultancies associated with management issues following the establishment of Centrelink; a consultancy to Volunteering Australia Inc for the voluntary work initiative project; and a Morgan and Banks consultancy in relation to staff recruitment (pp.323-24).
Navigation: Previous Page | Index | Next Page