Navigation: Previous Page | Index | Next Page

Chapter 2 - STATUTORY AUTHORITIES

Australia New Zealand Food Authority 1997-98

1.25 The report was presented to the President on 15 October 1998 and tabled in the Senate on 10 November and in the House of Representatives on 11 November 1998, within the required 15 sitting days.

1.26 All reporting requirements are met. The report provides a useful overview of the Authority's functions and activities. The report also provides, on a program basis, more detailed information on strategies and activities the Authority has undertaken during the year to meet its program objectives (pp.21-69).

1.27 The report noted that during 1997-98 significant amendments were made to the Australia New Zealand Food Authority Act 1991 including amendments contained in the Australia New Zealand Food Authority Amendment Act (No.2) 1997 which implemented a number of policy and administrative changes designed to improve and streamline the Authority's operations (p.19).

1.28 The Committee in its last report requested that details of consultancies including the reasons for their engagement should be included in future annual reports. While the current report contains some information on consultancies (Appendix 3, p.102), the Committee believes that more detailed information on, at least major consultancies, should be included in future annual reports.

Australian Hearing Services 1997-98

1.29 The report was tabled in the House of Representatives on 18 February 1999, but at the time of writing has not been tabled in the Senate.

1.30 All reporting requirements are met, except, as noted above, the report was not tabled within the required time. The report provides a concise account of the activities of the authority. The report notes that new service delivery arrangements for the Commonwealth Hearing Services program came into effect on 1 November 1997. Under these arrangements hearing rehabilitation services are available under a voucher scheme for adult pensioner clients and community service obligations which cover children, certain adults, remote clients and indigenous Australians (p.9). The authority noted that the new arrangements have not affected the quality and breadth of the services provided to clients (p.10).

1.31 With regard to operational performance, the Committee notes that over the last 12 months, some 166 800 people used the services offered by the authority, compared with 162 100 in the previous year (p.47). The report notes that client accessibility to services has improved with a national network of service centres in 295 sites, including some in very remote areas (p.10).

Australian Institute of Family Studies 1997-98

1.32 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.

1.33 All reporting requirements are met. The report provides a useful overview of the Institute's activities and programs. Information is also provided on consultancies (p.61). The report also provides a detailed summary of the research undertaken by the Institute in terms of performance `outcomes' (see pp.26-39).

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 1997-98

1.34 The report was presented to the President on 15 October 1998 and was tabled in the Senate on 10 November 1998 and in the House of Representatives on 11 November 1998, within the required 15 sitting days.

1.35 All reporting requirements are met. The report provides a comprehensive description of the Institute's functions and activities. This report, as with the Institute's last report, focuses more on measuring research performance in relation to performance indicators. The report provides a useful summary table in an Appendix assessing the Institute's activities against program targets (Appendix 9, pp.119-21). This information could, however, be more usefully be provided in the body of the text.

1.36 The inclusion of more information on performance reporting addresses a deficiency identified in the Committee's past reports that the Institute had not provided sufficient analysis of its activities.

Centrelink 1997-98

1.37 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.

1.38 All reporting requirements are met. This is the first report of Centrelink which was established under the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Act 1997 which came into effect in July 1997.

1.39 The report provides a detailed account of the activities of the authority, although performance reporting could be enhanced if the report contained more information on areas where goals had not been met in addition to concentrating on `achievements'. In this regard, the report states that in the current annual report that performance reporting is presented in relation to a set of goals – `for future years, it is expected that performance will be reported against the Balanced Scorecard for Centrelink. The Balanced Scorecard will be the key instrument for measuring and reporting Centrelink performance from 1998-99 onwards. It was still in the process of development and testing in 1997-98 and therefore not in a sufficiently advanced form to provide a basis for reporting for this Annual Report' (p.43). While the report provides some information on the methodology of the `Balanced Scorecard' approach (see pp.90-91), the methodology needs to be explained in more understandable terms in future reports.

1.40 While the report provides an extensive discussion of customer service strategies (pp.18,21,51-64), problems relating to service delivery do not seem to be addressed to any great extent – for example, problems related to the introduction of the Youth Allowance are discussed in terms of `teething difficulties' (p.19). Future annual reports should address issues relating to customer service delivery in more detail especially given one of the stated aims of Centrelink is in developing a `customer service culture' (p.51). More details of the `customer satisfaction surveys', including the methodology used, should also be included in future annual reports (pp.61-62).

1.41 Regarding external scrutiny, the Committee notes that the review by the ANAO into the implementation of Centrelink (Report No.18: Implementation of the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency) found that the process `has been efficient and effective and the level of achievement has been impressive given the timeframe' (p.140).

1.42 The Committee notes that the Commonwealth Ombudsman's Annual Report 1997-98 raised several issues in relation to Centrelink's operations. The Ombudsman noted that it was not unusual for Centrelink clients to inform the Ombudsman's office that they `are “frustrated”, “bewildered” or “lost” within the system'. [1] The Ombudsman also noted that at times Centrelink Teleservice Centres cannot cope with the level of inquiries – `this is particularly worrying because Centrelink has deliberately chosen to do much of its business by telephone and requires clients to make personal appointments before they can visit their local Customer Service Centre to discuss problems'. [2] The Committee believes that issues raised by the Ombudsman, ANAO or other review body relevant to Centrelink's operations, especially in the important areas of client service delivery, should be discussed in detail in future reports, including measures to address any problems raised in these reports.

Health Insurance Commission 1997-98

1.43 The report was tabled in the Senate on 25 November 1998 and in the House of Representatives on 24 November 1998, within the required 15 sitting days.

1.44 All reporting requirements are met. The report provides a detailed overview of the Commission's activities and performance, and, as in previous years an extensive range of statistical information on the programs managed by the Commission (see pp.201-262).

1.45 The report, commenting on the decision of the Government to separate Medibank Private from the HIC noted that it is part of a broader reform of the health insurance sector and has `freed up' the HIC to `deliver best possible health benefits to all Australians at the lowest possible cost' (p.21).

1.46 The report notes that service initiatives implemented or trialed during 1997-98 involved Medicare `easyclaim' fax devices and electronic kiosks, and claiming from doctors' surgeries (p.19). The Commission's operations summary (pp.35-39), provides a set of useful key performance objectives against which the Commission's performance can be assessed. The data indicate that the satisfaction of clients with the Commission's administration of government programs remains very high (p.35).

1.47 The Committee notes the emphasis in the report on service delivery issues. For example, the report notes that work commenced on a HIC service charter and that this will be completed in 1999. The report noted that the aim of the charter is to establish standards for key elements of service delivery and that establishing these standards will `provide a mechanism for measuring performance' (p.20). The report also notes work is continuing in developing improved client service which more effectively meets the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their service providers. (p.51).

National Health and Medical Research Council 1997

1.48 The report was tabled in both houses of Parliament on 23 June 1998, within the required 15 sitting days.

1.49 All reporting requirements are met. The report provides a comprehensive account of the Council's functions and operations and more emphasis than in previous years on performance reporting. In addition, the report contains several appendices containing membership information for the Council and administrative and financial information. The report also contains a series of informative research vignettes which provide a more direct insight into the practical uses to which NHMRC funding is put (pp.21-56). The report also contains reference to the Community Affairs References Report into the CJD Settlement Offer (pp.76-77).

1.50 A separate volume, 1998 Grants Book, details the health and medical research grants recommended for funding in 1998 by the NHMRC.

1.51 The annual report contains details of the NHMRC's Strategic Plan 1997-2000 and a discussion of implementation strategies (pp.2-3,8-9) – this addresses a deficiency noted by the Committee in its last report.

1.52 The Committee in its last report also requested that future reports discuss issues related to evaluation of the operations of the Council. The report notes that `all the NHMRC's Principal Committees have now developed detailed work plans for the triennium commensurate with the overall strategic direction defined by Council, and each committee will evaluate its performance against these work plans' (p.9).

Nuclear Safety Bureau 1997-98

1.53 The report was tabled in both houses of Parliament on 10 December 1998, within the required 15 sitting days.

1.54 All reporting requirements are met. The Bureau's report provides a comprehensive overview of its functions and operations. As in past reports, the Bureau uses a program reporting format in reviewing its various functions (see pp.7-31).

Operations of the Registered Benefits Organisations 1997-98

1.55 The report was tabled in the Senate on 25 November 1998 and in the House of Representatives on 24 November 1998, within the required 15 sitting days.

1.56 All reporting requirements are met. This report, required by Section 82PA of the National Health Act 1953, is now separate from the report on the functions of the Private Health Insurance Administration Council.

1.57 The report provides a detailed overview of the financial operations of registered health benefit organisations, including statistical data on the operations of the health funds. In addition, the report makes extensive use of tables and graphs to illustrate these data (pp.43-77).

Private Health Insurance Administration Council 1997-98

1.58 The report was presented to the President on 6 October 1998 and tabled in the Senate on 25 November 1998 and in the House of Representatives on 11 November 1998, within the required 15 sitting days.

1.59 All reporting requirements are met. The report notes that the structure of the Council was changed by amendments to the National Health Act 1953 to enable an independent Council to be appointed to replace the advisory Council. This change was in line with a recommendation of the Industry Commission report into private health insurance (p.1).

1.60 The Committee notes that the report provides more details on the publication and distribution of consumer information including the booklet Insure? Not Sure? and the Private Patients' Hospital Charter (pp.9,19) as requested in the Committee's last report.

Private Health Insurance Ombudsman 1998

1.61 The report was tabled in the Senate on 1 December 1998 and in the House of Representatives on 26 November 1998, within the required 15 sitting days.

1.62 All reporting requirements are met. The report provides a detailed analysis of the activities of the Ombudsman with an emphasis on performance indicators (pp.12-21). As with the previous report, the current annual report makes good use of graphs and charts to illustrate the data provided. The report indicated that the Health Legislation Amendment Act (No.2) 1998 provided for the renaming of the Private Health Insurance Complaints Commissioner as the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman. The report stated that while the legislation enhances the operation of the Ombudsman and widens its jurisdiction it was noted the Ombudsman `was not given the necessary powers to be fully effective in complaints which cannot be settled by agreement' (p.7).

1.63 In regard to the authority's performance, it was noted that the office received 1966 complaints in 1997-98 (an average of 164 complaints per month), compared with an average of 101 complaints received per month in the previous year. The office finalised 1963 complaints during the year (an average of 164 per month), compared with an average of 95 complaints finalised per month in the previous year (p.11). The report states that an independent survey of clients, conducted during the reporting year, indicated a high level of consumer satisfaction with the Ombudsman's service (p.6).

1.64 While the report provides some information on major consultancies (p.43), more information on the consultancies and the reasons for particular consultancies should be provided in future reports.

Professional Services Review 1997-98

1.65 The report was presented to the President on 28 October 1998 and was tabled in the Senate on 10 November 1998 and in the House of Representatives on 11 November 1998, within the required 15 sitting days.

1.66 All reporting requirements are met. The report provides a comprehensive review of the activities and operations of the Professional Services Review (PSR), including useful case summaries and corporate overview.

1.67 The report states that in relation to its operational activities the PSR had a `very much increased workload' (p.1). The PSR stated that 48 cases of suspected inappropriate practice were referred by the Health Insurance Commission during 1997-98, compared with 70 cases in 1996-97. Twenty-nine referrals were finalised during the reporting period, compared with one finalised in 1996-97 (p.7).

1.68 The report referred to the Yung case and the adverse findings in a Federal Court appeal and subsequent appeal to the Full Federal Court. The report noted that following these decisions, processes involved in the PSR scheme have been reviewed to comply with Federal Court requirements – `however, the Court's findings are such that compliance poses considerable challenges to what was intended to be a “peer review ” process (p.1).

Social Security Appeals Tribunal 1997-98

1.69 The report was presented to the President on 15 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.

1.70 All reporting requirements are met. The report provides a detailed analysis of the activities of the Tribunal, including a discussion of performance outcomes measured against the authority's objectives (pp. 15-22).

1.71 The report indicates that the Tribunal managed to improve its performance `in many key performance areas' (p.3). The report noted an improvement in the timeliness of appeals processing, with the average time to process an appeal at 11.9 weeks, compared with 14.9 weeks in the previous year. The number of applications lodged in 1997-98 was 11 628, a decrease of 2189 over 1996-97. This was attributed to a decrease in applications for review in Newstart allowance and AUSTUDY cases (p.16).

Navigation: Previous Page | Index | Next Page

 

Footnotes

[1]Commonwealth Ombudsman, Annual Report 1997-98, p.75.

[2]ibid., pp.75-76.