1.1        Annual reports not only serve to inform external parties about the performance of an entity – they also create a performance framework for entities to direct and then evaluate their own efforts. These dual purposes are recognised by the Department of Finance in its guidance on reporting:

Annual reports serve to inform the Parliament (through the responsible Minister), other stakeholders, educational and research institutions, the media and the general public about the performance of entities in relation to activities undertaken. Annual reports are also a key reference document and a document for internal management.[1]

1.2        Labor Senators are concerned that the performance reporting by the Digital Transformation Office (DTO) in its 2015–16 Annual Report achieved neither of these two purposes.

1.3        Although we appreciate that a new agency may require a period to establish clear performance metrics, there are serious concerns about whether the DTO satisfied the requirements of the enhanced Commonwealth performance framework.

1.4        First, it appears that the DTO operated for much of its first year without any performance targets. The DTO started operation in July 2015,[2] but its KPIs were only articulated in January 2016,[3] with its targets not determined until May 2016.[4]

1.5        Second, the targets that were established were often vague and unquantifiable. It is difficult to establish what measures the DTO used to assess its own performance. One KPI, for instance required 'Improved levels of public satisfaction with the government services as measured by a public digital dashboard'. The associated target was simply for 'Positive change in stakeholder feedback'.

1.6        Third, the reporting against these targets was incomplete. The KPI that 'Entities adhering to the Digital Service Standard (DSS) when designing new services or redesigning existing services' had a target of '80 per cent of agencies adhering to the Digital Service Standard for new services'. The annual report does not state what percentage of agencies did adhere to the DSS. The performance is reported as 'many' but said that it was 'too early' to tell if the target had been reached. Likewise, the KPI for increased use of common ICT platforms across governments is not quantified. It is not clear if the performance level of 'several agencies' is a good result or a bad result.

1.7        The DTO suffered a number of well publicised setbacks during its operation. It is possible that some may have been avoidable if the DTO set itself clear expectations and then measured its outcomes against them.

1.8        Labor Senators appreciate the difficulty agencies have in establishing clear performance metrics when it is not clear what is being asked of them as a matter of government policy.

Senator Jenny McAllister                 Senator Kimberley Kitching
Deputy Chair

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