Terms of reference
1.1
On 3 September 2020, the Senate referred the following matters to the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee (the committee) for inquiry and report by 8 December 2020:
The operation and management of the Department of Parliamentary Services, with particular reference to:
(c)
building and asset management;
(d)
contract and procurement management;
(e)
general operations and management;
(f)
business continuity arrangements;
(g)
security arrangements;
(h)
services to parliamentarians;
(i)
the Parliamentary Library;
(j)
implementation of recommendations from past inquiries; and
1.2
On 30 November 2020, the reporting date of the inquiry was extended to 11 March 2021.
1.3
On 22 February 2021, the reporting date of the inquiry was extended to 19 May 2021.
1.4
On 11 May 2021, the reporting date of the inquiry was further extended to 30 June 2021.
Conduct of the inquiry
1.5
Details of the inquiry were made available on the committee’s website. The committee invited the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS), as well as a number of organisations and individuals, to lodge submissions.
1.6
The committee received ten public submissions, as well as 17 confidential submissions. A list of public submissions is available at Appendix 1.
1.7
The committee held a public hearing in Canberra on 18 June 2021. A list of the witnesses who gave evidence is available at Appendix 2.
Content and structure of the report
1.8
This chapter will provide a brief overview of the role and functions of DPS, including the specific role of the Parliamentary Library.
1.9
Chapter 2 outlines several of the key issues canvassed by the committee during the inquiry.
Acknowledgement
1.10
The committee thanks all those who contributed to the inquiry by making submissions, providing additional information, and appearing at the public hearing.
Role and functions of DPS
1.11
DPS is established under the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 (PS Act) and is one of four parliamentary departments supporting the Australian Parliament. It reports to the Presiding Officers of the Parliament — the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate.
1.12
The core purpose of DPS is to support the work of the Australian Parliament through the provision of ‘effective, high quality and sustainable’ services to parliamentarians and occupants of Australian Parliament House (APH).
1.13
As the DPS submission outlined:
As custodians of Australian Parliament House (APH), DPS is responsible for delivering services and experiences that enable engagement with the parliamentary processes. DPS provides a broad range of services and products to support the functions of the Australian Parliament and the work of parliamentarians.
1.14
DPS consists of approximately 1040 staff spread over four divisions, 12 branches and 48 sections. The services provided or facilitated by DPS include:
library and research services;
information and communications technology (ICT) products and services to the Parliament;
building and grounds management;
audio-visual services and Hansard;
art collection and exhibition services;
furniture and asset management services;
visitor services and the Parliament shop;
catering and event management;
licenced retail, health, banking and childcare services; and
corporate, administrative and strategic services for DPS.
1.15
DPS has a corporate plan aligned to its annual portfolio budget statements (PBS). The DPS PBS plan contains one outcome:
Support the functions of Parliament and parliamentarians by providing professional services, advice and facilities, and maintain Australian Parliament House.
1.16
Two programs sit within this outcome:
(i)
Program 1.1 – Parliamentary Services
(ii)
Program 1.2 – Parliament House works program
1.17
The outcome and programs are supported by four strategic themes in the DPS corporate plan:
Respond to the changing needs of the Parliament.
Enhance the Parliament’s engagement with the community.
Effective stewardship of Australian Parliament House.
Effective delivery of the Parliament House works program.
Role of the Parliamentary Library
1.18
The Office of the Parliamentary Library is established by the PS Act and its function is to provide ‘high quality information, analysis and advice to senators and members of the House of Representatives in support of their parliamentary and representational roles’.
1.19
The Parliamentary Library (Library) is part of DPS and provides a suite of services designed to meet the ‘contemporary needs’ of the Parliament. As set out in the Library’s submission to this inquiry:
In addition to more traditional library services, the Library offers a comprehensive range of value-added services, including print and broadcast media monitoring and analytics, access to specialist databases, and to statistical and mapping services. The Library’s collections, print and digital, are tailored and carefully maintained to ensure relevance and currency. The Library has implemented a ‘digital first’ acquisition policy so that parliamentarians and staff have access to information regardless of time or location.
1.20
The Library also offers a research service to provide specialist and expert support to parliamentarians and committees on a range of topics. The research branch of the Library produces tailored and confidential research briefs and general distribution publications on legislation and policy issues of interest to the Parliament.
1.21
The PS Act stipulates that Library services be delivered:
in a timely, impartial and confidential manner;
maintaining the highest standards of scholarship and integrity;
on the basis of equality and access for all parliamentarians, parliamentary committees and staff acting on their behalf; and
having regard to the independence of the Parliament from the Executive.
Past inquiries into DPS
1.22
Previous iterations of the committee have conducted inquiries into DPS.
1.23
During the 43rd Parliament the committee conducted an inquiry into the performance of DPS (2012 inquiry). The inquiry was referred on 23 June 2011 and after one interim report, the final report containing 23 recommendations was presented on 28 November 2012.
1.24
During the 44th Parliament the committee conducted a further inquiry into DPS (2015 inquiry). The inquiry was referred on 26 June 2014 and after two interim reports, the final report containing 14 recommendations was presented on 17 September 2015.
1.25
During the 44th Parliament the committee also conducted an inquiry into the proposed Parliament House security upgrade works. The inquiry was referred on 26 March 2015 and the final report was presented on 25 June 2015.
Progress since the 2015 DPS inquiry
1.26
DPS informed the committee that Mr Rob Stefanic was appointed Secretary of DPS in December 2015 following a ‘tumultuous period’. The submission explained that upon his appointment Mr Stefanic was charged with the responsibility of making the department ‘fit for purpose’. DPS noted that it had ‘travelled a path of transformation’ over the past five years which occurred in three identifiable stages. Each of the three stages, as characterised by DPS, are briefly set out below.
First stage of reform
1.27
The first stage of the DPS organisational reform process commenced shortly prior to Mr Stefanic’s appointment and involved the development and implementation of core policies, processes and governance to ensure that DPS could operate ‘with more effective accountability and coherence’.
This work was necessary to respond to various committee and audit recommendations and to lay the foundations for future service reforms. Initiatives include:
establishment of an in-house finance team
development of business continuity, fraud control, risk management frameworks
implementation of effective records management, performance management and learning and development systems
commissioning a Building Condition Assessment report and successful bid for capital appropriation, and
launch of the first building occupant survey.
1.29
DPS further noted that development of the first Strategic Plan for Parliamentary Administration forged a ‘constructive and collegiate relationship’ with the heads of the parliamentary departments and added a formal dimension to the engagement between the entities of the parliamentary service.
Second stage of reform
1.30
The second stage of the DPS organisational reform included ‘service to parliament’ reform measures which underpinned a significant effort to strengthen capabilities across DPS. Initiatives included strategic recruitment for capability, leadership training for new managers and ‘vigilant’ performance management, as well as the initiation of a ‘values and behaviours’ program.
1.31
The DPS submission set out a selection of the ‘service to parliament’ reforms corresponding to the four DPS strategic themes. These reforms are summarised below under each strategic theme.
Strategic theme 1: Respond to the changing needs of the Parliament
Establishment and operation of a ‘substantial’ (approximately $10 million per annum turnover) catering and events business.
Development of a strong cyber security capability to enable an effective response to a sophisticated and significant cyber-attack, including the development of a relationship with the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
Development and implementation of business continuity plans.
Implementation of an ICT ‘disaster recovery centre’ to assist with resumption of services in the event of a catastrophic service outage.
Development of a Digital Strategy to guide future investment in ICT services.
Improved delivery of ICT capital works to replace ageing infrastructure and equipment.
Improved ICT client responsiveness and flexibility of service delivery.
Development and implementation of a system for ‘electronic tellering of votes’.
Commencement of large-scale digitisation projects across the Library, Art Collections, and Design Integrity and Special Collections areas.
Strategic theme 2: Enhance the Parliament’s engagement with the community
Collaboration with the Canberra Region Joint Organisation to support fire-affected communities through sourcing DPS produce from those regions.
Curation of several exhibitions each year for the Presiding Officers’ Exhibition Area.
Delivery of a year-long calendar of events to celebrate the 30th anniversary of APH in 2018.
Annual participation in the Canberra Enlighten Festival.
Ongoing development strategies to enhance the Parliament’s online presence through the APH website and increase public access to the APH art collection.
Development of an immersive civics engagement program to help primary school age children understand the work that supports Parliament.
Annual delivery of events, exhibitions and public programs at APH.
Collaboration with the Department of the Senate to launch the StatsNet web service to allow users to interactively view and search for statistics relating to the business of the Senate.
Strategic theme 3: Effective stewardship of Parliament House
Improvement in the responsiveness of building maintenance services and the presentation of APH.
Implementation of a new cleaning contract to achieve value for money and ‘a higher cleaning standard’.
Formation of a Design Integrity and Special Collections Unit to coordinate consultation on architectural change, reconstitute the archive of designs, finishes and material, and oversee the completion of the Central Reference Document.
Implementation of a design integrity framework to guide ‘informed change’ to APH.
Assumption of responsibility for all Senate and House of Representatives ‘Status A’ commissioned and ‘Status B’ global furniture, and commencement of a comprehensive restoration program.
Strategic theme 4: Effective delivery of the Parliament House Works program
Initiation and delivery of a program of capital works for large scale infrastructure renewal. Projects include: skylight and roof glazing replacements; fire safety upgrades; refurbishment of six kitchens and two dining spaces; refurbishment of 42 lifts; and extensive electrical, heating, cooling and ventilation infrastructure upgrades.
Commencement, design and delivery of the ‘highly complex and disruptive’ security capital works projects, including: entrance hardening, fencing, and complete replacement of the electronic security management system infrastructure.
An auxiliary power upgrade project to ensure APH can meet increased electricity load demands not accounted for in the original construction and support fire and lift safety services.
1.32
In summarising the second stage of reform, DPS observed:
A body of work remains to further advance our service reforms and address the ongoing capability gaps while managing our budgetary challenges.
Third stage of reform
1.33
The third stage of the DPS organisational reform process commenced on 2 January 2020 and is designed to move DPS to a ‘more agile and
high-performance operation model’. DPS characterised the third stage as a ‘realignment’ intended to progress the strategic priorities of innovation, quality service delivery and improving corporate culture.
1.34
DPS informed the committee that the ‘early success’ of the third stage of transformation was evident in its ability to respond to the unprecedented challenges of the COIVD-19 pandemic. It explained:
The department demonstrated its capability and capacity to pivot quickly from its business-as-usual operations to new ways of service delivery…This means DPS is well placed to manage unforeseen challenges while sustainably delivering its traditional core services to effectively support the Parliament and parliamentarians.