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> SECRETARY'S REVIEW

DEPARTMENTAL OVERVIEW

REPORT ON PERFORMANCE

MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

APPENDICES

GLOSSARY

SECRETARY'S REVIEW

2002-2003 was a momentous year for DPRS, leading as it did to the decision of the Parliament in August 2003 to abolish the department (along with the Department of the Parliamentary Library and the Joint House Department) and to replace them from 1 February 2004 with a new Department of Parliamentary Services.

As this will be the last Annual Report of DPRS, it is fitting that the final year of more than a century of service to the Parliament should have been one of further improvements in efficiency, costeffectiveness and service delivery.

The major events of 2002-2003 were:

• the Review of Aspects of the Parliamentary Administration by the Parliamentary Service Commissioner, Mr Podger;
  
  
• the independent Client Satisfaction Survey to assess standards of service delivery to Senators, Members and the Parliament;
  
  
• the agreement between DPRS and the Department of Finance and Administration that DPRS take over responsibility for first and second level support of information technology in Senators' and Members' electorate offices;
  
  
• the rollout of the Parliament's new OneOffice computing platform; and
  
  
• negotiation of a new Certified Agreement.

Each of these has been a significant milestone for DPRS.

Review of Aspects of the Parliamentary Administration

In April 2002, the Speaker and the then President asked the Parliamentary Service Commissioner, Mr Andrew Podger, to review the parliamentary administration, beginning with the provision of security services but going on to look at a range of corporate and management issues.

DPRS made a submission to Mr Podger, which recommended that the opportunity be taken to make major improvements in the quality and efficiency of the Parliamentary Service by amalgamating the three joint departments (DPRS, DPL and JHD). DPRS's view has long been that the existing five department structure was unwieldy, inefficient and costly and that the Parliament should set the standard for the public sector generally in cost-effective administrative support.

In September 2002 Mr Podger presented his final report to the Presiding Officers and recommended, inter alia, the abolition of the three existing service departments and their replacement with a single department.

Following consideration by the Presiding Officers and the Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations and Staffing, the Parliament agreed to the proposal and, on 31 January 2004, the Department of the Parliamentary Reporting Staff will be abolished 103 years after its creation and a new chapter will open for its staff, who will all transfer to the new department.

DPRS's record of service to the Parliament is a very proud one, starting in 1901 when nine 'gentlemen of Hansard' were employed to report the proceedings of the new House of Representatives and Senate. At 30 June 2003, the department employed 345 staff to provide comprehensive, international standard transcription, computing, broadcasting and telecommunications services to the national legislature.

DPRS staff will take with them to the new Department of Parliamentary Services the professionalism, commitment and enthusiasm which have been the hallmarks of the modern DPRS.

Once in the life of each Parliament the department conducts an independent survey of Members and Senators and senior parliamentary staff to gauge their satisfaction or otherwise with the services provided by the department.

For this, the 40th, Parliament, ARTD Management and Research Consultants was contracted to conduct the DPRS Client Survey during May and June 2003.

The Survey consisted of three stages: a self-completion questionnaire, follow-up client interviews and data analysis and reporting.

The questionnaire, which was sent to all 226 Members and Senators, as well as a sample of senior managers and staff of the other four parliamentary departments, contained 50 closed response questions and six open ended questions.

145 questionnaires were returned - 109 from Members and Senators and 36 from managers in parliamentary departments - an overall response rate of 54 per cent.

Follow-up interviews were held with 31 Members and Senators and/or their staff and 14 senior managers in parliamentary departments.

ARTD then analysed the quantitative and qualitative data from the questionnaire and follow-up interviews to provide a comprehensive report which is published in full at Appendix A.

The Survey found that DPRS continues to be seen by Senators and Members as a highly professional, client focussed organisation, with very high levels of client satisfaction and increased satisfaction when compared with the results of the survey for the 39th Parliament, conducted in 2000.

Overall, 89 per cent of clients were satisfied with the services of the Client Services Group, compared with 83 per cent in 2000. Almost half (46 per cent) of all clients rated the services as very good and only 1 per cent indicated that services were poor. The improvement in perceptions of transcription services was notable, with satisfaction levels increasing from 79 per cent in 2000 to 90 per cent in 2003.

There was little change in the proportion of clients satisfied with infrastructure and technology services. Satisfaction was slightly lower for the availability and reliability of computer systems and the ability to resolve problems. Overall, 79 per cent of clients were satisfied with the Technical Services Group (compared with 82 per cent in 2000).

Improved results were recorded against all of the six client service standards, a result which reflects the department's commitment to excellence and innovation.

Service enhancements to overcome problems identified in the 2000 client survey appear to be operating effectively, resulting in higher levels of client satisfaction with timeliness of pinks and greens, telephone services and the 2020 help desk service.

Senators and Members would like to see further improvement in some areas, principally remote and mobile computing, timeliness of committee transcripts and providing a greater measure of tailored information technology assistance. The department has made these issues high priorities for 2003-2004.

Information Technology Support for Electorate Offices

DPRS provides central information technology and telecommunications infrastructure services and support in Parliament House for Senators and Members and their staff, parliamentary committees and the parliamentary departments.

The Department of Finance and Administration (DoFA) is responsible for services to Senators' and Members' electorate offices, including information technology services and support, principally hardware, software, training, help desk facilities and electronic connections between Parliament House and electorate offices.

Until 30 June 2003, DoFA outsourced its electorate office responsibilities for hardware supply, installation and maintenance, training and help desk services to a commercial vendor, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC).

In May 2002 DoFA decided not to continue that arrangement beyond 30 June 2003 and approached DPRS to take over some of those responsibilities on a fee for service basis.

Following extensive detailed negotiation and analysis of service needs and levels, DPRS and DoFA were able in May 2003 to recommend to the Presiding Officers and the Special Minister of State respectively that the Presiding Officers and the Minister endorse an agreement by which DPRS would provide certain services to electorate offices from 1 July 2003.

The agreement was in three parts:

• a high level Head of Agreement between the Presiding Officers and the Special Minister of State;
  
  
• a Memorandum of Agreement signed by the Secretary DPRS and the Secretary DoFA; and
  
  
• a Memorandum of Service Details, which specifies how service principles are to be implemented, signed by senior operational staff of the two departments.

The Head of Agreement sets out the roles and responsibilities of each department which can be summarised as

• DPRS and DoFA are jointly responsible for information technology strategy and infrastructure for Parliament House, electorate offices and mobile use;
  
  
• DPRS (in consultation with DoFA) will continue to develop and maintain the Standard Operating Environment used in Parliament House, electorate offices and for mobile use;
  
  
• DPRS provides service desk and remote desktop support services for Parliament House, electorate offices and mobile access; and
  
  
• DoFA provides external contractors to supply, install and maintain hardware in electorate offices, to maintain communication links to Parliament House from electorate offices and to provide training services for electorate office staff.

A single, integrated information technology environment and integrated support services for both Parliament House and electorate offices has long been the preference of Senators and Members and the nature of information technology increasingly makes this a desirable outcome. Technology knows few physical boundaries and defies administrative demarcations.

From the Parliament's perspective, there will be significant advantages in Senators and Members having a common information technology support framework with a single point of contact, identical platforms and standard support services regardless of locations.

OneOffice Project

The OneOffice project is the largest and most comprehensive computing platform developed for the Parliament.

The project objectives were to design and implement a platform which was easier to use, more cost effective and more technologically current than its predecessors while at the same time improving security and stability.

The platform will provide seamless services to Senators and Members regardless of their physical location when accessing the parliamentary computing network, be it their Parliament House office, their electorate office or while travelling in Australia or overseas.

The main business benefits of OneOffice are:

• provision of an up-to-date operating system, software and hardware platform;
  
  
• elimination of variations in existing platforms arising from administrative and bandwidth differences;
  
  
• enabling of new application services, through introduction of a directory service, enhanced security services and interface and presentation enhancements;
  
  
• reducing the total cost of ownership through fewer servers, improved software distribution, better support services and, where appropriate, locked down configurations; and
  
  
• introduction of a software and management environment which allows for the rapid introduction of new products and devices.

Planning for OneOffice commenced in 1999, with central components progressively rolled out from mid 2002. The final stage will be provided to Senators, Members and their staff in the first three quarters of 2003-2004.

The DPRS Certified Agreement 2000-2003 was certified on 9 October 2000 with a nominal expiry date of 30 June 2003. The agreement was made under Section 170LJ of the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the parties being the department, departmental staff and the three unions with members in DPRS, the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU).

Early in 2003 DPRS commenced negotiations with staff and the three unions for a replacement agreement. The department sought an agreement which provided reasonable pay outcomes for staff but which maximised operational flexibility to meet the Parliament's requirements.

The likely outcome of the Podger Review of Aspects of the Parliamentary Administration was a principal determinant of the duration of the agreement, with a two year DPRS agreement aligning its expiry date with existing three year agreements in DPL and JHD.

The department offered two annual pay increases of 5 per cent a year, which was commensurate with the need to attract and retain high quality staff from both the public and private sectors as well as getting greater comparability in pay rates across the three service departments, an important issue in the context of imminent amalgamation.

The difficulty the department faces (along with all other Budget funded agencies, particularly smaller agencies) is that most of the 'easy' or 'harvestable' savings or efficiency gains have been realised in previous agreements.Measures such as cashing out or abolishing allowances, cutting overheads to the minimum and maximising productivity of management systems have all been taken.

Notwithstanding those difficulties, the department offered staff a generous agreement that included, over and above the 5 per cent per annum salary increases, an additional two weeks paid maternity leave, more attractive permanent part-time work arrangements and time off in lieu for travel in support of parliamentary committees.

The CPSU, MEAA and AMWU did not support the proposed agreement and the department put to a staff ballot a Section 170LK proposed agreement between staff and the department. Staff voted in favour of the proposed agreement in August.

OUTLOOK FOR 2003-2004

The outlook for DPRS, as a department, is very limited. As mentioned earlier, the department will cease to exist on 31 January 2004 and all staff (except the Secretary) will transfer to the new Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS). The priority for staff in the first half of 2003-2004 will be the orderly winding up of DPRS and preparation for the transition to DPS.

For the staff of DPRS, the outlook will be continuing commitment to service to the Parliament, maintaining the highest professional and technical standards and ensuring that the Parliamentary Service is an exemplar of efficiency, cost-effectiveness and innovation.

For the Parliament, the outlook for 2003-2004 is improved support services, better use of Commonwealth resources and the continuing loyalty and support of dedicated, able and very talented employees.