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• Summary of financial performance
• ICT Divison 
• Building and Asset Management Division 
• Security 
• Chief Operating Officer Division 
• Parliamentary Experience 
• Art Collection & Exhibitions 
• Parliamentary Recording and Reporting 
• Key performance indicators 
• Building Occupant Satisfaction 

Summary of financial performance

After two years of financial deficits, DPS received significant investment in the 2014–15 Budget that enabled the department to provide improved services in 2014–15 and to continue to improve these services over the next four years. Adjustments to DPS appropriations in 2014–15 included:

Departmental

• $15 million in departmental operating per annum to cover growth in contracts, employee cost growth and increased services to parliament
• $2.6 million for voluntary redundancy funding
• $6.8 million for additional security personnel (associated with the security upgrade budget measure)
• $1.0 million for business continuity of existing functions impacted by the implementation of the security upgrade budget measure
• removal of funding for payments to the AFP for guarding services due to the AFP receiving a direct appropriation.

Administered

• $108.4 million for National Security – Australian Parliament House Security Upgrade project
• $2.7 million for the operating costs associated with implementing the Australian Parliament House Security Upgrade Project
• $1.7 million for the Parliament House maintenance and asset replacement – assessment and strategic review.

To utilise effectively the additional resources and improve the services provided, DPS has improved its financial and procurement policies and processes. This included the development, in the latter part of the financial year, of a new procurement framework, new Accountable Authority Instructions, an updated financial delegation manual, a new Capital Management Governance Framework, new financial reports to all executives and upgrades to the Enterprise Resource Management System.

These improvements address weaknesses identified in reviews of the department and will better position DPS to deliver sustainable services and a significant capital program over the next four years.

How DPS is funded

In 2014–15 DPS operating funds, including drawing rights, were $149.7 million. This was made up of:

Operating Funds	Amount
Appropriated Revenue	$120.5m
Own Source Revenues	$7.8m
Total Departmental Revenue	$128.3m
Electoral Office IT (drawing rights)	$16.3m
Former PMs’ expenses (drawing rights)	$0.4m
AUSPIC (drawing rights)	$0.3m
Administered operating appropriation	$4.4m
Total Operating Budget	$149.7m

How DPS spent the funding

Expenses	Amount
Supplier expenses	$38.5m
Employee expenses	$78.9m
Total Departmental expenses	$117.4m

In 2014–15, total departmental operating expense was $117.4 million for employee and supplier costs (excluding Electorate Office IT, Former PMs’ expenses, AUSPIC and unfunded depreciation), compared with $120.8 million in 2013–14. The net result of this was a decrease in expenditure of $2.8 million, or 2 per cent.

In 2014–15, capital appropriations were made up of:

Capital Appropriations	Amount
Departmental Capital Budget	$24.2m
Prior years Departmental Capital roll over	$3.5m
Administered Capital Budget	$122.2m
Prior years Administered Capital roll over	$1.3m
Total Capital Budget	$151.2m

In 2014–15, the Capital purchases were:

Capital Purchases	Amount
Departmental Capital Purchases	$18.6m
Administered Capital Purchases	$9.8m
Total Capital Purchases	$28.4m

Total expenses for the key areas of the department’s operations are outlined in the graph following.

Figure 2: Departmental operating expenses by functional area 2014–15 ($m)

Due to the complexity of this image no alternative description has been provided. Please call the DPS Chief Operating Officer on 02 6277 5501 for an alternative description.

Operating result

In 2014–15, DPS recorded a departmental operating surplus of $10.9 million (excluding unfunded depreciation).

Causes of the surplus were:

• flow-on effects of the savings measures implemented in 2013–14 to minimise the operating deficit. These measures included halting recruitment, delaying maintenance activities and the reduction of services. These reduced activities began to be reversed during 2014–15 after additional funding was allocated in the budget and at Additional Estimates. For example there was significant recruitment as DPS geared up for additional capital works. However, the lead time required for recruitment and other activities impacted on the 2014–15 result.
• fewer voluntary redundancies than planned with 11 of the planned 24 completed during 2014–15
• delays in the implementation the Australian Parliament House Security Upgrade Budget Measure

During 2014–15 DPS ceased payments to the AFP for their services at Parliament House. The AFP is now directly appropriated for its services to Parliament House and DPS returned $6.7 million in supplier funding to government. This significantly reduced the total 2014–15 supplier expense when compared with the 2013–14 result.

Agency resource statement 2014–15

DEPARTMENT OF PARLIAMENTARY SERVICES		Actual available appropriation for 2014–15 $’000	Payments made 2014–15 $’000	Balance remaining 2014–15 $’000
		(a)	(b)	(a) – (b)
Ordinary Annual Services1
Departmental appropriation2 Administered annual appropriation		167,534 4,400	136,880 3,400	30,654 1,000
Total Ordinary Annual Services	A	171,934	140,280	31,654
Administered non-operating
Administered Assets and Liabilities3		134,019	9,764	124,255 4
Total other services	B	134,019	9,764	124,255
Total net resourcing and payments for the Department of Parliamentary Services	A+B	305,953	150,044	155,909

¹ Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No.1) 2013–14. This includes Prior Year departmental appropriation, capital and s.74 relevant agency receipts.
² Includes an amount of $24.239M in 2014–15 for the Departmental Capital Budget. For accounting purposes this amount has been designated as ‘contributions by owners’.
³ Includes Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No.1) 2013–14 and prior year appropriations.
⁴The balance remaining includes $104.4m for the APH Security Upgrade Project that has been approved to be moved into 2015–16 and 2016–17. The capital funding was originally all appropriated in 2014–15.

Budgeted and actual expenses and resources for Outcome

Outcome: Occupants of Parliament House are supported by integrated services and facilities, Parliament House functions effectively and its work and buildings are accessible to the public	Budget 2014–15 $’000	Actual Expenses 2014–15 $’000	Variation 2014–15 $’000
	(a)	(b)	(a) – (b)
Program 1: Parliamentary Services
Departmental expenses
Departmental appropriation1	127,339	117,378	9,961
Expenses not requiring appropriation in Budget year2	22,840	22,549	291
Total for Program 1: Parliamentary Services	150,179	139,927	10,252
Program 2: Parliament House Works Program
Annual Administered Appropriations	4,400	3,170	1,230
Expenses not requiring appropriation in the Budget year2	31,100	28,802	2,298
Total for Program 2: Parliament House Works Program	35,500	31,972	3,528
Outcome 1: Totals by appropriation type
Annual Administered Appropriations	4,400	3,170	1,230
Departmental appropriation1	127,339	117,378	9,961
Expenses not requiring appropriation in the Budget year2	53,940	51,351	2,589
Total expenses for Outcome 1	185,679	171,899	13,780
Average staffing level (number): 2014–15	725	739.2	-14.2

¹Departmental appropriation combines ‘Ordinary annual services (Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2014–15’ and ‘Revenue from independent sources (s74)’.
²Expenses not requiring appropriation in the Budget year comprise Depreciation Expense, Amortisation Expense and Audit fees.

ICT Division

The ICT Division includes the ICT Strategy, Planning and Applications Branch and the ICT Infrastructure and Services Branch.

Divisional highlights

• Parliamentarians’ offices received replacement ICT equipment, selected from a wider range under a new model that allows parliamentarians to customise their ICT equipment to meet their individual requirements.
• Commdocs, senators and members Newspaper Clippings and Breaking News were able to be accessed for the first time on mobile devices, allowing parliamentarians and staff with DPS-provided mobile devices or devices enrolled under DPS’ bring-your-own-device scheme to access content previously only available via office computers.
• ParlTV enhancements delivered in September 2014 now allow occupants of Parliament House to access the electronic program guide and radio via the in-house TV service.
• New intranet sites were developed for the parliamentary departments, as well as Senate Connect, a new portal for senators which allows them to access their Questions on Notice, and House Connect, a new portal for members which allows them to access information about outgoing delegations.
• Enhancements to the APH website now provide live streams and on demand historical footage of Parliament, improved search functionality and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG2.0) compliance to deliver parliamentarians and the public access to parliamentary proceedings anywhere, anytime on any capable smartphone, tablet or computer.
• DPS is committed to improving accessibility for Parliament House occupants and visitors requiring hearing assistance. Upgraded assisted listening device coverage now includes the Great Hall, Federation Chamber and the majority of committee rooms.
• Work was completed to install a new broadcasting master control system and video character generator to allow DPS to continue to capture, control and distribute parliamentary proceedings to the media, building occupants and provide audio-visual services to senators and members.

Information and communication technology

ICT is an essential business enabler for parliamentarians, their staff and the staff of the parliamentary departments, underpinning the execution of every aspect of the work of Parliament. Last financial year responsibility for the provision of ICT for the Parliament of Australia was consolidated under DPS following the recommendations of the Roche review. This review highlighted the need for a reduction in the fragmentation of responsibility in the delivery of ICT services to the Parliament. It concluded that a more consolidated ICT division would have the expertise, customer focus and scale to deliver more effective and efficient services to parliament and parliamentarians. The key internal business drivers for ICT in the parliamentary context as outlined in the Roche review are:

• the specific business requirements of the chambers to enable Parliament to function effectively
• the requirements of the parliamentary committees
• facilities and support to enable individual parliamentarians to carry out their duties, and
• corporate and administrative support required by parliamentarians and by the four parliamentary departments.

DPS now manages the infrastructure and delivery of ICT services to more than 5,400 registered users in Parliament House, Federal Electorate Offices and Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices. This includes service design, implementation and support in the form of a central help desk, training, the provision of software and hardware, and management of the department’s relationships with external ICT providers.

These services are underpinned by ICT standards and policies and are aligned to the Parliament of Australia ICT Strategic Plan to support the work of the Parliament. The peak body overseeing and guiding strategic elements of ICT service delivery is the Parliamentary ICT Advisory Board (PICTAB). PICTAB’s membership comprises members of each house of parliament, representatives from each parliamentary department and the Parliamentary Service Commissioner.

One of the key enablers of service improvement is ICT innovation. An ICT project making a notable contribution to the innovative ICT service improvements is the ParlWork project. Purposely built for parliamentarians, the ParlWork application will provide a consolidated electronic view of the parliament business information. This will enable parliamentarians to access information in the live chamber relating to the current item under discussion and all associated information (e.g. Bills). This system will be progressively delivered with the initial release planned for early 2016.

Replacement of end-of-life equipment

DPS replaced end-of-life ICT equipment in senators’ and members’ Electorate Offices in October 2014 and in senators’ and members’ Parliament House Suites in December 2014.

Details of the replacement activity for parliamentarians’ offices are shown in table 1 below:

Table 1: Replacement activity for parliamentarians' offices

	Parliament House Offices	Electorate Offices
Desktops	296	729
Monitors	294	1,070
Mono Printers	36	314
Colour Printers	3	39
Multi-function Printers	43	0
Laptops	151	111
Total	823	2,263

DPS also replaced end-of-life ICT equipment for the Department of the Senate, the Department of the House of Representatives and DPS from November 2014 to June 2015.

The number of devices upgraded for the parliamentary departments¹ is shown in table 2 below:

Table 2: Number of devices upgraded for parliamentary departments

	Department of the Senate	Department of the House of Representatives	Department of Parliamentary Services
Monitors	276	207	346
PCs	16	48	452
Laptops	7	29	19
Printers & Multi-function devices	16	18	0

¹Note: ICT replacement activity did not include the PBO. PBO ICT equipment was not due for replacement at the time.

Mobile devices

DPS’ customers expect ICT to be available anytime, anywhere. DPS continues to meet this expectation with 889 mobile devices (586 smartphones and 303 ipads) and 1,011 devices enrolled under DPS’ successful bring-your-own-device scheme.

Availability of core ICT systems

Stability of the core ICT systems improved in 2014–15 with email, Hansard, ParlInfo (searchable repository of all parliamentary data) and the chamber support systems each being available 100 per cent of the time.

Table 3: ICT critical system availability during scheduled service hours

Infrastructure	Availability service standard	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Core systems—email, Hansard, ParlInfo, chamber systems, mobile device management	99.99%	99.95%	99.99%	100.00%
Parliamentary Computing Network	99.99%	99.98%	99.99%	99.95%
Broadcast infrastructure	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

ICT security

The integrity and security of the PCN underpins the Parliament’s ability to work with confidence.

DPS is committed to ensuring a secure ICT environment and in 2014–15:

• procured an identity access management solution through open tender for implementation in 2015–16 to enhance DPS’ capability to manage user identities and their access to ICT resources and deliver user self-service capabilities
• procured a new web, email and endpoint protection solution through open tender (also to be implemented in 2015–16)
• continued to provide security accreditation when commissioning new systems and security risk assessments for new software
• continued to implement Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) recommendations to harden the PCN and DPS client devices against cyber intrusions, including the capability to ensure only authorised software operates on the PCN.

DPS faced a new challenge in 2014–15, with 63.1 million emails transmitted across the PCN compared to 26.5 million emails in 2013–14. The increase can be attributed to both increased use of email generally and to the large volume of emails received from targeted political campaigns.

DPS will work with parliamentarians’ offices to identify suitable ways to allow them to manage political mass email campaigns more effectively.

A further 102 million emails were blocked in 2014–15 either because they were classified as spam or because they contained malicious content. This compared to 50 million emails blocked in 2013–14.

ICT support services

Parliamentarians, their staff and the staff of the parliamentary departments require timely and dependable access to information delivered primarily through parliamentary ICT systems supported through the ‘2020 Support Desk’. DPS is pleased to note that efforts to improve dependability, customer satisfaction and timeliness have resulted in real service improvements for our clients.

Table 4: Client satisfaction and performance with DPS 2020 Support Desk and ICT support staff during 2014–15

Satisfaction 2020 Support Desk
Unsolicited emails received		155
	Positive	148
	Negative	7
Overall positive feedback		95.00%
Performance
Incidents resolved within timeliness targets		96.10%
Calls answered within 30 seconds		93.50%

The nature of calls to the Support Desk are categorised as being an incident, a service request, or a request for information. Incidents relate primarily to desktop and laptop software bugs and printing service faults. Service requests were primarily for user access (password resets, unlocking user accounts), software installation requests and ‘requests for information’ calls primarily related to printing (how to connect to printer), user access (account modifications) and email (for example, adding additional mailboxes and mailbox access permissions).

The number of incidents is noticeably lower compared to previous years, while the proportion of service requests and information requests is higher. This is a positive trend indicating there are less ICT related work interrupting faults or bugs for DPS clients.

Table 5: Calls to 2020 Support Desk

Type of call	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Incident reports	19,485	17,712	15,338
Service requests	14,811	17,896	18,642
Information requests	11,317	15,170	15,078
Total	45,613	50,778	49,058

Assisted listening devices throughout Parliament House

At DPS, we are committed to improving disability access and providing services that assist all visitors and occupants in the building. Following from the installation of new upgraded assisted listening devices in the Great Hall, Marble Foyer and the Great Verandah the previous financial year, DPS completed the installation of assisted listening devices in all committee rooms with the exception of the main committee room, which was completed in July 2015.

The assisted listening system now provides full coverage of major public areas, including the public galleries; and has greatly improved the Parliament House experience for people with impaired hearing. The system provides a means of directly transmitting audio of proceedings to a hearing aid or other suitable receivers worn by the listener, eliminating background noise. The assisted listening system delivers exceptional audio quality for both voice and music transmission.

In 2015–16 we expect to install the upgraded system into the party rooms, the Cabinet Room, the executive press conference room and the Chambers.

Virtual visitors to Parliament House

With more than 3.979 million visitors during the year, the APH website remains a primary tool for the community to obtain information about and engage with Parliament. The APH website is currently ranked 16th 2 of all Australian Government websites in terms of visitation. Visitors to the site are able to access a large volume of information about Parliament, including parliamentary business, Hansard transcripts, educational material, senators’ and members’ pages and parliamentary and Library publications. On demand streaming of parliamentary proceedings and historical footage can be accessed anywhere, anytime on any capable smartphone, tablet or computer, through DPS’ innovative broadcast service ParlView.

DPS analytics reveal a significant trend in how public access information on the APH website, with a 52 per cent growth in traffic from smartphones and a 21 per cent growth in traffic from tablets in 2014–15, compared to 2013–14.

ICT projects

A range of new capabilities were delivered in support of the Parliament in 2014–15.

In September 2014 enhancements to existing systems improved client access to information. A new electronic program guide and digital radio service were delivered on DPS’ digital in-house TV system. The change was completed before Australian analogue TV signals ceased on 8 October 2014.

Changes were also introduced to allow parliamentarians to access the existing Commdocs, senators and members Newspaper Clippings and Breaking News services on their mobile devices.

Enhancements to the APH website were delivered, improving search functionality and compliance to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG2.0) 3, to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.

Clients can now access parliamentary proceedings and historical footage of parliament via DPS ParlView service anywhere, anytime on any capable smartphone, tablet or computer.

From November 2014, as part of Australian Signals Directorate recommended measures to improve the security of the PCN, DPS rolled out security enhancements designed to mitigate targeted cyber intrusions.

On behalf of the Department of Senate, DPS created a new senators’ portal to provide a single site that delivers access to resources and services for senators, including committee memberships and a database which will provide each senator’s office with its questions on notice.

Additionally, work has commenced to deliver a new members’ portal and new intranet site on behalf of the Department of the House of Representatives.

New intranet sites have been developed and were delivered in May 2015 on behalf of the Parliamentary Budget Office and the Department of the Senate. The sites support improved communication and easy access to online resources within each agency.

Some key projects have raised challenges for DPS and we anticipate delivery in 2015–16:

• ParlWork project: the ParlWork project will deliver an application that will provide parliamentarians with the information they require in the chamber electronically on their mobile devices. DPS is working to resolve issues extracting the required information from legacy systems. Information will include motions, orders of the day, bills and bill-related material. This application will be delivered in 2016.
• Video Conferencing project: a pilot of video conferencing facilities will be implemented in committee room 1R3 and 2S1. DPS is working with building heritage and moral rights specialists to select a suitable solution that meets the design intent of the building. DPS will work with suitable configurations to meet the needs of parliamentarians and the parliamentary departments.

 

Building and Asset Management Division

The Building and Asset Management Division comprises the Asset Development and Maintenance Branch, the Strategic Asset Planning and Performance Branch, the Security Branch and the Program Delivery Branch, and provides maintenance, heritage, security and program delivery services which benefit parliamentarians and their staff, Parliament House employees and visitors.

The Parliament House complex occupies a 35-hectare site, comprises approximately 4,700 rooms across four levels, and has a total floor area of approximately 250,000 square metres. The building contains more than 100,000 maintainable assets including plant, fixtures, fittings and operating equipment all of which are maintained by the division. These assets include 44 lifts, 1,900 temperature zones, approximately 750,000 square metres of plaster board and more than 40,000 lights. To these are added bespoke furniture and furnishings.

Divisional highlights

• Commencement of a significant capital works program related to the physical security of Australian Parliament House in early 2015 with completion of the hardening of several entry points.
• Working with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to provide an increased and enhanced guarding presence in and around the building, and implementation of more stringent building access provisions.
• Completion of the Building Condition Assessment Report (BCAR) which examined all aspects of the building fabric and services.
• Completion of the Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) to guide future maintenance and capital work identified by the BCAR.
• Substantial design and early works for major infrastructure and building fabric upgrades.

Maintaining Parliament House

Essential maintenance, conservation and enhancement of the parliamentary precinct will ensure that Australian Parliament House remains operational and functional for its planned 200-year life.

The experience and knowledge of DPS staff has been built over the life of the building, with several employees still maintaining plant and equipment they installed during the building’s construction, more than 27 years ago. Skilled craftsmen, such as joiners maintain bespoke elements, including parquetry flooring, suite furniture and visitor seating and amenities. Retention and transfer of these skills is important. The department is reviewing the structure of trade groups within the Asset Development and Maintenance Branch, to ensure that training and apprenticeship programs can be supported into the future.

Keeping Parliament House’s physical environment functioning optimally and maintaining its fabric and infrastructure requires a significant investment and constant maintenance. DPS is responsible for all repairs, maintenance and engineering services in Parliament House, including air conditioning, lifts, electrical, plumbing, hydraulic services, movement systems, building fabrics, furniture, signage, cleaning and waste disposal. Maintenance teams include:

• Landscape Services – which maintains the 23 hectares of landscape, including 10 hectares of turf. This team also maintains indoor plants in the circulation areas of the building and external sporting facilities such as tennis courts, the netball/basketball court and the Senate oval
• Building Fabric Services – which maintains the internal and external surfaces within the building, such as carpet, fabric, timber, door hardware, concrete, stone, ceramic tiling, glazing, painted surfaces, signage and the Parliament House Furniture Collection
• Electrical Services – which maintains the high and low voltage electrical infrastructure and distribution system, internal and external lighting, emergency lighting, backup power systems for life support and critical systems, and the Building Management System
• Mechanical Services – which maintains all the mechanical plant, steel structures, hydraulics, and the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system and is also responsible for the maintenance of the swimming pool, spa and gymnasium equipment, ponds and water features, cool rooms and freezers, security bollards, flag pole, brass and metal fixtures, and the building’s environmental and thermal conditions
• the Logistics section – which is responsible for receiving and delivering goods around Parliament House and also manages the waste management contracts for Parliament House.

Table 6: Building maintenance work in 2014–15

Building maintenance work in 2014–15
12,712 square metres of painting
90 items of status A (commissioned) and B (global) furniture refurbished
All external glazing cleaned
25,457 square metres of parquetry floor repolished
31 bathrooms or ensuites re-tiled

Building condition assessment report

In 2014–15, DPS engaged industry experts to undertake a Building Condition Assessment Report (BCAR). This report examined all aspects of the building fabric and services to determine their current condition and ascertained the amount and type of maintenance and capital works required to maintain or bring the condition of the building back to an acceptable standard. While the BCAR has found that overall, the building fabric and services are in good condition, significant work is required over the next 10 years to ensure that the building maintains this condition. The report identified areas where plant and equipment was at the end of its life and requires replacing, as well as areas where increased maintenance is required due to the age of the building. The report also considered work required to address issues which have arisen due to changes to disability access, the building code and Work Health and Safety legislation since the building was constructed.

The BCAR was completed in March 2015. The main findings were that additional investment was required to support ageing plant and equipment as well as providing increased workplace safety and enhanced access for people with a disability. The report recommended a 10-year asset replacement and refurbishment program.

In conjunction with the BCAR, the consultants also developed a Strategic Asset Management Plan (SMAP), which determined the funding required to undertake the works identified in the BCAR. This found that approximately $329 million in additional funding would be required over the next 10 years to address the issues identified in the BCAR. In the 25 June 2015 Presiding Officers’ report to the Parliament the Presiding Officers stated ‘We have considered the report and agree with its major findings. The essence of those findings is that the Parliament requires a ten-year program of replacement and refurbishment with the estimated current day value of the program being some $329 million. Annualised, this equates to 3.8 per cent of the capital replacement cost of the building per year, which is slightly higher than an average commercial premise. This higher cost can be accounted for due to the unique characteristics and very high quality of workmanship required for Parliament House. To put this in context, the original cost of building Parliament House is estimated to be $1 billion with the current estimated value of the building at $2.1 billion.’

A request for additional funding was approved in the 2015–16 Budget and DPS received an additional $98 million in administered funding across the Budget year ($23 million) and the forward estimates ($25 million a year).

DPS has developed a comprehensive capital works plan that will be rolled out from 2015–16.

The findings of the BCAR will continue to inform strategic direction and operational planning to ensure DPS is guided by comprehensive building assessments in planning maintenance works. Ensuring the health and safety of building occupants, and that design principles are considered, must be integral to all DPS’ work practices and the plans and reports described above will help ensure significant improvements in our approach to maintenance in the future.

Maintenance Work

The work performed by DPS maintenance teams is scheduled to minimise inconvenience to building occupants. This includes, where safe and practical, scheduling overnight or early-morning activities and carrying out the majority of the work during non-sitting periods. In addition to the works highlighted above, in 2014–15 DPS also:

• resealed the House of Representatives chamber skylight
• completed a range of minor projects such as room fitouts
• replaced a number of glass panels which had cracked or delaminated.

To ensure prompt response and resolution of day-to-day building issues, the DPS Maintenance Help Desk manages building service requests, responds to alarms, assigns rapid response trade staff and provides a 24-hour system monitoring and response function.

The volume of requests to the Maintenance Help Desk shows an upward trend during 2014–15 (shown in Figure 3).

Figure 3: Number of calls to the DPS Maintenance Help Desk

 

Delivery of building upgrades and projects

DPS continued to deliver capital building projects to improve the performance of the building, including a fire detection and alarm system upgrade and a height safety project. DPS has upgraded its scaffolding equipment and staff from the Maintenance Services Section have been trained in the safe use of the equipment.

The introduction of pay parking in the Parliament House public carpark in December 2014 required the installation of equipment including pay stations, boom gates and ticket machines.

In 2014–15 DPS assisted with the refurbishment of Westpac’s Parliament House branch, and the relocation of FcM Travel within Parliament House.

Major projects which commenced this year and will be completed in 2015–16 include the Emergency Warning and Intercommunication System Replacement, a Passive Fire System audit and rectification, and the Intermediate Distribution Frame (IDF) Telephony Rooms Modification which will address overheating of IDF rooms.

Landscaping maintenance work

DPS maintains 23 hectares of landscape in the Parliamentary Precinct. This includes formal and native gardens, courtyards, 10 hectares of turf, water features and outdoor sporting facilities. The landscape forms an integral component of the precinct and of the original design and, as such, it is vital to maintain the grounds to a suitably high standard.

During 2014–15, DPS planted more than 7,000 annuals in the formal gardens for the summer and winter displays, replaced four trees and replanted a Buxus hedge at the House of Representatives Rose Garden. DPS also installed drainage improvements and undertook minor regeneration works.

Assessing the condition of Australian Parliament House

The department conducts several activities to ensure regular and timely reporting on the asset custodianship measures.

The Building Condition Index (BCI) was designed for use at Parliament House in 1993. At that time, the Engineering Systems Condition Index (ESCI) and the Design Integrity Index (DII) were part of the BCI. In 2000, the building fabric, engineering and design integrity components were separated through the creation of the ESCI and the DII. This has allowed the department to distinguish building maintenance activities from the condition of the engineering systems and the design integrity.

The Design Integrity Index measures the current condition of the design integrity of Parliament House and the Parliamentary Precinct, expressed as a percentage of the original built form. The DII is prepared on an annual basis. Design forms part of the heritage values of Parliament House and the Parliamentary Precinct.

The Landscape Condition Index (LCI) was designed and structured to allow Landscape Services to measure the condition of the parliamentary landscape. The LCI provides for the landscape to be assessed in October every year and the results tabulated into a percentage rating. This percentage rating can then be tracked from year to year and trends, areas or individual elements can be evaluated.

The 2014–15 results for the asset custodianship indices are in the table below. While the BCI remained stable, there was slight improvement in the other three indices.

Table 7: Parliament House Works Program—Key Performance Indicators 2014–15

Asset custodianship	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15 Target in PBS	2014–15 Result
Building condition index	88.3%	88.5%	89–92%	88.5%
Landscape condition index	87.0%	81.0%	90%	82.0%
Engineering systems condition index	86.8%	88.6%	90%	88.7%
Design integrity index	89.8%	89.4%	90%	89.98%

Reporting methodology

Reporting on the asset custodianship indices requires inspections throughout the precinct to assess the condition of a particular area. In many cases, the department engages external experts to assist with this process.

Building condition index

The Building Condition Index (BCI) measures the current condition of the building fabric of Parliament House, expressed as a percentage of the original condition. The BCI is determined by a visual inspection of the building and fabric surfaces for deterioration and damage caused by general wear and tear.

In 2014–15, over 750 inspections were conducted throughout the eight zones of the building. For each area 34 building elements (carpet, furniture, painted surfaces, leather, lights, etc.) were assessed and ratings are given based on their actual condition. These scores were then compiled in order to obtain the total BCI score.

The overall score for 2014–15 remained the same as 2013–14. During the year there was a reduction in the carpeting and painting programs due to earlier decisions to reduce activity to tackle the departmental deficit. While additional resources were subsequently made available, the lead-time for works meant that the volume of activity in some areas in 2014–15 was still affected by earlier savings measures. However the suite re-tiling program increased, with 31 bathrooms or ensuites re-tiled.

Table 8: Building Condition Index by area (target 89–92%)

Zone	BCI Score 2012–13	BCI Score 2013–14	BCI Score 2014–15
Public areas	88.0%	88.5%	88.5%
Chambers	91.9%	91.7%	91.7%
Ministerial	89.0%	88.9%	88.8%
Senate	88.7%	88.7%	88.8%
House of Representatives	88.9%	89.1%	89.1%
Back of house	87.2%	87.6%	87.7%
Plant rooms	87.9%	88.0%	88.0%
External	86.7%	87.5%	87.4%
Total	88.3%	88.5%	88.5%

Landscape condition index

The Landscape Condition Index (LCI) measures the current condition of the landscape surrounding Parliament House, expressed as a percentage of the optimum landscape condition. The LCI is measured in October each year, with the landscape divided into eight zones, as shown in Table 9.

The overall 2014–15 LCI increased by 1 per cent from the 2013–14 score. This is due to all ponds being reinstated in the courtyards as well as some replacement of shrubs in the courtyards.

Table 9: Landscape Condition Index by area (target 90%)

Zone	LCI Score  2012–13	LCI Score  2013–14	LCI Score 2014–15
Native peripheral gardens	75.0%	68.0%	68.0%
Senate courtyards	91.0%	88.0%	91.0%
House of Representatives courtyards	91.0%	94.0%	94.0%
Ministerial courtyards	96.0%	86.0%	93.0%
Eastern Formal Gardens	96.0%	82.0%	79.0%
Western Formal Gardens	91.0%	81.0%	78.0%
Ramps	81.0%	75.0%	88.0%
Front of building	75.0%	71.0%	68.0%
Total	87.0%	81.0%	82.0%

In 2014–15 there was a decrease in the scores for the Eastern Formal Gardens (including the House of Representatives bank and entrance), the Western Formal Gardens (including the Senate bank and entrance) and the front of the building. The Eastern Formal Gardens had a decrease of 3 per cent from 2013–14 because the trees at the House of Representatives entrance have declined in appearance and general tree health and the calcium staining on the formal gardens viewing platform has increased. The Western Formal Gardens, which includes the sports oval and the Senate bank and entrance, had a three per cent decrease.

Conversely, the growth of some courtyard trees has exceeded expectations, due to their protected microclimate and the irrigation and fertilisation of surrounding turf.

Engineering systems condition index

The Engineering Systems Condition Index (ESCI) measures the current operation and condition of the engineering systems in Parliament House against the required operating condition (target 90 per cent). The ESCI rating process for 2014–15 was supported with data from the comprehensive BCAR. The overall result increased slightly compared to 2013–14. The improvement in this index was mainly due to the upgrading and replacement of fire safety and monitoring equipment.

Table 10: Engineering Systems Condition Index

	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Engineering Systems Condition Index (target: 90%)	86.80%	88.60%	88.70%

Design Integrity Index

The Design Integrity Index (DII) measures the current condition of the design integrity and heritage values of Parliament House and the Parliamentary Precinct, expressed as a percentage of the original built form. In particular, it measures the extent to which change within the Parliament and the precinct impacts upon the original design.

For the purpose of measuring the DII, Parliament House and the precinct are divided into different zones. In each zone, the components of language, symbolism, design order, change and the overall impression are inspected and scored using a weighted set of criteria given a score from one to five against and agreed set of criteria. The outcomes for each component are added together to obtain a zone score. The zone scores are combined to obtain a building score. This score is then expressed as a percentage of the total possible score.

Each year a team of three assessors is assembled to undertake a building-wide assessment of all areas of the building and landscape. Due to the size of this task some spaces including parliamentarians’ suites, basement plant rooms, administrative office areas and the courtyards are not inspected in their entirety. Sample areas are chosen at random each year and inspected as a representative sample of these larger areas.

In 2014–15, the design integrity score increased by 0.56 percentage points from the previous year to 89.98 per cent. This reflects implementation of some like-for-like building fabric replacements, improvements in the presentation of four of the special suites inspected, and improved design integrity in the spaces managed by the chamber departments. Building-wide issues that continue to negatively affect the DII rating include the increasing use of non-standard furniture, wear and tear on the building (especially caused by the bump-in and bump-out of functions in the ceremonial spaces) and the blocked skylight in the Great Hall. DPS management is currently looking at how these issues can be addressed.

Table 11: Design Integrity Index by area

Zone	DII Score  2012–13	DII Score  2013–14	DII Score 2014–15
Public and ceremonial areas	89.8%	89.6%	90.3%
House of Representatives wing	92.0%	91.3%	92.0%
Senate wing	93.4%	90.7%	91.8%
Ministerial wing	94.2%	91.1%	90.9%
Committee rooms and library	91.2%	91.7%	92.5%
Facilities areas and tenancies	84.3%	83.3%	85.7%
Circulation and basement areas	83.7%	85.7%	85.7%
Exterior: landscape and roadways	88.9%	89.05%	89.0%
Total score	89.8%	89.4%	89.98%

Environmental management

Sustainability and environmental management

DPS continues to strive to maintain a best practice, environmentally sustainable operating environment. A comprehensive report on environmental management can be found at Appendix 1.

In 2014–15, energy consumed at Parliament House was 139,169 GJ, representing an increase of 1.5 per cent from the previous financial year. Electricity consumption increased by 3.3 per cent, natural gas consumption decreased by 1.5 per cent, diesel fuel energy (non-transport) increased by 5 per cent, and energy for DPS vehicles (gardening, maintenance services and logistics) decreased by 22 per cent compared with 2013–14. Energy used in 2014–15 was comparatively higher than 2013–14 due to the 2013 federal election, when building occupancy rates and associated energy use is typically lower.

Table 12: Energy consumed at Parliament House and by DPS transport

Indicator	Energy consumption (GJ)
	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Parliament House building1	142,226	136,450	138,669
Transport–passenger vehicles	644	261	199
Other transport2	424	383	301
Total energy consumption	143,294	137,094	139,169

¹Includes electricity, natural gas and diesel (non-transport).
²Includes LPG, diesel and petrol used for maintenance and loading dock vehicles.

Figure 4: Annual electricity and gas consumption from 2010–11 to 2014–15

 

Alternative water supply for landscape irrigation

Landscape water consumption decreased from 114,587kL in 2013–14 to 99,269kL in 2014–15, representing a decrease of 13 per cent.

To minimise the amount of high quality potable (drinking) water used for irrigation, in 2014–15, DPS completed a feasibility study into abstracting water from Lake Burley Griffin for use in the landscape. The study confirmed that using lake water is a viable alternative to potable water and would provide a reliable, cost effective and long-term water source for Parliament House into the future.

An application for a Water Access Entitlement was successfully lodged with the ACT Government, which allows DPS to extract 115,000kL of water annually from the lake, and further work on the detailed design and documentation of an infrastructure solution will be completed in 2015–16.

Figure 5: Water usage since 2009-10

Bogong moths

Each year at Parliament House, large numbers of Bogong moths appear during their seasonal migration. Being attracted to the lights, they inhabit many parts of the building and necessitate a significant clean-up operation.

Various strategies are used to deter the moths from accessing the building, such as reducing the illumination of external lights including the main flag pole light, sealing gaps around the building, and reminding occupants to turn off lights, close blinds and keep external doors closed. Moths can enter the building through minute openings and it can be very difficult to keep them out.

A new initiative trialled in 2014–15 was the installation of 425 ultraviolet (UV) filters on the in-ground up-lights of Parliament House. The UV filters, made of clear polycarbonate, are thought to reduce the attractiveness of the lights to moths without affecting the building’s illumination.

The results of the trial appear promising, with significantly lower numbers of moths observed in the building compared to previous years, and only a minimal clean-up operation required. However, further testing of the filters will be necessary to discount other external factors such as prevailing weather patterns, which can influence moth numbers at Parliament House.

Heritage and design integrity

In 2014 DPS commenced work on a five-year conservation management plan and a design principles document that sets out the key design philosophies of the principal architect, Mr Romaldo Giurgola AO to guide the continuing evolution of the building. An Expert Advisory Panel, chaired by the DPS Secretary, was established to guide and finalise these documents. The panel comprises five leading experts in the fields of architecture, landscape design and cultural heritage management: Mr Peter Watts AM; Mr Richard Thorp AM; Ms Oi Choong; Mr Keith Cottier AM; and Major-General Steve Gower AO (Mil Ret).

The plan will help deliver an integrated approach to the medium and long-term management and application of the design principles in Parliament House. It will set out the heritage and design integrity values for the building and its furnishings and establish supporting policies, strategies and monitoring and reporting regimes to ensure the building is managed appropriately to both sustain these design integrity values and to provide a functional environment which meets the evolving needs of a working Parliament.

Professor Richard Johnson AO MBE, the specialist consultant appointed in April 2014 as the primary author of the design principles document, has completed a second draft. The document, to be finalised in parallel with the plan, will become a permanent reference source for future work relating to the building, its contents and surrounds.

Both initiatives have been the subject of consultation with members of the original design team.

Heritage assessments

In 2014–15 DPS undertook a range of heritage assessments, including: heritage impact assessments on the works at Parliament House; heritage significance assessments on objects that may be subject to disposal; and other advice about potential impacts on heritage values arising from ad hoc requests.

Community engagement

Staff from the DPS heritage team conducted in-depth specialist heritage tours of Parliament House as part of the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival. The ‘Valuing Heritage’ tours enabled the department to engage with visitors with a special interest in the tangible and intangible heritage of Parliament House. The tours were well subscribed and visitor feedback was positive.

Security

A safe and secure environment is necessary to support the important work of Parliament.

In September 2014, the Prime Minister announced that the National Terrorism Public Alert Level had been raised from medium to high. This change, in conjunction with ongoing discussion with Australia’s law enforcement and intelligence community, resulted in changes to the security posture and governance in the Parliamentary Precinct, with the Presiding Officers giving the AFP responsibility for operational security within Parliament House.

In December 2014, DPS entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the AFP to ensure cooperation in the provision of security operations at Parliament House.

The Parliamentary Security Service (PSS) is DPS Security’s physical security guard force. PSS officers provide expert security services for the building and are often the first point of welcome for visitors to Parliament House.

The PSS and the AFP employ a range of measures including identity verification, access control and screening at entrances to Parliament House, static guarding and mobile patrolling throughout the parliamentary precinct, and robust procedures regarding the management of staff and visitors. DPS also operates an extensive range of security systems across the parliamentary precinct, and plays a key coordination role in supporting major events and managing emergency procedures and exercises.

The changing security environment has also resulted in a major enhancement of internal and perimeter physical security at Parliament House. This work began in 2014–15 and will continue until 2018, with a one-year rectification period.

Further to these works, a range of additional controls have also been employed including:

• improved screening and detection systems
• additional armed personnel patrolling the precinct, and
• greater security awareness communications and exercises.

Security policy and governance

Contemporary and relevant security policies and procedures determine how security services are designed and delivered. Parliament House policies and procedures are specified in the Operational Policies and Procedures framework, guided by the Security Management Board (SMB). The SMB is a statutory board providing security advice and support to the Presiding Officers. The framework is issued under the authority of the Presiding Officers and gives comprehensive direction and guidance for the entire range of Parliament House security-related services and activities.

After the raising of the National Terrorism Public Alert Level, DPS was tasked, in consultation with stakeholders, with updating the framework, to ensure the policies and procedures were commensurate with the current security environment. DPS is responsible for applying security risk management to the development and delivery of all security services and activities to minimise potential impacts on the Parliament.

Building security projects

In October 2014, a multi-agency taskforce was established in response to the raising of the National Terrorism Public Alert Level from medium to high.

Part of the work of the taskforce was to recommend a series of improvements and enhancements to the security arrangements at Parliament House. The Presiding Officers assigned primary responsibility for improving the physical security at Parliament House to DPS. Funding for this work was provided in late 2014.

The security hardening project involves work inside the building as well as on the perimeter of the building.

To manage the security upgrade works the Program Delivery Branch was established in the Building and Asset Management Division in late 2014 and will remain in place while the works are being delivered. It consists of a mix of experienced senior staff seconded from other Commonwealth agencies.

The program of capital works was begun in 2014–15, with the suite of security-related works scheduled for completion in 2018, with a one-year rectification period.

In 2014–15 security upgrade works were completed on the first set of access points between the public and private areas of Australian Parliament House. Entrances off the Marble Foyer were opened by Budget night to accommodate the high volume of visitors to the House, with final works completed in June. Significant progress was made on works on perimeter security enhancements at the ministerial entrance. The proposal for a fence, gatehouse facility and additional vehicle bollards were approved by both Houses of Parliament on 26 March 2015. The works were also referred to the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee for inquiry. The committee reported in June 2015, noting that DPS would provide updates to the committee in relation to the works and indicating that the committee would maintain a watching brief on the works as part of its ongoing inquiry into DPS.

Security reviews

An independent review of the Parliament House Pass Policy was completed in 2014 with a number of recommendations provided for consideration by the SMB. The review by Directors Australia was completed in February 2014 and formed the basis of pass policy discussions at the SMB during 2014–15. Work is continuing in line with the anticipated delivery of a new Parliament House access control system, which is expected to provide additional access management capability and efficiencies.

Reviews of various policies and procedures to inform the Security Framework took into account the underlying threat environment and security risks to the Parliament, Parliament House and its occupants and were informed by consultation with appropriate policing and security agencies. By investing in the assessment of the security frameworks and ensuring compliance with Australian Government policy, DPS continues to reduce the risk exposure of Parliament House and increase the effective and efficient management of security in the precinct.

Security training

In 2014–15 approximately 160 DPS Security personnel undertook 8,055 hours of training and development. Training is developed in accordance with Australian regulations for security, workplace health and safety and legal liability, which require all activities that protect the building and its occupants to be carried out by qualified personnel.

All training activities are mapped to competency levels and measured for impact. All PSS officers have to engage in Induction and Competency Maintenance Training, which includes:

• senators and members recognition
• advanced defensive tactics
• first aid
• powers and authorisations
• patrols and searches.

For PSS officers working in the Parliamentary Security Operations Room, where CCTV systems are managed and viewed, privileges training is incorporated into Induction and Competency Maintenance Training. Other officers do not currently receive this training but additional training is expected to become part of a suite of online training to ensure annual awareness strategies.

DPS has developed and delivers a Parliament House-specific Certificate III in Security Operations, enabling the department to deliver key training in-house. The course has received accreditation from the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) and is designed to provide developing DPS team leaders with the skills needed to perform the role. Eleven staff were enrolled in this qualification during 2014–15.

Security for functions and events

In 2014–15, DPS Security supported 37 official visits, including by the:

• Prime Minister of Japan
• Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• President of the People’s Republic of China
• Prime Minister of India
• President of France
• Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
• King and Queen of Norway
• Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and
• Governor-General of New Zealand.

Significant planning and resourcing, including the development of risk management plans and rostering of additional security officers and concierge services is required to ensure a balance is struck between the day-to-day operations of the Parliament, and the requirements of major events. All events were held without incident or undue impact on the day-to-day operations of the Parliament in 2014–15.

PSS role in medical assistance

DPS operates a Nurses Centre to provide First Aid services for all building occupants during sitting weeks. DPS’ security service, PSS, provides a first aid service at all other times. PSS Officers are all certified in first aid and refresh their qualifications annually. The Nurses Centre also offers an annual influenza vaccination program for building occupants. In 2014–15, there were 793 vaccinations administered, a 21.4 per cent increase on the previous year.

Chief Operating Officer Division

The Chief Operating Officer Division comprises the Finance and Procurement Branch, the People, Strategy and Governance Branch, the Parliamentary Experience Branch and the Enterprise Agreement Project Team. The division provides advice and services to DPS on governance, strategy, finance, procurement, human resources and records management. This ensures that DPS complies with its responsibilities under the Parliamentary Service Act 1999, the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and a range of other legislative obligations, including human resources-related legislation. It also provides visitor programs, licences and art services.

Divisional highlights

• 2014–15 saw significant improvements in DPS’ financial and procurement policies and processes, including the release of a new Procurement Manual to assist DPS officials to meet Commonwealth requirements in relation to procurement and contract management.
• New finance, payroll and HR systems were rolled out, including an e-recruitment system and standard SAP software. The department is undertaking a Corporate Systems Support project which has seen the implementation of a new Human Resources Management Information System in February 2015 that incorporates both the DPS payroll system and a new e-recruitment system.
• Our on-time payment rate for small business is now 95.6 per cent, above the Government’s 90 per cent requirement, and up from 86.5 per cent last year.
• The DPS Risk Management Framework was reviewed and reissued.
• In 2014–15, DPS participated in the Parliamentary Graduate Program and ICT Graduate Program for the first time.
• DPS also maintained SafetyMAP certification of the department’s Work Health & Safety Management System (WHSMS) to JAS-ANZ standards for the sixth year in a row. DPS is the only Commonwealth department with this level of certification for its entire WHSMS against the SafetyMAP audit tool.
• The programs for Floriade and Enlighten were expanded to include new offerings, such as the ‘Spring Glory Courtyard Tour’, ‘Spring Tea’, and ‘Sunset on the Roof’. These events proved very popular and many sold out well in advance, with more than 900 people attending.
• Initiatives to mark the Centenary of Anzac included the exhibition ‘First Landing to Last Post: contemporary perspectives on 100 years of service’, a range of public programs and tours, and increased cooperation with the Australian War Memorial.
• Initiatives to commemorate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta included a reception in the Great Hall hosted by the Presiding Officers; the launch of a limited edition $5 silver rectangular collector’s coin created by the Royal Australian Mint; a special edition of the ABC program Q&A; a range of merchandise, and a Magna Carta family tour.
• A number of significant acquisitions to the Parliament House Art Collection were made, including an artwork by Mavis Ngallametta which was unveiled during Reconciliation Week 2015.
• Communities@Work commenced as the new provider at the Capital Hill Early Childhood Centre in January 2015. The new service has been very well received.

Chief Finance Officer

During 2014–15 recruitment in the Finance and Procurement Team replaced contracted staff with new, ongoing staff. Significant work was undertaken to review DPS’ financial and procurement documents. New delegations were issued, Accountable Authority Instructions were revised and a new Procurement Manual was released. Improvements were also made to internal budget planning and reporting.

More detailed information on the work of the Finance and Procurement Team is at Part 5.

People, Strategy and Governance

In the second half of 2014–15 the DPS SES leadership team met to develop an action plan in response to the range of reviews, including the ANAO report into management of assets and contracts, and the results of the 2014 DPS/APS employee census. Subsequent meetings of the SES and their senior staff worked to develop the 2015–19 Corporate Plan, and review DPS Enterprise Risks and how they are managed.

In April 2015 DPS commenced development of branch business plans, to bring together branch priorities, risks, business continuity, workforce planning, and budget into annual consolidated planning and activity documents. Branch business plans were developed for 2015–16 through a series of branch workshops and meetings, and are aligned to the 2015–19 Corporate Plan. They were finalised in early 2015–16.

DPS also continued to develop its reporting against KPIs and provided regular monthly reporting to the DPS Executive Committee from December 2014. DPS will make further enhancements to its performance reporting framework in 2015–16 to continue to improve transparency of the department’s operations.

Review of the DPS Fraud Control Policy, Fraud Risks and Fraud Risk Control Plan began in late 2014–15. All were finalised in early 2015–16. In addition to this review an assessment of the DPS Enterprise Risks against the new Corporate Plan commenced and was finalised in early 2015–16.

Details regarding governance information for DPS can be found in Part 5 Management and Accountability. This information includes details on:

• corporate planning
• internal audit
• risk management
• fraud prevention and control
• reports on operations of the department.

Parliamentary Experience

Visitor services

Visitor services staff of DPS, through the tour program, engage visitors with the work, stories and collections of Parliament House. During 2014–15 DPS developed and offered visitors nine new tours. These included a new free ‘Welcome’ tour and eight paid tours that explored the collections, unique spaces and stories of Parliament House. The ‘Exploring Magna Carta’ family role play tour and ‘Magna Carta to modern day: the path to Australian Democracy’ tour were specifically developed to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. Other new tours included ‘Parliament at War’ and ‘Discover Parliament House’.

DPS continued to strengthen its partnerships with other organisations including the Museum of Australian Democracy, the National Capital Authority and the National Archives of Australia to stage a variety of events while also showcasing staff expertise and the richness of the collections. More than 900 people were attracted to five events developed in collaboration with the Canberra Theatre. This included panel discussions with the creative teams behind Black Diggers, The Magic Flute, Bell Shakespeare Company and The Magic Hour.

In 2014–15, DPS developed new behind-the-scenes tours and participated in Canberra’s three major festivals: Floriade, the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival and Enlighten. DPS also offered free ‘Welcome’ tours and three paid tours to visitors each day. The paid tours and festival events were conducted on a cost recovery basis and achieved an average participation rate of between 75 and 90 per cent.

Highlights of the 2014–15 visitor programs included the following:

Floriade courtyard and garden tours

DPS expanded its 2014 Floriade festival program, offering more tours and new events. Visitor Services Officer (VSO) led ‘Spring Glory’ tours of the private courtyards at Parliament House attracted 573 visitors. The ‘Head Gardener’ two-hour tours were led by DPS Landscape Services Officers who shared their extensive knowledge of the gardens and horticulture, concluding with a delicious morning or afternoon tea. For the first time, two ‘Spring Tea’ events were held under the trees in one of the courtyards. Feedback from the 116 people who enjoyed an afternoon tea buffet was overwhelmingly positive, ensuring that the events were offered again in 2015.

Enlighten

Enlighten 2015 heralded the beginning of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta celebrations at Parliament House. Two new illuminations were presented on the façade of the building during the festival. Aboriginal artist Mavis Ngallametta’s work Bushfire at Ngak-Pungarichan, 2013 and a Magna Carta 800th anniversary image were appropriate additions to the existing popular giant images.

DPS offered an expanded program of tours and new events during Enlighten. Most of the behind-the-scenes tours were sold out, with ‘Unconformity’, ‘Beneath the House’ and the ‘White Glove’ art tours attracting 351 people. The ‘Beneath the House’ tour, led by VSOs, took visitors to behind-the-scenes areas, culminating in a special viewing of the unconformity rock formation in the basement. Renowned geologist Wolf Meyer led the two hour ‘Unconformity’ tour that examined the stone and rock featured in and below the building. Led by the Director of Content, Art Collection and Exhibitions, the new ‘White Glove’ art tour offered visitors a rare opportunity to visit the art store to examine some special objects.

The ‘Dining in the House’ event in the Members’ and Guests’ Dining Room was again fully booked with 100 diners enjoying a special menu designed by InterContinental Hotels Group’s (IHG) executive chef. The hottest festival ticket was held by the 200 people who attended the ‘Sunset on the Roof’ event. For two hours they sipped drinks and nibbled from mezze platters, with the best view in Canberra. DPS recorded a significant increase in visitation to Parliament House during the Festival, from 1,916 visitors in 2014 to 2,663 visitors in 2015. Families particularly enjoyed the season of free Robin Hood films and the Magna Carta family tour.

Heritage tours

The 2015 Canberra and Region Heritage Festival theme focussed on commemorating the centenary of Anzac and World War One. The popular tours from 2014, ‘Feel the Heritage’ and ‘Valuing Heritage’, were again offered in April 2015 and attracted 252 people. The ‘Valuing Heritage’ tours, led by DPS Heritage staff, offered a special opportunity to visit the Speaker’s and President’s suites.

Community events

Approximately 380 children from six choirs, plus their families, came to Parliament House to perform during the Christmas season.

On 8 December 2014 there was a special performance by the Kadavu Choir from Kadavu Island which is off the main island of Fiji.

During 2014–15 Parliament House also hosted school and community performance groups from remote and regional areas including:

• the Divine Divas from Sunbury
• Bendigo Youth Choir
• Alstonville Public School Senior Band, and
• Moorambilla Voices from remote western NSW.

Ceremonial events

Parliament House hosted three Guest of Government visits during November 2014:

• the Rt Hon David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom;
• His Excellency Mr Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China; and
• Mr Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India.

The ceremonial welcomes on the forecourt attracted hundreds of people, especially from the Indian community, which turned out in force to welcome Prime Minister Modi.

Visitor numbers

During 2014–15, the number of visitors recorded through the main entry was 759,483, a significant increase on the 677,932 recorded in 2013–14. There was an increase of more than 9,200 school students in 2014–15 compared to the previous year.

Table 13: Visitor Numbers 2014-15

	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Number of visitors	898,927	677,932	759,483
Number of tour participants
General public tours	62,595	66,696	55,893
School tours1	126,128	123,507	132,781
Other tours	6,508	7,622	7,384
Total participants in tours	195,231	197,825	196,058
Number of virtual visitors (visitors to APH website)	2,428,000	3,500,000	3,979,949

¹includes students, teachers and accompanying adults on the tour.

Promotion

DPS advertised its events, programs and visitor experiences in Canberra through:

• flyer distribution to tourism and community venues across Canberra
• advertising in local press
• email direct marketing to a visitor mailing list including building occupants, and
• radio and print editorial.

Parliament House also participated in VisitCanberra’s 101 Humans social media campaign, targeting local community advocates.

The Parliament Shop

The Parliament Shop has continued to develop and offer new product lines that either reflect the exhibition program or feature the Parliament House collections or regional and nationally recognised artists and artisans. A new range of Parliament House products has been created featuring the 1297 Magna Carta, including a lens cloth and hand-printed tea towel.

Revenue from The Parliament Shop increased, from $841,486 in 2013–14 to $1,029,859 in 2014–15 (GST inclusive), due to the new, quality product lines as well as higher visitor numbers. The average spend per transaction was $19.77.

Catering

DPS, through its contracted caterers, delivers a wide range of catering services to meet the needs of Parliament House occupants, guests and visitors. Catering staff start cooking at 6.30am and catered functions can finish well after midnight. On Budget Day 2015, the coffee machines were turned on at 6.30am in Aussies Cafe and General Store, with two teams of three baristas working consecutive eight hour shifts, to meet demand. Another 140 catering staff were needed on Budget Day to meet food and beverage needs at events ranging from the Budget lock–up to formal functions in the Great Hall.

In 2014–15, emphasis has been placed on improving the quality and diversity of the food and beverage service at Parliament House. Feedback on inconsistent portion sizes has been addressed, with new serving processes in place. In response to feedback, the brand and mix of roasted coffee beans has been changed in all of the Parliament House caterer’s venues. DPS has also worked with the parliamentary caterer to refresh menus. The Queen’s Terrace Café has introduced a rolling quarterly change to its menu, while a new 2015 winter menu was introduced in the Staff Dining Room. These changes represent a concerted effort to improve choice, quality and consistency of product.

Demand for food and beverage services at Parliament House increased in 2014–15. The total number of covers1 served increased by 16.25 per cent on the 2013–14 figure, in part due to 2013–14 being an election year. Table 14 shows a breakdown of the covers by location.

Table 14: Total number of meals/beverages served at Parliament House in 2014–15

Area	Covers1  2013–14	Covers1 2014–15	% increase on 2013–14
Functions	61,768	67,787	9.74%
Room service	132	174	31.82%
House services (catering service—morning and afternoon teas, light meals and hot and cold beverages)	17,462	22,028	26.15%
Members’ Club	1,047	1,327	26.74%
Members’ and Guests’ Dining Room	5,818	7,677	31.95%
Staff Dining Room	199,868	206,932	3.53%
Queen’s Terrace Café	63,457	90,691	42.92%
Schools hospitality	104,505	109,494	4.77%
Coffee cart	29,106	55,581	90.96%
Total	483,163	561,691	16.25%

¹A ‘cover’ equates to a sale (usually a single food or beverage serve), except for functions where the number equates to the number of people served which may involve multiple courses.

Many community, business and government organisations choose Parliament House as a prestige venue for their events.
In 2014–15, the scope of events ranged from university graduation ceremonies to state dinners with G20 attendees. In 2014–15, Parliament House hosted 800 functions. Large scale events in 2014–15 included the dinner for the Chinese President, His Excellency Mr Xi Jinping, and the Press Gallery’s Mid-Winter Ball.

Main production kitchen

In September 2014, the Main Production Kitchen project received its certificate of practical completion. The Main Production Kitchen serves as the primary point of food preparation for the parliamentary caterer. The upgrade delivered the following benefits:

• compliance with current Food Safety Standards and ACT Health requirements
• a reduction in maintenance and cleaning costs
• improved contractor safety and health outcomes, and
• the implementation of a computerised quality system, which monitors food quality from preparation through to serving, using cook/chill technology.

In June 2015, the Great Hall Kitchen had cook/chill banqueting equipment installed to complement the cook/chill system in the Main Production Kitchen. This will enable the banquets prepared in the Main Production Kitchen to be reheated from a chilled state in the kitchen immediately adjacent to the Great Hall. This will reduce the time taken to deliver the meals from reheat to table, improving the quality of the meals served in the Great Hall. Commissioning and testing of the equipment is expected to be completed in August 2015.

Health and Recreation Centre

DPS manages the Health and Recreation Centre (HRC) at Parliament House. The HRC provides a variety of equipment, offers exercise classes and develops tailored individual fitness programs. In 2014–15, the HRC expanded the number of weekly classes to 20, delivering a mix of ‘Circuit’, ‘Boot Camp’, ‘Weight Circuit’, ‘Definition’, ‘Stretch’, ‘Boxing’, ‘Spin’, ‘Abdominal’, ‘Back’, ‘Core’ and ‘Yoga’ classes.

During the 2014–15 summer parliamentary recess, DPS undertook a major refurbishment of the HRC pool. The pool was fully drained, repairs were made to cracked tiling and the pool’s expansion joints were replaced. New waterproof lighting was installed.

As at 30 June 2015, the HRC had 560 members. Eighty-nine of the HRC members were senators or members. In addition, there were 2,055 casual visits to the HRC during 2014–15. In November 2014, DPS introduced a 10 visit pass to the HRC, which gives greater flexibility to non-Canberra-based pass holders and casual visitors.

Other services

In December 2014, DPS and the Westpac bank agreed to a new five-year licence for the Westpac branch at Parliament House. In April 2015, Westpac undertook a complete refurbishment of the Parliament House branch office and installed a current generation automatic teller machine and video conferencing equipment. This will allow Westpac to deliver a greater range of financial services to parliamentarians and pass holders.

In January 2015, Communities@Work commenced as the new childcare provider at Parliament House. A smooth transition from the previous childcare provider, Anglicare, took place with no interruption of services.

Beginning in January 2015, DPS has been renegotiating licences with the Press Gallery. Rates have been updated to reflect the 2014–15 Canberra commercial leasing market and the 2014–15 Parliament House operating costs.

Art Collection & Exhibitions

DPS is the custodian of a remarkable collection of Australian art, comprising more than 6,000 contemporary and historical artworks valued in excess of $80 million.

The collection was created specifically for Parliament House, as an essential element of the building’s architectural fabric. It comprises a number of stand-alone collections, including the:

• Rotational Collection — consisting largely of contemporary Australian artworks. The primary purpose of the Rotational Collection is to enhance the general circulation spaces of the building, as well as the offices and suites of parliamentarians. The Rotational Collection is made available to these occupants as a free enhancement of daily life in the building and in recognition of the Parliament’s importance to the nation
• Architectural Commissions — consisting of artworks commissioned as an integrated part of the architectural design of the building
• Historic Memorials Collection — consisting of portraits of officeholders and paintings of significant parliamentary events since 1911. It is the longest continuous commissioning program in Australia
• Official Gifts Collection — consisting of gifts presented to the Parliament since 1901
• Constitutional Documents — a group of significant archival documents
• Archival Collection — a range of historic and archival materials about Parliament, the art collection and the construction of Parliament House.

Works from the collection are made available for display in parliamentarians’ offices and public areas and are lent to other cultural institutions throughout Australia for exhibition. A small team of specialist DPS staff manages these assets—cataloguing, researching, digitising, conserving, preparing and presenting works of art to the highest possible museum standards

Loans

During 2014–2015, a number of artworks were lent to exhibitions across Australia, including a retrospective of the work of Vicki Varvaressos, at Maitland Gallery. A newly acquired still life by Margaret Olley was lent to the Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Centre, and a Patsy Hely tea set was lent to the Canberra Museum and Art Gallery for an exhibition of Canberra ceramics. The two large Federal Capital Site paintings continued their journey around Australia as part of the National Gallery of Australia’s major travelling exhibition, Capital and Country. Several significant works from the Parliament House Art Collection continue to be on long-term loan to a number of institutions, including the National Portrait Gallery of Australia, the National Archives of Australia and the Museum of Australian Democracy, at Old Parliament House. At the request of the Presiding Officers, DPS began negotiations to facilitate the return of eight official prime ministerial portraits from the Museum of Australian Democracy for display within Parliament House.

Exhibitions

DPS supported a varied program of high-quality public exhibitions and displays aimed at Parliament House visitors and building occupants, giving greater public access to the Parliament House Art Collection and highlighting the importance of the collection to the nation. The exhibition program included:

Another bunch of flowers: works from the Parliament House Art Collection

This exhibition featured a selection of artworks exploring the ways artists have been inspired by and celebrated Australia’s wonderful flora. It included works by some of Australia’s most significant and best-loved artists, including Grace Cossington Smith, Margaret Preston, Charles Blackman, John Perceval, Margaret Olley and Tim Maguire.

Namatjira to Now: Five Generations of Watercolours from the Central Desert

Presented in conjunction with the Ngurratjuta Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands Art Centre and Big hART, this exhibition presented spectacular landscapes of the Hermannsburg watercolour movement by Albert Namatjira, his descendants and members of the Hermannsburg community.

First Landing to Last Post: contemporary perspectives on 100 years of service

Featuring works from the Parliament House Art Collection, the Australian War Memorial and selected loans from artists, this exhibition included contemporary artworks depicting the work of Australian Defence Force personnel in conflict and peacekeeping operations over the past 100 years. This exhibition was a major contribution to Parliament’s commemoration of the Centenary of ANZAC.

Acquisitions

DPS actively acquires works of art for the Parliament House Art Collection to ensure that:

• the Rotational Collection continues to represent diverse aspects of contemporary Australian life and culture and showcases the very best in Australian art and craft
• the Historic Memorials Collection continues its 104-year tradition of documenting the history of the Parliament and its officeholders
• official gifts to the nation are recorded and preserved for future generations.

During 2014–15, a total of 28 works of art were acquired: 23 were added to the Rotational Collection and five to the Gifts Collection. Works added to the Rotational Collection included major Indigenous works by Mavis Ngallametta and Helen S. Tiernan, and works by a number of artists previously unrepresented in the collection, including John Kelly, Baden Pailthorpe, Erica Seccombe, Sophia Szilyagi and Nick Howson. Eighteen works were by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.

A number of significant gifts were also accepted into the collection during the year. These included archival materials from Ms Kay Lawrence AM, which related to the creation of the Red Gorge tapestry, originally commissioned for the Prime Minister’s Dining Room. Other gifts included a limited edition print by Robert Juniper from former Senator Dr Alan Eggleston and an Esme Timbery shell work Sydney Harbour Bridge gifted by Mr Patrick Corrigan AM. Two official parliamentary gifts were accessioned into the Gifts Collection— a Steuben glass bowl from former US President George W. Bush, presented during a 2003 visit, and a crystal plaque received from current US President Barack Obama, during a visit in 2011.

There were no additions to the Historic Memorials Collection during 2014–15; however the portrait commissions for former Speakers Mr Peter Slipper and Ms Anna Burke MP are progressing and will be delivered in 2015–16 for approval by the Historic Memorials Committee. Discussions are continuing with the offices of former Prime Ministers, the Hon Kevin Rudd and the Hon Julia Gillard, regarding the final selection of an artist to undertake their respective portrait commissions.

A number of conservation projects were conducted during 2014–15, including major restoration work to the frame for the Historic Memorials portrait of The Hon Albert John Gould VD, the second President of the Senate. Following the completion of this work, this portrait was installed in the Senate Wing.

A number of minor preventative treatments were also undertaken during the year, including re-stretching of a number of Indigenous canvases and some minor repairs to damaged works.

During 2014–15 DPS also commenced planning for a three-year project to digitise the entire collection, implement radio frequency identification tracking for artworks, and undertake a comprehensive condition assessment and 100 per cent stocktake. As a result of this major project, DPS will create an online catalogue for the collection to enhance public accessibility.

Table 15: Artwork activity 2014-15

	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Extent to which the art collection is developed (number of new artworks acquired)	53	59	28
Cost of acquisitions (art collection development)	$284,715	$237,590	$127,548
Number of artworks receiving preservation	8	10	14
Cost of preservation	$44,602	$19,277	$14,903

Parliamentary Recording and Reporting

The work of parliament and parliamentarians relies on access to records of proceedings, including Hansard—the official written record of what is said in the Senate, House of Representatives and Federation Chambers and in parliamentary committee hearings. In order to serve their purpose fully those records must be reliable, timely and readily available.

External audiences such as government bodies, the media, academics, interest groups, businesses and others also rely on broadcasts and transcripts of parliament to follow the debate of bills, Question Time, press conferences and parliamentary committee hearings. Availability of broadcasts and transcripts on the APH website are key features of parliament’s engagement with the community.

In 2014–15, the Parliamentary Audio Visual Services and Hansard teams recorded and transcribed 4,216 hours of chamber and parliamentary committee proceedings, an increase of 1,381 hours from 2013–14 (an election year) and 572 hours more than 2012–13.

1,381 extra hours equates to recording and transcription services for an additional 568 hours of chamber proceedings and an additional 813 hours of parliamentary committee proceedings, compared to 2013–14.

Table 16: Hours recorded and transcribed

Activity	Number of hours recorded and transcribed
	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Parliamentary proceedings in the Senate, House of Representatives and Federation Chambers	1,437	1,044	1,612
Parliament House committee hearings	1,441	1,132	1,567
Interstate committee hearings	766	659	1,037
Total	3,644	2,835	4,216

Table 17: Hours of parliamentary committee hearings for the last quarter

Final quarter of financial year	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Parliament House committees	498	580	549
Interstate committees	198	439	229
Total	696	1019	778

Hansard

Hansard online

Hansard is available through the ParlInfo search database and as PDF documents on the APH website.

The average number of hits per month to access Senate and House of Representative Hansards on the ParlInfo database decreased from 444,646 in 2013–14 to 314,578 in 2014–15.

Table 18: Access to Hansard on the ParlInfo Search database

Average number of hits per month	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Senate Hansard	130,162	170,138	117,425
House of Representatives Hansard	202,711	274,508	197,153
Total	332,873	444,646	314,578

Table 19: Hansard—Accuracy

Accuracy
Type of transcription	Service standard	Error rate
		2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Chamber proceedings	5 or fewer errors per 100 pages transcribed	4.4 errors	2.5 errors	1.75 errors
Committee hearings (Parliament House and interstate)	5 or fewer errors per 100 pages transcribed	9.3 errors	7.4 errors	6.36 errors

The levels of accuracy achieved for Hansard records of chamber and committee proceedings differ because the challenges of preparing an accurate record also differ markedly.

Chamber transcripts are often prepared with the benefit of speech notes provided by the relevant parliamentarian, who can assess the accuracy of the transcription of their speech after Hansard staff have edited it, to ensure it reflects the parliamentarian’s speech and meets the standard of a grammatically correct written document. In addition, certain elements of Chamber proceedings are more formulaic and therefore easier to transcribe.

In contrast, Hansards of committee hearings are transcribed verbatim. DPS staff strive to reproduce the speech and testimony of witnesses as accurately as possible but witness testimony is unable to be cross-checked against notes for clarity. Witnesses are given the opportunity to correct their evidence but may not add or delete information.

In 2014–15, DPS produced 55,872 pages of Hansard—17,592 pages more than in 2013–14. Of the 55,852 pages, 25,377 pages were chamber Hansards and 30,495 pages were committee Hansards. Accuracy, measured as the number of errors per 100 pages, continued to improve across both chamber and committee Hansards.

Hansard transcripts move through three stages:

• draft
• proof
• official.

Draft Hansard transcripts are sent to senators and members within two hours of their delivering a chamber speech. This gives sufficient time to identify possible corrections for incorporation into the next stage, the proof Hansard.

Senators and members are able to work with and share their speech material as soon as the proof Hansard has been published, which occurs within three hours of the relevant chamber rising.

The proof Hansard is checked and made official within 15 non-sitting days following the last day of the sitting period.

Project timeliness

Table 20: Hansard—Timeliness – Chambers

Type of transcript	Service standard	Percentage delivered within service standards
		2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Individual draft speeches—delivered within two hours of speech finishing	85.00%*	65.70%	89.30%	86.50%
Electronic proof Hansard reports—delivered within three hours of the House rising	95.00%	83.50%	95.30%	94.40%
Electronic official Hansard—delivered within 15 non-sitting working days following the last sitting day in the week	95.00%	100.00%	95.50%	78.35%

*The key performance indicator for individual draft speeches for the parliamentary chambers has been changed from 95 per cent to 85 per cent. This is to reflect the effect of the scheduled delays in delivery of senators’ and members’ draft speeches on Monday and Wednesday mornings.

Of the 142 electronic proof Hansards produced during 2014–15, 134 were delivered within three hours of the House rising.

Of the remaining eight, there were seven instances where, due to extended sitting hours in the chamber, the proof Hansards were part-published and completed the following day and one instance where there was a technical issue with the Hansard Production System publishing function and the proof Hansard was not delivered within the expected timeframe.

There was a reduction of timeliness in relation to the delivery of electronic official Hansards being delivered within 15 non-sitting working days following the last sitting day.

Of the 77 House of Representatives Hansards, 12 proof Hansards were made official after the 15 non-sitting days period. Similarly, of the 65 Senate Hansards, 18 Senate proof Hansards were made official after the 15 non-sitting days period.

The processing of a proof Hansard before it becomes official is typically the focus of non-sitting periods. However, Hansard’s capacity to progress this work was impacted by the increased committee workload during 2014–15.

Table: 21: Hansard – Timeliness – committees

Committee-agreed timeframe	Service Standard	Percentage delivered within service standards
		2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Delivery by next business day	95.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%
Delivery within 1–3 business days	95.00%	99.10%	100.00%	100.00%
Delivery within 3–5 business days	95.00%	99.70%	100.00%	97.20%

Delivery targets for Hansard transcripts of parliamentary committee proceedings exceeded service standards. This was despite an increase of 813 hours in the number of committee hours over the previous year and an increase in committee meetings outside Canberra.

Consultation with senators and members

Consultation with senators and members regarding Hansard products and services commenced in April 2015. Hansard wrote to all senators and members seeking to meet and discuss their views on the current Hansard product and services.

As at 30 June 2015, 58 responses had been received. Of these, 12 senators and members elected to provide general feedback, without face-to-face meetings. During May and June, meetings were held with 39 senators, members or their staff, and further meetings were scheduled to take place during July and August.

To date, overall feedback has been positive with senators and members indicating a high level of satisfaction with the Hansard product and the services provided. Positive feedback was also received in relation to the ParlView video on demand service, with a high number of senators and members indicating that they regularly access the audio-visual footage.

The consultation process will continue for the remainder of 2015 and the feedback received will be used to inform future improvements.

Parliamentary Audio Visual Services

DPS broadcasts all parliamentary activity through ‘ParlTV’, the Parliament House in-house television service, which connects senators, members, their staff, the media and the parliamentary departments with events in the chambers, public committees hearings, special events (such as heads-of-state visits) and some press conferences. Recording and broadcasting services are delivered in real time.

DPS also provides video-conferencing and phone-conferencing facilities to support the work of parliamentary committees. Using DPS studio and editing facilities, parliamentarians are also able to record pieces to camera, interviews and presentations. DPS also provides patches to the media—connections which allow a live feed to the press gallery or outside Parliament House, so Parliament can be seen and heard through public and commercial media outlets in Australia and around the world.

During 2014–15, in addition to providing audio-visual services for 4,216 hours of parliamentary proceedings, DPS provided 1,848 patches and 1,108 multimedia services, including requests for extracts of parliamentary broadcast material, 845 television and audio productions and managed 1,397 audio-visual services requests for a range of items such as data projectors, lecterns and PA systems.

Audio services were provided for 245 interstate committee hearings held in locations varying from capital cities to regional and remote centres including Christmas and Groote Islands, Geraldton, Mt Isa and Coober Pedy.

In 2014–15 DPS broadcast a number of major events, including parliamentary addresses by: the Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; His Excellency Mr Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China; and Mr Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India.

ParlView: DPS’ online broadcast service

ParlView online broadcast services enable users to view, search and download broadcasts of senators and members at work in the chambers and parliamentary committees, with footage available just six minutes after live recording.

During 2014–15, there were 237,935 hits on the ParlView service—an average of 4,575 a week. This represents an increase of 128,697 hits to those made in 2013–14.

In time, ParlView will give access to more than 60,000 hours of archived parliamentary audio-visual records dating from 1991. The migration of this material has been occurring progressively since 2013 and is expected to be completed during 2015–16.

Key Performance Indicators

A summary of all results against all KPIs in the 2014–15 Parliamentary Budget Statement is set out below. Discussion about these results, including reasons for variations against the previous year or the target is set out in the preceding pages 37 to 41.

Table 22: Program 1: Parliamentary Services

	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
KPI 1
Number of visitors
Number of visitors	898,927	677,932	759,483
Participants in general public tours	62,595	66,696	55,893
Participants in school tours	126,128	123,507	132,781
Participants in other tours	6,508	7,622	7,384
Total tour participants	195,231	197,825	196,0581
KPI 2
Number of virtual visitors to Parliament House
Total virtual visitors	2,428,000	3,500,000	3,979,949
KPI 3
Number of functions and events held in Parliament House
Official visits	39	15	37
Parliamentary	352	327	331
Non-parliamentary	935	703	813
KPI 4
Visitor satisfaction (target­–85%)
Visitor services – tours and information, The Parliament Shop and visitor catering, building access and parking	Not surveyed	75.00%	84.74%
Website	Not surveyed	65.00%	65.49%
KPI 5
Building Occupant satisfaction (target–85%)
IT services	84.00%	97.00%	95.00%
Parliamentary Library	93.00%	93.00%	93.00%
Hansard	Not surveyed	Not surveyed	97.00%
Broadcasting	Not surveyed	Not surveyed	87.00%
Security	Not surveyed	Not surveyed	91.00%
Building maintenance	88.00%	87.00%	75.00%
Other services	Not surveyed	Not surveyed
Cleaning			87.00%
Gardens and Landscaping			94.00%
Art Services			75.00%
Heritage Management			69.00%
KPI 6
Timeliness targets met in service delivery
IT services–incident resolution	84.00%	93.00%	96.10%
Help Desk calls (answered before 30 seconds)	80.00%	85.00%	93.50%
Hansard	Hansard uses several different indicators to measure timeliness. Full details are available at pages 66-69.
Library services (research services)	90.00%	90.00%	89.76%
Maintenance services	Not surveyed	Not surveyed	78.40%

¹includes students, teachers and accompanying adults on the tour.

Table 23: Program 2: Parliament House Works Program

	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
KPI 1
Design Integrity Index (target: 90%)	89.80%	89.40%	89.98%
KPI 2
Building Condition Index (target: 89–92%)	88.3%	88.50%	88.50%
KPI 3
Landscape Condition Index (target: 90%)	87.00%	81.00%	82.00%
KPI 4
Engineering Systems Condition Index (target: 90%)	86.80%	88.60%	88.70%

Building occupant satisfaction

DPS is responsible for the delivery of a broad range of services directly and through facilitated contract arrangements. To continue to improve our services, DPS values feedback from building occupants and continually looks to improve how we operate. DPS believes it is important to gauge building occupant satisfaction to assess the timeliness and quality of our services.

In previous years, DPS has conducted a client satisfaction survey once per Parliament. The survey of the 43rd Parliament took place in 2012. It was reported in last year’s annual report that the survey for the 44th Parliament would be conducted in 2014–15. In September 2014, the ANAO and DPS conducted a joint survey of all parliamentarians in relation to DPS’ services. This survey is discussed further below.

Table 24: Building occupant satisfaction results for the 2014–15 Key Performance Indicators

Key performance indicator	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Building occupant satisfaction: Target—85%
IT services IT Help Desk	57% 71%	84%1	97%1	95%1 (ICT emails)
Parliamentary Library	93%	93%	93%	93% (Library 2015 client evaluation survey)
Hansard	86%	Not surveyed2	Not surveyed2	97% (ANAO/DPS survey results)
Broadcasting	88%	Not surveyed2	Not surveyed2	87% (ANAO/DPS survey results)
Security	84%	Not surveyed2	Not surveyed2	91% (ANAO/DPS survey results)
Building maintenance	86%	88%	87%	75% (ANAO/DPS survey results)
Other services		Not surveyed2	Not surveyed2	Cleaning – 87% Gardens and Landscaping – 94% Art Services – 75% Heritage Management – 69% (ANAO/DPS survey results)

¹ICT satisfaction in 2012–13, 2013–14 and 2014–15 was measured as a proportion of positive feedback received overall and did not distinguish between IT services and the 2020 Help Desk.
²Not surveyed as DPS’ past practice has been to conduct a client satisfaction survey once per Parliament.

Australian National Audit Office survey

In September 2014, the ANAO and DPS conducted a joint survey in relation to DPS services to both inform the ANAO performance audit and assist the department to improve the services it provides. All 226 parliamentarians were invited to participate in the survey and 33 responded. The survey indicated 73.4 per cent of respondents rated DPS as effective or highly effective in managing services at Parliament House.

Library 2015 client evaluation survey

The 2015 Parliamentary Library client service evaluation survey was very positive. Satisfaction among senators, members and their staff rated highly at 93 per cent, with 97 per cent of these respondents indicating they would recommend the Library’s services to a colleague. Both of these figures are consistent with the results from the 2012 client service evaluation survey.

Hansard consultation

In 2014–15, the department commenced a formal process of consultation with senators and members to seek feedback on Hansard activities. As at 30 June 2015, the department had received responses from 58 senators and members and had meetings scheduled and/or held with 46 senators, members and/or their staff. Feedback received to date has been positive with very little negative feedback provided. The consultation process will be finalised at the beginning of 2015–16. Once complete, recommendations will be provided to the DPS Executive to improve the ongoing delivery and quality of Hansard services into the future.

New feedback mechanisms in 2015–16

New feedback mechanisms will give the department the ability to better understand the changing needs of parliamentarians, their staff and other building occupants. More timely and regular engagement with building occupants will provide a mechanism for DPS to gauge its service delivery on an ongoing basis.

As such, in 2015–16 the department will develop a Client Feedback Policy and Service Charter that outlines what our clients, stakeholders and customers can expect from our service delivery and it will also outline how they interact with the department. In addition, the department is considering a new quarterly survey aimed at obtaining regular feedback from building occupants. The surveys could seek feedback about a number of services or activities including:

• cleaning
• building maintenance
• parliamentary broadcasting and recording
• management of the Parliament House Art Collection
• garden and landscaping
• parking
• heritage
• gym and sporting fields
• security

* The Parliamentary Library will not be included in the new process as they will continue to conduct their own ‘client evaluation survey’ once per Parliament.