The Secretary, as the accountable authority under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act), has a duty to manage DPS in a way that promotes the:

• proper use and management of public resources for which DPS is responsible
• achievement of the purposes of the entity, and
• financial sustainability of the entity.

The Secretary delegates some powers to certain staff. These are outlined in DPS’ financial and human resource delegations. In addition, the Secretary has established an organisational structure that clearly defines accountabilities and the areas of responsibility assigned to senior DPS staff.

The Parliamentary Library’s services are established under the statutory office of the Parliamentary Librarian, whose primary function is ‘to provide high quality information, analysis and advice to senators and members of the House of Representatives in support of their parliamentary and representational roles.⁴⁵ The Secretary of DPS provides resources to the Parliamentary Librarian in accordance with an annual agreement. The Parliamentary Librarian reports directly to the Presiding Officers and to the Parliament. She also reports to the Joint Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Library (JSCPL).

Our governance structure for the reporting period is set out in Figure 11. It contains two streams: committees and boards advising the Presiding Officers; and committees and meetings advising the Secretary.

Figure 11: DPS Governance Structure

Committees advising the Presiding Officers

The information below shows committee membership at 30 June 2018 and activity for the year.

Joint House Committee

The Joint House Committee comprises members of the House Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives and its role is to consider matters which affect joint services. Due to other mechanisms in place for distribution and discussion on matters which affect joint services, the committee met only as required.

Joint Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Library (JSCPL)

Details on the JSCPL can be found in the Parliamentary Library overview.

Art Advisory Committee

The Art Advisory Committee assists the Presiding Officers in determining the suitability of art works for addition to the Rotational Collection within the Parliament House Art Collection.

Chair: The Hon Tony Smith MP (The Speaker of the House of Representatives) and Senator the Hon Scott Ryan (The President of the Senate).

Members: Deputy Speaker, Deputy President, Secretary DPS and an independent adviser from the National Gallery of Australia.

The committee’s terms of reference are to:

• provide guidance on the Rotational Collection Acquisition Policy, and set short-term priorities for acquisitions
• assess acquisition proposals in accordance with the acquisition policy and collecting priorities, and
• provide advice on other matters relating to the display and management of artworks in the collection, as considered necessary by the Presiding Officers.

Matters considered in 2017–18 included:

• the purchase of 57 works of art including 16 to commemorate the Centenary of ANZAC
• the consideration of a number of gifts offered to the collection, and
• the development of a new policy framework for the management of the collection.

The committee met twice during 2017–18.

Parliamentary Information and Communication Technology Advisory Board (PICTAB)

PICTAB is an advisory body established in 2012. Its role is to provide guidance in the delivery of the current Parliament of Australia ICT Strategic Plan 2013–18 and strategic objectives and outcomes. It will also play a key role in the development of the new Australian Parliament Digital Strategy 2019–22.

Chair: Secretary DPS

Members:

• three representatives each from the Government, Opposition and Crossbench
• one representative each from the Department of the Senate, the Department of the House of Representatives, the Parliamentary Budget Office and the Parliamentary Service Commissioner, and
• in addition, four non-member representatives from the DPS Information Services Division.

Matters considered in 2017–18 included:

• the key needs of parliamentarians
• the End User Workspace (EUW) program to deliver an Office 365 and Windows 10 Cloud solution
• the creation of a new Australian Parliament Digital Strategy 2019–22, with particular emphasis on stakeholder engagement and the consultation process to be undertaken in 2018–19
• the creation of a Cyber Security Operations Centre in 2018–19, and
• parliamentary business ICT resources.

The board met three times in 2017–18.

Security Management Board (SMB)

The SMB was established in 2005 under Section 65A of the PS Act. The function of the SMB is to provide specialist security advice and support to the Presiding Officers on security policy and the management of security measures for Parliament House.

Chair: Secretary DPS

Members: the Usher of the Black Rod, the Serjeant-at-Arms, and a senior executive employee of the Australian Federal Police. Invited attendees include the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Department of Finance, and the Attorney-General's Department.

The board met seven times during 2017–18.

Historic Memorials Committee (HMC)

The HMC was established by Prime Minister Andrew Fisher in 1911. The function of the committee is to commission official portraits of the Head of State, Governors-General, Prime Ministers, Presidents of the Senate and Speakers of the House of Representatives. From time to time the committee may also elect to commission portraits of other significant parliamentarians who represent a milestone in the history of the Parliament. On occasion the committee may also commission paintings of significant events in the history of the Australian Parliament.

Chair: the Prime Minister

Members: the Leader of the Opposition, the Vice-President of the Executive Council, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Secretary DPS is secretary to the committee and the DPS Art Collection and Exhibitions section provides secretariat services to the committee and manages the portrait commissioning process.

In 2017–18 the HMC conducted all relevant business via correspondence.

Committees advising the Secretary

Under the PS Act and the PGPA Act, the Secretary is accountable for DPS’ performance and compliance. The Secretary is assisted in the management of these responsibilities by the Executive Committee and the DPS Audit Committee.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee considers the development and implementation of the DPS governance framework and associated strategies, including financial planning and budgeting, performance, risk management, business planning and organisation issues, and other matters relating to the management of the department.

Chair: Secretary DPS

Members: Parliamentary Librarian (Parliamentary Library), Chief Information Officer (Information Services Division), First Assistant Secretary (Building and Security Division), Chief Operating Officer (Chief Operating Officer Division) and Chief Finance Officer (Chief Operating Officer Division).

The committee meets fortnightly.

DPS Audit Committee

The DPS Audit Committee provides independent advice and assurance to the Secretary on DPS’ financial and performance reporting responsibilities, system of risk oversight, and systems of internal control and compliance.

The DPS Audit Committee comprises five members: three independent members and two management-appointed DPS officials.

Chair: Mr Michael Harris (independent Chair)

Members: Ms Jenny Morison (independent Deputy Chair), Mr Richard Windeyer (independent member), Mr Paul Cooper (DPS official) and Mr Jonathan Curtis (DPS official).

Representatives of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) and DPS’ contracted internal auditors, KPMG, attend DPS Audit Committee meetings to provide information and advice to committee members. Information and advice is also regularly provided by invited DPS officials including the Chief Operating Officer, the Chief Information Officer, and the Chief Finance Officer.

In 2017–18, the committee met five times including a meeting to consider the department’s financial and performance statements. Table 33 shows the members’ attendance for 2017–18.⁴⁶

Table 33: DPS Audit Committee attendance

Member	Meeting attendance
Mr Michael Harris—Chair	5/5
Ms Jenny Morison—Deputy Chair	5/5
Mr Richard Windeyer—independent member	3/5
Mr Paul Cooper—DPS official	2/5
Mr Jonathan Curtis—DPS official	5/5

DPS Peak Work Health and Safety (WHS) Committee

The DPS Peak WHS Committee operates in accordance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) to advise the Secretary on WHS policy matters concerning our employees and other parties, and to assist in the development and review of related policies and practices.

Chair: an Assistant Secretary DPS

Members: made up of one management representative from the Parliamentary Library, one from each of the other branches, and one Health and Safety Representative (HSR) from each branch, with the exception of Building Services Branch where there is provision for two HSRs.

The committee met four times during 2017–18.

DPS Consultative Forum

The role of the DPS Consultative Forum is to provide a forum for consultation and discussion between management, staff, and unions representing staff.

Chair: Chief Operating Officer DPS

Members: consists of management representatives, union representatives, and staff representatives as provided for in the DPS Enterprise Agreement.

The forum met four times in 2017–18.

Coordination between Parliamentary Departments

Department Heads Group

The Department Heads Group meetings identify opportunities for collaboration, consideration and decision making, strengthening the effectiveness of the parliamentary administration.

Members: Clerk of the House of Representatives, Clerk of the Senate, Parliamentary Budget Officer, Secretary DPS.

The group met four times during 2017–18.

Our internal audit arrangements

Primary responsibility for departmental internal audit functions rests with the Head of Internal Audit (HIA), the Assistant Secretary, People and Governance Branch. The HIA manages the provision of independent assurance to the Secretary and Executive Committee, through the DPS Audit Committee, that internal controls designed to manage significant operational or financial risks and achieve the department’s objectives are operating in an efficient, effective and ethical manner. The HIA also implements the annual internal audit program endorsed by the DPS Audit Committee and approved by the Secretary. The focus of the annual internal audit program is to assist the department in managing operational or financial risks and to provide assurance as to whether key projects, systems and governance structures are operating as intended. The implementation of recommendations from the internal audit program are regularly reported to the Executive Committee and the DPS Audit Committee. The internal audit work plan is reviewed for relevance and applicability by the DPS Audit Committee at the mid-year point, and any subsequent amendments are recommended to the Secretary for approval. The HIA also manages liaison with the ANAO as the external auditor.

Under its outsourced service delivery model, DPS has engaged KPMG to provide internal audit services. During 2017–18, the internal audit program was delivered in line with the annual internal audit plan.

Our planning and reporting framework

DPS continues to strengthen its internal planning, processes and controls to support broader corporate planning requirements.

In accordance with the PGPA Act, DPS develops a corporate plan, outlining our purpose and providing clear direction on how we intend to achieve that purpose.

The 2017–18 Corporate Plan is based on the commitments DPS made in the Portfolio Budget Statement (PBS) for 2017–18, including performance criteria, performance measures and targets. The 2017–18 Corporate Plan is aligned with the 2017–18 PBS through DPS’ outcome statement, objectives and deliverables.

The corporate plan is underpinned by branch business plans, outlining how each branch will contribute to the achievement of DPS’ purpose. These key documents are then linked to individual work plans, which clearly articulate expectations of managers in contributing to the achievement of our purpose in the corporate plan.

DPS has developed a 2018–19 Corporate Plan to guide our work for the coming financial year.

Figure 12: DPS Framework Overview

How to manage risks

It is important that DPS has a strong risk management framework. We are committed to an environment where all employees understand, and are able to successfully manage risk. As DPS is faced with a constantly changing and challenging environment, it is vital that staff continue to identify and engage with risk.

Collectively, the set of policies, processes and structures through which DPS manages risk is called the DPS Risk Management Framework (see Figure 13). It enables DPS to demonstrate that a systematic and comprehensive process is in place to ensure that DPS manages risks effectively. The DPS Risk Management Policy and DPS Risk Management Toolkit continues to be promoted throughout DPS.

The People and Governance Branch supports staff in managing risks across DPS including enterprise, fraud, operational and specialist risks.

Figure 13: DPS Risk Management Framework

Enterprise and fraud risks

Following a review of enterprise and fraud risks in November 2017, the Enterprise and Fraud Risk Treatment Plans have been managed through an executive reporting process. This process includes the Risk and Business Continuity Management Forum in which members work with treatment owners to provide quarterly updates to the Executive Committee on the progress of enterprise and fraud risk treatments.

In 2017, DPS conducted the biennial review of our enterprise and fraud risks, in line with the DPS Risk Management Policy and Framework.

Operational risks

During each branch business planning cycle a risk assessment is integrated into the planning process to ensure that risk management is embedded in business as usual activities and to further build risk management capability within DPS.

Risk and Business Continuity Management Forum

The Risk and Business Continuity Management Forum, established in November 2015, meets quarterly, aligned with quarterly risk reporting to the Executive Committee. The forum is chaired by a DPS SES officer and has members from across the department. The forum is designed to support the ongoing development of DPS’ risk and business continuity management practices.

Comcover Risk Management Benchmarking Survey

DPS participated in the Comcover 2018 Risk Management Benchmarking Survey. This survey measures Commonwealth agencies’ risk management capability maturity over the nine elements contained in the Commonwealth Risk Management Policy. DPS achieved an overall maturity rating of ‘Advanced’, which is consistent with the result achieved in 2017.

Business Continuity Management

Throughout 2017–18, DPS progressed implementation of the Business Continuity Management framework, including:

• facilitating exercises, including desktop exercises and the annual testing of the Strategic Response and Tactical Response, involving the department’s senior executive and observers from the other parliamentary departments
• updating the Business Continuity Management Policy and Framework, Strategic Executive Response Plan and Tactical Executive Response Plan to incorporate learnings from the exercises
• reviewing the Crisis Communications Framework for communicating with stakeholders during a business disruption, and
• continued development of individual business procedures and other associated documents.

In 2018–19, DPS plans to further develop its Business Continuity Management framework through a program of exercises and continuous improvement.

How to prevent fraud

DPS is committed to ensuring compliance with section 10 of the PGPA Rule.

The department’s established fraud control framework was developed in accordance with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Framework 2017 and is reviewed every two years.

The Fraud Control Plan 2017–19 provides the framework for detecting, reporting, and investigating fraud within the department.

Fraud awareness training is available on the DPS Learning Management system.

In 2017–18 DPS undertook a number of activities related to fraud control, including biannual fraud risk assessments, updating the DPS Fraud Policy and mandating the frequency which all DPS staff are required to complete fraud awareness training. This change in policy will remind staff of their obligations and strengthen DPS fraud control across the department.

As at 30 June 2018, a total of 903 (90 per cent) of DPS staff had completed their training. In 2017–18, 761 DPS staff completed this training.

Ethical standards and behaviours

DPS is committed to the standards of integrity, good governance and ethical practices set out in the PS Act and the Parliamentary Service Values, Employment Principles, and Code of Conduct.

DPS takes all alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct seriously and manages these in accordance with best practice. The majority of complaints received were handled through local management action or preliminary investigation. The department finalised three Code of Conduct investigations during 2017–18, resulting in the determination of three breaches of the Code of Conduct.

Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013

The Commonwealth’s Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (PID Act) promotes integrity and accountability in the Australian public sector by encouraging the disclosure of information about suspected wrongdoing, protecting people who make disclosures, and requiring departments and entities to take action.

DPS continues to provide readily accessible information to staff about the PID Act, including links to information provided by the Commonwealth Ombudsman, available via the department’s intranet.

In 2017–18 there were four DPS Authorised Officers approved to handle public interest disclosures.

Statement of significant non-compliance with the finance law

In 2017–18, DPS did not report any significant issues to the Presiding Officers under paragraph 19(1)(e) of the PGPA Act that related to non-compliance with the finance law in relation to DPS.