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 reflects 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.³⁶ 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).

The Library is also subject to scrutiny by the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee as part of regular Senate estimates hearings.

Our governance structure for the reporting period is set out in Figure 20. It contains two streams: committees and boards advising the Presiding Officers; and committees and meetings advising the Secretary.

Details of Accountable Authority during the reporting period Current Report Period (2018–19)

Table 31: 17AE (1)(aa) (i)–(iii)—Accountable Authority

		Period as the accountable authority or member
Name	Position Title/ Position held	Date of Commencement	Date of cessation
Rob Stefanic	Secretary DPS	December 2015	N/A

Figure 20: DPS Governance Structure

Committees advising the Presiding Officers

The information below shows committee membership at 30 June 2019 and activity for the year.

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 2018–19.

Joint Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Library (JSCPL)

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

Parliamentary Information and Communication Technology Advisory Board (PICTAB)

The role of PICTAB is to provide advice and guidance on:

• the delivery of the Australian Parliament Digital Strategy 2019–2022
• the overall strategic objectives and required outcomes to the Chief Information Officer, and
• strategic ICT issues.

Chair: Secretary DPS

Members:

• three representatives each from the Government, Opposition and Crossbench, and
• one senior executive representative from the Department of the Senate, the Department of the House of Representatives, the Parliamentary Budget Office and the Parliamentary Service Commissioner.

Matters considered in 2018–19 included:

• the End User Workspace program to deliver an Office 365 and Windows 10 Cloud solution
• oversight of the new Australian Parliament Digital Strategy 2019–2022
• the creation of a Cyber Security Operations Centre in 2018–19, and
• parliamentary business ICT resources.

The board met four times in 2018–19.

Art Advisory Committee

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.

Co-Chairs: 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.

Matters considered in 2018–19 included:

• the purchase of 12 works of art
• 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 once during 2018–19.

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 2018–19, 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 DPS Executive Committee and the DPS Audit Committee.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee (EC) is the primary governance board for DPS. The EC considers the development and implementation of the DPS governance framework and associated strategies, including financial planning and budgeting, performance, risk management, business planning, design integrity, organisational issues, and any other matters relating to the management of the department delegated by the Secretary.

Chair: Secretary DPS

Members: Parliamentary Librarian (Parliamentary Library), Deputy Secretary, 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 EC meets fortnightly.

DPS Audit Committee

The DPS Audit Committee provides independent advice and assurance to the Secretary on the appropriateness of 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—reappointed 9 July 2018).

Members: Mr Allan Gaukroger (independent Deputy Chair—appointed in November 2018), Mr Richard Windeyer (Independent Member), Ms Leanne Tunningley, (DPS official—appointed in May 2019) and Mr Constantinos Sfyris (DPS Official— appointed in May 2019).

During 2018–19, the terms of four audit committee members ended: Ms Jenny Morison in September 2018, Mr Jonathan Curtis in March 2019 and Mr Paul Cooper on retirement in April 2019.

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 Security Officer, Chief Information Officer and Chief Finance Officer.

In 2018–19, the committee met five times, including a meeting to consider the department’s financial and performance statements. Table 32 shows the members’ attendance for 2018–19. ³⁷

Table 32: DPS Audit Committee attendance

Member	Meeting attendance
Mr Michael Harris—Chair	5/5
Mr Allan Gaukroger—Deputy Chair	3/3
Mr Richard Windeyer—independent member	3/5
Ms Leanne Tunningley—DPS Official	1/1
Mr Constantinos Sfyris—DPS Official	1/1
Ms Jenny Morison—Deputy Chair	2/2
Mr Paul Cooper—DPS official	2/4
Mr Jonathan Curtis—DPS official	3/4

Coordination between Parliamentary Departments

Parliamentary Department Heads

The Parliamentary Department Heads meet on a quarterly basis to identify opportunities for collaboration, consideration and decision-making, strengthening the effectiveness of the parliamentary administration.

The Forum reflects a commitment by the parliamentary departments to work together to support our common purpose of supporting Australia’s Parliament and parliamentarians.

Chair: 12 month rotation

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

The group met four times during 2018–19.

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, and ensures that internal controls operate 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 operate as intended. The implementation of recommendations from the internal audit program is reported to the Executive Committee and the DPS Audit Committee regularly. 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 2018–19, 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 2018–19 Corporate Plan is based on the commitments DPS made in the Portfolio Budget Statement (PBS) for 2018–19, including performance criteria, performance measures and targets. The 2018–19 Corporate Plan is aligned with the 2018–19 PBS through DPS’ outcome statement, objectives and deliverables.

The corporate plan is underpinned by divisional and 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 2019–20 Corporate Plan to guide our work for the coming financial year.

Figure 21: DPS Framework Overview

How to manage risks

DPS improved its risk management capability in 2018–19 by maturing its risk appetite statement. This is supported by a risk management policy and framework, and associated risk templates and reference documents to help inform staff of their risk management obligations and to provide practical guidance to documenting risk appropriately. Elements that contribute to a positive risk culture that help us achieve our purpose are:

• Executive Committee support and drive the adoption of the DPS Risk Management Framework
• managers promote and implement the framework.
• benefits of risk management are well communicated
• analysis and innovation in the management of risk is encouraged in order to understand the benefits and risks of new activities, and
• risk management is integrated with other key processes and systems, including procurement, business planning and performance management, ensuring that risk management is part of everyday decision making.

Risk management underpins DPS’ strategic planning and business planning decision-making processes. Consideration of risk in planning and investment decisions provides a rational basis for determining future development priorities and allows DPS to be more responsive to risks and uncertainties, economic constraints and changing priorities, and to identify opportunities to leverage innovative approaches from stakeholders or whole-of-government initiatives.

Figure 22: DPS Risk Management Framework

Strategic risks and risk appetite

The strategic risks were revised as part of the annual risk management framework review. In February 2019 a new risk appetite statement was developed resulting in eight strategic risks. The strategic risks articulate the key risks DPS faces that could impact on our ability to achieve our purpose, strategic themes and objectives. The strategic risks are identified and managed by senior officers, with ownership of the risks at the DPS Executive Committee level.

The risk appetite statement articulates the amount and type of risks DPS is willing to accept to achieve our objectives. It supports a shared understanding of our attitude to risk taking, both within DPS and with our stakeholders to enable informed and transparent decision-making.

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.

Comcover Risk Management Benchmarking Survey

DPS participated in the Comcover 2019 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 2018.

Business Continuity Management

Throughout 2018–19, DPS implemented the Business Continuity Management framework, including:

• updating the Business Continuity Management Policy and Framework, Strategic Executive Response Plan and Tactical Executive Response Plan to incorporate learnings from the exercises
• facilitating exercises, including desktop exercises in conjunction with other parliamentary departments, and
• continued development of individual business recovery procedures and other associated documents.

In 2019–20, DPS will progress the work plan developed as part of the Business Continuity Management Framework and continue engagement with other parliamentary departments and stakeholders.

How to prevent fraud

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

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

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

Fraud awareness training is available on the DPS Learning Management system. As at 30 June 2019, 97 per cent of DPS staff had completed this training.

In 2018–19, DPS undertook a number of activities related to fraud control, including reviewing fraud risks and undertaking the biennial fraud risk assessment and updating the DPS Fraud and Corruption Control Framework.

In 2018–19, no fraud investigations were undertaken and seven potential fraud incidents were reported to the fraud control officer. In three of the reports, the allegations were substantiated and those matters were treated administratively. For the remaining four reports, the allegations were not substantiated and no further action was required.

Ethical standards and behaviours

DPS is committed to the standards of integrity, good governance and ethical practices reflected in the Parliamentary Service Act 1999.

DPS takes all alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct seriously and manages these in accordance with its policies. The majority of complaints received were handled through local management action or preliminary investigation. The department finalised three Code of Conduct investigations during 2018–19, 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 website.

In 2018–19, there were four DPS appointed Authorised Officers approved to handle public interest disclosures.

Statement of significant non-compliance with the finance law

In 2018–19, 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.