Chapter 2Review of selected reports
2.1Standing Order 25(20)(b) provides for the committee to consider selected annual reports in more detail. This chapter examines the following reports:
Education
Department of Education;
Australian Research Council; and
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Limited.
Employment and Workplace Relations
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations;
Fair Work Commission; and
Safe Work Australia.
Education portfolio
Department of Education
2.2The 2022-23 Annual Report for the Department of Education (the department) was tabled in the Senate on 20 October 2023.
2.3In the secretary’s review, Mr Tony Cook PSM, noted the department’s ability to now concentrate on the education elements of lifelong learning following the machinery of government changes:
On 1 July 2022 the Department of Education commenced in its current form following machinery of government changes. Now focused on the education elements of lifelong learning – from early childhood, through schooling and into higher education and research – this enabled the department to concentrate its efforts on education policy, including major independent reviews to inform the future of education, applying a holistic approach to policy development and implementation.
2.4Mr Cook also noted the establishment of three major independent reviews into the early childhood education and care, schools, and higher education sector of the education portfolio:
These reviews will assist the department with major policy thinking and development, and put us in a strong position to meet the challenges of education reform in Australia.
2.5Mr Cook reflected on some of the department’s significant achievements in increasing access and equity in the education sector such as the development and passage of legislation that increased the Child Care Subsidy and the delivering of the government’s election commitment for 20,000 additional Commonwealth supported places commencing in 2023 and 2024.
2.6Mr Cook also reported on the department’s other key areas of work for the reporting period, which included:
The development and establishment of the Office for Youth to support the contribution of young people to advocacy, improve and harmonise government policy and ensure effective communication with young people;
The support provided to the Australian Universities Accord Panel’s release of a discussion paper, which received over 300 submissions;
Supported the expert panel for the Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System;
Formation of a Teacher Education Expert Panel;
Establishment of the National Student Wellbeing Program which provides recurrent funding to states and territories to hire either a student wellbeing officer or a chaplain to support school students and school communities;
The delivery of the Student Wellbeing Boost one-off funding to help schools respond to the impact of COVID-19;
Formation of a new Workforce Taskforce to provide policy advice on the early childhood education and care sector;
Leading the ongoing implementation of the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan;
Implementation of the new National Industry PhD Program; and
Implementation of the Schools Unique Student Identifier for school students.
Performance reporting
2.7As outlined in its 2022-23 varied corporate plan, the department’s purpose is:
…to contribute to Australia’s economic prosperity and social wellbeing by creating opportunities and driving better outcomes through access to quality education.
2.8The department measures its performance on delivering its purpose by reporting against two outcomes and twelve programs. The outcomes are:
Outcome 1 – Improved early learning, schooling, student educational outcomes and transitions to and from school through access to quality child care, support, parent engagement, quality teaching and learning environments.
Outcome 2 – Promote growth in economic productivity and social wellbeing through access to quality higher education, international education, and international quality research.
2.9The department stated that it refined its performance reporting measures, particularly assurances to support data quality. This was done to reinforce the 'department’s commitment to quality performance reporting'.
2.10Over the reporting period, changes to measures fell into three key areas:
Changes to data sourcing to ensure sources of information were reliable and verifiable;
Changes to performance measure wording to align with the methodology and scope of the measure; and
Changes to methodology wording to ensure alignment with the data source.
2.11Further, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) conducted an audit of the then Department of Education Skills and Employment (DESE) 2021-22 Annual Performance Statements. The ANAO found that DESE had not verified the third-party data used to report on performance measure PM023. As such, this performance measure did not meet the PGPA Rule requirements and the department will no longer report on this measure.
2.12Under the two outcomes, the department measures its performance against 25 performance targets. The results for the performance targets under each outcome were:
Outcome 1: out of the 11 performance targets, four were achieved, two were on track and five were not on track.
Outcome 2: out of the 14 performance targets, 10 were achieved, three were not achieved and one is the measure that they no longer report on as per the above.
2.13The committee notes that out of the four performance measures relating to NAPLAN, three of them are not on track to be met, both in the previous and current reporting periods. The department noted that restrictions introduced to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and declining rates of school attendance in 2022 may have had an impact on the NAPLAN results. The committee looks forward to reviewing the results in the next reporting period and encourages the department to work towards getting these performance measure on track.
2.14The committee commends the department on achieving majority of the 14 performance measures under Outcome 2. The committee notes that the proportion of the 25 to 34 year-old population with a tertiary qualification and the proportion of undergraduates who are employed within 4 to 6 months of completing a degree has improved from the previous reporting period. These measures are important to address the current skills needs in the Australian economy.
Financial reporting
2.15For this reporting period the department reported a net accounting loss of $8.1 million after adjusting for unfunded expenses. As at June 2023, the department reported a net asset position of $117.2 million, which the department noted as reflecting a 'sound financial position'. In the department’s (then known as DESE) annual report for the 2021-22 reporting period, it recorded a small surplus of $1.8 million.
2.16In the 2022-23 reporting period the department administered 12 programs with expenses including $11.1 billion in childcare personal benefits and $37.9 billion in funding for national support for schools and higher education institutions. The budget for the education portfolio provided record funding for early childhood education and care through the Government’s $4.5 billion Cheaper Child Care plan.
2.17Overall, the committee considers that the department has met the reporting requirements and its 2022-23 annual report is 'apparently satisfactory'.
Australian Research Council
2.18The Australian Research Council (ARC) is a non-corporate Commonwealth company established as an independent body under the Australian Research Council Act 2001. ARC tabled its annual report in the House and the Senate on 18 October 2023.
2.19The Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO), Ms Judi Zielke PSM, reflected on the ARC’s achievements and significant events that occurred in the reporting period. The review noted that 'it is, and will continue to be for some time, an exciting period of renewal for the agency'.
2.20The ARC’s key areas of work for the 2022-23 reporting period included:
Completing the first round of the new Industry Fellowships Program, which will provide $215 million over four years to support 332 Industry Fellows;
Engaging in a comprehensive reform agenda guided by the ARC Strategy 2022-2025 (ARC Strategy);
The Minister for Education issued a Statement of Expectations to the ARC, which the CEO responded to with a Statement of Intent with commitments consistent with the goals of the ARC Strategy;
Commissioning an independent assessment of the ARC’s National Competitive Grants Program;
Participating in cross-government committees such as the Australian Universities Accord and the Chief Scientist’s Open Access Advisory Group;
Contributing to the Australian Government’s National Quantum Strategy;
Making significant changes to the National Interest Test which were received positively by the research sector;
Completing a major desktop review of national and international peer review practices across 12 major research granting agencies, and an evaluation of ARC’s current peer review processes; and
Officially launching the ARC’s Research Hubs, Training Centres and ARC Centres of Excellence that had received funding in the 2020 and 2021 rounds but were delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Performance reporting
2.21The ARC’s purpose as outlined in its corporate plan is:
To help shape the Australian research system for the benefit of the nation by enabling world-leading research, fostering research quality, impact and translation, and safeguarding research integrity.
2.22The ARC measures its achievements against its purpose under one outcome which delivers three programs:
Outcome 1: Growth of knowledge and innovation through managing research funding schemes, measuring research excellence and providing advice.
Program 1.1: Discovery – Research and Research Training
Program 1.2: Linkage – Cross sector research partnerships
Program 1.3: Excellence in Research for Australia.
2.23Under the three programs there are eight performance measures. In this reporting period, four were achieved, two were not achieved and two were assessed as no longer applicable.
2.24Performance measures six and seven were the measures that were assessed as being no longer applicable during this reporting period by ARC.
2.25Performance measures six and seven, respectively, measure the use of Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) program data and Engagement and Impact (EI) program data 'to inform and support the needs of Australian universities and the Australian Government'. The Minister for Education, The Hon. Jason Clare MP, made a decision to pause the 2023 ERA and 2024 EI rounds due to concerns over the administrative burden of this process. As such, these performance measures were not applicable for this reporting period.
2.26The two performance measures that were not achieved were performance measures one and eight. Performance measure one assesses the percentage of ARC schemes to be completed in time to meet ARC published time frames. This measure is a revised measure and 2022-23 is the first period it has been measured and reported on. The target is to reach 100% to be considered ‘achieved’. For this reporting period, the ARC reached a total of 93.3%, or 14 out of 15, scheme rounds announced on time.
2.27The committee commends the ARC on its improvement and looks forward to reviewing the results for this measure in future reporting periods.
2.28Performance measure eight was also assessed as not being achieved. This performance measure assesses the percentage of research integrity investigation outcomes actioned on time. The target is for more than 90 per cent of investigation outcomes to be actioned on time. For this reporting period, only 57.5 per cent were actioned on time. The ARC noted that it became clear in this reporting period that this target did not consider factors such as key staff availability, public holidays and shutdown periods. The ARC has subsequently reviewed this performance measure ahead of its inclusion in the 2023-24 Corporate Plan and has revised the target to be 'less than or equal to an average of 30 working days'. The committee looks forward to reviewing the results for this revised performance measure in ARC’s 2023-24 annual report.
Financial reporting
2.29For the 2022-23 reporting period, the ARC’s total appropriated resources were $866.7 million. The ARC recorded an operating deficit of $3.0 million compared to the October 2022-23 budget position of an operating deficit of $3.5 million.
2.30Figure 2.1 below shows the ARC’s financial performance from 2018-19 to 2023-24. The table shows that ARC’s total expenses consistently outspend its total income for each reporting period.
Figure 2.1Australian Research Council financial performance
Source: Australian Research Council, Annual report 2022-23, p. 70.
2.31Overall, the committee considers ARC’s annual report to be 'apparently satisfactory'.
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Limited
2.32The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Limited (AITSL) is a Commonwealth company that commenced operations in January 2010. AITSL tabled its annual report in the Senate on 24 October 2023.
2.33The Board Chair, Melbourne Laureate Professor Emeritus John Hattie, reflected on the fact that this would be the last annual report he presents as his tenure ended on 30 June 2023:
It is with mixed emotions that I present the 2022–23 Annual Report of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL)… The first time I presented an AITSL Annual Report was in 2014, only one year after the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers had been implemented by all states and territories as part of a nationally consistent approach to teacher registration. Since then, the Standards have been the jumping-off point for many evidence-based tools and resources, including hundreds of Illustrations of Practice. What a journey it has been.
AITSL has spent the past decade focused on the areas where it makes the most impact.
2.34Dr Michelle Bruniges AM, former secretary of the Department of Education, has been appointed to the role as Board Chair.
2.35The Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mark Grant PSM, reflected on the past year and the achievements of AITSL in this reporting period:
It is a privilege to reflect on another remarkable year for the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). It has been one full of challenge and opportunity, and I am excited for the year ahead and what’s in store for AITSL and the teaching profession.
2.36AITSL key areas of work and achievements for this reporting period included:
Agreement by all nine Education Ministers to a National Teacher Workforce Action Plan;
Release of evidence-informed tools and resources for teachers and leaders;
Held the Highly Accomplished and Lead teacher (HALT) Summit in Melbourne for the first time which gathered almost 500 expert teachers;
Celebrated 2022 World Teachers’ Day campaign, with the theme Hats Off to Teachers; and
Saw an increase of 20 per cent in audience growth across its social media channels and an increase of 10,000 subscribers to its e-newsletter.
Performance reporting
2.37AITSL’s vision and mission statements, respectively, are:
Australia has a high-quality education system in which teachers and leaders have the greatest impact on the educational growth and achievement of every learner.
Promoting excellence so that teachers and leaders have the maximum impact on learning in all Australian schools and early childhood settings.
2.38AITSL measures its performance on achieving its vision and mission against five strategic priorities as set out in its 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. These strategic priorities and their targets are:
Shaping expertise – Awareness, use and perception of national Standards by teachers and leaders throughout Australia, as measured through a biennial stakeholder survey.
Target: Education professionals within all systems and sectors maintain high levels of awareness (80%+), use (80%+), and perceived benefit (7/10+) of national Standards.
Influencing expertise – Consultation with Key Partners in the development of resources, and adoption of national frameworks by education professionals, as well as perceived usefulness of tools, as measured through a biennial stakeholder survey.
Target: Key Partners from all jurisdictions participate in the development of resources, and education professionals maintain high levels of awareness of nationally informed frameworks (70%) and high perceptions of the usefulness (7/10+) of tools.
Enhancing expertise – AITSL delivers high-quality, practical and evidence-based tools and resources, as measured through monitoring program of work outputs.
Target: Successful delivery of all tools and resources in accordance with AITSL’s annual workplan (100%).
Esteeming expertise – Perception of AITSL’s role in supporting and recognising the profession, as measured through a biennial stakeholder survey and website analytics.
Target: Education professionals across Australia have high levels of familiarity (80%+), positive attitudes towards, and engagement with AITSL.
Supporting expertise – Employee perceptions of AITSL’s culture as measured through a yearly engagement survey.
AITSL employees are highly engaged and perceive a positive culture, one that is adaptive, inclusive, and culturally safe.
2.39In this reporting period, AITSL achieved all five of its performance targets under its Strategic Priorities. The committee commends AITSL on successfully meeting all five of its targets.
2.40Under its 'Enhancing expertise' priority, AITSL continued to work with jurisdictions and the Certifying Authorities Network to support national teacher certification, which recognises expert teaching practice. From 1 July to 31 December 2022, 157 Australian teachers achieved national certification, increasing the cumulative total to 1,211 certified teachers across Australia. The committee is pleased to see the number of certified Highly Accomplished and Lead teachers growing.
2.41To continue to improve its certification process for HALT, AITSL conducted a consultation-based review, with a view to reduce the administrative burden on applicants, whilst maintaining the rigour of the certification process. Following the review, in December 2022, the Education Ministers Meeting gave in-principle support for the development of a Framework for certification to replace the national certification policy. The draft Framework was due to be considered by Education Ministers in July 2023. The committee commends AITSL on this important work for HALT.
2.42Under its ‘Esteeming expertise’ strategic priority, AITSL reported high engagement and ‘positive attitudes’ towards AITSL in this reporting period. The results showed that Australian teachers continued to use tools and resources provided by AITSL. The In the Classroom resource had 40,667 viewers and the Illustrations of Practice was viewed 330,197 times.
Financial reporting
2.43In 2022–23, AITSL received $8.309 million in budgeted funding from the Australian Government. Its total budgeted income for this reporting period was $12.814 million. Out of the original budget, AITSL recorded a deficit of $3.358 million out of the original allocated budget.This is compared to the previous financial year, where AITSL did not report either a surplus or a deficit out of $14.148 million in total budgeted income.
2.44Overall, the committee considers AITSL’s 2022-23 annual report to be 'apparently satisfactory'.
Employment and Workplace Relations Portfolio
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
2.45The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) was established as a new Commonwealth entity on 1 July 2022. DEWR tabled its first annual report in the House and the Senate on 18 October 2023.
2.46The secretary, Ms Natalie James, reflected on DEWR’S key areas of work for this reporting period. These included:
Launching Workforce Australia which is a ‘new approach’ to employment services delivery;
The transition of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme from the Department of Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade;
Progressing reforms to the institutional framework for the skills system;
Supporting the establishment of Jobs and Skills Australia;
Establishing a national network of 10 industry owned and led Jobs and Skills Councils;
Partnering with states and territories to develop a new National Skills Agreement;
Implementing the Australian Government’s workplace relations reform agenda which included paid family and domestic violence leave, the Secure Jobs, Better Pay package, and protecting worker’s entitlements;
Assisting the Government in its engagement with the Fair Work Commission (FWC) and the courts, which included significant cases such as Qantas v TWU High Court appeal and the Aged Care Work Value Case in the FWC;
Working across government to inform the remit for the new Net Zero Economy Agency;
Introducing four additional Local Employment Facilitators to guide regional consultation and collaboration;
Worked across government to develop the roadmap for the Australian labour market set out in the Employment White Paper; and
Establishing a new departmental approach to embed the Priority Reforms for Closing the Gap, re-framing how to support and engage First Nations people and communities.
Performance reporting
2.47DEWR’s purpose is to 'support people to have safe, secure and well–paid work with the skills for a sustainable future'.
2.48DEWR has three outcomes which deliver four programs. These are:
Outcome 1: Foster a productive and competitive labour market through policies and programs that assist job seekers into work, including secure work, and meet employer and industry needs.
Program 1.1: Employment Services
Outcome 2: Promote growth in economic productivity and social wellbeing through access to quality skills and training.
Program 2.1: Building Skills and Capability
Program 2.2: VET Student Loans
Outcome 3: Facilitate jobs growth, including secure work, through policies and programs that promote fair, productive and safe workplaces.
Program 3.1: Workplace Support.
2.49As reported in DEWR’s 2022-23 Corporate Plan, DEWR assesses its performance to achieve its purpose by using 19 performance measures. For this reporting period, 15 were achieved and four were not achieved. DEWR noted that three of the four targets that were not achieved were related to the Workforce Australia performance measures. The last measure that was not achieved was related to a workplace relations measure.
2.50On 4 July 2022, Workforce Australia (WA) replaced Jobactive, the Australian Government’s previous employment service. The performance measures relating to WA were assessing the number of registered WA Digital Platform (WADP) users logging in to the platform, the number of employers that lodge a vacancy on the platform, and the proportion of WA Services participants that receive a service during any month.
2.51DEWR noted that some of the contributing factors to not achieving these performance measures may have been the decreased caseload since the transition to WA along with a strengthened labour market which resulted in fewer than expected participants needing to use online employment services. DEWR also noted that the transition period to WA affected the results for these performance measures.
2.52To improve on these performance measures in the next reporting period, DEWR has committed to continue promoting WA for individuals and employers through broadcast communication via social media channels, its website and newsroom, and also delivering webinars to employers and engaging with industry and business bodies to demonstrate the benefits of WADP. These measures will also be reviewed ahead of the 2024-25 Portfolio Budget Statements. The committee looks forward to seeing an improvement in these performance measures in the next reporting period.
2.53The committee commends DEWR on achieving all its other performance measures for the 2022-23 reporting period.
Financial reporting
2.54In 2022-23, DEWR reported an operating deficit on continuing operations of $84.4 million, against a budgeted deficit of $98.2 million. After adjusting for the net cash appropriation items of unfunded depreciation and amortisation as well as principal repayments of leased assets, the department reported a net deficit of $4.0 million against a budgeted deficit of nil. The deficit included additional costs of $5.4 million incurred implementing the Machinery of Government change that established DEWR.
2.55As of 30 June 2023, DEWR’s total equity is $542.3 million, $66.1 million higher than budgeted. This variance is a result of $35.4 million in equity injections and $28.2 million in departmental capital budget that transferred to DEWR during the Machinery of Government changes.
2.56Overall, the committee considers DEWR’s annual report for this reporting period to be 'apparently satisfactory'.
Fair Work Commission
2.57The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal and registered organisations regulator established by the Fair Work Act 2009. The FWC tabled its annual report in the House and the Senate on 18 October 2023.
2.58Mr Murray Furlong, General Manager of the FWC, reflected on the work achieved by FWC in this reporting period:
This year has been one of significant change for the Fair Work Commission. We have implemented substantial legislative reforms while also successfully achieving our key performance indicators and innovating across all areas of our operations.
2.59Mr Furlong also reflected on the key areas of work for the FWC. The significant achievements included:
Out of the 32,194 cases finalised in 2022-23, 50 per cent were finalised in under five weeks and 90 per cent in under 13 weeks;
The successful maintenance of an overall clearance rate for all cases of 102 per cent, surpassing the annual target of 95 per cent;
Dealing with significant major cases including the Aged Care Industry Work Value Case, which resulted in increasing wages for direct care workers in the aged care industry sector;
Acquiring additional functions after the passing of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act and implementing changes to existing powers and functions;
Welcoming Registered Organisations Commission (ROC) staff into the Registered Organisations Services Branch after the abolition of ROC on 6 March 2023;
Initiating an external review of the registered organisations governance and compliance functions;
Introducing of two new learning modules, Workplace sexual harassment and Preparing for an unfair dismissal conciliation, on the online learning portal;
Launching the Modern Awards Pay Database Application Programming Interface with more than 70 organisations registering accounts;
Launching a new online Form F2 (Unfair dismissal application);
Exploring new ways to optimise and embed online hearings; and
The appointment of the Hon Justice Adam Hatcher SC as President of the Commission.
Performance reporting
2.60FWC’s purpose is to 'support simple, fair and flexible workplace relations for employees and employers'.
2.61FWC measures its performance on achieving its purpose using 11 key performance indicators. These comprise six from its 2022–23 Corporate Plan and five from the 2023–24 Portfolio Budget Statements. These included the key activities and performance measures that had transferred with the functions of the Registered Organisations Commissioner to the General Manager of the Commission from 6 March 2023.
2.62The FWC measures its performance in its key activities using the below 11 key performance indicators:
Annual Wage Review to be completed to enable operative date of 1 July
Target: By 30 June 2023
Improve or maintain the median agreement approval time for agreements approved without undertakings
Target: 32 days
Median time taken to finalise conciliations in unfair dismissal applications
Target: Median of 34 days
User experience rating
Target: At least 75 per cent positive rating
Culture – level of employee engagement
Target: Equal to or better than the average for small agencies
Staff are offered an opportunity to experience work outside their usual role, participate in a cross-organisational project or be involved in a service improvement project
Target: At least 30 per cent
95 per cent of financial reports required to be lodged under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (RO Act)are assessed for compliance within the 40 working days
Target: 95 per cent
95 per cent of annual returns required to be lodged under the RO Act are assessed for compliance within 40 working days
Target: 95 per cent
Upon lodgement of prescribed information for an election, 95 per cent of lodgements are dealt with within 40 working days
Target: 95 per cent
Upon lodgement of an application for registration by an auditor, 95 per cent of applications are assessed within 40 working days
Target: 95 per cent
An annual Education Strategy will be published by 30 June each year outlining the education activities and resources that will be developed and delivered during the next financial year. A minimum of 95 per cent of the Education Strategy will be delivered during the financial year
Target: 95 per cent
2.63For this reporting period, FWC achieved all its performance targets. For 10 out of the 11 performance targets, the result exceeded the set target. For the performance measure relating to approving enterprise agreements, FWC exceeded the 2022-23 performance target by 20 days. This result is consistent with FWC’s performance in the previous reporting period, which was a median of 12 days to approve agreements without undertakings. The committee commends FWC on its consistency in meeting and exceeding its performance targets.
2.64The performance measure relating to user experience rating for dealing with disputes also exceeded its set target of 75 per cent, with a result of 82 per cent for this reporting period. FWC surveyed up to 1,102 parties to an unfair dismissal staff conciliation or general protections staff conference, and up to 574 Workplace Advice Service recipients. For survey participants relating to unfair dismissal cases, the results are based on:
survey participants agreeing that their conciliator was even-handed;
the case management process was shorter than expected; and
satisfaction with how FWC dealt with their case.
2.65For survey participants who utilised the Workplace Advice Service, the results are based on:
satisfaction with the service provided by FWC to arrange pro-bono legal advice consultation; and
that the Workplace Advice Service was easy to access.
2.66The results for this reporting period are consistent with previous reporting periods. The FWC notes that this represents its 'continued focus on delivering high-quality, fair and efficient services and enabling access to justice'.
Financial reporting
2.67As noted in the 2022-23 Portfolio Budget Statement for the Employment and Workplace Relations portfolio, FWC was budgeted for an operating loss of $3.7 million. For this reporting period, FWC reported an operating deficit of $4.175 million. FWC notes that this loss can be attributed to expenses of $4.513 million, which were not funded in line with the Australian Government’s net cash appropriation arrangements.
2.68The committee commends FWC on its work in this reporting period and considers its annual report 'apparently satisfactory'.
Safe Work Australia
2.69Safe Work Australia (SWA) is a non-corporate commonwealth entity established under the Safe Work Australia Act 2008 (Cth). SWA tabled its annual report in the House and the Senate on 17 October 2023.
2.70Ms Michelle Baxter PSM, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), reflected on her final annual report as CEO of SWA:
Looking back over the past decade, I am proud of the progress we have made in making Australian workplaces safer, reducing harm and supporting a safe return to work for injured workers.
When I started as CEO in 2013, Australia was at the beginning of our journey to harmonise work health and safety (WHS) laws. Ten years on, not only have all jurisdictions implemented the laws except Victoria but the WHS system itself is maturing. Through the development of balanced regulation, evidence-based national policy and tripartite cooperation, workers’ health and safety are better protected and persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) are empowered with the tools and guidance they need to meet their duties.
2.71Ms Baxter also reflected on some of the key areas of work for SWA in this reporting period. They included:
Opening public consultation on options for a prohibition on the use of engineered stone, which informed a report that was delivered to Work Health and Safety (WHS) ministers;
Updating frameworks to include express regulations on managing psychosocial risks;
The publication of a model Code of Practice on managing psychosocial hazards which provides practical guidance on the laws and how to comply with them;
Running a communication campaign on reducing the stigma associated with workers’ compensation; and
Launching of the new Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2023-2033.
Performance reporting
2.72SWA’s vision statement is:
Healthier, safer, and more productive workplaces through improvements to Australian work health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements.
2.73SWA measures its performance on achieving its vision using four performance criteria. These are listed below:
The agency delivers the activities agreed in the Operational Plan to the satisfaction of Safe Work Australia Members;
Reductions in the incidence of work-related death, injury, and illness through:
an improved and reformed work health and safety framework
increased work health and safety awareness
developing and maintaining an evidence base which informs policy and practice
reduced exposure to work related hazards causing injury and illness, and
improved quality of workplace controls
The agency collects, analyses and publishes WHS and workers’ compensation statistics and research reports; and
The agency develops and delivers accessible WHS and workers’ compensation information and guidance for Australian employers, small businesses, and workers.
2.74For this reporting period, SWA achieved three out of its four performance targets. The performance target that was not achieved was, however, listed as being on track to be achieved. This performance target related to reducing the incidence of work-related death, injury and illness. SWA measures its performance on this target by analysing the Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities dataset and the National Dataset for Compensation-based Statistics.
2.75Based on the latest data provided in SWA’s annual report, there continues to be a decrease in the number of traumatic injury fatalities, the incidence rate of serious claims, and the incidence rate of musculoskeletal claims. The committee recognises the importance of safe workplaces and looks forward to reviewing the results for this performance measure in the next reporting period.
2.76Performance criterion four, looks at the development and delivery of accessible WHS and workers’ compensation information and guidance for Australian employers, small businesses and workers. This performance measure was achieved for this reporting period. SWA listed a number of awareness-raising activities and major communication and education campaigns that it delivered in 2022-23. They included:
The Deliver Yourself Home Safely campaign which was launched in May 2023. The campaign provides practical information to influence positive WHS attitudes and behaviours amongst food delivery workers;
An awareness campaign to increase understanding of workers’ compensation stigma and what can be done to reduce it was launched in May 2023;
National Safe Work Month which aimed to build community awareness and knowledge of WHS. This reporting period it was conducted over a four week period in October 2022. The theme was ‘Know Safely, Work Safely’; and
World Day and Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 April 2023 raised awareness about the importance of WHS and honoured those who have died from work-related injury or illness.
2.77The committee commends SWA on its performance on meeting its performance targets in this reporting period.
Financial reporting
2.78In 2022-23, SWA reporting a net surplus of $1.26 million which is compared to a budgeted deficit of $0.77 million as reported in the 2022-23 Portfolio Budget Statements. SWA noted that this result is primarily driven by a 24 per cent underspend in supplier expenses due to a reduction in project expenditure.
2.79SWA noted that the financial position of SWA remains strong, with net assets of $21.94 million.
2.80Overall the committee considers SWA’s 2022-23 annual report apparently satisfactory.
General comments on other annual reports
Compliance indexes
2.81Annual reports are one of the principal accountability mechanisms of the PGPA Act, and the committee considers it vital that these documents be easily accessible and comprehensible for all readers. A compliance index (or list of requirements) is an important tool for accessibility.
2.82The PGPA Rule specifies a particular format for agencies to use when completing a compliance index. The committee encourages all agencies to avoid unnecessary deviation from this format, which it considers best practice.
2.83A compliance index should direct the reader to a specific page within an annual report in order to clearly indicate where a certain mandatory reporting requirement has been satisfied in accordance with the PGPA Rule.
2.84However, the committee notes that some compliance indexes instead contained references to whole sections, subsections or chapters within a report rather than providing a specific page reference. For example, Australian Skills Quality Authority and Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority either referenced whole sections or chapters of their annual reports rather than providing specific page references for each mandatory reporting requirement.
2.85The committee strongly urges all entities to provide specific and accurate page references for each requirement to enhance readability and ensure overall compliance with the PGPA Rule.
Apparently satisfactory
2.86As noted in Chapter 1, the committee has examined all reports of the Education and Employment and Workplace Relations portfolios as 'apparently satisfactory'.
2.87The committee anticipates that the matters identified in this report will be rectified in future annual reports.
Senator Tony Sheldon
Chair