Chapter 1Introduction

1.1This is the first report on annual reports for 2023 of the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee (the committee). It provides an overview of selected annual reports of agencies within the allocated portfolios tabled in the Senate between 1 May and 31 October 2022.

Terms of reference

1.2Under Senate Standing Order 25(20), the annual reports of certain departments and agencies are referred to the committee for examination and assessment. The committee is required to:

(a)Examine each annual report referred to it and report to the Senate whether the report is apparently satisfactory;

(b)Consider in more detail, and report to the Senate on, each annual report which is not apparently satisfactory, and on the other annual reports which it selects for more detailed consideration;

(c)Investigate and report to the Senate on any lateness in the presentation of annual reports;

(d)In considering an annual report, take into account any relevant remarks about the report made in debate in the Senate;

(e)If the committee so determines, consider annual reports of departments and budget-related agencies in conjunction with examination of estimates;

(f)Report on annual reports tabled by 31 October each year by the tenth sitting day of the following year, and on annual reports tabled by 30 April each year by the tenth sitting day after 30 June of that year;

(g)Draw to the attention of the Senate any significant matters relating to the operations and performance of the bodies furnishing the annual reports; and

(h)Report to the Senate each year whether there are any bodies which do not present annual reports to the Senate and which should present such reports.

Purpose of annual reports

1.3The tabling and scrutiny of annual reports by Senate committees under Standing Order 25(20) is an important element in the process of government accountability to the Parliament. The information provided in annual reports is placed on the public record and assists the Parliament in its examination of the performance of departments and agencies and the administration of government programs.

Portfolio coverage

1.4In accordance with the resolutions of the Senate on 13 February 2020 and 12 May 2021, the committee is responsible for the examination of the expenditure and outcomes of the following portfolio:

Education, Skills and Employment, including Industrial Relations.[1]

1.5Since the change of government in 2022, the committee's portfolio coverage has been amended. In accordance with resolutions of the Senate on 27 July 2022, the committee is now responsible for the examination of the expenditure and outcomes of the following portfolios:

Education; and

Employment and Workplace Relations.[2]

Machinery of Government changes

1.6Following Machinery of Government (MoG) changes which commenced on 1July 2022, the Department of Education, Skills and Employment was renamed the Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations was established.[3]

1.7The Administrative Arrangements Order (AAO) made on 23 June 2022, specified that the matters dealt with by the Department of Education include education, youth, and early childhood education and care, and the matters dealt with by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations include employment, skills and vocational education, and training and workplace relations.[4]

1.8Given the committee is required to examine annual reports developed for the 2021–22 financial year, this report considers the portfolios as they were prior to 1July2022.

Annual reporting requirements

1.9Annual reporting requirements for non-corporate and corporate Commonwealth entities are set out in section 46 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act). Annual reporting requirements for Commonwealth companies can be found in section 97 of the PGPA Act.

1.10The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule), established under the PGPA Act, details the requirements for corporate plans and annual performance statements. Specifically, sections 16E and 16F for Commonwealth entities and section 27A for Commonwealth companies.

1.11In addition to legislative requirements, the Department of Finance (Finance) provides Resource Management Guides (RMGs) for Commonwealth entities which provide further detail on the content requirements for annual reports under the Commonwealth Performance Framework.[5] Material available from the Finance website includes the following guides which apply to the reports being examined:

Annual performance statements for Commonwealth entities: Resource Management Guide No. 134;

Annual reports for non-corporate Commonwealth entities: Resource Management Guide No. 135;

Annual reports for corporate Commonwealth entities: Resource Management Guide No. 136;

Annual reports for Commonwealth companies: Resource Management Guide No.137;

Commonwealth entities Executive Remuneration Reporting Guide for Annual Reports: Resource Management Guide No. 138; and

Commonwealth companies Executive Remuneration Reporting Guide for Annual Reports: Resource Management Guide No. 139.[6]

PGPA Act bodies

1.12The PGPA Act categorises bodies as Commonwealth entities and Commonwealth companies as detailed below:

Non-corporate Commonwealth entity—an entity that is legally and financially part of the Commonwealth, and includes departments of state, parliamentary departments, statutory authorities, and listed entities (a body, person, group of persons or organisation that is prescribed by rules made under the PGPA Act);[7]

Corporate Commonwealth entity—a body corporate that has a separate legal personality from the Commonwealth and includes certain statutory authorities. It can act in its own right to exercise certain legal rights such as entering into contracts and owning property;[8] and

Commonwealth company—a company established by the Commonwealth under the Corporations Act 2001 that is controlled by the Commonwealth.[9]

Reports examined

1.13In accordance with Standing Order 25(20)(f), the committee is required to report on annual reports tabled by 31 October each year by the tenth sitting day of the following year. This year that date is 21 March 2023. The committee examined annual reports of departments and agencies for the 2021–22 reporting period. The annual reports examined in this report are categorised as follows:

Non-corporate Commonwealth entities

Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency;

Attorney General's Department (Outcome 2);

Australian Building and Construction Commission;

Australian Research Council;

Australian Skills Quality Authority;

Department of Education, Skills and Employment;

Fair Work Commission;

Fair Work Ombudsman and Registered Organisations Commission Entity;

Seafarers Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Authority;

Safe Work Australia; and

Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Authority.

Corporate Commonwealth Entities

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority;

Australian National University;

Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave Funding) Corporation; and

Comcare and Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission.

Commonwealth companies

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership.

Reports not examined

1.14The committee is not obliged to report on Acts, statements of corporate intent, surveys, policy papers, budget documents or corporate plans. Where a report is referred to two standing committees, the committee has deferred examination of those reports to the committee which has primary oversight of the portfolio where the department or agency sits. Accordingly, the following document was not examined for the purposes of this report:

Australian Building and Construction Commission – Performance of the functions and the exercise of powers of the Australian Building and Construction Commission – Quarterly report for the period 1 January to 31March 2022.

Timeliness

1.15As part of its review of annual reports, the committee is required to investigate and report on any lateness in the presentation of annual reports.[10] In assessing the timeliness of the presentation of annual reports, the committee assesses the presentation against the requirements of the PGPA Act, the PGPA Rule, and other legislative requirements.

Presentation to ministers

1.16Section 46 of the PGPA Act requires Commonwealth entities, both corporate and non-corporate, to prepare annual reports and for such reports to be provided to the responsible Minister by the fifteenth day of the fourth month after the end of the reporting period for the entity. Certain agencies, however, may have a specific date stipulated by their enabling legislation.[11]

1.17For Commonwealth companies, the deadline for providing the report to the responsible Minister is stipulated under section 97 of the PGPA Act, namely four months after the end of the company's reporting period.

1.18All annual reports requiring examination by the committee were presented to the relevant Ministers in a timely manner by the due date of 15 October 2022.

Tabling in Parliament

1.19According to the Finance RMGs, entities are expected to table their annual reports prior to Senate estimates hearings held in October.[12] The committee encourages Commonwealth entities to table their annual reports prior to those hearings in order to assist the committee's scrutiny of estimates.

1.20Appendix 1 includes information regarding the date each annual report was:

submitted to the responsible Minister;

received by the responsible Minister; and

tabled (or presented) in both Houses of Parliament.

1.21All entities, except for the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), tabled their annual reports by the deadline of 31 October. The late tabling of the annual report from the ABCC is disappointing given that the report was submitted to and received by the Minister by the required date of 15 October 2022.

Senate debate

1.22Senate Standing Order 25(20)(d) requires the committee to take into account any relevant remarks about the reports made in debate in the Senate. The committee notes that none of the annual reports examined in this report have been the subject of comments or debates in the Senate.

Bodies not presenting annual reports to the Senate

1.23In accordance with Standing Order 25(20)(h) the committee is required to report to the Senate on whether there are any bodies which should have presented an annual report to the Senate but did not. The committee is satisfied that all required bodies have presented their annual reports.

Method of assessment and general comments on reports

1.24Senate Standing Order 25(20)(a) requires the committee to examine the annual reports referred to it to determine whether they are timely and 'apparently satisfactory'. In making this assessment, the committee considers whether the reports comply with relevant requirements.

1.25All reports presented to the committee by departments and agencies met the requirements specified in the relevant PGPA Rule.[13] Accordingly, the committee considers all reports to be 'apparently satisfactory' for the 2021–22 reporting period.

1.26However, the committees notes that some agencies had incorrect or incomplete page references in their compliance indexes. The committee also notes that some agencies indicated large page ranges, or chapters for some references. These agencies included:

Australian National University;

Department of Education, Skills and Employment;

Fair Work Commission;

Fair Work Ombudsman and Registered Organisations Commission Entity;

Seafarers Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Authority; and

Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Authority.

1.27The committee considers that providing accurate page references for all relevant PGPA Rule requirements will improve the overall accessibility of agency annual reports with respect to their compliance reporting.

1.28The committee suggests that all agencies of the portfolio ensure that future compliance indexes are accurate and complete, in line with the PGPA Act and Rule requirements.

Report Structure

1.29This report is structured in two chapters as follows:

Chapter 1 – Introduction; and

Chapter 2 – Review of selected reports..

1.30Annual reports and other documents tabled in the Senate after 31 October 2022 will be discussed in the committee's next report on annual reports.

Footnotes

[1]Journals of the Senate, No. 42, 13 February 2020, p. 1368; Journals of the Senate, No. 98, 12 May 2021, p. 3445.

[2]Journals of the Senate, No. 2, 27 July 2022, p. 73.

[3]Department of Education, Skills and Employment, Annual Report 2021–22, p. iii.

[4]Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Administrative Arrangements Order made on 23 June 2022, https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/resource/download/aao-23-june-2022.pdf (accessed 3 March 2023).

[5]Department of Finance, List of Resource Management Guides, https://www.finance.gov.au/publications/resource-management-guides (accessed 14 February 2023).

[6]Available at: https://www.finance.gov.au/publications/resource-management-guides (accessed 14 February 2023).

[7]Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, s. 11(b).

[8]Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, s. 11(a).

[9]Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, s. 89(1).

[10]Standing Order 25(20)(c).

[11]Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014, s. 46.

[12]Department of Finance, Annual reports for Commonwealth companies: Resource Management Guide No. 137, p. 9; Department of Finance, Annual reports for corporate Commonwealth Entities: Resource Management Guide No. 136, p. 7; Department of Finance, Annual reports for non-corporate Commonwealth Entities: Resource Management Guide No. 135, p. 8. Resource Management Guides are available at: https://www.finance.gov.au/publications/resource-management-guides

[13]For non-corporate Commonwealth entities see PGPA Rule, subdivision 3A(A); for corporate Commonwealth entities see subdivision 3A(B); for Commonwealth companies see PGPA Rule Part 3-3.