Annual Report Australian Public Service Commissioner Annual Report 2004-05 Incorporating the Annual Report of the Merit Protection Commissioner 2004-05 (c) Commonwealth of Australia 2005 ISSN 1032 0350 ISBN 0 9757584 4 6 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth available from the: Commonwealth Copyright Administration Attorney-General's Department Robert Garran Offi ces National Circuit Canberra ACT 2600 www.ag.gov.au/cca AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONER LYNELLE BRIGGS The Honourable John Howard MP Prime Minister Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Dear Prime Minister In accordance with the provisions of section 44 of the Public Service Act 1999, I present to you my report for the financial year ending 30 June 2005. Incorporated with the report is the report of the Merit Protection Commissioner for the financial year ending 30 June 2005. The incorporated report of the Merit Protection Commissioner is published in accordance with the provisions of section 51 of the Public Service Act 1999. The Requirements for Annual Reports, approved by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, require that a copy of these reports be laid before each House of Parliament on or before 31 October in the year in which the report is given. I thank my staff in the Commission for continuing to provide high quality support to me in my role and high quality service to the Australian Public Service. I also thank our clients who continue to support us and provide valuable feedback that helps us to constantly improve our services to them. Yours sincerely Lynelle Briggs October 2005 iii GUIDE TO THE REPORT The Australian Public Service Commissioner' Annual Report 2004-05 is provided in accordance with the provisions of section 44 of the Public Service Act 1999 (the Act). It incorporates the Annual Report of the Merit Protection Commissioner who reports separately on his statutory responsibilities in part four of this report. To facilitate transparent reporting, the report has been constructed to reflect the Commission's outcomes-output structure. Part one Overview includes the Public Service Commissioner's Review and a Commission Overview. The Review is an executive summary of the principal developments affecting the Commission's work during the year and its more significant achievements. The Overview outlines the Commission's role, responsibilities, outcome and output structure, and organisational structure. Part two Performance review details our performance against each of the Commission's outputs. The price and performance information in part two covers the Commission as a whole. Pricing includes the work of the Merit Protection Commissioner to ensure comprehensive reporting of resource usage against the output structure. Part three Management and accountability section comments on the development and operation of the Commission's governance arrangements. Part four The Annual Report of the Merit Protection Commissioner is published in accordance with the provisions of section 51 of the Public Service Act 1999. Appendixes include additional information about the Commission as required for reporting. The Commission's Financial Statements are included at Appendix B. The report includes as Appendix C a statement as required under section 8(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982. The report can be found on the Internet at www.apsc.gov.au/annualreport. Readers with enquiries about the report or seeking additional information about the Commission should contact: Steve Tomlin Corporate Group Australian Public Service Commission Edmund Barton Building BARTON ACT 2600 Tel: 02 6272 4984 Fax: 02 6272 3542 Internet: www.apsc.gov.au Email: steve.tomlin@apsc.gov.au TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter of transmittal Guide to the report Part one-Overview Public Service Commissioner's review Commission overview Part two-Performance review Performance review Output 1: Policy and employment services Year highlight 1 Output 2: Leadership, learning and development Year highlight 2 Output 3: Organisational performance, promotion and support Year highlight 3 Output 4: Evaluation Year highlight 4 Year highlight 5 Output 5: Merit protection and other services Part three-Management and accountability Management and accountability Part four-Merit Protection Commissioner's annual report Appendixes Appendix A: Resources for the outcome Appendix B: Financial statements Appendix C: Freedom of information Appendix D: Publications and circulars, advertising and market research Appendix E: SES selection activities Appendix F: Delivery of service-wide development activities Appendix G: Staffing profile and equal employment opportunity Appendix H: Report on performance under the Commonwealth Disability Strategy Appendix I: Occupational health and safety Glossary Compliance index Index Figures and tables Figure 1: Commission organisational chart at 30 June 2005 Figure 2: Gazette lodgements 2003-04 and 2004-05 Figure 3: Participation in APS 1-6 development programmes Figure 4: Corporate governance framework Figure 5: Commission revenue Table 1: Summary of performance 2004-05 Table 2: Performance Information-Output 1.1.1-Provide advice and support to government Table 3: Main categories of Adviceline calls, 2004-05 Table 4: Performance Information-Output 1.2.1-Provide advice to agency heads Table 5: Performance Information-Output 1.2.2-Manage Commission responsibilities for SES engagements, promotions and terminations Table 6: Performance Information-Output 1.2.3-Manage international responsibilities Table 7: Performance Information-Output 1.2.4-Produce the Public Service Gazette Table 8: Performance Information-Output 1.2.5-Provide other employment-related services Table 9: Performance Information-Output 1.3.1-Provide other support services to the Commissioner Table 10: Leadership Development Network, attendance, 2003-05 Table 11: Performance information-Output component 2.1.1-Promote effective leadership in the APS Table 12: Attendance at SES breakfasts, 2002-05 Table 13: Programmes most in demand through consultancy services, 2004-05 Table 14: Performance information-Output component 2.1.2-Provide service-wide leadership development and other learning and development services Table 15: Performance Information-Output 3.1.1-Provide advice to government Table 16: Performance Information-Output 3.2.1-Promote better practice governance Table 17: Performance Information-Output 3.2.2- Promote the APS Values and Code of Conduct Table 18: Performance Information-Output 3.2.3-Promote Indigenous employment in the APS Table 19: Performance Information-Output 3.3.1-Undertake research and analysis Table 20: Performance Information-Output 4.1.1-Provide data from the APS Employment Database to agencies Table 21: Performance Information-Output 4.2.1- State of the Service Report (including Workplace Diversity Report) and Statistical Bullentin Table 22: Performance Information-Output 4.2.2- Undertake specific-issue evaluations Table 23: Performance Information-Output 4.2.3-APS Employment Database and related research Table 24: Performance information-Output component 5.1.1-Conduct reviews on behalf of the Merit Protection Commissioner and Parliamentary Service Commissioner Table 25: Performance information - Output component 5.1.2-Respond to whistleblowing reports Table 26: Performance information-Output component 5.1.3- Provide support services to the Merit Protection Commissioner and Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner Table 27: Commission staff numbers at 30 June 2001 to 2005 Table 28: Participation rates in training and development activities, 2000-01 to 2004-05 Table 29: Salary ranges as at 30 June 2005 Table 30: Performance pay, 2004-05 Table 31: Representation of EEO groups as a percentage, 2000-01 to 2004-05 Table 32: Revenue sources, 2000-01 to 2004-05 Table 33: Reserve funding for leadership development and Indigenous employment, 2003-04 to 2005-06 Table 34: Total planned budget for 2004-05 Table 35: End of year position 2001-02 to 2004-05 Table 36: Use of consultants, 2003-04 to 2004-05 Table 37: Preparation of ministerial briefs and correspondence, 2003-04 to 2004-05 Table M1: Reviews of actions-workload, work completed and timeliness, 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 Table M2: Fee-for-service functions-workload and work completed, 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 Table M3: Applications for review of promotion decisions and promotions overturned between 1 July 2004 and 30 June 2005, by agency Table M4: Applications reviewed 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 by agency Table M5: Independent Selection Advisory Committees convened 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 Table M6: Employment-related services, 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 Table M7: Joint Selection Committees convened, 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 Table 38: Resources for the outcome Table 39: Advertised SES employment opportunities-Filling method by Band 2004-05 Table 40: Profile of SES by Band and gender at 30 June 2005 Table 41: Comparison of incoming and outgoing SES in 2003-04 and 2004-05 Table 42: Filling of Senior Executive Service employment opportunities advertised in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette from 2002-03 to 2004-05 Table 43: SES Retirements under section 37 in 2004-05 Table 44: SES separations by type 2004-05 Table 45: SES development programmes 2004-05 Table 46: SES Breakfast briefings 2004-05 Table 47: APS development programmes 2004-05 Table 48: Executive level development programmes 2004-05 Table 49: Graduate development programmes 2004-05 Table 50: Development programmes tailored specifically for client agencies-delivered by regional offices 2004-05 Table 51: Ongoing and non-ongoing staff, 30 June 2005 Table 52: Ongoing and non-ongoing staff, 30 June 2004 Table 53: Senior Executives, 30 June 2005 Table 54: Senior Executives, 30 June 2004 Table 55: Occupational groups by location, 30 June 2005 Table 56: Occupational groups by location, 30 June 2004 Table 57: Representation of EEO groups within salary levels, 30 June 2005 Table 58: Representation of EEO groups within salary levels, 30 June 2004 Part one Overview PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONER'S REVIEW Photo: www.geoffcomfort.com Review Review Lynelle Briggs, Public Service Commissioner I am pleased to present to you my first Annual Report as Public Service Commissioner. I commenced as Commissioner in November 2004 and I am proud to be leading the Australian Public Service Commission in its mission to promote, review and evaluate a values-based Australian Public Service (APS) and to foster its capability. I would like to acknowledge Andrew Podger's valuable contribution as the previous Public Service Commissioner. He brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role of Commissioner and during his time the Commission was successful in promoting the APS Values, in enhancing its quality assurance role, and in contributing to building the capability of the APS. Directions The Commission set as its priorities for 2004-05 to further strengthen its evaluation role, particularly around promoting and embedding the APS Values, and to provide practical support to help build the capability of the APS for the future, with a strong focus on leadership development. There are also increasing expectations that the Commission will make a more substantial contribution to debates on the directions of further public service reform. As Commissioner, I am focusing the Commission's work programme on the contemporary needs of the Government and the APS. I am particularly keen to address critical issues facing the service, including our focus on whole-of-government approach, changing workforce demographics and leadership. I am also keen to contribute to building the reputation and professionalism of the APS and to celebrate its success. We are now setting our evaluation work, including through the State of the Service Report, within a broader framework of public sector reform. Our capability development role is evolving towards a wider, more action-oriented capacity-building focus, including consideration of performance, governance, policy and practices, and culture, while we continue our strong focus on skills development. Our achievements I am highlighting here some of the Commission's major achievements for the year in delivering the outcome the Government has set for our work towards a confident, high quality, values-based and sustainable public service. During 2004-05 we continued to promote and support public sector reform in the Asia-Pacific region. By far the largest element of our international assistance programme in 2004-05 was the Pacific. There was a significant increase in the level of AusAID funded international activities undertaken by the Commission. Specifically, we agreed to deliver a range of public sector reform related projects in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, as well as Thailand and Indonesia. As part of the Enhanced Cooperation Program we deployed two people to work as advisers on industrial relations and human resources management in the Papua New Guinea Department of Personnel Management. In addition, we continued to provide technical advice and assistance to the Papua New Guinea Public Service Commission on a range of issues. We also supported Australia's interests in the Asia-Pacific region through our Leading Australia's Future in Asia (LAFIA) programme. LAFIA is a senior executive development programme involving an overseas study tour focusing on countries in Australia's region. It enables senior executives to respond strategically to changes in the Asia-Pacific region and develop networks and contacts amongst Australian participants and with their overseas equivalents. Following the Government's decision to adopt a whole-of-government approach to administering Indigenous affairs from 1 July 2004, our work on Indigenous employment in the APS increased markedly. During 2005 we have been developing a whole-of-government strategy aimed at improving Indigenous employment in the Commonwealth public sector by helping agencies implement workable initiatives to attract, recruit, develop and retain Indigenous employees. I welcome the most senior Indigenous person in the APS, Pat Turner, to the Commission. Pat has taken up a leadership role in the Commission as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Coordinator, working with me to foster Indigenous employment in the Service. During the year the Minister invited me to join an Employer Roundtable for People with Disabilities. The roundtable was established to provide high-level advice to the Government on ways to increase workforce participation for people with disabilities through increased employer demand. The roundtable comprised employers and peak bodies. Engaging employers in this reform is critical, and will provide a crucial base for developing and implementing employment initiatives. The Commission has continued to support the work of the Management Advisory Committee (MAC). MAC was established under section 64 of the Public Service Act 1999 to advise the Government on matters relating to management of the APS. The Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet chairs MAC, and I am its executive officer. During the year the Commission hosted a MAC project that will provide guidance to the APS on contemporary workforce management strategies. The Commission evaluates APS performance through our annual State of the Service Report to parliament. Under section 44(2) of the Act, I am required to report annually on the state of the APS. While the Act does not specify the issues to be covered in the report, the approach has been to focus evaluation on the extent to which agencies incorporate and uphold the APS Values (in line with section 41(1)(a) of the Act). The State of the Service Report 2003-04 covered relations with the Government and parliament, relations with the public, workplace relationships and personal behaviour. Coverage also included embedding the APS Values, workplace diversity, and building APS capability. We drew upon a number of sources to prepare the report. These included our own research and employment database, published and unpublished material from other agencies and parliamentary committees, Australian National Audit Office reports, and employer and employee surveys. The 2003-04 report highlighted five critical challenges for the APS in the coming year: • building and sustaining the capability of the APS • ensuring whole-of-government capacity • ensuring diversity in the APS • ensuring an effective relationship between the APS and the Government and parliament • embedding the APS Values and the Code of Conduct. This year we have been reviewing and developing a new suite of Senior Executive Service (SES) leadership programmes for 2005-06 based on the Integrated Leadership System (ILS), to help build and strengthen the capability of the SES and its feeder group. This suite of programmes will include a number of new programmes that specifically target each of the three levels within the SES. We continue to actively support the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), by supporting the Executive Fellow Programme, Executive Masters Programmes and executive short courses. ANZSOG is a first-tier professional school established collaboratively by a consortium of Australian and New Zealand governments, universities and business schools. It aims to provide world-class education and development to emerging public sector leaders. I represent the Australian Government on the Foundation Board. The Government announced in May 2005 the provision of a $10 million grant to ANZSOG. The school's research programme is making a considerable contribution to the study of public administration and management in Australia. In June, in conjunction with the Secretary to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Dr Peter Shergold, we launched a ground-breaking information resource for agency heads and senior managers titled Foundations of Governance in the Australian Public Service. This resource draws together agency head obligations that are spread through a range of legislation and policy documents across many portfolios. It includes accountability requirements, financial management framework, employment and workplace relations frameworks and management of government information. Our regional offices maintained a strong role in providing learning and development and employment related services to the 66% of public servants working outside Canberra. They also undertake important work in supporting the Merit Protection Commissioner in his statutory role. The Commission continued to support agencies in raising awareness and understanding of the APS Values and the Code of Conduct. We developed a learning and development kit, titled Being Professional in the APS-Values Resources for Facilitators, to provide the variety of information, materials and activities that are needed to deliver highly effective training programmes on the APS Values and Code of Conduct. Slippages We were unable to move as quickly as planned in developing and implementing our new leadership programmes, due largely to delays in finalising tender arrangements for our new panel of providers. As a result, programmes that specifically target each of the three levels within the SES have been delayed. The SES Band 2 programme will now be available in late 2005 and the Band 3 programme early in 2006. The SES Band 1 programmes will be developed during 2005-06 and offered during 2006, however, a new SES orientation programme has been operating during 2004-05. We had hoped to undertake a number of research papers this year. However, due to a change in priorities and tight resources we did not give priority to this work. The programme will be reviewed in 2005-06. How we work On commencing as Public Service Commissioner, I consulted with our clients and stakeholders to gain a clear understanding of their views on the role of the Commission in helping them meet their objectives. Overall, the responses were positive about our services and we have incorporated suggested improvements into our new directions of work. This year we implemented a more streamlined, national approach to our regional services bringing all of the regional offices together in one group. This has enabled us to consolidate our capacity and work more consistently across regions to deliver more efficient services to the Commonwealth public servants working across Australia. Our resourcing for 2004-05 was tight, having carried over an operating loss from the previous financial year. We were able to carefully manage this by reprioritising our work programme and slightly reducing our staffing through natural attrition. Our dependency on revenue generated from the sale of goods and services has grown significantly in recent years from $7.35 million (35% of total budget) in 1997-98 to $15.34 million (47% of total budget) in 2004-05. Accordingly, we need to continue our close management of our work programme and staff numbers to maintain a viable financial position. In October 2004 we conducted a Commission-wide staff survey. The aim of the survey was to obtain feedback on the Commission's culture, working arrangements and internal policies, and to assess the extent to which staff understand the APS Values. Analysis of the responses showed a generally positive view of the Commission as a satisfying place to work. Outlook In moving forward the Commission will continue to: • take responsibility for the Public Service Act and its provisions • develop the capability of public servants based on the core business and values of a modern public service • highlight critical issues of concern to the public service, for example, public sector reform, whole-of-government approaches to working, the aging workforce, leadership and flexible workforce arrangements • bring agencies together where they have common issues and to draw on the lessons when mistakes are made • focus on building up the professionalism, identity and reputation of the APS. In our Corporate Plan, we have identified three top priorities for the Commission in 2005-06. They are to: • foster Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment in the APS through strategies to attract, recruit, develop and retain Indigenous employees • build the capability of the APS through implementing a new suite of leadership programmes for the SES and executive level staff and establishing new programmes for APS 1-6 staff based on understanding the business needs of agencies • ensure a contemporary employment framework for the APS by reviewing the Public Service Act and developing any draft legislation proposals by July 2006. Our work on the State of the Service Report will be undertaken within a broader public sector reform framework. It will continue to provide an excellent overview of how the APS is progressing against key criteria. However, we also intend to focus on the achievements of the APS. We believe that celebrating our key achievements will encourage more balanced coverage and properly acknowledge the things we do well in the APS. I am also delighted that we will be hosting the next biennial conference of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management in October 2006. The conference will provide an excellent opportunity to showcase public administration in Australia and other Commonwealth public sector jurisdictions. The overarching theme for the 2006 conference is 'capability of the public sector'. I am committed to continuing to develop the capabilities of Commission staff to support our emerging role. We have identified priority areas through workforce planning including strengthening our people management, analytical and research skills and our programme design capability. Given our leadership role in promoting the APS Values, our understanding and modelling of the Values needs to be exemplary. COMMISSION OVERVIEW The Australian Public Service Commission is a central agency within the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio. It supports two statutory office holders, the Public Service Commissioner (who is also agency head) and the Merit Protection Commissioner. Our mission is to promote, review and evaluate a values-based APS and to foster its capability. The statutory responsibilities that support our mission are outlined in the Public Service Act 1999 and include: • evaluate the extent to which agencies incorporate and uphold the APS Values • evaluate the adequacy of systems and procedures in agencies for ensuring compliance with the Code of Conduct • promote the APS Values and the Code of Conduct • develop, promote, review and evaluate APS employment policies and practices • facilitate continuous improvement in people management throughout the APS • coordinate and support APS-wide training and career development • contribute to, and foster, leadership in the APS • provide advice and assistance on public service matters to agencies on request • provide external review of actions by the Merit Protection Commissioner. The Commission works to achieve an outcome specified by government, namely: 'a confident, high quality, values based and sustainable Australian Public Service'. To fulfil our statutory responsibilities and deliver on the Government's outcome, we work closely with APS agencies to deliver ongoing services and strategic priorities in five output groups: 1. APS policy and employment services 2. Leadership, learning and development services 3. Organisational performance, promotion and support 4. Evaluation 5. Merit Protection and other services The Commission's activities are funded through a blend of budget appropriation and revenue generated through sale of services. Much of this revenue is earned in an open market where agencies have choices about where they source services and the levels of services acquired. In 2004-05 the Commission received $17.195 million in appropriation funding with the balance of its resources ($15.404 million) coming from non-appropriation measures and gazette revenue. As the agency head, the Public Service Commissioner provides the staff necessary to help the Merit Protection Commissioner perform his functions under the Act. The arrangements for providing staff to the Merit Protection Commissioner are set out in a memorandum of understanding. Commission structure The Commission is led by a four-person Executive (the Public Service Commissioner, the Deputy Public Service Commissioner, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Coordinator and the Merit Protection Commissioner) and has six groups. A group manager, who is individually responsible for the performance of their group, leads each group. The Commission's organisational chart, with the names of senior staff as at 30 June 2005, is at Figure 1. Figure 1: Commission organisational chart at 30 June 2005 (not available in text version) The Policy Group provides advice to government and agencies on the policy and legislative aspects of public administration, people management and employment frameworks within the APS Values and Code of Conduct. It is also responsible for international matters. The Better Practice Group promotes Indigenous employment through a range of strategic recruitment and career development initiatives. It advises agencies on good practice on significant issues facing the APS, such as whole-of-government approaches, mature aged workers, workforce planning and performance management. The Programmes Group builds the capability of the APS by providing a wide range of leadership, learning and development activities for all levels of APS staff including senior executives. The Evaluation Group evaluates and provides information on APS performance through the annual State of the Service Report to parliament and through more specific evaluation and research projects. It maintains the APS employment database, monitors trends and publishes key workforce statistics. The Regional Services Group represents the Commission throughout Australia, helping agencies with people management, including learning and development, promoting better practice, staff selection and review of employment-related actions. The Corporate Group provides strategic management, information, financial, library, legal, parliamentary and support services to help the Commission achieve its mission. It also manages production of the Public Service Gazette. Commission reports/corporate documents As part of its statutory responsibilities, the Commission produces the State of the Service Report (incorporating the Workplace Diversity Report) and the APS Statistical Bulletin, which comment on the performance, nature and composition of the APS during the year. Other key corporate documents the Commission produces are its Corporate Plan, budget statements and a booklet called Introducing the Australian Public Service Commission. Information provided in Commission publications and circulars, as well as speeches given by the Public Service Commissioner, are available on the Commission's web site at www.apsc.gov.au. Commission locations The Commission's national office is in Canberra and it has regional offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. APS agencies in the Northern Territory and Tasmania are serviced from the Adelaide and Melbourne offices respectively. Office locations and contact details are: Australian Capital Territory Edmund Barton Building Barton ACT 2600 T: 02 6272 3977 F: 02 6272 3469 Helpline: 02 6272 3609 New South Wales Level 16 447 Kent Street Sydney NSW 2000 T: 02 9286 2400 F: 02 9264 8379 Victoria Level 6 303 Collins Street Melbourne Vic. 3000 T: 03 8610 1522 F: 03 8610 1594 Queensland 11th floor 300 Ann Street Brisbane Qld 4000 T: 07 3236 4877 F: 07 3221 0806 Western Australia Level 1 St Georges Square 225 St Georges Terrace PERTH WA 6000 T: 08 9226 1977 F: 08 9226 5977 South Australia 3rd Floor 70 Hindmarsh Square Adelaide SA 5000 T: 08 8224 0955 F: 08 8223 5866 Hobart is serviced through Melbourne Darwin is serviced through Adelaide Commission overview 99 part two Performance review Part Pa PERFORMANCE REVIEW Review Table 1: Summary of performance 2004-05 Output Activity Budget outcome 1.0 Policy and employment services 1.1.1 Provide advice and support to government $0.318m 1.2.1 Provide advice to agency heads $1.285m 1.2.2 Manage responsibilities for SES $0.329m 1.2.3 Manage international responsibilities $1.523m 1.2.4 Produce the Public Service Gazette $1.078m 1.2.5 Provide other employment-related services $3.105m 1.3.1 Provide other support services to Commissioner $0.340m 2.0 Leadership, learning and development 2.1.1 Promote effective learning in the APS $0.933m 2.1.2 Provide service-wide leadership development $13.967m 3.0 Organisational performance, promotion and support 3.1.1 Provide advice to government $0.050m 3.2.1 Promote better practice $2.338m 3.2.2 Promote the APS Values and Code of Conduct $0.694m 3.2.3 Promote Indigenous employment $1.633m 3.3.1 Undertake research and analysis $0.046m 4.0 Evaluation 4.1.1 Provide data from APSED $0.148m 4.2.1 Evaluate and provide information on APS performance through State of the Service report $0.978m 4.2.2 Undertake specific evaluations $0.244m 4.2.3 Maintain APSED and undertake related research $1.036m 5.0 Merit protection and other services 5.1.1 Conduct reviews $2.132m 5.1.2 Respond to whistleblowing reports $0.119m 5.1.3 Support the Merit Protection Commissioner $0.303m * change of priorities or decrease in demand To enable ease of access and reading, we are reporting against the activity level under each output group. This is the level at which performance indicators are established. We have excluded the intermediate output level-Ministerial and Parliamentary Services, Service Delivery and Research, Analysis and Evaluation- as these terms are general in nature and do not add to the quality of reporting. POLICY AND EMPLOYMENT SERVICES Output one Output 1 is drawn from the Commissioner's statutory role, listed in section 41 of the Public Service Act 1999, in particular, her responsibilities to: • develop, promote, review and evaluate APS employment policies and practices • provide advice and assistance on public service matters to agencies on request. Achievements Our achievements under Output 1 this year included: • preparing and publishing Foundations of Governance in the Australian Public Service • providing advice on and developing proposed amendments to regulation 2.1 on disclosure of information • securing a significant increase in the level of AusAID funded international activities to promote and support public sector reform, particularly in the Pacific and Papua New Guinea • providing effective support for abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services to enable employees to be moved to eight different APS agencies and one non-APS Commonwealth agency • providing support to the Management Advisory Committee (MAC). Slippages We did not achieve our target of hosting 35 visits of overseas delegations. The number of overseas delegation visits the Commission coordinated and hosted declined from 58 in 2003-04 to 25 in 2004-05. This was mainly due to a decline in the number of visiting delegations from China. The total price for Output 1 is $7.978 million. Provide advice and support to government One of the Commission's central roles is to provide high quality, timely advice and support to the Government on APS policy. During the year, we forwarded 22 (52 last year) formal submissions to the Minister and actioned 16 (28 last year) items of ministerial correspondence or representations. The lower number of formal submissions was largely related to the federal election in October 2004 and the need for fewer legislative changes in 2004-05; it was close to the estimate of 24 submissions. The Commission continues to measure the quality and timeliness of advice provided to the Minister. The Minister is asked to assess briefs against documented standards and rate them against a scale of one to five with five being excellent. In 2004-05, the Minister provided ratings for 18 of the 22 briefs forwarded for his consideration. All received a rating of four or more. The rating system provides important feedback to staff who brief the Minister, so they can refine and improve the provision of their advice and support. Major policy issues A major focus of the Commission's policy advice in 2004-05 continued to be operation of the Public Service Act framework and supporting documentation. In particular: • With effect from 23 December 2004 changes were made to the rules governing APS employees disclosing work-related information. However, on 16 June 2005 the Senate disallowed the amending regulations, and revived former regulations from the same date. The Commission issued interim advice on the disallowance of the amendments on 17 June 2005. Disclosure of information by APS employees is discussed in more detail below. • Although the Review of the Corporate Governance of Statutory Authorities and Office Holders (the Uhrig review) made no specific reference to the issue of Public Service Act 1999 coverage, the Commissioner has encouraged portfolio departments and their ministers to consider the appropriateness of employment under the Act during any review of bodies arising from the Uhrig review. The Commissioner has noted that, in relation to the issue of Statements of Expectation and Intent to be issued by ministers and statutory authorities respectively, it is important for APS bodies that these statements do not detract from the values and accountability framework in the Act. In addition, for agencies that remain outside the APS, the Commissioner also promoted the opportunity provided through using Statements of Expectations and Intent to consider applying a values-based approach to other areas of government activity. • Following the administrative rearrangements arising from the October 2004 federal election, the Commissioner asked Portfolio Secretaries to identify possible areas where implementation of machinery-of-government changes could be improved. The Commission will chair a working group to examine in detail the issues raised by Secretaries and to look at developing consolidated guidance on better practice. The first meeting will be held in early 2005-06. • We undertook a review of the current arrangements relating to leave without pay for an APS employee taking up a full-time statutory appointment. Amendments to the Prime Minister's Public Service Directions 1999 are expected to be made early in 2005-06 and the Commission will issue advice to agencies on the scope of the changes. • In June 2005 we commenced a low-level review of the Public Service Act 1999 and associated subordinate legislation. The Act has been in operation for over five years. During that time some amendments have been made to the Regulations and the Commissioner's Directions to clarify the intent of the legislation and to address emerging issues. Some background work was undertaken to identify policy and technical issues to be addressed. Disclosure of information In December 2003 Justice Finn's decision in the case of Bennett v The President, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission [2003] 204 ALR 119 (the Bennett case) cast doubt on the validity of Public Service regulation 2.1. This regulation deals with the unauthorised disclosure of work-related information by APS employees. It was regarded as part of the APS Code of Conduct. To remove uncertainty about the validity of the provision, a replacement regulation was developed, taking account of Justice Finn's comments in the Bennett case. Public Service Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2), substituting a new regulation 2.1, became effective on 23 December 2004. The amendments were open to the usual parliamentary scrutiny and therefore subject to a notice of disallowance in either House of Parliament within fifteen sitting days of tabling, on 8 February 2005. On 16 June 2005 the Senate voted in favour of a motion put by the Opposition to disallow the amendments. The disallowed regulation was in force from 23 December 2004 until 15 June 2005. The disallowance rendered it ineffective from and including 16 June 2005 and revived former regulation 2.1 from the same date. On 17 June 2005 the Commission issued Circular No 2005/3: Disallowance of Amendments to the Public Service Regulations 1999 - Regulation 2.1 (Disclosure of information), advising agencies of the disallowance, and that the Government was considering what steps it might take to ensure an appropriate balance between the ability of public servants, as citizens, to discuss important issues, and the need to ensure the confidentiality of government information where appropriate. Parliamentary inquiries During 2004-05, the Commission was involved in one parliamentary inquiry initiated by the Senate. The Commission coordinated the Government's response to the Senate Finance and Administration References Committee report on recruitment and training in the APS. The response was tabled in the Senate on 10 March 2005. Table 2: Performance Information: Output 1.1.1- Provide advice and support to government Target Result Quantity Number of items to Ministers: responses to ministerial correspondence-estimate 36 Overestimated: Only 16 responses to ministerial correspondence question time briefs-estimate 5 Exceeded. 10 new question time briefs Ministerial requests for briefings-estimate 24 Achieved. 22 ministerial briefings Quality Percentage of items rated satisfactory or higher in terms of relevance, quality and timeliness. Target is 100%. Achieved. 100% rated briefs at a higher than satisfactory standard Estimated price: $0.397 million Actual: 0.318 million Lower than estimated price due to the allocation of resouces to other priorities. Provide advice to agency heads One of the Commission's central roles is to provide high quality, timely advice and support to agency heads on APS policy and legislation, and to support the Management Advisory Committee. Employment Policy Adviceline Service During the year, the Commission took steps to improve the quality of its telephone and email advisory service. The service has been renamed the Employment Policy Adviceline, reflecting the focus of the service. A new answering system was introduced in November 2004 to electronically screen calls and redirect callers to the most appropriate area of the Commission. This has led to a significant decline in the number of calls about the Commission's public programmes and calls that should go through the switchboard. Despite the change of name and diversion of calls, the total number of calls the Adviceline recorded fell only slightly when compared with last year's figures (3469 compared to 3655 in 2003-04). The percentage of advice sought by email, however, has steadily increased as the Commission has encouraged agencies to seek advice on more complex or sensitive issues in writing. Approximately 30% of communication with the service is now by email rather than by telephone. The email address is now employmentadvice@apsc.gov.au. Table 3 identifies the main categories of calls received. Calls relating to selection, movement and placement of APS employees continue to dominate. Table 3: Main categories of adviceline calls, 2004-05 Subject 2004-05 2003-04 Staffing matters 812 755 General legislative issues 298 233 Review matters 270 259 Conditions/entitlements 251 175 Separations 234 158 Values/Code of Conduct 187 233 SES matters 46 62 Mobility/reciprocal mobility 16 22 Competencies/qualifications 10 21 Publications and circulars This year, as part of our role in updating agencies on a range of human resource management issues, we: • made greater use of our web site for disseminating information to agencies, including a new section with answers to frequently asked questions. For the first time, access to newly released policy publications was only through the web site. Printed versions will be distributed to agencies by August 2005 • issued nine circulars notifying agencies of changes to the Public Service Regulations, policy developments, operation of the employment database and release of new publications • issued two publications that consolidated policy advice on issues relating to ongoing employment and conditions of engagement • introduced changes to the presentation of our publications on employment issues. The new format includes flowcharts or checklists and answers to frequently asked questions. Two other publications are close to completion and will be finalised early in 2005-06. Informal feedback from agencies has been favourable. The Commission's 2003-04 annual report noted that the Australian National Audit Office had undertaken an audit of compensation payments and debt relief in special circumstances during 2003-04 (Audit Report No. 35 2003-04). The Australian National Audit Office consulted the Commission in relation to the references in the audit report to these special payments made under section 73 of the Act. In October 2004, we issued revised advice to agencies on section 73 payments. It is intended that section 73(6) of the Act will also be amended in financial framework amendment legislation being coordinated by the Department of Finance and Administration. In addition, we published our third occasional paper, A History in Three Acts-Evolution of the Public Service Act 1999, in October 2004. A full list of publications and circulars can be found at Appendix D. Foundations of Governance in the Australian Public Service On 1 June 2005 the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Dr Peter Shergold, and the Public Service Commissioner, Lynelle Briggs, launched Foundations of Governance in the Australian Public Service, a groundbreaking information resource for agency heads and senior managers. Foundations of Governance in the Australian Public Service is both a publication and an interactive Internet resource that draws together agency head obligations that are spread through a range of legislation and policy documents across many portfolios. It is designed to help agency heads meet their obligations and responsibilities, particularly newly appointed agency heads. The resources include: • accountability requirements • the financial management framework • the employment and workplace relations frameworks • the management of government information. The need to make this information more accessible, particularly to newly appointed agency heads and senior officers in the APS, was highlighted in a survey of a sample of representative agencies in 2003. The Commission led a small project team in developing Foundations; a reference group comprising officers from a number of central and line agencies guided its work. The Internet resource is available at www.apsc.gov.au/ foundations. With the cooperation of contributing agencies, this resource will be updated on a regular basis. Management Advisory Committee We continued to provide a range of secretariat and research services to the MAC. The committee was established under section 64 of the Act. It is chaired by the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, with the Public Service Commissioner as executive officer. The Committee met twice during 2004-05, in November 2004 and May 2005. The committee currently has 25 members, including all portfolio Secretaries and the heads of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian Customs Service, the Australian Taxation Office, the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination, and Centrelink. The Auditor- General is invited as an observer. The committee is charged with advising the Government on matters relating to managing the APS. While it has no statutory powers or executive functions, it provides a forum for members to discuss significant issues of topical and strategic interest to the APS. It first met in December 2000. The committee's four reports: • Performance Management in the Australian Public Service-A Strategic Framework (2001) • Australian Government Use of Information and Communications Technology (2002) • Organisational Renewal (2003) • Connecting Government: Whole of Government Responses to Australia's Priority Challenges (2004) are available on the Commission's web site at www.apsc.gov.au. Two groups, both chaired by the Deputy Public Service Commissioner, have been convened to progress current MAC priorities. One group is charged with implementing the recommendations of the 2004 MAC Connecting Government report. The second is responsible for overseeing a new MAC project. At its November 2004 meeting, the committee decided to prepare a report on managing and sustaining the APS workforce, with a focus on graduate recruitment and career development. A project team was assembled to work on the project in consultation with a Deputy Secretaries Group. The team consists of an SES officer from the Department of Health and Ageing and an executive level employee from Centrelink. Commission staff provide ongoing support, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics has provided assistance with an agency questionnaire on graduate and other recruitment issues. The report on managing and sustaining the APS workforce will expand on the MAC report Organisational Renewal (2003) that analysed the emerging workforce development and succession issues arising from an ageing public service. The report concluded that agencies need to address these issues on the basis of systematic workforce planning. Preparation of the new report has involved: • research and investigative work through a literature review • analysis of the APS Employment Database • analysis of other relevant data, such as past State of the Service surveys, the employee survey conducted for the MAC report Organisational Renewal (2003), and Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data • discussions with a wide range of APS and external public and private sector organisations • focus group discussions in which APS employees from a broad range of agencies and backgrounds explored their career expectations and preferences • a short questionnaire to all APS agencies seeking information on their graduate programmes and other recruitment activities. The final report is expected to be completed early in 2005-06. Implementation of the recommendations of the Connecting Government (2004) report continued during 2004-05. These were translated into an implementation plan that was considered by MAC in November 2004. To help agencies implement whole-of-government issues, the MAC chair, Dr Peter Shergold, wrote to portfolio agencies in March 2005 about the importance of implementation and provided a checklist of items for attention. A final report on whole-of-government implementation will be presented to MAC in late 2005. A key recommendation of the Connecting Government report was development of a web presence for whole-of-government-the Connected Government web site. The site is designed to provide support to whole-of-government work through practical guidance and by highlighting good practice. A newly-created position of whole-of-government analyst will be located within the Commission to work closely with a range of government agencies, and will be accountable to MAC for supporting connected government by developing, sourcing, managing and evaluating the web site www.connected.gov.au. Year highlight 1 A 'groundbreaking publication' Foundations of Governance in the Australian Public Service The Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Dr Shergold AM, and the Australian Public Service Commissioner, Lynelle Briggs, joined forces on 1 June 2005 to launch Foundations of Governance in the Australian Public Service, a new information resource for agency heads and senior managers. In launching the publication, Ms Briggs said the foundations of governance have changed considerably over the last 25 years. Public expectations and new forms of service delivery have necessitated greater administrative flexibility and less reliance on central rules and processes. Ms Briggs also noted that, while agency heads have benefited from greater flexibility and devolution, a strengthening of accountability and reporting arrangements have accompanied the benefits. Foundations is a publication and Internet resource that for the first time draws together key agency head responsibilities and is designed to help agency heads meet their obligations and responsibilities. It covers a wide range of agency head responsibilities including: • accountability requirements • the financial management framework • the employment and workplace relations frameworks • management of government information. Ms Briggs said that the breadth of information covered and the ready accessibility of the resource was its great strength. Foundations will be of particular value to those newly appointed to such duties, by providing them with concise information about the key elements of the legislative and policy framework within which agency heads operate. The resources will also be of considerable assistance to many senior managers-for example, heads of corporate. The Australian Public Service Commission led the Foundations project, with the support of a reference group, comprising both central and line agencies. The Foundations resource reflects input from the reference group, and from many other agencies. Collaboration with central and line agencies was critical to bringing the project to fruition-and will be crucial to keeping the Internet resource up to date in the future. The Internet resource is available at www.apsc.gov.au/foundations. Table 4: Performance Information: Output Target Result Quantity Number of reports and responses to requests for information and advice: ? responses to correspondence-estimate 28 Exceeded: 48 responses to correspondence. Increase is largely due to the amendment to Reg 2.1 in September. [note: this figure does not include responses to the growing number of emails seeking advice direct from policy advisers] ? telephone enquiries-estimate 3200 Achieved: Over 3400 telephone and email enquiries handled through the Adviceline ? reports, circulars and publications-estimate 29 Overestimated: 22 reports, circulars and publications were released Secretariat services provided to the Management Advisory Committee (MAC) and operational support to the Commissioner as the Executive Officer of the MAC-estimate 3 MAC meetings and 2 MAC projects to be supported The Commission provided support for ? 2 MAC meetings (in November 2004 and May 2005), and ? 4 meetings of the whole of government Deputy Secretaries Group and 4 meetings of the APS workforce Deputy Secretaries Group Quality A high level of satisfaction of the MAC with the relevance, quality and timeliness of advice and support provided Achieved: Whole-of-government implementation is now a central priority for MAC member agencies. A website will be operating in the second half of 2005. The APS workforce Deputy Secretaries Group provided MAC with a draft report for release in the second half of 2005. MAC members also indicated full satisfaction with the support provided by the Commission. Estimated price: $1.245 million Actual: $1.285 million Manage Commission responsibilities for SES engagements, promotions and terminations The Commissioner has a number of responsibilities in relation to Senior Executive Service (SES) staffing arrangements under the Act and Commissioner's Directions. SES selections In 2004-05, the Commissioner endorsed 189 selection exercises, with agency heads making decisions to fill 339 advertised SES employment opportunities by promotion, engagement or movement at level during the year. In reviewing requests for endorsement, the Commission maintained an effective turnaround rate, the average remaining at less than one working day per request. SES retirement under section 37 Section 37 of the Public Service Act provides agency heads with the capacity to offer a financial incentive to an SES employee if they retire within a specified period, subject to the Commissioner agreeing to the amount to be paid as the incentive. In 2004-05, 44 section 37 retirements took effect, a level of usage similar to recent years. Appendix E contains the SES profile at 30 June 2005 together with details of promotions, engagements and movements at level to advertised SES employment opportunities, section 37 retirements by agency and all SES separations by type during 2004-05. SES Adviser The Group Manager, Policy Group, undertakes the role of SES Adviser. The SES Adviser is available to SES employees seeking advice on career options, in particular those SES employees who are considering offers to retire under section 37 of the Act. Such advice was provided on approximately 50 occasions in 2004-05. Succession management in the APS The Commissioner has continued to gather relevant information from Secretaries on succession management issues, including views on the quality of the Senior Executive Band 3 group and who, amongst that group, might be ready for advancement to more senior positions. The Commissioner will use this information to advise the Secretary group on succession management matters in general, and in particular to assist the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in his role advising the Prime Minister on suitable candidates for actual agency head vacancies. The Commissioner will be gathering information and holding discussions with Secretaries early in 2005-06, which will be followed up on an annual basis to maintain the currency of the information held. Table 5: Performance Information-Output 1.2.2-Manage Commission responsibilities for SES engagements, promotions and terminations Target Result Quantity Number of SES engagements, promotions and terminations-estimate 200 Exceeded: 233 matters resolved. Quality 95% of agency SES employment recommendations able to be endorsed within one week of receipt of documents Exceeded: 100% of SES employment recommendations endorsed by the Commissioner within one week of receipt. Estimated price: $0.295 million Actual: $0.329 million Consistent with estimated price Manage international responsibilities The Commissioner has a number of responsibilities in the international arena. They include participating in international organisations, hosting overseas delegations, supporting public sector reform in the Asia-Pacific region and participating in conferences. Participating in international organisations We continued to participate in international organisations interested in public administration. In particular: • The Public Service Commissioner visited Apia, Samoa in October 2004 to participate in a regional forum 'Reinventing Government in the Pacific Islands' organised by the United Nations' Department of Economic and Social Affairs; a seminar on 'Globalisation, Security and Development' organised by the Eastern Regional Organisation for Public Administration; the 50th Executive Council Meeting of the Eastern Regional Organisation for Public Administration; and the regional meeting of the heads of public services. • In October, the Commissioner and the Group Manager, Policy Group, attended the 10th Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management board meeting and conference on 'Networked Government' held in Singapore. • The Group Manager, Policy Group attended an international seminar in Seoul on 'The Senior Civil Service System among Developed Countries: A Lesson for Korea', hosted jointly by the Korean Civil Service Commission and the Korea Development Institute in December 2004. • The Commissioner held discussions with the State Services Commission and NZAID on the Commission's engagement in the Pacific, while she attended the Australia New Zealand School of Government Board meeting in Wellington in March 2005. • The Deputy Public Service Commissioner visited Paris from 31 March to 1 April for the 31st Session of the OECD's Public Governance Committee and was elected to the Committee's Bureau. • In April 2005, the Commissioner attended a Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management board meeting held in Paris to finalise the Association's strategic plan 2005-2009 and to settle the programme for the biennial conference to be held in Australia in 2006; and visited London for bilateral discussions with the United Kingdom Cabinet Office. Hosting visits by overseas delegations The number of overseas delegations visiting the Commission to discuss public sector reform and the Commission's role and responsibilities declined from 58 in 2003-04 to 25 in 2004-05. The number of visitors was 166 (down from 557 in 2003-04). Visits from Asia accounted for 72%. China remained the country with the largest number of visits (seven) and visitors (85); however, this was a significant decline on 2003-04 when there were 27 visits from China totalling 400 visitors. Other Asian visitors were from India, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The remaining visitors were from Argentina, Belgium, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and the United Arab Emirates. All delegations included senior public sector officials and some included relevant Ministers. Supporting public sector reform in the Asia-Pacific region There was an increase in the level of AusAID funded international activities undertaken by the Commission to promote and support public sector reform, particularly in the Pacific and Papua New Guinea. Specifically, the Commission agreed to deliver a range of public sector reform related projects in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, as well as Thailand and Indonesia. In April and June 2005 APS officials visited Thailand to provide technical assistance to the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission on development of an effective human resource policy framework and to the Office of the Civil Service Commission on development of a human resource management assessment and evaluation system. A successful study visit to Australia was arranged in June for seven senior officials from the Office of the Civil Service Commission to gain an appreciation of the approach in Australia to performance assessment and evaluation. Assistance in Indonesia was disrupted by the bombing at the Australian embassy and the delay in appointing a new head of the Indonesian National Civil Service Agency. We deployed two people to work as advisers on industrial relations and human resource management in the Papua New Guinea Department of Personnel Management as part of the Enhanced Cooperation Program. In addition, we continued to provide technical advice and assistance to the Papua New Guinea Public Service Commission on a range of issues. These included handling of appointments and terminations of departmental Secretaries and provincial administrators, case management practices and procedures, and training review officers. The largest element of the Commission's international assistance programme in 2004-05 was conducted in the Pacific region. During the year we: * organised three-month work placements with Australian federal, state and territory agencies for four participants in the Pacific Islands Scholarships for Governance Program * provided an opportunity for nine senior officials from a number of Pacific nations to undertake work attachments in Australia * supported organisation of a regional Public Service Commissioners' Conference scheduled to be held in the Cook Islands in March (the conference was postponed because of cyclone damage and will now be held in Fiji in July 2005) * developed two learning and development programmes for current and emerging Pacific leaders to be presented to the next regional conference * established a panel of experts to provide technical assistance in the Asia-Pacific region in a number of different areas. Participating in Public Service Commissioners' conferences During the year the Public Service Commissioner participated in two conferences with counterparts from state and territory governments, and New Zealand. The conferences were held in October 2004 and April 2005 and provided a forum for exchanging information about public sector employment policies and practices, and for considering issues of common interest. At the April 2005 meeting, commissioners discussed shifting the focus of the conferences from information sharing to a more strategic role, such as identifying and progressing specific common issues. There was broad agreement that conferences offer them a vehicle to identify and take action on public sector employment issues of mutual strategic concern. Table 6: Performance Information-Output 1.2.3-Manage Commission responsibilities in international matters Target Result Quantity Services to support initiatives to improve public administration in the Pacific, including secondments to Papua New Guinea, regular meetings of Pacific Commissioners and ANZSOG scholarships Achieved: Arranged 9 work attachments, placed 4 scholarship holders, placed 2 people in Papua New Guinea public service. Meeting of Pacific Commissioners postponed to July 2005 because of cyclone damage in Cook Islands. Number of overseas delegation visits co-ordinated and hosted-estimate 35 Decline: The Commission co-ordinated and hosted 25 visiting delegations. The target was not achieved because of a decline in the number of visiting delegations from China. Quality High level of satisfaction with quality and timeliness of reports. Achieved: Direct positive feedback on quality of reports prepared for Papua New Guinea Public Service Commission. High level of satisfaction by AusAID and aid recipients with advice and services provided. Achieved: No adverse comments received from AusAID. Aid recipients provided direct positive feedback on quality of advice and services provided. High level of satisfaction of the delegations as advised by the third-party organisers. Achieved: Consistently high levels of satisfaction expressed through feedback in formal letters of appreciation and informal emails of thanks from the visiting delegations and organisers. Estimated price: $0.639 million Actual: $1.523 million Increase in the level of AusAID funded international activities Produce the Public Service Gazette The Act requires that the APS provide the community with a reasonable opportunity to apply for public service positions. Publication of notices in the weekly Public Service Gazette fulfils this requirement. The gazette notifies all APS employment vacancies, transfers, promotions and some learning and development opportunities. The Commission is responsible for producing the gazette. The gazette is published in hard copy, online on the Internet at www.psgazette.gov.au and in electronic form for download by agencies that do not provide Internet access for their staff. Data is also transmitted to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations for display on the Australian Jobsearch site at www.jobsearch.gov.au. During 2004-05, work progressed on enhancements to the gazette publishing system to improve the process for lodgement of notices by agencies. The first stage of enhancements will provide significant usability and productivity improvements for agencies and will be completed in early 2006. Subsequent enhancements will improve functionality. The number of notices lodged increased in 2004-05 to 39,000-a 22% increase on 2003-04 (31,900). This increase returns the number of notices lodged to the 2002-03 level when 39,100 notices were lodged. Most of this increase took place in the latter part of the financial year and reflects major recruitment activities in two large agencies-the Australian Taxation Office and the Department of Defence Demand for the hard copy version of the gazette has been declining for several years and this pattern continued during 2004-05. The total number of hard copy gazettes produced annually has declined by a further 33% during 2004-05. We are considering phasing out the hard copy version of the gazette in conjunction with introducing an enhanced electronic format, given the obvious preference for the electronic form and the relatively high cost of small print runs. Table 7: Performance Information: Output 1.2.4-Produce the Public Service Gazette Target Result Quantity Quantity 50 gazettes produced in accordance with requirements. Achieved. 50 gazettes produced in accordance with requirements Quality 100% of gazette entries accurately published in accordance with legislative requirements. Achieved. No significant errors or omissions identified Estimated price: $1.178 million Actual: $1.078 million Decrease due to decline in demand for hard copy version of the gazette Provide other employment-related services The Commission provides advice to agencies on the operation of relevant legislative provisions applying to administrative re-arrangements as a result of machinery-of-government changes. We are also responsible for executing the necessary legislative instruments to effect the movement of staff associated with these changes. Following the 2004 federal election, we issued comprehensive advice to agencies on the employment and workplace relations aspects of the machinery-of-government changes announced by the Prime Minister. This advice, which was prepared in consultation with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, is contained in circular 2004/5 and is available on our web site. Administrative re-arrangement casework The Commission handled 36 administrative re-arrangements during 2004-05. Significant changes included: * Abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the executive agency known as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services as a result of the Government's decision to devolve responsibility for Indigenous policy issues to mainstream departments. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services employees were moved to eight different APS agencies and one non-APS Commonwealth agency. * Abolition of three executive agencies-the Australian Greenhouse Office and the National Oceans Office, whose functions and staff were moved to the Department of the Environment and Heritage; and the Australian Government Information Management Office, whose functions and staff were moved to the Department of Finance and Administration. * Establishment of a new Department of Human Services that is responsible for developing, delivering and coordinating a number of social and health-related government services to the Australian people. The Child Support Agency and CRS Australia are now operational arms of the department. * Movement of the Australian Protective Service out of the APS to the Australian Federal Police. We prepared and executed the necessary legislative instruments to give effect to these administrative re-arrangements to meet the timeframes set by the Government and by individual agencies. Other issues Other employment-related issues include delegations to outsiders, services provided on a fee-for-service basis, remuneration and workplace agreements, executive remuneration, public interest whistleblowing and the Whistling while they work project. Delegations to outsiders: Section 78(8) of the Public Service Act In order to delegate any powers under the Act to an outsider, that is, a person not employed under the Act, an agency head must obtain the Commissioner's written consent before effecting any such delegations. During 2004-05, the Commissioner agreed to 11 requests for such consent, for delegation of powers to 10 named individuals. Each request was considered carefully, bearing in mind the views and recommendations of the Senate Standing Committee on the Scrutiny of Bills reflected in the Standing Orders. The Committee was concerned to ensure the proposed recipients of such delegated powers possessed the qualifications and attributes they would need to exercise such powers appropriately. Employment-related services provided on a fee-for-service basis Under section 41(1)(k) of the Act, the Public Service Commissioner has authority to provide advice and assistance on request to agencies on public service matters. If this falls outside core business, services are usually provided on a fee-for-service basis. During the year, the overwhelming majority of work undertaken in response to requests for employment-related services involved recruitment and selection of staff. We provided convenors, panel members and support for selection advisory committees across a wide range of agencies. The Department of Defence and the Australian Taxation Office were two of the most frequent users of our services. Other fee-for-service activities included career counselling, alternative dispute resolution and projects on reviews of structures. Employment-related fee-for-service activities include those provided under the Merit Protection Commissioner's functions, such as independent selection advisory committees. This work represented almost 60% of the total amount of selection work conducted by the Commission at the request of agencies. More details about such committees and other fee-for-service activities performed on behalf of the Merit Protection Commissioner can be found in the Merit Protection Commissioner's annual report at Part 4 of this report. Remuneration and workplace agreements The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) provides the Commission with copies of the draft agency agreements so we can review specific elements of the Government's Policy Parameters for Agreement Making in the APS (the policy parameters) for which the Commission is responsible. In 2004-05, we provided comments to DEWR on 32 draft APS agency agreements and six non-APS agreements. All agreements were assessed within the five-day assessment period following receipt, as agreed with DEWR. We also continued to provide good-practice advice to agencies on a range of issues included in their draft agreements that fall outside the policy parameters. The advice we provided during 2004-05 consisted of adherence to the Public Service Act 1999 framework, including broadbanding, merit and open competition, termination, the APS Values and Code of Conduct, management of under-performance and misconduct, and review processes. Executive remuneration The Commissioner and the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet provided advice to the Prime Minister on the performance of Secretaries during 2003-04. The Prime Minister considered that advice when determining performance bonuses for Secretaries. The Commissioner also provided advice to the relevant Minister on the performance of the executive agency heads during the year. The Prime Minister endorsed relevant Ministers' determinations regarding performance bonuses for executive agency heads. Public interest whistleblowing The APS whistleblowing scheme is provided for by the Public Service Act 1999 and regulations. Section 16 of the Act prohibits victimisation of or discrimination against an APS employee who reports a breach or alleged breach of the Code of Conduct. The regulations require agency heads to establish procedures for dealing with such reports. The procedures must observe procedural fairness, comply with the Privacy Act 1988 and provide that APS employees in the agency may report breaches or alleged breaches of the Code to the agency head, the Public Service Commissioner or the Merit Protection Commissioner. Generally, disclosures should be made to the agency head, or a person authorised by the agency head, and investigated by the relevant APS agency. Where it is not appropriate for the agency head to deal with a particular matter or where the whistleblower is not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation by the agency, the whistleblower may refer the report to the Public Service Commissioner or Merit Protection Commissioner. Nineteen reports were sent to the Public Service Commissioner during 2004-05, seven more than the number received during 2003-04. Ten of these were from current employees, two were from former employees and seven were from private citizens. The Commissioner is conducting an inquiry into two of the reports from current employees and one from a private citizen, who was a former contract employee. The other 16 disclosures did not meet the criteria for investigation by the Commissioner. Where disclosures did not meet the criteria for consideration, advice was provided on the appropriate ways in which their concerns could be addressed either by referral to the relevant agency head or other administrative review bodies, such as the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Privacy Commissioner and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal. Whistling while they work project In November 2004, under its Linkage Project Scheme, the Australian Research Council approved funding for the Whistling while they work: enhancing the theory and management of internal witness management in public sector organisations project. The Commission is providing some small non-financial support for this three-year project that is being led by the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance at Griffith University. In the first half of 2005 Commission staff held discussions with the project team about the statutory framework and our experience of the operation of the APS scheme to date. Further information on whistleblowing is contained in the Merit Protection Commissioner's annual report at Part 4 of this report. Table 8: Performance Information: Output 1.2.5- Provide other employment-related services Target Result Quantity Services to support any machinery-of-government changes, approval of delegations and case management of about 490 individual cases Exceeded: 599 cases and 11 consents to delegations to outsiders. Quality 100% of machinery of government changes completed within legislative timeframes Achieved: 100% of 36 machinery of government changes effected within legislative timeframes 100% of comments on draft agency agreements provided within agreed timelines Achieved: 100% of 38 comments on draft APS agency agreements provided within agreed timelines 95% of approval of delegations to outsiders completed within 5 working days Not achieved: 82% of approval of delegations to outsiders completed within 5 working days of receipt, the remaining 2 cases required further information from the requesting agency before any decision could be made. A high level of satisfaction of clients with the accuracy, quality and timeliness of individual cases. Achieved: Client satisfaction with service delivery consistently high as evidenced by very positive feedback. Estimated price: $3.331 million Actual: $3.105 million Slightly lower than estimated price due to reallocation of funds to conducting reviews on behalf of the Merit Protection Commissioner in the regional offices Provide other support services to the Commissioner Other support services to the Commissioner include research and speech writing and supporting the Australia and New Zealand School of Government. Research and speech-writing services Major speeches and presentations by members of the Executive are critical to our engagement with agencies, and with external stakeholders. They also allow us to play an important representational role for the APS, and to test the Commission's research and development work against international practice and academic study. During 2004-05, the Commissioner made 50 presentations, including eight major speeches, six presentations to individual agencies and 36 presentations to multi-agency forums. The Commissioner's outreach and research roles were further enhanced when she joined the National Institute for Governance's Advisory Board in April 2005. Speeches we wrote for the Commissioner during 2004-05 included: * Great expectations-the public sector of the future * A passion for policy? * Synergies: new approaches to working together in government * APS governance * Public sector reform. The Deputy Commissioner also made a number of major speeches and presentations including presenting papers at an OECD symposium on e-government and at a meeting of its Public Governance Committee in Paris, France. Australia and New Zealand School of Government The ANZSOG is a first-tier professional school established collaboratively by a consortium of Australian and New Zealand governments, universities and business schools. It aims to provide world-class education and development to emerging public sector leaders. The Commonwealth became a member of ANZSOG in September 2002 and is represented on the Foundation Board, and on the ANZSOG Research Committee, by the Public Service Commissioner. The Commonwealth's commitment to the school reflects the importance the Government places on ensuring a responsive public sector with effective leadership and the capacity to meet future challenges. The Commission, in consultation with other agencies, has been actively involved in developing ANZSOG to ensure it meets the needs of the APS and provides value for money. The ANZSOG Research Committee coordinates the school's research priorities; its research programme is making a considerable contribution to the study of public administration and management in Australia. The Commonwealth is providing ANZSOG with $200,000 per year for three years (between 2003-04 and 2005-06), matched by the Australian National University (ANU), to establish a strong and relevant research programme focused on collaboration with participating institutions. Professor John Wanna commenced his appointment as the inaugural Sir John Bunting Professor of Public Administration in July 2004, and is leading and coordinating the research programme. Commonwealth funding has also established an executive officer position for ANZSOG Research to help develop research activities. Under the funding arrangements with ANZSOG and the ANU, there is a commitment to facilitate regular ANZSOG seminars and/or workshops, to sponsor PhD students, to develop and maintain an ANZSOG research web site, and to publish a regular research newsletter. In 2004-05, ANZSOG Research conducted two seminars and two workshops. The seminars comprised a speech by Dr Geoff Mulgan on priorities for government reform after an election, and a presentation by Professor Allen Schick on APS and New Zealand public sector financial management. The workshops dealt with academic-practitioner case study writing, and strategic cabinet processes. The Commission provided direct assistance for the former. A research agenda workshop is planned for the first half of 2005-06. ANZSOG produces a regular newsletter that includes a research contribution. The research division also produced an e-newsletter in March 2005. The Commonwealth provides administrative support to the ANZSOG-ANU public lecture series. Professor Rod Rhodes (23 February), the Hon. Bob McMullan MP (27 April) and the Public Service Commissioner, Lynelle Briggs, (29 June) delivered lectures in the first six months of 2005. The APS Research Advisory Committee, which is chaired by the Commissioner, consists of a group of senior executives nominated by their agencies. The committee determines the research interests and priorities of the APS and supports the Commissioner in advising ANZSOG. The Commission will continue to help ANZSOG develop a strong research function in 2005-06. It will also foster strong relations between the APS and the school. In November 2004, ANZSOG and its APS industry partners applied for Australian Research Council funding to undertake two research programmes of importance to the academic community and the APS. The service delivery application, focusing on improving decision making in government service delivery using third party providers, was successful. Table 9: Performance Information-Output 1.3.1-Provide other support services to the Commissioner Target Result Quantity Undertake research and draft speeches. Achieved:12 major speeches and presentations produced for Executive. Secretariat and administrative support for the research component of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) agreement. The Secretariat has built a strong working relationship with ANZSOG Research at the ANU. Quality A high level of satisfaction by the Commissioner with the relevance, quality and timeliness of the advice and services provided. Achieved: Papers and speeches prepared to relevant requirements of timeliness, research quality and, in accordance with growing demands, were increasingly analytical. A high level of satisfaction by the APS with the representation of APS interests in ANZSOG research activities. Achieved: APS Research Advisory Committee members were highly satisfied with Committee meetings, briefings provided by the Secretariat for ANZSOG Foundation Board and Research Committee meetings, and opportunities to contribute to the research agenda. Eight APS agencies are involved in preparing applications for ARC grant funding. Estimated price: $0.146 million Actual: $0.340 million Significantly higher than estimated due to reallocation of resources reflecting higher priority given to raising the profile of the Commission. Price for Output 1 The total price for Output 1 for 2004-05 was $7.978 million. This is higher than the estimated price of $7.231 million published in the Portfolio Budget Statements 2004-05. Output 2: Leadership, learning and development Output 2 is drawn from the Public Service Commissioner's statutory role, listed in section 41 of the Act, in particular, her responsibilities to: * coordinate and support APS-wide training and career development * contribute to and foster leadership in the APS. Achievements Our achievements under Output 2 this year included: * launching and disseminating the Integrated Leadership System (ILS) nationally * developing support tools and programmes for the ILS * developing and delivered the new SES orientation programme * delivering two LAFIA programmes and designed a new LAFIA (Pacific) programme for delivery in July 2005 * developing and delivered the new orientation and transition programmes for executive level staff * designing and delivering the new Indigenous executive level programme * contributing to the Australia and New Zealand School of Government by supporting the Executive Fellows Programme, Executive Master Programme and executive short courses * coordinating the Public Sector Management Program including review and implementation of a new updated curriculum * representing the Commonwealth in national vocational education and training arrangements * developing and releasing the Evaluating Learning and Development guide * increasing participation in Commission programmes at all levels nationally. Slippages We did not achieve our target of 100% of new entrants to the SES attending an orientation programme in the first 1-3 years. There was some delay in designing and developing the new SES leadership programmes, however, priority is now being given to this work. The total price for Output 2 for 2004-05 was $14.9 million. Promote effective leadership in the APS The Commission focuses on promoting the importance and relevance of leadership and leadership development. In particular, we: * promote and support agencies' effective response to key leadership initiatives such as the ILS and Management Advisory Committee reports * promote effective leadership development in agencies through the Leadership Development Network * promote and coordinate agency access to a range of leadership development opportunities such as the ANZSOG programmes, the Futures Summit, the Manfred Kets de Vries' Leadership Mystique seminar. The Futures Summit is organised by the Australian DAVOS Connection and focuses on bringing together the leaders of tomorrow with the decision makers of today, across both public and private sectors. Sixty-five executives from 30 APS agencies attended this year's summit in Melbourne in May 2005. The Leadership Mystique seminar presented by Manfred Kets de Vries, Clinical Professor of Leadership Development at INSEAD France, in Canberra in June 2005, was also very well received with 352 executives attending from APS agencies. The Commission has developed a new SES leadership series, Ministerial Conversations, with the key theme of connecting government through working collaboratively across agencies to deliver government policy priorities. This series will bring the SES together to hear Ministers' portfolio policy perspectives, as well as their views on the role of the public service in implementing government policy. The Prime Minister, the Hon. John Howard MP, will speak on the 'Priorities for the Government and the public service in the 4th term' at the inaugural session in August 2005. Regional focus Our regional offices maintain a strong coordination and facilitation role in promoting effective leadership with regional heads by way of various groups and activities. Regional Director Networks exist in all states and territories and in most cases our regional directors and their staff facilitate these networks of senior agency officials. The networks provide a useful basis for building relationships across public sector organisations in areas such as connecting government, leadership initiatives, Indigenous employment and values-based management. Annual regional heads leadership conferences were held in most capital cities during 2004-05. In addition to coordinating the annual Government Business Forum, the New South Wales regional office hosted leadership seminar programmes. One forum was addressed by the Commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Services, Phil Koperberg, who spoke on managing in times of crisis, and new levels of public scrutiny in the public service arena. The Executive Leadership Group Victoria, facilitated by the Victorian regional office, conducted its annual conference focusing on the changing demography of the Australian population and issues of national and international security. The Queensland Regional Heads Forum hosted the Commissioner, Lynelle Briggs, as guest speaker who addressed the government's priorities for its fourth term, issues facing the APS and the directions she intends to take as Public Service Commissioner. The Western Australia regional office, in conjunction with the Western Australian Regional Directors Network, held its annual leadership convention in August 2004 for senior public sector managers from the APS, state and local government. Integrated Leadership System The Senior Executive Leadership Capability Framework (1999) defines the leadership capabilities required for SES appointments. It guides the Commission and the APS on leadership and career development. The Integrated Leadership System (ILS) is the output of additional estimates funding provided in 2003-04 and 2004-05. It builds on the Senior Executive Leadership Capability Framework by describing the desired behaviours supporting the SES capabilities and clarifying pathways to leadership from Executive Level 1 to SES Band 3. It is supported by a range of tools for agencies and individuals to use in their leadership development. The ILS is the result of significant research across all agencies and is supported by agency heads through the Leadership and Learning Advisory Committee chaired by the Public Service Commissioner. The ILS: * describes the capabilities for an APS-wide SES cohort * identifies how the leadership capabilities at different levels shift * provides guidance for development at different levels or transition to the next level * describes the mix of leadership capabilities, management skills and professional/technical skills and how that mix alters with changes in levels of responsibility * provides a consistent language for leadership development across the APS * examines the changing complexity of roles at different levels as time horizons lengthen, breadth of contact and responsibilities widen, and impact of decisions increases * identifies critical transition points where a new or more complex capability emphasises the shift from one level to the next * aligns with agency in-house leadership development * provides guides and tools to support professional development, career planning and succession management * forms the basis for a new range of SES and executive level development programmes * contributes to the new Indigenous executive level programme * supports realignment of existing Commission programmes. The ILS was launched progressively across Australia during 2004. The launch was highly successful, attracting large numbers of APS and state and territory government representatives. Arising out of the launch, individual courses from the ILS suite of programmes have been delivered in all states. During 2004-05 the Commission developed a series of practical tools to assist individuals at the key transition points in their career development. The ILS Capability assessment kit helps individuals assess their own capabilities, identify leadership capabilities required in their current role and prioritise their development needs. The ILS Capability development planning booklet includes tools and resources to help individuals assess capability requirements, develop appropriate development plans and ensure learning is aligned with agency business needs. Leadership and Learning Advisory Committee The Commissioner consults with Secretaries on development of leadership and development programmes for the SES and executive level staff through the Leadership and Learning Advisory Committee. The advisory committee consists of agency heads from 10 departments and two agencies. In 2004-05, the committee focused mainly on APS agencies implementing the ILS , re-tendering the contract for delivery of the Career Development Assessment Centres (CDAC), and development of new leadership programmes for the SES and executive levels including development of a new Leading Australia's Future in Asia programme to the Pacific (LAFIA Pacific) for SES Band 1s. Connecting Government-Management Advisory Committee Report 4 Connecting Government, Management Advisory Committee Report 4, released in late 2003-04, generated a great deal of interest in capital cities and a number of regional centres. Collaborative presentations and forums were held with state government counterparts around the country. Our regional offices launched the report with the support of state government counterparts in Melbourne, Hobart, Darwin, Brisbane, Townsville, Cairns, Perth, Sydney and Adelaide. The Western Australian regional office hosted an executive briefing on this theme in July 2004. Senior state and APS government officials formed a discussion panel to highlight some of the key learning outcomes from the case studies presented in the report. In addition, the South Australian regional office took a lead role in organising a joint Connecting Government-Creating a Culture for Success conference in Adelaide in April 2005. The South Australian Department of Premier and Cabinet and the South Australian Division of the Institute of Public Administration Australia were co-partners in this very successful event. More than 270 public and private sector employees listened to a range of eminent speakers from all tiers of government address the issue of providing seamless services and programmes to the community. Australia and New Zealand School of Government research programme The ANZSOG is a consortium of Australian and New Zealand governments, universities and business schools, to provide world-class teaching programmes. The Commissioner represents the Commonwealth on the board . The Commonwealth has made a significant investment in ANZSOG through a commitment of places on its flagship teaching programmes over the first three years of its operation and funding its research capacity and future development. In addition to the $600,000 provided for ANZSOG research from 2003-04 to 2005-06, in May 2005 the Australian Government announced provision of a $10 million grant. ANZSOG offers two flagship teaching programmes-the Executive Fellows Programme and the Executive Master in Public Administration. The Fellows Programme is a three-week residential programme targeting SES Band 3 and 2 staff. The Masters course is a two-year part-time programme targeting high-performing Executive Level 2 staff. The level of participant satisfaction on ANZSOG teaching programmes in 2004-05 was high. The 2004 Fellows Programme achieved an overall rating of 4.3 on a five-point scale, with 100% of participants saying they would recommend the programme to others. Evaluations from three cohorts of the Masters course (2003-05) achieved an overall rating of 3.9. During 2004-05, 31 Commonwealth public servants began the third Masters course and 20 Commonwealth public servants participated in the second Fellows Programme. In 2004-05 ANZSOG started its executive short course programme with the title 'IT for senior managers'. We have worked closely with the school and APS agencies to ensure ANZSOG teaching programmes meet the needs of the APS by building leadership capability and skills sets of senior staff and provide value for money. In May 2005, the Commissioner, in consultation with Portfolio Secretaries, secured the Commonwealth's commitment to ANZSOG programmes at current levels of 50 places per year for a further three years from 2006-2008. Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management In October 2006 the Commission will help the Australian Government host the next biennial conference of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management the overarching theme of which is Capability of the Public Sector. The conference will provide an excellent opportunity to showcase public administration in Australia and enable the Australian Government and other public sector jurisdictions, including New Zealand, to work collaboratively within a whole-of-government context. Networks The Commission coordinates a Canberra-based Leadership Development Network that aims to build better practice in leadership development. Members are mainly learning and development practitioners from across the public sector in Canberra. We chair and support the network steering group, with members from a range of agencies that determine topics, speakers and overall direction. There has been a considerable increase in interest in the network over the last 12 months as can be seen in Table 10. Table 10: Leadership Development Network-attendance 2003-05 No. subscribers No. events Total attendance Average attendance per event 2002-03 50 3 218 73 2003-04 38 (-24%) 4 245 (12%) 61 2004-05 51 (34%) 6 459 (87%) 89 Bracket represents % change on previous year 1. Leadership Development Network Breakfast Seminar 25 February 2005-Patricia Scott, 157 enrolments for this event included 79 enrolments from agencies associated with the Department of Human Services. These 79 attendees are not included in the total attendance for the year in this table. If these enrolments were included the total % increase in attendance for the year is 120%. During 2004-05 presentations to the network included ethical challenges of contemporary leadership; measuring and demonstrating the value of leadership development; succession management and the multigenerational workforce; leadership and whole-of-government; and how to implement succession management. Our regional offices facilitate a series of networks in addition to the regional directors networks. Details of these are included under Output 3. Table 11: Performance information-Output component 2.1.1-Promote effective leadership in the APS Target Result Quantity Percentage of APS agencies engaged through at least one scheduled event, activity or network focused on promoting leadership in the APS - target is 75%.> Mostly achieved: all portfolios were involved. 69% of individual APS agencies were engaged through at least one scheduled event focused on promoting leadership in the APS. Most (83%) of the agencies that did not attend an event promoting leadership in 2004-05 were small agencies. Quality 75% of APS agencies in the annual client service survey agree that in promoting effective leadership the Commission provides: ? clarity of information ? accessible means of support ? timely responses to queries ? current and useful information and ? effective transfer of knowledge to others. Client Service Survey is not being conducted until late in 2005. Data is not available for this report. The change in timing for the survey will better inform the Commission's planning and ongoing improvement of programme development and delivery. Data will be available for next year's annual report Participant feedback on programmes indicates greater than 80% satisfaction. Estimated price: $1.953 million Actual: $0.933 million Significantly less than budget as pricing for LAFIA was inadvertently included in the budget for this output (2.1.1) rather than in Output 2.1.2. The actual pricing for LAFIA is included in output 2.1.2 (see Table 14). Provide service-wide leadership development and other learning and development opportunities The Commission offers a comprehensive series of learning and development programmes in all states and territories, specifically designed to build the capabilities of the APS. The delivery options for leadership and other learning and development programmes are varied to meet the differing needs of the client groups in regard to time, budget and identified need. The Commission's particular focus is to: * build the capabilities of the SES through designing and delivering a range of new SES development programmes * align all programmes, where relevant, with the capabilities and behaviours identified in the ILS * ensure learning and development programmes reflect emerging issues that impact on public administration, such as the free trade agreement * ensure the design and development of new programmes for SES and executive level staff is based on current national and international research * introduce leadership and career development programmes for Indigenous employees. We help agencies meet the specific learning and development needs of their staff through our consultancy services team and regional offices that provide tailored programmes and services to agencies. SES development programmes Throughout the year the Commission provided a range of development opportunities for senior executives to hear quality speakers on current and emerging issues, and to build networks across the APS. The Preparing to appear before Parliamentary Committees programme continued to receive positive responses from participants. Three iterations were delivered in 2004-05. The Public servants' accountability, rights and responsibilities programme was cancelled as key presenters had other commitments leading up to the federal election. This programme has been redeveloped with a broader scope and will run in 2005-06 to provide a strategic and practical guide to meeting the expectations of ministers, parliament and the community. The Band 3 forums series offered very senior executives the opportunity to explore current strategic issues associated with * developing the capacity of regional partners in the South Pacific, with discussion led by Bruce Davis, Director-General of AusAID * the economic outlook and the implications for social and economic policy, with discussion led by Dr Ken Henry, Secretary to the Treasury. In addition to the established SES programmes-SES orientation, SES breakfasts and SES snapshots-we held two specific seminars for a broad audience, including senior executives. These were the: * Guidance on 'caretaker conventions'-understand your responsibilities during the caretaker period seminar which attracted 131 participants * Cost-benefit analysis symposium, conducted in conjunction with CPA Australia, which attracted 195 participants. The Commission is developing a new suite of SES leadership programmes for 2005-06, aligned to the Senior Executive Leadership Capability Framework and ILS, to help build and strengthen the capability of the SES with consideration to the varying levels of complexity required at each level. This suite of programmes will include a number of elements that specifically target each of the three levels within the SES. The SES Band 2 programme will be available in late 2005. The SES Band 1 and 3 programmes will be developed during 2005 and offered during 2006. SES orientation The two-day Orientation to the Senior Executive Service programme was run three times between July and December 2004. It was redeveloped as a three-day Senior Executive Service Orientation programme and delivered in June 2005, after trialling a number of versions of a senior executive transition programme. Further iterations have been offered for August, September and November 2005. This new programme gives relatively new senior executives the essential information they need to operate effectively in the APS environment. It is specifically aligned with the capabilities identified in the ILS and includes the governance requirements for senior executives and explores the relationships with ministers and the executive arm of government. Sixty-seven senior executives attended these orientation programmes in 2004-05. Of the senior executives who were engaged and/or promoted into the SES in the last three years: * 29% attended an orientation programme in their first year of service * 4% attended an orientation programme in their second year of service * None attended an orientation programme in their third year of service. The Commission believes all new SES members should participate in such development with their peers. Leading Australia's Future in Asia Leading Australia's Future in Asia (LAFIA) is a senior executive development programme involving an overseas study tour focusing on countries in Australia's region combined with an introductory session and a reflection and recall day. LAFIA aims to: * provide background and context for the international dimension of senior executive responsibilities * enable senior executives to respond strategically to changes in the Asia-Pacific region * develop networks and contacts amongst Australian participants and with their overseas equivalents. Over 150 senior executives from the Australian, state and territory governments have participated in LAFIA since it commenced in 1994. In 2004-05 the Commission led two programmes into Asia: * 20 senior executives undertook a three-week study tour of Japan and China, visiting Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai in July-August 2004 * 14 senior leaders undertook a three-week study tour of India and Malaysia visiting Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur in April 2005. LAFIA exposes participants to a range of high-level business, government and academic leaders in Australia and overseas. Participants make contact with Australian diplomatic representatives, gaining a better understanding of how the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's whole-of-government strategy works, and have time to reflect in the company of peers and take part in the resulting strategic dialogue. The Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government at the Australian National University provides the academic content for the programme. It is anticipated that the Commission will lead the next LAFIA in June 2006. In addition, early in 2005-06 we will lead the first LAFIA programme focusing on near Pacific neighbours where Australian governments are working to improve governance and public safety. LAFIA Pacific will visit Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Samoa. SES breakfast seminar series The SES breakfast seminar series continued to attract high levels of participation in 2004-05. Ten breakfast seminars were held with a total attendance of 659-an increase of 13% on the previous year. Table 12: Attendance at SES breakfasts 2002-05 No. subscribers No. events Total attendance No. individuals Average attendance per event 2002-03 37 11 714 404 65 2003-04 39 *(5%) 8 582 (-18%) 395 73 2004-05 48 (23%) 10 659 (13%) 405 66 * Bracket represents % change on previous year Key speakers have included: Professor Martin Linsky from Harvard University, Lynelle Briggs, the Public Service Commissioner, and the Reverend Tim Costello, Chief Executive Officer, World Vision Australia. Professor Linsky's presentation on the challenges and opportunities for public sector leadership in the 21st century attracted a record number of 124 participants. The Commissioner hosted an associated session for Portfolio Secretaries that provided the environment for a robust discussion on issues around leadership. A full list of the SES breakfast seminars can be found on Table 46 in Appendix F. SES snapshots The concept of the SES snapshot series was developed during 2003-04 to provide SES with the opportunity to have a short, highly focused seminar/workshop on a current issue. This year's sessions focused on strategic communication and parliamentary committees, with a continuing strong demand for the parliamentary committee sessions. Eighty-seven senior executives attended five sessions. Executive level development programmes The services provided in the Canberra region support executive level staff and include specific topic-based seminars and programmes through the executive level calendar and the Career Development Assessment Centres. Learning and development programmes for executive level staff in the regions remain one of the key components of our development strategies reflecting the overall importance of this group to the capability of the APS. Advertised programmes for executive staff encompassed a focus on managing behaviour, including practical aspects of managing suspected breaches of the APS Code of Conduct. EL series In 2004-05 we increased the development opportunities offered in Canberra in the EL series with the introduction of four new programmes and one modified programme. New programmes included: * Exploring your leadership capabilities * The essential guide for APS executives * EL 1 transition * EL 2 transition The 71 programmes in the EL series attracted 664 participants, representing a 30% increase on 2003-04 in the number of programmes held, and an 18% increase in the number of participants. The most popular programmes were Management essentials and the new EL 1 transition and EL 2 transition programmes that are specifically based on the capabilities and pathways identified in the ILS. A full list of programmes and participant numbers is included in Table 48 at Appendix F. This table includes other programmes for executives that were delivered in the states. EL forums The EL update sessions offered in Canberra continued to generate consistent interest in 2004-05 with an average attendance of 79 participants for the five sessions. Topics were: * Uhrig report-principles and process of implementation * security within the Australian Public Service * State of the Service Report * parliamentary committees * leadership development imperatives. Executive briefings in the regions were highly successful, attracting large numbers of attendees from state governments and the APS. The Commission's regional offices use different settings to cater to the specific needs and preferences of the respective regions, although the themes are consistent. In New South Wales, lunchtime leadership forums have proved popular, while in Western Australia, the Executive breakfast seminar series has been highly successful. More than 1000 APS, state and private sector representatives have participated in the Western Australian Executive breakfast seminars; keynote speakers have included a variety of high-profile public and professional personalities, including Dr Peter Shergold, the Hon. Jeff Kennett, Dr Germaine Greer, Mick Keelty and George Negus. The Victorian regional office hosted two executive events in Melbourne on governance and public service matters, as well as one in Hobart at which the Merit Protection Commissioner, Mr Jeff Lamond, spoke on the APS Code of Conduct in practice. The Public Service Commissioner, Lynelle Briggs, provided an Executive briefing on the latest developments in the APS to Northern Territory public sector employees. Paul White, Commissioner of the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services, spoke at the same forum on issues facing his organisation. Career Development Assessment Centre The Career Development Assessment Centre (CDAC) continues to offer a leadership development opportunity to high performing Executive Level 2 staff from across the public service, providing specific feedback against the capabilities in the Senior Executive Leadership Capability Framework. In our second series, we conducted 10 CDACs for 118 participants. Two CDACs were specifically for the Australian Taxation Office and the other eight were for participants from 33 different agencies. Feedback from participants indicates that over 90% believed attendance had given them a clearer understanding of their strengths and development needs and had helped them be a more effective leader. Seventeen senior executives from nine agencies participated as observers and the remaining 23 observers were retired senior executives and consultants. In response to agency feedback on the value of the CDAC, the Commission will be offering a third series commencing in 2005-06. A provider was selected through open tender for the new series, making closer links to the ILS the established framework for individual development. Senior Women in Management Since its inception in 1988, a total of 437 women have completed the Senior Women in Management (SWIM) programme, with the final intake of women completing the programme in December 2004. Following a review of SWIM in 2004, the Leadership and Learning Advisory Group recommended the Commission cancel the 2005 SWIM programme. We have completed a comprehensive study to inform future leadership development programmes for executive women in the APS. The Leadership and Learning Advisory Group will consider recommendations arising from this project later in 2005. Demand for new programmes to meet agency needs and priorities for diversity in executive staff will be considered. APS 1-6 development programmes Participation in the Commission's APS 1-6 development series increased significantly in 2004-05. Demand for these programmes continues to grow with 2363 participants attending programmes in Canberra in 2004-05 compared to 2146 in 2003-04. This is a 10% increase on 2003-04 and a 23% increase on attendance in 2002-03. Figure 3: APS 1-6 development series, number of participants (not available) The Commission ran 166 programmes in 2004-05 compared with 145 in 2003-04, an increase of 15%. A full list of these Canberra-based programmes and participant numbers are included in Table 47 at Appendix F. This table also includes the programmes for APS 1-6 that were delivered in the regions. The series offered 31 different programmes, the most popular being the Advanced writing skills, Policy formulation and advice-introductory and Developing project management expertise. New and revised programmes will be offered on the APS 1-6 and graduates development calendar in 2005 based on feedback from clients. These new programmes are: * Essentials for new supervisors * Make that meeting count * Time to make a difference * Welcome to finance in the APS. The revised programmes are: * APS financial skills-introduction * APS financial skills-advanced * APS financial management-introduction * APS financial management-advanced * Finance in the APS. Practical skills-based programmes were popular with APS 1-6 level staff in the regions. Topics such as career development and training for harassment contact officer roles were delivered most frequently in response to advertising, and attracted the greatest number of participants. There is also a growing trend towards using tailored programmes as a learning and development tool. Graduate development programmes In 2004-05 we continued to provide centralised development programmes and networking opportunities for APS graduates. Attendance levels in public development programmes have continued to decline in recent years as agencies are accessing these programmes on an in-house basis. Graduate programme attendances for 2004-05 totalled 484. A full list of programmes and participant numbers is included in Table 49 at Appendix F. Significant interest was shown in seminars such as the lunchtime seminar, A taste of Government, with 360 graduates attending, and the Graduate update session with 60 participants. Feedback from the agencies suggests a preference for this type of forum where there is opportunity for interacting with a wide range of graduates from other agencies. Indigenous development programmes During the year the Commission developed a new 12-month leadership programme for Indigenous APS employees at the Executive Levels 1 and 2: Leadership in the Australian Public Service-an Indigenous experience. This programme develops the leadership potential of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff. Participants undertake a range of leadership development experiences including a 12-week work placement and personalised coaching forums and residential workshops. The inaugural programme commenced in April 2005 in Canberra with 14 participants. The Commission has developed a new programme for Indigenous APS 5-6 level staff which will commence in 2005-06, and we will offer the careers workshop for Indigenous APS 1-4 level staff again in 2005-06, having successfully run this programme in previous years. Tailored programmes and services The Commission facilitates design, delivery and evaluation of APS-wide development activities and services within agencies through its consultancy services. Business in this area has grown steadily over the last three years, increasing by 2.7% in 2004-05. We have continued to deliver a variety of small, medium and large development activities and consultancy services to agencies. Approximately 42 agencies accessed our services during 2004-05, involving around 12,000 staff nationally. Some significant activities the consultancy services facilitated include: * development, delivery and evaluation of a Diploma in Government in Financial Management programme * strategic procurement needs analysis * development, delivery and evaluation of a leadership programme for a large agency * development of an organisational strategic plan. Learning and development activities most in demand are listed in Table 13 below. Table 13: Programmes most in demand through consultancy services, 2004-05 Type of programme Number of programmes presented Writing skills programs 61 Values and behaviour training 46 Procurement and contract management 39 Management and leadership programs and facilitations 22 Policy formulation and advice (introductory and advanced) 20 Coaching and mentoring (emotional intelligence) 7 We have maintained a high level of client satisfaction with this service, with more than 95% of client agencies that responded to an evaluation survey rating our programmes and services above 4.5 on a 6-point scale. More than 70% of the learning and development programmes provided outside Canberra were tailored to meet individual agency requests. In almost every case, agencies made these requests directly to a regional office for service delivery in the relevant geographic location. In more than 90% of cases, qualified Commission regional staff delivered the programmes. The spectrum of topics within the tailored programmes delivered in the regions was wide, and at the executive level there was considerable interest in the ILS suite of programmes. Programmes designed to impart knowledge and expertise in the areas of performance management and selection training for committee members, delegates and referees were also popular. At the APS 1-6 level, programmes focused on skills development in writing, communication, basic supervision and career development issues. We provided learning and development services to combined groups of APS and state government employees in the Northern Territory and Tasmania under previously arranged agreements throughout the year, as well as some tailored programmes for staff in individual agencies located in those geographic regions. Learning and development evaluation guide In 2004-05 the Commission developed a learning and development evaluation guide for agency use. The guide is based on the model for evaluating learning and development set out in the better practice guide Building capability-a framework for managing learning and development in the APS (published by the Commission and the Australian National Audit Office in 2003) and is intended to be a complementary, practical resource for human resource and learning and development practitioners. It was developed in consultation with learning and development practitioners across some 25 APS agencies. The guide consists of two parts: * a printed handbook, Evaluating learning and development -a framework for judging success, that provides guidance for planning the overall approach to evaluation: helping practitioners work with senior managers in planning and deciding what, when and how they will evaluate their agency's learning and development * a collection of web-based resources (practical tools, templates, tips and outlines of approaches) available on the Commission web site, to be adopted 'as is' or adapted to agency's specific requirements. Cross jurisdictional public sector development activities Throughout 2004-05, the Commission continued to coordinate three Commonwealth, state and territory training activities: * Public Service Education and Training Australia * Public Sector Management Program * Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG). Details on the ANZSOG are reported under Output 2.1.1. Public Service Education and Training Australia Public Service Education and Training Australia is the public service industry's national body for vocational education and training. The board consists of the Commonwealth, state and territory public service commissioners and employee representatives. The Commission represents the Commonwealth as a Public Service Education and Training Australia board member. Public Service Education and Training Australia's main product is the Public Sector Training Package. The Commission actively promotes the package to APS agencies as an important learning and development option. The Public Sector Training Package provides individuals with clear skill and career pathways through recognised national qualifications and gives Commonwealth agencies access to the National Training Framework. The Commission maintains a vocational education and training network of over 120 contacts in 84 APS agencies that receive updates on how the training package can help their particular agency and on what other agencies are doing with the package. We promoted the training package at various local and national forums and in our publications. In addition, we provide specialist advice to promote the training package and better integrate it into other training and development products. For example, we mapped CPA Australia professional development programmes into the training package to provide guidance to agencies using those programmes and the package as part of their development framework. Public Sector Management Programme The highly successful and long-running Public Sector Management Programme provides middle managers at the senior APS and executive level classifications with the full range of management skills required to lead effectively in the public sector. The Commission coordinates Commonwealth, state and territory participation in the programme by providing secretariat services to a board of management that oversees the programme. The Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Customs Service, Mr Lionel Woodward AO, is the current chair of the board. Programme commencements have declined slightly from 558 in 2003-04 to 513 in 2004-05 with Commonwealth commencements declining from 183 in 2003-04 to 173 in 2004-05. This decline followed several years of strong growth after a major curriculum review in 2002 and is largely attributable to new programmes being delayed until a new, reviewed curriculum became available in March 2005. It is expected that commencements in 2005-06 will grow significantly on the 2004-05 figures. Since its inception in 1992, 8755 participants have undertaken the programme, of whom 2467 were Commonwealth employees. By 30 June 2005, 3597 participants had graduated from the programme-975 were Commonwealth employees. Table 14: Performance information-Output component 2.1.2-Provide service-wide leadership development and other learning development services Target Result Quantity Number of development activities delivered - estimate 1300 activities. Achieved: 1401 development activities delivered in Canberra and regions: being 879 in Canberra and 522 in regions. Percentage of new entrants to the Senior Executive Service (SES) attending an orientation in the first 1-3 years - target is 100%. Not achieved: 33% of SES engaged in the last 3 years have attended an orientation programme. Number of Career Development Assessment Centres (CDAC) delivered - estimate 8. Achieved: 10 programmes delivered Quality At least 90% of responding participants, when surveyed, give an average rating above 4.5 (out of 6) for: ? achieving objectives ? programme content and ? quality of presenter. Achieved: Over 90% of all Commission programmes achieved an average participant rating of over 4.5 (out of 6) for all 3 measures. At least 90% of responding clients to the In-house Panel services, when surveyed, give an average rating above 4.5 (out of 6) for how well the programme was: ? tailored and delivered and ? coordinated and administered. Achieved Client agencies were surveyed to provide results against this quality measure. The results below reflect the average ratings (out of 6) against the identified quality measures: ? tailored and delivered-5.2 ? coordinated and administered-4.9. At least 90% of responding CDAC participants, when surveyed, believed that attendance at the Centre made them more effective leaders. Achieved 91 % pf participants believed their attendance at the Centre was beneficial to extremely beneficial in assisting them to be a more effective leader. At least 90% of responding SES orientation participants, when surveyed, give an average rating above 4.5 (out of 6) for: ? achieving objective ? programme content and ? quality of presenters. Achieved Over 90% of all programme participants completed evaluations on the programme they attended. The results below reflect the average rating (out of 6): ? achieving objective-5.3 ? programme content -5.4 ? quality of presenters-5.1. Estimated price: $11.661 million Actual: $13.967 million Significantly higher than estimated price due to additional activities including LAFIA, in-house programmes and regional services Price for Output 2 The total price for Output 2 for 2004-05 was $14.900 million. This is higher than the estimated price of $13.614 million published in the Portfolio Budget Statements 2004-05. Output 3: Organisational performance, promotion and support Output 3 is drawn from the Public Service Commissioner's statutory role, listed in section 41 of the Act, in particular, her responsibilities to: * promote the APS Values and Code of Conduct * facilitate continuous improvement in people management throughout the APS. Achievements Our achievements under Output 3 this year included: * the HR Capability Development Programme reaching critical mass with over 100 participants completing the programme since its inception, with 22 participants awarded an Advanced Diploma or Diploma in Government * an entry-level traineeship programme for 14 Indigenous employees in seven agencies in Canberra, which included partnerships between the agencies, with an Indigenous Employment Centre for job-ready training, and with a registered training provider for Certificate III-level training * a partnership between the Commission's Western Australian and South Australian Regional Offices and Centrelink to run a longitudinal study to help develop policies and programmes that will attract and retain Indigenous staff. Slippages We are still finalising our research study into the current state of Indigenous employment in Australia. We expect the report to be finished during 2005-06. We deferred work on a workforce-planning project aimed at meeting the needs of small agencies. The total price for Output 3 for 2004-05 was $4.761 million. Provide advice to government During 2004-05 the Commission provided advice and support to the Government on issues relevant to Output 3, preparing 10 formal submissions to the Minister and actioning ministerial correspondence or representations. We estimated that we would respond to 37 requests for reports or information and advice. The difference between the estimate and actual figure can be accounted for by the number of briefs and responses recorded under Output 1 owing to their focusing on policy aspects of Output 3. In 2004-05, the Minister provided ratings for eight of the 10 briefs forwarded for his consideration. Of these, all briefs met the required standard: seven received a rating of 4, and one a rating of 5 (excellent). Table 15: Performance Information-Output 3.1.1-Provide advice to Government Target Result Quantity Reports and responses to requests for information and advice - estimate 37 Overestimated. 10 Briefs and 4 items of ministerial correspondence/representation completed. The result is lower than estimated due to significantly less demand for this service. Quality Percentage of items rated satisfactory or higher in terms of relevance, quality and timeliness - target is 100% Achieved. 100% of items were rated as satisfactory or higher in terms of relevance, quality and timeliness Estimated price: $0.087 million Actual: $0.050 million Lower than estimated price due to lower demand for advice, including briefing Promote better practice The Commission supports best practice in governance, people management, client service, workplace diversity, and other aspects of organisational management through provision of advice and a range of Canberra and regionally based activities and networks. These activities and networks aim to keep agencies and APS employees abreast of better practice in public administration. They also provide APS employees with the opportunity to network with colleagues, exchange ideas and share experiences. Workforce planning The shifting demands on, and expectations of, the APS together with labour market trends and changing demographics continue to pose significant challenges to public sector organisations. To address these challenges and to highlight better practice we have provided advice to agencies and conducted a range of workforce planning activities. One aspect of our approach to workforce planning has been to conduct a series of summits aimed at progressing the conversation by focusing on particular segments of this broad-ranging and multi-faceted subject. During 2004-05 the Commission ran the fifth summit in the series, entitled Meeting your future capability: attracting and retaining mature aged workers. Ross Miller (WESTPAC Banking Corporation), Alison Monroe (SageCo Pty Ltd) and Mary Bushby (ACT Department of Urban Services) spoke at the summit on the strategies their organisations are using to address the challenge of meeting future capability requirements. In support of the summit series the Commission continued to offer the Building the Business Case workshop. Designed as a result of an earlier summit, the workshop helps human resource practitioners with business case development, especially workforce planning. The workshop was run on three occasions and received positive feedback from participants. A workshop was also held in Brisbane, in conjunction with the Queensland human resource network, to support agencies in addressing challenges presented by changing demographics and to work through strategies presented in the Mature Aged Workers in the APS kit. The kit, designed to help agencies adapt their human resource management strategies to retain and attract mature aged employees, was launched in 2003 following release of the MAC Organisational Renewal report. In the 2003-04 annual report we reported on a workforce planning project designed to help smaller agencies, or those with central human resource functions, in Melbourne develop effective workforce planning strategies. It was identified in the report that a further project would be offered this financial year. Unfortunately this was not possible due to an increased focus on other aspects of better practice people management. Strategic human resource planning In March 2005 the Commission conducted a four-day HR Executive Programme facilitated by the Clinical Professor of Business at the University of Michigan Business School, Dr Wayne Brockbank. Dr Brockbank is an internationally renowned author, researcher and educator. The Wall Street Journal and Business Week consistently rate the three programmes of which he is director or co-director as the best human resource executive programmes in the United States and Europe. Twenty-seven senior human resource staff (mostly SES) from the APS, Victorian public service and New Zealand public service attended the programme. The focus of the programme was application of a process for creating high value-added human resource strategies, building a high performance, customer focused culture and building personal and functional credibility. In addition to being an excellent learning experience the programme provided a valuable opportunity for cross-jurisdictional networking and collaboration. As a result, interest has also been expressed in translating the key messages from the programme into a practical product to help diagnose the effectiveness of human resource practices and identify areas where the greatest improvement can be made. The Commission is designing a process to meet these needs and further build the capability of human resource functions to maximise agency performance. In addition, certain aspects of the human resource executive programme have been incorporated into existing activities. Get it Right-a recruitment kit for managers Following the successful launch of Get it Right-a recruitment kit for managers in 2003, agencies continue to express a high level of interest in adopting the kit. The Commission continues to provide training and information sessions to managers to help them get the most from the material. The kit, designed to help line managers achieve quality recruitment and selection outcomes, has been widely adopted across the APS and introduced to more than 1600 human resource staff and SES and non-SES line managers from a majority of agencies in both central and regional offices around Australia. Human resource capability development Interest in using the human resource capability model continues to grow with frequent requests from agencies for advice on how they can use the model to link human resource services more clearly with organisational strategy. To help agencies achieve this goal during 2004-05 we spoke to a large number of agencies and ran a significant number of workshops to explore the model and highlight the capabilities required of highly effective human resource staff. We continue to offer assistance to APS agencies in developing the skills of human resource staff through the Human Resource Capability Development Programme. The programme is designed to help human resource staff develop the capabilities necessary to deliver quality human resource services to achieve approved business outcomes in their respective agencies. The programme is offered in two forms, both running over a period of seven months. The foundation level is designed to meet the needs of specialist human resource staff taking on more strategic roles, while the extension level programme is for those expected to make a significant contribution to the human resource profession. Previously interstate participants attended the programme in Canberra. This year, for the first time, the programme has been conducted in the regions: one in Brisbane and another likely to be held in Melbourne in the new financial year. During the year one extension and two foundation programmes were completed; and two extension and one regionally-based programme have commenced. The Canberra Institute of Technology accredits both programmes: the foundation programme at the Diploma of Government level and the extension programme at the Advanced Diploma of Government level. During 2004-05, 19 participants were awarded an Advanced Diploma or Diploma of Government. People Management Forum The People Management Forum was established in May 2004 to consider key human resource challenges, access current thinking, stimulate discussion and reflect on practical changes that can be made in the workplace. In 2004-05 we transformed the forum from a conference event to a subscription series. The series, consisting of four summits, has involved 87 subscribers from 40 agencies. Guest speakers were drawn from both the public and private sector with sessions covering successful culture change, managing work life balance-making the rhetoric the reality, human resource from the other side of the fence-what do line managers want from HR?, and the role of human resource management in ensuring future capability. Workplace diversity During 2004-05 we continued to focus our workplace diversity priorities towards recruiting and retaining Indigenous Australians-reported under Output 3.2.3-leaving limited resources for other aspects of workplace diversity. We did, however, continue to provide shared learning on particular aspects of workplace diversity, including bullying and harassment in the workplace, and employment of people with a disability. To help agencies discharge their responsibilities under the Act for promoting workplace diversity, the Commission continued to maintain an active network across the majority of public service agencies and provide advice and guidance through newsletters, email contact and discussion forums. The Minister invited the Public Service Commissioner, Lynelle Briggs, to join the Employer Roundtable for People with Disabilities. The roundtable has been established to provide high-level advice to the Government on ways to increase workforce participation for people with disabilities through increased employer demand. The roundtable consists of employers and peak bodies. Engaging employers in this reform is critical, and will provide a crucial base for developing and implementing employment initiatives. Preventing bullying and harassment The Commission has continued to host jointly with Comcare workshops on preventing workplace bullying and harassment. The first to be held outside Canberra was delivered in October 2004 in Hobart, with 16 APS and state government agencies represented. The workshops were also held in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. Most of the regional programmes combined the bullying and harassment prevention messages with other relevant programmes such as the APS Values and Code of Conduct, helping to send an integrated message about workplace behaviours. The workshop structure was modified towards the end of the year to include research findings on evidence-based interventions and organisational factors influencing bullying in the workplace. In April 2005 over 90 participants, from at least 30 APS agencies and other organisations, attended a seminar in this new format at the National Museum in Canberra. Networks The Commission facilitates an array of networks for APS agencies and employees to keep them informed about better practice in public administration and as an opportunity to exchange ideas and share experiences with their colleagues. Networks we facilitated this year were the Corporate Management Network, the senior executive human resource roundtable and human resource directors forum, and the regional networks. Corporate Management Network The Commission coordinates meetings of the Corporate Management Network (COMNET) for the heads of corporate services and key human resource advisers in each Commonwealth agency. COMNET provides timely and accurate advice to agencies to support their implementation of government policy on the corporate management of Commonwealth agencies. Meetings are generally held every two months-this year COMNET met six times. The Commission, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and the Department of Finance and Administration provide guest speakers as well as reports and updates on current issues.. Senior Executive human resource roundtable & human resource directors forum The senior executive human resource roundtable and human resource directors forum provide an opportunity for members to network with colleagues, to exchange information about human resource challenges facing the APS, and for agencies to work collaboratively on emerging issues. This year the roundtable met five times and the directors forum met six times. A range of issues was discussed, including: * human resource data tools to aid workforce planning * Australian National Audit Office report on performance management * non-graduate recruitment * aligning human resource with the business * Get it Right-a recruitment kit for managers * Indigenous employment * managing performance * Code of Conduct sanctions. Regional networks Networks are an invaluable way of keeping APS and other government employees connected, and this is one of the important roles all our regional offices undertake at both the practitioner and senior management level. Throughout the year APS employees, with increasing representation of state government employees, joined in purpose-specific settings to participate in human resource and better practice networks. The Western Australian regional office coordinated three workshops during the year on attracting and retaining a quality workforce, bullying and harassment, and administrative review, all of which were regarded as highly successful. The Victorian, South Australian and Queensland regional offices coordinated network meetings on similar themes, as well as succession management, workforce and career planning and the practical implications of the Code of Conduct. The New South Wales regional office hosted a series of forums titled Driving Change that were specifically tailored for senior human resource practitioners and managers to gain ideas about connecting human resources to business outcomes. The New South Wales office also coordinated the Forum of Commonwealth Agencies that include lunchtime network meetings, as well as an all day Innovations in Human Resource Management forum which showcased good practice in people management from a number of participating agencies. Regional activities Marking the importance of International Women's Day is something of a tradition in the regional office calendar and nearly all offices host an annual event. This year for example, the Victorian office hosted an International Women's Day lunch seminar at which the Victorian Commissioner of Police, Christine Nixon, spoke about her career and the attitudinal and policy changes she has experienced in a traditionally male dominated workplace. Events such as this attract large numbers of women and men around the country due in part to the fact that the Commission endeavours to engage speakers with whom a wide range of APS employees can identify. A diversity conference was held in Brisbane in June this year that addressed issues of workforce demographic shifts, legislative and policy provisions and emerging trends in employment law as it relates to managing diversity in the workplace. More than 80 participants were able to benefit from the insights of speakers that included federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Pru Goward, Human Rights Commissioner, Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM, the Merit Protection Commissioner, Jeff Lamond, and Senior Executive Lawyer with the Australian Government Solicitor, Maurice Swan, who presented ideas about challenges and opportunities for workplace regeneration. Table 16: Performance Information-Output 3.2.1-Promote better practice Target Result Quantity Number of activities including development, networks and special events - estimate 143 Achieved: Number of activities including development, networks and special events - 188 Quality 80% of responding participants considered activities were relevant to their needs and useful Achieved: 98% of responding participants considered activities were relevant to their needs and useful Estimated price: $2.375 million Actual: $2.338 million Consistent with estimated price Promote the APS Values and Code of Conduct Learning and development toolkit for Values-based decision making The Commission has developed a learning and development kit called Being Professional in the APS-Values Resources for Facilitators to provide the variety of information, materials and activities that are needed to deliver highly effective training programmes on the APS Values and Code of Conduct. The kit is a comprehensive package of resources to: * make the APS Values 'come alive' * address workplace situations that are specific to the APS * convey the Public Service Commissioner's key messages about building a values-based culture in the APS. The materials have been developed for facilitators to tailor the activities and workshop programmes to best meet participants' needs; be it participants at different levels of responsibility, participants in regional APS service delivery and other roles; employees new to the APS or more experienced members of the SES. These materials align with the Public Sector Training Package. The Being Professional in the APS-Values Resources for Facilitators kit will be released early in 2005-06. Values and conduct-working with agencies We continued to work closely with agencies by providing advice on applying the APS Values and the Code of Conduct and by making presentations to numerous agencies and overseas delegations and to various networks. Throughout the year we also delivered a significant number of learning and development programmes on the APS Values and Code of Conduct, particularly in the regions, with more than 3000 APS employees participating in over 150 interactive sessions. The majority of activities were conducted within agencies to enable tailoring to their specific needs. Several agencies also sought an Australia-wide programme to ensure consistent messages were delivered throughout their agencies. Table 17: Performance Information-Output 3.2.2- Promote the APS Values and Code of Conduct Target Result Quantity Number of activities including development, networks and special events - estimate 90 Exceeded: The total number of all activities was 178. Number of promotional activities delivered - estimate 20 The result was greater than estimated due to higher than expected demand for regional development activities. Quality 80% of responding participants considered activities were relevant to their needs and useful Exceeded: The overwhelming nature of feedback from participants at every level was extremely positive. A high level of agency satisfaction with the quality of support, information and assistance provided by the Commission Agencies expressed high levels of satisfaction with Commission services, including advice, support and publications. Estimated price: $0.593 million Actual: $0.694 million Slightly higher than estimated price due to increased delivery of APS Values and Code of Conduct training by regional offices Promote Indigenous employment in the APS The Commission's Indigenous employment strategy is a whole-of-government project aimed at improving Indigenous employment in the Commonwealth public sector by helping agencies implement workable initiatives to attract, recruit, develop and retain Indigenous employees. The strategy aims to redress the declining representation of Indigenous Australians employed in the public service and to understand why Indigenous employees leave the service earlier, and more frequently, than non-Indigenous employees. The strategy works to achieve this through: * forging successful partnerships * identifying and accessing alternative pathways to employment * developing and implementing effective recruitment strategies * developing and implementing effective retention strategies * working to support and model a whole-of-government approach. Partnerships During 2004-05 we continued to forge and develop a number of partnerships with other Commonwealth agencies, and with state government agencies and private sector organisations. These partnerships have resulted in the following initiatives: * A commitment from a cross-section of agencies to participate at senior executive level on a steering committee to oversee and guide the directions of the strategy. * An entry-level traineeship programme for 14 Indigenous employees in seven agencies in Canberra, which included partnerships between the agencies, with an Indigenous Employment Centre for job-ready training, and with a registered training provider for Certificate III-level training. * A service-wide Indigenous graduate programme to recruit entrants for agencies' 2006 graduate intakes. * A partnership between the Commission's Western Australian and South Australian regional offices and Centrelink to run a longitudinal study to help develop policies and programmes that will attract and retain Indigenous staff. The final report is due for completion early in 2005-06 and will address employment pathways, attracting recruitment, career progression, inclusive workplace culture and APS-wide partnerships. The cooperation and input of Indigenous trainees has been a vital part of the study. Pathways The pathways to employment strategy recognises that, due to systemic disadvantage, Indigenous Australians often face greater hurdles than non-Indigenous Australians in accessing public sector employment. We have been actively seeking to work with current, potential and former Indigenous employees to identify these barriers and find ways to overcome them. The strategy includes: * the entry-level traineeship and service-wide graduate programmes noted above * an employee survey to gauge personal experiences and anecdotal evidence about whether or not Indigenous job seekers seek employment in the public service * development of updated advice to agencies about using identified criteria and special measures provisions for the targeted recruitment of Indigenous Australians * development of a school-to-work programme that will provide opportunities for young Indigenous students to complete secondary school with financial support from sponsoring agencies, and then transition to employment opportunities in the public service * examining options for providing job-ready training to support Indigenous Australians in their access to public service jobs. Recruitment Our recruitment initiatives have largely been to do with supporting public service employers to use effective and culturally appropriate recruitment methods to ensure Indigenous applicants are not disadvantaged in the selection process. These have included: * conducting a range of forums on personnel and human resource management issues of particular interest to agencies with Indigenous employees, or who are looking to recruit Indigenous employees * undertaking preparatory work to identify issues and topics for a series of better practice guides, including tailoring the Commission's Get it Right recruitment kit. Retention Recruitment is one part of the Indigenous employment picture. The other relates to retention and separation. We know Indigenous employees tend to leave the service earlier than non-Indigenous employees, but we do not know why they leave, or where they go. Agencies that lose Indigenous employees lose a range of valuable skills and perspectives brought by a diverse workforce. To address this concern we have been working with agencies to identify initiatives that might work to encourage Indigenous employees to remain in the service: * The first Indigenous executive level development programme started in April 2005 with 14 participants. The programme will run for around 10 months, providing participants with a combination of residential training, intensive skills development and work placements. * The Commission initiated development of a new programme for Indigenous APS 5-6 level staff that is due to start in 2005-06; and we will continue to offer the careers workshop for Indigenous APS 1-4 level staff in 2005-06, having successfully run this programme in previous years. * In Western Australia, the Commission's regional office, in conjunction with the local Indigenous employees steering committee, developed the APS Indigenous Employees Exchange Scheme (IndEx). IndEx is a short-term, interdepartmental exchange scheme for all ongoing Indigenous APS employees in Western Australia who have worked for the APS for a minimum of 12 months. The scheme is designed to give Indigenous employees the opportunity to further develop their skills, approaches to work and careers, and to expand their understanding of the public sector by providing a six-month placement in another agency. * The Commission supports a series of Indigenous employee networks in each state. The networks provide a much needed opportunity for Indigenous employees to get together, share experiences and raise issues of importance to their careers, as well as discuss broader issues. * A major event within Victoria this year was the Us Gov'ment Mob lunch seminar, held in Melbourne at which the Social Justice Commissioner and Acting Race Relations Commissioner with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Mr Tom Calma, made the keynote speech to nearly 100 guests. Mr Calma spoke about his own career with great insight, including his experiences working on issues outside Indigenous matters. Supporting whole-of-government Following the Government's decision to re-align administration of Indigenous affairs with effect from 1 July 2004, the new Indigenous Coordination Centres are leading the way in transforming public sector service delivery and achievement of whole-of-government outcomes for a target client base. The Commission is able to further this whole-of-government approach by: * developing and providing training for all Indigenous Coordination Centres on aspects of service delivery, contract management, cultural awareness and whole-of-government integration * helping agencies focus on their workforce planning and capability development objectives to inform targeted recruitment and retention strategies * developing career support strategies, including job rotations, secondments and placements to develop individual and organisational capability. Table 18: Performance Information-Output 3.2.3-Promote Indigenous employment in the APS Target Result Quantity Complete Indigenous employment project and implement associated initiatives-estimate 20. Achieved: Extended the strategy and the following initiatives were implemented under the 2004-05 Indigenous Employment Strategy: ? an entry-level traineeship for 14 participants; ? advertising for the 2006 Indigenous graduate placements; ? inaugural Indigenous executive level development programme with 14 participants; ? development and provision of training for 30 Indigenous Co-ordination Centres (23 regional and remote, seven urban). Quality High level of satisfaction of steering committee members with project and progress of associated initiatives. Achieved: steering committee has expressed support and satisfaction with the initiatives undertaken to date and with the proposed new directions for the APS employment and capability strategy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Estimated price: $0.857million Actual: $1.633 million Higher than estimated price due to additional funding transferred from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs Undertake research and analysis We estimated that during 2004-05 we would complete three research projects. The research required more time than initially anticipated. Of the three, the Commission has undertaken two: preventing bullying and harassment in the workplace, and the current state of Indigenous employment in Australia. Preventing bullying and harassment in the workplace A plain English guide on bullying and harassment, provisionally titled Respect: a good practice guide to promoting a culture free from bullying and harassment in the APS, mentioned in last year's annual report, is being redrafted to take account of comments we received on an exposure draft released for comment. Progress has been slower than expected, due to other priorities, however the revised guide will be released in 2005-06. Research report on Indigenous employment in the APS We noted in 2003-04 that we are undertaking a research study into the current state of Indigenous employment in Australia and examining strategies and initiatives that have been used both in Australia and overseas to increase the recruitment and retention of Indigenous employees. Operational research has been undertaken and the results will be redirected to the broader evaluation of agency approaches to the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mentioned under Output 4.2.2. Table 19: Performance Information-Output 3.3.1-Undertake research and analysis Target Result Quantity Number of research projects completed - estimate 3 Not achieved: progress slower than planned due to other priorities. Quality Projects are of high standard (timely, fulfill terms of reference, methodologically sound) and contribute to better practice Qualitative and quantitative research was methodologically sound and will contribute to the development of better practice advice and guidance Estimated price: $0.047 million Actual: $0.046 million Consistent with estimated price Price for Output 3 The total price for Output 3 was $4.761 million. This is higher than the estimated price of $3.959 million published in the Portfolio Budget Statements 2004-05, however additional funding was transferred from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs. Output 4: Evaluation Output 4 is drawn from the Public Service Commissioner's statutory role, listed in sections 41 and 44 of the Act, in particular, her responsibilities to: * report annually on the state of the Australian Public Service * evaluate the extent to which agencies incorporate and uphold the APS Values * evaluate the adequacy of systems and procedures in agencies for ensuring compliance with the Code of Conduct * review and evaluate APS employment policies and practices. Achievements Our achievements under Output 4 this year included: * publishing the State of the Service series of reports * completing an evaluation of agency management of suspected breaches of the Code of Conduct * completing the first in a series of rolling evaluations of agency diversity plans * initiating evaluations of Indigenous employment in the APS and agency remuneration policies * maintaining the APS Employment Database (APSED), including improving the regularity and integrity of agency data (excluding employee-provided data) given to APSED, and conducting data analysis * enhancing the APSED Internet Interface (APSEDII)-an Internet accessible data reporting tool for APS employment. Slippages Due to other Commission priorities, we deferred our publishing timeframe for the Good practice guide on management of suspected breaches of the Code of Conduct in APS agencies. The guide is now due for release in 2005-06. The total price for Output 4 for 2004-05 was $2.406 million. Provide data from the APS Employment Database We maintain APSED as a source for publishing key workforce statistics. APSED is an important basis of information for the State of the Service Report, as well as for Management Advisory Committee research. APSED data also enables us to help agencies with workforce planning by providing them with benchmarking and agency-specific data. Users can request cross-tabulations of unpublished data. Recent examples include extracting length of service data and length of service at level by classification data for an agency, to allow comparison with APS benchmarks. APS Employment Database Internet interface Users can also access aggregated data directly through the APSED Internet Interface (APSEDII) at . The interface promotes better practice in workforce planning and benchmarking, allowing agencies to produce data similar to that published in the APS Statistical Bulletin. APSEDII produces charts and tables, and also permits users to download the queried results and to further manipulate the data in other applications. The interface is presented in a user-friendly point-and-click style with instructions and help available on the web site. This year we introduced enhancements to APSEDII that allow users to extract data for organisations not separately identified in the APS Statistical Bulletin, as well as more options for formatting output. Agencies will be trialing Stage 2 of APSEDII, which will make it possible for designated individuals within agencies to access the system through a secure logon and password procedure, in the first quarter of 2005-06. This level of access will allow users to look at unit record data for staff in their agency, provide more detailed information for workplace pla Table 20: Performance Information-Output 4.1.1-Provide data from the APS Employment database to agencies Target Result Estimated price: $0.060 million Actual: $0.148 million Higher than estimated price owing to greater emphasis being given to providing agencies with APSED data (including through APSEDII) Evaluate and provide information on APS performance through State of the Service Report (including Workplace Diversity Report) and Statistical Bulletin The Commission evaluates the performance of the APS through the Commissioner's State of the Service Report (including the Workplace Diversity Report) to parliament. Under section 44(2) of the Act, the Public Service Commissioner is required to report annually on the state of the APS. While the Act does not specify the issues to be covered in the report, the Commissioner's approach has been to focus evaluation on the extent to which agencies incorporate and uphold the APS Values (in line with section 41(1)(a) of the Act). The State of the Service Report 2003-04 was closely structured around the four groups of APS Values. Sections covered relations with the Government and parliament, relations with the public, workplace relationships and personal behaviour. Other chapters included embedding the APS Values, workplace diversity and building APS capability. We drew upon diverse and complementary data sources to develop the State of the Service Report 2003-04. These sources included the Commission's own research and databases (particularly APSED), published and unpublished material from other agencies (particularly central agencies) and parliamentary committee and Australian National Audit Office reports. We also undertook two surveys, over two years. The first agency survey provided information on a wide range of management and capability issues in agencies with 20 or more APS employees. In the second year we conducted the agency survey online and achieved a 100% response rate from the 87 agencies involved. However, late responses from some agencies caused some problems. Our second annual employee survey, sent to almost 6500 randomly selected APS employees, provided data on employee attitudes to, and understanding of, a range of issues. Among these were the APS Values, the Code of Conduct, merit, work/life balance, job satisfaction, whole-of-government issues, relations with the Minister and parliament, diversity, individual performance management, discrimination, bullying and harassment. The 2004 employee survey had a 50% response rate-down slightly from 2003 (51%) but a creditable result for a voluntary survey. In addition to using the surveys to inform the Commissioner's State of the Service Report 2003-04 we provided large agencies (that is, those with over 1000 APS employees) with summaries of their own employees' responses to the employee survey where they were statistically valid. We also provided small and medium sized agencies with a benchmark summary of all small or medium sized agencies, respectively. In addition, we produced a publication, State of the Service Employee Survey Results 2003-04, which made the results of the employee survey available to the Australian public in a collated, aggregate form. The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit and the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet have approved the tabling of the State of the Service Report by the end of November each year. Consequently, the State of the Service Report 2003-04 was tabled in parliament on 30 November 2004. We distributed hard copies of the report to APS agency heads, corporate heads of management, all SES staff, agency contact officers for surveys and the human resource directors network. Copies were also made available to diversity coordinators; state, territory, and New Zealand Public Service Commissioners; selected non-APS agency heads; relevant academics; and overseas contacts. Similarly, we provided hard copies of the State of the Service Employee Survey Results 2003-04 to APS agency heads, corporate heads of management, agency contact officers and state, territory and New Zealand Public Service Commissioners. Both publications are available on the Commission's web site. The 2003-04 report highlighted five critical challenges for the APS in the coming year: * Building and sustaining the capability of the APS-the need to balance leadership capabilities, management skills and technical or professional skills and ensure the APS is an employer of choice attracting and retaining the best. * Sustaining whole-of-government capacity-apart from the capacity to work productively across agencies, the challenge also involves the capacity to work productively with other jurisdictions and non-government organisations and to engage with citizens. * Ensuring diversity in the APS -there are two key diversity challenges: Indigenous employment and employment of people with a disability. Both groups of employees are in long-term decline in the APS and current strategies are not working well. * Ensuring an effective relationship between the APS and the Government and parliament-in particular, the importance of clearly understanding the APS Values as they relate to working with the Government and parliament and improving the confidence of APS employees in this interaction. * Embedding the APS Values and the Code of Conduct-building on recent progress, the challenge is to ensure that new employees are correctly inducted, new leaders appreciate their statutory responsibility to promote the APS Values and agencies have supportive management and assurance mechanisms. APS Statistical Bulletin The APS Statistical Bulletin 2003-04 presented a snapshot of APS-wide staffing at June 2004, and of staff movements during 2003-04. The bulletin also included summary data for the past 10 years. Its format followed that of the previous year. We distributed the 2003-04 bulletin to all APS agency heads, members of the Corporate Management Network (COMNET), state, territory and New Zealand Public Service Commissioners and major public and university libraries. It is available in hard copy and electronically on the Commission's web site. The electronic version allows users to download tables without needing to manually enter data. We improved the layout of the electronic version to enable users to move more easily between tables. The bulletin provides useful information to agencies engaged in benchmarking themselves against APS-wide trends and workforce planning. Table 21: Performance Information-Output 4.2.1- State of the Service Report (including Workplace Diversity Report) and Statistical Bulletin Target Result Estimated price: $0.933 million Actual: $0.978 million Consistent with estimated price Quantity Annual State of the Service Report (including the Workplace Diversity Report) and Statistical Bulletin. Achieved: Produced State of the Service Report 2003-04 (including Workplace Diversity Report), APS Statistical Bulletin 2003-04 and State of the Service Employee Survey Results 2003-04. Quality 100% compliance with tabling requirements for Government. Achieved: State of the Service Report complied with Government tabling requirements. Reports produced to high standards of accuracy. Accurate and useful reports to Government and parliament on the performance of the APS. Positive feedback received on the State of the Service Report 2003-04 from senior public servants and agency contact officers. This included: ? 91% agreed the report was a useful resource; ? 93% agreed that the inclusion of the employee survey results added value; ? 78% agreed that they discussed report findings with other staff. Undertake specific-issue evaluations We conduct research and undertake evaluations that support the Commissioner in promoting the APS Values and Code of Conduct and contribute to a sustainable, contemporary and vital public service. An element of our evaluation and assurance strategic priority for 2004-05 was the continuing programme of specific-issue evaluation projects. The major project we completed in 2004-05 was an evaluation of agency management of suspected breaches of the Code of Conduct. Work on this project began in 2003-04 and the results of the evaluation were reported in the State of the Service Report 2003-04. The evaluation examined the management of suspected breaches of the Code of Conduct in six agencies. We found that all six agencies treated misconduct seriously and had established Code of Conduct and whistleblower procedures. However, we also found inconsistency in their application within agencies and a number of quality assurance issues that required attention. A good practice guide for agencies drawing on the findings of the evaluation is being prepared and is due for release in 2005-06. The evaluation programme also included a number of other projects: * Preparation of a good practice guide on interactions with ministerial offices, based on an evaluation conducted in 2003-04 (results were published in the State of the Service Report 2003-04). The evaluation found that employees' confidence in balancing the APS Values when dealing with ministerial offices was enhanced when documentation and agency leadership target the issue. At the same time, it found that agency documentation and promotion of relevant protocols varied. Publication of the guide is expected in 2005-06. * A rolling review of all APS agencies' written workplace diversity programmes to determine whether agencies are effectively meeting statutory requirements. In 2004-05, we finalised the first stage of this review and results were reported in the State of the Service Report 2003-04. The evaluation concluded that most agencies have taken substantial and positive steps towards satisfying the requirements of workplace diversity programmes. However, it also concluded that the quality of performance indicators could be improved. More specifically, the investigation revealed that a broad approach to workplace diversity appeared, in some cases, to be being implemented at the expense of more specific initiatives aimed at removing employment disadvantage for target groups. The second stage of the rolling evaluation has also been completed and results will be reported in the State of the Service Report 2004-05. * An evaluation of agencies' written remuneration policies was begun in late 2004-05: it is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2005-06 and results reported in the State of the Service Report 2004-05. * An evaluation of agencies' approaches to employing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was started in late 2004-05. It is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2005-06, with results to be reported in the State of the Service Report 2005-06. Table 22: Performance Information-Output 4.2.2-Undertake specific-issue evaluations Target Result Estimated price: $0.444 million Actual: $0.244 million Lower than estimated owing to reallocation of resources to other areas of higher priority, including the State of the Service Report. Quantity At least one new evaluation and 'good practice' guide aimed at improving the performance of APS departments and agencies. Achieved: One major evaluation of agency management of suspected breaches of the Code of Conduct completed. Two stages of a rolling review of workplace diversity programs completed. Two 'good practice' guides near completion ('Reporting and Managing Misconduct' and 'Supporting Ministers, Upholding the Values'). Quality High level of satisfaction of agencies directly involved in the evaluation that the evaluation and 'good practice' guide will assist in improving future performance. Achieved: A broad consensus among the reference group of participating agencies about the accuracy of the conclusions of the overall evaluation report regarding the evaluation of agency management of suspected breaches of the Code of Conduct. More general feedback from other APS agencies that the 'good practice' guide will assist in improving performance. Informal feedback received from the majority of participating agencies on the usefulness of their specific agency reports for improving agency procedures. Maintain APS Employment Database and undertake related research We maintain APSED-the central database on APS employment. APSED is an important source of information for cross-service accountability, particularly for the State of the Service Report. It is also used as the sampling frame for the State of the Service employee survey. Data specifications and quality Agencies' provision of data continues to improve. Almost all agencies are now providing data regularly, and through automated processes. We work closely with vendors of human resource systems and agencies to ensure APSED requirements are incorporated into updates to human resource systems. In addition, we collaborate closely with agencies to ensure integrity of the data they send. This year we issued revised data specifications for APSED. The specification document provides agencies with information about the codes, definitions and use of the data items. The revised specifications include two innovations: Comsuper's new member number and an email address for all employees. The scope of the collection now encompasses agency heads. We also implemented a system that allows us to use data from the Public Service Gazette to supplement that sent by agencies. However, we remain concerned about the provision of diversity and qualifications data by some agencies relating to people with a disability, race or ethnicity and Indigenous status. To help agencies collect this information from their employees we have prepared questionnaire templates that agencies can access through our web site. Trends in engagements paper A substantial component of the analysis undertaken for the trends in engagements paper has been included in the Management Advisory Committee project on managing and sustaining the APS workforce. This year we also undertook some analysis of diversity data for new engagements, as part of a broader project to model the high non-response rate. We intend to update the analysis and publish the paper in 2005-06. Table 23: Performance Information-Output 4.2.3-Maintain APS Employment Database and undertake related research Target Result Estimated price: $1.094 million Actual: $1.036 million Consistent with estimated price Quantity Number of publications produced - estimate 2. Significant progress but resources were directed towards providing significant data input into the MAC report on managing and sustaining the APS workforce. Analysis for trends in engagements paper will be updated and published in 2005-06. Quality Reliable and comprehensive information on the composition of the APS in a useful format. Achieved. High quality and timely data has been used in a number of publications, including the State of the Service Report and various ministerial and Commission briefings on particular issues. Improved presentation of Internet version of the APS Statistical Bulletin. Price for Output 4 The total price for Output 4 for 2004-05 was $2.406 million. This is lower than the estimated price of $2.531 million published in the Portfolio Budget Statements 2004-05. Output 5: Merit protection and other services Output 5 is drawn from the Merit Protection Commissioner's statutory role under the Act, which includes: * inquiring into whistleblower reports (section 16) * conducting reviews of actions (section 33). The Act provides that the Public Service Commissioner will make available staff necessary to assist the Merit Protection Commissioner. The Merit Protection Commissioner and the Public Service Commissioner have in place a memorandum of understanding for provision of staff necessary to assist the Merit Protection Commissioner in performing his statutory functions. Achievements We undertook several activities under Output 5 on behalf of the Merit Protection Commissioner, including: * conducting reviews, including in his role as Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner, comprising reviews of promotion decisions, primary reviews including reviews of determinations and sanctions with regard to breaches of the Code of Conduct, and secondary reviews of other employment actions * providing assistance on matters relating to whistleblowing reports * providing support services, including in his role as Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner. Slippages We were unable to meet some of the timeframes the Merit Protection Commissioner set for completion of reviews. However, all items for this output are demand driven. The total price for Output 5 for 2004-05 was $2.554 million. Conduct reviews During 204-05 we conducted 345 reviews on behalf of the Merit Protection Commissioner and Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner. A separate report by the Merit Protection Commissioner on his activities during the year, which support Output 5, is incorporated in Part 4 of this report. Table 24: Performance information-Output component 5.1.1-Conduct reviews on behalf of the Merit Protection Commissioner and Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner Target Result Quantity Number of review applications received-estimate 348. Achieved: 345 applications received Quality 90% of reviews are completed within the timeframes set by the Merit Protection Commissioner and published in the Service Charter. Not achieved: 43% of reviews completed within the timeframes set by the Merit Protection Commissioner. Estimated price: $1.810 million Actual price: $2.132 million Higher than estimated price due to reallocation of funds from employment-related services (1.2.5) in the regional offices Respond to whistleblowing reports During 204-05 we responded to nine whistleblowing reports on behalf of the Merit Protection Commissioner and Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner. A separate report by the Merit Protection Commissioner on his activities during the year, which support Output 5, is incorporated in Part 4 of this report. Table 25: Performance information - Output component 5.1.2-Respond to whistleblowing reports Target Result Quantity Number of responses to whistleblowing reports-estimate 22. Overestimated: Responses provided to 7 whistleblowing reports. Quality 100% of reports receive an initial response within six weeks. Further investigations are conducted in a timely and objective manner. Achieved: initial response times, however, one investigation proved to be particularly time consuming. Estimated price: $0.169 million Actual price: $0.119 million Lower than estimated price due to lower demand for services Support the Merit Protection Commissioner During 204-05 we provided support services to the Merit Protection Commissioner and the Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner. A separate report by the Merit Protection Commissioner on his activities during the year, which support Output 5, is incorporated in Part 4 of this report. Table 26: Performance information-Output component 5.1.3- Provide support services to the Merit Protection Commissioner and Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner Target Result Quantity Number of support services provided to the Merit Protection Commissioner, including in his role as Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner, and Parliamentary Departments: ? policy and advice services-estimate 96 activities Mostly achieved: 86 activities for policy and advice activities ? support for the Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner casework-estimate 4 activities. Mostly achieved: 3 activities for Parliamentary Service Commissioner Casework Quality A high level of satisfaction of the Merit Protection Commissioner, including in his role as Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner, with the relevance, quality and timeliness of advice and support provided. Achieved: Feedback from the Merit Protection Commissioner, including in his role as Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner, has indicated a high level of satisfaction with the support services provided in respect of his role. Estimated price: $0.431 million Actual price: $0.303 million Lower than estimated price due to lower demand for services Price for Output 5 The total price for Output 5 was $2.554 million. This is higher than the estimated price of $2.410 million published in the Portfolio Budget Statements 2004-05. Corporate governance framework The Commission has an integrated corporate performance planning and management framework that facilitates the effective achievement within budget of the commitments in the Commission's corporate plan and assists accountability. The framework links the Commission's corporate plan, group business plans and individual performance agreements. A schematic representation of the framework is set out at Figure 4. Figure 4: Commission's corporate governance framework (not available) At the broadest level, we set out our performance expectations and planned use of resources through our portfolio budget statements and corporate plan. We account for our performance and use of resources through our annual report to parliament. Business plans are developed annually to support achievement of the corporate plan. The business plans provide the basis for agreeing group priorities and allocating internal budgets. Performance and use of resources is accounted for through group managers' appraisals. Corporate decision making and advisory structure The Executive comprises the Public Service Commissioner, Deputy Public Service Commissioner, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Coordinator and Merit Protection Commissioner. The Executive provides strategic management of the Commission by establishing its directions and work programme, directing the agenda for the Commission Management Committee, agreeing business plans and budgets, and determining senior staffing matters. The Executive meets fortnightly throughout the year and is supported by the Group Manager, Corporate. The Commission Management Committee comprises the Executive, Group Managers and the Adviser to the Merit Protection Commissioner and is the Commission's main leadership and management advisory body. The committee is responsible for: * signing off the corporate plan and corporate policies and leading the implementation of strategic priorities * reviewing and monitoring performance against business plans and budgets ensuring they are consistent with overall corporate directions * providing a forum for discussing APS policy issues. Other formal internal advisory bodies are the Audit Committee, the Information Technology Advisory Committee, the Workplace Relations Committee, the Occupational Health and Safety Committee and the Security Committee. The work of these bodies is detailed under their specific interest areas in this part of the report. People management The Commission's Corporate Plan 2004-05 and the Certified Agreement 2003-06 make commitments to building the Commission's strategic capability through a planned approach to meeting our future workforce needs. The Commission's workforce initiatives, described below, are effectively providing a workforce to support our contemporary role. Workforce planning At 30 June 2005, the Commission employed 184 staff of which 168 were employed on an ongoing basis. These staff were divided between Canberra (74.5%) and regional offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. During 2004-05 there was a continuation of the modest additional staffing for the ILS and Indigenous Employment Strategy which was funded through access to the Commission's accumulated reserves. In addition, further staffing was provided for work on Indigenous employment through a transfer of funds from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs. Table 27 outlines ongoing and non-ongoing staff numbers for the last five years. Table 27: Commission staff numbers at 30 June 2001 to 2005 June 2001 June 2002 June 2003 June 2004 June 2005 Ongoing 122 135 159 165 168 Non-ongoing 36 26 27 25 16 Total 158 161 186 190 184 More detailed information about the nature of our workforce is set out in Appendix G. Overall trends include: * A strong pattern of ongoing employment supplemented by a relatively stable level of non-ongoing employment to meet particular business needs. Over the last two years non-ongoing employees comprised between 8% and 9% of our workforce. * A modest shift in the classification mix with decreased employment at executive levels (down from 45.8% in 2003-04 to 42.2% in 2004-05) while the proportion of APS 5-6 employees increased (from 50.5% in 2003-04 to 51% in 2004-05). * The majority of people working in the Commission are women, comprising 66.3% of our workforce in 2004-05 compared to 68.4% in 2003-04. * Part time employment continues to be dominated by women with only three men taking up this employment option in the last two years. * The proportion of employees identifying as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent has increased slightly from 3.8% in 2003-04 to 4.3% in 2004-05. * The proportion of employees who identify as having a disability has continued to increase from 5.4% in 2002-03 to 7.9% in 2003-04 to 9.2% in 2004-05. Graduate recruitment We did not undertake a graduate recruitment programme during 2004-05 as we gave priority to building a more structured approach to learning and development consistent with the commitments to build capability made through our certified agreement. We have recommenced a graduate recruitment programme for 2005-06. Corporate learning and development During 2004-05 we consolidated our approach to establishing a corporate training calendar that links Commission, Group and individual capability to organisational performance improvements. The calendar represents a significant investment by the Commission in the development of staff. Participation and expenditure information in Table 28 provides a measure of this investment. In addition to the corporate training programme, Groups funded training and development opportunities that addressed individual development needs. Table 28: Participation rates in training and development activities, 2000-01 to 2004-05 Participation rates 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Total staff days 761 562 678 1176 570 Average days per staff member 4.8 3.5 3.7 6.1 3.1 Total estimated cost $140 000 $145 000 $247 000 $617 484 $279 560 Average cost per staff member $886 $900 $1330 $3250 $1519 There was a decline in participation in 2004-05 compared with the previous year because in 2003-04 we conducted workshops for all Executive and APS level staff to discuss the directions of the Commission's work programme. Whereas in 2004-05 we gave priority to capability development in financial management, strengthening understanding of the APS Values and Code of Conduct, and people management. Other significant activities were also undertaken. For example, one staff member participated in the Australia and New Zealand School of Government Masters programme . As well, the Commission introduced an internal seminar programme called 'Corporate Made Easy' that provides staff with information on services and assistance available through the Corporate Group on such issues as procurement following introduction of the United States-Australia free trade agreement. The Commission continues to support formal study through the Study Encouragement Scheme focusing on qualifications in the fields of public administration, human resource management, learning and development, public policy and governance. There has, however, been a decrease in use of this scheme from 14 in 2003-04 to 11 in 2004-05. Staff survey The Commission surveys its staff every two years to obtain feedback on the Commission's culture, working arrangements and internal policies, and to assess the extent to which staff understand and uphold the APS Values. The most recent survey was conducted in October 2004, with results available to staff in November. The survey was based on a set of core questions that allowed comparison in trends and views over time and with the findings of the APS-wide State of the Service survey. Over 80% of staff responded to the 2004 survey and strong results were reported in many areas, notably respondents provided positive ratings on: * the Commission as a good place to work * overall levels of satisfaction among staff * the Commission Executive and senior managers * a common sense of purpose among Commission staff * support for and understanding of the APS Values within the Commission * pride in working for the Commission * satisfaction with flexible conditions of employment. On many of these issues the 2004 survey results showed improvements over the 2002 findings. The survey also identified some areas for improvement. Staff were critical of the Commission's pay system and the way in which it links with the performance management system. A new simple pay system is a priority for the Commission's next certified agreement and work was begun on this late in 2004-05. There was also reporting of harassment and of work-related stress. In response, we have introduced further training on the APS Values and Code of Conduct for all staff; and we have started revising the Commission's Plan for a Harassment-Free Workplace, including conducting several harassment-prevention training sessions. As well, we provide regular workstation assessments, conduct occupational health and safety sessions and stress prevention training, and actively promote our employee assistance programme. Our health awareness programme has also been expanded to focus on health and lifestyle with increased emphasis on work-life balance. Coverage of the health awareness programme is included later in this Chapter. Agreement-making in the Commission The Commission provides terms and conditions of employment under either its certified agreement or through Australian Workplace Agreements with individual employees. As at 30 June 2005, 142 non-SES employees were covered by the certified agreement while 40 employees have entered into Australian Workplace Agreements. The Commission has two statutory office holders whose conditions of employment are established by the Remuneration Tribunal. The salary ranges for the Commission's classification levels are set out in Table 29. Table 29: Salary ranges (as at 30 June 2005) Classification Min Max APS 1-2 $30,617 $38,852 APS 3-4 $39,802 $47,720 APS 5-6 $49,198 $60,600 EL 1 $62,923 $76,014 EL 2 $77,598 $97,500 SES1 $103,000 $123,600 Note: The Band 3 salary range is not included in this table as the Commission has only two Band 3 employees. Certified agreement The Australian Industrial Relations Commission certified the Commission's third certified agreement Building Our Capability: People and Performance on 11 June 2003. It is a comprehensive agreement made directly with staff under section 170LK of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and notionally expires in June 2006. It covers the employment arrangements and conditions for staff not covered by Australian Workplace Agreements, including 87 APS 1-6 employees and 55 executive level employees. Non-salary elements of the agreement include a strengthened approach to capability development, workplace giving scheme, work-life balance provisions, health awareness programme and an access to employee assistance programme. The agreement has a strong focus on productivity and includes a variable salary increase from 1 July 2005 based on the level of productivity gains achieved. An assessment of the benefits flowing from the Agreement undertaken during 2004-05 showed that significant productivity gains were being achieved and the maximum salary increase of 3.5% will be paid to staff. Work commenced in the first quarter of 2005 on the Commission's next agreement and we plan to seek certification of the new agreement in June 2006. Forty Australian Workplace Agreements are in place covering 10 senior executives, 27 executive level employees and three APS 1-6 employees. This represents 21.7% of the Commission's workforce. The majority of the Commission's current Australian Workplace Agreements nominally expire in June 2006. Non-salary elements of Australian Workplace Agreements include car parking for senior staff, home access to information technology, airline lounge memberships, business class air travel and executive lease vehicles. Managing performance A significant feature of the Commission's certified agreement is the performance appraisal scheme that directly links annual assessment of people's performance with their remuneration. The scheme operates as part of the Commission's overall approach to performance management and integrates corporate, group and individual performance planning and management. The scheme also provides a basis for planning individual development and for managing poor performance. The Commission's scheme provides for: * annual productivity increases in base pay * the possibility of salary advancement * the possibility of modest bonuses for high-performing staff. In 2004-05, the Commission paid $131,200 in performance bonuses to 73 employees. Details of payments made to staff are included in Table 30. These payments relate to performance during 2003-04 as the Commission's appraisal cycle operates on a financial year basis with performance-linked increases in remuneration being made in July each year, based on an assessment of performance in the preceding year. Table 30: Performance pay for 2004-05 Classification Number of staff Number receiving Total payment Average payment Range APS 1-2 4 3 $3000 $1000 $900-$1200 APS 3-4 39 8 $9000 $1125 $600-$1200 APS 5-6 49 21 $28,800 $1371 $800-$2400 EL 1 58 21 $35,700 $1700 $1200-$3000 EL 2 28 17 $40,125 $2360 $1875-$4500 SES 7 3 $21,000 $7000 $3000-$12,000 Note: These amounts represent payments for the performance cycle 2003-04 and were paid in July 2004. Australia Day awards One of the features of our Australia Day celebrations is presentation of Australia Day medallions. The medallions are awarded to non-SES members of the Commission who have worked in the Commission for longer than 12 months and made an exceptional contribution to the performance, culture or identity of the Commission. Contributions in many areas and regions of the Commission were recognised in 2005. Four awards, comprising three individual awards and one team award, were presented in January 2005 to: * Christine Black, for exceptional business acumen and demonstrated quality in all her work * Jenny Seymour, for her tireless work in organising fundraising events and contributing to a collegiate culture * Debbie Bailey, for embedding the Public Sector Development programmes in New South Wales and effectively doubling the number of Learning and Development programmes offered by the Sydney office * The 2004 State of the Service Report team-Marie McAuliffe, Mark Henry, Ngaire Hosking, Sue Johnson, Linda Kendell, Natalie Collins, Heather Frisken, Paul Casimir and Fiona Hewson, in recognition of the consistent high quality of the report and the research that underpins it. Occupational health and safety As in past years, the Commission continued to promote activities to enhance the health and wellbeing of its employees. In 2004-05 we conducted an annual health awareness programme, ran regular health and lifestyle sessions, provided all staff with occupational health and safety training opportunities and continued to provide a programme of regular workstation assessments. The Health Week programme ran from 18-22 October 2004 and included: * information sessions, such as psychological health awareness, breast cancer awareness, skin and sun care practices and a library display including health-related books and pamphlets * clinical assessments, such as lifestyle screenings, bone density screenings and respiratory function tests * activities and exercise, such as back and neck management, introduction to healthy exercise, a tennis competition and healthy lunch. The Health Week programme was very popular with staff, many of whom participated in multiple events. Attracting 523 attendances at organised health week activities represents a significant increase over 2003-04 participation rates. We also conducted a series of health and lifestyle sessions to continue developing staff awareness of health issues, and lifestyle and work balance through the year and provided staff and their families with access to a confidential employee assistance programme. Work-life balance During 2004-05 the Commission participated in the 8th annual Work-Life Balance Benchmarking Study. The study, conducted by private firm Managing Work-Life Balance and publishers CCH Australia, surveys both public and private organisations and assesses executive support, organisational policies and procedures, and barriers to achieving work-life balance in organisations. In the 2004-05 survey the Commission ranked 17th out of the 376 participating organisations, and 1st out of the seven Australian Government participants. The Commission last participated in the study in 2003-04 where it achieved 11th place out of 310 participants and ranked 2nd of the Australian Government participants. Workplace diversity The Commission's Workplace Diversity Programme continues to contribute to ensuring the Commission fosters an environment that positively values diversity of backgrounds and ideas and achieves the creativity and performance that flows from diverse contributions. During 2004-05 we conducted workshops to promote the APS Values that included a focus on diversity in the workplace. The Commission's certified agreement continues to provide staff with flexible forms of employment and increased access to personal leave. Over 5.9% of Commission staff work part-time and about 13.5% of staff have made use of the purchased leave arrangements to increase their leave entitlements. Purchased leave is particularly popular as a means of caring for children during school holidays. We have started our graduate recruitment campaign for 2006 and have included in the programme an employment opportunity for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander graduate. The Commission's representation of women, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders, people born overseas, people born overseas with English not their first language and people identifying as having a disability are set out in Table 31. Table 31: Representation of EEO groups as a percentage 2000-01 to 2004-05 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Women 67.7 68.3 68.4 66.3 Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander Descent 3.7 3.8 3.2 4.3 People with disabilities 3.1 5.4 7.9 9.2 Born overseas 16.1 15.1 16.3 20.7 Born overseas and English not first language 5.0 7.5 5.3 7.6 Further information on the Commission's staffing numbers and equal employment opportunity (EEO) statistics are included in Appendix G. NAIDOC week The Commission and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry jointly hosted an event to celebrate NAIDOC week on 6 July 2004. The celebration at the Edmund Barton Building included a presentation by Indigenous Artist of the Year 2003, Duncan Smith, and Commission Indigenous staff who shared their life experiences. During the opening ceremony Duncan Smith played the didgeridoo while Ngunnawal elder, Matilda House, gave a 'welcome to country' speech. International day of people with a disability On 6 December 2004 we jointly hosted a 'celebration of ability' function with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The celebration featured a speaker from Assistance Dogs Australia who explained how assistance dogs are trained, and demonstrated the support the assistance dogs can provide. Guest speakers also included a photography and electronic imaginary artist, Mrs Jenni Heckendorf, and her husband David, a government lawyer. Both Jenni and David are affected by cerebral palsy. The event was well attended and received with enthusiasm by the audience. Prevention of harassment The Commission's Plan for a Harassment-Free Workplace helps minimise harassment that may arise in the workplace. The plan establishes procedures for addressing harassment in the workplace and sets out the rights and responsibilities of staff and managers. The plan also describes the role of harassment contact officers and provides key information, including listing the current harassment contact officers. We undertook harassment awareness and prevention training during the year, and discussion of workplace harassment is integral to the induction sessions for new staff. Personnel services The Commission receives its routine personnel services under contract from RelCorp Management Services, jointly with several agencies in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio. These services include processing of payroll and leave entitlements and occupational health and safety services. We undertook a brief survey of staff on the quality of the services RelCorp provides during the year. Staff indicated they were satisfied with the service RelCorp provides. The current contract with RelCorp has been extended to February 2006 and a tender process for provision of these services will be conducted during the second half of 2005. Workplace Relations Committee The Commission's certified agreement continues to provide for a Workplace Relations Committee. The committee consists of three management-nominated representatives, three employee-elected representatives and three union nominees. The committee is the primary forum for developing our certified agreements and for monitoring the implementation of agreements. The Committee met four times during 2004-05. The committee is also a useful forum for obtaining the views of staff on issues relating to managing the Commission. The committee complements regular group meetings that provide a more frequent forum through which staff may express their views on issues relevant to their work and receive feedback from the Commission's management forums. Financial Management 2004-05 Budget The Commission's operating revenues for 2004-05 totalled $32.599 million. Revenues from government accounted for 52.7%, sales of goods and services accounted for 47.2% and disposal of assets accounted for the remaining 0.1% (see Table 32). Table 32: Revenue sources, 2000-01 to 2004-05 Revenue Source 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Government 60% 55.6% 57.2% 52.7% Sale of goods and services 38.4% 43.8% 42.7% 47.2% Other ( e.g. disposal of assets' and interest) 1.6% 0.6% 0.1% 0.1% Investment in programme development The Commission was granted approval, through the 2003-04 Additional Estimates, to access its accumulated reserves to fund developmental work on an integrated approach to leadership development in the APS and on increasing Indigenous employment in the APS (see Table 33). Table 33: Reserve funding for programme development, 2003-04 to 2005-06 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Leadership development $0.898m $0.761m $0.516m Indigenous employment $0.221m $0.246m $0.063m Total additional funds $1.119m $1.007m $0.579m Transfer of funds The Commission received funding of $0.599 million from the Department of Immigration Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs for its role in supporting the whole-of-government approach to providing services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Non-appropriation revenue Revenue from the sale of goods and services in 2004-05 is largely earned from leadership, learning and development activities (67.8%), employment-related services (12.0%), Public Service Gazette subscriptions (7.0%), funding to support capability development in the Asia-Pacific region (6.5%), promoting better practice (5.8%), and other services (0.9%). Revenue from leadership, learning and development activities and employment-related services amounted to $12.289 million in 2004-05 and made up 37.7% of the Commission's total revenue from all sources. This revenue is earned in an open market where agencies have choice about where they source their services and the level of services they acquire. This potentially volatile context means the Commission must devote considerable effort to estimating revenue, expenditure and cash flows and to monitoring its financial performance during the year. We have become increasingly dependent on non-appropriation revenue in recent years as can be observed in Figure 5. Figure 5: Commission revenue (not available) Table 34: Total planned budget for 2004-05 Sources of revenue Value Base appropriation funding $15.589 m Investment in programme development $1.007 m Transfer from Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs $0.599 m International assistance $1.005 m Other non-appropriation funding $14.399 m Total $32.599 m Operating outcome 2004-05 The Commission's operating outcome for 2004-05 was a surplus of $0.783 million. The surplus resulted primarily from significant growth in elements of Output 2 against forecast performance, and contrasts with the operating outcome for 2003-04 which was a loss of $1.229 million. The turnaround in performance is due to: * revision of the design of some learning and development programmes that had been reaching the end of their lifecycle * a more conservative approach to budgeting, including estimates of non-appropriation revenue * tighter monitoring and management of budget performance during the year. The modest operating surplus achieved in 2004-05 returns performance to the pattern of modest operating surpluses achieved prior to the 2003-04 operating loss. Table 35: End of year position 2001-02 to 2004-05 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Surplus $0.989m $0.074m $0.783 m Deficit $1.229m The 2004-05 operating surplus partly restores funds depleted through the 2003-04 operating loss which contribute to covering employee liabilities and provide for future investment in development of our work programme. The Commission has sufficient accumulated reserve funds to meet its liabilities. Budget outlook In developing the 2005-06 budget we have continued to adopt a conservative approach with the aim of achieving a balanced outcome in the 2005-06 budget year and forward estimates. We are continuing to strengthen our budget and business planning and management practices as our funding will continue to be tight and our reliance on potentially volatile revenue from the sale of goods and services accounts for nearly half our budget. Appropriation funding will decline slightly from 2005-06 onwards as investment funding approved at the 2003-04 Additional Estimates for the Indigenous Employment Strategy and the Integrated Leadership System declines. This decrease in appropriations will be offset by increased training revenue and a continuing slight decline in staffing levels, so a balanced operating position will be achieved. Finally, commencing in 2005-06 we have simplified our output group structure to: * APS policy and employment services * development programmes * better practice and evaluation. The new output group structure provides better delineation between outputs and adds clarity to budget planning and management. Consultancy services and procurement The Commission's policy on selecting and engaging consultants is based on the relevant Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines and Chief Executive Instructions. It is Commission policy to restrict the use of consultants to circumstances when the required specialist skills are not available within the Commission, or independent assessment is considered desirable and the task is short-term and discrete. In general, the Commission's requirements for consultancy services can be identified against a number of broad categories that include employment-related services; business analysis and review; design, development and delivery of leadership, learning, development and capability building related programmes and provision of related advice. The method of selecting consultants is based on principles consistent with the procurement methodology used for obtaining other goods and services and is underpinned by the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines. Factors taken into account in determining the method of selecting consultants include the extent of competition available in the market place, the complexity and estimated cost of the proposed consultancy, the available timeframe, and the cost of approaching the market and evaluating offers. The Commission has in place a deed of standing offer for provision of learning and development and related consulting services. Consultancy services During 2004-05, eight new consultancy contracts were entered into involving total actual expenditure of $0.254 million. In addition, two ongoing consultancy contracts were active during 2004-05, involving total actual expenditure of $0.231 million. This compares with total actual expenditure in 2003-04 of $0.901 million. Table 36: Use of consultants Number of new consultancy contracts let Number of ongoing consultancy contracts that were active Total Actual expenditure on all new contracts $'000 Total Actual expenditure onongoing consultancy contracts that were active $'000 Consultancy expenditure Grand Total $'000 2003-04 n/a n/a n/a n/a 901 2004-05 8 2 254 231 485 The introduction of the Department of Finance and Administration Guidance on Identifying Consultancies for Annual Reporting Purposes in July 2004 led to a reduction in the number of consultancies and expenditure reported by the Commission. Consultancies relating to the delivery learning and development services, which were reported in earlier years, are now excluded by the reporting guidelines. The majority of the Commission's contracting covers the delivery of learning and development services. A list of all consultancy contracts with a value of $10,000 or more (inclusive of GST) is published on the Commission website. Competitive tendering and contracting During the year, the Commission did not undertake competitive tendering and contracting activities as defined by the annual report guidelines. The Commission did not exempt any contracts from the Purchasing and Disposal Gazette. Purchasing The Commission undertakes its purchasing consistent with the requirements of the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines issued by the Department of Finance and Administration. The majority of the Commission's procurement is from small to medium sized Australian and New Zealand entities. The Commission is also part of the Group 8 information technology outsourcing arrangements that are contracted with Volante, a small to medium sized Australian firm. This contract is discussed under Information Management. During 2004-05 the Commission undertook a range of procurement and contracting activities. These included contracts for: * internal audit services from Ernst and Young * real estate and property management services from CB Richard Ellis * technical assistance to Asia-Pacific countries in support of improved public service performance from an international public management panel. Information management The Information Technology Advisory Committee guides and manages the Commission's information services and oversees development and implementation of the Commission's information technology strategy. IT outsourcing The Commission has received its IT services under a group contract with Volante (formerly Ipex), an Australian small to medium sized enterprise, since June 2000. Other members of the group, known as Group 8, are the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Department of Environment and Heritage, the Australian Broadcasting Authority, the Australian Communications Authority, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Service and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. As a small agency, the Commission has obtained significant benefit from being a member of a group that includes some large agencies with deep IT capability. The total value of the Group 8 contract is approximately $48 million per annum of which the Commission's share is $1.4 million (2.9%). The Group 8 contract was for an initial period of five years, concluding in June 2005, and included options to extend the contract for two periods of two years each. In June 2004 the Group extended the contract for a period of four years to June 2009. There is no scope to further extend the contract beyond these options and it will be necessary to undertake a tender process prior to 2009. The contract extension included enhancements to the provisions of the contract with Volante to strengthen service delivery in applications development and to improve the management of services. These changes also ensured that no detriment resulted from the abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Service (and its consequent disengagement from Group 8) and the planned merger from 1 July 2005 of the Australian Broadcasting and Communications Authorities to form a single entity (the Australian Communications and Media Authority). Online service delivery The Commission undertakes a significant proportion of its transactions online, all publications are available electronically, and public servants can nominate for Commission learning and development courses online and pay course fees electronically direct to the Commission's bank. These services are resulting in productivity gains for agencies and the Commission through streamlining of payment administration. Internet and intranet The Internet has become one of the most significant dissemination channels for information the Commission produces. The Commission's web site has continued to improve in quality and usability. It has a sound navigational and graphical structure and the Commission seeks to improve accessibility for all users. The Commission has focused on publishing its major documents in a high quality electronic format as soon as practicable after release. The Commission's intranet has been set up as a corporate portal run by a database system. It is used to share significant documents and information across the Commission and has the capability to run interactive applications. It is being used to allow work teams to collaborate and share information more effectively. We have developed software tools to manage workflow in the merit protection function of the Commission and to collect information on the Commission's contracts. Library The library continues to play an important role in supporting policy development and research activities within the Commission. The fortnightly bulletin Library News continues to be distributed throughout Australia and identifies current reports, papers, books, articles and Internet sites on topics such as public administration, leadership, management and human resource management. Ministerial liasion The number of briefs the Commission prepared in 2004-05 was similar to the previous year, however, there was a significant decline in the number of Commission responses prepared to ministerial correspondence, falling from 43 letters in 2003-04 to 28 in 2004-05 (see Table 37). Obviously the volume of correspondence is dependent on the amount of correspondence the Minister receives. Table 37: Preparation of ministerial briefs and correspondence 2003-04 2004-05 Briefs 81 89 Correspondence 43 28 The Minister assesses the quality of the Commission's briefs using a five-point scale from 1 (poor) to 5 (outstanding). During 2004-05 all briefs received a rating of 4 or 5, apart from a small number of briefs that were inadvertently not rated. Ethical standards and management accountability The Commission actively promotes ethical standards among its staff through promoting the APS Values and Code of Conduct and through its corporate plan, certified agreement, Australian Workplace Agreements, individual performance agreements and its internal training programme. Audit Committee In accordance with the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, the Public Service Commissioner has established an Audit Committee, chaired by the Deputy Public Service Commissioner and including two senior staff as its members. The Committee meets at least three times a year. Representatives of the Australian National Audit Office attend committee meetings as observers and the Commission's internal auditors, Ernst and Young, and Chief Finance Officer attend meetings to report on particular matters. Internal Audit programme The 2004-05 audit plan was developed following a planning session attended by members of the Internal Audit Committee, Chief Finance Officer, two Group Managers and a representative from the Australian National Audit Office. The Commission's provider of internal audit and related services, Ernst and Young, facilitated the planning session and has provided advice to the Commission's Audit Committee, particularly in relation to planning a longer-term audit strategy, and conducted a programme of internal financial and performance audits. Ernst and Young completed five audits in 2004-05. They were: * review of exploitation of web-based opportunities * review of aspects of project management * review of Fringe Benefits Tax processes * review of Financial Management and Accountability Act delegations compliance * review of International Financial Reporting Standards implementation. The audit reports, which the committee considered, did not identify any significant or systemic issues. The Commission is implementing the recommendations relating to these reviews. We expect three audits that were started in the last quarter of 2004-05 to be completed during the first quarter of 2005-06. They are: * review of the Commission's corporate governance arrangements * review of the Commission online course registration system and links to the financial management system * follow-up review of implementation of recommendations from earlier compliance audits. Reports by the Auditor General The Commission was involved in two Australian National Audit Office cross-agency audits in 2004-05. They were: * the Auditor-General Audit Report No. 13 2004-05, Business Support Process Audit, Superannuation Payments for Independent Contractors working for the Australian Government * the Auditor-General Audit Report No. 10 2004-05 Business Support Process Audit, The Senate Order for Departmental and Agency Contracts (Calendar Year 2003 Compliance). The Commission's Audit Committee accepted the Australian National Audit Office's recommendations. And they are being implemented. Certification of fraud measures The Commission's Fraud Control Plan 2003-05 complies with the Commonwealth Fraud Guidelines issued in May 2002. The plan details fraud prevention strategies and an associated implementation action plan. We currently have in place appropriate fraud prevention, detection, investigation, reporting and data collection procedures and processes that meet the Commission's specific needs and comply with the guidelines. No incidents of fraud were identified within the Commission in 2004-05. The Audit Committee, chaired by the Deputy Public Service Commissioner, oversees implementation of the fraud control plan. The plan is brought to the attention of new staff as part of the Commission's induction process and is available electronically to all staff. We provide ongoing fraud awareness seminars to all staff. Security We continue to review the status of our security processes for meeting the physical and protective security obligations as set out in the Protective Security Manual and the Commission's security plan. Our security committee meets at least four times per year. The outcomes of these meetings, together with responses to internal audits and/or reviews and consideration of the Commission's position on relevant Australian National Audit Office audits, are presented to the Audit Committee. We provide security awareness briefings for staff that focus on internal security practices and procedures. Business continuity We refined our Business Continuity Plan during 2004-05. The plan provides practical guidance to ensure continuity of essential services by the Commission and to minimise the impact on clients of any disruption to services following a disaster. The plan builds on a risk assessment Ernst and Young undertook for the Commission. Legal advice and scrutiny During the year, internal legal advice was supplemented by advice obtained from external legal sources, including the Australian Government Solicitor. The Commission's internal legal adviser is the contact point for freedom of information and privacy matters (see Appendix C). Details of any relevant judicial scrutiny and work undertaken by parliamentary committees that are relevant to the role of the Commission are discussed in appropriate parts of this report. Ecologically sustainable development and environmental performance The Commission does not administer any legislation or have any appropriations directly related to these issues; accordingly, the Commission's involvement relates to practices that can improve energy management and environmental practices within the Commission. We have in place an Environmental Management System (EMS) for central office in Canberra. The system helps Commission staff in their efforts to improve performance against environmental and energy management objectives and targets. The Commission has in place: * practices ensuring that, where operationally viable, energy efficient equipment is purchased and that energy efficient practices with regard to such equipment is implemented * paper and cardboard recycling arrangements * purchasing of remanufactured toners for 80% of its printers * recycling of 80% of its printer toners * a basic education programme that promotes energy efficient and environmentally friendly practices. During 2004-05 the Commission introduced: * use of recycled paper (60% recycled content) for the majority of its daily printing and copying needs on a national basis * recycling of plastics, glass, aluminium and steel in the Canberra office. We continue to review our options for introducing practices that will help improve upon the Commission's environmental and energy management performance and current practices. Accommodation All Commission offices are leased tenancies in privately owned office accommodation. A list of addresses is in Part 1. Social club The Commission's social club, based in Canberra, had another active year during 2004-05. In addition to regular gatherings, the social club organised a number of events including the annual Christmas lunch and an Australia Day lunch, at which the Commissioner presented Australia Day medallions to staff who had made significant contributions to the Commission's work and culture during the year. Transmittal letter The Honourable John Howard MP Prime Minister Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Dear Prime Minister I am pleased to present my report for the period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 as part of the Public Service Commissioner's Annual Report as required by section 51 of the Public Service Act 1999. The report is prepared in accordance with guidelines approved on behalf of the Parliament by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit as required by section 51(2) of the Public Service Act 1999. However, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Act 1999 detailing the administrative arrangements to support the performance of my functions, some of the required information is published within the Public Service Commissioner's Annual Report. I also have continuing functions under the repealed Merit Protection (Australian Government Employees) Act 1984 and the Public Service Act 1922 arising from regulations made under the Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional) Amendment Act 1999. This report includes activities that may have occurred under the transitional arrangements. In presenting you with the report on my activities I take this opportunity to express my thanks to the staff of the Australian Public Service Commission for their assistance. Yours sincerely [signature] Jeff Lamond October 2005 Merit Protection Commissioner's review Under the Public Service Act 1999 and associated Regulations, a key part of my role as Merit Protection Commissioner is to provide independent external review of actions affecting individual APS employees. Undertaking this role provides support for the APS Value that 'the APS provides a fair system of review of decisions taken in respect of APS employees' (section 10(1)(o) of the Public Service Act). My role of reviewing actions includes arranging review by a Promotion Review Committee (PRC) of certain engagement and promotion decisions, and reviewing other actions relating to the employment of people who are not members of the Senior Executive Service. When a promotion is reviewed, the PRC decision is binding on an agency head. When other employment actions are reviewed, I cannot compel an agency head to accept a resulting recommendation. However, if I am not satisfied with an agency head's response to a recommendation, the Public Service Act allows me to report the matter to an agency minister, the Prime Minister and the parliament. Agency heads accepted all but two recommendations arising from reviews during 2004-05. The recommendations not accepted dealt with reviews in the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services. In both cases, discussions with the agencies resolved the matters to my satisfaction. The number of applications for review continues to fluctuate from year to year. Further information on the nature of reviews, and discussion of trends, is provided under Analysis of Performance. During the year, a restructure of the Commission, effective from 1 December 2004, resulted in a change to regional arrangements. This change saw creation of a single regional group, and creation of a new role, Adviser to the Merit Protection Commissioner. The Adviser is now my sole delegate in the more substantive review matters, with responsibility for assuring the quality of review and whistleblowing work which, I envisage, will result in a stronger focus on this work. It is too early to form any conclusions about whether this change has had any impact on achievement of timeliness targets. Performance information for 2004-05 shows that the bulk of reviews were not completed within the expected timeframes. I will continue to monitor review processes and workload factors, including the impact of the new delegate structure, in considering the appropriateness of timeliness targets. I have noted from the State of the Service Report 2003-04 that, during that financial year, 48 agencies finalised formal investigations into the behaviour of 1083 employees suspected of breaching the APS Code of Conduct. This data is not directly comparable with the data from 2002-03 since the questions in the two surveys were framed somewhat differently. Nevertheless, the results from the two years are not inconsistent: both indicate that less than 10% of employees who were found to have breached the Code of Conduct subsequently lodged an application for review of that determination and/or the sanction imposed. The State of the Service Report 2003-04 also reported on the findings of an evaluation of how agencies are managing suspected breaches of the Code of Conduct. Key overall findings of the evaluation included that agencies that participated took misconduct seriously, and that while some have recently improved their processes and quality assurance methods or are currently planning improvements, others have had good quality processes and quality assurance methods in place for some time. The evaluation also found that most cases analysed followed proper processes, and it did not report identifying any systemic issues across the APS. These findings are consistent with the indications I have had from review applications I have received, which do not suggest there are any broad issues with implications for the APS as a whole that need to be addressed. The evaluation also considered issues of consistency of sanctions, both within agencies and across the APS, and identified some of the factors that contributed to the differences, amongst agencies, in the types of sanctions imposed. The evaluation has led to preparation of a good practice guide on agency management of suspected breaches of the Code of Conduct, due for release in the first half of 2005-06. The guide will provide a detailed discussion of the factors that should be taken into account in determining an appropriate sanction. This will help agencies achieve more consistent decision making with respect to sanctions imposed within agencies, and should also contribute to some consistency of sanctions across the APS. This year I have continued the practice of incorporating case studies on some of the reviews we conducted during the year in this report. These case studies are a useful source of information on the review process. I reported last year that I was considering including case studies on the Commission's web site-I will investigate dedicating resources to this task this year. In June 2005, the Commission started reviewing the Public Service Act and associated subordinate legislation. The Public Service Commissioner has indicated that it is to be a low-key review, and I have been involved in discussions about the policy and technical issues to be addressed. I anticipate that I will continue to provide input to the review in 2005-06, as will Commission employees who help me perform my functions. This year the Regional Director South Australia/Northern Territory and I attended the 11th National Public Sector Appeals Conference in Darwin from 4 to 6 August 2004. The conference once again provided a valuable opportunity for senior representatives engaged in reviewing employment decisions in Commonwealth, state or territory public sector employment to share their experiences, ideas and views, and included a discussion of the most challenging cases each jurisdiction had faced in the previous 12 months. During the year, I took advantage of a number of opportunities to promote my role and functions. This included presentations at various conferences and other programmes and forums, including at the invitation of several APS agencies, where I spoke about a range of issues of relevance to the APS Values and Code of Conduct. The annual meeting of all Regional Group Managers, Regional Directors and Regional Advisers, usually held near the end of the financial year, was not held in 2004-05. I decided to change the timing of these meetings, subject to organisational needs, to early in the financial year, following agreement on the budget for that year. I reported in 2003-04 that progress had been made towards settlement with the Australian Government Solicitor of a number of threshold issues relating to the review function, and noted that a number of activities associated with promoting my role and the services were tied to the settlement of these issues. The content of the advice in relation to these issues has been settled with the Australian Government Solicitor and I expect to be able to focus on progressing a number of awareness-raising activities in 2005-06, including the development of new simplified material on the review process. The online system for notifying agencies of applications for a PRC review was operational for 2004-05. Feedback indicates it has been well received by agencies. The system has contributed to improved productivity in the Regional Services Group. As well, facilities to enable electronic lodgement of applications for a PRC review have been developed and became operational in February 2005. The facilities have attracted some use since that time and I expect use will increase over time. In response to an identified need for a better system for recording and tracking the work performed on my behalf, on a fee-for-service basis, we developed and implemented the Timesheet Management System (TiMS). TiMS is a simple-to-use Internet-accessible system that employees use to record the time they spend on identified tasks. Since its introduction, in January 2005, to the Regional Services Group's ACT Regional Office TiMS has streamlined the processing of this information, including associated payments to employees and client billing. The system is now used more widely within the Regional Services Group, as well as other areas of the Commission, and has resulted in improved productivity. My statutory functions also include establishing Independent Selection Advisory Committees (ISACs) and other employment-related functions on a fee-for-service basis. The Australian Taxation Office undertook some bulk recruitment exercises this year that resulted in high numbers of applications for PRC review. I have subsequently had discussions with the Australian Taxation Office about the benefits of using ISACs including, in particular, that promotions made on an ISAC recommendation are not subject to review and normally result in more timely selection outcomes. The number of ISACs established in 2004-05 (similar to the number established in 2003-04) reflects a continuing recognition by agencies of the many benefits offered by using these Committees. The number of other fee-for-service functions undertaken in 2004-05 is higher than in 2003-04 and reflects, in particular, the higher number of Joint Selection Committees established for the Australian Federal Police . The Joint Selection Committees are established under a memorandum of understanding with the Australian Federal Police, and the number undertaken fluctuates each year according to Australian Federal Police needs. There is more information on ISACs and other fee-for-service activities later in this report. Outlook for 2005-06 My priorities for 2005-06 include contributing to the review of the Public Service Act and, following resolution of issues about my role and the review function, increasingly focusing on activities associated with education about the review function. In that context, I will continue to promote my role and functions through activities such as speeches and presentations. I also intend to re-evaluate the information currently available on review rights, with a view to updating it where necessary and ensuring information is provided in ways that best meet the needs of both employees and agencies. Role, function and structure Role The office of the Merit Protection Commissioner, established under section 49 of the Public Service Act, is an independent office located with the Australian Public Service Commission. The Merit Protection Commissioner helps agencies meet the requirements of the APS Values and Code of Conduct through administering the statutory review of actions scheme and performing other statutory functions. Functions The Merit Protection Commissioner's functions are set out in section 50 of the Public Service Act and include: a. inquiring into reports alleging breaches of the APS Code of Conduct made to the Merit Protection Commissioner, or to a person authorised by the Merit Protection Commissioner (whistleblowing reports) b. inquiring into alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct by the Public Service Commissioner and reporting to the Presiding Officers on the results of such inquiries including, where relevant, recommendations for sanctions c. inquiring into an APS action, at the request of the Public Service Minister, and to report to the Public Service Minister on the results of the inquiry d. such functions as are prescribed by regulations made for the purposes of section 33 (review of actions, including the review of certain promotion decisions) e. such other functions as are prescribed by the regulations. So far as section 50(1)(e) is concerned, the PS Regulations enable the Merit Protection Commissioner to: a. establish Independent Selection Advisory Committees to make recommendations to an Agency Head about the suitability of candidates for engagement, promotion or assignment to duties included in APS Classification Groups 1-6 b. perform employment-related functions where the Merit Protection Commissioner is not required by a law of the Commonwealth to perform the function c. review an action of a statutory office holder who is not an agency head that affects an APS employee in their employment d. investigate complaints by former APS employees concerning separation entitlements. The Merit Protection Commissioner charges a fee for establishing Independent Selection Advisory Committees and for performing employment-related functions. The Merit Protection Commissioner also has continuing functions under the repealed Merit Protection (Australian Government Employees) Act 1984 and the Public Service Act 1922. These functions consist of casework arising under regulations made under the Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional) Amendment Act 1999. Organisational structure The Public Service Commissioner makes employees available to the Merit Protection Commissioner to undertake his casework through the six Australian Public Service Commission regional offices. Each regional office maintains a register of appropriately trained and qualified people who are available, as required from time to time, for employment as non-ongoing employees. The Merit Protection Commissioner maintains a separate register of APS employees to perform the role of nominee to PRCs and ISACs. Applications for review are generally lodged and dealt with in the office of the state or territory in which the applicant resides. The Victorian office also deals with casework arising in Tasmania; and the South Australian office also deals with casework arising in the Northern Territory. The ACT office, with support from other offices as needed, provides employees for coordination and policy support for the Merit Protection Commissioner. This report and further information about the Merit Protection Commissioner's role and services are available on the Commission's web site. Corporate governance Mr Jeff Lamond continued his appointment as Merit Protection Commissioner during the reporting period. The Public Service Commissioner, as the head of the Australian Public Service Commission, is responsible for its corporate governance practices. The Merit Protection Commissioner is a member of the Commission Executive-a senior management group chaired by the Public Service Commissioner. The Public Service Commissioner makes Commission employees available under section 49(2) of the Public Service Act to help the Merit Protection Commissioner fulfil his role. These employees are accountable to the Merit Protection Commissioner for performing functions he has authorised. The Merit Protection Commissioner and the Public Service Commissioner have in place a memorandum of understanding for provision of staff necessary to help the Merit Protection Commissioner perform his functions. The Adviser to the Merit Protection Commissioner is the delegate of the Merit Protection Commissioner in the more substantive review matters. Review of performance Outputs and contribution to outcomes 2004-05 The Commission is included in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet's Portfolio Budget Statements. The Public Service Commissioner, as the head of the Commission, is responsible for the Commission's financial and human resources and for assessing the level of the Commission's achievement against its output structure. Performance information, as described in the 2004-05 Portfolio Budget Statement which relates to the Merit Protection Commissioner's functions, can be aggregated, where relevant, from Tables M1 and M2 of this report. Table M1 comprises casework arising from APS agencies and Table M2 includes casework arising from both APS and non-APS agencies. Table M1: Review of actions-workload, work completed and timeliness, 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 Cases Promotion Review Committees Primary review-Code of Conduct Primary review-other Secondary review Review -former employees On hand at start of year 9 6 0 14 0 Received during the year 185 41 21 87 11 Reviewed 99 26 7 45 6 Not accepted 12 2 6 43 1 Lapsed or withdrawn 49 7 4 2 1 Total finalised during the year 160 35 17 90 8 On hand at end of year 34 12 4 11 3 Target completion time (weeks) 6 10 10 8 10 Average completion time for reviewed cases (weeks) 6.91 18.87 9.98 14.42 6.3 Completed within target time (number) 51 6 2 13 6 Completed within target time (%) 52 24 29 29 100 Table M2: Fee-for-service functions-workload and work completed, 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 Independent Selection Advisory Committees Other services requested On hand at start of year 15 28 Received during the year 94 343 Completed 58 289 Lapsed/withdrawn 8 40 Total finalised during the year 66 329 On hand at end of year 43 42 Analysis of performance This Section provides information on reviews of actions the Merit Protection Commissioner undertook during the period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005. The review scheme, established by section 33 of the Public Service Act and Part 5 of the Public Service Regulations, enables all APS employees who are not members of the Senior Executive Service to seek redress when they believe an action taken or a decision made about their employment was unfair or unreasonable. Most matters that affect employees personally in the course of their employment can be dealt with in this way, except where the Public Service Regulations specifically exclude that action from review. The types of reviews the Merit Protection Commissioner undertakes fall into three main categories: review of certain promotion and engagement decisions; review of breaches of the APS Code of Conduct; and other reviews of actions. Applications for a PRC review are made directly to the Merit Protection Commissioner. PRC reviews are available in certain circumstances for applicants for levels up to and including APS Classification Group 6. A three-member PRC reviews the original decision and makes a decision that is binding on the agency head. Applications for review of a determination that an employee has breached the Code of Conduct or of a sanction imposed for a breach of the Code of Conduct must be made directly to the Merit Protection Commissioner. An employee may lodge an application directly with the Merit Protection Commissioner in some other specified circumstances, including where the relevant agency head was directly involved in the action. An application may also be lodged with the Merit Protection Commissioner for a secondary review of an action where an employee is dissatisfied with the outcome of a primary review conducted by an agency head, or has been advised by the agency head that an action is not reviewable. Table M1 provides information on the reviews of actions received and completed and the timeliness of these reviews during the period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005. This Section also provides information on the Merit Protection Commissioner's other responsibilities including that of inquiring into whistleblowing reports, establishing ISACs, and performing other employment-related functions on a fee-for-service basis. Review of certain promotion and engagement decisions During 2004-05, 658 individual applications for PRC review were considered relating to 99 cases reviewed. This compared with 443 individual applications in 2003-04 relating to 73 cases reviewed. In this report, a case means an application by one or more APS employee for a PRC review of a decision or decisions arising from a discrete agency selection exercise. No applications for PRC review of engagement in the APS of a Parliamentary Service employee were received this year. The number of PRCs established increased in 2004-05 compared with 2003-04: 99 in 2004-05, 73 in 2003-04, an increase of 26 (36%). The number of PRCs has fluctuated over recent years; this appears, to some extent, to be a reflection of volatility in recruitment patterns. For example, an increase in the number of PRCs in 2004-05 coincides with an increase of about 25% in the number of reviewable promotions and engagements gazetted, compared with 2003-04. Table M3 provides information on the agencies involved in promotion reviews as well as a breakdown of the number of 'active' and 'protective' applications. Employees who were not promoted in a selection process would make an active application in which they are applying for review of the decision not to promote them. Employees who have been promoted and may be subject to review or be part of the active applicant promotion review process would make a protective application. Applications for a PRC review were received in relation to selection decisions made in 13 agencies. Bulk recruitment exercises in the Australian Customs Service and the Australian Taxation Office that resulted in high numbers of promotions to reviewable classifications contributed significantly to the number of applications for review lodged during this reporting period. Those agencies, along with the three other agencies that had 20 or more applications for review, are identified in Table M3. Eight other agencies had less than 20 applications for review that are not separately identified. PRC reviews overturned 42 (5%) of the 840 promotion decisions reviewed. This compares to 24 (5.9%) of 404 promotion decisions in 2003-04, 30 (2.8%) of 1071 promotion decisions in 2002-03, and 15 (5.4%) of 277 promotion decisions in 2001-02. The average time taken to complete PRC reviews was 6.9 weeks; 51 reviews (52%) were completed within the target time of six weeks. The large number of applications lodged relating to the promotions made as a result of the bulk selection rounds in the Australian Taxation Office and Customs, and the complexity of determining those applications, given the numbers involved, had a major impact on timeliness outcomes for 2004-05. For example, three of the PRC cases for Australian Taxation Office positions each involved more than 80 parties while another case involved more than 50 parties. Three of the PRC cases for Customs each involved between 38 and 74 parties. Table M3: Applications for review of promotion decisions and promotions overturned between 1 July 2004 and 30 June 2005, by agency Agency Total no. of applications for review No. of active applications No. of protective applications No. of promotions considered* No. of promotions overturned* Australian Taxation Office 334 213 121 416 25 Australian Customs Service 157 61 96 166 7 Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs 87 20 67 145 5 Centrelink 30 14 16 54 1 Australian Bureau of Statistics 20 5 15 28 2 8 other agencies 30 23 7 31 2 Total 658 336 322 840 42 * An APS employee may make an application for review of one or more promotion decisions. Not all applications made are considered by a PRC. Some applications are withdrawn, invalid or, in the case of protective applications, may not be activated. Breaches of the Code of Conduct and other reviews During 2004-05, 160 applications for review, other than for review of promotions decisions, were received. In addition, 20 applications were carried over from the previous reporting period. Of the total applications on hand in 2004-05, 84 were reviewed. The types of matters raised in the applications are shown in Figure M1. Reviews of actions relating to the Code of Conduct accounted for 26 (31%) of the applications reviewed, the same percentage of total applications reviewed in 2003-04. Other matters reviewed related to conditions of employment, including leave and other entitlements, 17 (20%); the workplace environment and arrangements, including harassment, 16 (19%); duties, including selection processes, 9 (11%); performance management, including performance appraisal, 8 (10%); separation, 6 (7%); failure to act on review of action request, 1 (1%); and misconduct procedures, 1 or (1%). Figure M1: Cases reviewed by subject, 2004-05 (not available) Table M4 provides a breakdown of the number of reviews by agency. As has been the case for the last two years, the agency with the highest number of reviews was the Australian Taxation Office, followed by Centrelink and the Department of Defence. It is not surprising that these three agencies consistently have the highest number of reviews in view of the fact that, between them, they comprise around 50% of total APS staff. Table M4: Applications reviewed 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 by agency Agency* Primary review - Code of Conduct Primary review - Other Secondary Review Complaints by former employees Total Australian Taxation Office 7 1 11 1 20 Centrelink 3 0 11 0 14 Defence 1 0 11 2 14 Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs 9 0 2 0 11 Australian Customs Service 1 0 2 1 4 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2 0 1 0 3 Finance and Administration 0 3 0 0 3 Australian Electoral Commission 1 1 0 0 2 Health and Ageing 0 0 1 1 2 National Native Title Tribunal 0 0 2 0 2 Director of Public Prosecutions 1 0 1 0 2 7 other agencies 1 2 3 1 7 Total 26 7 45 6 84 * The agency taking the action or, if the action is action by an APS employee, the agency in which the employee was employed at the time of the action. Breaches of the Code of Conduct This year saw a decrease in the number of applications the Merit Protection Commissioner received that related to breaches of the Code of Conduct by APS employees, with 41 applications received in comparison with 58 in 2003-04. In addition, we carried over six applications from 2003-04. The number of applications we received this year is more consistent with the number of applications we received in previous years (43 applications were received in both 2001-02 and 2002-03). The number of reviews we completed decreased this year: we completed 26 compared with 46 in 2003-04. However, this number is similar to the number completed in previous years: 25 were completed in 2001-02, 29 were completed in 2002-03. Of the applications on hand this year, two were not accepted, seven lapsed or were withdrawn, and 12 were carried over to 2005-06. Matters considered in reviews of breaches of the Code of Conduct during 2004-05 included: inappropriate browsing of information on clients; sexual harassment; inappropriate use of emails or the Internet; use of inappropriate language; disrespect to clients and work colleagues; use of another employee's identification to enter the workplace after hours; misuse of Australian Government Credit Card and Cabcharge Card; incorrect time keeping; and misuse of resources. Of the 26 applications we reviewed, 19 were for review of both a determination of a breach of the Code of Conduct, and the sanction imposed for the breach. Four applications sought review of the determination of a breach of the Code of Conduct only, and three were for review of the sanction imposed. The Merit Protection Commissioner made a formal recommendation to confirm, vary or set aside an agency decision to the relevant agency head in relation to each of the 26 completed reviews. Of these, 12 recommended confirming the agency decision (compared with 20 in 2003-04 and 10 in 2002-03), 12 recommended varying the decision (compared with 17 in 2003-04 and 14 in 2002-03) and two recommended setting aside the decision (compared with nine in 2003-04 and five in 2002-03). Three reviews included a recommendation to vary the sanction imposed. The average time we took to complete a review of a breach of the Code of Conduct was just under 19 weeks. In 2003-04 the average time we took was just under 15 weeks. The increase is in part reflective of the complexity of the reviews we undertook this year. Two of the more complex reviews were particularly time consuming, each taking close to a year to finalise. It should also be noted that the time taken includes the total time to complete a review including, for example, the time taken for an agency to provide information and the time that elapses due to unavailability of applicants and other employees. Other applications for review This year we received 119 applications for reviews other than promotion reviews and those related to the Code of Conduct. This was a decrease of 48 (29%) applications for review compared to 2003-04. Fourteen cases were carried over from 2003-04 and 58 (44%) of the total cases on hand were reviewed during 2004-05: during 2003-04, 104 (54%) of the total cases on hand were reviewed; 50 cases were not accepted, seven lapsed or were withdrawn and 18 were on hand at the end of 2004-05. There has been a downward trend in the number of applications we received and reviewed in recent years. Last financial year, when the numbers were particularly high, was an exception to this trend and was largely due to a bulk recruitment exercise in the Australian Taxation Office that resulted in a high number of applications for review. The figures for applications received and reviewed 2004-05 are similar to those for 2002-03, when we received 128 applications for review , and we reviewed 54 applications. Of the 58 cases we reviewed, a response about issues raised during the review was requested from agencies in 12 (21%) cases. The number of applications received in 2004-05 that were not accepted, as a proportion of all applications received, was the same as for 2003-04, and similar to 2002-03 (38% in both 2004-05 and 2003-04 and 36% in 2002-03). The most common reasons for the Commission not accepting applications continued to be that the agency head had not yet undertaken the primary review, or that no right of review existed. Other applications for primary review made directly to the Merit Protection Commissioner The Regulations provide for primary review by the Merit Protection Commissioner in certain circumstances. Regulation 5.24(3) allows employees to apply directly to the Merit Protection Commissioner where the agency head has been directly involved in the action; it is not appropriate, because of the seriousness or sensitivity of the action, for the agency head to deal with the application; or where the action is claimed to be victimisation or harassment of the employee for having made a previous application for review of action. Regulation 5.25 allows the agency head, with the agreement of the Merit Protection Commissioner, to refer an application directly to the Merit Protection Commissioner. Examples of situations where this might occur include where the agency head has been directly involved in the action or it is not appropriate, because of the seriousness or sensitivity of the action, for the agency head to deal with the application. During the year, 18 APS employees made direct application to the Merit Protection Commissioner under regulation 5.24(3). No applications were on hand at the start of the year. Four cases were not accepted, four lapsed or were withdrawn, and six were reviewed. Four cases were on hand at the end of 2004-05. The Merit Protection Commissioner received two applications for review under regulation 5.25(1) during the year. No applications were on hand at the start of the year. One case was not accepted and one was reviewed. Review of the seven cases under regulations 5.24(3) and 5.25(1) took an average of 9.98 weeks to finalise. Applications for secondary review The Regulations also provide for an APS employee, other than a Senior Executive Service employee, to apply to the Merit Protection Commissioner for a secondary review where the employee is dissatisfied with the outcome of the primary review conducted by the agency head (regulation 5.29(1)(b)). The Merit Protection Commissioner may also undertake a secondary review where the agency head has told the employee the action is not a reviewable action (regulation 5.29(1)(a)). During 2004-05, we received 87 applications for secondary review: eight under regulation 5.29(1)(a) and 79 under regulation 5.29(1)(b). This is a decrease of 57 (40%) applications compared with 2003-04. In addition, 14 applications were on hand at the start of the year: one received under regulation 5.29(1)(a) and 13 received under regulation 5.29(1)(b). Of the total applications on hand in 2004-05, 43 were not accepted and two lapsed or were withdrawn. Forty-five cases were reviewed during the period, compared with 94 in 2003-04. This difference in cases reviewed over the two reporting periods is primarily due to the unusually high number of cases in 2003-04 as a result of a bulk selection exercise in the Australian Taxation Office that resulted in a high number of applications for review. The number reviewed in 2004-05 is similar to the number reviewed in 2002-03, when 48 cases were reviewed. Of the nine applications on hand in 2004-05 under regulation 5.29(1)(a), five were not accepted since the Merit Protection Commissioner concurred with the views of the agency heads that the actions were not reviewable actions. One was on hand at the end of the reporting period. We reviewed three cases to determine whether the action was a reviewable action. In each case, the Merit Protection Commissioner determined that the actions were not reviewable actions. Investigation of complaints by former employees Regulation 7.2 provides that the Merit Protection Commissioner may investigate a complaint by a former APS employee that relates to the employee's entitlements on separation from the APS. We received 11 applications under regulation 7.2 during 2004-05, and carried no applications over from 2003-04. We reviewed six applications, one was not accepted, one was withdrawn, and three were on hand at the end of the reporting period. Independent Selection Advisory Committees The Merit Protection Commissioner may establish an ISAC at an agency head's request. An ISAC is an independent three-member committee that considers applications for employment opportunities at classifications in APS Classification Groups 1 to 6, and makes recommendations to the agency head on the suitability of the applicants. The Merit Protection Commissioner will usually establish an ISAC on a fee-for-service basis. An ISAC consists of a convenor and APS employee, both nominated by the Merit Protection Commissioner, and an agency nominee. The Merit Protection Commissioner has issued binding instructions on the procedures and functions of an ISAC, but the members of an ISAC are otherwise not subject to direction in carrying out their duties, except by a Court. Use of an ISAC facilitates and supports good practice in strategic people management and organisational performance. Such good practice is due to the professionalism, independence and impartiality of the committee, the flexibility of the process which can accommodate a range of selection assessment techniques, the fact that promotions made on the recommendation of an ISAC are not subject to review, and the ability to use the order of merit to fill future vacancies. There is further information on ISACs on the Commission's web site. Table M5 provides information on the number of ISACs established by agency, the number of candidates considered, and the number of recommendations made. During 2004-05, 58 committees were established in 11 agencies. In 2003-04, 53 committees were established in 15 agencies. Fewer candidates were considered and recommended this year compared with last year, with 2210 candidates considered and 559 candidates recommended in 2004-05, compared with 3338 candidates considered and 648 candidates recommended in 2003-04. The number of committees established and recommendations made has tended to fluctuate from year to year, reflecting volatility in agency recruitment patterns. Overall, however, use of ISACs continues to be steady and indicates that many agencies recognise the numerous benefits the committees offer. During 2004-05, the Australian Taxation Office was once again the highest user of ISACs, using 22 committees to assess 997 candidates, from which 183 placements were recommended. The second highest user was the Department of Health and Ageing, which used eight committees to assess 166 candidates, from which 51 were recommended. A number of agencies, including the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, employed strategic approaches towards using ISACs, with high numbers of candidates recommended from small numbers of ISACs. Table M5: Independent Selection Advisory Committees Convened 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 Agency Committees established and completed Candidates considered Candidates recommended Australian Taxation Office 22 997 183 Department of Health and Ageing 8 166 51 Department of Defence 6 51 16 Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service 4 237 98 Centrelink 4 153 57 Department of Education, Science and Training 4 70 20 Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs 3 229 77 Social Security Appeals Tribunal 2 23 2 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 2 234 48 Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia 2 37 3 Australian Public Service Commission 1 13 4 Total 58 2210 559 Whistleblowing The Public Service Act and regulations provide a scheme for APS employees to report alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct (known as whistleblowing). Agency heads are responsible for establishing procedures for dealing with whistleblower reports. In the first instance, it is expected that such reports will be made to, and investigated by, the relevant agency head. A report may be referred to the Public Service Commissioner or the Merit Protection Commissioner where the APS employee is not satisfied with the findings of the agency-based investigation, or in other specified circumstances, such as where it is not appropriate for the agency head to deal with the matter. Information on reports made to the Public Service Commissioner is contained in her annual report. The Merit Protection Commissioner received four reports during 2004-05, two less than he received in 2003-04. In addition, three reports were on hand at the start of the year. Of the seven reports on hand during the year, five did not meet the criteria for investigation by the Merit Protection Commissioner, the most common reason being that the agency head had not yet conducted an initial investigation. The Merit Protection Commissioner investigated two reports. Issues raised included mismanagement of a range of personnel matters, including leave entitlements and probation; misuse of Commonwealth funds; and harassment. Other functions Under the Public Service Act, the Public Service Minister can ask the Merit Protection Commissioner to inquire into an APS action and report to the Public Service Minister on the results of the inquiry. No requests were received during the reporting period. The Public Service Act also provides for the Merit Protection Commissioner to inquire into alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct by the Public Service Commissioner and report to the Presiding Officers on the results of such enquiries. There were no allegations of breaches during the reporting period. Employment-related services (fee-for-service) The Regulations provide for the Merit Protection Commissioner to carry out a range of employment-related functions for non-APS people or bodies where the Merit Protection Commissioner is not required by a law of the Commonwealth to perform the function. The Merit Protection Commissioner may charge a fee for carrying out the function. Some of the services are provided under a standing memorandum of understanding on an ongoing basis. For example, the Merit Protection Commissioner currently has arrangements in place with the Australian Federal Police to provide convenors for Joint Selection Committees for vacancies that arise in that organisation. We also provide related selection training to Australian Federal Police employees. The Merit Protection Commissioner also has agreements in place with other non-APS bodies to provide a range of selection, appeal and review functions. Table M6 reports on the services we provided during 2004-05. Table M7 provides details of the number of Joint Selection Committees established during the same period. During 2004-05, 243 Joint Selection Committees were conducted, 239 were for the Australian Federal Police. The number of Australian Federal Police Joint Selection Committees increased in 2004-05 in comparison with 2003-04, when only 166 were conducted. Other fee-for-service work undertaken on behalf of the Merit Protection Commissioner included staff selection training for the Australian Federal Police; grievance investigations; and participation as a convenor or panel member on selection advisory committees. Table M6: Employment-related services, 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 Nature of service Number completed Joint Selection Committees 243 Training 27 Scribing Service for Selection Advisory Committees 7 Grievance Investigations 4 Other 3 Panel Member on Selection Advisory Committees 3 Convenor on Selection Advisory Committees 2 Total 289 Table M7: Joint Selection Committees convened, 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 Organisation Separate Committees established Applicants Placements recommended Australian Federal Police 239 2730 775 Non-APS governing bodies 4 128 81 Total 243 2858 856 Case studies Review of actions under the Public Service Regulations-Credibility of primary or internal review process Application An APS employee applied for secondary review, by the Merit Protection Commissioner, of the decision not to approve her undertaking a particular training course. When that decision was first reviewed within the relevant agency, the primary or internal review delegate: * found that the decision was made on invalid grounds, essentially because it was made for reasons unrelated to the applicant's training needs * said that, given that the primary reason for the decision was invalid, it was inappropriate to seek to rely on secondary reasons to prevent the applicant from training * strongly recommended that the applicant be permitted to undertake the next available course. The applicant applied for secondary review by the Merit Protection Commissioner because her line management was unwilling to acknowledge the findings of the primary review and implement its recommendation. Review The Merit Protection Commissioner was concerned that the procedures for reviewing actions in the agency should operate generally in a manner consistent with section 33 of the Public Service Act and, in particular, Public Service Regulation 5.1 (General policy about review), namely: 1. It is the policy of the Australian Government that APS Agencies should achieve and maintain workplaces that encourage productive and harmonious working environments. 2. It is intended that this Part should provide for a fair system of review of APS actions. 3. Employees' concerns are intended to be dealt with quickly, impartially, and fairly. In this context, according to the Australian Standard on prevention, handling and resolution of disputes (AS 4608-1999, p.8) and the Australian Standard on complaints handling (AS 4269-1995, p.6), respectively: You need to have a clear policy on dispute prevention, handling and resolution which is understood by all your employees and associates. A complaints handling process shall have the capacity to determine and implement remedies. Consequently, the Merit Protection Commissioner advised the agency's national office that in an effective, credible internal or primary review system: * applicants would not be advised of the outcome of a review until after the matter was decided by a competent delegate of the agency head, that is one delegated under the Public Service Regulations to make such decisions * other people would not be able to overrule the review delegate, particularly after the applicant for review has been advised of the outcome of the review. Outcome On 31 May 2005, noting the passage of time and the possibility that the particular course in question may not be available in the foreseeable future, the Merit Protection Commissioner recommended to the agency that, as far as practicable, the primary review delegate's finding and recommendations be implemented and appropriate support and advice be given to the applicant and her line management. Breach of the APS Code of Conduct-Issues relating to retention of records and disclosure Application An APS employee applied for review of a decision that he had breached the APS Code of Conduct and of the sanctions imposed on him for that breach-a reprimand and re-assignment of duties to another job of the same classification but at another location. In addition, the relevant agency told the applicant that: * a copy of the record of the reprimand would be placed upon his 'personnel file' and retained for the period of two years * even after that period, he would be obliged to disclose that he had an 'Official Conduct Record' (for example, in connection with a job application or security clearance). Review Having reviewed the matter, the Merit Protection Commissioner was reasonably satisfied that the applicant had breached the APS Code of Conduct and that the sanctions imposed on him were not unreasonable. However, the Merit Protection Commissioner was concerned about the agency's record-keeping practices and the advice given to the applicant about his purported obligation, seemingly for an indefinite period, to disclose that he had an 'Official Conduct Record'. In relation to the first issue: * as set out on page 17 of Managing Breaches of the APS Code of Conduct (re-published by the Public Service Commissioner in August 2002), records relating to misconduct should not be placed on the employee's personal file, but rather on a separate misconduct action file or, where appropriate, an investigation file (the existence of a separate misconduct file should, however, be made apparent on the personal file, for example, by cross-reference) * the Administrative Functions Disposal Authority (published by the National Archives of Australia in February 2000) provides that all records documenting investigations of misconduct which result in a disciplinary action being taken are to be retained for five years. As for the second issue, the advice given to the applicant was in conflict with the general principle that individuals who have been subject to disciplinary action should not have their previous misconduct held against them indefinitely. At the expiration of the relevant period, providing there have been no new breaches of the Code of Conduct during that period, the record of the action taken against an employee should be destroyed and the employee concerned should no longer be taken to have a misconduct record. As set out in paragraph D.6.20 of the Commonwealth Protective Security Manual (October 2000), the same general principle also applies, under the Commonwealth Spent Convictions Scheme, to convictions for criminal offences-and most of these are usually more serious than most disciplinary breaches and must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. Outcome The applicant's agency has amended its practice of holding misconduct information on personnel files and now keeps separate records of misconduct investigations for case management and reporting purposes. The agency has also reviewed its recruitment and security procedures in relation to requiring staff to disclose prior misconduct and they are now consistent with the principles of the Commonwealth Spent Convictions Scheme. Breach of the APS Code of Conduct-Sending an offensive email Application An APS employee applied for review of a decision that, by sending a rather offensive email, he breached the APS Code of Conduct and of the sanctions imposed on him for that breach-a reprimand and reduction in classification from APS level 3 to APS level 2. While he later accepted that he had breached the Code, he originally argued that he could not have breached section 13(3) of the Public Service Act, which provides that: An APS employee, when acting in the course of APS employment, must treat everyone with respect and courtesy, and without harassment. This was, he said, because he did not send the email to the person described in it and she may not even have become aware of the email. In effect, as she was not a party to that exchange, it could not be said that he 'treated' her without respect and courtesy, and without harassment, as required by section 13(3). Review As far as it went, this was not an unarguable proposition. In fact, a somewhat similar view was expressed by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) in a case decided in February 2003. However, in a later case, in November 2004, a differently constituted AIRC said that sending disrespectful emails about another APS employee amounted to a prima facie breach of the Code of Conduct. In any event, the email in question was highly offensive and probably defamatory. Generally, to make, without lawful justification, a derogatory statement about a person, lowering that person's reputation in the eyes of reasonable members of the community, or leading people to avoid, ridicule or despise that person, or which has a tendency to injure that person's reputation in office, profession, business or trade, is to defame them. To defame a person is to breach the laws of defamation which, in Australia, are a mixture of common law and state or territory law. Not to comply with an applicable Australian law when acting in the course of APS employment is to breach section 13(4) of the Public Service Act, which states that: An APS employee, when acting in the course of APS employment, must comply with all applicable Australian laws. For this purpose, Australian law means: a. any Act (including this Act), or any instrument made under an Act; or b. any law of a State or Territory, including any instrument made under such a law. In the Merit Protection Commissioner's opinion, the suggestions the applicant made in his email about another APS employee were defamatory in that they ridiculed that person, were likely to make others think less of them, and might also have injured them in their employment. Consequently, even if, by sending that email, he did not breach section 13(3) of the Public Service Act, he breached section 13(4). In this context, in Department of Health and Human Services v Beveridge (23 February 2004, M330/2003, at 16-18), the court held that, for the purposes of disciplinary proceedings, the Tasmanian State Service Commissioner could determine whether an employee failed to comply with an Australian law, regardless of whether any prior decision-making had taken place in relation to the same question. Moreover, when the applicant sent that email, he also breached section 13(8) of the Act, by failing to use Commonwealth resources in a proper manner. As for the sanctions imposed on the applicant, they were, in the Merit Protection Commissioner's opinion, well within the range of sanctions one could reasonably expect for such a serious breach of the APS Code of Conduct and were not inappropriate. Outcome As recommended by the Merit Protection Commissioner, the applicant's agency confirmed the decisions under review. Breach of the APS Code of Conduct-Multiple breaches and several sanctions Application An APS employee applied for review of a decision that, in six different ways, he breached two elements of the APS Code of Conduct and of the three sanctions imposed on him for those breaches. The six alleged breaches were that the applicant: * told a client that he too had no confidence 'in the system' * spoke inappropriately [loudly] to a client * displayed inappropriate behaviour towards a client by being abrupt and cutting the client off * transferred inappropriately clients' calls within his topic boundary and calls which should have gone to another business line * failed to apply the 'relationship management model' * was frequently late for work. Review The decision declared that, by committing the abovementioned six acts, the applicant breached the following elements of the APS Code of Conduct: 13(1) An APS employee must behave honestly and with integrity in the course of APS employment. 13(5) An APS employee must comply with any lawful and reasonable direction given by someone in the employee's Agency who has authority to give the direction. However, the decision failed to explain which of the applicant's acts breached which of these elements of the Code or how. Also, to find that a person has failed to act honestly and with integrity is a serious matter not to be done lightly, especially in a case where there was no proof of intention to act dishonestly. In this context, there is a difference between: * section 13(1) of the Public Service Act which requires APS employees to behave 'honestly and with integrity' in the course of their employment * section 13(11) of the Public Service Act which requires them to behave at all times in a way that upholds 'the integrity and good reputation' of the APS. On review, while the Merit Protection Commissioner was reasonably satisfied that the applicant had committed the alleged acts, none of them amounted to a breach of section 13(1) of the Public Service Act. In the opinion of the Merit Protection Commissioner, to say to a client that he too had no confidence 'in the system' would tend to bring the agency into disrepute and would therefore be a breach of section 13(11) of the Act rather than of section 13(1) or 13(5). Next, as the applicant had previously been specifically directed to treat clients with respect and courtesy-see sections 13(3) and (5), when he spoke inappropriately to a client he breached these two sections but not section 13(1) as this did not involve an obvious lack of honesty or integrity. For the same reason, when he displayed inappropriate behaviour towards a client by being abrupt and cutting them off, this too was a breach of sections 13(3) and 13(5), and not of section 13(1). In relation to inappropriately transferring clients' calls, there was no evidence that the applicant was previously directed about how to transfer or not transfer clients' calls. Also, there was no obvious connection between 'failing to apply the relationship management model' and lacking honesty or integrity, or evidence that the applicant was previously directed to apply that model. In Phillips v Disciplinary Appeal Committee (1994) 34 ALD 758, the Federal Court said that if an agency wanted to issue a binding instruction or direction this could not be done by issuing a circular described as 'policies, procedures or guidelines'. For a document to be a binding direction, it must be expressed as such: The word 'instruction' ... should be confined to such commands as are unequivocally intended to create new legal obligations ... [An instruction] should be tightly drafted, using the language of command throughout, and specifying exactly what actions officers should, and should not, take. However, section 13(2) requires APS employees to act with care and diligence in the course of their employment. Consequently, to act contrary to the relevant procedures may be a breach of section 13(2), rather than of section 13(1) or 13(5). Similarly, while there is no obvious connection between being late for work and being dishonest or lacking integrity, frequent lateness for work may be incompatible with acting with care and diligence in the course of one's employment and, in the applicant's case, was also directly contrary to a direction given to him on 19 November 2002. In other words, the applicant's frequent lateness for work amounted to breaches of sections 13(2) and 13(5) of the Act, but not of section 13(1). For the above six breaches, the agency imposed the following three sanctions on the applicant-a reprimand; deduction from salary, by way of fine, of $300 (or $50 for each breach); and reduction in salary, to the first salary point of the APS 3 classification ($38,743 a year). The full rationale for these sanctions was: The determination and sanction that follows are intended to protect the public and to maintain proper standards of conduct by members of the Australian Public Service and to protect the reputation of the Australian Public Service. Given that the breaches occurred over a period of approximately 3 months, I believe a cumulative sanctioning approach should be taken as a deterrent for future breaches occurring. While there may be no legal impediment to imposing more than one sanction in a case of proven misconduct, the person imposing the sanction must be satisfied that more than one sanction is appropriate in the circumstances of the case and give proper reasons for their decision. Secondly, where sanctions for more than one breach are being imposed concurrently, the decision-maker should, after deciding what sanction is warranted in relation to each breach, consider whether the total effect is not disproportionate to the seriousness of the breaches considered as a whole-in other words, apply what the courts call the totality principle. In this case, there was no indication of why the agency considered that, in addition to the reprimand, the applicant's breaches warranted both a fine and a reduction in salary or whether they considered the total effect of the three sanctions on the applicant (apparently about $4,000 over three years). In the circumstances of the case, including that the allegation that the applicant had not behaved 'honestly and with integrity' had not been substantiated, monetary sanctions exceeding $4,000 seemed excessive. Instead, the maximum fine allowed under Public Service Regulation 2.3 (2% of his annual salary) was recommended as being more appropriate. Outcome The applicant's agency varied the decisions as recommended by the Merit Protection Commissioner, both in relation to the breaches and in relation to the sanctions. Travelling allowance-What is a 'dependant'? Application An APS employee applied for secondary review by the Merit Protection Commissioner of the decision that she was not eligible for an allowance to cover meals and incidentals while undertaking a training course interstate for about three months, on the basis that she was an employee without dependants. Her dissatisfaction with the decision appeared to centre on the definition of the term 'dependant' in the relevant certified agreement. The definition included 'the employee's partner' but, unlike the previous certified agreement in the same agency, did not specifically require that person to ordinarily reside with the employee. However, a related policy document contained more comprehensive definitions of the relevant terms including: * 'dependant' as including (that is, in addition to certain children and parents of the employee) the partner of the employee who ordinarily resides with them * 'employee with dependants' as meaning an employee who has one or more dependants, one or more of whom is, or are, residing with the employee. Review Originally, the applicant did not list any dependants on her claim form and the agency processed her travelling allowance as an employee without dependants. When she later claimed that another employee in the same agency was her partner, the fact that each of them was maintaining separate residences was taken into account in deciding that his circumstances did not satisfy the definition of 'dependant'. Later, the applicant said that exchanging house keys and sharing holiday costs (as also good friends might do) were consistent with a marriage-like relationship between her and the other person and, also, that the Family Law Act 1975 defines a de facto relationship as: the relationship between a man and a woman who live with each other as spouses on a genuine domestic basis although not legally married to each other. Having considered the matter, the Merit Protection Commissioner concluded that the reported nature of the relationship in question did not support a case for the applicant being paid an additional allowance to cover meals and incidentals, based on the other person being her 'dependant'. Briefly put, the reasons for his conclusion were that: * consistent with general community practice and the common law, the definition of 'dependant' in the certified agreement at least implicitly referred to marriage partners, de facto or de jure, who usually resided with each other * consistent with that interpretation, the relevant clause said: [The agency] is committed to providing a range of entitlements to assist in meeting reasonable associated costs to employees who are required to travel within Australia and perform duty away from their usual place of work; and that employees with 'dependants' will be entitled to an allowance to assist in the cost of meals and incidentals * while such assistance is generally provided to offset some of the costs that may be incurred because of joint household commitments, it had not been demonstrated that, at the relevant time, the applicant and the other person were sharing such costs and commitments on an ongoing basis, particularly in the light of their maintaining separate residences * consequently, assuming that was relevant, there was also insufficient evidence that she and he were 'living with each other as spouses on a genuine domestic basis' within the meaning of the definition of a de facto relationship in the Family Law Act 1975. Outcome As recommended by the Merit Protection Commissioner, the applicant's agency confirmed the decision under review. Break in employment-Salary on re-engagement after three months Application An APS employee applied for secondary review by the Merit Protection Commissioner of the decision relating to her commencing salary when, after an interval of about three months, she was re-employed by her agency. Review The applicant commenced work with the agency in March 1997. Until July 2002 when she left the agency, she was employed at Band 2, pay point 8 (B208). After about three months, in October 2002, the applicant was re-employed by the agency, first as a non-ongoing employee, at Band 2, pay point 1 (B201). Then, in December 2002, her salary was increased to pay point 3 (B203). The Merit Protection Commissioner was advised that this decision was based on the need to pay more to be able to attract and retain people for short periods in jobs with little or no job security, rather than on the applicant's level of performance. Subsequently, in January 2003, the applicant was re-employed as an ongoing employee; going back to Band 2, pay point 1 (B201). By that time, a new certified agreement was in place. The new certified agreement required employees to obtain a Certificate IV to be able to advance to and beyond Band 2, pay point 6 (B206). As at the time of the review, the applicant was on pay point 5 (B205), having re-negotiated that salary level from May 2003. The outcome the applicant sought from the secondary review was to renegotiate her salary, from October 2002, at her old July 2002 salary (B208) on the grounds that: * she was out of the agency for only about three months before coming back as a non-ongoing employee-this was not long enough for her to lose her skills * her skills and experience were again not appropriately recognised when she was later re-engaged, at the bottom of the relevant salary range, as an ongoing employee * it would take at least three years to work her way up to her former pay level, including about a year to complete Certificate IV and this would probably take the rest of her working life. In the opinion of the Merit Protection Commissioner, the main issue for consideration in this case was whether it would have been appropriate for the agency to authorise a higher salary for the applicant when she returned to the agency in October 2002 or at a later date. The relevant certified agreement provided that: When an APS employee commences with [the agency] from outside the APS, salary will be payable at the minimum point in the salary range applicable to the classification of the job unless the CEO or Delegate authorises a higher pay point, having regard to experience, qualifications and skills of the employee. Also, noting that the agency was able to re-negotiate an employee's salary at any time following their commencement, to warrant such reconsideration regard needed to be had to experience, qualifications and skills of the employee-in this case, the applicant's experience and skills as at October 2002 when she was re-employed by the agency. As at that date, she had been absent from the agency for some three months only. She had significant prior experience of working at a higher level and this experience was similar in nature to her new duties. Her performance had been rated as either excelling in many areas or meeting expectations for someone employed at Band 2, pay point 8 (B208). In all the circumstances of the case, considering the applicant's skills and experience and that there was no evidence that these had materially degraded during the three months of her absence from the workplace-and that she does not hold a Certificate IV, the Merit Protection Commissioner concluded that the preferable decision when she was re-employed in October 2002 would have been to pay her neither at her old salary level (B208), nor at the bottom of the relevant salary range (B201), but at pay point 5 (B205) which does not require that certificate. Outcome For these reasons, the Merit Protection Commissioner recommended on 20 July 2005 that the applicant's salary for the period October 2002 to May 2003 be varied to Band 2, pay point 5 (B205). Excess employee-Reduction in classification-decision of no effect because mandatory procedures not followed Application An APS employee applied for secondary review by the Merit Protection Commissioner of a decision relating to his classification. He was an excess APS 4 employee who declined an offer of voluntary redundancy from his agency. Subsequently, the agency found him an APS 3 job and reduced his classification from APS 4 to APS 3. Review On review, it was established that: * before making the abovementioned decision, the agency did not appear to have complied with all relevant provisions of its certified agreement-in particular, on or after 18 June 2004, with clause 250 of the agreement the effect of which was to require the agency to provide the applicant with a 'skilled, suitable mentor', preferably after conferring with the applicant as to suitable candidates * under the certified agreement, such mentors were required to 'be an advocate for the employee and ensure fair treatment from [the agency]' * the mentor ostensibly, retrospectively provided by the agency (without the applicant's consent or knowledge) could not be said to have been 'suitable' (he represented the agency's management, drafted the voluntary redundancy letter and was involved in the decision to reclassify the applicant) * consequently, given section 23(5) of the Public Service Act: If a relevant award, certified agreement or AWA contains procedures to be followed when reducing the classification, then a reduction is of no effect unless those procedures are followed; the decision under review seemed to have been of no effect. For these reasons, the Merit Protection Commissioner formally recommended that the decision in question be set aside and substituted by a new action; for example, the relevant process could be recommenced from where it was on 18 June 2004. In the meantime, the applicant's classification continued to be APS 4 until and unless a new, valid decision was made to reduce it. Outcome The agency accepted the Merit Protection Commissioner's recommendation. Appendix A: Resources for the outcome Outcome: Confident, high-quality, values-based and sustainable Australian Public Service. Table 38: Resources for the outcome (1) Actual 2004-05 $,000 (2) Budget* 2004-05 $,000 Variation (column 1 minus column 2) $,000 Budget** 2005-06 $,000 Department price of outputs Output Group 1-APS Policy and Employment Services Output 1.1-Ministerial and Parliamentary Services 318 397 (79) Output 1.2-Service Delivery 7,320 6,688 632 Output 1.3-Research, Analysis and Evaluation 340 146 194 Output Group 2-Leadership, Learning and Development Services Output 2.1-Service Delivery 14,900 13,614 1,286 Output Group 3-Organisational Performance, Promotion and Support Output 3.1-Ministerial and Parliamentary Services 50 87 (37) Output 3.2-Service Delivery 4,665 3,825 840 Output 3.3-Research, Analysis and Evaluation 46 47 (1) Output Group 4-Evaluation Output 4.1-Service Delivery 148 60 88 Output 4.2-Research, Analysis and Evaluation 2,258 2,471 (213) Output Group 5-Merit Protection and Other Services Output 5.1-Service Delivery 2,554 2,410 144 Total Price of Outcome 32,599 29,745 2,854 31,135 Departmental revenue Revenue from Government (Appropriation) 17,195 16,525 670 16,873 Revenue from other Sources 15,404 13,220 2,184 14,262 Total Departmental Revenue 32,599 29,745 2,854 31,135 2004-05 2005-06 Average Staffing Level 184 179 * 2004-05 budget as per 2004-05 Portfolio Budget Statements. ** 2005-06 budget as per 2005-06 Portfolio Budget Statements. Commencing from 2005-06, the Commission's output structure has been revised from five to three output groups. Due to this change, direct comparatives are not available between 2004-05 and 2005-06 outputs. A comparison between the 2005-06 outputs framework and 2004-05 framework is provided in Figure 1 (page 99) of the 2005-06 Prime Minister and Cabinet Portfolio Budget Statements. Independent Audit Report To the Prime Minister Matters relating to the Electronic Presentation of the Audited Financial Statements This audit report relates to the financial statements published in both the annual report and on the website of the Australian Public Service Commission for the year ended 30 June 2005. The Australian Public Service Commission's Chief Executive is responsible for the integrity of both the annual report and its web site. The audit report refers only to the financial statements, schedules and notes named below. It does not provide an opinion on any other information which may have been hyperlinked to/from the audited financial statements. If users of this report are concerned with the inherent risks arising from electronic data communications they are advised to refer to the hard copy of the audited financial statements in the Australian Public Service Commission's annual report. Scope The financial statements and Chief Executive's responsibilities The financial statements comprise: * Statement by the Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer; * Statements of Financial Performance, Financial Position and Cash Flows; * Schedules of Commitments and Contingencies; and * Notes to and forming part of the Financial Statements of the Australian Public Service Commission for the year ended 30 June 2005. The Australian Public Service Commission's Chief Executive is responsible for preparing financial statements that give a true and fair presentation of the financial position and performance of the Australian Public Service Commission, and that comply with accounting standards, other mandatory financial reporting requirements in Australia, and the Finance Minister's Orders made under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997. The Australian Public Service Commission's Chief Executive is also responsible for the maintenance of adequate accounting records and internal controls that are designed to prevent and detect fraud and error, and for the accounting policies and accounting estimates inherent in the financial statements. Audit approach I have conducted an independent audit of the financial statements in order to express an opinion on them to you. My audit has been conducted in accordance with the Australian National Audit Office Auditing Standards, which incorporate the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards, in order to provide reasonable assurance as to whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The nature of an audit is influenced by factors such as the use of professional judgement, selective testing, the inherent limitations of internal control, and the availability of persuasive, rather than conclusive, evidence. Therefore, an audit cannot guarantee that all material misstatements have been detected. While the effectiveness of management's internal controls over financial reporting was considered when determining the nature and extent of audit procedures, the audit was not designed to provide assurance on internal controls. I have performed procedures to assess whether, in all material respects, the financial statements present fairly, inaccordance with theFinance Minister's Orders made under theFinancial Management and Accountability Act 1997, accounting standards and other mandatory financial reporting requirements in Australia, a view which is consistent with my understanding of the Australian Public Service Commission's financial position, and of its performance as represented by the statements of financial performance and cash flows. The audit opinion is formed on the basis of these procedures, which included: * examining, on a test basis, information to provide evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements: and * assessing the appropriateness of the accounting policies and disclosures used, and the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by the Chief Executive. Independence In conducting the audit. I have followed the independence requirements of the Australian National Audit Office, which incorporate the ethical requirements of the Australian accounting profession. Audit Opinion In my opinion, the financial statements of the Australian Public Service Commission: a. have been prepared inaccordance with theFinance Minister's Orders made under theFinancial Management and Accountability Act 1997; and b. give a true and fair view of the Australian Public Service Commission's financial position as at 30 June 2005 and of its performance and cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with: i. the matters required by the Finance Minister's Orders; and ii. applicable accounting standards and other mandatory financial reporting requirements in Australia. Australian National Audit Office Allan M. Thompson Executive Director Delegate of the Auditor-General Canberra 2 September 2005 Statement by the Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer In our opinion, the attached financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2005 have been prepared based on properly maintained financial records and give a true and fair view of the matters required by the Finance Minister's Orders made under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, as amended. Lynelle Briggs Chief Executive 2 September 2005 David Mylan Chief Financial Officer 2 September 2005 Statement of financial performance for the year ended 30 June 2005 Notes 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 Revenues from ordinary activities Revenues from Government 4a 17,195 16,506 Goods and services 4b 15,385 12,327 Revenue from sale of assets 4c 19 20 Total revenues from ordinary activities 32,599 28,853 Expenses from ordinary activities (excluding borrowing costs expense) Employees 5a 16,189 15,061 Suppliers 5b 14,437 14,026 Depreciation and amortisation 5c 1,128 933 Write-down of assets 5d 8 14 Value of assets sold 4c 16 24 Total expenses from ordinary activities (excluding borrowing costs expense) 31,778 30,058 Borrowing costs expense 6 38 24 Net surplus / (deficit) from ordinary activities 783 (1,229) Net credit to asset revaluation reserve 12a - 25 Increase to asset revaluation reserve on initial application of fair value under accounting standard AASB 1041 Revaluation of Non-current Assets 12a - 175 Total revenues, expenses and valuation adjustments recognised directly in equity 783 (1,029) Total changes in equity other than those resulting from transactions with the Australian Government as owner 783 (1,029) The above statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes Statement of financial position as at 30 June 2005 Notes 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 ASSETS Financial assets Cash 7a 864 612 Receivables 7b 8,483 6,656 Other financial assets 7c 20 20 Total financial assets 9,367 7,288 Non-financial assets Land and buildings 8a,8d 828 660 Infrastructure, plant and equipment 8b,8d 1,044 803 Intangibles 8c,8d 907 866 Inventories 8e 59 106 Prepayments paid 8f 345 411 Total non-financial assets 3,183 2,846 Total assets 12,550 10,134 LIABILITIES Interest bearing liabilities Leases 9a 635 237 Lease incentives 9b 143 42 Total interest bearing liabilities 778 279 Provisions Employees 10a 5,144 4,730 Other provisions 10b - 66 Total provisions 5,144 4,796 Payables Suppliers 11a 1,942 1,570 Prepayments received 11b 1,709 1,277 Other payables 11c 38 30 Total payables 3,689 2,877 Total liabilities 9,611 7,952 NET ASSETS 2,939 2,182 EQUITY Contributed equity 12a (1,894) (1,868) Reserves 12a 1,290 1,290 Retained surpluses 12a 3,543 2,760 Total equity 12a 2,939 2,182 Current assets 9,771 7,805 Non-current assets 2,779 2,329 Current liabilities 5,377 4,253 Non-current liabilities 4,234 3,699 The above statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes Statement of cash flows for the year ended 30 June 2005 Notes 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 Operating Activities Cash received Goods and services 17,577 13,207 Appropriations 17,195 16,506 Net GST received from ATO - 317 Cash received from the OPA - 4,854 Other 477 208 Total cash received 35,249 35,092 Cash used Employees 16,200 14,768 Suppliers 15,639 16,802 Borrowing costs 38 24 Net GST paid to ATO 101 - Cash transferred to the OPA 1,730 - Other 466 208 Total cash used 34,174 31,802 Net cash from / (used by) operating activities 13 1,075 3,290 Investing Activities Cash received Proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment 2 3 Total cash received 2 3 Cash used Purchase of property, plant and equipment 572 230 Purchase of intangibles 253 277 Total cash used 825 507 Net cash from / (used by) investing activities (823) (504) FINANCING ACTIVITIES Cash Used Return of capital - 3,025 Total cash used - 3,025 Net cash from / (used by) financing activities - (3,025) Net increase / (decrease) in cash held 252 (239) Cash at the beginning of the reporting period 612 851 Cash at the end of the reporting period 7a 864 612 The above statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes Schedule of commitments as at 30 June 2005 2005$'000 2004$'000 By Type Capital commitments Intangibles 6 66 Total capital commitments 6 66 Other commitments Operating leases1 9,453 10,577 Other commitments2 4,288 3,689 Total other commitments 13,741 14,266 Commitments receivable GST recoverables (1,251) (1,304) Total commitments receivable (1,251) (1,304) Net commitments 12,496 13,028 By maturity Capital commitments One year or less 6 66 From one to five years - - Over five years - - 6 66 Operating lease commitments One year or less 3,252 2,672 From one to five years 6,201 7,905 Over five years - - 9,453 10,577 Other commitments One year or less 3,299 3,132 From one to five years 989 557 Over five years - - 4,288 3,689 Commitments receivable (1,251) (1,304) Net commitments by maturity 12,496 13,028 1 Operating leases included are effectively non-cancellable and include leases for office accommodation, motor vehicles and IT equipment and services. Nature of lease General description of leasing arrangement Leases for office accommodation ? Lease payments are subject to rent reviews in accordance with the lease agreement. ? The initial periods of office accommodation leases are still current. Lease for general IT services, equipment, software and support ? The lessor provides general IT services, equipment, software and support for the Commission. ? The initial contract of 5 years has been extended for 4 years. ? Pricing is subject to review annually. Agreements for the provision of motor vehicles to senior executive officers ? No contingent rentals exist. ? There are no purchase options available to the Commission. Lease for FMIS IT equipment, software and support ? The lessor provides a bureau service for the Commission's FMIS. ? The initial contract of 5 years has been extended for 23 months. ? Pricing is subject to review annually if the contract is extended. 2 Other commitments comprise amounts committed for development and administrative activities. The above statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes Schedule of contingencies as at 30 June 2005 Make good - leases1 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 Contingent liabilities Balance from previous period 487 - New / initial recognition 77 487 Re-measurement (40) - Liabilities crystallised - - Obligations expired - - Total contingent liabilities 524 487 Net contingent liabilities 524 487 Details of each class of contingent liabilities, including those not included above because they cannot be quantified or considered remote, are disclosed in note 14 Contingent liabilities and assets. 1 The make good contingency represents an estimate of the Commission's restoration liability if it were to vacate leased office premises. The estimate is based on restoration costs for previous office fit outs. The above statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes Notes to and forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2005 Note 1. Summary of significant accounting policies 1.1 Objective of the Commission The Commission's mission is to promote, review and evaluate a values-based APS and to foster its capability. The Commission is structured to meet one outcome, to foster a confident, high quality, values-based and sustainable Australian Public Service. The continued existence of the Commission in its present form and with its present programmes is dependant on Government policy and on continuing appropriations by Parliament for the Commission's administration and programs. 1.2 Basis of accounting The financial statements are required by Section 49 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 and are a general purpose financial report. The statements have been prepared in accordance with: * Finance Minister's Orders (or FMOs, being the Financial Management and Accountability Orders (Financial Statements for reporting periods on or after 30 June 2005)) * Australian Accounting Standards and Accounting Interpretations issued by the Australian Accounting Standards Board and * Consensus Views of the Urgent Issues Group. The Statements of Financial Performance and Financial Position have been prepared on an accrual basis and are in accordance with historical cost convention, except for certain assets, which, as noted, are at valuation. Except where stated, no allowance is made for the effect of changing prices on the results or the financial position. Assets and liabilities are recognised in the Statement of Financial Position when and only when it is probable that future economic benefits will flow and the amounts of the assets or liabilities can be reliably measured. However, assets and liabilities arising under agreements equally proportionately unperformed are not recognised unless required by an Accounting Standard. Liabilities and assets that are unrecognised are reported in the Schedule of Commitments and the Schedule of Contingencies. Revenues and expenses are recognised in the Statement of Financial Performance when and only when the flow or consumption or loss of economic benefits has occurred and can be reliably measured. 1.3 Changes in accounting policy The accounting policies used in the preparation of these financial statements are consistent with those used in 2003-04. 1.4 Revenue Revenues from Government Departmental outputs appropriations for the year (less any savings offered up in Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements) are recognised as revenue, except for certain amounts that relate to activities that are reciprocal in nature, in which case revenue is recognised only when it has been earned. Resources received free of charge Services received free of charge are recognised as revenue when and only when a fair value can be reliably determined and the services would have been purchased if they had not been donated. Use of those resources is recognised as an expense. Contributions of assets at no cost of acquisition or for nominal consideration are recognised at their fair value when the asset qualifies for recognition, unless received from another government agency as a consequence of a restructuring of administrative arrangements (Refer to Note 1.5). Other revenue Revenue from the sale of goods is recognised upon the delivery of goods to customers. Revenue from the rendering of a service is recognised by reference to the stage of completion of contracts or other agreements to provide services. The stage of completion is determined according to the proportion that costs incurred to date bear to the estimated total costs of the transaction. Receivables for goods and services are recognised at the nominal amounts due less any provision for bad and doubtful debts. Collectibility of debts is reviewed at balance date. Provisions are made when collection of the debt is judged to be less rather than more likely. Revenue from disposal of non-current assets is recognised when control of the asset has passed to the buyer. 1.5 Transactions with the Government as owner Equity injections Appropriations designated as 'equity injections' (less any savings offered up in Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements) are recognised directly in contributed equity in that year. Restructuring of Administrative Arrangements Net assets received from or relinquished to another Australian Government agency or authority under a restructuring of administrative arrangements are adjusted at their book value directly against contributed equity. Other distributions to owners The FMOs require that distributions to owners be debited to contributed equity unless in the nature of a dividend. In 2003-04, by agreement with Finance, the Commission returned $3,025,000 to the Official Public Account. The Government reappropriated this amount back to the Commission to fund two Strategic Priorities - Australian Public Service Indigenous Employment Strategy and Integrated Leadership Strategy. The majority of the funding will be received during 2003-04 to 2005-06. 1.6 Employee benefits Liabilities for services rendered by employees are recognised at the reporting date to the extent that they have not been settled. Liabilities for wages and salaries (including non-monetary benefits), annual leave and sick leave are measured at their nominal amounts. Other employee benefits expected to be settled within 12 months of the reporting date are also measured at their nominal amounts. The nominal amount is calculated with regard to the rates expected to be paid on settlement of the liability. All other employee benefit liabilities are measured at the present value of the estimated future cash outflows to be made in respect of services provided by employees up to the reporting date. Leave The liability for employee entitlements includes provision for annual leave and long service leave. No provision has been made for sick leave as all sick leave is non-vesting and the average sick leave likely to be taken in future years by employees of the Commission is estimated to be less than the annual entitlement for sick leave. The liability for annual leave reflects the value of total annual leave entitlements of all employees at 30 June 2005 and is recognised at the nominal amount. The leave liabilities are calculated on the basis of employees' remuneration, including the Commission's employer superannuation contribution rates to the extent that the leave is likely to be taken during service rather than paid out on termination. The non-current portion of the liability for long service leave is recognised and measured at the present value of the estimated future cash flows to be made in respect of all employees at 30 June 2005. In determining the present value of the liability, the Commission has used the Australian Government shorthand method. Separation and redundancy Provision is only made for separation and redundancy benefit payments when the Commission has developed a detailed formal plan and has informed those employees affected. Superannuation Staff of the Commission are members of the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme and the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme. The liability for their superannuation benefits is recognised in the financial statements of the Australian Government and is settled by the Australian Government in due course. The Commission makes employer contributions to the Australian Government at rates determined by an actuary to be sufficient to meet the cost to the Government of the superannuation entitlements of the Commission's employees. The liability for superannuation recognised as at 30 June represents the estimated superannuation payable on the provision for annual leave and long service leave. 1.7 Leases A distinction is made between finance leases and operating leases. Finance leases effectively transfer from the lessor to the lessee substantially all risks and benefits incidental to ownership of leased non-current assets. In operating leases, the lessor effectively retains substantially all such risks and benefits. Where a non-current asset is acquired by means of a finance lease, the asset is capitalised at the present value of minimum lease payments at the inception of the lease and a liability recognised for the same amount. Leased assets are amortised over the period of the lease. Lease payments are allocated between the principal component and the interest expense. Operating lease payments are expensed on a basis which is representative of the pattern of benefits derived from the leased assets. Lease incentives taking the form of "free" leasehold improvements and rent holidays are recognised as liabilities. These liabilities are reduced by allocating lease payments between rental expense and reduction of the liability. 1.8 Borrowing costs All borrowing costs are expensed as incurred except to the extent that they are directly attributable to qualifying assets, in which case they are capitalised. The amount capitalised in a reporting period does not exceed the amounts of costs incurred in that period. 1.9 Cash Cash means notes and coins held and deposits held at call with a bank or financial institution. Cash is recognised at its nominal amount. 1.10 Other financial instruments Trade creditors Trade creditors and accruals are recognised at their nominal amounts, being the amounts at which the liabilities will be settled. Liabilities are recognised to the extent that the goods or services have been received (and irrespective of having been invoiced). Contingent liabilities and contingent assets Contingent liabilities (assets) are not recognised in the Statement of Financial Position but are discussed in the relevant schedules and notes. They may arise from uncertainty as to the existence of a liability (asset), or represent an existing liability (asset) in respect of which settlement is not probable or the amount cannot be reliably measured. Remote contingencies are part of this disclosure. Where settlement becomes probable, a liability (asset) is recognised. A liability (asset) is recognised when its existence is confirmed by a future event, settlement becomes probable or reliable measurement is possible. 1.11 Acquisition of assets Assets are recorded at cost on acquisition except as stated below. The cost of acquisition includes the fair value of assets transferred in exchange and liabilities undertaken. Assets acquired at no cost, or for nominal consideration, are initially recognised as assets and revenues at their fair value at the date of acquisition, unless acquired as a consequence of restructuring of administrative arrangements. In the latter case, assets are initially recognised as contributions by owners at the amounts at which they were recognised in the transferor agency's accounts immediately prior to the restructuring. 1.12 Property, plant and equipment Asset recognition threshold Purchases of property, plant and equipment are recognised initially at cost in the Statement of Financial Position, except for purchases costing less than $2,000, which are expensed in the year of acquisition (other than where they form part of a group of similar items which are significant in total). Revaluations Basis Land, buildings, plant and equipment are carried at valuation. Australian Accounting Standard AASB 1041 Revaluation of Non-Current Assets requires that all land, buildings, plant are valued on a fair value basis. Fair values for each class of asset are determined as shown below: Asset class Fair value measured at: Leasehold improvements Depreciated replacement cost Infrastructure, plant and equipment Market selling price Under fair value, assets, which are surplus to requirements, are measured at their net realisable value. As at 30 June 2005 the Commission reported no assets in this situation (30 June 2004: nil assets). Frequency The FMOs require that all property plant and equipment assets be measured at up-to-date fair values from 30 June 2005 onwards, with formal valuations to be undertaken at least every five years. All property plant and equipment was formally valued at fair value as at 1 July 2003 and 30 June 2004. Conduct Formal valuations are conducted by an independent qualified valuer. Depreciation Depreciable property, plant and equipment assets are written off to their estimated residual value over their estimated useful life to the Commission using, in all cases, the straight-line method of depreciation. Leasehold improvements are amortised on a straight-line basis over the lesser of the estimated useful life of the improvements or the unexpired period of the lease. Depreciation rates (useful lives) and methods are reviewed at each reporting date and necessary adjustments are recognised in the current, or current and future reporting periods, as appropriate. Residual values are re-estimated for a change in prices only when assets are revalued. Depreciation and amortisation rates applying to each class of depreciable asset are based on the following useful lives: 2005 2004 Leasehold improvements Lease term Lease term Plant and equipment 1 to 7 years 1 to 7 years Assets held under finance lease Lease term Lease term The aggregate amount of depreciation and amortisation allocated for each class of asset during the reporting period is disclosed in Note 5c. Impairment of Non-Current Assets Non-current assets carried at up to date fair value at the reporting period are not subject to impairment testing. Non-current assets at cost have been assessed for indications of impairment. Where indications of impairment existed, the carrying amount of the asset is compared to the higher of its net selling price and depreciated replacement cost. No impairment write-down was required (2004: nil). 1.13 Intangibles Intangibles, incorporating intellectual property and internally developed software for internal use, have been included in these statements where the value of the asset exceeds $10,000. Intangibles are depreciated over their useful lives, to a maximum of 10 years. All intangibles are shown at cost. All software assets were assessed for impairment as at 30 June 2005. None were found to be impaired. Software is amortised on a straight-line basis over its anticipated useful life. The useful lives of the Commission's software is 2 to 10 years (2003-04: 2 to 10 years). 1.14 Inventories Inventories not held for resale are valued at cost, unless they are no longer required, in which case they are valued at net realisable value. Costs incurred in bringing each item of inventory to its present location and condition are assigned as follows: * Finished goods and work in progress - cost of direct materials and labour plus attributable costs that are capable of being allocated on a reasonable basis. From 1 July 2000 the Commission's publications have been available free of charge. 1.15 Taxation The Commission is exempt from all forms of taxation except fringe benefits tax and the goods and services tax (GST). Revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities are recognised net of GST: * except where the amount of GST incurred is not recoverable from the Australian Taxation Office and * except for receivables and payables. 1.16 Foreign currency Transactions denominated in a foreign currency are converted at the exchange rate at the date of the transaction. Foreign currency receivables and payables are translated at the exchange rates current as at balance date. Associated currency gains and losses are not material. 1.17 Insurance The Commission has insured for risks through the Government's insurable risk managed fund, called 'Comcover'. Workers compensation is insured through the Government's Comcare. 1.18 Comparative figures Comparative figures have been adjusted to conform to changes in presentation in these financial statements where required. 1.19 Rounding Amounts have been rounded to the nearest $1,000 except in relation to the following items: * Executive remuneration * Remuneration of auditors * Specific payment disclosures and * Appropriations disclosures. 1.20 Administered activities The Commission does not have any administered activities. Note 2. Adoption of Australian equivalents to international financial reporting standards from 2005-2006 The Australian Accounting Standards Board has issued replacement Australian Accounting Standards to apply from 2005-06. The new standards are the Australian Equivalent to International Financial Reporting Standards (AEIFRS) which are issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. The new standards cannot be adopted early. The standards being replaced are to be withdrawn with effect from 2005-06 but continue to apply in the meantime. The purpose of issuing AEIFRS is to enable Australian entities reporting under the Corporations Act 2001 to be able to more readily access overseas capital markets by preparing their financial reports according to accounting standards widely used overseas. AEIFRS contain certain additional provisions which will apply to not-for-profit entities, including Australian Government agencies. Some of these provisions are in conflict with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and therefore the Commission will only be able to assert compliance with Australian Accounting Standards. AAS 29 Financial Reporting by Government Departments will continue to apply under AEIFRS. Accounting Standard AASB 1047 Disclosing the Impacts of Adopting Australian Equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards requires that the financial statements for 2004-05 disclose: * explanation of how the transition to the Australian Equivalents is being managed * narrative explanation of the key differences in accounting policies arising from the adoption of AEIFRS * any known or reliably estimable information about the impacts on the financial report had it been prepared using AEIRFS and * if the impacts of the above are not known or reliably estimable, a statement to that effect The purpose of this Note is to make these disclosures. Management of the transition to AASB Equivalents to AEIFRS The Chief Finance Officer is formally responsible for the transition to and implementation of the AASB Equivalents to IFRS and reports regularly to the Commission's Audit Committee. The Commission has reviewed AEIRFS literature and attended information sessions on the transition to IFRS. It is expected that the impact of the adoption of IFRS on the Commission will be minimal, especially given that Australian accounting standards have been progressively harmonised with existing International accounting standards over the last few years. During 2004-05 financial statements the Commission: * Reviewed existing accounting policies, taking into account Australian equivalents on IFRS and relevant Finance Briefs issued by the Department of Finance and Administration. Revised accounting policies will take effect from 1 July 2005, with retrospective restatement of comparative information. * Prepared an opening balance sheet required by AASB 1 First-time Adoption of Australian Equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards. A reconciliation of equity as at 1 July 2004 was also completed. Major changes in accounting policies Changes in accounting policies under AASB Equivalents are applied retrospectively i.e. as if the new policy had always applied. This rule means that a balance sheet prepared under the AEIFRS must be made as at 1 July 2004, except as permitted in particular circumstances by AASB 1 First-time Adoption of Australian Equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards. This will enable the 2005-06 financial statements to report comparatives under AEIFRS. Changes to major accounting policies are discussed in the following paragraphs. Management's review of the quantitative impacts of AEIFRS represents the best estimates of the impacts of the changes as at reporting date. Property plant and equipment It is expected that the Finance Minister's Orders will require property plant and equipment assets carried at valuation in 2004-05 to be measured at up-to-date fair value from 2005-06. This is consistent with the Commission's current asset valuation basis, as all assets were formally revalued to fair value at 1 July 2003 and 30 June 2004 and are carried at up-to-date fair values at 30 June 2005. Accounting for decommissioning costs AASB 116 Property, Plant and Equipment requires that the initial cost of an item of property, plant and equipment includes the estimated costs of dismantling and removing the item and restoring the site on which it is located, to the extent it is recognised as a provision. This will apply to the make good of leasehold fit out. Currently the Commission does not include restoration costs in the value of leasehold fit out assets. Only a provision or contingent liability is currently recognised for these costs, depending on the probability that the make good will occur and whether this can be reliably measured. * The impact of this change on these financial statements would be to: * increase the net amount of land and buildings by $151,000 (2004 $139,000) * increase the make good provision by $469,000 (2004 $398,000) * decrease accumulated results by $318,000 (2004 $259,000) and * increase in depreciation expense by $45,000 and borrowing costs expense by $14,000. Intangible assets Intangible assets are currently measured on the cost basis under AASB 1041 Revaluation of Non-Current Assets. However, the carrying amounts of some of these assets arise from revaluations carried out in the years before the cost basis was adopted. As the original cost of some of these assets cannot be determined, all amounts arising from the valuation of intangible assets at deprival will be reversed against equity at the date of transition to AEIFRS. The cost of internally developed intangible assets must only include the cost of development of these assets and exclude any research costs. As the status of the costs included in some of these assets cannot be determined, the value of these intangible assets will be reversed against equity at the date of transition to AEIFRS. The impact of this change on these financial statements would be to: * decrease the net amount of intangibles by $285,000 (2004 $436,000) * decrease accumulated results by $8,000 (2004 $159,000) * decrease asset revaluation reserves by $277,000 (2004 $277,000) and * decrease in depreciation expense by $151,000. Inventory Inventories not held for sale are currently valued at cost, unless they are no longer required, in which case they are valued at net realisable value. Under AASB 102 Inventories, inventories not held for sale will be measured at the lower of cost and current replacement cost. The replacement cost of the Commission's inventory is higher than or equal to cost. Employee benefits AEIFRS require that annual leave that is not expected to be taken within 12 months of balance date is to be discounted. Currently these amounts are measured at their nominal (undiscounted) amount. The impact of this change on these financial statements would be to: * decrease employee leave provisions by $32,000 (2004 $35,000) * increase accumulated results by $32,000 (2004 $35,000) and * increase employees expense by $3,000. Proceeds from the disposal of non-current assets Proceeds from the disposal of non-current assets are currently recognised as revenue and the carrying amounts of the assets disposed of are recognised as an expense. Under Australian equivalents to IFRSs, the net of these amounts will be recognised as a gain or loss in the Income Statement. Reconciliation of impacts - AGAAP1 to AEIFRS2 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 Total equity under AGAAP 2,939 2,182 Adjustments to accumulated results (294) (383) Adjustments to other reserves (277) (277) Adjustments to contributed equity - - Total equity under AEIFRS 2,368 1,522 Reconciliation of accumulated results Total accumulated results under AGAAP 3,543 2,760 Adjustments: Land and Buildings 151 139 Intangibles (285) (436) Asset revaluation reserve 277 277 Employee provisions 32 35 Provision for make good (469) (398) Total equity under AEIFRS 3,249 2,377 Reconciliation of reserves Total reserves under AGAAP 1,290 1,290 Adjustments: Asset revaluation reserve (277) (277) Total reserves under AEIFRS 1,013 1,013 Reconciliation of contributed equity Total contributed equity under AGAAP (1,894) (1,868) Adjustments: - - Total contributed equity under AEIFRS (1,894) (1,868) Reconciliation of net surplus / (deficit) from ordinary activities for year ended 30 June Net surplus / (deficit) from ordinary activities under AGAAP 783 Adjustments: Employees expense (3) Depreciation 106 Borrowing costs expense (14) Net surplus / (deficit) from ordinary activities under AEIFRS 872 1 AGAAP - Australian generally accepted accounting principles - accounting framework that applies for reporting up to and including 30 June 2005. 2 AEIFRS - Australian equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards - accounting framework to apply to reporting from 1 July 2005. Note 3. Events occurring after reporting date No matter or occurrence has come to the Commission's attention which would materially affect the accounts or disclosures therein or which are likely to materially affect the future results or operation of the Commission. Note 4: Operating revenues 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 4a Revenues from Government Appropriations for outputs 17,195 16,506 Total revenues from Government 17,195 16,506 4b Goods and services Goods 184 156 Services 15,163 12,133 Resources received free of charge 38 38 Total sales of goods and services 15,385 12,327 Provision of goods to: Related entities 147 126 External entities 37 30 Total sales of goods 184 156 Costs of sales of goods 294 235 Rendering of services to: Related entities 14,020 10,926 External entities 1,143 1,207 Total rendering of services 15,163 12,133 4c Net gains from sale of assets Infrastructure, plant and equipment: Proceeds from disposal 19 20 Value of assets sold 16 24 Write-offs 16 2 Total value of assets disposed 32 26 Net gain / (loss) from disposal of infrastructure, plant and equipment (13) (6) Note 5: Operating expenses 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 5a Employee expenses Wages and salary 11,811 11,258 Superannuation 2,219 2,140 Leave and other entitlements 1,678 1,197 Separation and redundancies 169 72 Other employee expenses 222 267 Total employee benefits expense 16,099 14,934 Worker compensation premiums and claims 90 127 Total employee expenses 16,189 15,061 5b Supplier expenses Goods from related entities 7 21 Goods from external entities 1,440 1,514 Services from related entities 685 656 Services from external entities 9,679 9,594 Operating lease rentals1 2,626 2,241 Total supplier expenses 14,437 14,026 5c Depreciation and amortisation Depreciation Buildings 302 158 Property, plant and equipment 199 214 Total depreciation 501 372 Amortisation Intangibles 278 284 Leased assets 349 277 Total amortisation 627 561 Total depreciation and amortisation 1,128 933 The aggregate amounts of depreciation or amortisation expensed during the reporting period for each class of depreciable asset are as follows: Leasehold improvements 302 158 Plant and equipment 548 491 Intangibles 278 284 Total depreciation and amortisation 1,128 933 5d Write-down of assets Financial assets Bad and doubtful debts (8) 12 Non-financial assets Infrastructure, plant and equipment - write-off on disposal 16 2 Total write-down of assets 8 14 No depreciation or amortisation was allocated to the carrying amounts of other assets 1 These comprise minimum lease payments only. Note 6: Borrowing costs expenses 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 Leases 38 24 Total borrowing costs expense 38 24 Note 7: Financial assets 2005$'000 2004$'000 7a Cash Cash at bank 859 610 Cash on hand 5 2 Total cash 864 612 7b Receivables Goods and services 2,684 2,472 Less: Provision for doubtful debts (1) (10) 2,683 2,462 GST receivable from the Australian Taxation Office - 124 Monies held in the Official Public Account 5,800 4,070 Total receivables (net) 8,483 6,656 All receivables are current assets. Goods and services receivables (gross) are aged as follows: Not overdue 2,284 1,872 Overdue by: less than 30 days 321 403 30 and 60 days 48 185 60 and 90 days 22 12 more than 90 days 9 - 400 600 Total goods and services receivables (gross) 2,684 2,472 The provision for doubtful debts is aged as follows: Overdue by: 60 and 90 days (1) (10) Total provision for doubtful debts (1) (10) 7c Other financial assets Advances 20 20 Total other financial assets 20 20 All other financial assets are current assets. Note 8: Non-financial assets 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 8a Land and buildings Leasehold improvements - at 2003-2004 valuation (fair value) 652 660 Accumulated amortisation (253) - 399 660 Leasehold improvements - at cost 470 - Accumulated amortisation (41) - 429 - Total Land and buildings (non-current) 828 660 8b Infrastructure, plant and equipment Infrastructure, plant and equipment - at 2003-2004 valuation (fair value) 671 803 Accumulated depreciation (255) - 416 803 Infrastructure, plant and equipment - at cost 815 - Accumulated depreciation (187) - 628 - Total infrastructure, plant and equipment (non-current) 1,044 803 All revaluations are independent and are conducted in accordance with the revaluation policy stated at Note 1. The valuations were performed by the Australian Valuation Office. 8c Intangibles Intellectual property (non-current) 1,543 1,229 Accumulated amortisation (1,014) (890) 529 339 Intellectual property - in progress (non-current) 13 113 Software - internally developed (non-current) 1,778 1,698 Accumulated amortisation (1,433) (1,290) 345 408 Software - purchased (non-current) 256 252 Accumulated amortisation (236) (246) 20 6 Total intangibles 907 866 8d Analysis of property, plant, equipment and intangibles Table A - Reconciliation of the opening and closing balances of property, plant and equipment and intangibles Item Buildings leasehold improvements $'000 Other IP&E $'000 Computer software $'000 Other intangibles $'000 Total intangibles $'000 Total $'000 As at 1 July 2004 Gross book value 660 803 1,950 1,342 3,292 4,755 Accumulated depreciation / amortisation - - (1,536) (890) (2,426) (2,426) Net book value 660 803 414 452 866 2,329 Additions By purchase 470 91 105 214 319 880 By finance lease - 731 - - - 731 Net revaluation increment / (decrement) - - - - - - Depreciation / amortisation expense (302) (548) (154) (124) (278) (1,128) Disposals By finance lease - (12) - - - (12) Other disposals - (21) - - - (21) As at 30 June 2005 Gross book value 1,122 1,486 2,034 1,556 3,590 6,198 Accumulated depreciation / amortisation (294) (442) (1,669) (1,014) (2,683) (3,419) Net book value 828 1,044 365 542 907 2,779 TABLE B - Assets at valuation Item Buildings leasehold improvements $'000 Other IP&E $'000 Computer software $'000 Other intangibles $'000 Total intangibles $'000 Total $'000 As at 30 June 2005 Gross value 652 671 - - - 1,323 Accumulated depreciation / amortisation (253) (255) - - - (508) Net book value 399 416 - - - 815 As at 30 June 2004 Gross value 660 803 - - - 1,463 Accumulated depreciation / amortisation - - - - - - Net book value 660 803 - - - 1,463 TABLE C - Assets held under finance lease Item Buildings leasehold improvements $'000 Other IP&E $'000 Computer software $'000 Other intangibles $'000 Total intangibles $'000 Total $'000 As at 30 June 2005 Gross value - 859 - - - 859 Accumulated depreciation / amortisation - (262) - - - (262) Net book value - 597 - - - 597 As at 30 June 2004 Gross value - 226 - - - 226 Accumulated depreciation / amortisation - - - - - - Net book value - 226 - - - 226 TABLE D - Assets under construction Item Other intangibles $'000 Total $'000 Gross value at 30 June 2005 13 13 Gross value at 30 June 2004 113 113 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 8e Inventories Inventories not held for sale (cost) 59 106 Total inventories 59 106 All inventories are current assets. 8f Prepayments paid Prepayments paid 345 411 All prepayments paid are current assets. Note 9: Interest bearing liabilities 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 9a Leases Finance lease commitments Payable: Within one year 324 169 In one to five years 354 80 Minimum lease payments 678 249 Deduct: future finance charges (43) (12) Net lease liability 635 237 Lease liability is represented by: Current 295 160 Non-current 340 77 Net lease liability 635 237 A finance lease exists in relation to the majority of information technology equipment in the Commission. The lease is non-cancellable and was for an initial fixed term of 5 years which has been extended for a further 4 years. The Commission guarantees the residual values of all assets leased. There are no contingent rentals. 9b Lease incentives Lease incentives 143 42 Lease incentives are represented by: Current 37 28 Non-current 106 14 Total lease incentives 143 42 Note 10: Provisions 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 10a Employee provisions Salaries and wages 206 155 Leave 4,495 4,140 Superannuation 443 435 Separations and redundancies - - Aggregate employee entitlement liability 5,144 4,730 Workers' compensation - - Aggregate employee benefit liability and related on-costs 5,144 4,730 Current 1,356 1,122 Non-current 3,788 3,608 Total employee provisions 5,144 4,730 10b Other provisions Provision for make good - 66 Total other provisions - 66 Provision for make good: Balance owing 1 July 66 - Make good provided for during the period - 66 Make good paid 66 - Balance owing 30 June - 66 The provision for make good is a current liability Note 11: Payables 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 11a Suppliers payable Trade creditors 1,942 1,570 Total suppliers payable 1,942 1,570 11b Prepayments received Prepayments received 1,709 1,277 11c Other payables GST payable to ATO 4 - Other 34 30 Total other payables 38 30 All payables are current liabilities. Note 12: Equity 12a Analysis of Equity Item Accumulated results Asset revaluation reserves Contributed equity Total equity 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 Opening balance as at 1 July 2,760 3,989 1,290 1,090 (1,868) 1,157 2,182 6,236 Net surplus / (deficit) 783 (1,229) - - - - 783 (1,229) Net revaluation increment - - - 25 - - - 25 Increase to asset revaluation reserve on initial application of fair value under accounting standard AASB 1041 Revaluation of Non-current Assets - - - 175 - - - 175 Transactions with owner: Distributions to owner: Returns of Capital Returns of contributed equity - - - - - (3,025) - (3,025) Restructuring - - - - (26) - (26) - Closing balance as at 30 June 3,543 2,760 1,290 1,290 (1,894) (1,868) 2,939 2,182 Returns of contributed equity In 2003-04, by agreement with Finance, the Commission returned $3,025,000 to the Official Public Account. The Government reappropriated this amount back to the Commission to fund two Strategic Priorities - Australian Public Service Indigenous Employment Strategy and Integrated Leadership Strategy. The majority of the funding will be received during 2003-04 to 2005-06. Restructuring On 28 March 2005, the Prime Minister agreed on behalf of the Government to the transfer of the function of development and promotion of Indigenous recruitment and retention strategies throughout the Australian Public Service from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs to the Australian Public Service Commission, effective in financial year 2004-05. As part of this transfer, the Commission received an employee leave provision of $34,000 and $8,000 in funding for this provision. The net difference of $26,000 was recognised as a direct adjustment to contributed equity. The full annual revenue and expense for this function for 2004/05 was $599,000. Note 13: Cash flow reconciliation 2005$'000 2004$'000 Reconciliation of cash per Statement of Financial Position to Statement of Cash Flows: Cash at year end per Statement of Cash Flows 864 612 Statement of Financial Position items comprising above cash: 'Financial asset - cash' 864 612 Reconciliation of net surplus to net cash from operating activities: Net surplus / (deficit) 783 (1,229) Depreciation and amortisation 1,128 933 Write down of assets 16 2 Revenue from sale of assets (19) (20) Value of assets sold 16 24 Employees expenses capitalised (83) (104) (Increase) / decrease in net receivables (1,826) 4,237 (Increase) / decrease in inventories 47 (5) (Increase) / decrease in prepayments paid 66 5 Increase / (decrease) in interest bearing liabilities (216) (363) Increase / (decrease) in employee provisions 387 317 Increase / (decrease) in other provisions (66) 66 Increase / (decrease) in supplier payables 402 (764) Increase / (decrease) in prepayments received 432 177 Increase / (decrease) in other payables 8 14 Net cash from / (used by) operating activities 1,075 3,290 During 2004-05 assets of $8,000 and liabilities of $34,000 were assumed due to the transfer of a function to the Commission. Refer to Note 12 for further details. During 2004-05 the Commission acquired $731,000 and disposed of $12,000 of plant and equipment by finance lease (2003-04: acquired $215,000 and disposed of $16,000). These transactions are not reflected in the Statement of Cash Flows. Note 14: Contingent liabilities and assets Quantifiable contingencies The make good contingency of $524,000 (2004: $487,000) represents an estimate of the Commission's restoration liability if it were to vacate leased office premises. The estimate is based on restoration costs for previous office fit outs. Unquantifiable contingencies As at 30 June 2005 the Commission has no unquantifiable contingencies (2004: nil). Note 15: Executive remuneration 2005 2004 The number of executives who received or were due to receive total remuneration of $100,000 or more: $120,000 to $129,999 1 - $140,000 to $149,999 - 2 $150,000 to $159,999 2 1 $160,000 to $169,999 1 1 $170,000 to $179,999 2 1 $190,000 to $199,999 1 - $210,000 to $219,999 1 1 $260,000 to $269,999 1 - $270,000 to $279,999 - 1 $320,000 to $329,999 1 - $390,000 to $399,999 - 1 The aggregate amount of total remuneration of executives shown above. $1,954,798 $1,676,791 The aggregate amount of separation and redundancy / termination payments during the year to executives shown above. Nil Nil Note 16: Remuneration of auditors 2005 $ 2004 $ Financial statement audit services are provided free of charge to the Commission. The fair value of the services provided was: 38,000 38,000 RSM Bird Cameron has been contracted by the ANAO to provide audit services on the ANAO's behalf. Fees for these services are included above. No other services were provided by RSM Bird Cameron. No other services were provided by the Auditor-General. Note 17: Average staffing levels 2005 2004 The average staffing levels for the Commission during the year were: 184.0 184.4 Note 18: Financial instruments 18a Interest rate risk Financial instrument Notes Floating interest rate $'000 Fixed interest rate maturing in 1 year or less $'000 Non interest bearing $'000 Total $'000 Weighted average effective interest rate 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 Financial assets Cash 7a - - - - 864 612 864 612 n/a n/a Receivables 7b - - - - 8,483 6,656 8,483 6,656 n/a n/a Other receivables 7c - - - - 20 20 20 20 n/a n/a Total - - - - 9,367 7,288 9,367 7,288 Total assets 12,550 10,134 Financial liabilities Finance lease 9a 635 237 - - - - 635 237 6.05% 6.05% Lease incentives 9b - - - - 143 42 143 42 n/a n/a Trade creditors 11a - - - - 1,942 1,570 1,942 1,570 n/a n/a Prepayments received 11b - - - - 1,709 1,277 1,709 1,277 n/a n/a Other payables 11c - - - - 38 30 38 30 n/a n/a Total 635 237 - - 3,832 2,919 4,467 3,156 Total liabilities 9,611 7,952 18b Net Fair Values of Financial Assets and Liabilities 2005 2004 Notes Total carrying amount $'000 Aggregate net fair value $'000 Total carrying amount $'000 Aggregate net fair value $'000 Financial assets Cash 7a 864 864 612 612 Receivables 7b 8,483 8,483 6,656 6,656 Other receivables 7c 20 20 20 20 Total Financial Assets 9,367 9,367 7,288 7,288 Financial liabilities Finance lease 9a 635 640 237 238 Lease incentives 9b 143 145 42 40 Payables 11a 1,942 1,942 1,570 1,570 Prepayments received 11b 1,709 1,709 1,277 1,277 Other payables 11c 38 38 30 30 Total financial liabilities 4,467 4,474 3,156 3,155 Financial assets The net fair values of cash and non-interest-bearing monetary financial assets are approximated by their carrying amounts. Financial liabilities The net fair values of finance lease and lease incentive liabilities are based on discounted cash flows using current interest rates for liabilities with similar risk profiles. The net fair values for trade creditors are approximated by their carrying amounts. 18c Credit risk exposures The Commission's maximum exposures to credit risk at reporting date in relation to each class of recognised financial assets is the carrying amount of those assets as indicated in the Statement of Financial Performance. The Commission has no significant exposures to any concentrations of credit risk. All figures for credit risk referred to do not take into account the value of any collateral or other security. Note 19: Appropriations 19a Acquittal of authority to draw cash from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for ordinary annual services appropriations Departmental outputs 2005 $ 2004 $ Year ended 30 June Balance carried from previous year 4,682,103 9,774,651 Appropriation Act (No.1) 2004-05 (2003-2004) 16,525,000 15,253,000 Appropriation Act (No.3) 2004-05 (2003-2004) 71,000 1,253,000 Adjustment of appropriations on change of entity function (FMA s32) 599,000 - Refunds credited (FMA s 30) 125,590 207,867 Sub-total 2004-05 (2003-04) annual appropriation 17,320,590 16,713,867 Appropriations to take account of recoverable GST (FMA s30A) 1,436,061 1,435,701 Annotations to 'net appropriations' (FMA s 31) 16,494,621 12,090,963 Total appropriations available for payments 39,933,375 40,015,182 Cash payments made during the year (GST inclusive) (33,269,550) (35,333,079) Balance of authority to draw cash from the CRF for ordinary annual services appropriations 6,663,825 4,682,103 Represented by: Cash 863,825 612,103 Monies held in the Official Public Account 5,800,000 4,070,000 Total 6,663,825 4,682,103 FMA = Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 Footnotes: (1) Appropriation Acts nos. 1 and 3 (for ordinary services of government)authorise the supplementation of an agency's annual net appropriation by amounts received in accordance with agreements made under Section 31 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (the FMA Act) between the Minister for Finance and the responsible Minister or their delegated or authorised officials. Doubt has arisen as to whether the Commission's Section 31 Agreement covering the period the period 1 July 1998 to 31 December 2004 was effective because our signatory may not have had an express delegation or authority for signing the agreement. To put the matter beyond doubt, the Commission's current agreement was revised on 23 June 2005 to capture all monies that were subject to prior agreement to the extent it may have been ineffective. The period and amounts covered by the agreement(s) are set out below. 1999 $'000 Total Pre-accrual budgeting $'000 2000 $'000 2001 $'000 2002 $'000 2003 $'000 2004 $'000 Sub-total $'000 2005 $'000 Total 1/7/99 to 30/6/05 $'000 Grand Total $'000 A B C = B+ C = A + B +C Receipts affected 8,331 8,331 8,534 10,828 11,107 11,639 12,091 54,199 7,807 62,006 70,337 Amount spent without appropriation 8,331 8,331 2,878 8,113 10,087 11,255 14,159 46,492 - 46,492 54,823 Unspent - - 5,656 2,715 1,020 384 (2,068) 7,707 7,807 15,514 15,514 Receipts returned to Government - - - - - - 3,025 3,025 - 3,025 3,025 Cumulative balance of unspent receipts - - 5,656 8,371 9,391 9,775 4,682 4,682 12,489 12,489 12,489 Legal advice indicates that in the circumstances a court is unlikely to conclude that the doubtful agreement is invalid for the purposes of determining whether there has been a breach of section 83 of the Constitution. 19b Special Accounts Other Trust Monies Special Account (Departmental) Legal Authority: Financial Management and Accountability Act, 1997, s20. Purpose: Expenditure of monies temporarily held on trust or otherwise for the benefit of a person other than the Commonwealth. 2005 $ 2004 $ Balance carried from previous year - - Other receipts - Comcare compensation receipts 17,165 6,701 Available for payments 17,165 6,701 Payments made - reimbursement to Departmental outputs (17,165) (6,701) Balance carried to next year - - Represented by: Cash - - Total - - Services for Other Government and Non Agency Bodies Special Account (Departmental) Legal Authority: Financial Management and Accountability Act, 1997, s20. Purpose: Expenditure in connection with services performed on behalf of other Governments and bodies that are not FMA Agencies. For the years ended 30 June 2001-2005 the account had nil balances and there were no transactions debited or credited to it. Note 20: Specific payment disclosures No 'Act of Grace' expenses were incurred during the reporting period (2004: nil). No waivers of amounts due to the Australian Government were made pursuant to subsection 34(1) of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (2004: nil). No expenses were incurred under the 'Defective Administration Scheme' during the reporting period (2004: nil). No ex-gratia expenses were incurred during the reporting period (2004: nil). No expenses were incurred under s73 of the Public Service Act 1999 during the reporting period (2004: nil). Note 21: Reporting of outcomes 21a Net Cost of Outcome Delivery Outcome 1 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 Total expenses 31,816 30,082 Costs recovered from provision of goods and services to the non-government sector Total costs recovered 1,180 1,237 Other external revenues Revenue from disposal of assets 19 20 Goods and services revenue from related entities 14,205 11,090 Total other external revenues 14,224 11,110 Net cost / (contribution) of outcome 16,412 17,735 Outcome 1 is described in Note 1.1. Net costs shown include intra-government costs that are eliminated in calculating the actual Budget outcome. 21b Major Classes of Departmental Revenues and Expenses by Output Groups and Outputs Table A - Output Groups 1 and 2 Output Group 1 Output Group 2 Output 1.1 Output 1.2 Output 1.3 Group Total Output 2.1 Group Total 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 Expenses Employees 232 291 4,173 3,450 249 57 4,654 3,798 5,277 4,864 5,277 4,864 Suppliers 78 130 1,960 1,793 82 34 2,120 1,957 9,035 8,843 9,035 8,843 Depreciation and amortisation 11 13 269 219 12 2 292 234 410 309 410 309 Total expenses 321 434 6,402 5,462 343 93 7,066 5,989 14,722 14,016 14,722 14,016 Funded by: Revenues from government 316 406 3,355 3,501 338 125 4,009 4,032 4,416 4,109 4,416 4,109 Sale of goods and services 2 2 3,965 3,179 2 1 3,969 3,182 10,484 8,505 10,484 8,505 Total revenues 318 408 7,320 6,680 340 126 7,978 7,214 14,900 12,614 14,900 12,614 TABLE B- Output Groups 3 and 4 Output Group 3 Output Group 4 Output 3.1 Output 3.2 Output 3.3 Group Total Output 4.1 Output 4.2 Group Total 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 2005 $'000 2004 $'000 Expenses Employees 39 60 2,649 2,620 47 - 2,735 2,680 109 42 1,475 1,589 1,584 1,631 Suppliers 10 19 1,869 1,628 13 1 1,892 1,648 38 17 633 761 671 778 Depreciation and amortisation 2 3 180 164 3 - 185 167 5 2 109 114 114 116 Total expenses 51 82 4,698 4,412 63 1 4,812 4,495 152 61 2,217 2,464 2,369 2,525 Funded by: Revenues from government 50 82 3,744 3,232 45 - 3,839 3,314 147 63 2,246 2,412 2,393 2,475 Sale of goods and services - - 921 636 1 - 922 636 1 3 12 10 13 13 Total revenues 50 82 4,665 3,868 46 - 4,761 3,950 148 66 2,258 2,422 2,406 2,488 TABLE C - Output Group 5 Output Group 5 Outcome 1 Output 5.1 Group Total Total 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 $'000 $'000 $'000 $'000 $'000 $'000 Expenses Employees 1,939 2,088 1,939 2,088 16,189 15,061 Suppliers 781 862 781 862 14,499 14,088 Depreciation and amortisation 127 107 127 107 1,128 933 Total expenses 2,847 3,057 2,847 3,057 31,816 30,082 Funded by: Revenues from government 2,538 2,576 2,538 2,576 17,195 16,506 Sale of goods and services 16 11 16 11 15,404 12,347 Total revenues 2,554 2,587 2,554 2,587 32,599 28,853 Outcome 1 is described in Note 1.1. Net costs shown include intra-government costs that are eliminated in calculating the actual Budget outcome. Refer to Resources for the Outcome Table in Appendix A of this Annual Report. The Commission derives its Output revenue and expense amounts via a two-step allocation process. Firstly amounts for direct output components are identified and attributed to outputs. Secondly the whole of Commission components, including property operating expenses, staff on-costs, information technology and communications, payroll processing, security vetting, office services and equipment maintenance, is distributed to the Outputs on a per capita basis. Appendix C : Freedom of information This statement is published in accordance with the requirements of section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI) Act. The Public Service Commissioner (PS Commissioner) and the Merit Protection Commissioner (MP Commissioner) are prescribed authorities for the purposes of the FOI Act. This statement meets the requirements of the FOI Act in relation to both. Organisation, functions and powers (s.8(1)(a)(i)) Public Service Commissioner The functions of the PS Commissioner and the particulars of the organisation of the APS Commission are described in this Annual Report in the Commission Overview. The principal powers exercised by the PS Commissioner as they affect members of the public are those relating to the issuing of Commissioner's Directions under the Public Service Act 1999 in relation to each of the APS Values specified in that Act. The Commissioner's Directions ensure that the APS incorporates and upholds the APS Values and they determine where necessary the scope or application of the Values. Several of the APS Values relate to the recruitment of staff to the APS. The Commissioner's Directions provide binding provisions relating to the framework within which people are recruited to the APS, the basic elements of which include the following: * merit-based employment decisions, including transparent and fair selection processes * absence of discrimination and recognition of the diversity of the Australian community * promotion of equity in employment * provision of reasonable opportunity to all eligible members of the Australian community to apply for APS employment. Another of the Values relates to the delivery of services to the Australian public. The PS Commissioner has issued Directions which specify that an Agency Head must put in place measures directed at upholding this Value, including in relation to the provision to the public of information about rights and entitlements, and taking into account client diversity and the right to privacy. Regional offices assist in the provision of advice and services to agencies Australia-wide, including a range of employment-related activities on a fee-for-service basis. Merit Protection Commissioner The organisation of the office of the MP Commissioner is described in the body of the MP Commissioner's Annual Report, which is included with the Public Service Commissioner's Annual Report. The full range of the MP Commissioner's functions under the Public Service Act 1999, which relate generally to reviewing actions affecting individual APS employees in relation to their employment, are also described in the MP Commissioner's Annual Report. In addition, the MP Commissioner may exercise powers of the former Merit Protection and Review Agency (MPRA) which was abolished from 5 December 1999 with the introduction of the Public Service Act 1999, under the transitional provisions which apply to former MPRA casework. The principal powers exercised by the MP Commissioner that may affect members of the public relate to some review functions, the recommendations of Independent Selection Advisory Committees (ISACs) and some other employment-related functions. The MP Commissioner may investigate complaints by former employees that relate to an employee's entitlements on separation from the APS. ISACs assess the suitability of candidates for engagement, promotion or assignment of duties for employment opportunities in the APS. The wide range of employment-related functions which the MP Commissioner may also perform for other bodies, if requested by the body to do so and not already required to provide such services by a law of the Commonwealth, includes functions performed for State and Territory departments and authorities, local government bodies, private corporations and bodies and for Commonwealth authorities whose employees are not engaged under the Public Service Act 1999. Arrangements for external bodies to participate in policy formulation or administration (s.8(1)(a)(ii)) Public Sector Management (PSM) Program Board of Management The PS Commissioner is represented on the PSM Program Board of Management, whose other members include representatives of State and Territory public services. The Board sets the direction for and oversees the delivery of a management and leadership development course for managers at middle and senior levels throughout the Australian public sector. The PSM Program is a national strategy to deliver relevant, practically focused training that reflects the changing expectations of the public sector. The Program is formally accredited at Graduate Certificate level through Griffith University, Macquarie University, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Curtin University. Public Service Education and Training Australia (PSETA) PSETA comprises the Public Service Commissioners (or equivalent) of the Commonwealth, states and territories, together with representatives of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU)/State Public Services Federation (SPSF) and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. PSETA is chaired by the South Australian Deputy Commissioner of Public Employment and the secretariat is located in Adelaide. PSETA is the public sector industry's vocational education and training body. It is the primary link between the public sector industry and the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) and works to expand the range of quality public sector training and development options accredited through the National Training Framework. Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) The Public Service Commissioner represents the Commonwealth as one of thirteen Directors on the Foundation Board of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government. Other members are: * the Foundation Dean * one Director from each of the other three participating Australian governments, (of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland) * one Director from New Zealand (representing the New Zealand Government and the Victoria University of Wellington) * five Directors (representing the nine participating Australian universities and business schools: i.e. Monash University, Melbourne Business School, University of Queensland, University of Canberra, University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales, Griffith University, Australian National University and University of Sydney) * two independent Directors appointed by all members. The Foundation Board sets the direction for and oversees the delivery of the School's programmes and activities. It was established on incorporation of the School on 3 December 2002. The School is a collaborative venture to improve national and international learning, networking, collaboration and research in the areas of public policy, public management and public administration. It currently offers a two-year part-time Executive Master in Public Administration programme for senior middle managers, and an intensive three-week residential programme for senior executives at the Deputy Secretary, First Assistant Secretary and equivalent levels. The Master Program is formally accredited by participating universities in each participating jurisdiction and New Zealand. Categories of documents maintained (s8(1)(a)(iii)) Public Service Commissioner Documents maintained by the Public Service Commissioner include those relating to: * internal management * APS Employment Database * development programmes * employment framework * individual cases * leadership issues * legal advisings * machinery of government and administrative arrangements * networks established and or managed by the Commission * outsourcing of APS activities * performance management * personnel practices * recruitment, selection, promotion and staffing * redeployment, retrenchment and retirement of staff * seminar events and related evaluations * senior executive staffing * submissions to inquiries * surveys, studies, reviews and evaluations * values and conduct policy * whistleblowing * workplace diversity, including equal employment opportunity and harassment issues. Merit Protection Commissioner Documents maintained by the Merit Protection Commissioner include: * information brochures about the range of functions of the Merit Protection Commissioner, ISACs, Promotion Review Committees and review of actions * Merit Protection Commissioner's Instructions on procedures for ISACs, Promotion Review Committees and for the review of actions * documents relating to the Merit Protection Commissioner's decision making processes, day-to-day administration and policy matters * individual case files * submissions to inquiries. Documents maintained in relation to the powers of the former MPRA exercised by the Merit Protection Commissioner include: * decisions of Disciplinary Appeal Committees * individual grievance case files. The pre-July 1987 records of the former Public Service Board are now held by the Australian Archives. General The majority of documents are held in hard copy form, either on records management files or as individual written or printed items. Other documents are held as computer-stored data, microfiche, charts, plans, films, videotapes, audiotapes or card indexes. Consistent with Australian Archives disposal schedules, both policy and case-work document files are maintained. They are registered either by subject matter or by name. The Records Management Unit maintains a list of indexed headings covering subjects. Documents available to the public in accordance with arrangements made by the PS Commissioner include: * the Public Service Commissioner's Annual Report (which incorporates the MP Commissioner's Annual Report) * the State of the Service series of reports: o State of the Service Report (including the Workplace Diversity Report) o Australian Public Service Statistical Bulletin * guidelines on a variety of matters. Most publications are available free of charge. Facilities for access (s.8(1)(a)(iv)) In relation to both the PS Commissioner and the MP Commissioner, facilities for accessing publications or other documents available outside the scope of the FOI Act are provided via the PS Commissioner's Internet site (which incorporates the MP Commissioner site). In the event that documents cannot be located on this site further inquiries about access should be directed to the Employment Policy Adviceline: 02 6272 3609. Documents obtained under the FOI Act may be inspected at the Edmund Barton Building, Kings Avenue, Barton ACT 2600 or at Regional Offices. Freedom of information procedures and initial contact point (s8(1)(a)(v)) Written requests for access to documents in the possession of the PS Commissioner or the MP Commissioner should be accompanied by a $30 application fee and directed to: Freedom of Information Co-ordinator Australian Public Service Commission Edmund Barton Building BARTON ACT 2600 Inquiries about access to documents may be directed to the Freedom of Information Co-ordinator at the above address or by telephoning (02) 6272 3599 between the hours of 9.00a.m. and 5.00p.m., Monday to Friday. In some instances the PS Commissioner may need to consult with persons who have lodged requests. Applicants may be contacted where there is a need: * to assist an applicant to more specifically identify documents to which access is sought * to give an applicant a reasonable opportunity for consultation before denying access on the grounds of insufficient information (subsection 15(3)) or if the request requires a substantial or unreasonable diversion of resources (subsection 24(1)) * for notification of charges and deposit, if necessary, including discussion of charges remission. Operation of the Freedom of Information Act In relation to both the PS Commissioner and the MP Commissioner there were 6 valid requests for access received during 2004-2005. Three were outstanding at the end of the period. There was one application for review to the AAT (lodged in June 2004) which was finalised in April 2005. During the year .25 staff years were devoted to matters associated with the administration of the FOI Act. A total of $120 was collected in relation to the requests received under the FOI Act. Appendix D : Publications & circulars Publications 2004-05 Corporate plan 2005-06 Our regional services On-going employment: recruitment and related issues Evaluating learning and development - a framework for judging success Foundations of governance in the Australian Public Service Australian Public Service statistical bulletin 2003-04 State of the Service employee survey results 2003-04 State of the Service report 2003-04 Public Service Commissioner annual report 2003-04 A history in three Acts The Integrated Leadership System (reprint) APS Values and Code of Conduct in practise, revised edition (reprint) Circulars 2004-05 2004/4 Payments in special circumstances under section 73 of the Public Service Act 1999 2004/5 Administrative re-arrangements 2004/6 Amounts to be included in payment in lieu of notice on termination of employment 2004/7 Senior Executive Service (SES) selection arrangements - additional selection criteria 2004/8 Amendment to the Public Service Regulations 1999 2004/9 Electronic publication of two Commission advices - conditions of engagement and ongoing employment 2005/1 Electronic publication of the APS Employment Database manual 2005/2 Advice to agencies on the continuation of allocating AGS numbers 2005/3 Disallowance of amendments to the Public Service Regulations 1999 - regulation 2.1 (Disclosure of information) Learning and development publications 2004-05 The Commission produced a wide range of material to support and promote its learning and development products and services. These included: * the introduction of a series of targeted electronic learning and development updates, SES events, APS 1-6 events and Graduate events, which provide regular and current information to these respective groups on the Commission's learning and development services (EL events was already in existence and its format and production was refined this year to align with newly introduced electronic updates for the other levels of the APS) * promotional flyers for Senior executive breakfast briefings, brochures for core senior executive development programmes including: Leading Australia's Future in Asia (LAFIA), the newly introduced Leading Australia's Future in Asia - Pacific, the revised Senior executive orientation programme and other regular programmes in the senior executive development suite * Executive level (EL) development calendars and individual programme information flyers * Indigenous programmes brochure for the new executive level leadership programme Leadership in the APS-an Indigenous experience * APS 1-6 development calendars and information flyers * graduate development calendars and information flyers * a series of capability assessment and development tools, based on the Integrated Leadership System, for different levels of the APS from executive level 1 through to senior executive level Band 3 * calendars, promotional flyers and newsletters to promote and support learning and development services delivered through the Commission's regional offices which are tailored to meet the specific needs of agencies' regional offices Information on the Commission's learning and development products and services is also available from the Commission's website and promoted through agency visits and displays at relevant industry events such as the national conference held by the Institute of Public Administration Australia. Advertising and market research A total of $140,008 was paid for advertising during 2004-05. This increase of 35% over the previous year was largely due to the Commission taking on responsibility during 2004-05 for recruiting Indigenous graduates for a large number of APS agencies. In addition to expenditure on this activity, advertising was undertaken to promote development programmes, advertise tenders or recruit employees. The Commission used Orima Research to conduct a client service telephone survey of APS agencies to evaluate our promotion of effective leadership ($18,266). No other market research activities were undertaken and the Commission did not employ the services of polling or direct mail organisations during 2003-04. Appendix E : Senior Executive Service staffing Table 39: Advertised SES employment opportunities-Filling method by Band 2004-05 Bands Promotion Movement Engagement Total Band 1 171 20 45 236 Band 2 49 2 21 72 Band 3 15 1 3 19 Total 235 23 69 327 'Promotion' refers to the elevation of an ongoing APS employee to a higher classification, in this case Senior Executive Bands 1, 2 or 3 'Movement' refers to the movement, at level or to a lower classification, of SES employees within and between agencies 'Engagement' refers to the employment, on either an ongoing basis or for a specified term, of a person not already an ongoing employee of the APS Source: Senior Executive Management System (SEMS), APS Commission Table 40: Profile of SES by Band and gender at 30 June 2005 Band Males Females Total Band 1 888 470 1358 Band 2 279 101 380 Band 3 69 15 84 Total 1236 586 1822 Source: Senior Executive Management System (SEMS), APS Commission This table covers both Senior Executive and Senior Executive (Specialist) classifications and includes both ongoing SES employees and SES employees engaged for specified terms of up to five years. Table 41: Comparison of incoming and outgoing SES in 2003-04 and 2004-05 Promotions/ Engagements Separations Total SES Bands 03-04 04-05 03-04 04-05 03-04 04-05 Band 1 155 216 47 89 1318 1358 Band 2 45 70 28 18 362 380 Band 3 7 18 10 12 82 84 Total 207 304 85 119 1762 1822 Source: Senior Executive Management System (SEMS), APS Commission This table compares SES promotions and engagements, SES separations and total SES numbers over the past two financial years. Table 42: Filling of Senior Executive Service employment opportunities advertised in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette from 2002-03 to 2004-05 Method filled Gender 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Promotions between agencies M 14 5 22 F 8 7 21 Promotions within agencies M 141 84 124 F 80 62 68 Total promotions M 155 89 146 F 88 69 89 Movements between agencies M 12 17 7 F 17 9 13 Movements within agencies M 1 4 2 F 0 6 1 Total movements M 13 21 9 F 17 15 14 Engagement as Ongoing Employee M 17 24 37 F 11 10 8 Engagement for a Specified Term M 4 11 18 F 0 4 6 Total engagements M 21 35 55 F 11 14 14 Total filled 305 243 327 Source: Senior Executive Management System (SEMS), APS Commission Table 43: SES Retirements under section 37 in 2004-05 The following table lists retirements of SES employees under section 37 of the Public Service Act 1999 which took effect in 2004-05 Agency No. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services 1 Attorney-General's Department 1 Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research 1 AusAID 1 Australian Customs Service 1 Australian Taxation Office 4 Centrelink 7 Comcare 2 Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 4 Department of Defence 2 Department of Employment and Workplace Relations 2 Department of the Environment and Heritage 1 Department of Family and Community Services 1 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 5 Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs 2 Department of Health and Ageing 2 Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources 4 Department of Veterans' Affairs 1 Family Court of Australia 1 Federal Court of Australia 1 Total 44 Table 44: SES separations by type 2004-05 Type No. Retirement Under Section 37 44 Resignation 32 Retirement 21 End term engagement 8 Appointment to Public Office/Agency Head 9 Invalidity retirement 1 Termination 1 Death 3 TOTAL 119 Appendix F : Delivery of service-wide development activities Table 45: SES development programmes 2004-05 Programme Frequency Participants Leading Australia's Future in Asia (LAFIA) 2 34 Preparing to appear before parliamentary committees 3 11 Senior Executive Service orientation 4 67 Senior executive updates 3 88 SES breakfast series 10 659 SES Band 3 forums 2 33 Snapshot session-parliamentary committees 4 73 Snapshot session-strategic communications 1 14 Totals for SES programmes 29 979 Special events (significant proportion SES) Guidance on 'caretaker conventions'-understand your responsibilities during the caretaker period 1 131 Cost-benefit analysis symposium 1 195 Totals for special events 2 326 Totals 31 1305 Table 46: SES Breakfast briefings 2004-05 Speaker Topic Date Participants Professor John Wanna, Sir John Bunting Chair in Public Administration, ANU Driving public sector reform through research 26 Aug 44 Dr Geoff Garrett, Chief Executive, CSIRO Leadership under the microscope 1 Oct 36 Mr Peter Clarke, Principal, Change Drivers Strategic embedded mentoring systems 27 Oct 54 Michael Carmody, Australian Taxation Office Risk management: Managing the Tax Office and the revenue system 24 Nov 70 Mr Peter Cooper, Managing Director, Advanced Dynamics Value creation in the public service-systems thinking and leadership 1 Dec 55 Professor Martin Linsky, Harvard University Leadership on the line: The challenges and opportunities of the 21st century leadership 8 Feb 124 Steve Gibbs, CEO of the Public Sector and Commonwealth Super Schemes (PSS and CSS) Leo Bator,Commissioner for Superannuation and CEO of ComSuper Preparing the public service for super change 24 Mar 54 Malcolm Hellmuth, Executive Director for Central Queensland, Queensland Department of Main Roads Collaborative community relationships 20 Apr 32 Lynelle Briggs, Australian Public Service Commissioner Public Service reform-the story continues 12 May 86 Reverend Tim Costello, CEO, World Vision Australia Moral leadership 17 Jun 91 Table 47: APS development programmes 2004-05 Programme name Frequency Participants Administrative Review in the public sector 1 90 Assertiveness 2 22 Career directions workshop 3 42 Career management and promotion 7 62 Communication skills 3 36 Conducting investigations* 3 54 Conflict resolution 3 50 Cross cultural effectiveness 1 10 Customer service 1 4 Develop a persuasive business case 2 22 Financial management in the APS 16 175 Getting that contract right! 6 81 Giving and receiving feedback* 4 49 Harassment Contact Officer training 18 171 Harassment Contact Officer-refresher 2 25 How to enrich your representational skills 3 29 How to write high-impact speeches and respond to questions on notice 3 25 Influencing skills 3 47 Leadership skills for women 5 57 Leading small teams 6 106 Managing difficult people 1 14 Managing personal behaviour 1 10 Marketing yourself into an executive level position 7 99 Minute taking skills* 12 168 On the job training and coaching 1 17 Policy formulation and advice-advanced 6 80 Policy formulation and advice-introductory 11 178 Policy implementation-from plan to measurable results* 3 53 Presentation skills* 11 83 Project management 12 196 Smart reading skills* 8 104 Springboard 1 14 Staff selection* 11 79 Strategic thinking 6 102 Supervision 2 68 Think on your feet 2 14 Time and self management 1 8 Understanding the information world 1 9 Winning that job-skills and techniques 28 302 Working under pressure 1 14 Writing skills 22 312 Totals 240 3081 * Offered to APS 5-6 and executive level Table 48: Executive level development programmes 2004-05 Programme name Frequency Participants Administrative review 3 114 APS writing: Strategy, genre and style 4 34 Building bench strength 1 45 Building business relationships 1 14 Career planning 2 20 Coaching and mentoring 1 10 Collaborative policy formulation 2 16 Conducting investigations 4 43 Effective governance in APS agencies 4 10 EL updates 5 395 EL1 transition 4 67 EL2 transition 3 43 Emotional intelligence 6 56 Essential guide for APS executives 4 35 Exploring your leadership capability 9 97 Financial management: A strategic perspective 3 34 Guidance on caretaker conventions 1 26 Handling strategic priorities practically 4 27 Influencing skills 5 57 Leadership in the Australian Public Service-an Indigenous experience 1 14 Leadership through policy change 4 24 Leading and managing projects 5 76 Leading your team 4 57 Management essentials 3 48 Managing for risk 1 6 Managing in the APS 14 66 Managing performance 3 35 Managing suspected breaches of the Code of Conduct 3 15 Managing workplace behaviours 3 19 Marketing yourself into an SES position 4 53 Negotiation skills 1 9 On-the-job training and coaching 1 17 Organisational communication: Strategies, tactics and management 4 47 Planning and conducting a tender 4 29 Preparing to appear before a parliamentary committee 3 14 Preventing bullying and harassment 1 88 Staff selection-panel members, delegates and referees 15 89 Writing skills-advanced 1 8 Total numbers 141 1857 Table 49: Graduate development programmes 2004-05 Programme name Frequency Participants A taste of Government-lunchtime seminar 1 363 Career directions 1 7 Graduate updates 1 72 Influencing skills 1 15 InfoNet 1 30 Interview tips and techniques 1 11 Legislation and APS decision-making 1 13 Project management 1 10 Strategic thinking 2 32 Totals 10 553 Table 50: Development programmes tailored specifically for client agencies- delivered by State offices 2004-05 Programme name Frequency Participants Career planning 2 28 Client service a satisfaction 6 69 Code of conduct and bullying 4 42 Communication 15 150 Conflict resolution 3 29 Contract management 1 20 Dealing with difficult people 6 90 Email management 1 10 Emotional intelligence 10 95 Ethics 1 30 Executive development 2 12 Exploring your leadership capabilities 8 122 Feedback skills-giving and receiving 17 270 Financial management 2 12 Grievance Contact Officer workshop 2 19 Harassment Contact Officers and managers 53 581 Introduction to the APS 2 20 Introduction to leadership and management 1 20 Job/career skills and planning 49 712 Leadership/management training 5 77 Leading and managing change 9 106 Managing in the APS 6 50 Managing workplace behaviours 10 229 Marketing yourself into an executive position 3 40 Media skills 1 6 Mentoring 2 12 Myers Briggs Type Indicators 2 20 Partnering and relationship management 1 13 Performance management 4 47 People management 1 8 Presentation skills 1 8 Policy formulation and advice 3 20 Projects-managing and leading 5 67 Promoting yourself 23 184 Staff selection 61 820 Supervision 23 298 Team building 14 71 Telephone skills 3 48 Time and self management 4 52 Workplace behaviours 9 217 Workstyles and preferences 1 15 Work life/wellbeing 1 12 Writing skills 11 155 Totals 388 4906 Appendix G: Staffing profile and equal employment opportunity Staffing summary and profile as at 30 June 2005 Table 51 shows all staff in the Commission as at 30 June 2005. All staff, except the Public Service Commissioner and the Merit Protection Commissioner, are employed under the Public Service Act 1999. Table 52 is the corresponding figure from 30 June 2004. These figures include unpaid inoperative staff. Table 51: Ongoing and non-ongoing staff, 30 June 2005 Females Males Total Ongoing full time 90 53 143 Ongoing part time 16 2 18 Non-Ongoing full time 8 5 13 Non-Ongoing part time 2 1 3 Temporary secondment 6 1 7 Total 122 62 184 Note: The above table does not include casual employees providing fee for service work These figures include staff employed under sections 22(2)a and 22(2)b of the Public Service Act 1999 and unpaid inoperative staff. Table 52: Ongoing and non-ongoing staff, 30 June 2004 Females Males Total Ongoing full time 91 54 145 Ongoing part time 20 0 20 Non-Ongoing full time 11 4 15 Non-Ongoing part time 3 0 3 Temporary secondment 5 2 7 Total 130 60 190 Note: The above table does not include casual employees providing fee-for-service work. go to top of the page Senior Executive Service information Table 53 shows SES employees by band and gender at 30 June 2005. Table 54 shows the corresponding figures for 30 June 2004. Table 53: Senior Executive 30 June 2005 SES Females Males Band 1 3 5* Band 2 0 0 Band 3 2 0 Total 5 5 * Two of the five Male Band 1 SES employees are part of the ECP Programme in PNG Table 54: Senior Executive, 30 June 2004 SES Females Males Band 1 3 3 Band 2 0 0 Band 3 1 0 Total 4 3 Table 55: Occupational groups by location, 30 June 2005 Occupational groups ACT NSW Vic Qld SA WA PNG Total F M F M F M F M F M F M F M APS 1/2 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 APS 3/4 21 8 1 2 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 38 APS 5/6 30 12 3 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 51 EL 1 21 14 2 1 3 2 3 0 2 1 2 1 0 0 52 EL 2 10 7 1 2 3 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 26 SES 1 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 SES 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SES 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 SOH 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Sub Total 90 47 7 6 10 4 5 1 5 1 5 1 0 2 Total 137 13 14 6 6 6 2 184 Note: These figures include unpaid inoperative staff. Table 56: Occupational groups by location, 30 June 2004 Occupational groups ACT NSW Vic Qld SA WA Total F M F M F M F M F M F M APS 1/2 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 APS 3/4 24 7 1 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 39 APS 5/6 27 13 3 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 49 GAPS 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 EL 1 28 13 2 1 3 2 3 0 1 2 2 1 58 EL 2 15 6 1 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 28 SES 1 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 SES 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SES 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 SOH 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Sub Total 100 48 7 4 9 4 5 1 4 2 5 1 Total 148 11 13 6 6 6 190 Note: These figures include unpaid inoperative staff. Table 57: Representation of EEO groups within salary levels, 30 June 2005 Total staff Women ATSI BO BO + ENFL PWD Staff % Staff % Staff % Staff % Staff % APS 1/2 5 2 40.0 1 20.0 1 20.0 1 20.0 2 40.0 APS 3/4 38 27 71.1 2 5.3 6 15.8 5 13.2 1 2.6 APS 5/6 51 38 74.5 1 2.0 10 19.6 2 3.9 5 9.8 EL 1 52 33 63.5 3 5.8 13 25.0 5 9.6 3 5.8 EL 2 26 16 61.5 0 0.0 6 23.1 1 3.8 4 15.4 SES + SOH 12 6 50.0 1 8.3 2 16.7 0 0.0 2 16.7 Total 184 122 66.3 8 4.3 38 20.7 14 7.6 17 9.2 Note: The above table does not include casual employees providing fee-for-service work. Key ATSI-Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders BO-Born overseas BO + ENFL-Born overseas and did not speak English as a first language PWD-People with disabilities Table 58: Representation of EEO groups within salary levels, 30 June 2004 Total staff Women ATSI BO BO + ENFL PWD Staff % Staff % Staff % Staff % Staff % APS 1/2 + GAPS 7 2 28.6 1 14.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 14.3 APS 3/4 39 29 74.4 2 5.1 5 12.8 3 7.7 2 5.1 APS 5/6 49 36 73.5 1 2.0 8 16.3 2 4.1 9 18.4 EL 1 58 39 67.2 2 3.4 13 22.4 4 6.9 0 0.0 EL 2 28 20 71.4 0 0.0 4 14.3 1 3.6 3 10.7 SES + SOH 9 4 44.4 0 0.0 1 11.1 0 0.0 0 0.0 Total 190 130 68.4 6 3.2 31 16.3 10 5.3 15 7.9 Note: This table describes the representation of EEO groups by salary level and by occupational grouping. Two statutory office holders are included in the SES group. Percentages are calculated using total staff. * Includes Graduate APS Key ATSI-Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders BO-Born overseas BO + ENFL-Born overseas and did not speak English as a first language PWD-People with disabilities Appendix H -Report on performance under the Commonwealth Disability strategy The Commission is reporting against the Commonwealth Disability Strategy in its employer role. Performance indicator Performance measure Outcomes Employment policies, procedures and practices comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Review all employment policies as they come up for review. Promote equity and diversity issues, including disability issues in HR/WR policies and plans. Ensure, where relevant, that Group Business Plans consider issues concerning people with a disability. All employment policies, procedures and practices reviewed during the life of this plan comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and promote equity and diversity issues. Group Business Plans consider issues concerning people with a disability. All Commission employment policies, procedures and practices comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. The Commission carefully considers the impact of its employment policies during development. Recruitment information for potential job applicants with disabilities is available in accessible formats or on request. Review recruitment information and consider providing Internet access for all recruitment selection documentation. Consult with the Office of Disability Policy (FACS) and others to ensure that recruitment information is provided in suitable formats including, but not limited to, formats such as TTY and electronic. Recruitment information requested and provided in: ? accessible electronic formats and ? accessible formats other than electronic Average time taken to provide accessible information in: ? accessible electronic formats and ? accessible formats other than electronic. 100% of requests to provide information this way were met. All recruitment documentation is available both in hard copy and on the internet. The Commission provides advice to its recruiters and managers about reasonable adjustment as required. Agency recruiters and managers apply the principle of 'reasonable adjustment'. Actively seek opportunities to engage people with a disability for employment (including non-ongoing employment, work placement and trial employment). Include positive statements about 'reasonable adjustment' in recruitment literature. Percentage of staff in the Commission who identify as having a disability. The Commission maintained the level of staff identifying that they have a disability above 9% of total staff. Promote an awareness of disability and disability discrimination issues in the workplace. Disability awareness sessions available for all Commission staff. Use of intranet to provide information and links to information on disability issues (including preventative OH&S issues such as OOS). Actively promote and support an annual day focusing on disability issues. Staff Survey reflects that staff believe there is no discrimination in the Commission. The 2004 Staff Survey did not identify any specific instances of disability discrimination within the Commission and no incidences were reported in 2004-05. External training and development programs consider the needs of staff with disabilities and include information on disability issues as they relate to the content of the program. Consultants required to provide for the needs of people with a disability as part of the contract. Percentage of training and development programs that consider the needs of staff with disabilities and include information on disability issues as they relate to the program. All training and development programs consider the needs of staff with disabilities. The Commission uses consultants to provide corporate training and development and the contract requires: ? compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 ? provision of services consistent with the APS Values and Code of Conduct ? compliance with the principles of workplace diversity ? consultation with the Commission in relation to any special needs for people with disabilities. These measures ensure that all programs include information on disability issues where appropriate and relevant to the program. Complaints/grievance mechanism, including access to external mechanisms, in place to address issues and concerns raised by staff. Staff are aware of the existence of the mechanisms and know how to access them. The Commission's Certified Agreement provides a framework for internal review of employment actions. The Agreement also directs employees who have not resolved their complaint through such a process to the formal complaint resolution mechanisms under the public service employment framework. Commission premises and facilities are accessible and useable by people with a disability. Audit of Commission premises and facilities indicates that they are accessible and useable by people with a disability. A building audit was conducted in 2001-2002. Recommendations have been implemented. Actively promote and provide suitable opportunities for people with a disability to identify their disability including an annual census of staff. Percentage of staff in the Commission that identify as having a disability. The Census was again conducted in April 2005. The Commission maintained the level of staff identifying that they have a disability above 9% of total staff. Appendix I: Occupational Health and Safety Occupational Health and Safety Committee The Occupational Health and Safety Committee is a joint management-union body established under the Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1991. The Committee administers the Occupational Health and Safety Agreement between the Commission and the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU). The current Agreement was developed and signed in December 2003 and runs to December 2005. The purpose of the agreement is to set a framework for the prevention of workplace injuries and exposure to hazards in the workplace. The committee met four times during 2004-05. One new member, representing the CPSU, joined the Committee during the year. The Commission committed to the National Occupational Health and Safety Strategy involving a ten year commitment to reducing injuries and risk in the workplace and improving rehabilitation intervention. During the year there were no incidents that required reporting under section 68 of the OH&S Act. No directions were given to the Commission under section 45 and no notices were given under sections 29, 46 or 47 of the OH&S Act. GLOSSARY the Act Public Service Act 1999 ANAO Australian National Audit Office ANU Australian National University ANZSOG Australia New Zealand School of Government APS Australian Public Service APSED Australian Public Service Employment Database APSEDII Australian Public Service Employment Database Internet Interface AusAID Australian Agency for International Development CDAC Career Development Assessment Centre COMNET Corporate Management Network DAFF Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry DEWR Department of Employment and Workplace Relations EMS Environmental Management System FOI Freedom of Information ILS Integrated Leadership System ISAC Independent Selection Advisory Committee EEO Equal employment opportunity EL Executive level LAFIA Leading Australia's Future in Asia MAC Management Advisory Committee NAIDOC National Aboriginal Islander Day of Observance Committee OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development SES Senior Executive Service SWIM Senior Women in Management TiMS Timesheet Management System MANDATORY COMPLIANCE INDEX Prepared in accordance with the Requirements for Annual Reports for Departments, Executive Agencies and FMA Act Bodies approved by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit. Letter of transmittal Table of contents Index Glossary Contact officer Internet home page address and Internet address for report Review by the Australian Public Service Commissioner Overview description of the Commission Role and functions Organisational structure Outcome and output structure Review of performance during the year in relation to outputs and contribution to outcome (including actual performance in relation to performance targets set out in PBS/ PAES and narrative discussion and analysis of performance ) Discussion and analysis of the Commission's financial performance Summary resource table by outcome Statement of the main corporate governance practices in place Certification of fraud control measures Significant developments in external scrutiny (including judicial decisions and decisions of administrative tribunals and reports by the Auditor-General, a Parliamentary Committee or the Commonwealth Ombudsman) Assessment of effectiveness in managing and developing human resources to achieve Commission objectives Statistics on staffing Certified agreements and AWAs Performance pay Assessment of purchasing against core policies and principles Summary statement of consultancy services contracts let and total actual expenditure Competitive tendering and contracting contracts let and outcomes iii vii Compliance index Contracts exempt from the Purchasing and Disposal Gazette Report on performance in implementing the Commonwealth Disability Strategy Financial Statements Occupational health and safety (section 74 of the Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991) Freedom of Information (subsection 8(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982) Advertising and Market Research (Section 311A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918) Ecologically sustainable development and environmental performance (Section 516A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) Annual Report