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Last updated: July 2006
Accountability
Agency head relationship with Ministers
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Under the Australian system of responsible Government, Ministers are responsible to Parliament for the overall administration of their portfolios, both in terms of policy and management and also for carriage in the Parliament of their accountability obligations to that institution.
Australian Government agencies provide advice to Ministers and perform functions on their behalf. To make effective decisions and to hold agency heads accountable for their performance, Ministers must have appropriate access to information about the operation of their agencies.
The Public Service Act 1999, provides a framework within which agency heads are accountable to Ministers. In particular:
- one of the APS Values provides that the APS should be responsive to the Government providing frank, honest, comprehensive, accurate and timely advice and in implementing the Government’s policies and programmes (section 10(1)(f) of the Public Service Act)
- the Secretary of a department, under the agency Minister, is responsible for managing the department and must advise the Minister in matters relating to the department (section 57(1) of the Public Service Act). Section 66 contains equivalent obligations for heads of executive agencies.
Under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, agency chief executives are also accountable to the Finance Minister. For example, the Finance Minister is entitled to full and free access to the accounts and records of an agency subject to any law that prohibits disclosure of particular information (subsection 48(2) ).
The enabling legislation of some statutory agencies may also provide Ministers with powers to direct and/or obtain information about the performance and activities of the agencies for which they are responsible. These are too specific to explore here, and agencies should clarify what these additional responsibilities are, if any.
A Guide on Key Elements of Ministerial Responsibility
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A Guide on Key Elements of Ministerial Responsibility issued by the Prime Minister in December 1998 is provided to Ministers and parliamentary secretaries when they are appointed. It sets out in summary form the main principles, conventions and rules by which Government at the Commonwealth level is conducted.
