Government Business Enterprises (GBEs)

The Government Businesses Advice Branch (GBAB) provides advice to the Australian Government relating to its Government Business Enterprises (GBEs) and other commercial entities.

The branch´s primary tasks in relation to GBEs is to:

provide sound strategic and analytical advice to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, in particular by engaging with the GBEs, analysing their operations and their environment, and consulting with stakeholders;
action the Minister's decisions including communicating objectives; and
ensure that there is a robust and sound governance framework in place by initiating change and contributing to policy development.

Government Business Enterprises (GBEs) are prescribed in regulations [] under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997.

The Australian Government´s relationship to its GBEs is similar to the relationship between a holding company and its subsidiaries, features of which include:

a strong interest in the performance and financial returns of the GBE;
reporting and accountability arrangements that facilitate active oversight by the shareholder;
action by the shareholder in relation to the strategic direction of its GBEs where it prefers a different direction from the one proposed;
management autonomy balanced with regular reporting of performance to shareholders; and
boards that are accountable to shareholders for GBE performance, and shareholders that are accountable to Parliament and the public.

To enable greater public accountability, wholly owned GBEs are required to prepare a Statement of Corporate Intent (SCI) in consultation with Shareholder Ministers.

A SCI focuses on the purpose and corporate outlook of a GBE, and expresses the expectations of its management in relation to future financial and non-financial performance.

The following is a list of the Australian Government´s GBEs, with links to their websites, where available: