Independent Review into the operation of the PGPA Act and Rule – implementation of recommendations
Proposed amendments to the PGPA Rule
Thank you to those entities and companies that provided feedback, as part of the recent consultation process, on the proposed amendments to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment (2019 Measures No. 4) Rules 2019 (the Amending Rule). The Amending Rule implements a number of recommendations from the Independent Review into the Operation of the PGPA Act and Rule.
After consideration of the feedback received, several changes have been made to the Amending Rule. In particular:
- Minor revisions have been made to the new requirements for the content of annual reports with respect to audit committees and performance reporting requirements.
- The approach to audit committee membership has been revised.
Also further consideration is to be given to the response to recommendation 38 concerning expenditure on contracts and consultancies.
The Amending Rule has been provided to the JCPAA for consideration, specifically in relation to rule amendments to Annual Reporting, before progressing to the Finance Minister for approval.
Further advice will be provided to you as the Amending Rule progresses.
Resource Management Guides and the redeveloped Finance website
Finance launched its redeveloped website in early November. The website has been enhanced with a focus on user-centred, evidence-driven insights to meet the needs of clients and stakeholders.
As part of the enhancements, you will notice Resource Management Guides (RMG) on the PGPA Act and Rule have, in some cases, been transformed to HTML web pages to provide a simple approach to guidance. This goes to implementing, in part, recommendation 39 of the PGPA Act and Rule Independent Review. Work in this space is continuing to improve the suite of RMGs.
Overtime, it is proposed that the static RMGs be replaced with a web based version. Web based guides will allow us to be more efficient in updating and maintaining the content and more pragmatic in our approach to supporting entities. However for now, the word/pdf versions of RMGs remain available on the website as downloadable documents under the Tools and templates menu.
Users are able to find RMGs under Managing Commonwealth Resources on the Finance website, with each respective subject area grouped under categories to improve the user experience.
We encourage you to provide feedback on the Managing Commonwealth Resources pages on the website and any specific comments you have on the web based RMGs. This will help us to continue to improve how we support you. Please provide feedback to PGPA@finance.gov.au.
PMRA Inbox is not the PGPA Inbox
Please be aware that the dedicated PMRA inbox (PMRA@finance.gov.au) has been updated to reflect PGPA (PGPA@finance.gov.au). Note that the previous email will still work as a redirect however please be mindful to commence using the new inbox when submitting enquiries.
2019 Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Entity Survey
The 2019 PGPA Entity Survey is now open. The survey is conducted by Piazza Research on behalf of Finance and was circulated to all Commonwealth entities’ and Companies’ CFOs on 12 November 2019. The survey covers a range of topics relevant to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and framework, including risk and performance reporting, audit committees and Finance guidance.
All Commonwealth entities and companies are encouraged to participate. The responses will be used to better support you with the implementation and operation of the PGPA framework. To participate, please contact your CFO to provide your input. The survey will be open until Wednesday 27 November.
Update to RMG-417 Supplier Pay On-Time or Pay Interest Policy from 1 January 2020
The Government recently announced that, from 1 January 2020, the Commonwealth’s Pay On-Time Policy will include five day payment terms for e‑Invoicing on contracts valued up to $1 million where both the agency and a supplier have Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line (PEPPOL) compliant e-Invoicing capability. Contracts valued up to $1 million using traditional invoicing methods will continue to be required to be paid within 20 days. The updated policy is available on the Finance website.
The policy is mandatory for non-corporate Commonwealth entities and corporate Commonwealth entities are encouraged to apply the policy.
Comcover’s Education Program – Launch of refreshed introduction to Risk eLearning
Introduction to Risk in the Commonwealth was Comcover’s first eLearning product. Now that the Comcover education suite is complete, it was timely to update the first course.
The new Introduction to Risk course has a fresh approach focused on the learner’s interests, and a new look and feel. The course introduces foundational risk concepts suitable for any new starter or inductee and takes approximately 45 minutes to complete (completion time is less than the previous course).
The course explores how officials can engage with risk, whether you are a risk taker or risk averse, and whether your actions will be influenced by the anticipated consequences. It then examines risk in the workplace; what influences and guides your workplace’s approach to risk and whether your risk behaviour matches that of your workplace.
2020 Comcover Education Workshop Dates
|
Generalist Practical Risk Management |
Specialist Embedding Risk Management |
Executive A Strategic Perspective to Managing Risk |
|
3 and 4 February |
25 February and 24 March |
26 February |
|
31 March and 1 April |
26 February and 7 May |
25 March |
|
12 and 13 May |
6 May and 10 June |
27 May |
|
3 and 4 June |
|
24 June |
Comcover Education Pathways can be accessed via the Comcover Learning Centre.
Recognising Excellence in Risk Management
The Comcover Awards for Excellence in Risk Management play an important role in building capability, raising the profile and significance of risk management in the interest of sharing and promoting best practice to Fund Members.
This year 22 nominations were received in one of the following two categories:
The Enterprise Wide category showcases entities that have systematically embedded risk management into their business processes and in doing so have developed a high level of capability and maturity.
The Risk Initiative category highlights the successful delivery of a key government program or services with outstanding ability to manage risk well.
Awards winners were:
Enterprise Wide category
- Winner: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
- Highly Commended: Department of Agriculture.
- Honorary Mention: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Risk Initiative category:
- Winner: Department of Defence, Joint Logistics Command for their Defence Fuel Network project.
- Highly Commended: Department of the Environment and Energy for their Climate Compass.
- Honorary Mention: Department of Agriculture for their Grain Import Risk Assessment project.
For information
To read more about each of the award winners go to https://www.finance.gov.au/government/comcover/risk-services/management/awards-excellence/2019-awards-excellence
For all enquiries on any of Comcover services please contact Comcover on 1800 651 540 or Comcover@comcover.com.au
DFAT section 26 opportunity
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is seeking an APS6 procurement/contract management officer with strong people and administrative skills and sound judgement to help define, develop and manage the future contractual operating environment of the New Colombo Plan. Help drive an approach to market that crosses multiple disciplines including recruitment, training, student pastoral care and reporting. This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in the refresh of the NCP’s administrative platforms and to contribute to the development of a robust risk management framework.
If you are interested please contact Fiona Cook on 6261 9443 or by email at fiona.cook@dfat.gov.au.
