PGPA Newsletter 75

The Minister for Finance, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, has endorsed a Commonwealth Evaluation Policy and supporting toolkit, which took effect on 1 December 2021. This has been developed as part of the Government’s Australian Public Service (APS) Reform Agenda.

The policy and toolkit (RMG-130) aim to build evaluation capability and expertise into everyday practice across the APS, and to support better practice evaluation activities across the policy cycle. They are relevant for anyone responsible for the design, delivery and effectiveness of government programs and activities in the Commonwealth.

Over 40 Commonwealth entities, and a number of external stakeholders, helped to develop the policy and toolkit through an extensive collaborative design and user testing process.  

From January 2022, Finance will deliver information sessions in partnership with the APS Academy to help to embed the policy and toolkit across the Commonwealth. Tailored information sessions are also available on request.

More information as well as links to instructional videos are available on the Finance website.

An updated version of the List of Commonwealth entities and companies 16 July 2021 was published on 19 November 2021.

This version makes the following updates to the 16 July 2021 version of the List:

• Organ and Tissue Authority (OTA): Updated accountable authority to the Chief Executive Officer.
  • The Australia Organ and tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Amendment (Governance and Other Measures) Act 2021 commenced on 1 November 2021, prescribing the Chief Executive Officer as the accountable authority of the entity for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. From 1 July 2017 to the 1 November 2021, the OTA Board governed the OTA as the accountable authority.
• Parliamentary Departments: Further details added to clarify employment arrangements for the four Parliamentary Departments.
  • Notes have been added regarding the departments’ ability to engage staff under section 22 of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 and stating that the departments do not employ under the Public Service Act 1999.
  • The four Parliamentary Departments are the Department of Parliamentary Services, the Department of the House of Representatives, the Department of the Senate and the Parliamentary Budget Office.  

The latest version of the List of Commonwealth entities and companies can be found on the Finance website. The List is a companion resource to the Flipchart of PGPA Act Commonwealth entities and companies. There was no change made to the Flipchart published on 16 July 2021.

Feedback on the Flipchart and List and how you use these tools are always welcome and can be sent to PGPA@finance.gov.au.

The 30 September 2021 Australian Government Organisation Register (AGOR) statistical update is now available on the Finance website.

AGOR provides information on the function, composition, origins and other details of Australian Government entities and bodies and is updated on a quarterly basis.

The online searchable version of AGOR is located on Directory.gov.au. The Directory is your guide to the structures, organisations and key people in the Australian Government.

Visit the AGOR webpage on the Finance website for more information.

If you any questions in relation to AGOR please email us at OAR@finance.gov.au.

An updated version of the Machinery of Government changes: A guide for entities (MoG Changes Guide) has been jointly issued by the Australian Public Service Commission and the Department of Finance. The updated MoG Changes Guide is now available for download from the Finance website.

The MoG Changes Guide contains updated MoG implementation principles endorsed by the Chief Operating Officers Committee on 17 November 2021, as well as enhanced, practical guidance to assist with a range of issues, including employees and their welfare, information and communications technology, financial, property and other matters.

A toolkit of practical resources will also be available shortly on the Finance website.

Queries regarding the implementation of MoG changes can be directed to MoGAdvice@finance.gov.au.

The Charging Survey collects data from 146 in scope entities across the general government sector, related to all activities provided to the non-government sector (not just those that involve charging) for the financial year ending 30 June 2021. These activities are generally regulatory, resource and commercial activities that are all in-scope of the Australian Government Charging Framework (Charging Framework).

There are already over 200 activities reported in the portal from 78 entities, all of whom who are finalising reporting their activities or have already cleared their entity’s reported activities to the portfolio CFOs. There are 36 entities who have confirmed they have no activities to report. An additional 32 entities are still assessing whether they provide any activities in scope to the non-government sector.

All reported activities from entities need to be cleared by the entity CFOs by Thursday 9 December 2021, with the portfolio CFOs clearing all reported activities by Thursday 16 December 2021.

For any queries or assistance, please contact Finance at chargingsurvey@finance.gov.au or call 02 6215 3451 between 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.

It is crucial to consider fraud risks when designing and delivering grants programs. While grants are necessary to achieve key government objectives, they also carry fraud risks. These risks are often elevated when a grant program is designed and delivered rapidly and/or with limited resources.

The Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre’s toolkit will help Australian Government officials to:

• increase their awareness of fraud vulnerabilities in grants administration
• understand how these vulnerabilities might be open to fraud
• identify useful countermeasures to prevent, detect and respond to fraud.

Learn more about grant fraud on CounterFraud.gov.au or contact info@counterfraud.gov.au to request a copy.

2021 Commonwealth Awards for Excellence in Risk Management

The winners of the 2021 Commonwealth Awards for Excellence in Risk Management were announced by Rosemary Huxtable PSM, Secretary (Department of Finance) and presented by the Honourable Ben Morton MP (Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Minister for the Public Service and Special Minister of State) on Friday the 26th of November at the National Museum of Australia. 

Twenty-six high quality nominations were received for the awards, 16 in the Risk Initiative Category and 10 in the Enterprise Wide Category. The winners in each category are provided below with links to a short synopsis of each successful nomination.

The winners in the Enterprise Wide Category are:

The winners in the Risk Initiative Category are:

Comcover will be publishing information on their website in the New Year highlighting the successful risk management practices of nominees.  We will keep you updated through the bulletin on additions to the Comcover website from nominations received.

In response to the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic, Comcover has adapted its face-to-face risk workshops to also be accessible virtually online. For 2022, we decided to keep this approach and take on a blended learning environment of both face-to-face and virtual workshops.

There are two workshop remaining for this year:

• SES leadership in Risk Program – Leading a Strategic Approach to Managing Risk on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 December 2021 10.30 -12.00pm. This workshop will be held virtually via GovTEAMS.
• Practical Risk Management – More Than Just Ticking Boxes on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 December. This workshop will be held face to face at Rydges Hotel, One Canberra Ave, Forrest.

If you wish to register for either of these courses please email comcover@comcover.com.au.

The 2022 training program will be available on the Comcover web site prior to Christmas.

Did you know that Finance has a PGPA eLearning program? The program is a self-learning tool aimed at Commonwealth officials. The course will empower you with the knowledge to understand and work with the Commonwealth Resource Management Framework and to understand your responsibilities under the PGPA Act and Rule.