Key points
Direction 2 requires an entity to report performance information for existing programs:
For the Budget year and the 3 forward estimate years, report at least 1 high level performance measure and planned performance results, including targets where it is reasonably practicable to set a target.
Where applicable, report the estimated date of achievement of the program objectives.
Performance measures
Report at least 1 high level performance measure and planned performance results.
Entities are only required to report at least 1 high level performance measure and planned performance results for each program in the Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS). The corporate plan, designed as the primary planning document for a Commonwealth entity, provides the full suite of performance measures for the entity to allow an understanding of how the entity intends measure and assess the achievement of its purposes. This information is provided for a minimum 4 year period in the context of the factors that influence the key activities undertaken to achieve the entity’s purposes, including:
- the environment in which it operates
- capability requirements
- the risks that are managed and how they are managed
- who and how the entity cooperates with, and
- how subsidiaries contribute.
A clear read from the PBS to the corporate plan is established through the reporting of the key activities in the current corporate plan that each program relates to. This, combined with the publishing of all corporate plans and PBS on the Government’s Transparency Portal, provides ease of access to the full suite of an entity’s performance measures and the related contextual detail.
The selection of 1 or a few high level performance measures for reporting in the PBS would take account of factors such as:
- the overall expression of what the program and related key activity is designed to achieve
- the performance measure is indicative of the range or type of performance measures used to measure and assess the performance of the program and related key activity
- the degree of importance of the performance measure in relation to the suite of measures used to measure and assess the performance of the program and related key activity.
Not practicable to set a target?
Where an entity determines that specifying a target for a particular performance measure is not reasonably practicable, this would be clearly stated, for example as a footnote to the table.
To maintain a clear read between the PBS and corporate plan for the related key activity, the decision to not report a target for the performance measure would also be reported in the corresponding corporate plan. The corporate plan provides the capacity to provide more detail and reasons for not reporting a target for the performance measure.
Reporting the expected date of achievement by exception
The requirement to report the ‘expected dates of achievement’ (of the objectives of the program) is by exception. This acknowledges that the majority of existing government programs are ongoing in nature.
The reporting of expected dates of achievement of a program would be relevant in cases such as project based programs or short ‘one-off’ programs where the expected date of achievement, or expected date of cessation, of the program is known. Where this is the case the expected date of achievement should be reported as part of the brief description of the program in Table 2.X.3. If this falls within the Budget or forward estimate periods, performance measures and related intended results would not be provided beyond the expected date of achievement of the program.
To maintain a clear read between the PBS and corporate plan for the related key activity, the expected date of achievement for the related key activity would also be reported in the corresponding corporate plan. The corporate plan provides the capacity to provide more detail and reasons for the reporting of the expected date achievement and expected results for the key activity.
