Criterion	Finance owned properties are maintained in accordance with relevant safety, heritage and environmental requirements and in a condition fit for purpose.
Source	Corporate Plan 2016–17, page 16 Portfolio Budget Statements 2016–17, Program 2.3, page 46
Result	Substantially achieved Observations made during the annual property inspections, combined with asset management plans, tenant feedback and the commitments made under Finance’s Heritage Strategy show that the Finance-owned property portfolio has been maintained in accordance with relevant safety, heritage and environmental requirements and in a condition fit for purpose.

Finance supports the services purpose by seeking to ensure that, for client entities using buildings and the broader community, Finance-owned properties are maintained to agreed standards and in compliance with relevant safety and environmental legislative requirements. Finance manages the government’s non-Defence property portfolio within Australia. The portfolio consists of four main categories of property—office properties, special-purpose properties, mixed-used properties, and residential properties.

This is a diverse portfolio consisting of approximately 100 properties across Australia. Finance has a robust compliance program to ensure the non-Defence property portfolio meets safety, heritage and legislative requirements including:

• annual property inspections
• capital works and repairs and maintenance programs
• tenant feedback mechanisms
• Finance’s Heritage Strategy.

This robust compliance program has resulted in low numbers of Finance properties not meeting relevant safety, heritage and legislative requirements.

 

Criterion	Major capital works projects and major land contamination remediation projects are completed in close consultation with client entities and within the time, cost and quality parameters agreed by the government for the process.
Source	Corporate Plan 2016–17, page 16 Portfolio Budget Statements 2016–17, Program 2.3, page 46
Result	Achieved Finance has worked to ensure major capital works and land contamination remediation projects are completed within the agreed parameters. All the identified projects that fall under this program met the specified time, cost and quality parameters for 2016–17.

 

As part of Finance’s management of the government’s non-Defence property portfolio within Australia, Finance is delivering a range of capital works, involving new construction works, refurbishment and remediation of existing Commonwealth properties including:

• Post Entry Quarantine Facility, Mickleham, VIC
• Villawood Immigration and Detention Centre, Sydney, NSW
• John Gorton Building, Canberra, ACT
• Cox Peninsula, NT.

Finance’s delivery of these projects contributes to the services purpose by providing properties to client entities within the parameters identified by the government including achieving quality, efficient and cost-effective outcomes. In order to ensure the delivery of these capital works within the agreed parameters, Finance complies with the Commonwealth Property Management Framework which establishes the principles for the efficient, effective, economical and ethical use of property resources. This framework provides guidance on matters such as the approval process for capital works and property management planning.

 

Criterion	Whole-of-Australian-Government procurement arrangements are well managed with: scoping studies and tender processes conducted within agreed timeframes and budget contracts managed in accordance with appropriate contract management plans.
Source	Corporate Plan 2016–17, page 16 Portfolio Budget Statements 2016–17, Program 2.5, page 48
Result	Achieved Finance has progressed its scoping studies and tender processes in accordance with the agreed timeframes and budget, and whole-of-government procurement arrangement contracts are being managed in accordance with contract management plans. The tender processes for a new travel accommodation arrangement and a new arrangement for stationery and office supplies were completed within schedule to ensure ongoing service delivery that is efficient and cost-effective for government. The approach to market for advertising is underway and on target for completion within schedule.

 

Finance contributes to the services purpose by establishing and maintaining whole-of-government procurement arrangements for common goods and services. These arrangements are established to benefit non-corporate Commonwealth entities when they procure goods and services.

Whole-of-government arrangements give effect to government policy decisions, improve consistency and control, and deliver savings and efficiencies. These arrangements may take the form of a contract, a standing offer and/or template documentation and have been established by lead entities such as Defence and Finance.

Whole-of-government arrangements may be established through a tender process and led by an entity with policy responsibility for, or expertise in, particular goods or services. The coordinated procurement contracting initiative has established whole-of-government contracts and arrangements where savings and efficiencies are being delivered to entities.

 

Criterion	Government advertising is conducted in accordance with government advertising policies. Targets expected to be achieved: Government advertising in 2016–17 will be conducted in accordance with government advertising policies.
Source	Portfolio Budget Statements 2016–17, Program 2.5, page 48
Result	Achieved All advertising campaigns above the value of $250,000 that were launched in 2016–17, and were subject to the Guidelines on Information and Advertising Campaigns by non-corporate Commonwealth entities, were reviewed by the Independent Communications Committee. The committee’s compliance advice for all relevant campaigns was published on Finance’s website.

 

The Guidelines on Information and Advertising Campaigns by non-corporate Commonwealth entities contain five principles for government advertising and information campaigns, including the need for campaigns to be properly targeted, free from political content, relevant to government responsibilities, and conducted with due regard to efficiency, effectiveness and accountability. By complying with the guidelines—as all non-corporate Commonwealth entities under the PGPA Act must do—Finance contributes to the services purpose.

 

Criterion	The Service Delivery Office is transitioned to Finance with: the Service Delivery Office fully established within Finance the Standard Service Agreement developed for delivery of services to client entities business continuity and service delivery maintained.
Source	Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2016–17, Program 2.6, page 38
Result	Achieved   All the planned machinery-of-government project milestones were completed. A Standard Service Agreement has been developed detailing the services to be delivered, the governance and management arrangements for the Service Delivery Office including key performance measures, assurance mechanisms and a shared risk approach, and the cost and pricing approach. Business continuity was maintained for the enterprise resource planning system and the delivery of the transferred corporate functions.

 

The Service Delivery Office was established in Finance, as a part of a machinery-of-government change, in December 2016. The office delivers transactional corporate services to client entities (other Australian Government agencies) in order to enable them to focus on their core business, while driving efficiencies for government in the delivery of back-office administration functions. The services offered include core human resource, financial and enterprise resource planning system services.

Establishment of the Service Delivery Office in Finance has included a focus on strengthened governance arrangements. The office’s governance arrangements have been developed to support accountable authorities to meet their obligations under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and to improve transparency for clients.

 

Criterion	Act of Grace and waiver of debt requests: Timely completion of all Act of Grace and waiver of debt requests on receipt of required documentation from relevant parties. 100 per cent compliance with timeframes in the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977. No adverse findings from the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
Source	Corporate Plan 2016–17, page 16 Portfolio Budget Statements 2016–17, Program 2.1, page 41
Result	Achieved Act of grace payments and waiver of debt requests (discretionary claims) were completed in a manner compliant with specified benchmarks including the following: 72 per cent of discretionary payments were completed within 60 days in 2016–17. There was 100 per cent compliance of Special Financial Claims with the timeframes in the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977. The relevant timeframe from section 13 of the Act is the provision of statements of reasons in 28 days. 100 per cent of statements of reasons for discretionary payments were issued within 28 days in 2016–17. There were no adverse findings from the Commonwealth Ombudsman in 2016–17 in relation to discretionary payments.

 

Criterion	Services to ministers, office-holders, senators, members and their staff meet service standards.
Source	Corporate Plan 2016–17, page 16 Portfolio Budget Statements 2016–17, Program 3.1, page 55
Result	Substantially achieved Service standards met for the period ending 30 June 2017 include: 97 per cent of client contacts were acknowledged within 24 hours and responded to within agreed timeframes. 100 per cent of office establishment and relocation projects were delivered within their approved budget. 99.6 per cent of COMCAR reservations were completed without service failure. Service standards not met for the period ending 30 June 2017 included: 94 per cent of payments (including payroll) being made within agreed timeframes.

 

A key measure of Finance’s contribution to its service purpose is the delivery of services to parliamentarians and their employees. Finance regards the delivery of timely and efficient business support to current and former parliamentarians and their employees as essential to their work in the public interest which subsequently benefits the broader Australian community.

Finance oversees the provision of a number of services to parliamentarians and their respective employees under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 including administering the majority of non-travel related provisions made under the parliamentary work expenses framework and its accountability mechanisms.

In order to determine its performance in delivering these services Finance has identified four high-level service standards related to essential services delivered by Finance. In 2016–17 Finance met three of these service standards but did not meet the standard for timeliness of payments because of the higher volume of payments following the 2016 federal election. The higher volume of payments was a result of the unusual occurrence of a double dissolution, the first since the 1987 election, resulting in the election of all 226 parliamentarians. This necessitated the processing of payments for all outgoing and incoming members and senators and their employees.

 

Criterion	An implementation framework is established to progress the recommendations from the Independent Review of Parliamentary Entitlements.
Source	Corporate Plan 2016–17, page 16 Portfolio Budget Statements 2016–17, Program 3.1, page 55
Result	Achieved Establishment of the implementation framework is demonstrated by the completion of critical project milestones since 1 July 2016 including: the Parliamentary Business Resources (PBR) Bill 2017 and the PBR (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2017 were drafted, introduced and subsequently passed by parliament 12 recommendations have been implemented, 23 have commenced and preliminary work has been undertaken on the one remaining recommendation development of the Parliamentary Business Resources Regulations is well advanced.

 

In addition to delivering services to parliamentarians and their employees, Finance contributes to the services purpose for parliamentarians by implementing—in collaboration with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Remuneration Tribunal and the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority—the recommendations of the review entitled ‘An Independent Parliamentary Entitlements System’. Finance is seeking through this process to contribute to improving the clarity and transparency of the administration of parliamentary work expenses including:

• delivering better support to parliamentarians and their staff in their work, for example, supporting them to make principles-based decisions and operate inside the rules
• enabling administrators to provide an efficient and effective service.