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Annual Report 2007–08

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Annual Report 2007-08 > Part 2—Output 1: Core Department > Management and accountability > Corporate governance

• Part 2—Output 1: Core Department
  • Output overview
    • Changing role of DHS
    • Objectives
    • Strategy
    • Organisational change & restructure
    • Structure & functions
  • Performance
    • Improve access to social and health-related services
    • Deliver government commitments and Budget measures effectively
    • Develop strategies to reduce fraud and non-compliance
    • Drive the Job Capacity Assessment Program
    • Case Study
    • Provide effective leadership to support Portfolio agencies
  • Management & accountability
    • Corporate governance
    • People
    • Resources
    • Purchasing

Corporate governance

This section reports on aspects of the Core Department’s particular corporate governance arrangements that function in addition to the whole-of-department measures described in the Overview chapter.

The names and responsibilities of the senior executives of the Core Department are shown in Figure 7.

Governance framework

Table 6 gives details of the membership and functions of the Core Department’s governance committees.

Table 6 Governance committees at 30 June 2008

Members	Name	Functions	Administration
Leadership Group
Secretary (Chair) All SES officers	Helen Williams	Facilitates communication between SES staff across the Core Department	Secretariat Executive Officer to the Secretary Meetings Weekly
Executive Management Committee
Secretary (Chair)	Helen Williams	Provides advice to the Secretary on policy, management issues and priorities	Secretariat Executive Officer to the Secretary Meetings Weekly, after Leadership Group
Deputy Secretaries	Kerri Hartland	Reviews reports from the Chief Financial Officer (monthly financial report), AS Portfolio Coordination and Corporate (organisational performance report) and other governance committees
	Jeff Popple a/g
First Assistant Secretaries
Audit Committeea
Deputy Secretary Core Department (Chair)	Jeff Popple a/g	Monitors and, where necessary, recommends improvements to: risk management identification and amelioration; internal control processes (including fraud control); the financial reporting process; the functioning of the Internal Audit Unit; the external audit process; and processes for monitoring compliance with legislation, regulations and Government policy. Maintains an effective working relationship with the ANAO.	Secretariat Director Portfolio Coordination (with Internal Audit) Meetings Quarterly
FAS Financial Analysis and Corporate (observer)
General Manager CRS Australia (observer)
General Manager Child Support Agency (observer)
Two independent members	Jenny Morison Peter Kennedy
AS Portfolio Coordination and Corporate (observer)
Chief Financial Officer (observer)
Chief Internal Auditor (observer)
ANAO observer
Information Management Committee
FAS Financial Analysis and Corporate (Chair)	Chris Dainer	Provides advice to the Secretary, through the Executive Management Committee, on: strategies and policies for the effective use of information resources; and the development of information infrastructure and services that support business outcomes Oversees the development and maintenance of knowledge management and sharing Reviews the effectiveness of internal and external communication	Secretariat Director Information Technology Services Meetings Quarterly
FAS Service Delivery Operations	Alex Dolan
AS Portfolio Coordination and Corporate	Neil Skill
AS Business Intelligence	Peter Robertson
General Counsel	Kathryn Johnson
Executive Officer to the Secretary	Kristine Schultz
People and Leadership Committee
FAS Policy and Strategy (Chair)	Jenny Thomson a/g	Advises the Secretary, through the Executive Management Committee (EMC), on development of staff capability, with particular emphasis on: corporate culture and values; succession planning, workforce planning and staff development; links between the strategic framework, business outcomes, people management strategies, and people’s day-to-day work; people management and leadership initiatives, particularly in career development, support and training; flexible workplace practices that help people to balance their work and personal lives; and high-level strategic people management and leadership needs	Secretariat Director People Strategies Meetings Quarterly
FAS Financial Analysis and Corporate	Chris Dainer
AS Portfolio Coordination and Corporate	Neil Skill
FAS Business Division	Joe Smith
AS Marketing and Communication	Cindy West a/g
AS Compliance and Development	Di White
Executive Officer to the Secretary	Kristine Schultz
Security and Business Continuity Committee
FAS Service Delivery Operations (Chair)	Alex Dolan	Advises the Secretary, through the Executive Management Committee, and oversees, monitors and reports on the overall management of security risks and business continuity management Prepares responses to the Australian Government Annual Protective Security Survey Implements security education and trainingInstigates new distribution controls, where appropriate Reviews the protective security environment against the requirements of the Protective Security Manual Annually reviews the Protective Security Plan Maintains a robust Business Continuity Management Plan, including a pandemic influenza supplement Maintains a Business Continuity Procedure Manual for members of the DHS Business Continuity Management Central Coordination Team Maintains Business Continuity Quick Roadmaps for managers and staff Maintains the Emergency Management Plan	Secretariat Agency Security Adviser Meetings Quarterly
Chief Technology Architect	Marie Johnson
FAS Financial Analysis and Corporate	Chris Dainer
AS Portfolio Coordination and Corporate	Neil Skill
Executive Officer to the Secretary	Kristine Schultz
Chief Internal Auditor (observer)

ANAO = Australian National Audit Office, AS = Assistant Secretary, FAS = First Assistant Secretary, SES = Senior Executive Service, a/g = acting
^a The Audit Committee is responsible for CSA and CRS Australia as well as for the Core Department.

Internal scrutiny

Internal audit, risk management and fraud prevention

In 2007–08, the Core Department took a comprehensive approach to managing risks associated with business continuity, fraud, security, operations and auditing under its three-year Strategic Internal Audit Program, which was reviewed and updated in May 2007.

The provision of internal audit services was outsourced under the guidance of the Chief Internal Auditor and the supervision of DHS’s Audit Committee.

The Core Department reviewed and implemented an improved Risk Management Framework in 2007–08. It also reviewed the Department’s strategic and business risks ahead of the new organisational structure implemented on 1 July 2008.

The Core Department tested and refined its business continuity plan during 2007–08.

The Department’s Audit Committee provided assurance that Core Department risks were identified, reviewed and addressed throughout the year.

Ethical standards management

The Core Department requires all employees to behave in accordance with the Australian Public Service (APS) Values and Code of Conduct and to maintain a high level of integrity, honesty and professionalism in their work and in their engagement with the broader community.

All new staff are trained in the APS Values and Code of Conduct as part of the general induction process.

External scrutiny

Judicial or administrative decisions

There were no judicial or administrative tribunal decisions that had a significant impact on the operations of the Core Department.

Australian National Audit Office audits

Financial statements

In the interim audit of the financial statements for 2007–08 (Audit Report No. 44, 2007–08), the Department received no A findings and no B findings. The ANAO identified four C findings for the Core Department in the Interim Management letter for the 2007–08 Financial Statements audit. The Department implemented processes to address these findings and they were all eliminated in the final audit report.

Credit card management

The Core Department was among those departments audited in a cross-portfolio audit of credit card management. The audit found that there was scope to improve the Core Department’s management of credit cards and suggested a number of improvements, which the Core Department accepted and is putting into place.

Portfolio-wide performance audits

The Core Department examined and analysed performance audit reports that related to Human Services agencies and provided responses to the ANAO to help it to identify common themes and to ensure that lessons learned are applied across the Portfolio. The ANAO includes the Department’s responses in its reports, which are available on the ANAO website, www.anao.gov.au.

In 2007–08, the following performance audits affecting the Portfolio were tabled:

• ANAO Audit Report No. 8, 2007–08: Proof of identity for accessing Centrelink payments;
• ANAO Audit Report No. 16, 2007–08: Data integrity in the Child Support Agency;
• ANAO Audit Report No. 17, 2007–08: Management of the IT Refresh programme;
• ANAO Audit Report No. 20, 2007–08: Accuracy of Medicare claims processing; and
• ANAO Audit Report No. 42, 2007–08: Management of customer debt—follow-up audit.

Reports by the Commonwealth Ombudsman

The Commonwealth Ombudsman, in Report No. 5 of 2008, Implementation of Job Capacity Assessments for the Purposes of the Welfare to Work Initiatives, identified issues relating to Job Capacity Assessments that have contributed to the volume of complaints received by the Ombudsman.

The report made 10 recommendations for improving the existing JCA process. The Department of Human Services, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Centrelink, and the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs were invited to comment on the findings. The Department of Human Services agreed in general with the findings and recommendations, while noting that some contractual and system limitations exist.

Portfolio-wide reports

As with external audit reports, the Core Department monitored and responded to Ombudsman reports in relation to all agencies in the Human Services Portfolio. The following reports were made in 2007–08:

• Application of penalties under Welfare to Work, December 2007—Report No. 16 of 2007; and
• Centrelink—Payment of independent rate of youth allowance to a young person, February 2008—Report No. 01 of 2008.

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