Annual Report 2003-04 - The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Page Index

This section provides an overview of staff performance, and departmental performance assessed in terms of price, quality and other department-wide measures. Each output reports on its individual performance, in terms of the indicators identified in the Portfolio Budget Statements, in the Report on Performance chapter.

Staff performance

The performance of individual staff members is monitored and measured through the department’s Performance Appraisal and Development scheme (introduced in August 2001), which involves the negotiation of individual performance agreements, incorporating common performance standards at each level, and a process to review and assess performance against those agreements. More information about the scheme is provided in the Management and Accountability chapter.

Departmental performance

Price

The total price of the department’s outputs in 2003–04 was $60 million. This comprised $56.7 million in revenue from government and $3.3 million from other sources (sale of goods and services, special accounts and miscellaneous revenue).

Details of the price of outputs and the administered and departmental expenses incurred in delivering the department’s outputs are detailed in Table 1 below. The table also shows the budget allocation for the 2004–05 financial year for these items.

Table 1 Total resources for Outcome 1 ($’000), 2003–04
ADMINISTERED EXPENSES
	(1) Budget 2003–04^a	(2) Actual expenses 2003–04	Variation (1) – (2)	Budget 2004–05^b
Allowance to former Governors-General^c	735	1,434	–699	784
Support to former Governors-General^d	1,082	1,098	–16	1,102
Superannuation surcharge for former Governors-General	0	0	0	0
State occasions and official visits	2,868	1,684	1,184	2,886
Women’s programmes	25,011	24,900	111	11,589
Prime Minister’s official residences	1,683	1,460	223	1,747
Compensation and legal expenses	478	45	433	476
National Australia Day Council	1,127	1,147	–20	1,126
National Counter-Terrorism Committee ^e	62	42	20	63
Total Administered Expenses ^f	33,046	31,810	1,236	19,773
DEPARTMENTAL PRICE OF OUTPUTS
Output Group 1: Economic policy advice and coordination
Output 1.1—Economic and industry policy	13,071	13,010	61	11,852
Subtotal Output Group 1	13,071	13,010	61	11,852
Output Group 2: Social policy advice and coordination
Output 2.1—Social policy	5,659	6,101	–442	6,030
Output 2.2—Women’s policy	8,170	7,850	320	7,577
Subtotal Output Group 2	13,829	13,951	–122	13,607
Output Group 3: International, and national security, policy advice and coordination ^g
Output 3.1—International policy	4,569	3,874	695	3,907
Output 3.2—National security policy	3,951	5,421	–1,470	6,024
Subtotal Output Group 3	8,520	9,295	–775	9,931
Output Group 4: Support services for government operations
Output 4.1—Cabinet Secretariat	3,168	3,222	–54	3,392
Output 4.2—Cabinet Implementation Unit	1,089	1,289	–200	1,379
Output 4.3—Machinery of government	7,716	7,695	21	7,793
Output 4.4—Government communications^h	1,556	5,169	–3,613	3,470
Output 4.5—Support to official establishments	464	614	–150	722
Output 4.6—Support for ministerial offices	2,416	2,625	–209	2,655
Output 4.7—Ceremonial and hospitality	2,804	2,886	–82	2,817
Subtotal Output Group 4	19,213	23,500	4,287	22,228
Revenue from government (appropriation) for Departmental Outputs	54,994	54,994	0	54,614
Revenue from other sources	2,996	4,988	–1,992	3,004
Total Price of Outputs	57,990	59,982	–1,992	57,618
TOTAL FOR OUTCOME 1 (total of price of outputs and administered expenses)	91,036	91,792	–756	77,391
STAFFING	392	389ⁱ	–3	392

a This column shows the full-year budget including additional and supplementary additional estimates.

b This column shows the budget estimates prior to additional estimates

c The actual expense for the allowance to former Governors-General includes $0.7 million representing a one-off annual adjustment to the superannuation liability in respect of former Governors-General, following an independent actuarial assessment.

d Expenditure includes the first full year’s support for Dr Hollingworth including the one-off costs of fitting out his new office.

e There were no expenses for 2002–03 for the National Counter-Terrorism Committee item as the department assumed responsibility for this item for the first time in 2003–04.

f The total Administered Expenses in this table do not agree with the total Administered Expenses in the financial statements as this table is limited to appropriated expenses and therefore does not include expenses from the Media Commissions special account.

g Resourcing amounting to $1 million was transferred from Output 3.1 to Output 3.2 for the new National Security Division (shortly after its establishment). Further resources of approximately $1.7 million were allocated to Output 3.2 to support the Flood inquiry and greater than anticipated complexity and workload in relation to security issues. These allocations were not reflected in the 2003–04 Budget estimates for these outputs.

h Output 4.4 includes expenditure relating to the Campaign Special Account.

i This figure represents the Average Staffing Level (ASL) as at 30 June 2004.

Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest $1,000 dollars.

Performance criteria

All the department’s activities are expected to achieve satisfactory results in terms of:

the degree of satisfaction with the quality and timeliness of advice and the achievement of key tasks as expressed through formal and informal feedback by the Prime Minister, other portfolio ministers and the Parliamentary Secretary, their offices and the departmental Executive
an assessment of outputs against the annual divisional work plans and individual performance agreements.

During 2003–04, the department’s overall performance was satisfactory in terms of the above criteria.

Other department-wide measures

There are certain issues in relation to which the department’s performance is measured across all output groups, rather than separately by output. They are: Cabinet minutes, ministerial correspondence, parliamentary questions on notice, ministerial briefings, and requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). Each of these is discussed in more detail below.

Cabinet minutes

Timeliness	The department aimed to meet the following deadline in relation to Cabinet minutes: the release of Cabinet minutes within 24 hours of a Cabinet or Cabinet committee meeting.

During the period 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004, 98 per cent of minutes from meetings of Cabinet and its committees, including the National Security Committee (NSC), were settled and circulated within 24 hours of the conclusion of the meetings (92 per cent were settled and circulated within that timeframe in 2002–03).

Ministerial correspondence

Quantity

On the basis of past experience, in 2003–04 the department expected to:

process in excess of 120,000 items of Ministerial correspondence.
provide over 4,700 briefings to the Prime Minister, other portfolio Ministers and their Offices.

Timeliness

The department aimed to meet specific deadlines as follows:

for correspondence on substantive issues from Australian Government Ministers, Heads of State, Premiers, Chief Ministers etc, a response is to be prepared within 10 working days
for other correspondence, a response is to be prepared or appropriate action is to be carried out within 20 working days
the preparation of briefings reasonably in advance of when they are required or within such other time periods as may be specified by the Prime Minister, the other portfolio Ministers, the Parliamentary Secretary or their offices.

During the period 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004, the department processed approximately 207,000 items of correspondence—an average of 828 per day—addressed to the Prime Minister or to a minister assisting the Prime Minister.

The largest volumes of correspondence related to the engagement of the Australian Defence Force in Iraq, live animal exports and forestry in Tasmania.

Approximately 93 per cent of correspondence was processed on time. This was similar to the percentage of correspondence processed on time during the previous year, although the volume of correspondence had increased by more than 30 per cent.

Some 2,972 briefings (in the form of minutes) were provided to the Prime Minister, parliamentary secretary and ministers assisting the Prime Minister, on a range of topics covering all four output groups and the various corporate support and information services functions of the department.

The volume of ministerial correspondence received in the past 10 years is shown in Figure 5. The figure shows that the volume of correspondence has increased significantly over the past six years.

Figure 5 Items of correspondence processed

Figure 5 text description

Parliamentary questions on notice

Quantity	On the basis of past experience, in 2003–04 the department expected to: prepare draft answers to 145 Parliamentary Questions on Notice.
Timeliness	The department aimed to meet specific deadlines as follows: the preparation of responses to Parliamentary Questions on Notice within 60 days for the House of Representatives and 30 days for the Senate.

The department received 93 parliamentary questions on notice during 2003–04: 48 from the House of Representatives and 45 from the Senate. The department had 29 questions on hand at 1 July 2003.

Responses to 45 questions were lodged during the year: 27 from the House of Representatives and 18 from the Senate. In 2003–04, the average time taken to lodge responses to questions asked in 2003–04 was 104.33 days for the House of Representatives and 82.88 days for the Senate.

Twenty-three questions asked in 2003–04—two from the House of Representatives and 21 from the Senate—were transferred to other ministers. There were 51 questions on hand at 30 June 2004.

The target of 30 days for responding to Senate questions on notice and 60 days for responding to House of Representatives questions on notice was not met this year.

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Freedom of information requests

Quantity	On the basis of past experience, in 2003–04 the department expected to: respond to 35 Freedom of Information requests.
Timeliness	The department aimed to meet specific deadlines as follows: the various timing requirements for Freedom of Information requests as specified in the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

The department was responsible for managing 66 new requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) received during 2003–04 (26 requests were received during 2002–03) plus 12 existing FOI requests on hand at 1 July 2003. During the year, 54 FOI requests were finalised (showing a 170 per cent increase, compared with 20 requests finalised during 2002–03), leaving 24 FOI requests on hand at 30 June 2004.

The department received two applications for internal review during the reporting period, and one was finalised. Further information about the department’s FOI procedures and about access to departmental and archival records in various categories appears in Appendix 2. More information on FOI activity is to be found in the annual report on the operation of the FOI Act produced by the Attorney-General’s Department.

Table of Contents

Performance Overview