Part 6: Management and accountability

Corporate governance

As required by the Commonwealth Performance Framework, the Office publicly released its 2020–21 Corporate Plan in August 2020. The plan framed our strategic vision, objectives, deliverables and performance criteria for the next 4 years.

The Office’s committee structure helps meet the operational and strategic objectives while also complying with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and PGPA Rule s 17 (Audit Committee for Commonwealth entities).

FIGURE 11: COMMITTEE STRUCTURE

Senior Leadership Group

The Senior Leadership Group (SLG) is the Office's leadership and management committee and provides continuous oversight of the Office’s operational functions. It meets monthly to make decisions concerning corporate governance, performance, compliance and resource allocation to ensure the Office meets its legislative functions and purpose. The SLG is comprised of the Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman, Senior Assistant Ombudsmen (SAOs) and the Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Strategic Policy Board

The Strategic Policy Board (SPB) comprises the Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman, SAOs and the COO. The board meets monthly to consider the strategic priorities of the Office, with consideration of public interest issues and business intelligence to inform the selection, prioritisation, scoping, resourcing, timing and delivery of strategic projects. The projects include own motion investigations, issues papers, submissions, products and targeted engagement activities by the Office to fulfil its statutory mandate.

Audit and Risk Committee

The Office has an Audit and Risk Committee that complies with s 45 of the PGPA Act and PGPA Rule s 17 (Audit Committee for Commonwealth entities).

The committee’s role is to provide independent assurance to the Ombudsman on the Office’s financial and performance reporting responsibilities, risk oversight and management and systems of internal control. A copy of the Audit and Risk Committee charter is available in our Audit and Risk Committee Charter webpage at ombudsman.gov.au

Regular observers at committee meetings include representatives from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), the Office's current internal auditors RSM Australia, the Office’s COO and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

The Audit and Risk Committee met 4 times during the year. Table 6 below outlines the committee membership, their qualifications and skills/experience, membership period, meetings attended and their annual remuneration.

TABLE 6: AUDIT AND RISK COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Member name	Qualifications, knowledge, skills or experience (include formal and informal as relevant)	Period of membership during the year	No of meetings attended/total no. of meetings	Total annual remuneration ($, GST exclusive)	Additional information
William Laurie	Formal finance and economics qualifications – Bachelor of Economics and Graduate Diploma Applied Finance and Investment Substantial experience in corporate and professional management at Price Waterhouse, Boyce Chartered Accountants and birdsnest.com. Twenty years’ experience on Australian Government and ACT audit and risk committees	1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021	4/4	18,000	External independent member and Chair
Alfred Bongi	Formal accounting, economics and mediator qualifications. – Bachelor of Economics, Certified Practicing Accountant and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Thirty-six years' experience in the Australian Public Service, including 13 years as a Senior Executive. Over 10 years' experience in Commonwealth governance, fraud, audit and risk committees	1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021	4/4	16,600	External independent member
Joanna Stone	Formal finance qualifications. Substantial public and private sector management experience. Experience across several audit committees as member and chair	1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021	4/4	NA13	External independent member
Penny McKay	Formal legal qualifications – Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of Business (Management) and is admitted to practise as a solicitor of the Supreme Court Substantial public sector management experience, including as Assistant Secretary for Audit and Assurance at the Department of Home Affairs	10 August 2020 to 30 June 2021	4/4	NA	Internal member and Deputy Ombudsman

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¹³ Officials of Australian Government are not reimbursed in this role.

Work Health and Safety Committee

The Office’s Work Health and Safety Committee (WHSC) comprises elected staff representatives from each of our offices and is chaired by the SAO Program Delivery. The WHSC meets quarterly. It has a strategic role in reviewing work health and safety matters and procedures to ensure we meet the terms of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act).

Workplace Relations Committee

The COO chairs the Workplace Relations Committee (WRC). It is formed by staff, management and union representatives. The WRC is the forum for regular exchange of information on Office employment and workplace relations matters, including the implementation and operation of our enterprise agreement.

Information and Technology Governance Committee

The Information and Technology Governance Committee (ITGC) is chaired by the Deputy Ombudsman. It oversees the management of the Office’s information and technology resources and assets. The ITGC provides strategic oversight of the development and implementation of information and technology policy, processes, systems and strategy across the Office.

The ITGC manages the Office’s compliance with legislation, standards and requirements of the National Archives of Australia. It also oversees and monitors the Office’s progress against the Digital Continuity 2020 policy and targets to implement the Australian Government’s digital transformation and e-Government initiatives.

Protective Security Governance Committee

The Protective Security Governance Committee supports the Ombudsman to implement the intent of and monitor the Office’s performance and compliance of mandatory and supporting requirements of the Protective Security Policy Framework.

Corporate governance practices

Risk management

The Office has an established Risk Management Policy and Framework (RMPF) along with a risk appetite and tolerance statement, risk assessment matrix and associated resources, including risk registers.

The RMPF comprises a formal policy and framework, identified enterprise risks addressed in the Office’s strategic risk register and risk appetite and tolerance statement. Strategic and operational risk reporting is undertaken regularly by the SLG, SPB and other management committees.

The SLG regularly reviews strategic and operational risks as part of the business planning process. The Office also participates in the annual Comcover Risk Management Benchmarking Survey, which independently assesses the Office’s risk management maturity.

Additional oversight of our risk management strategy and practice is provided by the Audit and Risk Committee. The committee provides the Ombudsman and SLG with independent practical guidance and support regarding our risk management strategies and formally reviews the Office’s RMPF.

Business resilience management

The Office utilises an integrated business resilience governance model that provides streamlined control processes for managing the various events that may affect its ability to perform critical functions, ensure staff safety and maintain technology systems.

The Office documents this approach in the Business Resilience Policy and Framework and operational Enterprise Response Plan. The SLG is responsible for the oversight and review of these documents.

Accessibility

In developing and maintaining the Office’s ombudsman.gov.au website, we use the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, level AAA as the benchmark.

Management of the website includes authoring tools to check for accessibility issues and compliance reporting and graphic design that uses high contrast and a simple presentation of content to assist readability.

The Office is currently undertaking a website accessibility audit to ensure compliance with WCAG 2.1, level AAA. This will be reported in the Office’s 2021–22 annual report.

Ethical standards

The Office promotes high ethical standards and behaviours by our staff. We provide information to our staff on the Australian Public Service Commission’s Ethics Advisory Service. Our intranet contains information about:

• APS Values and Code of Conduct
• workplace discrimination, bullying and harassment
• conflict of interest
• acceptance of gifts and hospitality
• procedures for determining breaches of the code of conduct
• procedures for facilitating and dealing with public interest disclosures relating to the Office.

Employee Performance Development Agreements contain the following mandatory behaviour: ‘In undertaking my duties, I will act in accordance with the APS Values, Employment Principles and APS Code of Conduct’.

The Induction Handbook for new starters provides appropriate information on the APS Values, Employment Principles and APS Code of Conduct, including information on the Australian Public Service Commission's Ethics Advisory Service.

Fraud control

The Office’s fraud control strategies comply with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Framework 2017 and the legislative requirements of the PGPA Act.

The Fraud and Corruption Control Plan and the Accountable Authority instructions provide the foundations of the Office’s fraud control framework. The Office undertook a substantive review of its fraud control framework, and in July 2020, the Fraud and Corruption Control Plan 2020–22 was implemented. The next review is scheduled for July 2021.

The Fraud and Corruption Control Plan identifies the Office’s fraud risks and details the measures in place to prevent, detect and respond to fraud and corruption against the Office.

All fraud allegations are reported to the Ombudsman and the Audit and Risk Committee. Fraud investigations are outsourced as required. An investigation into one incident of potential external fraud was finalised in 2020–21. The investigation, based on available evidence, did not find an incident of fraud. The Office used this potential fraud to review and strengthen its processes and procedures to mitigate fraud risks further.

As an oversight agency, we work closely with our staff to ensure they have a good practical understanding of fraud. In 2021, we provided fraud training to staff across the Office and ensured that resources and reference material is available to all staff through our online e-learning hub.

External scrutiny

Court and tribunal litigation

No decisions of courts or administrative tribunals made in 2020–21 had, or may have, a significant effect on the operations of the Office.

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

During the reporting period, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) advised the Office of several matters where the applicant sought review of our decision concerning requests received under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). The details of this advice are set out below.

TABLE 7: APPLICATIONS TO THE OAIC FOR REVIEWS OF FOI DECISIONS MADE BY THE OMBUDSMAN

	Number	Details
Applications for review received by the OAIC in 2020–21	7	Of these, one was subsequently withdrawn.
Matters finalised by the OAIC in 2020–21	4	OAIC finalised one matter from 2017–18 under s 55k of the FOI Act (decision made).
		OAIC finalised one matter from 2018–19 under s 54W(b) of the FOI Act (recommended AAT review).
		OAIC finalised one matter from 2019–20 under s 54W(b) of the FOI Act (recommended AAT review).
		OAIC finalised one matter from 2019–20 under s 73(b) of the FOI Act (decided not to investigate, as other avenues were available).
Matters still under consideration as at 30 June 2021	12	OAIC is currently considering 6 applications received in 2020–21 and 6 applications from previous financial years.

The Office is subject to the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act). The following table sets out complaints made to the OAIC (in its capacity as the Privacy Commissioner) in 2020–21 relating to breaches of privacy by the Office and the finalisation of these and other complaints made in previous years.

TABLE 8: COMPLAINTS TO THE OAIC ABOUT BREACHES OF PRIVACY INVOLVING THE OMBUDSMAN

	Number	Details
Privacy Complaints received by OAIC in 2020–21	2	OAIC finalised both complaints under s 41(1A) of the Privacy Act, following conciliation (complainant withdrew the complaint).
Complaints from previous years finalised by the OAIC in 2020–21	1	OAIC finalised one privacy complaint from 2017–18 under s 41(1)(da) of the Privacy Act (investigation was not warranted considering all the circumstances).
Complaints still under consideration as at 30 June 2021	1	OAIC is still considering one privacy complaint lodged in 2019–20.

Management of human resources

Overview

Our people are our greatest asset, and investment in their capability ensures the Office continues to deliver high-quality work.

People

A new Learning and Development Strategy 2021–23 was delivered for the Office this year. The Strategy established a framework to provide improved clarity on the agreed learning and development investment priorities for the Office, including mandatory training requirements and completion timelines.

The strategy is linked to the Strategic Workforce Plan and Corporate Plan to ensure our staff have the capabilities required to contribute effectively to the Office’s objectives – now and in the future. The strategy is flexible in addressing learning and development needs in a diverse and changing environment.

The strategy focuses on the following 3 priority areas:

• core corporate capabilities
• functional or role-based capabilities
• identifying and nurturing talent.

During 2020–21, we delivered the following learning and development initiatives:

• leadership programs targeting future leaders currently at the APS6 to EL2 levels
• core corporate, functional and role-based offerings, including managing unreasonable complainant conduct, workplace investigations and training to support the development of staff at APS levels
• an enhanced mandatory learning package, with the addition of the newly developed Public Interest Disclosure e-learning module and the full SBS inclusion e-learning program
• a range of mental health and wellbeing programs –
  • to support staff in roles with increased risk for vicarious trauma and unreasonable complainant conduct
  • for all staff to understand and manage their own and their team’s wellbeing
  • to promote mental health and wellbeing in general.

The Office also moved to the virtual delivery of training courses both as a response to COVID-19 and to improve the accessibility of training programs across all offices and transitioned to automated course registrations and approvals through the Office’s Learning Management System (Learnhub).

Work health and safety

The Office is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy workplace for all our staff, contractors and visitors. We acknowledge our employer responsibilities under the WHS Act, the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 and relevant anti-discrimination legislation.

Health and safety initiatives undertaken in 2020–21 include:

• a streamlined home based work process and procedure and continuation of ergonomic assessments to support safe working in both home and office environments
• a vulnerable worker ‘return to office’ procedure (to support staff at increased risk of COVID-19 to safely return to the office)
• continuation of COVID-19 wellbeing check-ins for staff – especially those most affected by lockdowns
• continuation of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider and specialised wellbeing services, including critical incident support and debriefing sessions for teams dealing with unreasonable complainant conduct
• refinement of specialised wellbeing services for areas identified as ‘high risk’ due to the nature of the work, including an enhanced screening questionnaire and analysis of high-level wellbeing trend data
• free flu vaccinations for staff and contractors rolled out in accordance with COVID-19 safe practices
• ongoing support under the Office’s Early Intervention Policy to address early signs of injury and illness
• biannual workplace safety inspections to ensure compliance with the WHS Act from a physical and psychological perspective
• training and refresher training for Emergency Contact Officers (Health and Safety Representatives, Harassment Contact Officers, First Aid Officers and Emergency Wardens)
• a new set of Emergency Management Guidelines and Procedures for each Office
• a COVID-19 Risk Register underpinned by broader Office Risk Register in correlation with broader Work Health and Safety Risk Register.

During the reporting period, there were no notifiable incidents.

Employment arrangements

The Office’s enterprise agreement 2017–20 came into effect on 31 August 2017. A determination made under subsection 24(1) of the Public Service Act 1999 applies to non-Senior Executive Staff (SES) employees covered by the enterprise agreement. The determination took effect on 1 September 2020 and will continue to operate until it is replaced by a new enterprise agreement or another determination.

At 30 June 2021, a total of 226 staff were covered under the current agreement. The agreement does not make provision for performance pay. Salary advancement within each of the non-SES classifications is linked to performance. Ten staff had an Individual Flexibility Arrangement in place under the provisions contained in the agreement.

Conditions are provided for SES under s 24(1) of the Public Service Act 1999. Determinations under s 24(1) of the Public Service Act 1999 provide SES annual salary advancement based on performance and do not make provision for performance pay.

The Office does not have any staff employed under Australian Workplace Agreements or common law contracts.

The Office offers non-salary benefits to our staff under the agreement and other individual industrial instruments. These benefits incorporate various types of leave, such as annual, personal and long service leave, flexible working arrangements, access to salary packaging, lifestyle reimbursement and eyewear reimbursement for screen-based work.

Diversity and inclusion

The Office values a diverse workforce and strives to foster an inclusive workplace. The Office’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategy ensures we value and respect the diversity of our staff, stakeholders and partners.

Actions taken in 2020–21 revolved around recruitment, cultural competence and retention and engagement of diverse groups. Recruitment initiatives included affirmative rounds for people with a disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the specific recruitment of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduate. Cultural competence and diversity training was mandated for all existing and new staff through e-learning and face-to-face training. Retention and engagement were encouraged through diversity staff networks and the celebration of important cultural events, such as NAIDOC week.

Workforce profile

At 30 June 2021, there were 234 staff (217.56 full time equivalent) employed in the Office. These figures include the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman, who are statutory office holders.

Women made up 68 per cent of the Office’s workforce. Part-time staff represented 24 per cent. Staff identifying as Indigenous made up 3 per cent of our workforce, and 7 per cent of staff identified as living with a disability.

See Appendix 4 for a breakdown of the Office’s workforce, including:

• remuneration for senior executives
• ongoing and non-going employees (current and previous)
• APS Act ongoing and non-ongoing employees (current and previous)
• APS Act full-time and part-time employees (current and previous)
• APS Act employment type by location (current and previous)
• APS Act Indigenous employment (current and previous)
• APS Act employment arrangements (current and previous).

Purchasing

The Office is committed to achieving the best value for money in procurement activities and manages this using procurement practices consistent with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules. This includes the use of the Commonwealth Contracting Suite to prepare approaches to market and to formalise contracts. The procurement practices are supported by the Accountable Authority Instructions and internal policies and guidelines.

To improve efficiency in procurement, the Office accesses established procurement panels where possible. The Office supports small business participation in the Australian Government procurement market. Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Small Enterprise participation statistics are available on the Department of Finance website at finance.gov.au. The Office’s procurement methods do not discriminate against SMEs.

Our policies and processes include a requirement to visit the Supply Nation website at supplynation.org.au first to check whether any Indigenous businesses can provide the goods or services required. We seek to enter engagements with Indigenous businesses where possible, ensuring our procurement arrangements adhere to the value for money and best-fit principles.

All procurements of more than $10,000 are published on the AusTender website at tenders.gov.au as soon as practicable.

Consultancy contracts

The Office is a non-corporate Australian Government entity and engages consultancy services when expertise is not available internally or when independent advice is required. Consultancy services include financial services, IT development and mediation services.

The Office does not administer any grant programs.

TABLE 9: TOTAL REPORTABLE CONSULTANCY CONTRACT EXPENDITURE IN 2020–21

Reportable consultancies contracts 2020–21	Number	Expenditure $ (GST inclusive)
New contracts entered into during the reporting period	5	224,901
Ongoing contracts entered into during a previous reporting period	3	46,805
Total	8	271,706

Organisations receiving a share of reportable consultancy contract expenditure 2020–21	Expenditure $ (GST inclusive)	Proportion of 2020–21 total spend (%)
Portable	86,827	32
Cleared Security	63,360	23
Synergy Group Australia Pty Ltd	60,000	22
Mr Ildo Alfred Bongi	18,260	7
Mr William Laurie	14,850	5
Total of largest shares	243,297	90

During 2020–21, five new reportable consultancy contracts were entered into involving total actual expenditure of $0.2 million. In addition, three ongoing reportable consultancy contracts were active during the period, involving total actual expenditure of $46,805. Annual reports contain information about actual expenditure on reportable consultancy contracts. Information on the value of reportable consultancy contracts is available on the AusTender website.

Decisions to engage consultants during 2020–21 were made in accordance with the PGPA Act and related regulations including the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and relevant internal policies. The Office selects consultants through the use of panel arrangements or by making an open approach to market. The Office engages consultants when it requires specialist expertise on policy design, financial viability, and information technology strategic planning. Independent evaluations on the Office’s outcomes are also required.

TABLE 10: TOTAL REPORTABLE NON-CONSULTANCY CONTRACT EXPENDITURE IN 2020–21

Reportable non-consultancy contracts 2020–21	Number	Expenditure $ (GST inclusive)
New contracts entered into during the reporting period	107	4,086,584
Ongoing contracts entered into during a previous reporting period	141	12,869,198
Total	248	16,955,782

Organisations receiving a share of reportable consultancy contract expenditure 2020–21	Expenditure $ (GST inclusive)	Proportion of 2020–21 total spend (%)
Randstad Pty Limited	4,474,692	26
Childers Nominees Pty Ltd	1,966,904	12
Hays Personnel Services Australia Pty Ltd	1,074,712	6
DFP Recruitment Services	1,037,249	6
Beaumont & Beaumont	856,518	5
Total of largest shares	9,410,076	55

During 2020–21 new reportable non-consultancy contracts were entered into involving total expenditure of $4.1 million. In addition, 141 ongoing reportable contracts were active during the period, involving total actual expenditure of $12.9 million.

Annual reports contain information about actual expenditure on reportable non-consultancy contracts. Information on the reportable non-consultancy contracts’ value is available on the AusTender website. The major contracting activities are for short-term labour hire contracts, property lease payments and information technology purchases used to upgrade the hardware and software of the Office.

Advertising campaigns

During 2020–21, the Office conducted an advertising campaign to promote changes to the Defence Reparation Payment Scheme. Further information on the advertising campaign is available at ombudsman.gov.au/How-we-can-help/australian-defence-force/reporting-abuse-in-defence. The $49,866.45 (GST incl.) cost of the advertising campaign does not meet the threshold for reporting to the Department of Finance.

Exempt contracts

The Office did not procure any contracts amounting to more than $10,000 that were exempt from reporting on AusTender website at tenders.gov.au

Compliance reporting

There were no significant issues reported to the responsible Minister under paragraph 19(1) of the PGPA Act that relate to non-compliance with finance law by the Office.

An internal compliance process was undertaken throughout the year, and the results were considered by the Senior Leadership Group and the Audit and Risk Committee.

Asset management

The assets managed by our Office include information and communication technology (ICT) assets, plant and equipment, property and intangible assets such as software. Except for the property assets, these assets are handled internally. The Office has a 5-year capital replacement and capital investment plan that predicts our asset requirements.

Our ICT assets are managed in-house. Our property, plant and equipment assets are primarily ICT assets supported by maintenance agreements and warranties. Intangible assets comprise software and websites either supported internally or through a support contract. The other major asset is property leasehold fit-out.

Disability reporting

There is reporting on the employer’s role under the Disability Strategy in the Australian Public Service Commission’s State of the Service reports and the APS Statistical Bulletin. These reports are available on the Australian Public Service Commission website at apsc.gov.au .

The National Disability Strategy 2010–2020, which sets out a 10-year national policy framework to improve the lives of people with disability, promote participation and create a more inclusive society. A high-level, 2-yearly report will track progress against each of the 6 outcome areas of the strategy and present a picture of how people with disability are faring. The first of these progress reports was published in 2014 and can be found on the Department of Social Services website at dss.gov.au