Government Executive Support

Government Executive Support (GES) is delivered by Government Services and Corporate Services.

Government Services is comprised of the Anzac Centenary Coordination Unit, Appointments and Constitutional Services, Ministerial Services, and Strategic Engagement and Protocol (Communication Services, Events Coordination and Protocol Queensland).

Government Services provides:

• policy and operational advice and support to the Premier in relation to executive government and machinery of government matters
• support to the administration of business before Executive Council
• support services to ministerial offices and the Leader of the Opposition.

In addition, it leads whole-of-government sponsorships and communication activities, manages and coordinates events including the Anzac Centenary commemoration program, state occasions, official visits and functions.

Corporate Services delivers high-quality corporate support to customers and stakeholders using contemporary systems and processes, as well as increasing employee engagement and capability by investing in organisational culture and developing a talented and diverse workforce.

This service contributed to the DPC 2014–18 Strategic Plan objectives to:

• provide the Premier with independent and forward-looking policy advice
• lead a resilient innovative public sector
• strengthen organisational capability and agility
• deliver a long-term strategic vision for Queensland.

The following table provides results against targets for GES for 2014–15:

Service standards	Notes	2013–14 Target/est.	2013–14 Est. actual	2013–14 Actual
Customer satisfaction with support and advice provided by Government Services	1	85%	96%	96%
Customer satisfaction with support and advice provided by Corporate Services	2	85%	93%	93%
Cost of Corporate Services as a percentage of departmental cost	3	15%	12%	12%

Notes:

1. This service standard informs on overall satisfaction levels with quality, timeliness and support provided by Government Services and is derived from an annual client survey. Customers are Ministers, Directors-General and their agency’s Cabinet Legislation and Liaison Officers and Senior Policy Officers.
2. This service standard informs on the overall satisfaction level of internal customers on services provided by Corporate Services. Customers are departmental officers, including the Director-General and executive management.
3. This service standard informs on the overall cost of Corporate Services as a percentage of the total departmental budget.

Case study

Cairns G20 Tropical Jam celebration

On 16 September 2014, the Cairns community celebrated the G20 with a star-studded Tropical Jam concert ahead of the meeting with world Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors.

Held in Fogarty Park, Tropical Jam featured a vibrant line-up of Australia’s finest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and showcased Cairns’ best local talent.

Headline acts Christine Anu, Busby Marou and Mau Power were supported by Queensland Youth Orchestra, Cairns’ own Black Image and the Sounds of AustraNesian choir with special guest James Morrison.

Local bands and artists including the Yarrabah Brass Band, Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy School Band, Cairns State High School Band and traditional dance groups from the Cairns region also performed.

The concert brought the Cairns community together to celebrate its cultural diversity while the international spotlight shone on the city for the G20 meeting.

Tropical Jam was realised through a partnership with the G20 Cultural Celebrations with the department and the Queensland Music Festival.

Key achievements for 2014–15

• Provided key support for the G20 Cultural Celebrations, which saw the delivery of a vibrant program of more than 150 free events over 24 days with an estimated attendance of 280,000 people.
• Effectively managed the Premier’s correspondence, including almost 74,000 pieces of incoming correspondence.
• Managed the change of government arrangements with the establishment of offices for 14 new Ministers and the office for the new Leader of the Opposition.
• Led the swearing in of the new state Governor, the Premier and new ministry.
• Administered the Queensland Anzac Centenary grants program, awarding over $3.2 million for 140 community projects across Queensland.
• Engaged Queenslanders in the Anzac Centenary commemoration program, and delivered and coordinated a range of events across Queensland.
• Coordinated key departmental award programs including the Premier’s Awards for Excellence, the Queensland Reconciliation Awards and Domestic Violence Roundtables.
• Negotiated, contracted and managed a total of $3,443,154 worth of sponsorship to deliver benefits for the Queensland Government, comprising $1,689,939 in outgoing sponsorship (cash and in-kind) and $1,753,215 worth of incoming sponsorship (cash and in-kind).
• Organised 40 official functions and state occasions; coordinated 33 official visits of senior foreign officials and Foreign Heads of Mission including representatives from the United States of America, United Kingdom, India, Indonesia and China and delivered Premier trade missions to the United States of America and Singapore.

The Government Executive Support performance measures for 2014–15 (discontinued):

Service standards	Notes	2013–14 Target/est.	2013–14 Est. actual	2013–14 actual
Average cost of delivery of Government Services
Statewide community newsletter	1	-	12 cents	Discontinued measures
Coordination of official overseas visits	2	n/a	n/a	Discontinued measures

Notes:

1. This service standard has been discontinued as the community newsletter initiative is being reviewed.
2. The cost of coordination of official overseas visits service standard has been discontinued. Overseas travel is reported on Open Data www.qld.gov.au/data

Future directions for 2015–16

• Develop and implement:
  • the cloud strategy for the ministerial network in consultation with clients and key stakeholders
  • new media analysis initiatives, particularly for departmental campaign activities.
• Collaborate across departments to lead whole-of-government strategic communication, including developing North Queensland and whole-of-government communication strategies.
• Lead the review of:
  • Chief Executive Officer appointments to government bodies to ensure chief executive officers are appointed to government bodies on a consistent and justifiable basis
  • over 300 government bodies to help verify that each body continues to perform a separately needed role.
• Conduct an Australia-wide analysis on the functioning of executive councils to ensure administrative processes remain at the forefront of current practice.
• Plan and prepare for the move of government offices to 1 William Street.
• Plan, fund and deliver engaging commemorative events and leverage the Australian War Memorial’s Spirit of the Anzac Centenary tour.
• Collaborate with legacy project partners to commemorate the First World War in meaningful ways across Queensland.
• Implement a range of initiatives under the health and wellbeing program that are focused on fostering and promoting a healthy workplace environment.
• Improve and modernise the executive correspondence process to ensure positive engagement with the public is maintained.
• Provide a strong corporate governance framework built on a model of integrity, accountability and transparency for internal and external stakeholders.
• Coordinate the future whole-of-government Policy Futures graduate program and recruit approximately 35 university graduates to be placed across 12 agencies to undertake a two-year program.

Statutory reports

The Ministerial and Other Officer Holder Staff Act 2010 (the Act) provides a discrete framework for the employment of Ministerial staff, staff of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and staff of other non-government Members of Parliament (where determined necessary based on the composition of the Legislative Assembly).

The employer for these staff is the Director-General DPC who employs staff on the recommendation of the Premier, the Leader of the Opposition, or relevant Member of Parliament respectively.

During 2014–15 there were no staff employed under the Act to support a non-government Member of Parliament other than the Leader of the Opposition.

The Act covers the work performance and conduct of staff members through the inclusion of performance and personal conduct principles, ethics values and a specific provision that staff members are not empowered to direct public servants in their own right.

The Act provides that the Director-General DPC may issue directives or guidelines about employment matters. In the preceding 12 months there have been no new directives issued under the Act.

A total of 474 staff were employed under the Act for the financial year ending 30 June 2015, with 185 staff employed as at 30 June 2015.

Case study

Policy Futures – a leading-edge program

In early 2016 the first tranche of 34 newly-appointed graduates will commence across government as part of the department’s centrally-coordinated Policy Futures whole-of-government graduate program. This was the culmination of nine months work led by Organisational Culture in partnership with Communication Services and Human Resources.

A targeted public relations campaign commenced in March 2015 to attract high-performing, outcome-focused candidates. Real-life case studies showcased the department employees talking about diverse career opportunities offered in government to change perception in the market place.

Policy Futures competed against 150 private and public graduate programs receiving over 740 applications, and was positioned against leading organisations such as Accenture, Ernst and Young, KPMG and PwC

During April and May 2015, 463 preferred candidates participated in cognitive testing, 335 progressed to video screening and 206 attended assessment centres. One hundred and six applicants made it to the final three days of rotational interviews. Queensland Government agency colleagues attended the assessment centres and rotational interviews to assist with the recruitment selection process.

Offers were presented to 34 preferred candidates in mid-May, with a 100 per cent acceptance rate. Work continues with other Queensland Government agencies to finalise the graduate’s learning and development opportunities in the first round of line agency placements.

Organisational Culture has been contacted by New Zealand’s Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and New South Wales’ Public Service Commission who are eager to replicate the Policy Futures program.

Policy Futures graduates will commence a two-year program in February next year undertaking three rotations across DPC and 11 other Queensland Government agencies.

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