Corporate support functions
Corporate Governance Group (CGG)
The CGG meets monthly to assist the Director-General in discharging his accountabilities to achieve the department’s objectives. CGG held eight ordinary, two out-of-session, and 11 extraordinary meetings during 2016–17.
Membership
Chaired by the Director-General, CGG also includes the following members:
- Deputy Director-General, Corporate and Government Services
- Deputy Director-General, Strategy and Engagement
- Deputy Director-General, Policy
- Cabinet Secretary
- Deputy Director-General, Arts Queensland
- Queensland Parliamentary Counsel
- Executive Director, Office of the Director-General.
Role
The role of the CGG is to:
- support the Director-General in decision making and advising on matters of strategic importance
- identify and report on emerging governance issues and major activities
- provide assurance on the effectiveness of governance arrangements
- review and approve corporate policies and processes
- act as a forum for strategic information sharing
- embed risk management activities and manage risk mitigation strategies
- consider impacts of whole-of-government initiatives on the department’s activities
- act as the department’s crisis management group and meet during a disruption to oversee the department’s internal and whole-of-government responsibilities.
To manage the department’s key duties and responsibilities, sub-committees, chaired by CGG members, support the function of the CGG. These sub-committees provide regular updates to CGG on progress of their respective key focus areas.
The Finance Committee
The Finance Committee meets quarterly and provides reports to the CGG. The committee met six times during the year and is chaired by the Deputy Director‑General, Policy.
Role
The role of the Finance Committee is to:
- guide the annual budget processes
- monitor and report on DPC’s financial performance against priorities and approved budgets
- formulate strategies for improving DPC’s financial position including implications of whole‑of‑government financial policy developments
- provide executive-level oversight of strategic procurement issues in accordance with departmental priorities
- consider strategic and operational financial risk for DPC and develop appropriate mitigation.
Performance and Strategy Committee
The Performance and Strategy Committee meets quarterly and provides reports to the CGG. The committee met four times during the year and is chaired by the Deputy Director-General, Strategy and Engagement.
Role
The Performance and Strategy Committee has a performance (operational) and a strategy (transformational) role. Its performance role is to oversee:
- delivery of key commitment, objectives and priorities
- performance management practices in the department as outlined in the DPC Corporate Performance Management Framework.
The Committee’s strategy role is to:
- drive the implementation of the strategic plan
- identify transformational projects and initiatives
- determine the selection, prioritisation and resourcing of projects and other activities
- oversee key stakeholder relationships, feedback and strategies.
People and Capability Committee
The People and Capability Committee meets quarterly and provides reports to the CGG. The committee met four times during the year and is chaired by the Deputy Director‑General, Corporate and Government Services.
Role
The role of the People and Capability Committee is to:
- embed a workforce culture that upholds the Queensland Public Service values and commits to the highest standards of ethical behaviour
- enhance leadership capability in order to drive higher levels of organisational performance, culture and engagement
- optimise workforce capability and capacity.
Risk Committee
The Risk Committee meets quarterly and provides reports to the CGG. The committee met four times during the year and is chaired by the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel.
Role
The role of the Risk Committee is to:
- advocate and implement DPC’s risk management framework
- endorse DPC’s risk appetite and review its ongoing application
- monitor the department’s risk profile and exposure to significant risks
- oversee the department’s ICT risks
- monitor security policies and practices
- review and assess significant emerging risk areas
- act as a forum for the discussion of significant operational risk issues.
1 William Street Transition Committee
The 1 William Street Transition Committee was established temporarily and provided reports to the CGG. The committee met 10 times during 2016–17. The committee was disbanded in December 2016.
Role
The role of the 1 William Street Transition Committee was to monitor the delivery of transition projects and guide the transition team regarding business requirements and management of issues.
Audit and Risk Management Committee (ARMC)
The department’s ARMC was established by the Director-General, the accountable officer for the department, as required by section 35(1) of the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009. As required by section 35(2) of the standard, terms of reference outline the role of the committee.
During 2016–17, the ARMC observed the terms of its charter and had due regard to Queensland Treasury’s Audit Committee Guidelines, issued in 2012. In accordance with its terms of reference the ARMC met four times during 2016–17.
The Chief Finance Officer, the Director Internal Audit and Risk, a representative from the Queensland Audit Office (QAO) and a representative from the internal audit service provider have standing invitations as observers to attend all committee meetings. Departmental officers may be invited to attend meetings as required.
Membership
The ARMC comprises:
| Name | Committee role | Position | Portion of the year as a member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jenny Parker | Chair | Independent | July 2016 – June 2017 |
| Neil Jackson | Member | Independent | July 2016 – June 2017 |
| Bronwyn Morris | Member | Independent | July 2016 – June 2017 |
| Peter McKay | Member | Deputy Commissioner, PSC | July 2016 – June 2017 |
| Filly Morgan | Member | Deputy Director-General, Corporate and Government Services, DPC | July 2016 – June 2017 |
| Dave Stewart | Attendee | Director-General | July 2016 – June 2017 |
| Robert Setter | Attendee | Commission Chief Executive, Public Service Commission | July 2016 – June 2017 |
Role
The role of the ARMC is to provide independent assurance and assistance to the Director-General on the risk, control and compliance frameworks and the department’s external accountability responsibilities.
The ARMC’s responsibilities include overseeing the:
- annual financial statements, ensuring appropriateness of accounting policies and management assumptions
- internal audit plan and audit findings
- external audit reports
- Risk Management Framework
- performance, monitoring and reporting activities.
The ARMC also serves the Commission Chief Executive, Public Service Commission.
Remuneration
As the chair of the committee, Jenny Parker is entitled to be paid $230 (excluding GST) per hour, to prepare for and attend meetings. The Chair attended all four meetings held during 2016–17 and received $7370 (excluding GST) for this period.
As an independent member of the committee, Neil Jackson is entitled to be paid $210 per hour (excluding GST) to prepare for and attend meetings. The independent member attended all four meetings held during 2016–17 and received $5040 (excluding GST) in remuneration.
As an independent member of the committee, Bronwyn Morris is entitled to $210 per hour (excluding GST) to prepare for and attend meetings. The independent member attended all four meetings held during 2016–17 and received $5040 (excluding GST) in remuneration.
Key achievements for 2016–17
- Approved the annual internal audit plan and monitored the ongoing delivery of the internal audit program, which included 13 reviews across the department.
- Approved the updates to departmental risk management materials based on the QAO risk maturity assessment template.
- Monitored progress of the implementation status of internal audit recommendations.
- Received and considered external audit reports and monitored the implementation status of agreed actions against recommendations made (refer to External Scrutiny for further information).
- Endorsed the financial statements for 2015–16 and considered the ongoing financial position of the department.
- Considered the ongoing corporate governance and risk management activities.
Risk management
In accordance with the Financial Accountability Act 2009, the Director-General, DPC has established appropriate systems of internal control and risk management. This has been achieved through the maintenance of a risk management framework, and oversight by the ARMC. DPC’s risk management framework aligns with the Australian Standard AS/ NZ ISO 31000:2009 on risk management principles and guidelines and includes appropriate governance arrangements and risk reporting and analysis.
DPC is committed to a philosophy and culture that ensures risk management is an integral part of all activities. This minimises vulnerability to internal and external events and influences that could impact on the achievement of its objectives and strategic priorities. The department recognises that innovation may attract risk and encourages the appropriate management of potential benefits versus risk.
To support the achievement of strategic objectives, risk management continues to be embedded throughout the department through proactive executive involvement and assessment and treatment of risk, including fraud and corruption risks.
DPC’s 2016–2020 Strategic Plan identified five overarching strategic risks. DPC’s divisions are responsible for identifying and managing operational risks. ARMC oversees the department’s risk management system and it is a standing agenda item at their quarterly meetings. The DPC Risk Committee that reports to the Corporate Governance Group, refers matters to the ARMC for consideration.
Internal audit
During 2016–17 the internal audit service was managed by the department’s Director of Internal Audit and Risk with delivery of the program being outsourced to a third party provider, KPMG.
Internal audit provides independent assurance and advice to the Director-General, senior management and the ARMC. It enhances the department’s corporate governance environment through an objective, systematic approach to evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of processes, internal controls and risk management practices. This is in accordance with the role detailed in the Financial Accountability Act 2009.
The internal audit function operates in accordance with an approved Internal Audit Charter that incorporates professional standards and the Queensland Treasury Audit Committee Guidelines. The function is independent of the activities it reviews, of management and of the QAO. The internal audit function is continually monitored to ensure it operates effectively, efficiently and economically.
Key achievements for 2016–17
- Developed an internal audit plan based on strategic risks and operational risk registers and presented the plan to the ARMC for approval.
- Successfully executed the internal audit plan, providing reports to the ARMC and Director‑General.
- Monitored and reported on the status of implementation of internal audit recommendations to the ARMC.
- Supported management by providing advice on corporate governance and related issues including fraud and corruption prevention programs and risk management.
External scrutiny
External audits and reviews add value to the public sector through recommendations that improve business operations. In 2016–17, the following reports were published by the QAO that were relevant to DPC:
QAO Report 1: 2016–17 — Strategic procurement
This report examined departmental compliance with the Queensland Procurement Policy in relation to the procurement of services and supplies. The report specifically recommended that DPC work with Queensland Treasury and the Department of Housing and Public Works (DHPW) to review and confirm the role and authority of the Office of the Chief Advisor-Procurement, and assess the merits of retaining the role within DHPW (rather than within a central agency). In response to a general recommendation that agencies develop a procurement plan, DPC is in the process of implementing such a plan.
QAO Report 3: 2016–17 — Follow-up: Monitoring and reporting performance
This report was a follow-up on Report 18: 2013–14 — Monitoring and reporting performance (tabled 26 June 2014), in which QAO sought to determine if non‑financial performance information in budget papers was outcome-based and whether it was relevant, useful, readily understood and measured what it was stated to measure. In response, the DPC Corporate Performance Management Framework was approved at the 23 February 2017 meeting of the CCG. DPC’s Performance Unit has also reviewed the Queensland Government Performance Management Framework to address the recommendations in the original audit report.
QAO Report 8: 2016–17 — 2015–16 Results of financial audits
This report summarises QAO’s analysis of the financial position, performance, and sustainability of the Queensland Government, as reported in the consolidated state government financial statements. It also summarises the timeliness and quality of financial reporting by public sector entities. The Auditor-General has certified without qualification that DPC has complied with financial management requirements, the financial statements are accurate and fair and that DPC met the statutory timeframes for the preparation of the financial reports for 2016–17.
QAO Report 16: 2016–17 — Government advertising
This report examined the economy of government purchasing of advertising, the effectiveness of a selection of advertising campaigns, and the application of governance frameworks. DPC agreed to all recommendations and is leading implementation.
QAO Report 17: 2016–17 — Organisational structure and accountability
This audit reviewed the strategic plan and organisational structure of 18 departments, and assessed how these plans reference the government’s overarching strategic direction and clearly demonstrate the department’s contribution towards them.
Information systems
The department purchases transactional processing services from Queensland Shared Services and uses the whole-of-government systems for finance and human resource management services respectively.
DPC uses an electronic document and records management system to provide secure, effective and efficient management of corporate records and also for workflow of ministerial and executive correspondence. A customised version of this system is used for managing whole‑of‑government proposed Cabinet submissions. This business system has enhanced information security and business functionality.
Key achievements for 2016–17
- Successful transition into 1 William Street with minimal disruption of DPC IT services while continuing to supporting a mobile and flexible workforce.
- Implemented a face-to-face Information Security Awareness Training program across the department.
Records management
DPC continued its commitment to quality records management with the provision of policies, processes and systems to support sound decision making and accountability.
Key achievements for 2016–17
- As part of the 1 William Street transition, a significant proportion of the department’s physical records were transferred to either the Queensland State Archives or secure offsite storage facilities.
Future directions for 2017–18
- The department’s electronic document and records management system is being upgraded. The upgrade will give enhanced system functionality, performance and security. The Information Management team is continuing to encourage a ‘paperlite’ culture by providing support and advice (including policies and guides) that fosters good record keeping practices and reduces reliance on physical paper records.
Open data
The following datasets will be published on the open data website at data.qld.gov.au
- consultancies
- language services
- overseas travel.