Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts annual report 2008-09
Volume one
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, 2009
ISSN 1441-9335
Managing the department (continued)
Stakeholder relations
The department strives to provide a high standard of service to its clients. These include: ministers; other Australian Government departments and agencies; state, territory and local government bodies; non-government organisations; industry; and members of the wider community.
The department values the views of its clients and stakeholders. It acknowledges and values the right of stakeholders to scrutinise its actions.
Formal and informal consultation is conducted with relevant external stakeholders in the course of policy development, and also during the design and implementation of programs run by the department.
During the year, the department supported ministers in major public consultations on energy efficiency and water policy. The department also conducted significant consultations on: the proposal for a national waste policy; the implementation of the Caring for our Country program; as part of its review of the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage legislation; to inform development of a national arts and disability strategy; and on marine bioregional planning processes.
Ethical Standards
The department is committed to ensuring its employees maintain the high ethical standards of the Australian Public Service (APS). Employees must comply with the APS Values and APS Code of Conduct. New arrangements ensure all staff members participate in training in the code.
The People Management Branch has increased its activity on the Code of Conduct and underperformance, by an extension of greater support to line areas. This has resulted in an increase in awareness of policy and processes among managers and staff members.
The department has participated in the commencement of the Australian Public Service Commission Ethics Advisory Service. As a result, the department is undertaking further development of its ethical standards arrangements and has appointed an Ethics Contact Officer. During 2008-09 the department commenced the review and development of a range of peoplerelated policies, which will contribute over time to a strengthening of the department's ethical framework.
Ministerial and parliamentary services
The department advises and supports portfolio ministers and the parliamentary secretary, through briefings and policy advice, assistance in responding to their correspondence and administrative assistance to organise and transact government business.
Ministerial workflow system
In March 2009 the department commenced a review of its ministerial workflow system and processes to establish a development path for future arrangements. This coincides with the work of the Common Parliamentary Business Process Steering Committee (CPBPSC). The Committee is focused on delivering common business processes and a governance framework for parliamentary workflow and management solutions, across government agencies. The department's internal review will make its preliminary recommendations in August 2009.
From December 2007 the Department of Climate Change (DCC), after its establishment, adopted the department's ministerial workflow system (Slipstream) as part of the broader support arrangements provided by the department. This arrangement ended in March 2009, when DCC moved its parliamentary workflow activities to another system.
Workflow Statistics for 2008-09
In 2008-09, 19 472 items of correspondence were received by ministers and registered on the department's database. The department again prepared over 3000 briefing submissions for ministers; it aims to ensure that submissions arrive in the minister's office a minimum of five working days before a decision is required.
The following chart shows the growth in ministerial correspondence over the past five years. After a record year in 2007-08, the volume of correspondence received was down in 2008-09. However, given the continued strong public interest in environmental issues, a return to higher volumes would not be unexpected.
| Year | Number of correspondence items |
|---|---|
| 2004-05 | 8507 |
| 2005-06 | 10 844 |
| 2006-07 | 15 831 |
| 2007-08 | 21 820 |
| 2008-09 | 19 472 |
The department's Ministerial and Parliamentary Services Section monitors the timeliness and accuracy of briefs and draft replies to correspondence provided to the minister. It uses rejection rates as a measure of accuracy. This provides a surrogate indicator of the minister's satisfaction. In 2008-09, 844 items of correspondence were returned to the department for redrafting, 4.3 per cent of total correspondence received.
One recent noticeable change has been an increase in the number of questions placed on notice by senators at, or following, Senate Estimates hearings. The number almost tripled in 2008-09, compared to the previous year, as indicated in the following table:
| Year | Number of Questions |
|---|---|
| 2005-06 | 205 |
| 2006-07 | 188 |
| 2007-08 | 267 |
| 2008-09 | 741 |
Community information
The increase in portfolio programs brought a significant rise in requests for information. In response, the department engaged the services of external contact centres to provide additional information services. The details of these services can be found in the reports of the relevant program outcomes.
The department continues to maintain a Community Information Unit in-house that receives requests for information and feedback on the department's services. The unit also manages the department's publications shopfront.
In 2008-09 the Community Information Unit responded to 40 944 enquiries from the Australian community; 62 per cent about grant and rebate programs and 38 per cent seeking general information about the department and its programs. The unit distributed 140 077 publications.
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enquiries | 48 618 | 49 695 | 40 944 |
| Publications distributed | 264 083 | 211 233 | 140 077 |
| Shopfront visitors | 9959 | 7982 | 6627 |
| Website visits | 12 269 321 | 13 179 064 | 11 382 861 |
Service charter
The department's service charter for 2005-2008 set out the standards of service clients can expect and how to give feedback on performance. The service charter was reviewed during the year, and the new charter was put in place from 1 July 2009, covering the period 2009-2012. The charter is available at www.environment.gov.au/about/publications/charter.html or in hard copy by contacting the Community Information Unit toll free on 1800 803 772.
The Client Service Officer can be contacted at:
Client Service Officer
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: 02 6274 1323
Fax: 02 6274 1322
Email: Client.Service@environment.gov.au
The department received 54 enquiries through its Client Service Officer in 2008-09. The majority of these were requests for information and assistance, which were forwarded to the appropriate work area for action.
Complaints about service
The department received one complaint through its Client Service Officer in 2008-09. The complaint related to the handling of a funding application.
Feedback on performance of service delivery
The department received 23 responses on its service delivery standards through its Client Service Officer in 2008-09. Of these, 12 rated the department as providing adequate or excellent service and 11 rated 11 as providing inadequate or poor service. Many of the negative responses related to delays in providing information.
Access and equity
The department contributed to the Australian Government's Access and Equity Report 2006-08, which was tabled in parliament on 18 March 2009. It reports on progress in implementing the Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society.
The department is committed to the concept of valuing differences and adapting work practices to take into account the individuality of staff and government policy on Equal Employment Opportunity, Human Rights, Equity and Merit. This commitment is reflected in the department's Disability Action Plan 2009-2011. For more information refer to the section on Human Resources in this chapter.
The department has a culturally diverse client base and a range of Australian Government programs administered by the department aim to support Indigenous arts, culture, languages and broadcasting. Refer to the Outcome - 4 Arts and Culture chapter, for more information about these programs.
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