INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Finance's international activities in 2000–01 encouraged our people to develop their expertise in new environments and fortified the Department's international reputation. Building on its successful work in 1999-2000, a small team from Finance continued to be based in East Timor this year to provide technical assistance to the East Timor Central Fiscal Authority. This included assisting with the preparation and implementation of the 2000–01 East Timorese budget and the planning phase of the 2001–02 budget. Our long-term goal with this project is to transfer knowledge and skills and to build the capacity of the nascent East Timorese civil service.

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In January 2001, Budget Group participated in a staff exchange programme with the New Zealand Treasury. The exchange was an excellent opportunity for the two officers involved and their home organisations to develop a greater understanding and exchange ideas. Each exchange officer contributed to the 2001–02 Budget process in his or her host country.

While in New Zealand, the Australian Finance officer participated in the review of the New Zealand Defence Force Remuneration structure and future management of the New Zealand Defence Force funding. While in Australia, the New Zealand Treasury officer provided to Finance a detailed analysis of its future role in the Defence output structure. In her report, the New Zealand officer drew extensively on New Zealand's decade-long experience with accrual budgeting. This work will assist both Finance and Defence in further developing the Defence performance management framework.

Finance and the New Zealand Treasury considered the staff exchange programme a success, with both agencies supporting further exchanges in the future.

Finance consolidated its international reputation by hosting several overseas delegations. Officials from China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Korea, Ireland, Japan, Samoa and South Africa visited the Department in 2000–01 to observe our budgetary framework in action. While in Australia, most of these delegations spent one or two days with Finance. The Department uses these opportunities to share our experience in respect to a range of issues. As the largest economy to introduce accrual budgeting, Australia has excited a great deal of international interest in its implementation of accrual accounting and outcomes and outputs reporting, including pricing reviews, cash management and our Budget process and accompanying documentation.