CONTENTS
- Changes to the Flipchart – 06 February 2023
- AGOR 1 January 2023 Quarterly Report & Geographic Diversity Report
- Organisations and Appointments Register – new GovTEAMS Community
- Update to Evaluation Toolkit (RMG-130)
- Release of the 2022-23 financial statements guidance (updates to RMG-116 and RMG-125)
- APS Academy Accounting and Finance Month
- Attorney-General's Department - Commonwealth Fraud Rule
- 2023 Commonwealth Risk Management Policy
- Australian Signals Directorate Expression of Interest – Enterprise Performance
- Tip of the Month
Changes to the Flipchart – 6 February 2023
Australian Building and Construction Commission - Abolished
On 2 December 2022, Parliament passed the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (the Act). Amongst other things, Schedule 1, Part 3, Division 2 of the Act abolishes the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) upon commencement. The effect of this is that from 6 February 2023, the ABCC has ceased as a non-corporate Commonwealth entity within the Employment and Workplace Relations portfolio.
Further detail on this update is available in the Table of Changes for 2022-23. Here are the latest versions of the Flipchart and its associated List of Commonwealth entities and companies.
Feedback on the Flipchart and List and how you use these tools are always welcome and can be sent to PGPA@finance.gov.au.
AGOR 1 January 2023 Quarterly Report & Geographic Diversity Report
The Australian Government Organisation Register (AGOR) 1 January 2023 Quarterly Report is now available on our website – this includes the AGOR Dashboard, Spreadsheet of bodies and the Register of movements list.
AGOR provides information on the function, composition, origins and other details of Australian Government entities and bodies and is updated on a quarterly basis. The online searchable version of AGOR is located on Directory.gov.au. The Directory is your guide to the structures, organisations and key people in the Australian Government. The Spreadsheet of bodies is also available for download from data.gov.au.
The 2021-22 Geographic Diversity Report is also now available on directory.gov.au, providing a state and territory comparison of the geographic diversity of Australian Government board appointments.
If you have any questions related to AGOR, please contact us at OAR@finance.gov.au.
Organisations and Appointments Register – new GovTEAMS Community
The community is an online forum where you can access resources, ask questions and lend support to fellow OAR users, with assistance from the OAR team at Finance. The community is also hosting an OAR survey, the results of which will support the development of new, more streamlined manuals and inform potential developments and upgrades to the system. We strongly encourage all users to complete the survey.
If you have any questions on OAR and its related databases, please contact us at OAR@finance.gov.au.
Update to Evaluation Toolkit (RMG-130)
New guidance is available at Quick Reference Guide | Evaluation planning for new policy proposals and also through the Evaluation Toolkit Homepage - Evaluation in the Commonwealth (RMG-130).
Please share this new guidance with anyone in your entity who is involved in developing evaluation plans for New Policy Proposals.
Release of the 2022-23 financial statements guidance (updates to RMG-116 and RMG-125)
Finance has released updated guidance materials to support the preparation of entities’ 2022-23 financial statements. These documents are now available on our website, alongside a summary of changes.
The guidance also reflects amendments to the PGPA (Financial Reporting) Rule 2015 made in November 2022.
Should you have any questions regarding these materials, please email AccountingPolicy@finance.gov.au.
If the 2022-23 documents are not appearing for you, or if the “Last updated” date does not say 30 January 2023, please press F5 to refresh the page.
| Please note: Resource Management Guides (RMGs) are developed with a digital-first focus and are updated in real time. The digital (online) version should be your first point of reference. Printed or saved versions are only current at the time of printing, so be sure to use the digital version in the first instance. |
| Document/Guidance | Link |
|---|---|
| Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Financial Reporting) Rule 2015 (FRR) | Federal Register of Legislation (FRL) – see Latest version. The FRR is available in Word, PDF and zip format from the Download menu. |
| RMG-125 Commonwealth Entities Financial Statements Guide | RMG-125 Digital (online) version only. To download your own PDF copy, please expand all menus and print each tile/sub-page to PDF. |
| RMG-116 Accounting for Annual Appropriations | RMG-116 Digital (online) version only. To download your own PDF copy, please expand all menus and print each tile/sub-page to PDF. |
| Primary Reporting and Information Management Aid (PRIMA) Forms | PRIMA Forms Available in Excel and PDF form. |
| Summary of key changes to the 2022-23 financial statements reporting guidance | Key changes to the 2022-23 financial statements reporting guidance (see PRIMA Documents section)
|
APS Academy Accounting and Finance Month
The sessions will cover a range of technical and non-technical topics including:
- The financial reporting framework
- Appropriations reporting in financial statements
- The appropriations framework
- Related party transactions
- Capital Budgeting
- Portfolio Budget Statement preparation
- Workforce planning for accounting and finance managers
- The future of financial management in the APS
- Building and leading high performance teams
- The future of public sector financial management
- Employment value propositions for accounting & finance professionals.
Full details are in the February APS Academy newsletter.
For further information, please contact the Secretariat at APSAccountingFinanceWorkingGroup@finance.gov.au.
Attorney-General's Department - Commonwealth Fraud Rule
The Fraud Rule is a legislative instrument binding all Commonwealth entities, and a part of the 2017 Commonwealth Fraud Control Framework.
The amendments will seek to introduce new requirements for Commonwealth entities to take measures to prevent, detect and deal with corruption, alongside existing requirements for counter-fraud. These changes will complement the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, and are part of a suite of reforms to improve the standards of integrity across the public sector. The Centre is also considering other ways the Fraud Rule could be strengthened to better align with the current industry standard, ‘AS8001:2021 Fraud and Corruption Control’ and the new Commonwealth Risk Management Policy. It is proposed an updated Fraud Rule would be published by mid-2023, however consideration is being given to when changes come into effect, to give entities time to implement required changes.
Consultation process
The Centre is undertaking targeted, preliminary consultation with all PGPA entities. A consultation paper has been shared directly with all PGPA entity Chief Financial Officers for feedback. The Centre has also provided the consultation paper to the Commonwealth Senior Officers Fraud Forum and Commonwealth Fraud Reference Group, to ensure it reaches relevant areas. There will be another opportunity to provide comments on an exposure draft of the Fraud Rule over the coming months.
The Attorney-General’s Department will also be updating the Fraud Control Policy and associated guidance (Resource Management Guide 201) in 2023. If you have any questions, please contact the Centre at fraudreview@ag.gov.au.
2023 Commonwealth Risk Management Policy
The revised Commonwealth Risk Management Policy (the Policy), came into effect on 1 January 2023, and is available on the Finance website.
A companion guide to the Policy, Guide to Implementing the Commonwealth Risk Management Policy (RMG-211), information sheets, case studies and microbites which support the Policy have been released on the Commonwealth Risk Managers Forum.
If you are not able to access this site, please contact Comcover@Comcover.com.au to request a copy.
Benchmarking
The Comcover Risk Management Benchmarking Program measures the risk management capability of entities against the following five themes – Risk Governance, Risk Culture, Risk Capability, Risk Management Framework and Practices, and Organisational Resilience and Agility.
The 2023 Comcover Risk Management Benchmarking Survey is currently now open for completion.
Education Program for 2023
The Comcover Education Program consists of four learning pathways designed to increase risk management capability across the Commonwealth. Key features of the program are eLearning, face-to-face training, access to reference material, and networking.
The program has been designed to provide tailored training and support across the following four pathways:
- Foundation level: all Commonwealth officials, regardless of level or role who are required to understand basic risk management concepts and how risk is managed in the Commonwealth.
- Generalist level: Commonwealth officials, regardless of level, whose role requires them to engage with and apply their entity's risk management framework to successfully deliver outcomes. Generalists engage with risk at the activity level and have attained Foundation level capability.
- Specialist level: job role specialists who are required to design, implement and embed an entity's risk management framework. Specialists facilitate generalists and executives to fulfil their risk management responsibilities.
- SES Professional Development Program: Senior Executive Service officials whose role requires them to communicate the acceptable levels of risk that are appropriate to their entity's profile, allocate resources and model the adoption of risk management policies, strategies and best practice in their entity.
| Generalist Practical Risk Management | Specialist Embedding Risk Management | Executive A Strategic Perspective to Managing Risk |
23 February | 22 February (Day 1) 5 April (Day 2) | 28 February |
21 March (Virtual) | 18 and 19 April (Virtual) | 16 May (Virtual) |
| 17 May | 2 May (Day 1), 6 June (Day 2) | 7 June |
13 June (Virtual) |
To enrol in the workshops and access more Comcover education opportunities please visit the Comcover Learning Centre at https://learningcentre.comcover.gov.au or call 1800 651 540 and select Option 2.
Australian Signals Directorate Expression of Interest – Enterprise Performance
If you have a background in Annual Reports, Corporate Plans or other strategic planning, we have the opportunity for you. The Australian Signals Directorate’s Enterprise Performance team is looking for people with corporate backgrounds to join our expanding team, either on secondment or transfer. This includes via remote and flexible work options, and work in a multi-classification facility at Majura Park.
Applicants require a security clearance and are subject to an Occupational Suitability Assessment (OSA) if you do not currently hold a Positive Vet security clearance. If you are interested or would like further information, please email asd.strategyperformance@defence.gov.au.
Tip of the Month
Sometimes an update to a webpage can take time to appear on a live site. Did you know that you are able to re-fresh webpages at any time using the F5 key?
Using the F5 key will reload your pages and tabs for you. It is very easy and super simple to do. Just choose the page you would like to refresh and the F5 key will do its magic to ensure you are viewing the most up to date information on our website.
