Planning

Property Management Plan

  1. Non-corporate Commonwealth entities (NCEs) must have a Property Management Plan that:
    1. sets property objectives, defines performance indicators and assesses performance;
    2. ensures the quality, quantity, functionality, cost and availability of property are appropriate; and
    3. assesses options for the acquisition, sharing, renovation and disposal of property, and associated change management.
  2. Property Management Plans must be provided to Finance or its nominee to inform the Whole of Government Leasing Strategy (Leasing Strategy).
  3. Property Management Plans must be updated as necessary to address changing business requirements and Government policies. This includes machinery of government changes, updating of Corporate Plans, changes or amendments to a lease, new office fit-outs, significant organisational structure or function changes, or New Policy Proposals. It also includes responding to new or modified Government policies, such as APS Net Zero by 2030.
  4. The Property Management Plan template should be tailored according to the size and complexity of the relevant property portfolio.
  5. Under the Property Services Coordinated Procurement (PSCP) Arrangements, it is the responsibility of NCEs to ensure Property Management Plans are developed and up‑to‑date. NCEs can purchase, as an Additional Service from Property Service Providers (PSPs), the preparation of a Property Management Plan (also referred to in the Property Service Provider Deed as an Entity Plan). Entities retain ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all relevant policies, including the Commonwealth Property Management Framework.

Whole of Government Leasing Strategy

  1. The Leasing Strategy, which is maintained by Finance in consultation with NCEs, is primarily focused on office accommodation and shopfronts, and seeks to maximise value for money after consideration of Commonwealth leasing needs on a strategic whole of government basis.
  2. An NCE should consult its PSP and must ensure that its property leasing decisions are consistent with the Leasing Strategy, established under the PSCP Arrangements.

Capital Management Plan

  1. The Capital Management Plan (CMP) is a strategic planning document that summarises an entity’s actual and planned property and other capital expenditure across the budget and forward years, and explains how it plans to fund the expenditure. CMPs must be consistent with the capital expenditure estimates reported in the Central Budget Management System.
  2. Under the Capital Budgeting Policy for Australian Government Entities (Capital Budgeting Policy), entities must have a CMP for capital expenditure on properties owned and leased by the Commonwealth within Australia. CMPs are not required for the Department of Defence as it has separate capital management reporting.
  3. The Capital Budgeting Policy outlines the rules and requirements concerning the management and reporting of capital/asset funding and expenditure. It is available through the Knowledge Management section of the Central Budget Management System or from an entity’s Chief Financial Officer or relevant financial area.

Occupational Density Target

  1. The Government’s occupational density target is 14m² of usable office area per occupied work-point (for definitions of these terms and an explanation for how they are calculated please see the Australian Government Property Data Collection Manual. This target applies to Commonwealth properties, leased or owned.
  2. All new leases are expected to meet the 14m² occupational density target.
  3. NCEs must consider the occupational density target when undertaking planning and throughout the property management lifecycle.

  4. Occupational density is reported as part of the annual Australian Government Office Occupancy Report, which can be found on the Finance website.

Workplace Design

  1. An NCE is responsible for its own accommodation arrangements and must incorporate efficient and effective workplace design into its accommodation planning wherever feasible.

Emissions Reduction

  1. In alignment with the Government’s commitment to net zero emissions for the APS, an NCE is responsible for understanding the impacts of, and reducing, its property-related emissions. While the below requirements are not mandatory for CCEs, they are strongly encouraged to apply these considerations.
  2. Amongst other things, entities can reduce their emissions by:
    1. switching to powering, lighting and heating buildings and devices solely using electricity rather than other energy sources such as gas and diesel;
    2. seeking green energy power purchasing agreements or renewable electricity – please contact Finance (APSnetzero@finance.gov.au) for further advice on possible approaches to this;
    3. leasing of buildings (including fit-outs), or renovating properties to a rating of 5.5 or higher under the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS), incorporating energy efficient design approaches and industry standards
      • Finance acknowledges that securing a property rated 5.5 under NABERS may be difficult in limited markets, such as regional/remote areas or specialised property. In these circumstances, entities should contact Finance to further discuss the approaches to emissions reductions.
    4. reducing floor space as appropriate;
    5. minimising electricity consumption including through energy efficient devices and behaviours, for example, using timed energy efficient lights and installing window coverings or shading devices;
    6. providing electric vehicle charging facilities for use by the entity’s vehicle fleet, subject to business needs and in accordance with state or territory regulations and Commonwealth procurement panel arrangements; and
    7. considering embodied emissions during construction and fit-outs with usage of low emission materials or products.
  3. Please contact Finance (APSnetzero@finance.gov.au) to further discuss the circumstances for your entity and approaches to emissions reduction.

Legislative and Policy Approval Requirements

  1. Entities must ensure that property-related planning activities have appropriate regard to the relevant legislative and policy requirements, such as:
    1. Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Act 2016
    2. Code for the Tendering and Performance of Building Work 2016
    3. Commonwealth Procurement Rules 
    4. Commonwealth Risk Management Policy
    5. Disability Discrimination Act 1992
    6. Energy Efficiency in Government Operations Policy
    7. Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
    8. Heritage Considerations:
      1. Working Together: Managing Commonwealth Heritage Places
      2. Significant impact guidelines 1.2 – Actions on, or impacting upon, Commonwealth land and Actions by Commonwealth Agencies
      3. The Commonwealth Heritage List on the Australian Heritage Database
      4. The Protected Matters Search Tool
      5. Information on Referrals and Environment Assessments
    1. Lands Acquisition Act 1989
      1. Commonwealth Property Management Framework Resource Management Guide No. 500
      2. Lands Acquisition Framework Resource Management Guide No. 501
      3. Commonwealth Property Disposal Policy | Department of Finance
    2. National Construction Code 2019
    3. National Environment and Protection Measures (Implementation) Act 1998
    4. National Environment Protection Council Act 1994
    5. Native Title Act 1993
    6. Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013
    7. Public Works Committee Act 1969
    8. Public Works Committee Regulation 2016
    9. Work, Health and Safety Act 2011
    10. Relevant State and Territory legislation and local government requirements.
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© Department of Finance 21/09/2023