Corporate Plan 2019-20

At Finance, we recognise the expectation of government and the community that policies and programs are developed and delivered in a technologically advanced and joined up way, and as efficiently as possible. The Department of Finance has an important role to play in this regard. Our focus is on achieving fiscal and policy objectives through the Budget process and by advising on expenditure, managing sustainable public sector resourcing, driving public sector transformation and delivering efficient, cost-effective services to, and for, government.

As a central agency, we need to lead by example and harness capability to deliver quality outcomes. Rapid advances in technology, greater access to data and on-demand information is altering how citizens and business interact with and access government services. This presents opportunities for Finance to engage more efficiently and to improve productivity. Specifically, through a deregulation lens, this means simplifying processes to allow seamless and joined up transactions.

This Corporate Plan outlines Finance’s approach and priorities for the reporting period. Over the next four years, our focus will be on driving greater efficiency, accountability and capability.

Stewardship is integral to Finance’s work and our success as a department depends on the quality of our relationships. To this end, we are investing in genuine, productive and sustainable partnerships and extending our connections to the private sector, academia and think-tanks. This engagement helps build the knowledge and resilience of Finance staff, share information and best practice and lead by example.

The Department’s stewardship role supports our interaction with business, government and individuals. Finance has established a Centre of Procurement Excellence to enhance procurement capability and productivity across the public sector as well as a Procurement Consultative Roundtable. The Roundtable is a biannual meeting that brings together the secretaries of key departments and representatives of the procurement sector and business. Participants share their perspectives and engage openly on matters such as managing risk, innovative approaches and payment practices to shape future procurement policy decisions.

In related work, Finance will continue to work with relevant agencies to facilitate faster payment times and reduce transaction costs for buyers and sellers to enable five day e-Invoicing to be adopted by Government agencies. This supplements the 20 day payment terms for traditional invoicing that commenced on 1 July 2019.

A central focus of the Department remains the preparation and delivery of the annual budget and related economic updates. We continue to look for improvements to the way in which budget preparation work occurs, both for ourselves and all Commonwealth entities. The Shared Budget Workflow System (SBWS), an initiative of the Modernisation Fund, is streamlining our internal business practices, reducing the number and complexity of manual processes. SBWS will be fully implemented in this planning period, delivering a whole of government system for budget work including for developing advice and options, collaborating across the Commonwealth and coordinating timely information for Government consideration during the Budget process. It will further reduce reliance on manual reconciliation processes and enable the input of data once, for use across multiple platforms.

We continue to look for ways to streamline our own operations and realise the benefits of modern practices. As of 1 July 2019, the Department successfully transitioned to receiving shared services through the Service Delivery Office (SDO). This is the culmination of a project that is significantly modernising the way we both deliver and support our business. This successful transition complements Finance’s role as the department responsible for the Shared Services program and as the provider of shared services through the SDO. Additionally, the SDO has been working with its clients to develop a Service Navigator to build a collective understanding of how corporate services are delivered. The Service Navigator is helping to identify where to streamline processes, address bottlenecks and improve client experience.

Finance is also taking the time to ensure it remains relevant as opportunities arise to work in a different way – this particularly relates to process automation, data and digitisation. The Department’s Productivity and Automation Centre of Excellence (PACE) is leading the implementation of process automation across government. Automating transactional, repetitive processes is occurring across a number of business processes in the Department, allowing staff to concentrate on higher value, more challenging work while reducing error rates and the need for manual fixes.

A further example of innovation is the Parliamentary Expenses Management System (PEMS), a modern and streamlined solution to assist parliamentarians in the management of their office and travel expense claims. PEMS has replaced aging platforms, allowing parliamentarians and their staff to claim and manage expenses on their computer or mobile device. Later releases of PEMS will support streamlined HR and Payroll services and replace multiple paper-based, discrete processes.

Global and national factors affect what we do and how we do it. In recent years, we have made considerable progress in improving the way we work and are seeing the benefits of the investment we have made in data analytics and digitisation, in breaking down silos and partnering with others. Our focus for the next reporting period is to continue to develop the culture, capability and systems that can continue to improve the development and delivery of policies and programs, supported by robust financial and resource management frameworks.

I am pleased to present the Department of Finance Corporate Plan 2019–2020.

Rosemary Huxtable PSM
Secretary, Department of Finance

I, Rosemary Huxtable, as the accountable authority of the Department of Finance, present the Department of Finance Corporate Plan 2019–20, which covers the period 2019–20 to 2022–23, as required under section 35(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

Finance assists the Australian Government to achieve its fiscal and policy objectives by advising on expenditure, managing sustainable public sector resourcing, driving public sector transformation and delivering efficient, cost-effective services to, and for, government.

Finance has an integrated performance cycle and the corporate plan is our pre-eminent planning document. This is complemented by performance planning through Portfolio Budget Statements and the Annual Report, Integrated Business Planning and budgeting processes, and governance processes that direct individual and team work activities to achieve our purpose.

Finance’s performance in achieving our purpose is:

• informed by the operating context and the functions/roles allocated to Finance as a central agency
• supported by departmental strengths including governance structures, risk policies, culture and organisational capabilities.

Figure 1. Finance’s performance cycle and environment

As a central agency of the Australian Government, the Department of Finance has an influential role with responsibilities that span the whole of government. Finance works closely with the other central agencies, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Treasury, to provide support to government in its deliberations in Cabinet and its committees.

Finance’s leadership on the Budget process and the Commonwealth’s finances enables us to assist the Government shape and deliver its fiscal and policy objectives, while ensuring public expenditure programs are effective, sustainable and deliver the best value to the Australian community.

Our responsibility for public sector frameworks and governance mechanisms is critical for the efficient operation of government. As stewards, Finance must ensure these frameworks are fit-for-purpose and that they deliver the desired outcomes for our stakeholders, both now and in the future.

The Department also plays a key role in managing the Commonwealth’s commercial interests, supporting financial sustainability and economic growth through the delivery of significant projects, and supporting the Minister for Finance as shareholder minister for Government Business Enterprises (GBEs).

In addition, Finance has a diverse range of responsibilities that span the full range of public administration functions, from the earliest points of developing policy through to implementing and reviewing programs as well as delivering services. Further details are outlined below.

Budget and economic updates and Budget transparency

With the Treasury, Finance prepares the annual Budget and associated economic updates as set out in the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998. Finance has a key role developing the Government’s fiscal strategy and budget rules, and providing policy and costings advice on expenditure to the Minister and the Expenditure Review Committee of Cabinet. Finance also has responsibility for all non-taxation revenue, which broadly includes charging, dividends, interest and investments. To support ongoing financial management and compliance with the government’s financial reporting responsibilities, Finance also prepares monthly financial statements and consolidated financial statements.

Government Business Enterprise shareholder responsibilities

Finance provides advice to the Australian Government relating to commercial entities and nine Commonwealth Government Business Enterprises (GBEs) – ASC Pty Ltd, Australian Naval Infrastructure Pty Ltd, Australian Postal Corporation, Australian Rail Track Corporation Limited, Defence Housing Australia, Moorebank Intermodal Company Limited, NBN Co Limited, Snowy Hydro Limited and WSA Co Limited. Our role includes oversight of accountability and governance arrangements, board appointments and GBE financial performance and sustainability.

We provide advice on financing strategies and processes, future ownership arrangements and ongoing service delivery, with the overarching focus on improving how these GBEs and their underlying assets are managed. Finance works closely with partner shareholder departments, the departments of Communications and the Arts, Defence, Environment and Energy, and Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development, in supporting ministers and engaging with GBE management.

Funds and superannuation

Finance manages the policy and legislation of the Commonwealth Investment Funds – the Future Fund, the DisabilityCare Australia Fund, the Nation-building funds, the Medical Research Future Fund, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land and Sea Future Fund and the Future Drought Fund.

We are also responsible for policy and legislation governing the Australian Government superannuation schemes for civilian employees and office holders, parliamentarians, Governors-General and Federal judges and administer the pension schemes for relevant parliamentarians, Governors-General and Federal Judges.

Resource management framework

Finance is responsible for the Commonwealth’s resource management framework including governance, performance and accountability arrangements for the use and management of public resources. We administer the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) which guides the duties of officials, planning and budgeting, grants and procurement, charging, engaging with risk, reporting on financial and non-financial performance and managing appropriations, assets and liabilities.

Finance oversees the Australian Government Charging Framework, which incorporates the Australian Government Cost Recovery Guidelines. The framework provides a common approach to planning, implementing and reviewing government charging and supports the Government to improve funding decisions.

Public sector productivity

Finance plays a key role in ensuring the public service is productive and delivers quality services to citizens and businesses. Finance is committed to driving improvement in the public sector, guiding investment in technology and digital capability and the reform of business processes, including through process automation, in order to enable public servants to focus on the Government’s strategic priorities and delivery of services to Australians.

Examples of Finance initiatives supporting changes to the way the APS operates include the Centre of Procurement Excellence, the Productivity and Automation Centre of Excellence, collaboration tools such as GovTEAMS, the Transparency Portal (transparency.gov.au) and whole-of-government initiatives such as the Shared Services and Grants Programs.

Commonwealth procurement, property and risk management

Finance administers a number of frameworks and policies that support the operations of the public sector.

The Commonwealth Procurement Framework, including relevant legislation and policies, governs the way Commonwealth officials procure goods and services. In addition, Finance manages whole-of-government coordinated procurement arrangements for commonly used non-ICT goods and services, such as whole travel and accommodation, in order to maximise market benefits and deliver efficiencies.

The Commonwealth Property Management Framework, including relevant legislation and policy, governs the management of property that is leased or owned by the Commonwealth, including acquisition, disposal and management of property interests. Finance administers the Lands Acquisition Act 1989 and the Public Works Committee Act 1969 and considers Commonwealth leases that exceed certain thresholds.

The Commonwealth Risk Management Policy seeks to strengthen the risk management practices of Commonwealth entities by encouraging engagement with risk in a positive and transparent way. Finance is also responsible for Comcover, the Australian Government’s self-managed general insurance fund, which encourages entities to manage insurable risk effectively.

Whole-of-government Information, Communication and Technology Services

Finance is responsible for a range of secure telecommunications including ICT infrastructure to support the Cabinet and its committees, ICON, the fibre optic network providing connectivity for Australian Government entities and GovLINK, which enables secure communication between Australian Government entities.

Finance has responsibility for whole-of-government services including the Parliamentary Document Management System, which manages a common approach to workflow for a range of ministerial and parliamentary documents, directory.gov.au, the repository for information about government structures, organisations and key people, and transparency.gov.au, the repository of publicly available corporate information for all Commonwealth bodies.

Supporting parliamentarians and their staff

Finance is responsible for the Parliamentary Business Resources Framework which governs the administration of remuneration, work expenses and other public resources provided to current and former parliamentarians (including former Prime Ministers). Finance shares policy responsibility for public resources with the Remuneration Tribunal, and administration responsibility with the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) and the parliamentary departments – Departments of the House of Representatives and the Senate and the Department of Parliamentary Services.

Finance also administers the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 which establishes a framework for office holders, senators and members of the House of Representatives to employ staff. Through our responsibility for COMCAR, we deliver car-with-driver and other ground transport services to the Prime Minister, Governor-General, members of parliament, judges and international guests of government.

Electoral policy

Finance develops and provides electoral policy advice to government, including with regard to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918and the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984. The Australian Electoral Commission, an independent statutory authority within the Finance portfolio, provides electoral services, encourages the Australian people to understand and participate in the electoral process and supports free and fair electoral processes throughout the world.

Campaign advertising

Finance coordinates government advertising campaigns, advising entities, providing policy advice to ministers, and supporting the work of relevant Cabinet and other advisory committees. Finance also oversees central purchasing of media space by all non-corporate Commonwealth entities through the Central Advertising System.

Public Sector Financial reform and Governance in the Indo-Pacific Region

Finance supports regional Indo-Pacific economic growth and stability through our official development assistance activities. Working collaboratively with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and other Australian entities, Finance works to improve regional public financial management and governance in relevant Indo-Pacific countries and in accordance with the priorities of the governments of those countries.

Finance’s approach

Essential to achieving Finance’s purpose is early and proactive engagement with the entities responsible for implementing the Government’s policies and programs. Our views are also informed by ongoing dialogue with the other central agencies – the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Treasury – as well as with the Australian Public Service Commission.

The Department seeks to take a positive approach to supporting other departments and agencies to deliver on their priorities. We have invested in building resilient, collaborative and productive relationships, and partner with Finance stakeholders to deliver the best outcomes for the Government. This engagement helps the Department to better understand and appreciate the issues and challenges our fellow agencies face.

By building and sustaining trusted relationships, Finance helps to ensure that all agencies share an understanding of the Government’s fiscal and other policy objectives.

Ultimately, it enables Finance to fulfil our responsibilities to:

• deliver more appropriate, practical and timely advice from a whole-of-government perspective
• develop more robust policy in partnership with colleagues across government
• deliver better services and engage more successfully with our clients and stakeholders
• fulfil Finance’s role as a leader in enabling and driving productivity in the APS.

Finance will continue to actively engage with agencies so we can further support them in developing and implementing policies, programs and projects that will benefit Australians.

Finance can support the work of agencies with frameworks, policies and systems that are fit for purpose. We will also enable agencies by building the capability of the Department’s staff and of our stakeholders to interact with those frameworks and systems, remembering that every interaction by staff at every level is an opportunity to build trust and capability.

Budget Process Improvement

In 2019–20 Finance is continuing its work to modernise the Budget process. In the 2017–18 Budget, under the Public Service Modernisation Fund initiative, Finance received funding to develop a system to enable greater automation and collaboration in budget processes across the APS. The new policy proposal was developed following consultation with agencies on how best to modernise the Commonwealth’s budget process.

When fully implemented, the Shared Budget Workflow System (SBWS) will streamline, automate and modernise processes, improving inter-agency collaboration and the exchange of information during the Budget process. It will be used by staff across Australian Government entities who contribute to the Budget to support timely reliable advice to Government.

With SBWS, we are fully or partially automating highly manual components of the Budget process, introducing data validation and modern communication tools to better collaborate with agencies and making it easier to access information on Budget processes. Together with a shared database, this will improve consistency and accuracy of reporting to Government by all agencies. SBWS will also provide increased data analytic capabilities to help inform briefing to Government.

Finance commenced testing SBWS in the 2018–19 MYEFO. In 2019–20 Finance will continue to trial the system, including by testing with agencies, and make improvements based on feedback before the system is fully deployed in this planning period.

Embracing the challenges

In an environment of increasing complexity, uncertainty and change, it is more important than ever that the Department is well equipped to support the Government to deliver on its priorities, to embrace evolving technology and anticipate shifting stakeholder needs. As a central agency Finance needs to demonstrate leadership in this regard.

Since 2015 Finance has been focused on an internal program of transformation which has driven a commitment to improvement across all aspects of our work. Much has already been achieved, including Finance’s own transition to shared services, the successful trial and implementation of the Digital Annual Reporting Tool, establishment of the Centre of Procurement Excellence and, internally, an increased focus on flexibility, mobility and inclusion. To succeed in the future we will continue to need adaptable people, capabilities, systems and processes that can respond to changing priorities, risks and challenges.

Building on and embedding this approach remains a priority. Reflecting Finance’s stewardship role, we have established a Transformation Community of Practice designed to support practitioners across the APS as they also seek to transform their internal business practices to be modern, efficient and responsive to government.

The Transformation Community of Practice has attracted more than 100 members from almost 40 entities and provides an opportunity for collaboration across government to respond to emerging challenges, to share best practice and to learn from collective experience. Finance will continue to collaborate across the public sector through this group in 2019–20.

Environmental factors

Table 1 sets out the key themes arising from Finance’s purpose statement as well as the environmental factors that may impact or influence their delivery over the four-year term of this corporate plan.

Table 1 - Environmental factors 2019–20 – 2022–23

Engaging with opportunity and risk

Finance continues to embed a positive risk culture throughout the Department to promote the efficient and effective use of public resources. We integrate risk management into our business planning and operations to ensure informed decision making, taking into account both opportunity and risk.

Risk engagement is promoted across all levels of the Department, recognising positive engagement with risk as a key contributor to improved productivity and performance. We understand the importance of ensuring Finance’s people have the capability to appropriately engage with risk in accordance with the Department’s risk appetite and tolerance.

The Department is strengthening its focus on risk culture and integrity, informed by key lessons from recent reviews including the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Inquiry into the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.

Finance acknowledges the importance of a strong ‘tone from the top’, complemented by a culture which values individual capability and accountability and supports meaningful communication and information flows throughout our organisational structure.

In 2018–19, the Chair of the Risk Sub-committee, Mr Andrew Jaggers, Deputy Secretary, was appointed by the Executive Board as the Chief Risk Officer for the Department. This important senior leadership role champions risk capability, communication and culture in the business and is empowered to challenge how we manage and engage with risk.

The appointment of the Chief Risk Officer complements the review and update of the Risk Sub-committee Terms of Reference, which provide that the Sub-committee’s functions are to ensure Finance has an appropriate system of risk management and oversight and supports a positive risk culture. The Sub-committee’s membership was also refreshed to include Executive Level 2 members to broaden the perspective of risk across the management levels of the Department.

At the operational level Finance has established a risk engagement group. The group supports enhanced risk capability in our people while also contributing to strategic risk identification and reporting processes as part of Integrated Business Planning.

From 2019–20 the Department is continuing to embed positive risk engagement in our business, focusing on enhanced capability, communication and culture. Risk is actively being considered in the prioritisation, allocation and delivery of our resources. This focus enables Finance to strengthen strategic partnerships, improve processes and deliver better services.

Incorporated into the Framework is the Department’s Enterprise Risk Management Plan that identifies, assesses and details mitigation strategies for key strategic and operational risks, including shared risks. The risks identified in the plan undergo continuous review as part of strategic business review processes to consider if they remain a risk to the Department and whether the mitigation strategies remain effective.

Finance manages opportunity and risk in accordance with the Commonwealth Risk Management Policy and our Enterprise Risk Management Framework. The Framework sets out our risk management policy and governs how the Department identifies, manages and communicates risks in our business.

The Framework provides the governance that underpins our positive risk culture and is regularly reviewed to ensure it reflects our operating environment.

Our governance arrangements

Our Executive Board, including the Secretary, has overarching responsibility for the Enterprise Risk Management Framework. The Executive Board is supported by the Chief Risk Officer, a central risk function and other governance committees, including the Risk Sub-committee and Audit Committee, which are responsible for reviewing and assuring the appropriateness of Finance’s systems of risk oversight and management.  

Responsibility for key strategic and operational risks is assigned to individual senior executive officers, who report to Executive Board as part of the Department’s strategic business review processes, against the delivery of the relevant outcomes. Oversight is also incorporated at the project and activity level, including for shared risks with external stakeholders, ensuring a line of sight between day-to-day risk management and our key strategic and operational risks. These matters were explored as part of undertaking a gap analysis of the areas highlighted in the APRA Inquiry report to ensure there is continued accountability at a whole of department level.

Our risk appetite

Finance articulates its appetite for engaging with opportunity and risk through a risk appetite statement. The statement supports how we define our positive risk culture to meet our purpose.

This statement is supported by risk appetite levels of enhanced, balanced and limited. This guides whether the Department will accept a risk, leading to more informed and consistent decision making. If a risk exceeds our appetite, we escalate that issue for further consideration, including treatment of the risk.

Table 2 - Our levels of risk appetite

Our key strategic risks

Finance has identified nine key strategic risks that, were they to eventuate, may affect our ability to achieve our purpose. Finance’s approach to mitigating these risks reflects the strategic focus on our people, our stewardship role, the integration of our business planning and our commitment to making business better.

Table 3 - Our levels of risk appetite

In order to remain responsive to government priorities and deliver better and more efficient services to citizens and business, Finance will continue to invest in our people, infrastructure and system capabilities.

Since the Finance transformation program began in 2015, we have focused on people, place, technology and information as key enabling strategies. This strategy remains unchanged. Applying a stewardship lens to each of these capabilities, we continue to deliver projects internally to enable us to better serve the government and the Australian people.

In the years ahead this will include projects that build people capability and broaden staff knowledge and experience; strengthen strategic partnerships to deliver better outcomes; improve processes, including through automation; enhance the Department’s approach to knowledge management; make the most of data and build on our approach to planning, with a focus on long term investment in people and systems.

Enhancing capability across the APS

Finance has an ongoing commitment to develop the professional skills and capability of staff within the Department and across the APS. We have introduced and continue to mature a number of flagship initiatives that have facilitated partnerships with academic institutions, stakeholder groups and our colleagues across the service to build capability and ensure we are preparing our workforce for emerging opportunities and challenges.

The Department’s Commercial Investments Division has created a series of programs to build APS capability and create an environment of continual learning, collaboration and innovation for stakeholders working with GBEs.

These programs include:

• GBE Intergovernmental Community of Practice inviting state and territory, New Zealand and Commonwealth representatives to collaborate and engage on developments in state owned enterprise policy and establish professional connections. The Community of Practice will meet bi-annually around Australia and focus on collaborative panel discussions.
• GBE Company Secretaries Forum to promote best-practice governance and shared learning experiences. The Forum, held bi-annually, facilitates networking opportunities for company secretaries.
• Customised education program to enhance skills and capabilities through a tailored financial analysis program co-developed with the Australian Graduate School of Management (UNSW). The program is open to staff from Finance and joint shareholder departments, central agencies and the Infrastructure and Project Financing Agency, with almost 100 participants completing the program to-date.

PACE has been established to build a consistent, well-governed approach to process automation across government. Through a suite of transferable tools, including a structured methodology for ensuring enhanced business management practices and process automation, PACE offers government departments the ability to transform business processes and achieve significant productivity gains. The PACE team is leading the way in implementing process automation within government, freeing up staff time for tasks of higher strategic value.

Now in its fourth year, the Graduate Certificate in Public Policy and Finance is purpose-built for the public sector and delivered in partnership by the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis at the University of Canberra. The program builds capability among emerging leaders at Finance and in the wider APS by enabling students to develop a thorough understanding of the Australian Government budget framework as well as sound financial, strategic and policy development capabilities.

Internally, the Department is set to implement its own People Capability Framework in 2019–20. The framework will drive performance and build talent by providing clear and consistent performance expectations for all levels across the Department. It will create a solid and consistent foundation to support our workforce planning strategies including mobility, performance management, development, flexibility, diversity and talent management.

Improving further in 2019-20

Finance’s commitment to driving change and improvement, underpinned by the Department’s transformation agenda continues. In 2018–19 we established a Transformation Plan that set out the vision for Finance to be a high-performing, modern, efficient and continuously improving public sector organisation that delivered better and more efficient services for government and citizens.

This vision remains and provides us with strategic direction in the forward years. Finance will continue to build on our approach and in 2019–20 will deliver a second program of tangible initiatives under four areas of focus:

People: We want to invest in our people to deliver the best outcomes and support an inclusive, curious, empowered and respectful culture.

Stewardship: We want positive and influential relationships with our stakeholders to support better outcomes for the Australian people.

Making Business Better: We want to continuously improve what we do and how we do it.

Integrated Business Planning: We want to use data and integrated business planning to align resources with our priorities.

Being transformative requires a culture where all staff can participate to their full potential. This means all staff have a role to play in leading and contributing to change. The Department’s leadership expectations, relevant to staff at all levels, reaffirm this as we ask staff to be part of the solution; collaborate, innovate; and develop self, develop others.

Strategic Review guiding our work

Strategic Review

The Strategic Review cycle adopted in Finance, comprises three stages – Reset, Reflect and Review – and is the Department’s key mechanism to guide prioritisation and resource allocation.

In 2018–19 a number of common themes were identified through the Strategic Review process that will guide Finance’s priorities in the years ahead from 2019–20:

• Building our capability: continued investment in people and capability through formal and informal development opportunities will deliver more for the organisation and stakeholders. We will continue to build on mobility channels such as surge (short-term movement of staff to address priorities and operational requirements), internal and external secondments and job shadowing to support diversity of knowledge and experience and broaden staff capability. The launch of the refreshed People Capability Framework will provide added momentum.
• Strengthening strategic partnerships: Finance’s operating model is underpinned by strong relationships with APS and private sector stakeholders. We need to build capability in our people and recognise the need to invest time and resources to strengthen these relationships. For example, Finance’s membership of the Defence Investment Committee enables our early engagement on Defence capability investment proposals, including financial and other implementation risks and their potential mitigations, in turn strengthening both project development and advice to Government. Finance also hosts the Procurement Consultative Roundtable, which brings together Secretaries of key Commonwealth entities and senior members of the business community to discuss Commonwealth procurement policy and practice.
• Delivering better services, enabling better outcomes: we need to drive an outcomes-focused approach to Finance’s work, including by ensuring that the Department’s operating model and frameworks enable our stakeholders to deliver better outcomes. We need to measure and quantify outcomes where we can so that we can continue to improve. The launch of the new Finance website later in 2019 will enhance our ability to support self-service for clients and stakeholders.
• Improving and redesigning processes: continuing to mature, streamline and automate transactional processes will enable staff to focus on more interesting and engaging work, and support us to invest more in relationships. Finance’s transition to receiving corporate services through the mature digital offering from the Service Delivery Office provides opportunities to digitise and redesign business processes across the Department to enhance customer experience and improve efficiency.
• Enhancing knowledge management: managing information, data and corporate knowledge to support long term knowledge retention, including Finance’s transition to the MIE, is a critical factor in managing risk, supporting consistency, building capability and working more efficiently.
• Making the most of our data: we need to continue to leverage the full value of our information and data so that Finance can deliver the highest quality outcomes. This includes collaborating and sharing information and data to benefit others as well as ourselves. A data maturity assessment will help the Department better understand how we can improve and coordinate, including on systems and people capability.
• Adopting an investment approach: Finance wants to build on our approach to planning with a focus on long term investment in our people and systems. The Department will review how the Finance operating model (roles, skills, structures, processes, assets and technologies) can help us deliver our strategic objectives.

Our financials

Finance has a total departmental expense budget of $547.7 million in 2019–20. Finance’s departmental capital budget is $55.6 million, of which $44.6 million relates to projects in the Property Special Account.

Finance has a total administered expense budget of $11,102.9 million in 2019–20 and an administered capital budget of $13.6 million.

Further information regarding Finance’s budget estimates (departmental and administered), Average Staffing Levels and financial statements for the reporting period is set out in the Finance Portfolio Budget Statements 2019–20.

Figure 2 - Total Expenditure 2019-20

Finance will continue to strengthen the performance information we provide to the Parliament and the broader community. This Corporate Plan further embeds this commitment and features updates to the Department’s performance framework intended to provide a greater focus on outcomes and stronger alignment with our core activities and our purpose.

The performance framework provides performance information on the three key themes of our purpose:

• advising on expenditure
• leadership in the public sector
• delivering effective services to, and for, government.

The framework details how the Department’s performance will be measured by identifying:

• key activities that we undertake under each of these three themes
• performance criteria which reflect the main outcomes we want these activities to achieve
• goals for each of these performance criteria so that achievement against performance criteria can be assessed
• methodologies to monitor results and track overall progress.

The performance framework provides substantial detail regarding how Finance’s progress in achieving its purpose will be measured. In this Corporate Plan Finance identifies 19 performance criteria for the reporting period 2019–20 to 2022–23 with:

• Eleven existing performance criteria that are unchanged or only marginally changed to improve the clarity of the performance information
• Two performance criteria that have been updated to reflect the evolution of the related work activities
• One new performance criterion regarding the Department’s efficiency in management of its tenancies under the Commonwealth Property Management Framework
• Five performance criteria which have been rolled into strategically focused criteria to ensure the performance information is outcomes-based and provides meaningful data. Methodology for these criteria has been substantively maintained, subject to continued relevance, in the new criteria. The relevant criteria from the 2018–19 Corporate Plan are:
  • Better performance information is available to the Australian Parliament and the public (Page 36)
  • The Commonwealth government’s civilian superannuation schemes are effectively administered in accordance with the applicable regulatory and legislative requirements (Page 37)
  • Whole-of-Australian-Government (WoAG) procurement arrangements for non-ICT corporate services (e.g. travel bookings and major office equipment) generate price savings and operating efficiencies for Commonwealth entities that access these arrangements (Page 38)
  • Comcover assists Commonwealth entities to ensure the appropriate treatment of insurable risks and provides a consistent, whole-of-Australian-government approach to the management of claims against the Commonwealth (Page 39)
  • Continue to encourage ongoing efficiency and financial sustainability in GBEs (Page 41).

• Three criteria have been removed to reflect the evolution of activity relating to public sector leadership and changes in Finance portfolio responsibilities in the coming reporting period. These criteria from our 2018–19 Corporate Plan were:
  • Finance oversight of Modernisation Fund investment ensures government has visibility of progress and outcomes, and informs government decisions around prioritisation and ongoing management of investments to drive improved outcomes (Page 32)
  • Entities currently participating in the whole-of-government grant administration arrangements must implement existing and proposed in-scope grant activity via the Government’s Community and Business Grants Hubs using the Hubs’ standardised grant process and ICT grants management services, replacing the multiple ICT systems and business processes currently in operation (Page 33)
  • Finance oversight of activities under the Modernising the Public Sector Roadmap supports better services to citizens and businesses, delivered more efficiently – to build trust in government (Page 34).

Table 4 - Performance information for period 2019-20 to 2022-23

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© Commonwealth of Australia 2019
ISSN 2206-7299 (online)

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