The Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) leads and coordinates the whole of government policies and performance that serves all Victorians.

2020–21 was a demanding year for all Victorians. The response to the impact of COVID-19 was and will remain a major focus for government as we navigate through recovery and our new ways of living and working.

The demands of work, while also navigating the impacts of public health directions on our personal lives, has been an enormous challenge for our people, as it has been for all Victorians.

In rising to these challenges, many parts of the Victorian public service and the public sector have changed the ways in which we work. In our adaption to fast-changing circumstances, we have never been more responsive, more innovative, and more collaborative in delivering and advising on the policies and services of government.

In addition to adapting and responding to COVID-19 challenges, DPC has also changed to reflect the priorities of the government.

This is exemplified in the establishment of the First Peoples–State Relations group in April 2021. This group is charged with leading the delivery of lasting change and strengthening self-determination for Aboriginal Victorians and Traditional Owners by prioritising work on treaty and truth.

In the short term, the First Peoples–State Relations group has also worked closely across government and with community to deliver self-determined, place-based responses to COVID-19 impacts. One such response includes the $10 million COVID-19 Aboriginal Community Response and Recovery Fund as part of a $23 million whole of Victorian government Aboriginal-specific COVID-19 package.

DPC also established Digital Victoria to streamline and accelerate digital reform across government and to contribute data analytics more easily to better inform decision-making.

More broadly, DPC continues to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to leading strong policy outcomes, and professional public administration.

Since its establishment in DPC in 2019, the work of the Fairer Victoria group has centred on fostering inclusive and engaged communities, including across the equality, multicultural affairs, veterans, women and youth portfolios. In February 2021, Fairer Victoria transferred from DPC to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. Its place in this newly created department brings together a dedicated focus to improve outcomes for the most vulnerable in Victoria.

Within DPC, this priority is not lost. Two years after its establishment, the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System handed down its final report on 2 March 2021. Following the government’s acceptance of the Report’s 65 recommendations, DPC has worked closely with the Department of Health to support the planning and delivery of reforms to Victoria’s mental health system and services.

In March 2021 DPC supported the establishment of Breakthrough Victoria Pty Ltd to oversee the Breakthrough Victoria Fund. The fund, which was announced in the 2020–21 Victorian Budget, will drive investment in research and innovation in Victoria, and support Victoria’s economic recovery.

It is difficult to fulsomely list all of DPC’s achievements in 2020–21, but the breadth of information in this annual report describes and accounts for that activity.

I am extremely proud to lead a department and a public service that has shown tremendous resilience and the utmost dedication to improving outcomes for our citizens, businesses, and each other.

I look forward to continuing to work alongside my colleagues at DPC and the Victorian Secretaries’ Board to drive a high performing and professional public service for all Victorians.

Jeremi Moule
Secretary

Our vision

The Department of Premier and Cabinet’s (DPC’s) vision is to be a recognised and respected leader in whole of Victorian government (WoVG) policy and performance.

Our mission

DPC’s mission is to support the people of Victoria by:

• helping government achieve its strategic objectives
• providing leadership to the public sector to improve its effectiveness
• promoting collaboration across government to drive performance and improve outcomes.

DPC supports the Victorian Government’s commitment to a stronger, fairer, better Victoria by promoting excellence in government service delivery and reform.

Our values

DPC upholds the public sector values as outlined in the Public Administration Act 2004(opens in a new window).

Responsiveness

• Providing frank, impartial and timely advice to the government.
• Providing high-quality services to the Victorian community.
• Identifying and promoting best practice.

Integrity

• Being honest, open and transparent in our dealings.
• Using powers responsibly.
• Reporting improper conduct.
• Avoiding any real or apparent conflicts of interest.
• Striving to earn and sustain public trust of a high level.

Impartiality

• Making decisions and providing advice on merit without bias, caprice, favouritism or self-interest.
• Acting fairly by objectively considering all relevant facts and applying fair criteria.
• Implementing government policies and programs equitably.

Accountability

• Working to clear objectives in a transparent manner.
• Accepting responsibility for our decisions and actions.
• Seeking to achieve best use of resources.
• Submitting ourselves to appropriate scrutiny.

Respect

• Treating others fairly and objectively.
• Ensuring freedom from discrimination, harassment and bullying.
• Using others’ views to improve outcomes on an ongoing basis.

Leadership

• Actively implementing, promoting and supporting these values.

Commitment to human rights

• Making decisions and providing advice consistent with the human rights set out in the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006(opens in a new window).
• Actively implementing, promoting and supporting human rights.

Our objectives

DPC’s objectives are as follows.

Strong policy outcomes

• Pursuing policy and service delivery excellence and reform.
• Leading the public sector response to significant state issues, policy challenges and projects.
• Supporting the effective administration of government.

Engaged citizens

• Supporting and promoting full participation in strong and vibrant communities.
• Empowering citizens to participate in policymaking and service design.
• Ensuring a holistic approach to social policy and service delivery.

Professional public administration

• Fostering and promoting a high-performing public service.
• Ensuring effective whole of government performance and outcomes.
• Protecting the values of good public governance, integrity and accountability in support of public trust.

High-performing DPC

• Empowering our people and investing in our culture.
• Ensuring efficient and effective processes and systems.
• Ensuring good governance and risk management.

Premier of Victoria

The Hon Daniel Andrews MP

The Premier is Victoria’s head of government. DPC advises and supports the Premier and his portfolio.

The Premier is the main channel of communication between the Governor, as Head of State, and Cabinet, and between the Victorian Government and other state and territory governments.

The following DPC entity is a part of the Premier’s portfolio:

• Office of the Governor.

Contact details

1 Treasury Place
East Melbourne VIC 3002
Email: daniel.andrews@parliament.vic.gov.au
Website: www.premier.vic.gov.au

Minister for Government Services

The Hon Danny Pearson MP

DPC advises and supports the Minister for Government Services and his portfolio, which includes Digital Victoria and public sector administration and reform.

The Minister for Government Services is also responsible for the following DPC portfolio entities:

• Cenitex
• Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel
• Office of the Victorian Government Architect
• Public Record Office Victoria
• Service Victoria
• Victorian Electoral Commission
• Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal
• Victorian Public Sector Commission.

In addition to his DPC responsibilities, Minister Pearson is the Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Regulatory Reform and Minister for Creative Industries.

Contact details

1 Macarthur Street
East Melbourne VIC 3002
Email: danny.pearson@parliament.vic.gov.au
Website: www.dannypearson.com.au

Minister for Industrial Relations

Tim Pallas MP

DPC advises and supports the Minister for Industrial Relations and his portfolio. This includes DPC’s Industrial Relations Victoria who work towards achieving a positive working environment for all Victorians.

The Minister for Industrial Relations is also responsible for the following DPC portfolio entities:

• Labour Hire Authority
• Portable Long Service Authority.

In addition to his DPC responsibilities, Minister Pallas is the Treasurer and the Minister for Economic Development.

Contact details

1 Treasury Place
East Melbourne VIC 3002
Email: tim.pallas@parliament.vic.gov.au
Website: www.timpallas.com.au

Minister for Aboriginal Affairs

Gabrielle Williams MP

DPC advises and supports the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and her portfolio. This includes oversight of First Peoples–State Relations, who focus on promoting cultural rights, self-determination, treaty and truth.

The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs is also responsible for the following DPC portfolio entity:

• Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council.

In addition to her DPC responsibilities, Minister Williams is the Minister for Women and Prevention of Family Violence.

Contact details

50 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Email: gabrielle.williams@parliament.vic.gov.au
Website: www.gabriellewilliams.com.au

Other officials

Sonya Kilkenny MP, Cabinet Secretary

DPC’s Cabinet Office provides support to the Cabinet Secretary for the operations of the Cabinet process and supports the Cabinet Secretary in her role.

Contact details

Email: sonya.kilkenny@parliament.vic.gov.au

Steve Dimopoulos MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier

Mr Dimopoulos assists the Premier with his portfolio responsibilities.

Contact details

Email: steve.dimopoulos@parliament.vic.gov.au
Website: www.stevedimopoulos.com.au

As at 30 June 2021:

The Secretary is Jeremi Moule, who leads the department comprised of 7 groups and its associated entities and agencies.

Department of Premier and Cabinet

Secretary, Jeremi Moule

Office of the Secretary

Executive Director, Jane Gardam

Recovery Tracking & Analytics

Executive Director, Marcus Walsh

Legal, Legislation & Governance

Deputy Secretary & General Counsel, Toby Hemming

Governance

Executive Director, Vicky Hudson

Office of the General Counsel

Executive Director & Deputy General Counsel, Miriam Holmes

Digital Victoria

A/Chief Executive Officer, Vivien Allimonos

Digital Strategy & Transformation

Executive Director, Lisa Tepper

Cyber Security

Chief Information Security Officer, John O’Driscoll

Victorian Centre for Data Insights

Chief Data Officer, Julian Hebden

Digital Design & Innovation

Executive Director, Jithma Beneragama

Cabinet, Communications & Corporate

Deputy Secretary, Vivien Allimonos

Cabinet Office

A/Executive Director, Rachel Cowling

Corporate Services

Executive Director, Genevieve Dolan

Corporate Governance

Director, Evelyn Loh

Public Sector Reform

Executive Director, Sam Hannah-Rankin

Strategic Communications, Engagement & Protocol

A/Executive Director, Fin Bird

Social Policy & Intergovernmental Relations

Deputy Secretary, Kate Houghton

COVID-19 Coordination & Performance / Social Recovery Families, Fairness & Housing

Executive Director, Lucy Toovey

Health / Mental Health

Executive Director, Sam Trobe

Education / Justice / Community Security & Emergency Management

Executive Director, Rebecca Jarvis

Intergovernmental Strategy

Director, Hugh Thomas

Office of the Family Violence Implementation Monitor

Director, Shasta Holland

Economic Policy & State Productivity

A/Deputy Secretary, Chris Miller

Economic Development

A/Executive Director, Sophie Colquitt

Infrastructure, Planning & Major Projects

A/Executive Director, Nanette Fitzgerald

Economic Strategy

Executive Director, Heather Ridley

International & Events / Breakthrough Fund

Executive Director, Rob Holland

Energy, Resources & Environment

Executive Director, Matt Minchin

First Peoples–State Relations

A/Deputy Secretary, Elly Patira

Traditional Owner Relationships and Heritage

Executive Director, Tim Kanoa

Treaty Negotiations and Strategy

Lead Negotiator, Shen Narayanasamy

Self-Determination Policy and Transformation

Executive Director, Travis Lovett

Industrial Relations Victoria

Deputy Secretary, Matt O’Connor

Private Sector

Executive Director, Lissa Zass

Public Sector

Executive Director, Kath Fawcett

Portfolio entities

Administrative Offices

• Office of the Governor
• Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel
• Office of the Victorian Government Architect
• Public Record Office Victoria
• Service Victoria

Other entities

• Victorian Public Sector Commission
• Special bodies
• Victorian Electoral Commission
• Electoral Boundaries Commission
• Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal

Public entities

• Breakthrough Victoria Fund Pty Ltd
• Cenitex
• Labour Hire Authority
• Portable Long Service Authority
• Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council

Changes to the department during 2020–21

On 1 July 2020, following machinery of government (MoG) changes, Bushfire Recovery Victoria transferred from DPC to the Department of Justice and Community Safety. Bushfire Recovery Victoria was established in January 2020 at DPC to help regions rebuild and recover after the 2019–20 Eastern Victorian bushfires.

Also on 1 July the Service Systems Reform branch transferred from DPC to the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions. Service Systems Reform oversees a program of WoVG policy development and reforms that aim to improve social and economic outcomes for Victorians.

On 1 August 2020 Cenitex was transferred from the Department of Treasury and Finance to DPC, to align with the Digital Victoria group. Cenitex provides reliable, robust and contemporary shared ICT services and technology to its government department and agency customers.

Further MoG changes, effective from 1 December 2020, saw the Jobs and Skills Exchange, a job-matching platform to support workforce mobility across the Victorian public service (VPS), transferred from DPC to a DPC portfolio entity — the Victorian Public Sector Commission.

On 1 February 2021 DPC’s Fairer Victoria group and associated portfolio entities (Respect Victoria, Queen Victoria Women’s Centre Trust, Victorian Multicultural Commission, LanguageLoop, the Shrine of Remembrance Trustees and Victorian Veterans Council) transferred to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

Fairer Victoria supported the ministerial portfolios of equality, multicultural affairs, prevention of family violence, veterans, women and youth.

Our groups

DPC consists of seven groups:

• Legal, Legislation and Governance
• Digital Victoria
• Cabinet, Communications and Corporate
• Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations
• Economic Policy and State Productivity
• First Peoples–State Relations
• Industrial Relations Victoria.

Legal, Legislation and Governance

The Legal, Legislation and Governance group delivers public sector legal, legislation and governance expertise and combines the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) and the Governance Branch.

OGC provides legal and policy advice, including in the areas of administrative, constitutional and corporate law. OGC’s policy focus is on issues in the Premier’s and the Minister for Government Services’ portfolios, principally in relation to Victoria’s public sector, electoral system and subordinate legislation. OGC also supports DPC in developing legislative and regulatory proposals and manages the department’s freedom of information functions.

The Governance Branch unifies DPC’s efforts to promote good governance and public administration, high-quality decision and policymaking, government integrity and accountability, and trust in public institutions.

Digital Victoria

The Digital Victoria group was established in April 2021 to drive digital transformation across the Victorian Government. Digital Victoria connects Victoria’s public digital and information technology infrastructure, making it easier for business, communities and citizens to connect with government and to foster Victoria’s digital economy. Digital Victoria will define Victoria’s digital strategy for 2021–2026, champion the use of data and new technologies and guide and support the public service to create efficiencies and collaborate to better serve Victorians. The branches that make up the group are: Digital Strategy and Transformation; Digital Design and Innovation; Victorian Centre for Data Insights; and Cyber Security.

Cabinet, Communications and Corporate

The Cabinet, Communications and Corporate (CCC) group provides services and VPS-wide advice to support robust public administration and promote DPC’s role as the First Minister’s department. CCC provides timely and practical guidance on the operation of Cabinet, Cabinet Committees and the Executive Council. The group leads work to support DPC to meet integrity, financial accountability and institutional governance obligations to parliament and ministers and provides specialist communication, event, behavioural insights and protocol advice across government. CCC also provides the operational backbone to DPC and its entities through finance; operations; people and culture; and procurement services and assistance.

Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations

The Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations group brings together social policy expertise with coordination of the State’s intergovernmental relations. The group provides policy advice on the following portfolios: health; mental health; education; justice; community security and emergency management; and families, fairness and housing. The group also leads oversight and coordination of intergovernmental advice, COVID-19 pandemic response efforts and the government’s response to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. It also supports the Office of the Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor.

Economic Policy and State Productivity

The Economic Policy and State Productivity group leads economic policy advice to the Premier and Cabinet. The group works in collaboration with relevant departments and agencies to ensure a coordinated WoVG approach to policy and projects in the areas of economic development and recovery; fiscal strategy; regional and suburban development; local government outcomes; regulatory reform; consumer affairs; gambling; racing; major events; workplace safety; international engagement; infrastructure; planning; precincts; transport; energy; agriculture; resources; and the environment.

First Peoples–State Relations

The First Peoples–State Relations group was established in April 2021 and is responsible for an extensive program of nation-leading work in the areas of cultural rights, self-determination, treaty and truth with First Peoples. The group recognises Victoria’s First Peoples as the self-determining drivers of Aboriginal affairs in Victoria and is committed to building ongoing, just and respectful relationships between self-determining First Peoples and the State. The group performs statutory functions under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 and works with First Peoples on cultural heritage management and protection in ways which recognise the leading role of strong and engaged Traditional Owners.

Industrial Relations Victoria

The Industrial Relations Victoria (IRV) group provides strategic industrial relations legislative, policy and technical advice to government and departments. IRV engages with Victorian employers, employees and their representatives to support a positive industrial relations environment, and to advocate for fair and productive workplaces, secure work and gender pay equity. IRV also oversees industrial relations matters and enterprise bargaining policy and processes across the Victorian public sector. IRV consists of three branches: Private Sector Industrial Relations, Public Sector Industrial Relations, Wage Inspectorate Victoria and the Office of the Deputy Secretary.

DPC’s senior executives

Secretary

Jeremi Moule was appointed as the Secretary of DPC in October 2020. Prior to this role, he was DPC’s Deputy Secretary of Governance Policy and Coordination, a position he held since August 2018.

Jeremi has held various executive positions in the Victorian and South Australian public services over a 17-year period. He started his career as a journalist and was the CEO of a registered training organisation. Jeremi lives in Bendigo and has worked extensively in regional Victoria.

He holds a journalism degree from the University of South Australia and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Deputy Secretary, Cabinet, Communications and Corporate & A/Chief Executive Officer, Digital Victoria

Vivien Allimonos was appointed to the role of Deputy Secretary of Governance and Policy Coordination (now Cabinet, Communications and Corporate) in March 2021. Vivien also acted as the Chief Executive Officer of Digital Victoria until September 2021. Prior to DPC, Vivien was the Chief Communications Officer at the Department of Education and Training. Vivien has more than 20 years’ experience in public administration, with a focus on international affairs, trade and communications. She has held various executive positions in the Victorian and Australian public services as well as the US State Department. She holds an honours degree in commerce/arts from the University of Melbourne and was listed in IPAA Victoria’s Top 50 Public Sector Women 2020.

Deputy Secretary, Economic Policy and State Productivity

Tim Ada began in the role of Deputy Secretary of Economic Policy and State Productivity in April 2019. Previously, Tim was Deputy Secretary of the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, where he was responsible for the strategic development of key industry sectors including manufacturing, life sciences, international education, and the delivery of telecommunications and employment programs.

Tim has a Master of Agriculture Sciences from the University of Melbourne. He grew up in rural Victoria.

Chris Miller is acting in the role of Deputy Secretary of Economic Policy and State Productivity for the period from April to October 2021. Chris substantively serves as Executive Director of the Infrastructure, Planning and Major Projects Branch at DPC.

Deputy Secretary, First Peoples–State Relations

Elly Patira was appointed as the Acting Deputy Secretary of First Peoples–State Relations in April 2021. Elly is a lawyer and policy adviser with broad experience across constitutional, Indigenous and minority rights law and policy, both domestically and internationally. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and JD (Juris Doctor) from the University of Melbourne and a Master of International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford. Elly has held various executive positions in the Aboriginal Affairs portfolio at DPC. Elly has previously worked as an academic, in the corporate sector, for Aboriginal organisations and as an adviser during the Fijian constitution-making process.

As Acting Deputy Secretary, Elly is responsible for an extensive program of priority work with First Peoples in the areas of treaty, truth and transitional justice, self-determination and cultural rights and protection.

Deputy Secretary, Industrial Relations Victoria

Matt O’Connor was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of Industrial Relations Victoria in April 2015.

Matt has worked in the Victorian Government since 2003. He has overseen the development of industrial relations legislative and policy reforms including wage theft, labour hire, long service leave and public sector employment protections. Matt has steered the government’s public sector industrial relations strategy for several years and, more recently, played a pivotal role in the successful conclusion of the agreement covering the VPS. He has led the government’s participation in various legal proceedings in the Fair Work Commission including advocating for entitlements for frontline workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Matt provides strategic input on a range of WoVG industrial relations matters. He has also represented the Victorian Government in consultations with the Australian Government on federal industrial relations legislative proposals, including amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009.

Deputy Secretary/General Counsel, Legal, Legislation and Governance

Toby Hemming was appointed as General Counsel in May 2018.

Toby has significant experience in the Victorian public sector, having held senior positions in organisations including the County Court of Victoria, the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority and the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority.

Toby holds degrees in the areas of law, arts and corporate governance. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has completed Executive Fellows programs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.

Deputy Secretary, Social Policy and Interdepartmental Relations

Kate Houghton was appointed as Deputy Secretary of Social Policy in DPC in November 2018.

Kate has led many teams across a variety of portfolios within the VPS. Before joining DPC she was Deputy Secretary of Police and Crime Prevention at the then Department of Justice and Regulation. Kate spent many years working within the natural resources and environment portfolio. She led the Water and Catchments group as Deputy Secretary and the Environment Policy Division as Executive Director.

Kate has an honours degree in economics and a Master of Environment. She is also an Institute of Public Administration Australia Fellow.

Administrative offices

Administrative offices are established and abolished through orders under section 11 of the Public Administration Act, and each is established in relation to a department.

DPC is responsible for the effective, efficient and economical management of the following administrative offices.

Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel

The Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel transforms policy into legislation and advises the government on its legislative program. The office is responsible for ensuring up-to-date public access to authoritative Victorian legislation. The Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel is also the Government Printer for Victoria, responsible for printing Victorian legislation.

Office of the Governor

The Office of the Governor supports the Governor of Victoria in carrying out all aspects of their official duties for the benefit of the Victorian community and maintains Government House and grounds as a unique heritage community asset. The Governor’s role includes constitutional and ceremonial duties, community and international engagement, as well as official municipal and regional visits.

Office of the Victorian Government Architect

The Office of the Victorian Government Architect (OVGA) provides leadership and independent advice to government about architecture and urban design. OVGA puts quality of design at the centre of all conversations about the shape, nature and function of our cities, buildings and landscapes. OVGA’s activities include reviewing significant state and local government projects as well as commercial projects with a significant impact on the public. OVGA also leads on significant good-design initiatives and provides input, advice and advocacy on policies and issues of relevance to the Victorian Government.

Public Record Office Victoria

The Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) maintains the archives of the State Government of Victoria, holding records dating from the mid-1830s to today. PROV manages these for use by the government and people of Victoria. PROV’s collection contains records of decisions, events, people and places that have shaped the history of Victoria. PROV sets mandatory recordkeeping standards for state and local government agencies and provides support and advice on recordkeeping to government.

Service Victoria

Service Victoria is a WoVG service capability created to improve the way government transactions are delivered to Victorians. Service Victoria brings together key government digital transactions in one place and has played an important role in the Victorian Government’s COVID-19 response, developing the quick response (QR) code system check-in service and the Service Victoria mobile app. Service Victoria is responsible for implementing the Service Victoria Act 2018 and provides customer service and identity verification functions.

Other entities

DPC supports the Premier and its ministers in their responsibilities for the Victorian Public Sector Commission and the following special bodies and public entities.

Special bodies

Special bodies are defined in section 6 of the Public Administration Act and are created under separate legislation:

• Electoral Boundaries Commission
• Victorian Electoral Commission
• Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal.

Public entities

Public entities include statutory authorities, state-owned enterprises, state-owned corporations and formally constituted advisory boards that perform functions outside of the public service:

• Breakthrough Victoria Fund Pty Ltd
• Cenitex
• Labour Hire Authority
• Portable Long Service Authority
• Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council.

Key financial indicators from 2016–17 to 2020–21

Footnotes

1. The decrease in 2020–21 income and expenditure is mainly due to MoG changes where Fairer Victoria transferred from DPC to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing on 1 February 2021, and Bushfire Recovery Victoria transferred to the Department of Justice and Community Safety from 1 July 2020. An increase in assets is driven by asset revaluations. Transfer of employee and supplier liabilities to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing contributed to a decrease in liabilities.
2. The increase in 2019–20 income and expenditure is mainly due to bushfire recovery activities and responses to COVID-19. DPC’s assets decreased due to reductions in financial assets, from the use of funding received in prior financial years, and MoG decisions where functions were transferred from DPC.
3. The increase in 2018–19 income and expenditure is mainly due to new government initiatives delivered during the year, including Pick My Project, Multicultural Community Infrastructure programs and the Victorian Jobs and Investment Fund. Separately, there was increased income and expenditure due to the 2018 state election. Assets increased due to investments in modernising DPC’s office spaces and further investments in Service Victoria’s digital services platform. DPC’s liabilities increased due to higher payables and employee liabilities because of growth and MoG transfers into DPC.
4. The increase in income from transactions and an increase in expenses from transactions in 2017–18 relate to new government initiatives carried out during the year. Separately, the increase in total assets is mainly due to building Service Victoria's digital services platform.
5. The full-year impact of significant new initiatives affected DPC’s operations in 2016–17. Asset balances were impacted by asset revaluations during the year.

This section reports on the outcomes the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) achieved during the year against key initiatives and departmental objectives.

This section also reports on DPC’s actions in responding to the impacts of COVID-19.

Departmental output changes during 2020–21

Due to machinery of government (MoG) changes effective 1 February 2021, the following departmental outputs have been transferred to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing: LGBTIQ+ equality policy and programs; multicultural affairs policy and programs; support for veterans in Victoria; women’s policy; and youth.

Departmental objectives, indicators and linked outputs

DPC’s medium-term objectives, associated indicators and linked outputs as set out in the 2020–21 Victorian Budget Paper No. 3 — Service Delivery are shown below.

Objectives: Strong policy outcomes

Indicators

• DPC’s policy advice and its support for Cabinet, committee members and the Executive Council are valued and inform decision making
• The development and effective use of technology supports productivity and competitiveness

Outputs

• Government-wide leadership, reform and implementation.
• Strategic advice and government support.
• Digital government and communications.
• Office of the Victorian Government Architect.
• Industrial relations.

Objectives: Engaged citizens

Indicators

Increased opportunities for participation by members of the Victorian community in the social, cultural, economic and democratic life of Victoria.

Outputs

Aboriginal policy, strengthening Aboriginal cultural heritage and communities.

Objectives: Professional public administration

Indicators

A values-driven, high-integrity public service characterised by employees who collaborate across government and in partnership with the community and other sectors, and who use evidence to support decisions that drive the progress of Victoria socially and economically.

Outputs

• Advice and support to the Governor.
• Chief Parliamentary Counsel services.
• Management of Victoria’s public records.
• Public administration advice and support.
• State electoral roll and electoral events.

DPC’s fourth objective — High-performing DPC — underpins all work of the department. It does not have specific outputs or funding.

This objective pursues policy, service and administration excellence and reform. It leads the public sector response to significant state issues, policy challenges and projects. It supports the effective administration of government and the delivery of policy and projects that enable increased productivity and competitiveness in Victoria.

DPC’s outcomes on the following key initiatives have helped us achieve the ‘Strong policy outcomes’ strategic objective.

Supporting the government’s response to COVID-19

DPC played a key role in supporting government decision making in response to COVID-19. This included supporting government decision making at National Cabinet and the Coordinating Ministers Committee of Cabinet by working across government to coordinate advice on policies to help manage COVID-19. This includes supporting the vaccination rollout, Victoria’s approach to quarantine and management of major events and international arrivals.

DPC, along with the Department of Health (DH) and Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF), provided support to develop a national partnership agreement on COVID-19 to formalise the Australian Government’s commitment to the response and bringing together the private and public hospital systems to work as one.

DPC worked closely with its counterparts in the Australian Government on the delivery of the Victorian Quarantine Facility.

Since February 2021 DPC has collaborated with DH to coordinate and implement Australia’s COVID-19 Vaccine National Roll-out Strategy to deliver equitable access to vaccinations for all eligible Victorians. DPC has been working with DH to ensure Victorians have safe, efficient and easy access to vaccines as soon as they are eligible and has supported engagement through National Cabinet to ensure Victoria’s priorities are considered under the Australian Government’s COVID-19 vaccination program.

Further, the 2020–21 ‘Whole of Victorian Government (WoVG) emergency management forums, meetings and exercises facilitated’ performance measure result is significantly higher than the target due to an increased number of meetings to coordinate the government’s response to COVID-19.

COVID-19 response — public health communications campaigns

In 2020–21 DPC’s central Communications and Campaigns teams led the WoVG communications, which reviewed and delivered over 2,000 communication materials. Major advertising campaigns were delivered at a rapid pace to support the public to engage with public health orders. There was a major focus on reaching culturally and linguistically diverse audiences, with most campaigns translated into 57 different languages, complemented by major community engagement efforts and strong partnerships with community and religious leaders. Collaboration across departments was key, with a digital platform established as a central source of COVID‑19 information.

As the COVID-19 response evolved, so too did the communications response. Efforts in 2021 focussed on supporting the uptake of the Service Victoria QR code check-in service, and vaccination. A strong body of evidence has been developed as a result of the work of the central communications teams, in how to effectively ensure consistency of message, increase outreach to hard-to-reach communities and deliver crisis communications over a sustained period.

Supporting self-determined, place-based responses to COVID-19 impacts

DPC delivered a $10 million COVID-19 Aboriginal Community Response and Recovery Fund as part of a $23 million WoVG Aboriginal-specific COVID-19 package. The fund was established to support Aboriginal Victorians in delivering community-led initiatives to respond to the impacts of COVID-19.

Funding was awarded to 81 Aboriginal Victorians, Aboriginal organisations and Traditional Owner Groups across the state, totalling more than $9.9 million. A range of small, medium and large organisations were supported, with 48 metropolitan-based initiatives and 33 rural or statewide initiatives. The fund had a rigorous,self-determined assessment process that involved relevant departments responsible for administering the funding; Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation members of the former COVID-19 Aboriginal Community Taskforce; and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.

Funded initiatives addressed a range of critical COVID-19 impacts:

• emergency relief such as food hampers and vouchers for essential goods
• outreach and brokerage such as wraparound housing supports and outreach to cohorts such as Elders and young people disengaged from school
• cultural strengthening such as cultural healing initiatives, cultural camps, a social enterprise cafe and events on Country
• improved social and emotional wellbeing such as counselling and other therapeutic supports, mental health literacy and community sporting events.

With the remaining funds, DPC has engaged an Aboriginal organisation, Inside Policy, to evaluate the initiatives and provide an evidence base for self-determined responses. This evaluation is due by the end of 2021.

Keeping Victorians informed and connected through COVID-19

To help Victorians stay informed about how to comply with COVID-19 restrictions, Digital Victoria launched the Coronavirus Victoria hub website. The website includes helpful topics such as advice for primary close contacts and households, public exposure sites (including maps), the Victorian Travel Permit System, the Radius maps, where to get tested and how to book vaccine appointments. Much of this content has been translated into more than 50 languages to support culturally and linguistically diverse communities. The COVID-19 Victoria hub had more than 50 million visits in 2020–21.

Digital Victoria launched Victoria Together in May 2020, which collated Victoria’s top digital content from cultural organisations and promoted it across the Victoria Together website and social channels. Over 2020–21 Victoria Together provided Victorians with homegrown entertainment during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the State of Music — the flagship content series watched by more than one million Victorians. It connected isolated or disadvantaged communities to experiences from leading cultural institutions and community organisations and created an income stream for Victorian content creators, including making $1.45 million in grants available to
29 grassroots organisations.

Data insights to enable better decisions and outcomes powered by analytics

In 2020–21 the Victorian Centre for Data Insights (VCDI) enhanced the Victorian Government’s crisis and recovery decision making by bringing together and presenting COVID-19-related data from across the Victorian Government and other sources. As a result, the government is using these digital tools to achieve significant productivity improvements, inform targeted policies and programs, and tackle mission-critical responsibilities and recovery efforts in a more responsive manner. VCDI is doing this through rapid reporting, mitigating new data-related risks and providing government with timely and accurate intelligence — efforts that rely on access to trusted, quality data.

VCDI has also built strong and effective strategic partnerships with key Victorian public service (VPS) agencies, covering diverse policy areas from emergency management, to improving health prevention, road safety and financial reporting. VCDI has also focused on informing priority policy and service delivery through data sharing and use, including continuing to build an enduring linked social services data resource and developing a WoVG approach to data sharing policy. VCDI’s use of data analytics, data management/governance and technical and strategic advice continues to enhance the Victorian Government’s use of data to improve outcomes for the community and build data expertise across the VPS.

Cybersecurity strategy for better detection, prevention and response to cyber attacks

In 2020–21 Digital Victoria finished implementing the Victorian Government Cyber Security Strategy 2016–2020 to improve cyber resilience and governance in government and major infrastructure and service providers.

This work included support for more than 140 organisations with over 900 cyber incidents through: the Victorian Government Cyber Incident Response Service; completing an integrated Victorian Government Security Operations Centre model; developing and deploying the Emergency Services Cybersecurity Program; and improving procurement mechanisms to allow government to access private sector cyber services more easily.

DPC’s Cyber Security Unit contributed to the cyber maturity of Victorian public bodies with the rollout of cyber training for VPS employees; cyber training for directors and board members in the health and water sectors; and the survey of the cyber maturity of critical infrastructure and government entities against Essential Eight, a series of baseline mitigation strategies recommended for organisations taken from the Australian Government’s Strategies to Mitigate Cyber Security Incidents.

Digital Victoria also developed a new cyber strategy, which will increase the focus to include the Victorian economy and community.

Modernising systems and processes to improve government productivity

DPC continued to modernise departmental processes through the operation and delivery of common platforms that are accessible across government, including Single Digital Presence (SDP) and the WoVG Application Programming Interface Capability Program.

SDP provides a sustainable, scalable, secure and accessible publishing platform that reduces the cost and time to deliver high-quality digital presences for government agencies. SDP has made it easier for Victorians to find, access, understand and use Victorian Government information.

In 2020–21 SDP enhanced the platform’s security, safety and reliability, improved its governance and processes, and delivered training programs to uplift capability across government. More content was migrated onto SDP, with 100 new or migrated web presences consolidated onto SDP from nine departments. SDP scaled to 111 million annual sessions across the platform while continuing to develop and support existing users. SDP trained more than 500 VPS staff to use the platform’s content management system and more than 800 VPS staff on writing for the web. The SDP community of practice has grown to 480 members, with 250 of those attending training for Google Analytics to help use insights to improve user experiences.

In 2020–21 the WoVG Application Programming Interface Capability Program continued to provide departments with a range of modern technology products and professional services that support data-sharing initiatives across all government departments. The program improved its platform architecture and approach to security, consulted with departments to discover and implement integrations for key data sharing use cases and built capability within departments to use self-service tools.

During 2020–21 the program supported the build of a contact tracing solution underpinned by secure and robust data sharing. It supported Family Safety Victoria’s implementation of the recommendations in the Royal Commission into Family Violence through integrations with the DH child protection system and Corrections Victoria’s prisoner information systems. Departments are using the platform for back-office financial system integrations, as well as integrations with the Australian Government for access to document verification systems and for small business grant approvals.

Prioritising open and efficient IT spend and improving government digital processes

DPC continued to prioritise open information, efficient digital services, strong modern systems/technology and increased staff capability. In 2020–21 DPC:

• continued to support transparent government IT project spend through coordinating and publishing the Victorian Government IT dashboard (which shows the status of government IT projects with a total value of $1 million or more)
• developed a WoVG assurance and investment management framework for digital and IT projects. This framework will maximise value through more strategic IT investments, prevent project cost overruns, support project teams to deliver successful outcomes, and ensure transparency and visibility of project benefits
• worked with all parts of government to improve the success rate of IT-enabled business projects through delivering capability uplift programs.

Fostering innovation and new ways of working in the public sector through human-centred design

Following the launch of the Human-Centred Design Playbook — an online practical guide for VPS staff who are designing, procuring or managing human-centred design projects — Digital Victoria has continued to embed human-centred design across government to ensure government services are aligned with the needs and desires of Victorians.

In 2020–21 the website (vic.gov.au/human-centred-design-playbook) has been visited more than 27,600 times and over 2,700 copies of the playbook have been downloaded. In September 2020 DPC launched an online training course in human-centred design to accompany the playbook and has served more than 350 people from 74 government entities and departments from across the VPS. The playbook was a finalist in the 2020 Victorian Premier Design Awards, selected as one of five finalists for strategic design.

Building safer and more resilient Victorian communities

In collaboration with all Victorian Government departments, DPC has continued to strengthen emergency management arrangements and implement a strong reform agenda in response to the Inspector-General for Emergency Management (IGEM) Inquiry into the 2019–20 Victorian Fire Season, IGEM’s Review of 10 Years of Reform in the Emergency Management Sector and the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry.

DPC, in partnership with Emergency Management Victoria, also continues to work with other jurisdictions through the Australia–New Zealand Emergency Management Committee to strengthen disaster resilience by addressing the National Federation Reform Council priority recommendations from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.

Further in 2020–21, DPC supported Victorian and national counterterrorism reforms through the Australia–New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee and worked to implement the recommendations of the Expert Panel on Terrorism and Violent Extremism Prevention and Response Powers.

DPC also continued to coordinate the protection of Victorian Government personnel and its information and physical assets through implementing protective security measures.

Supporting engagement with the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System

Before releasing its final report on 2 March 2021, DPC supported the government’s engagement with the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System in partnership with the former Department of Health and Human Services and Mental Health Reform Victoria. Combined with its interim report, the royal commission made 74 recommendations to government, setting out a 10-year reform journey to ensure all Victorians get the mental health support they need, when they need it and close to home.

In partnership with DH, DPC worked to establish governance structures to facilitate government-wide approaches to improve mental health and wellbeing and oversee the implementation of the royal commission’s recommendations. These include a Mental Health and Wellbeing Cabinet Committee, a Mental Health and Wellbeing Victorian Secretaries’ Board Committee, a Suicide Prevention and Response Victorian Secretaries’ Board Sub-Committee and an Interdepartmental Committee on Mental Health and Wellbeing Promotion.

DPC will continue to work with DH to support and monitor the government’s implementation of the reforms and delivery of the record $3.8 billion investment package contained in the 2021–22 Victorian Budget.

Supporting the modernisation of the youth justice system

In 2020–21 DPC continued to support the implementation of the Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2020–2030 and is coordinating work to support the introduction of a new Youth Justice Bill. DPC also continued to support work to modernise Victoria’s youth justice system via the new youth justice centre in Cherry Creek.

DPC has supported the implementation of recommendations from Our Youth, Our Way — Inquiry into the Over-representation of Aboriginal Children and Young People in Victoria's Youth Justice System by the Koori Youth Justice Taskforce and the Commission for Children and Young People.

Reform and oversight of the recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Family Violence

DPC continued to coordinate and oversee implementation of the government’s family violence reform agenda including leading the WoVG effort to deliver the Royal Commission into Family Violence recommendations across the VPS. DPC led the development of the Second Rolling Action Plan 2020–23 and the Family Violence Outcomes Framework Measurement and Monitoring Implementation Strategy, both of which were released in December 2020.

As of 1 February 2021, the functions of DPC’s Family Violence branch moved to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing as a result of MoG changes. DPC continues to provide WoVG coordination and oversight of the family violence reforms.

The implementation of more than two-thirds of the Royal Commission into Family Violence recommendations of 30 June 2021 demonstrates the progress towards the reform of the family violence system; however, there is more work to do to deliver on desired outcomes and to learn from the progress to date.

Supporting the Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor

The Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor’s fourth report was tabled in the Victorian Parliament on 6 May 2021 and examined progress in the five years since the Royal Commission into Family Violence as well as identifying reform areas that require more effort. The report also detailed key implementation activities over the 12 months to 1 November 2020.

The report findings and areas for future focus were informed by consultations with more than 65 individuals and organisations, materials provided by government implementation agencies and 125 submissions to the Monitor from the family violence and broader community services sector. As part of the 2020/21 Victorian Budget, funding was provided to continue the function of the Monitor’s office until the end of 2022.

Supporting a stronger skills and training system

During 2020–21 DPC provided timely advice to government on key reforms affecting the skills and training system, including supporting its response to the Skills for Victoria’s Growing Economy Review.

This work has focused on supporting the Department of Education and Training to establish the Victorian Skills Authority and the Office for TAFE Coordination and Delivery, which will help create a more collaborative VET system and strengthen Victoria’s social and economic recovery from COVID-19.

Providing economic advice on current and future economic challenges and opportunities

In 2020–21 DPC continued to work closely with DTF and other departments to support the government’s economic growth objectives. This included advising on taxation, fiscal strategy, workplace safety, local government, regulation, consumer and gambling policy, and transport policy and infrastructure delivery. DPC also supported the Premier in the annual State Budget process and the implementation of initiatives to reprioritise government spending.

Since the onset of COVID-19, DPC has actively supported Victorian Government departments to identify and develop measures to assist businesses and individuals.

Supporting industry capability, capacity and growth

In 2020–21 DPC supported the Premier and relevant departments to:

• develop policies and programs to support industry recovery and development, as a key driver of Victoria’s economic performance
• respond to the economic impacts of COVID-19 and longer-term bushfire and drought impacts
• position Victoria for longer-term economic growth through targeted policy advice and administration of the Victorian Jobs and Investment Fund
• establish Breakthrough Victoria Pty Ltd as the state’s independent manager of the Breakthrough Victoria Fund. Breakthrough Victoria will drive new Victorian jobs through investments in research commercialisation and innovation.

In 2020–21 the Victorian Jobs and Investment Fund was pivotal to economic recovery efforts, securing private sector investments that will create more than 2,500 new Victorian jobs across a range of priority industries in metropolitan and regional locations.

Supporting the rollout of three-year-old kindergarten

During 2020–21 DPC supported government consideration of key workforce, infrastructure and change management approaches to support the Department of Education and Training’s continued implementation of the Victorian Government’s commitment to providing 15 hours of funded kindergarten programs to all three-year-old Victorians by 2029.

Rollout of the reform has progressed according to the public rollout schedule, with the delivery of funded three-year-old kindergarten progressing to 21 regional local government areas in 2021.

Supporting the health system to prepare for a range of COVID-19 scenarios

DPC continues to play a key role in ensuring the Victorian health system is prepared to manage a surge in COVID-19 cases across the state. This year DPC has continued to provide advice to government on the investment and responses needed to respond to COVID-19, including supporting significant investments in critical care beds, ventilators, personal protective equipment and infection prevention and control training to prepare health services for increased demand.

DPC will continue to work with DH to ensure the health system remains strong as we enter Phase B of the national plan to transition to Australia’s National COVID-19 Response.

Leading Victoria’s international engagement

DPC has worked across government to further Victoria’s international engagement objectives by:

• establishing a centralised model for Victoria’s compliance with Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020 (Cth)
• facilitating discussions between the diplomatic community and Victorian representatives, including the Premier, ministers and the Governor, to progress matters of mutual interest
• collaborating with Asia Society Australia to utilise its expertise and extensive networks to enhance Victoria’s connections to, engagement with and knowledge of Asia.

Supporting delivery of the government’s infrastructure program

In 2020–21 DPC continued its work with the Department of Transport and the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority on many of the major transport projects in construction, including the Level Crossing Removal Project, Metro Tunnel Project, North East Link Project and multiple road upgrades. The government has 165 major road and rail projects being constructed or planned at an investment of $80 billion and the creation of more than 18,000 jobs.

DPC has continued to work across government in supporting the Suburban Rail Loop Authority’s efforts to progress the Suburban Rail Loop project.

Designing and establishing new ways of working with communities

The Behavioural Insights Unit supported departments to understand the likely impact of policies and programs on Victorians’ behaviours in relation to COVID-19. International evidence was also used to support the effective implementation of policies, programs and communications for COVID‑19-related requirements such as mask-wearing and other COVID-19 safe behaviours.

Throughout 2020–21 the Innovation Network continued to support the VPS’ transition to a remote working model. Membership of the Innovation Network grew to more than 20,000 accounts over the year, highlighting the demand for the network’s training materials and events in an online environment. Many of the Innovation Network’s learning materials were translated into ‘on demand’ videos, broadening its reach to staff working remotely across Victoria.

In March 2021 the Innovation Network hosted its third annual Innovation Immersion event, held fully online over three days, with more than 2,340 unique attendees across 21 sessions, delivering 5,750 learning hours. Innovation Immersion is one of the VPS’ largest training events and supports staff to embed innovation methodologies into their everyday work.

CivVic Labs completed its third round during 2020–21. To date, 38 start-ups have worked on solutions to 13 challenges from 15 departments and agencies. In total CivVic Labs has provided $2.7 million in procurement funding to Victorian start-ups, with a 50 per cent jobs growth for start-ups proceeding to the development phase.

Promoting affordable, reliable and secure energy

In 2020–21 DPC supported the Premier, government departments (including the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning [DELWP] and the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions) and government entities in delivering government’s energy, resources and environment commitments including:

• releasing Victoria’s first Climate Change Strategy, including interim emission reduction targets of a 28–33 per cent reduction on 2005 levels by 2025, a 45–50 per cent drop by 2030 and emissions reduction pledges across the economy
• supporting progress on the $540 million investment in electricity network infrastructure for Victoria’s Renewable Energy Zones
• delivering the Energy Fairness Plan, which includes penalties of up to $1 million for energy retailers that wrongfully disconnect vulnerable Victorians and will see a ban on door-to-door sales of energy products
• procuring Australia’s largest battery, the Victorian Big Battery, which is a 300-megawatt battery installed at the Moorabool Terminal Station near Geelong
• establishing the Great Ocean Road Coasts and Parks Authority to better manage and protect the coast and parks of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road
• supporting the agriculture sector through the Agriculture Strategy, Agriculture Workforce Plan and securing entry of Pacific workers for Victorian farms
• establishing Greater Western Water by bringing together Western Water and City West Water to deliver water services to the fast-growing outer-west regions.

Digital systems to support contact tracing

In 2020–21 Digital Victoria coordinated the development of the government’s QR code system, which allows people to check in to workplaces and venues through the Service Victoria mobile app. The system provides DH contact tracers with data to help them identify and then communicate with people who may have come into contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19.

Service Victoria played an important role in the government’s COVID-19 response, allowing rapid deployment of critical new digital services. The QR check-in service was launched on 13 November 2020 and became mandatory on 28 May 2021. More than 146 million customers used the service to check-in, and the Service Victoria mobile app was downloaded 3.6 million times. The border entry permit service, launched on 21 November 2020, processed 3.3 million applications to enter Victoria, and the travel voucher service issued 160,000 travel vouchers worth $32 million over four rounds starting from 14 December 2020.

Digital public engagement through Engage Victoria

Engage Victoria is the government’s online consultation platform, providing a range of tools to enable the community to readily share their ideas and opinions and to comment on the ideas of others on a range of issues and topics relevant to Victoria. In 2020–21 Engage Victoria conducted 190 consultations across all government departments and eight agencies including Parks Victoria, the Environment Protection Authority and the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority. It received more than 875,000 visitors and 96,000 pieces of feedback on the platform.

Victorians contributed across many important consultations on Engage Victoria including informing Victoria Police service reform, helping design Victoria’s container deposit scheme and shaping critical transport projects for Melbourne Airport Rail and the Suburban Rail Loop.

Office of the Victorian Government Architect (OVGA)

OVGA continued its work to deliver high-quality design principles, processes and outcomes for the government through its involvement in various key initiatives and projects in 2021 including:

• Future Homes Project — to prepare exemplar designs for apartment buildings in established suburbs.
• Social housing — leading design quality initiatives to assist Homes Victoria to achieve high-quality, contemporary, affordable and sustainable social housing.
• Health infrastructure — working with the Victorian Health Building Authority to develop design principles and processes to support delivery of public health, mental health and aged-care infrastructure, including the Mental Health Beds Expansion Program, the new Footscray Hospital and the Frankston Hospital Redevelopment.
• Transport infrastructure — continued collaboration with the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority on Victoria’s Big Build, including the Level Crossing Removal Project and Metro Tunnel.
• Precincts — advocacy and advice on integrated precinct development in key locations such as Footscray, Arden and the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation.
• Design review — OVGA’s Victorian Design Review Panel continued to provide independent and authoritative advice to government through structured design reviews of a wide range of projects from across sectors including social housing, transport infrastructure, health, education, culture, tourism and civic and community buildings.
• Independent review of the value and benefits of OVGA — OVGA commissioned an independent review of its activities over the 2018–21 period. Stakeholders from government departments and agencies strongly endorsed OVGA’s contribution to improved outcomes in both capital and advocacy or policy projects — 100 per cent of respondents ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that OVGA services had helped to drive design quality at the strategic or systemic level, while 100 per cent of OVGA stakeholders reported that they were ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to use OVGA’s services again.

Promoting fair and equitable workplaces

In 2020–21 DPC’s Industrial Relations Victoria (IRV) group provided leadership and support on public sector bargaining matters including approving 42 agreements for public sector departments and agencies. IRV successfully completed significant projects for the benefit of workers and workplaces including the response to the Inquiry into the Victorian On-Demand Workforce and establishing the new statutory authority, Wage Inspectorate Victoria.

The ongoing impact of COVID-19 required new initiatives to support Victorian employers and their workforces. IRV has advised government on industrial relations legislative and policy matters during COVID-19, maintaining a framework of protections and arrangements for the public and private sector and participating in cross-department consultations with the private sector to manage the dissemination and implementation of public health directions in workplaces.

Examples of how DPC has promoted fair and equitable workplaces through IRV in 2020–21 are outlined below.

In the private sector, DPC:

• developed and published the government’s response to the Report of the Inquiry into the Victorian On-Demand Workforce and obtained implementation budget funding
• developed the Industrial Relations Legislation Amendment Act 2021, which made a number of improvements to eight pieces of legislation, together with various Regulations
• conducted a review of the Child Employment Act 2003 and worked with the Department of Justice and Community Safety to complete a review of the Private Security Act 2004
• supported the Victorian Government’s policy responses to COVID-19, directed towards supporting workers and businesses in the private sector including support for seasonal workers
• led the government’s participation in Fair Work Commission cases, including the Annual Wage Review and test cases on award variations for paid COVID-19 leave in the health and community sectors
• prepared submissions to numerous Australian Government reviews and inquiries and supported ratification of the International Labour Organization’s conventions against sexual harassment and violence at work
• supported the Equal Workplaces Advisory Council and commissioned research to provide equitable gender pay budgetary initiatives
• continued to work with the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions to develop the Victorian Fair Jobs Code
• supported the Transport Industry Council and the Forestry Industry Council, including a review of the Tip Truck Code of Practice.

In the public sector, DPC:

• began implementing the revised wages policy and the enterprise bargaining framework, which focuses on the Victorian Government’s operational and public sector priorities
• developed and maintained an Industrial Relations Framework and guidance for managing the effects of COVID-19 in the Victorian public sector
• developed a support package for public sector employees affected by the further lockdown and restrictions
• obtained certification of the Victorian Public Service Enterprise Agreement and supported its implementation
• oversaw the renegotiation of several major enterprise agreements including for Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, V/Line and public sector health professionals
• developed the Women in Construction Strategy, which supports the attraction, recruitment and retention of women in building and construction
• provided industrial relations support and advice for the government’s building and infrastructure projects
• supported the Building Industry Consultative Council
• provided industrial relations support and advice to the Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner on establishing the Gender Equality Act 2020
• progressed a review of casual and fixed-term employment in the public service.

With Wage Inspectorate Victoria, DPC:

• established the Inspectorate as a statutory body to enforce the Wage Theft Act 2020 (which came into effect on 1 July 2021) and assumed responsibility for administering the Child Employment Act 2003, the Long Service Leave Act 2018 and the Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005.
• protected the safety and welfare of children working in Victoria by administering child employment laws, including assessing and issuing 5,750 child employment permits and undertaking 171 child employment investigations
• finalised 117 investigations into breaches of long service leave laws and recovered $420,242 in outstanding long service leave entitlements for employees
• answered 9,100 long service leave and child employment queries through the Inspectorate’s Information Line and responded to more than 1,600 email queries from the public
• filed four prosecutions alleging breaches of the Long Service Leave Act and Child Employment Act
• undertook regulatory responsibilities under the Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act.

Progress towards achieving the objective

The output performance measures that provide information on DPC’s progress in achieving the ‘Strong policy outcomes’ strategic objective are outlined below.

Objective indicator: DPC’s policy advice and its support for Cabinet, committee members and the Executive Council are valued and inform decision making

Objective indicator: The development and effective use of technology supports productivity and competitiveness

This objective supports and promotes full participation in strong, resilient and vibrant communities. It empowers citizens to participate in policymaking and service design. It ensures a holistic approach to social policy and service delivery.

DPC’s outcomes on the following key initiatives helped us achieve the ‘Engaged citizens’ strategic objective.

The Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018–2023

Throughout 2020–21 DPC has continued to progress WoVG self-determination reforms in line with the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018–2023 (VAAF). The VAAF is the government’s overarching framework for working with Aboriginal Victorians, organisations and the wider community to drive action so all Victorian Aboriginal people, families and communities are healthy, safe, resilient, thriving and living culturally rich lives.

DPC also developed the annual Victorian Government Aboriginal Affairs Report (VGAAR), which measures WoVG progress against the VAAF and fulfils a Victorian Budget Paper No. 3 commitment for DPC. The 2020 VGAAR was tabled in parliament on 24 June 2021. In addition to measuring progress against the 111 measures, for the first time, the 2020 VGAAR includes specific information on WoVG progress to enable self-determination, focusing on improvements on internal government processes, practices and policies. DPC also developed an online data dashboard to ensure VGAAR data is more transparent and accessible to the Aboriginal community and organisations.

DPC’s work to enable self-determination has included working across DPC to embed self-determination principles and enablers into their core policies, programs, business processes and delivery system. In relation to addressing trauma and supporting healing (one of the VAAF’s enablers for self-determination), DPC has supported the Stolen Generations Reparations Steering Committee to develop and deliver its report to government on the design and implementation of a Stolen Generations Reparations Package to address the trauma and suffering caused by the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families and communities.

In 2020–21 DPC also led development of Victoria’s implementation plan for the National Agreement on Closing the Gap in partnership with the Aboriginal Executive Council, one of Victoria’s key implementation partners, to reflect the unique and diverse needs of Victoria’s Aboriginal communities.

This brings together existing and new actions that will contribute to Victoria achieving and exceeding targets under the National Agreement and the VAAF.

Advancing treaty with Aboriginal Victorians

Throughout 2020–21 DPC has worked in partnership with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria (Assembly) — the first statewide, democratically elected representative body for Aboriginal Victorians in the state’s history — to progress negotiations on the treaty elements required to support future treaty negotiations.

DPC’s work to advance Victoria’s treaty process in 2020–21 has included:

• progressing detailed discussions between the State and the Assembly on the treaty elements required under the Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Act 2018 (Treaty Act), a Treaty Authority, a treaty negotiation framework and a dispute resolution process
• agreeing between the State and Assembly on treaty conduct protocols and the first treaty element — an interim dispute resolution process — to guide the relationship between parties in this phase of the treaty process
• supporting the Assembly to enhance its operations and engagement in the treaty process, and to engage with the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission
• jointly developing the terms of reference for the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission with the Assembly, in line with the State’s commitment to address historical wrongs and ongoing injustices through the treaty process, as articulated in the Treaty Act
• launching the Deadly & Proud public communications campaign in collaboration with the Assembly to further build collective understanding among all Victorians of the importance of the treaty process.

Establishing the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission

On 12 May 2021 the Governor of Victoria signed the letters patent to legally establish the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission and set its terms of reference.

Yoo-rrook is the Wemba Wemba / Wamba Wamba word for ‘truth’. The Commission will investigate historical and ongoing injustices perpetrated against First Peoples since colonisation by State and non-State entities, across all areas of social, political and economic life.

There are broadly three components of the Commission’s purpose: truth-telling and healing; truth-listening and educating the wider Victorian public; and making meaningful recommendations for reform. Truth-telling and reckoning with past injustices have been acknowledged as an integral part of Victoria’s treaty process.

In 2020–21, to establish the Commission and support its inquiry, DPC:

• worked in partnership with the Assembly to establish the commission, including working together to develop the terms of reference
• supported the appointment of the five Commissioners through an open and transparent nomination process:
  • Professor Eleanor Bourke (Chair)
  • Dr Wayne Atkinson
  • Ms Sue-Anne Hunter
  • Distinguished Professor Maggie Walter
  • Professor the Honourable Kevin Bell AM QC
• established the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission Response and Engagement Branch within DPC to support the State’s engagement with the Commission.

Progress towards achieving the objective

The output performance measures that provide information on DPC’s progress in achieving the ‘Engaged citizens’ strategic objective are outlined below.

Objective indicator: Increased opportunities for participation by members of the Victorian community in the social, cultural, economic and democratic life of Victoria

Further details on DPC’s 2020–21 performance against its output performance measures are covered on pages 43–57.

This objective fosters and promotes a high-performing public service. It ensures effective WoVG performance and outcomes. It protects the values of good public governance in support of public trust.

DPC’s outcomes on the following key initiatives have helped us achieve the ‘Professional public administration’ strategic objective.

Office of the Governor initiatives

In addition to constitutional and ceremonial duties, the Governor, the Honourable Linda Dessau AC, participated in a range of community and international engagement events in 2020–21. The events program was adapted in line with changing COVID-19 restrictions, with arrangements made to hold in-person events virtually.

The Governor and her spouse, Mr Anthony Howard AM QC, hosted a series of events to thank frontline and essential workers and first responders. These included representatives from many organisations that helped keep Victorians safe and supported during the summer bushfires and COVID-19. The Governor and Mr Howard continued their engagement with Victoria’s regional communities through both in-person and virtual visits as part of the regional tour program.

Implementing security upgrades for government buildings

In 2020–21 the Office of the Governor completed a significant program of projects including security and conservation upgrade works.

Chief Parliamentary Counsel services

In 2020–21 the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel (OCPC) drafted a range of legislation to implement major government policy initiatives and reforms.

OCPC drafted several Bills as part of the government’s response to COVID-19 including Acts relating to residential tenancies, health measures and to extend the state of emergency.

Legislation to implement significant social policy initiatives were also drafted, including to repeal the offence of public drunkenness, to significantly reform screening people working with people with disability and children, and to improve standards in child safety. Various Bills implementing financial measures were also passed.

During 2020–21, 214 statutory rules were made, including to improve the operation of magistrates courts, to improve road safety regulations and to implement changes required by COVID-19.

Throughout 2020–21 OCPC continued providing drafting services to parliament to facilitate the passage of legislation, to prepare House amendments and to introduce Private Members’ Bills. The demand for drafting services and advice from Members of Parliament across all parties continues to be high. In 2020–21 the volume of formal advice provided on legislation increased by 17 per cent.

OCPC continued to work closely with DPC to further improve community access to the law by developing and implementing enhancements for the legislation website launched in the previous financial year.

Securing public records by accessing a customised storage facility

Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) received funding to help access a customised storage facility to increase storage capacity. The planning to transfer 10,000 linear metres of general storage capacity to a State Library Victoria storage facility in Ballarat has been completed; however, the transfer was delayed due to COVID-19. This is now expected to occur early in 2021–22.

Improve government recordkeeping through the Information Management Maturity Assessment Program

In May 2021 PROV released the 2019–20 Information Management Maturity Assessment Program report, which maps the status of information management across eight government departments and two agencies. Prioritisation and resourcing available for information management activities through the year were found to have been significantly impacted by MoG changes, technological and system changes, and COVID-19, which resulted in maturity levels remaining similar to, or in some cases, less than those of the previous assessment cycle.

PROV online

COVID-19 saw PROV’s face-to-face services impacted in 2020–21; however, it also presented opportunities to expand online engagement with users and to showcase collection items available online. In 2020–21 PROV delivered the following initiatives:

• An online exhibition titled ‘A New Normal’ brought together local street photographers, documentarians and photojournalists to capture moments of kindness, creativity, hardship and the surreal that defined 2020 in Victoria. These contemporary images were featured alongside photographs drawn from the collections of the Victorian Government and National Archives of Australia to further explore the concept of ‘A New Normal’.
• The Victorian Community History Awards was held as an online event for the first time. Almost 1,500 people tuned into the awards broadcast across YouTube and Facebook, with viewers interacting and engaging with winners through chat and social media channels.

Supporting the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal and Compliance Officer function

DPC provides secretariat support to the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal to set remuneration frameworks for Members of Parliament, public sector executives and local government councillors.

During 2020–21 the secretariat supported the tribunal to:

• make the Members of Parliament (Victoria) Annual Adjustment Determination 2021
• review and report on the superannuation arrangements for Members of Parliament
• make an annual adjustment to the remuneration bands for public service executives
• make the first comprehensive Determination setting the values of remuneration bands for executives employed in prescribed public entities and the Prescribed Public Entity Executive Remuneration Guidelines to assist employers with placing executives within the remuneration bands
• provide advice to public service and prescribed public entity employers that proposed to pay executives above the remuneration bands
• issue determinations setting the remuneration for chief executive officers in prescribed public entities under the Victorian Government Public Entity Executive Remuneration Policy.

The secretariat also supports the compliance officer function that is attached to the tribunal to independently hear and determine appeals from Members of Parliament in relation to claims for work-related parliamentary allowances and the separation payment. The compliance officer did not hear any appeals in 2020–21.

Enhancing public sector integrity and governance capability through the Victorian Public Sector Commission

The VPSC’s strategic priorities are to promote workforce reform, support a positive employee experience, develop outstanding leadership and promote public trust. These priorities support a trusted public sector that delivers exceptional outcomes for the Victorian community. The VPSC’s role was particularly important this year as the workforce continued to support the government to respond to the impacts of COVID-19.

Key initiatives included:

• revising the Flexible Work Policy to embed flexible work in the VPS and support new ways of working so the VPS can create the best public value for Victorians
• sharing resources to promote accessibility and inclusion in public sector workplaces including a wellbeing toolkit to help managers support their team’s wellbeing during remote work
• issuing new guidance to support hiring managers to use special measures in recruitment, building a diverse and inclusive public sector workforce that reflects the community it serves
• issuing integrity guidance for new board directors, an induction checklist for organisations and an employee guide to maintaining integrity when working remotely
• extending the application of pre-employment misconduct screening to prescribed public entities to ensure executives across the VPS are subject to the same integrity checks prior to employment
• publishing the State of the Public Sector in digital format to ensure workforce data is up to date and freely accessible to the community.

The Jobs and Skills Exchange

The Jobs and Skills Exchange has played an important role in designing and implementing new approaches to enhancing workforce mobility and career development in the VPS.

Key initiatives during the year included:

• establishing a flexible employment model to meet surge demand for expertise across departments
• growing employee membership to the Jobs and Skills Exchange within the VPS
• starting to roll out the Jobs and Skills Exchange to Victorian public entities.

The Jobs and Skills Exchange was transferred to the VPSC on 1 December 2020.

This objective pursues policy, service and administration excellence and reform. It leads the public sector response to significant state issues, policy challenges and projects. It supports the effective administration of government. It supports delivery of policy and projects that enable increased productivity and competitiveness in Victoria.

DPC’s outcomes on the following key initiatives have helped us achieve the ‘High-performing DPC’ strategic objective.

Wellbeing support during COVID-19

In response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, DPC’s agile work environment enabled a rapid deployment of employees to work from home safely, and this has continued throughout 2020–21. DPC has continued to ensure employees are appropriately equipped to safely work in a hybrid environment to support a return to DPC offices.

DPC continues to provide resources and tools including the Flexible Work Policy and occupational health and safety assessments adapted for the home environment.

Significant work was undertaken to implement DPC’s COVIDSafe Plan including the introduction of QR codes at all workstations, a desk booking management system, hygiene guidelines and the introduction of individual IT equipment. DPC continued to refine preventative action plans to reduce the likelihood of exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace and to ensure appropriate response plans were in line with the directives of Victoria’s Chief Health Officer. Transition of staff back into the office was supported by the COVIDSafe module, an e-learning initiative developed to ensure staff were aware of COVIDSafe practices upon their return to the office.

The dedicated intranet COVIDSafe hub is available to DPC staff, providing information on managing a COVIDSafe workplace and promoting a range of wellbeing support resources including activities to:

• maintain physical health
• promote psychological wellbeing and connection with teams and colleagues
• balance work and life commitments
• manage stress
• lead through challenging times.

Enhancing mental health and wellbeing

Health, safety and wellbeing support services for DPC and its agencies for 2020–21 have continued to focus on providing personal, approachable and responsive services for the department. Physical and mental health wellbeing initiatives have carried on throughout 2020–21 to support the public health challenges facing all Victorians. DPC is committed to providing a psychologically safe work environment for all staff through a holistic and inclusive approach to support mental health and wellbeing at work. This is achieved through implementing effective mental health wellbeing supports and training aligned with the VPS Mental Health and Wellbeing Charter.

Initiatives in line with the charter have included:

• ensuring DPC’s peer support volunteers are trained in mental health first aid to provide an additional avenue of support for employees
• continued promotion of positive wellbeing events and activities, Health and Safety Month, Mental Health Week and the promotion and delivery of mandatory mental health and wellbeing training for executives, managers and staff — this program aims to create cultural change and provide an environment for all staff to feel comfortable talking about mental health and wellbeing challenges
• partnering with business leaders to provide timely and expert support to ensure employee wellbeing during periods of organisational change.

For more information, refer to Appendix 4 under ‘Occupational health and safety management’.

Developing leaders and embedding a culture of flexibility and wellbeing

Leadership

Leadership development opportunities for executive and VPS staff are critical in supporting the vision of DPC to be recognised and respected leaders in WoVG policy and performance. In 2020–21:

• More than 150 DPC leaders attended the Foundations of People Management series, a series of learning and skill building experiences designed to enhance people management capabilities and support managers as they transition from individual contributor to leading teams.
• DPC supported executives to participate in a range of programs focused on executive wellbeing, leadership and coaching, providing intensive and collaborative development experiences designed to support leading through change and uncertainty and new ways of thinking, leading and working.
• In partnership with DTF and the Essential Services Commission, more than 200 staff took part in a mentoring program established to support staff development, cultivate connections within the VPS and create a culture of developing others.

Learning and development

DPC is committed to providing learning and development opportunities for its staff. Based on the Experience, Exposure, Education model of learning, DPC offers programs and resources to support individuals and teams to drive their own learning and development.

In 2020–21 DPC staff took up more than 1,900 places at development programs, events, workshops and digital offerings across a range of topics including mental health, people management, diversity/inclusion and leadership development. All offerings were run virtually to support a COVIDSafe environment, and many were recorded so staff could access them at a time that suited them.

Flexibility

During 2020–21 workplaces continued to face the challenge of adapting how we work and where we work. Victoria’s COVID-19 experience showed more of us how flexible arrangements can work in practice.

DPC implemented the VPS Flexible Work Policy, which supports the government’s default position for the VPS allowing every role to have some form of flexibility. This includes supporting a three-day-a-week default for office-based staff.

In the latter half of 2020–21 workplaces transitioned for a time from home back to offices, and DPC successfully shifted to hybrid working. Hybrid working has allowed us to rethink work and flexibility and to explore new and improved ways of creating and delivering.

Senior leaders modelling flexible and hybrid working, technology improvements and a range of support programs have helped DPC to pivot to hybrid working.

DPC employees have been accessing the newly completed Suburban Hubs as part of the government’s longer term flexible working arrangements to enable employees to work from a combination of home, suburban hubs and a primary workplace. The first hub, located in Footscray, opened to staff on 1 February 2021, and two further hubs located in Mulgrave and Williams Landing opened on 28 June 2021.

Delivering the DPC Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and action plans

DPC continues to work towards creating a workforce that is genuinely inclusive and better reflects the diversity of the communities it serves. Remote working has supported diversity, inclusion and a more equitable workplace, all of which create both social and economic improvements not only for the VPS but also for Victoria.

In 2020–21 DPC continued to implement the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2019–2021 to ensure our culture and day-to-day practices are as inclusive as possible for all staff. The strategy includes a suite of diversity action plans that focus on Aboriginal employment; cultural, linguistic and religious diversity; people with disability; gender equity; and the LGBTIQ+ community.

DPC’s obligations under the Gender Equality Act began on 31 March 2021 and requires DPC to take positive action towards promoting workplace gender equality. DPC will be developing and implementing a four-year Gender Equality Action Plan inclusive of a gender impact assessment of all new policies, programs and services that affect the public, as well as those up for review.

DPC is in its third year of supporting the VPS Enablers Network for people with disability. The network has grown to more than 800 members and has served as a valuable employee resource group during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Embedding a positive and productive workplace culture

In October 2020 DPC participated in the VPS People Matter Survey Wellbeing Check, which focused on employee wellbeing given the challenges of COVID-19. WoVG pulse surveys have also been run periodically throughout 2020–21, which have supplemented the 2020 People Matter Survey Wellbeing Check results and provided data with which to monitor key focus areas.

Priority areas of focus are wellbeing, managing workload and supporting flexible and hybrid ways of working to enable a positive high-performing workplace.

DPC leaders have been provided with support to be able to adapt to the changing working environment and lead and support their people during an extremely challenging time. This has included a range of leadership development opportunities, targeted webinars, workshops and coaching on how to strengthen their capability in managing and supporting their teams in a new hybrid way of working to maximise productivity and engagement.

Implementing strategies to attract, develop and retain talented and diverse people

DPC is an equal opportunity employer committed to a fair and merit-based approach to recruitment and selection while actively fostering and promoting diversity and inclusion.

DPC develops and implements best practice contemporary recruitment practices that allow us to attract the widest pool of people from diverse backgrounds. DPC manages a range of employment programs including the Youth Employment Program and the Barring Djinang internship program.

All recruitment processes are accessible and, where required, reasonable adjustments are made. Additional tools have been created during 2020–21 to support virtual interviewing and onboarding.

DPC continues to leverage the VPS Jobs and Skills Exchange as a key recruitment avenue by using the JSE platform for all advertised roles. DPC has also participated in and accessed a WoVG mobility pool to support placement into surge roles created because of COVID-19.

Modernising and strengthening HR systems and processes

DPC has continued to use PeopleCentral, the Human Capital Management System to manage key people tasks. PeopleCentral is easy to use and offers staff a range of features:

• a learning management system that allows staff to view and enrol in training, complete e-learning modules, create and share learning resources and record learning activities
• employees and managers can regularly capture performance and development progress with real-time performance development status updates.

DPC continues to take part in the WoVG Common Corporate Platforms program to improve VPS productivity, effectiveness, visibility and mobility. The program will deliver modern, cloud-based platforms across WoVG functions for human resources, procurement and finance. Implementation for the human resources platform within DPC is expected in 2021–22.

Delivering an integrated automated briefing and correspondence system

The DPC Board of Management approved the Automated and Briefing Correspondence (ABC) Project business case in September 2020. DPC appointed a vendor in December 2020, and the core features of the solution were developed and due for completion in July 2021. The testing phase is now underway, together with planning to set up the support model for the project, and to prepare the organisation to deploy the solution.

The ABC Community of Practice, with representation from other departments, has led to interest from several departments to adopt DPC’s scalable WoVG-worthy ABC solution.

Establishing the internal Program Management Office to drive efficient and effective delivery of technology projects

In 2019–20 DPC created a dedicated program management function under the remit of the chief information officer. Initial work included establishing clear status reporting for DPC technology projects, enabling DPC to track progress and make data-informed decisions. The program management function has also provided strong support and delivery assurance to DPC project managers and teams.

Project funding in 2020–21 enabled the program team to grow from one to seven people. This further enabled a review of the project and program standards and templates. A new Digital Solutions team developed a clear framework to support multi-methodology project delivery to continue to drive efficient and effective delivery of technology projects.

Building on this foundation, future work will look at establishing a Portfolio Management Office and, following consultation across DPC, an internal ICT governance and investment committee to oversee system prioritisation and funding.

Implementing integrated communications technology

From March 2020 the rollout of Microsoft Teams to DPC staff was a critical technology enabler for cross-department collaboration and communication during DPC’s remote working transition due to COVID-19.

Further building on DPC’s implementation of Microsoft 365 to deliver enhanced security, efficiency and effectiveness, a Unified Communications project will be implemented. This will use a Telstra cloud calling service, replacing ageing and costly legacy telephony infrastructure, to further enhance flexibility, remote working and collaboration across DPC.

The section provides information about DPC’s performance against our output performance measures. It provides comparison with our output targets that were published in the Departmental Performance Statement section of the 2020–21 Victorian Budget Paper No. 3 — Service Delivery.

Commentary is provided where there are variances of more than 5 per cent between targets and actual results for performance measures.

Government-wide leadership, reform and implementation

This output provides advice and support to the Premier and Cabinet on all aspects of government policy. This involves advice on issues as they arise, policy coordination, research and analysis, consultation with stakeholders and leadership in long‑term policy development.

Results legend

✔ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

○ Performance target not achieved — within 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

✗ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Strategic advice and government support

This output provides strategic policy analysis and advice to the Premier, leads policy development on key priority issues and supports informed government decision making.

Results legend

✔ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

✗ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Digital government and communications

This output encourages innovative use of ICT to improve service delivery and business processes and provides information and services to Victorian citizens and businesses through digital and other delivery channels.

Results legend

✔ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

✗ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Office of the Victorian Government Architect

This output provides strategic leadership and advice to government and key stakeholders on architecture and the built environment.

Results legend

✔ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

Industrial relations

This output contributes to providing fair jobs and a positive industrial relations environment through sound industrial relations policy and advice to government. This includes oversight of enterprise bargaining across the Victorian public sector and support for Victoria’s participation in the national workplace relations system.

Results legend

✔ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

Aboriginal policy, and strengthening Aboriginal cultural heritage and communities

This output supports the Victorian Government’s commitment to advancing self‑determination for Aboriginal Victorians and to improving long‑term social and economic outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians. This includes protecting and managing Aboriginal cultural heritage; strengthening Aboriginal community organisations; progressing treaty; broad community engagement; and work to reform government to enable self‑determination.

Results legend

✔ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

○ Performance target not achieved — within 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

✗ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Advice and support to the Governor

This output provides advice and support to the Governor and maintenance of Government House and its collections as a heritage asset of national importance.

Results legend

✔ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

✗ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Chief Parliamentary Counsel services

This output provides Bills for introduction in parliament including: providing quality and timely legislative drafting services; hard copy and electronic publication of Acts and statutory rules; and maintaining a database of Victorian legislation and legislative information at www.legislation.vic.gov.au.

Results legend

✔ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

○ Performance target not achieved — within 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

✗ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Management of Victoria’s public records

This output provides direction to government on the management of public records and ensures the historical memory of the Victorian Government endures, is secure and is accessible.

Results legend

✔ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

○ Performance target not achieved — within 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

✗ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Public administration advice and support

This output provides advice and support on issues relevant to public sector administration, Members of Parliament and executive officer remuneration, governance, service delivery and workforce matters, as well as to public sector professionalism and integrity. It includes related research, determinations, data collection, reporting and dissemination of information.

Results legend

✔ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

✗ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

State electoral roll and electoral events

This output, through the Victorian Electoral Commission, provides a high‑quality electoral system that supports democracy in Victoria through administering an accurate and secure electoral roll, electoral services to ensure fair and equitable representation, the conduct of fair and impartial elections and encouraging greater participation in civic life through education and awareness activities and improving ease of access.

Results legend

✔ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

○ Performance target not achieved — within 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

✗ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5 per cent or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Comprehensive operating statement for the financial year ended 30 June 2021

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.

Balance sheet as at 30 June 2021

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.

Cash flow statement for the financial year ended 30 June 2021

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.

Statement of changes in equity for the financial year ended 30 June 2021

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.

Notes to the financial statements for the financial year ended 30 June 2021

Note 1. About this report

The Department of Premier and Cabinet (‘the department’) is a government department of the State of Victoria established pursuant to an order made by the Premier under the Administrative Arrangements Act 1983. It is an administrative agency acting on behalf of the Crown.

The principal address of the department is:

Department of Premier and Cabinet
1 Treasury Place
Melbourne VIC 3002

A description of the department’s operations and its principal activities is included in the Report of operations, which does not form part of these financial statements.

Basis of preparation

These financial statements are in Australian dollars and the historical cost convention is used unless a different measurement basis is specifically disclosed in the note associated with the item measured on a different basis.

The accrual basis of accounting has been applied in preparing these financial statements whereby assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses are recognised in the reporting period to which they relate, regardless of when cash is received or paid.

Judgements, estimates and assumptions are required to be made about financial information being presented. The significant judgements made in preparing these financial statements are disclosed in the notes where amounts affected by those judgements are disclosed. Estimates and associated assumptions are based on professional judgements derived from historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which those estimates are revised and also in future periods that are affected by the revision. Judgements and assumptions made by management in applying Australian Accounting Standards that have significant effects on the financial statements and estimates are disclosed in the notes to which they relate.

These financial statements cover the department as an individual reporting entity and include all the controlled activities of the department, including the grants provided to the department’s portfolio entities. The results of the portfolio entities are not consolidated in the department’s financial statements because they prepare their own financial reports. The department’s portfolio results (including the portfolio entities) are included in Appendix 1, Budget portfolio outcomes of this annual report, which does not form part of the financial statements and is not subject to audit by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office.

The following entities have been consolidated into the department’s financial statements pursuant to a determination made by the Assistant Treasurer under section 53(1)(b) of the Financial Management Act 1994. The department does not control these entities.

Where control of an entity is obtained during the financial period, its results are included in the comprehensive operating statement from the date on which control began. Where control ceases during a financial period, the entity’s results are included for that part of the period in which control existed.

The Victorian Multicultural Commission was established under the Multicultural Victoria Act 2011. It is included in this report until 31 January 2021, when it was transferred to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) as part of machinery of government changes.

The Victorian Veterans Council is an independent statutory body established under the Veterans Act 2005. It is included until 31 January 2021, when it was transferred to DFFH as part of machinery of government changes.

The Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal was established in March 2019 under the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal and Improving Parliamentary Standards Act 2019.

Respect Victoria was established on 5 September 2018 under the Prevention of Family Violence Bill 2018. It is included until 31 January 2021, when it was transferred to DFFH as part of machinery of government changes.

The administered activities of the department and for the above controlled entities are separately disclosed in Note 8.8 Administered items. The department remains accountable for administered items but does not recognise these in its financial statements.

In 2019–20 the Labour Hire Authority was derecognised as a section 53(1)(b) entity from the department’s financial statements. The 2019–20 comparatives in the Statement of changes in equity, Cash flow statement and Reconciliation of movements in the carrying amount of property, plant and equipment note (Note 5.1.1) separately show these derecognised amounts as line items.

All amounts in the financial statements have been rounded to the nearest $1,000 unless otherwise stated.

Compliance information

These general-purpose financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis in accordance with the Financial Management Act 1994 and applicable Australian Accounting Standards including interpretations issued by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). They are presented in a manner consistent with the requirements of AASB 1049 Whole of Government and General Government Sector Financial Reporting.

Where appropriate, those paragraphs in the Australian Accounting Standards that apply to not-for-profit entities have also been applied. Accounting policies selected and applied in these financial statements ensure the resulting financial information satisfies the concepts of relevance and reliability, thereby ensuring the substance of the underlying transactions or other events is reported.

Other accounting policies

Other accounting policies that summarise the recognition and measurement basis used, and that are relevant to an understanding of the financial statements, are provided throughout the notes to the financial statements.

Note 2. Funding of our services

Introduction

The role of the department is to work for the people of Victoria by leading the public service and supporting the government of the day to achieve its strategic objectives.

To deliver on these strategic objectives, the department receives income predominantly in the form of accrual-based parliamentary appropriations.

Structure of this section

2.1 Income that funds the delivery of services

2.2 Summary of compliance with annual parliamentary and special appropriations

Key accounting recognition and measurement criteria

Income is recognised to the extent that it is probable the economic benefits will flow to the department and the income can be reliably measured at fair value. Where applicable, amounts disclosed as income are net of returns, allowances, duties and taxes. Amounts of income where the department does not have control are separately disclosed as administered income (see Note 8.8 Administered items).

2.1 Income that funds the delivery of services

Appropriations

Once annual parliamentary appropriations are approved by the Treasurer, they become controlled by the department and are recognised as income when applied for the purposes defined under the relevant legislation governing the use of the appropriation.

The department receives the following forms of appropriation:

• Output appropriations: Income from the outputs (i.e. services) the department provides to the government is recognised when those outputs have been delivered and the relevant minister has certified delivery of those outputs in accordance with specified performance criteria.
• Special appropriations: Income related to special appropriation is recognised when the expenditure relating to the amounts appropriated are paid by the department.

Grants

Income from grants without any sufficiently specific performance obligations, or that are not enforceable, is recognised in accordance with AASB 1058 when the department has an unconditional right to receive cash. This usually coincides with the department raising an invoice.

Income from grants or contracts that are enforceable and have sufficiently specific performance obligations are accounted for as revenue from contracts with customers under AASB 15 when those performance obligations are met by the department.

Income from grants received from other government entities for developing and constructing the Service Victoria digital services are recognised progressively as and when the asset is constructed. This aligns with the department’s obligation to construct the asset. The progressive percentage costs incurred is used to recognise income because this closely reflects the revenue earned by the department in constructing the asset.

Income received for specific purpose grants for on-passing is recognised simultaneously because the funds are immediately on passed to the relevant recipient entities on behalf of the Commonwealth Government.

Other income

Other income arises from the following transactions and other miscellaneous income and recovery of administration costs.

• Trust fund income: Trust fund income mostly includes fees collected from the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Register and income from other external parties.
• Sponsorship income: Sponsorship income includes receipts from external parties for the Australia Day Fund and Cultural Diversity Week.
• Resources received free of charge: Resources received free of charge or for nominal consideration are recognised at fair value when control is obtained over them, irrespective of whether these contributions are subject to restrictions or conditions over their use.

DPC’s resources received free of charge are usually public records transferred to the Public Record Office Victoria (PROV). However, PROV received no public records during the current or the previous financial year due to delays in the release of their new records management system that has also been affected by COVID-19.

2.2 Summary of compliance with annual parliamentary and special appropriations

2.2.1 Summary of annual appropriations

2.2.1 Summary of annual appropriations

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2.2.1 Summary of annual appropriations

2.2.2 Summary of special appropriations

The following table discloses the details of compliance with special appropriations.

Note:

(i) The Victorian Ombudsman transferred to the Department of Justice and Community Safety as part of a machinery of government change effective from 1 May 2020 and no longer forms part of the department’s portfolio.

Note 3. Cost of delivering our services

Introduction

This section provides an account of the expenses the department incurred in delivering its services.

The funds that enable the provision of services are disclosed in Note 2 and in this section.

Structure of this section

3.1 Expenses incurred in the delivery of services

Key accounting recognition and measurement criteria

Expenses are ordinarily recognised in the comprehensive operating statement in the reporting period in which they are incurred, and the expense is paid or is payable.

Certain items such as employee expenses, grant expenses and the capital asset charge that have specific recognition criteria are further described in Note 3.1.

3.1 Expenses incurred in the delivery of services

Notes:

(i) Payments to Victorian Government entities and other non–Victorian Government entities.

(ii) Payments to Victorian public non-financial corporations and other private businesses and individuals.

Employee expenses

Employee expenses comprise all costs related to employment including wages and salaries, superannuation, fringe benefits tax, leave entitlements, redundancy payments, WorkCover premiums and other on-costs.

The amount recognised in the comprehensive operating statement in relation to superannuation includes employer contributions for members of both defined benefit and defined contribution superannuation plans paid or payable during the reporting period.

Grant expenses

Grant expenses are contributions of the department’s resources to another party for specific or general purposes where there is no expectation that the amount will be repaid in equal value (either by goods or services). Grant expenses also include grants paid to entities within the department’s portfolio. These grants are reported in specific purpose grants for on-passing.

Grants can either be operating or capital in nature. Grants can be paid as general purpose grants, which refer to grants that are not subject to conditions for their use. Alternatively, they may be paid as specific purpose grants, which are paid for a particular purpose and have conditions attached to their use.

Grant expenses are recognised in the reporting period in which they are paid or payable. Grants can take the form of money, assets, goods or services.

Details of the department’s grants payments in 2020–21 can be viewed at www.dpc.vic.gov.au. This grants payments information on the department’s internet page is not subject to audit by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office.

Capital asset charge

A capital asset charge is a charge levied by the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) on the department’s budgeted written-down value of controlled non-current physical assets. It aims to attribute to the departmental outputs, a cost of capital used in service delivery. Imposing this charge provides incentives for the department to identify and dispose of under-utilised or surplus non‑current physical assets.

Other operating expenses

Other operating expenses generally represent the day-to-day running costs incurred in normal operations and are recognised as an expense in the reporting period in which they are incurred.

The following lease payments are recognised on a straight-line basis:

• short-term leases — leases with a term less than 12 months
• low-value leases — leases where the underlying asset’s fair value (when new, regardless of the age of the asset being leased) is no more than $10,000.

Note 4. Output information

Introduction

The department is predominantly funded by accrual-based parliamentary appropriations for providing outputs. This section provides a description of the departmental outputs delivered during the financial year and the costs incurred in delivering those outputs.

Structure of this section

4.1 Departmental outputs

4.2 Changes in departmental outputs

4.3 Departmental outputs — controlled income and controlled expenses

4.1 Departmental outputs

A description of the departmental outputs during the financial year ended 30 June 2021 and their objectives are summarised below.

Strong policy outcomes

The outputs under this objective pursue policy, service and administration excellence and reform. This objective leads the public sector response to significant state issues, policy challenges and projects. It supports the effective administration of government. It supports the delivery of policy and projects that enables increased productivity and competitiveness in Victoria. It includes government-wide leadership, reform and implementation; strategic advice and government support; digital government and communications; the Office of the Victorian Government Architect; and industrial relations outputs.

Engaged citizens

The outputs under this objective support and promote full participation in strong, resilient and vibrant communities. This objective empowers citizens to participate in policymaking and service design. It ensures a holistic approach to social policy and service delivery. It includes the Aboriginal policy, strengthening Aboriginal cultural heritage and communities; multicultural affairs policy and programs; support to veterans in Victoria; LGBTIQ+ equality policy and programs; women’s policy; and youth outputs.

Professional public administration

The outputs under this objective foster and promote a high-performing public service. This objective ensures effective whole of government performance and outcomes. It protects the values of good public governance in support of public trust. It includes the advice and support to the Governor; Chief Parliamentary Counsel services; management of Victoria’s public records; public administration advice and support; and state electoral roll and electoral events outputs.

4.2 Changes in departmental outputs

The following changes were made to the department’s outputs in 2020–21: the multicultural affairs policy and programs; support to veterans in Victoria; LGBTIQ+ equality policy and programs; women’s policy; and youth outputs transferred to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing on 1 February 2021. These transactions are reflected in the outputs under the ‘Engaged citizens’ objective up to 31 January 2021.

4.3 Departmental outputs — controlled income and controlled expenses

4.3 Departmental outputs — controlled income and controlled expenses

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4.3 Departmental outputs — controlled income and controlled expenses

Note 5. Key assets to support output delivery

Introduction

The department uses land, buildings, property, plant and equipment in fulfilling its objectives and conducting its output activities. These assets represent the key resources the department uses for delivering output activities discussed in section 4 of this report.

Structure of this section

5.1 Property, plant and equipment

5.2 Intangible assets

5.3 Depreciation and amortisation

5.4 Fair value determination

Key accounting recognition and measurement criteria

Items of property, plant and equipment are measured initially at cost. Where an asset is acquired for nominal cost, the cost is its fair value at the date of acquisition. Assets transferred from/to other departments as part of a machinery of government change are transferred at their carrying amount.

The cost of leasehold improvements is capitalised and depreciated over their estimated useful lives.

The initial cost of motor vehicles under lease are measured at amounts equal to the fair value of the leased asset or, if lower, the present value of the minimum lease payments determined at the inception of the lease.

Leases recognised as right-of-use assets are initially measured at cost. This represents the present value of expected future payments resulting from the lease contract.

In reporting periods subsequent to initial recognition, property, plant and equipment are measured at fair value less accumulated depreciation and impairment. Fair value is determined based on the asset’s highest and best use (considering legal or physical restrictions imposed on the asset, public announcements or commitments made in relation to the intended use of the asset) and is summarised by asset category in the table at 5.1.

5.1 Property, plant and equipment

Notes:

(i) Land and buildings at both Government House and PROV were valued on 30 June 2017 by the Valuer-General of Victoria. The department does not hold any other land and buildings.

(ii) Public records held by PROV and other heritage assets were valued on 30 June 2017 by the Valuer-General of Victoria.

Land and buildings (including heritage buildings)

Land and buildings are classified as specialised land and specialised buildings due to restrictions on the use of these assets. They are reported at fair value. For valuation purposes, the market approach is used for specialised land, although this is adjusted for any community service obligations to reflect the specialised nature of the land being valued. Buildings are valued using the current replacement cost method. For more details refer to Note 5.4.

Leasehold improvements

Leasehold improvements are valued using the historical cost method. Historical cost is used as a close proxy to the current replacement cost due to its short useful life.

Office equipment and computer equipment

Office equipment and computer equipment are both valued using the historical cost method. Historical cost is used as a close proxy to the current replacement cost due to its short useful life.

Motor vehicles

Vehicles are valued using the current replacement cost method. The department acquires new vehicles and at times disposes of them before the end of their economic life. The process of acquisition use and disposal in the market is managed by experienced fleet managers in the department who set relevant depreciation rates during the life of the asset to reflect the use of the vehicles.

Public records and other heritage assets

These assets are reported at fair value. The valuation of these assets is based on a market approach. This involves using market prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions from comparable or similar assets (refer to Note 5.4 for details on valuation techniques).

Right-of-use assets acquired by lessees

The department recognises a right-of-use asset and a lease liability at the lease commencement date. The right-of-use asset is initially measured at cost, which comprises the initial amount of the lease liability adjusted for:

• any lease payments made at or before the commencement date less any lease incentive received
• any initial direct costs incurred
• an estimate of costs to dismantle and remove the underlying asset or to restore the underlying asset or the site on which it is located.

The department subsequently depreciates the right-of-use assets on a straight-line basis from the lease commencement date to the earlier of the end of the useful life of the right-of-use asset or the end of the lease term. The right-of-use assets are also subject to revaluation.

In addition, the right-of-use assets are periodically reduced by impairment losses, if any, and adjusted for certain remeasurements of the lease liabilities.

Refer to the table at 5.1.1(a) for a reconciliation of movements in the carrying amount of the department’s right-of-use assets.

5.1.1 Reconciliation of movements in carrying amount of property, plant and equipment

5.1.1 Reconciliation of movements in carrying amount of property, plant and equipment

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5.1.1 Reconciliation of movements in carrying amount of property, plant and equipment

The following table is a subset of buildings and leased motor vehicles included in Note 5.1.1 by right-of-use assets.

5.1.1(a) Reconciliation of movements in carrying amount of right-of-use assets: buildings and vehicles

Note

(i) This balance represents the initial recognition of right-of-use assets recorded on the balance sheet at 1 July 2019 along with the transfer from finance lease assets (recognised under AASB 117 at 30 June 2019) to right-of-use assets (recognised under AASB 16 at 1 July 2019).

5.2 Intangible assets

Key accounting recognition and measurement criteria

Purchased intangible assets are initially recognised at cost. Subsequently, intangible assets with finite useful lives are carried at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses. Depreciation and amortisation will begin when the asset is available for use — that is, when it is in the location and condition necessary for it to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management.

An internally generated intangible asset arising from development (or from the development phase of an internal project) is recognised if, and only if, all of the following are demonstrated:

• an intention to complete the intangible asset for use or sale
• the ability to use or sell the intangible asset
• the intangible asset will generate probable future economic benefits
• the availability of adequate technical, financial and other resources to complete the development and to use or sell the intangible asset
• the ability to measure reliably the expenditure attributable to the intangible asset during its development.

Intangible produced assets with finite useful lives are amortised on a straight-line basis over their useful lives.

Intangible assets with indefinite useful lives (and intangible assets not yet available for use) are tested for impairment annually or whenever there is an indication that the asset may be impaired.

Intangible assets with finite useful lives are tested for impairment whenever an indication of impairment is identified.

5.3 Depreciation and amortisation

The increase in intangible assets amortisation is due to the amortisation of Service Victoria’s digital services platform.

All buildings, office equipment and computer equipment, and other non-financial physical assets that have finite useful lives, are depreciated and intangible assets are amortised over their useful life.

Depreciation and amortisation are generally calculated on a straight-line basis at rates that allocate the asset’s value, less any estimated residual value, to its useful life. Depreciation and amortisation begin when the asset is first available for use in the location and condition necessary for it to be capable of operating in the manner intended by the department.

Useful life of assets

Typical estimated useful lives for the different asset classes are included in the table below.

Note:

(i) Public records are assessed to have an indefinite useful life since the records are preserved in near perfect conditions to ensure they last for an indefinite period.

Right-of-use assets are generally depreciated over the shorter of the asset’s useful life and the lease term. Where the department obtains ownership of the underlying leased asset or if the cost of the right-of-use asset reflects that the entity will exercise a purchase option, the entity depreciates the right-of-use asset over its useful life.

Impairment

Non-financial assets — including items of property, plant and equipment or intangible assets — are tested for impairment whenever there is an indication that the asset may be impaired.

The assets concerned are tested as to whether their carrying value exceeds their recoverable amount. Where an asset’s carrying value exceeds its recoverable amount, the difference is considered an impairment and is written off as an ‘other economic flow’, except to the extent that it can be offset to an asset revaluation surplus amount applicable to that class of asset.

The recoverable amount for most assets is measured at the higher of current replacement cost and fair value less costs to sell.

Assets subject to restriction on use

Heritage assets held by the department generally cannot be modified or disposed of unless ministerial approval is obtained.

5.4 Fair value determination

The department determines the policies and procedures for fair value measurements such as property, plant and equipment in accordance with the requirements of AASB 13 Fair Value Measurement and the relevant Financial Reporting Directions issued by DTF.

In determining fair values, a number of inputs are used. To increase consistency and comparability in the financial statements, these inputs are categorised into three levels, also known as the fair value hierarchy:

• level 1 — quoted (unadjusted) market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities
• level 2 — valuation techniques for which the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement is directly or indirectly observable
• level 3 — valuation techniques for which the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement is unobservable.

The department determines whether transfers have occurred between levels in the hierarchy by reassessing the categorisation at the end of each reporting period (based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement as a whole).

There have been no transfers between levels during the reporting period.

The Valuer‑General Victoria (VGV) is the department’s independent valuation agency. The department engages the VGV to carry out professional valuations on a five-year cycle. In the interim years, the department, in conjunction with the VGV, monitors changes in the fair value of each asset through relevant data sources to determine whether a revaluation is required. If a valuation is required, then the department will either carry out a managerial valuation or engage with the VGV to value those asset classes. The last such professional valuation was conducted in June 2017.

In 2020–21, where a full revaluation was not required, the department has conducted a fair value assessment using the regular indices for land and buildings from the VGV. Following this assessment, and as per FRD103I, a managerial valuation adjustment has been done due to the movement in fair value being greater than 10 per cent. The next professional valuation will be conducted in June 2022.

The carrying amounts of all non-financial physical assets approximate to level 3 fair value.

The reconciliation of all movements of level 3 fair value assets is shown in the table at 5.1.

The disclosures in connection with fair value determination for non-financial physical assets are as follows.

Land and buildings (including heritage buildings)

The department’s land and buildings are classified as specialised land and buildings for valuation purposes. The market approach is used to value specialised land, although this is adjusted for any community service obligations to reflect the use of the land being valued.

The community service obligations adjustment reflects the valuer’s assessment of the impact of restrictions associated with an asset to the extent that it is equally applicable to market participants. This approach is in light of the highest and best use consideration required for fair value measurement. Relevant valuation factors include what is physically possible, legally permissible and financially feasible. As cost and such adjustments of community service obligations are considered significant unobservable inputs, valuation of specialised land is classified as a level 3 fair value measurement.

For the department’s specialised buildings, the current replacement cost method is used, adjusting for associated depreciation. Such adjustments are considered significant unobservable inputs and specialised buildings are classified as level 3 fair value measurements.

The VGV performed an independent valuation of the department’s specialised land and specialised buildings. The effective date of the valuation was 30 June 2017.

Office equipment and computer equipment

Office equipment and computer equipment is valued using the historical cost method, which is considered a close proxy to the current replacement cost due to the short useful lives of these assets. Depreciation rates used in arriving at the current replacement costs are an unobservable input, as such these assets are classified under level 3 in the fair value measurement hierarchy.

There were no changes in valuation techniques during the current financial year.

For all assets measured at fair value, the current use is considered the ‘highest and best’ use.

Public records and other heritage assets

The valuation of public records and other heritage assets involves using market prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving comparable or similar assets. The assessment of similar assets in existence is performed by identifying comparable sales and undertaking research using subscription databases as well as referring to auction catalogues and other specialised libraries. Such a valuation technique will involve unobservable inputs to the fair value measurement, therefore public records and other heritage assets are classified under level 3 in the fair value measurements hierarchy.

The VGV performed an independent valuation of the department’s public records and other heritage assets. The effective date of the valuation was 30 June 2017.

Other heritage assets include artwork. For artwork, valuation of the assets is determined by a comparison to similar examples of the artist’s work in existence throughout Australia and research on recent prices paid for similar examples offered at auction or through art galleries.

Note 6. Other assets and liabilities

Introduction

This section sets out the other assets and liabilities that arose from the department’s operations and help contribute to the successful delivery of output operations.

Structure of this section

6.1 Receivables

6.2 Payables

6.3 Other non-financial assets

6.4 Employee benefits

6.5 Other provisions

Key accounting recognition and measurement criteria

Contractual receivables are classified as financial instruments and categorised as ‘financial assets at amortised cost’. They are initially recognised at fair value plus any directly attributable transaction costs. Subsequent to initial recognition they are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less any impairment.

The department currently holds financial instruments that are recorded in the financial statements where the carrying amounts approximate to fair value. This is due to their short-term nature or with the expectation that they will be paid in full by the end of the 2021–22 reporting period.

Statutory receivables do not arise from contracts and are recognised and measured similarly to contractual receivables (except for impairment) but are not classified as financial instruments. Amounts recognised from the Victorian Government represent funding for all commitments incurred and are drawn from the Consolidated Fund when the commitments fall due.

Contractual payables are classified as financial instruments and measured at amortised cost. Accounts payable represent liabilities for goods and services provided to the department before the end of the financial year that are unpaid.

Statutory payables are recognised and measured similarly to contractual payables but are not classified as financial instruments and not included in the category of financial liabilities at amortised cost because they do not arise from contracts.

Deferred capital grant revenue is recognised progressively when the underlying asset is constructed because this is when the department satisfies its obligations under the asset construction contract. The progressive percentage costs incurred in constructing the asset is used to recognise income because this closely reflects the progress completion of the asset. The department will defer the recognition of a portion of the grant received as a liability for the outstanding obligations. There were no deferrals for 2020–21 or the comparative year.

6.1 Receivables

Note:

(i) Represents the balance of available appropriations relating to providing outputs as well as funds available for capital purchases, for which payments had not been disbursed at the balance date, and accordingly had not been drawn from the Consolidated Fund.

6.1.1 Ageing analysis of contractual receivables

The average credit period for sales of goods/services and for other receivables is 30 days. There are no material financial assets that are individually determined to be impaired. Currently the department does not hold any collateral as security nor credit enhancements relating to any of its financial assets.

6.2 Payables

6.3 Other non-financial assets

Prepayments represent payments in advance of receiving goods or services made in one accounting period covering a term extending beyond that period. Prepayments at the end of the financial year include accommodation, WorkCover insurance, software and information technology payments paid in advance.

6.4 Employee benefits

Key accounting recognition and measurement criteria

Provision is made for benefits payable to employees in respect of annual leave and long service leave for services rendered up to the reporting date.

The annual leave liability is classified as a current liability and measured at the undiscounted amount expected to be paid because the department does not have an unconditional right to defer settlement of the liability for at least 12 months after the end of the reporting period.

No provision has been made for sick leave because all sick leave is non-vesting and it is not considered probable that the average sick leave taken in the future will be greater than the benefits accrued in future periods. Because sick leave is non-vesting, an expense is recognised in the comprehensive operating statement when sick leave is taken.

Unconditional long service leave is disclosed as a current liability, even where the department does not expect to settle the liability within 12 months. This is because it will not have the unconditional right to defer the settlement of the entitlement should an employee take leave within 12 months.

The components of the current long service leave liability are measured at either:

• undiscounted value — if the department expects to wholly settle within 12 months, or
• present value — if the department does not expect to wholly settle within 12 months.

Conditional long service leave is disclosed as a non-current liability. There is an unconditional right to defer the settlement of the entitlement until the employee has completed the requisite years of service. This non-current long service leave is measured at present value.

Any gain or loss following revaluation of the present value of the non-current long service leave liability is recognised as a transaction, except to the extent that a gain or loss arises due to changes in bond interest rates for which it is then recognised as an ‘other economic flow’ in the net result.

Employment on-costs such as payroll tax, workers compensation and superannuation are disclosed separately as a component of the provision for employee benefits.

The department does not recognise any superannuation defined benefit liabilities because it has no legal or constructive obligation to pay future benefits relating to this to its employees. Instead, DTF discloses in its annual financial statements the net defined benefit cost related to the members of these plans as an administered liability (on behalf of the State of Victoria as the sponsoring employer).

6.5 Other provisions

Other provisions are recognised when the department has a present obligation, the future sacrifice of economic benefits is probable, and the amount of the provision can be measured reliably. The amount recognised as a provision is the best estimate of the consideration required to settle the present obligation at the reporting date, considering the risks and uncertainties surrounding the obligation.

The make-good provision is recognised in accordance with the lease agreement over the accommodation facilities. The department must remove any leasehold improvements from the accommodation facilities and restore the premises to its original condition at the end of the lease term.

Note 7. Our financing activities

Introduction

This section provides information on the sources of financing activities of the department during the financial year.

This section also includes disclosures of balances that are classified as financial instruments (including cash balances) and additional information about managing exposures to financial risks.

Structure of this section

7.1 Borrowings

7.2 Cash balances and cash flow information

7.3 Financial instruments and financial risk management

7.4 Commitments for expenditure

7.5 Trust account balances

7.1 Borrowings

Key accounting recognition and measurement criteria

Borrowings are classified as financial instruments.

All interest-bearing borrowings are initially recognised at the fair value of the consideration received, less directly attributable transaction costs. The measurement basis subsequent to initial recognition is at amortised cost. The classification depends on the nature and purpose of the interest-bearing liabilities. The department determines the classification of its interest-bearing liabilities at initial recognition.

Leases recognised under the AASB16 lease accounting standard are initially measured at the present value of the lease payments unpaid at the commencement date, discounted using an interest rate implicit in the lease if that rate is readily determinable or at the department’s incremental borrowing rate.

Interest expenses include costs incurred in connection with the borrowing of funds or the notional interest cost in leases recognised under the AASB 16 lease accounting standard. Interest expenses are recognised in the period in which they are incurred.

The department leases various properties, equipment and motor vehicles. The lease contracts are typically made for fixed periods of between one and 10 years, with an option to renew the lease after that date.

7.1(a) Right-of-use assets resulting from leases

Right-of-use assets are presented in Note 5.1.1(a).

7.1(b) Amounts recognised in the comprehensive operating statement relating to leases

The following amounts are recognised in the comprehensive operating statement relating to leases.

7.1(c) Amounts recognised in the cash flow statement relating to leases

The following amounts are recognised in the ‘Cash flow statement for the financial year ended 30 June 2021’ relating to leases.

Leases

For any new contracts entered into, the department considers whether contracts contain leases. A lease is defined as a contract that conveys the right to use an asset (the underlying asset) for a period of time in exchange for consideration. To apply this definition the department assesses whether the contract meets the following three key evaluations:

• whether the contract contains an identified asset that is either explicitly identified in the contract or implicitly specified by being identified at the time the asset is made available to the department and for which the supplier does not have substantive substitution rights
• whether the department has the right to obtain substantially all of the economic benefits from using the identified asset throughout the period of use, considering its rights within the defined scope of the contract and the department has the right to direct the use of the identified asset throughout the period of use
• whether the department has the right to make decisions in respect of ‘how and for what purpose’ the asset is used throughout the period of use.

This policy is applied to all contracts from 1 July 2019.

Separation of lease and non-lease components

At inception or on reassessment of a contract that contains a lease component, the lessee is required to separate out and account separately for non-lease components within a lease contract and exclude these amounts when determining the lease liability and right-of-use asset amount.

Recognition and measurement of leases

The lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the lease payments unpaid at the commencement date, discounted using the interest rate implicit in the lease if that rate is readily determinable or at the department’s incremental borrowing rate.

Lease payments included in the measurement of the lease liability comprise:

• fixed payments (including in-substance fixed payments) less any lease incentive receivable
• variable payments based on an index or rate, initially measured using the index or rate on the commencement date
• amounts expected to be payable under a residual value guarantee
• payments arising from purchase and termination options reasonably certain to be exercised.

Subsequent to initial measurement, the liability will be reduced for payments made and increased for interest. It is remeasured to reflect any reassessment or modification, or if there are changes in in-substance fixed payments.

When the lease liability is remeasured, the corresponding adjustment is reflected in the right-of-use asset, or profit and loss if the right-of-use asset is already reduced to zero.

Short-term leases and leases of low-value assets

The department has elected to account for short-term leases and leases of low-value assets using the practical expedients. Instead of recognising a right-of-use asset and lease liability, the payments in relation to these are recognised as an expense in profit or loss when the expenditure is incurred.

Presentation of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities

The department presents right-of-use assets as ‘property, plant and equipment’ unless they meet the definition of investment property, in which case they are disclosed as ‘investment property’ in the balance sheet. Lease liabilities are presented as ‘borrowings’ in the balance sheet.

7.2 Cash balances and cash flow information

7.2.1 Cash balances

Cash at bank includes deposits at call held at the bank and trust balances held in the State of Victoria’s bank account (‘public account’). Cash received by the department is paid into the public account. Similarly, expenditure for payments to suppliers and creditors are made via the public account. The public account remits to the department the cash required based on payments to suppliers or creditors.

7.2.2 Reconciliation of the net result to the cash flow from operating activities

7.3 Financial instruments and financial risk management

Key accounting recognition and measurement criteria

Introduction

Financial instruments arise out of contractual agreements between entities that give rise to a financial asset of one entity and a financial liability or equity instrument of another entity. Due to the nature of the department’s activities, certain financial assets and financial liabilities arise under statute rather than a contract. Such financial assets and financial liabilities do not meet the definition of financial instruments in AASB 132 Financial Instruments: Presentation. For example, statutory receivables do not meet the definition of financial instruments because they do not arise under contract. The department’s statutory receivables are disclosed in Note 6.1.

The department applies AASB 9 and classifies all financial assets based on the business model for managing the assets and the assets’ contractual terms.

Categories of financial assets

Financial assets at amortised cost

Financial assets are measured at amortised costs. These assets are initially recognised at fair value plus any directly attributable transaction costs and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method less any impairment.

Financial assets at amortised cost include the department’s cash and deposits and trade receivables, but not statutory receivables.

Categories of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities at amortised cost

Financial liabilities are initially recognised on the date they are originated. They are initially measured at fair value plus any directly attributable transaction costs. After initial measurement, these financial instruments are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost include all the department’s contractual payables and lease liabilities (borrowings).

Derecognition of financial assets

A financial asset (or, where applicable, a part of a financial asset or part of a group of similar financial assets) is derecognised when the rights to receive cash flows from the asset have expired.

Derecognition of financial liabilities

A financial liability is derecognised when the obligation under the liability is discharged, cancelled or expires.

Offsetting financial instruments

Financial instrument assets and liabilities are offset and the net amount presented in the balance sheet when, and only when, there is a legal right to offset the amounts and the department intends to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Categories of financial assets and liabilities

The following table shows the department’s categorisation of financial assets and financial liabilities.

The department’s main financial risks include credit risk, liquidity risk and market risk. The department manages these financial risks in accordance with its financial risk management policy.

Credit risk

Credit risk refers to the possibility that a debtor will default on its financial obligations as and when they fall due. Credit risk associated with the department’s contractual financial assets is minimal because the main debtors are other Victorian Government entities. Credit risk is measured at fair value and is monitored on a regular basis.

Considering the minimal credit risk, there is no expected credit loss for contractual receivables as per AASB 9’s Expected Credit Loss approach.

Liquidity risk

Liquidity risk arises when the department is unable to meet its financial obligations as they fall due. The department’s exposure to liquidity risk is deemed insignificant based on a current assessment of risk, the nature and the size of the department, and a review of data from previous financial periods.

The department is exposed to liquidity risk mainly through the financial liabilities as disclosed in the balance sheet. The department manages its liquidity risk by:

• maintaining an adequate level of uncommitted funds that can be drawn at short notice to meet its short-term obligations
• careful maturity planning of its financial obligations based on forecasts of future cash flows.

Market risk

The department’s exposure to market risk is primarily through interest rate risk. The department has no material exposure to foreign currency and other price risks.

Interest rate risk

The department’s exposure to interest rate risk is insignificant and arises primarily through the department’s interest-bearing liabilities. The only interest-bearing liabilities are the motor vehicle leases entered under fixed-rate contracts.

7.4 Commitments for expenditure

Commitments for future expenditure include operating and capital commitments arising from contracts. These commitments are recorded at their nominal value and include GST. Where it is considered appropriate and provides relevant information to users, the net present values of significant individual projects are stated. These future expenditures cease to be disclosed as commitments once the related liabilities are recognised in the balance sheet.

The department also has grant payment commitments. These commitments are unquantifiable since the final grant payment is based on achieving performance milestones that may or may not be met and will affect the payment of those grants.

7.5 Trust account balances

7.5 Trust account balances

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7.5 Trust account balances

Note 8. Other disclosures

Introduction

This section includes additional disclosures required by accounting standards or otherwise for the understanding of this financial report.

It also provides information on administered items.

Structure of this section

8.1 Other economic flows

8.2 Responsible persons

8.3 Executive remuneration

8.4 Related parties

8.5 Remuneration of auditors

8.6 Restructuring of administrative arrangements

8.7 Contingent assets and contingent liabilities

8.8 Administered items

8.9 Other accounting policies and Australian Accounting Standards issued but not yet effective

8.10 Subsequent events

8.1 Other economic flows

Other economic flows are changes in the value of an asset or liability that do not result from transactions. Gains/(losses) from other economic flows include the gains or losses from:

• the disposal of leased motor vehicles
• the revaluation of the present value of the long service and recreational leave liability due to changes in the bond interest rate.

8.2 Responsible persons

In accordance with the Ministerial Directions issued by the Assistant Treasurer under the Financial Management Act, the following disclosures are made regarding responsible persons for the reporting period.

Names

The persons who held the position of Minister and Accountable Officer in the department (from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 unless otherwise stated) were:

Note:

(i) On 1 February 2021 these portfolios transferred to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing as a result of administrative restructure.

The persons who acted in positions of Minister and Accountable Officer in the department (from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021) were:

Remuneration

Remuneration received or receivable by the Accountable Officer in connection with managing the department during the reporting period was in the range of $630,000–$639,999 (2020: $690,000–$699,999).

8.3 Executive remuneration

The number of executive officers, other than ministers and accountable officers, and their total remuneration during the reporting period are shown in the table below. Total annualised employee equivalents provide a measure of full-time equivalent executive officers over the reporting period.

Remuneration comprises employee benefits in all forms of consideration paid, payable or provided by the entity or on behalf of the entity, in exchange for services rendered, and is disclosed in the following categories:

• short-term employee benefits include amounts such as wages, salaries, annual leave and sick leave that are usually paid or payable on a regular basis, as well as non-monetary benefits such as allowances and free or subsidised goods or services
• post-employment benefits include pensions and other retirement benefits paid or payable on a discrete basis when employment has ceased
• other long-term benefits include long service leave, other long-service benefits and deferred compensation.

Notes:

(i) Since 1 July 2019 the departmental chief financial officers are legally employed and paid by DTF. However, as per the requirements of FRD 21C, departments are still required to disclose costs of services provided by a CFO in their financial report. For the initial year of this new employment arrangement for CFOs, all departmental CFO costs were disclosed by DTF in its 2019–20 financial report.

(ii) The total number of executive officers includes persons who meet the definition of key management personnel of the entity under AASB 124 Related Party Disclosures and are also reported within the related parties note disclosure (Note 8.4).

(iii) Annualised employee equivalent is based on the time fraction worked over the reporting period.

8.4 Related parties

The department is a wholly owned and controlled entity of the State of Victoria.

Related parties of the department, Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner, Victorian Multicultural Commission, Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal, Victorian Veterans Council and Respect Victoria include:

• all key management personnel and their close family members and personal business interests (controlled entities, joint ventures and entities they have significant influence over)
• all Cabinet ministers and their close family members
• all departments and public sector entities that are controlled and included in the whole of state consolidated financial statements.

Significant transactions with government-related entities

The department received funding from the Consolidated Fund totalling $607.4 million (2020: $726.9 million).

Key management personnel

The department’s key management personnel from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 include:

The Premier

• The Hon Daniel Andrews MP

Portfolio ministers

• The Hon James Merlino MP
• Gabrielle Williams MP
• Martin Foley MP
• The Hon Ros Spence MP
• The Hon Shaun Leane MP
• Tim Pallas MP
• The Hon Danny Pearson MP

Secretary

• Chris Eccles AO
• Jeremi Moule

Deputy Secretaries

• Toby Hemming
• Tim Ada
• Chris Miller
• Vivien Allimonos
• Kate Houghton
• Brigid Monagle
• Elly Patira
• Matt O’Connor
• John Batho
• Elizabeth Langdon

Executive Director, Corporate Services

• Genevieve Dolan
• Andrew Campbell
• Lynn Warneke

Key management personnel of the administrative offices included in the department’s financial statements and other statutory appointees that are material in terms of the department’s financial results include:

Administrative offices

Justine Heazlewood — The Keeper of Public Records of Public Record Office Victoria

Joanne de Morton — Chief Executive Officer of Service Victoria

The compensation detailed below excludes the salaries and benefits of portfolio ministers. Ministers’ remuneration and allowances are set by the Parliamentary Salaries and Superannuation Act 1968 and is reported by the Department of Parliamentary Services.

Transactions with key management personnel and other related parties

Given the breadth and depth of state government activities, related parties transact with the Victorian public sector on terms and conditions equivalent to those that prevail in arm’s length transactions under the State’s procurement process. Further employment of processes within the Victorian public sector occur on terms and conditions consistent with the Public Administration Act 2004, codes of conduct and standards issued by the Victorian Public Sector Commission. Procurement processes occur on terms and conditions consistent with the Victorian Government Procurement Board requirements.

During the financial year the department’s Secretary, Mr Jeremi Moule (and Mr Chris Eccles AO until 12 October 2020), was a member of the board of directors of the Australian New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG). Since 2002 the department has transactions that occurred with ANZSOG that prevail at arm’s length under the State’s procurement processes.

Outside of normal citizen-type transactions with the department, there were no other related party transactions that involved key management personnel or their close family members. No provision has been required, nor any expense recognised, for impairment of receivables from related parties.

8.5 Remuneration of auditors

8.6 Restructuring of administrative arrangements

Transfers out of the department

On 1 July 2020 the order made under section 11 of the Public Administration Act, designated by the Premier, relinquished Bushfire Recovery Victoria to the Department of Justice and Community Safety.

In addition, Service Systems Reform was transferred to the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions effective from 1 July 2020.

The following transfer from the department (the transferor) was based on the declaration pursuant to section 30 of the Public Administration Act, taking effect on 1 December 2020:

• The management and development of the Jobs and Skills Exchange, a job-matching platform to support workforce mobility across the Victorian Public Sector was transferred to the Victorian Public Sector Commission.

On 1 February 2021, the order made under section 11 of the Public Administration Act, designated by the Premier, relinquished Respect Victoria, Victorian Veterans Council, Victorian Multicultural Commission, Family Violence and Fairer Victoria to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

Restructuring of administrative arrangements during the year are as follows:

8.6 Restructuring of administrative arrangements

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8.6 Restructuring of administrative arrangements

8.7 Contingent assets and contingent liabilities

Key accounting recognition and measurement criteria

Contingent assets and contingent liabilities are not recognised in the balance sheet but are disclosed and, if quantifiable, measured at nominal value.

Contingent assets and liabilities are presented inclusive of GST.

Contingent assets are possible assets that arise from past events, whose existence will be confirmed only by the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events not wholly within the control of the entity.

These are classified as either quantifiable, where the potential economic benefit is known, or non-quantifiable.

Contingent liabilities are either:

• possible obligations that arise from past events, whose existence will be confirmed only by the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events not wholly within the control of the entity, or
• present obligations that arise from past events but are not recognised because:
  • it is not probable that an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits will be required to settle the obligations, or
  • the amount of the obligations cannot be measured with sufficient reliability.

Contingent liabilities are also classified as either quantifiable or non-quantifiable.

Contingent liabilities

Quantifiable contingent liabilities

Non-quantifiable contingent liabilities

There were nil non-quantifiable contingent liabilities at the reporting date.

At 30 June 2020 the department disclosed a non-quantifiable contingent liability related to the December 2019 to February 2020 bushfires in Victoria and the subsequent recovery activities activated by the State. These bushfire recovery activities were conducted by Bushfire Recovery Victoria, which was an administrative office of the department until 30 June 2020. On 1 July 2020 Bushfire Recovery Victoria was transferred to the Department of Justice and Community Safety as part of a machinery of government decision.

Contingent assets

There were no contingent assets at the reporting date (2020: nil).

8.8 Administered items

Key accounting recognition and measurement criteria

Administered transactions relating to income, assets and liabilities are determined on an accrual basis.

The below transactions and balances relate to administered items and are not included elsewhere in these financial statements because the department does not control these activities. However, the department is accountable to the State for the transactions involving these administered resources even though it does not have the discretion to deploy these resources for its own benefit or for achieving its objectives. Some of the activities include disposal of vehicles under leases, Public Service Commuter Club and other Treasury and departmental trusts.

Note:

(i) This includes funds in trust for the portfolio agencies held in the department’s public account.

Administered trust account balances

The table below provides additional information on individual administered trust account balances.

Administered trust account balances

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Administered trust account balances

8.9 Other accounting policies and Australian Accounting Standards issued but not yet effective

Other accounting policies — contributions by owners

In relation to machinery of government changes and consistent with the requirements of AASB 1004 Contributions, contributions by owners, contributed capital and its repayments are treated as equity transactions and do not form part of the department’s income and expenses.

Additions to net assets that have been designated as contributions by owners are recognised as contributed capital. Other transfers that are contributions to, or distributions by, owners are designated as contributions by owners.

Transfers of net assets arising from administrative restructurings are treated as distributions to, or contributions by, owners. Transfers of net liabilities arising from administrative restructurings are treated as distributions to owners.

Australian Accounting Standards issued but not yet effective

Certain new and revised accounting standards have been issued but are not effective for the 2020–21 reporting period. These accounting standards have not been applied to the department’s financial statements. The State is reviewing its existing policies and assessing the potential implications of these accounting standards, which includes:

• AASB 2020-1 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards — Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-Current

  This standard amends AASB 101 to clarify requirements for presenting liabilities in the statement of financial position as current or non-current. It initially applied to annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2022, with earlier application permitted. However, the AASB has recently issued AASB 2020-1 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards — Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-current — Deferral of Effective Date to defer the application by one year to periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023.

  The department will not early adopt the standard.

  The department is in the process of analysing the impacts of this standard. However, it is not anticipated to have a material impact.

Several other amending standards and AASB interpretations have been issued that apply to future reporting periods but are considered to have limited impact on the department’s reporting:

• AASB 1060 General Purpose Financial Statements — Simplified Disclosures for For-Profit and Not-for-Profit Tier 2 Entities (Appendix C)
• AASB 2020-3 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards — Annual Improvements 2018–2020 and Other Amendments.

8.10 Subsequent events

No significant events have occurred since 30 June 2021 that will have a material impact on the information disclosed in the financial statements.

Accountable Officer’s and Chief Financial Officer’s declaration

The attached financial statements for the Department of Premier and Cabinet have been prepared in accordance with Direction 5.2 of the Standing Directions of the Assistant Treasurer under the Financial Management Act 1994, applicable Financial Reporting Directions, Australian Accounting Standards including Interpretations, and other mandatory professional reporting requirements.

We further state that, in our opinion, the information set out in the comprehensive operating statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, statement of changes in equity and accompanying notes presents fairly the financial transactions during the year ended 30 June 2021 and financial position of the department at 30 June 2021.

At the time of signing, we are not aware of any circumstance that would render any particulars included in the financial statements to be misleading or inaccurate.

We authorise the attached financial statements for issue on 22 September 2021.

Andrew Davis
Chief Financial Officer
Department of Premier and Cabinet
Melbourne
22 September 2021

Jeremi Moule
Secretary
Department of Premier and Cabinet
Melbourne
22 September 2021

Appendix 1: Budget portfolio outcomes

The budget portfolio outcomes provide comparisons between the actual financial information of all general government sector entities in the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s (DPC’s) portfolio and the forecast financial information published in the 2020/21 Budget Paper No. 5: Statement of Finances (BP5).

The budget portfolio outcomes comprise the comprehensive operating statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, statement of changes in equity and the administered items statement.

The budget portfolio outcomes have been prepared on a consolidated basis and include all general government sector entities in the portfolio. Consistent with the budget papers, financial transactions and balances are classified into either ‘controlled’ or ‘administered’.

The budget portfolio outcomes that follow are not subject to audit by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office.

They are not prepared on the same basis as DPC’s financial statements because they include the consolidated financial information of the following entities:

• Labour Hire Authority
• Portable Long Service Authority
• Victorian Electoral Commission
• Victorian Public Sector Commission
• Cenitex.(1)

Note:

(1) Cenitex transferred into DPC from the Department of Treasury and Finance on 1 August 2020.

Comprehensive operating statement for the year ended 30 June 2021

Summary:

The comprehensive result for the DPC portfolio is a surplus of $0.3 million, which is consistent with the budgeted break-even position.

Notes:

The following notes provide an explanation of the major variances between the 2020–21 comprehensive result compared with the budgeted comprehensive result.

(1) Lower output appropriations mainly relate to the machinery of government changes (MoG) where the Fairer Victoria group (equality, multicultural affairs, prevention of family violence, veterans, women’s policy, and youth portfolios) transferred to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH).

(2) Higher sales of goods and services is due to Cenitex’s services revenue. A budget update was made after the original budget publication to reflect this increase.

(3) The increase in grant revenue mainly relates to additional funding for Cenitex and other trust revenues.

(4) Employee benefits increase mainly relates to Cenitex staff. A subsequent budget update was made to reflect this change.

(5) The decrease in grant expense is due to the transfer of the Fairer Victoria group to DFFH. Fairer Victoria had made the majority of DPC’s grants.

(6) Higher other expenses are due to the timing of budget updates. Further budget adjustments were made for the Portable Long Service Authority’s scheme expenses.

(7) Other items in the comprehensive result relate to the accumulated surplus funds transferred as part of MoG changes.

Balance sheet as at 30 June 2021

Summary:

Net assets (or total equity) for the DPC portfolio at 30 June 2021 is $27 million favourable when compared with the budgeted balance sheet published in BP5. This is mainly attributable to land revaluations.

Notes:

The notes below provide an explanation of the major variances in asset, liability and equity items.

(1) Increase in receivables is due to the timing of expense recoupment from another government department.

(2) Increase in other financial assets is due to investments made by the Portable Long Service Authority.

(3) The variance in provisions is due to the recognition of scheme benefits by the Portable Long Service Authority.

(4) The variance in the contributed capital mainly relates to MoG transfers.

Cash flow statement for the year ended 30 June 2021

Summary:

The net cash position for the DPC portfolio at 30 June 2021 is $114.4 million. This is $3.5 million lower than the original budgeted balance of $117.9 million.

Notes:

The notes below provide an explanation of the major variances in the 2020–21 cash flow statement.

(1) The variance in receipts from the government is mainly due to transfer of the Fairer Victoria group to DFFH.

(2) Variance in grant payments is also due to the transfer of the Fairer Victoria group to DFFH.

(3) Variance in investments relates to Portable Long Service Authority investment not included in the original budget.

(4) The variance in net borrowings is due to repayment of prior year short-term borrowings for bushfire recovery expense reimbursement.

Statement of changes in equity for the year ended 30 June 2021

Summary:

Total equity for the DPC portfolio is $27 million favourable when compared with the original budgeted balance sheet published in BP5. This is mainly attributable to land revaluations.

Administered items statement for the year ended 30 June 2021

Summary:

Administered items for the DPC portfolio include receipts and payments made by the DPC portfolio on behalf of the state.

Appendix 2: Other financial information

Financial performance

Significant factors that affected DPC’s performance in 2020–21 are summarised below.

DPC recorded a net profit result of $10 million for 2020–21.

The profit result is primarily due to trust funds operation, where funds received during 2020–21 will be expended in future years.

Sources of income ($ million)

The above graph shows the sources of income available to DPC during the 2020–21 financial year.

DPC’s main source of income is from government appropriations, which account for 94 per cent of income. The balance is derived from government grants and services.

Compared with 2019–20, the overall decrease in DPC’s income is mainly due to the Fairer Victoria group transferring to DFFH from 1 February 2021 and Bushfire Recovery Victoria transferring to the Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) from 1 July 2020. These transfers resulted in lower government appropriations.

Expenses ($ million)

The above graph shows the distribution of expenses in delivering DPC’s services.

DPC’s total expenses have decreased by $193 million compared with 2019–20. This is again mainly due to the transfer of the Fairer Victoria group to DFFH and Bushfire Recovery Victoria to DJCS.

Financial position — balance sheet

DPC’s assets have increased due to land revaluations. Liabilities have decreased in line with fewer employees and less expenses driven by the Fairer Victoria group and Bushfire Recovery Victoria MoG changes.

Cash flows

DPC had a net cash inflow from operating activities of $36 million. Compared with last year this is an $18 million increase. This increase is mainly due to the timing of receipts from the government.

Capital projects / asset investment

During 2020–21 DPC completed one capital project that met the disclosure threshold of $10 million or greater — security and building upgrades for government buildings (Melbourne) — with a total estimated investment of $13.6 million.

Consultancies and major contracts

Consultancies and major contracts

Details of consultancies

In 2020–21 there were 32 consultancies engaged with a total approved value at $10,000 or greater. The total expenditure incurred during 2020–21 in relation to these consultancies was $5.2 million (excluding GST). Details of individual consultancies can be viewed at www.vic.gov.au/dpc-annual-reports.

Disclosure of major contracts

DPC is required to disclose, in accordance with the requirements of government policy and accompanying guidelines, all contracts greater than $10 million entered into during the financial year.

DPC did not enter into any new contracts greater than $10 million during the financial year ended 30 June 2021. Details of contracts that have been disclosed in the Victorian Government Contracts Publishing System can be viewed at www.tenders.vic.gov.au.

Contractual details have not been disclosed for those contracts for which disclosure is exempted under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or government guidelines.

Direct costs attributable to machinery of government changes

Grant payments

Details of DPC grant payments in 2020–21 can be viewed at www.vic.gov.au/dpc-annual-reports.

Financial management compliance

Attestation for compliance with Ministerial Standing Direction 5.1.4

Department of Premier and Cabinet

I, Jeremi Moule, the Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, certify that the Department of Premier and Cabinet has no Material Compliance Deficiency with respect to the applicable Standing Directions under the Financial Management Act 1994 and Instructions.

Jeremi Moule
Secretary
Department of Premier and Cabinet
Melbourne
22 September 2021

Government advertising expenditure

Government advertising expenditure

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Information and communications technology expenditure

For the 2020–21 reporting period, DPC had a total ICT expenditure of $30.8 million, with details shown below.

ICT expenditure refers to DPC’s costs in providing business-enabling ICT services. It comprises BAU ICT expenditure and non-BAU ICT expenditure. Non-BAU ICT expenditure relates to extending or enhancing DPC’s current ICT capabilities. BAU ICT expenditure is all remaining ICT expenditure, which primarily relates to ongoing activities to operate and maintain the current ICT capability.

Asset management accountability framework maturity assessment

The following sections summarise the department's assessment of maturity against the requirements of the Asset Management Accountability Framework (AMAF).

DPC’s target maturity rating is ‘competence’, meaning systems and processes are fully in place, consistently applied and systematically meeting the AMAF requirement. This includes DPC having a continuous improvement process to expand system performance to ensure our assets are maintained for uninterrupted service delivery.

• Leadership and accountability (requirements 1–19):
  • DPC has met our target maturity level under most requirements within this category.
  • DPC’s maturity assessment identified some areas that need further improvements to strengthen the application of AMAF requirements across the organisation. These improvement opportunities did not result in any material non-compliances in this category.
• Planning (requirements 20–23):
  • DPC has met our target maturity level in this category.
• Acquisition (requirements 24 and 25):
  • DPC has met our target maturity level in this category.
• Operation (requirements 26–40):
  • DPC has met our target maturity level in this category.
• Disposal (requirement 41):
  • DPC has met our target maturity level in this category.

Appendix 3: Governance

Board of Management

The Board of Management comprises DPC’s senior-level executive officers who:

• provide organisation oversight
• provide strategic direction
• ensure DPC is operating in a fiscally and environmentally sustainable manner
• ensure DPC is meeting changing community needs and government priorities.

As of June 2021, DPC’s Board of Management members are:

• Jeremi Moule, Secretary
• Toby Hemming, Deputy Secretary, Legal, Legislation and Governance, and General Counsel
• Vivien Allimonos, Deputy Secretary, Cabinet, Communications and Corporate and A/Chief Executive Officer, Digital Victoria
• Kate Houghton, Deputy Secretary, Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations
• Chris Miller, A/Deputy Secretary, Economic Policy and State Productivity
• Elly Patira, A/Deputy Secretary, First Peoples–State Relations
• Matt O’Connor, Deputy Secretary, Industrial Relations Victoria.

Audit and Risk Management Committee

The Audit and Risk Management Committee provides independent assurance and advice on the effectiveness of DPC’s financial management systems and controls, performance, stability, compliance with laws and regulations and risk management.

The committee reports to DPC’s Secretary and is established in accordance with the Financial Management Act 1994.

All members of the committee are independent.

As of 30 June 2021, the committee comprised the following members:

• Sam Andersen (Chair)
• Claire Filson
• Geoff Harry
• Andrew Whittaker.

Internal audit

In 2020–21 PricewaterhouseCoopers provided DPC’s internal audit services.

DPC’s internal audit program includes reviews into the department’s state of governance, risk management practices and internal controls.

Audit results and follow-up actions are reported to the Audit and Risk Management Committee.

Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee

The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee is a consultative committee made up of DPC’s health and safety representatives and may also include first aid officers.

The committee has been established in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 to:

• facilitate cooperation between the employer and employees in instigating, developing and carrying out measures designed to ensure the health and safety of employees in the workplace
• assist formulation, review and dissemination to employees of policies and procedures relating to health and safety that are to be implemented and complied with at DPC
• investigate any matter that may be a risk to the health and safety of persons at DPC
• review reported accidents and incidents, and DPC’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Risk Register, including risk ratings and controls
• attempt to resolve any matter or request for DPC to conduct a review of the matter where no resolution can be determined
• establish designated working groups to reflect the DPC working environment
• ensure elections are conducted to fulfil the health and safety representative requirement across the department.

The committee members have met monthly during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure any emerging issues were identified early to enable a timely and proactive response.

Appendix 4: Workforce data

Appendix 4: Workforce data

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Appendix 5: Environmental performance

DPC maintains a strong focus on sustainability through a range of operational activities and the ongoing management of our workspaces.

DPC continued to commit to the below sustainable practices:

• environmental considerations in tender specifications for all tender documents
• three streams of waste disposal: landfill, commingled and organics
• energy-efficient appliances and sensor lighting
• sustainably made furniture and, where possible, locally produced furniture
• sustainable relocation practices, whereby relocating work areas undertake significant clean-up activities and all waste is sustainably disposed of
• DPC has recycled any usable furniture or equipment to other government departments during refurbishments or relocations
• development of more digital solutions to reduce paper-based activities.

Office-based environmental impacts

Over the past 12 months, DPC further consolidated our real estate portfolio in the Melbourne central business district, which has enabled the department to further minimise our environmental footprint.

The ongoing effects of COVID-19 has led to a significant reduction in all environmental measures, primarily due to DPC staff working remotely over the past 12 months.

The environmental indicators presented on the following pages are based on Financial Reporting Direction 24D.

Energy

DPC’s energy consumption covers tenancies at 1 Macarthur Street, 1 Treasury Place, 3 Treasury Place, 1 Spring Street, 121 Exhibition Street, 80 Collins Street and 35 Collins Street. (See the glossary at the end of this section for an explanation of the abbreviations used.)

Electricity

DPC’s gas consumption covers tenancies at 1 Macarthur Street, 1 Treasury Place and 3 Treasury Place.

Gas

Note: Where billing is unavailable, consumption was estimated using average consumption from the previous period. This is the second year that DPC has been able to report our gas usage.

Result

• Electricity consumption decreased by 65 per cent.
• Gas consumption decreased by 75 per cent.

Explanatory notes

• Over the past 12 months, DPC further consolidated our real estate portfolio in the CBD. This, combined with our sustainable practices, has assisted in further reducing our environmental footprint.

Paper

DPC’s paper use covers tenancies at 1 Macarthur Street, 1 Treasury Place, 3 Treasury Place, 1 Spring Street, 121 Exhibition Street, 80 Collins Street and 35 Collins Street.

Result

• Total units of copy paper (reams) decreased by 89 per cent due to most staff working from home during COVID-19.
• Total units of copy paper (reams) per FTE decreased by 87 per cent.
• Some of the decrease can be attributed to the rationalisation of DPC’s offices.

Explanatory notes

• Data was calculated using purchasing information provided under the whole of government office stationery contract and reflects paper purchased rather than paper consumed.

Water

DPC’s water consumption covers tenancies at 1 Macarthur Street, 1 Treasury Place, 3 Treasury Place and 35 Collins Street.

Note: Where billing data is unavailable, consumption was estimated using average consumption from the previous period.

Result

• Water consumption decreased by 68 per cent.
• Due to the continuing effects of COVID-19 over the past 12 months, we saw further reduction in water usage across our tenancies.

Transport

DPC uses vehicles from the Shared Service Provider vehicle pool for operational car travel.

Result

• Total vehicle travel decreased by 84 per cent.
• Air travel decreased by 94 per cent.
• The greenhouse gas emissions for air travel is zero.

Explanatory notes

• The vehicle travel data includes DPC hire car usage from the Shared Service Provider vehicle pool.
• Air travel data was provided by the state government booking agency.
• The air travel data for 2020–21 is zero due to carbon offsets purchased through the booking agency as directed by the Department of Treasury and Finance.
• Staff at 1 Treasury Place, 1 Macarthur Street, 3 Treasury Place, 1 Spring Street and 35 Collins Street were included in the above indicators.

Waste

DPC’s waste reporting covers tenancies at 1 Macarthur Street and 1 Treasury Place.

Explanatory notes

Due to COVID-19, DPC was unable to conduct waste audits.

Greenhouse gas emissions

The emissions disclosed in the table below are taken from the previous sections to show DPC’s greenhouse footprint.

Green procurement

• Environmental considerations are included in the specifications for all tender documents.
• DPC complied with Green Purchasing Guidelines where applicable.

Environmental performance trend charts

DPC annual energy consumption

DPC annual paper use

DPC annual water use

DPC annual car travel

DPC annual waste generation

Glossary

• DSL: diesel
• FTE: full-time equivalent employee
• kg: kilogram
• kL: kilolitre
• km: kilometre
• L: litre
• LPG: liquefied petroleum gas
• m²: square metre
• MJ: megajoule
• ream: 500 sheets of A4 paper
• t CO₂ e: tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent
• ULP: unleaded petrol

Appendix 6: Statutory compliance and other information

Acts of Parliament

Acts of Parliament administered by the Premier

• Administrative Arrangements Act 1983
• Australia (Acts) Request Act 1985
• Climate Change Act 2017 — sections 7, 8, 10, 14, 16, 41, 42, 50, 54 and 55 (these sections are jointly administered with the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change)
  (The Act is otherwise administered by the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change and the Minister for Solar Homes)
• Commonwealth Arrangements Act 1958
• Constitution Act 1975 — except:
  • section 72 (this section is administered by the Minister for Government Services)
  • Part III (this Part is administered by the Attorney-General)
  • Division 1 of Part IIIAA (this Division is jointly administered with the Attorney-General)
  • Divisions 3 to 6 of Part IIIAA (these Divisions are administered by the Attorney-General)
  • section 88 in so far as it relates to the appointment of Crown Counsel and Crown Counsel (Advisings) (this section is administered by the Attorney-General)
  • section 88 in so far as it relates to the appointment of the Commissioner for Better Regulation (this section is administered by the Minister for Regulatory Reform)
  • section 88 in so far as it relates to the appointment of the Victorian Skills Commissioner (this section is administered by the Minister for Training and Skills)
• Constitution (Appointments) Act 2009
• COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) Act 2020 — except:
  • Part 2.1 (this Part is jointly and severally administered by the Attorney-General, the Minister for Corrections, the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, the Minister for Victim Support and the Minister for Youth Justice)
  • Part 2.2 (except section 16) (this Part is administered by the Minister for Small Business)
  • section 16 (this section is administered by the Minister for Industry Support and Recovery)
  • Part 6.1 in so far as it relates to the making of regulations relating to the repeal of provisions inserted into an Act by Chapter 3 before the repeal of Chapter 3 (in so far as it does relate to those matters, this Part is jointly and severally administered by the Attorney-General, the Minister for Corrections, the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, the Minister for Victim Support and the Minister for Youth Justice)
  • Part 6.1 in so far as it relates to the making of regulations relating to the repeal of provisions inserted into an Act by Chapter 4 before the repeal of Chapter 4 (in so far as it does relate to those matters, this Part is jointly and severally administered by the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, the Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers and the Minister for Housing)
  • Part 6.1 in so far as it relates to the making of regulations relating to the repeal of provisions inserted into the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 by Part 5.1 before the repeal of Part 5.1 (in so far as it does relate to those matters, this Part is jointly and severally administered by the Minister for Early Childhood, the Minister for Education and the Minister for Training and Skills)
  • Part 6.1 in so far as it relates to the making of regulations relating to the repeal of provisions inserted into an Act by Part 5.2 before the repeal of Part 5.2 (in so far as it does relate to those matters, this Part is administered by the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change)
  • Part 6.1 in so far as it relates to the making of regulations relating to the repeal of provisions inserted into an Act by Part 5.3 before the repeal of Part 5.3 (in so far as it does relate to those matters, this Part is administered by the Minister for Local Government)
  • Part 6.1 in so far as it relates to the making of regulations relating to the repeal of provisions inserted into an Act by Part 5.5 before the repeal of Part 5.5 (this Part is administered by the Minister for Planning, except in so far as this Part relates to decisions relating to the activities or interests of the Director of Housing or the Minister for Housing [in so far as it does relate to those matters, these provisions are jointly and severally administered with the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change])
  • Part 6.1 in so far as it relates to the making of regulations relating to the repeal of provisions inserted into an Act by Part 5.6 before the repeal of Part 5.6 (in so far as it does relate to those matters, this Part is administered by the Minister for Health)
  • Part 6.1 in so far as it relates to the making of regulations relating to the repeal of provisions inserted into an Act by Part 5.7 before the repeal of Part 5.7 (in so far as it does relate to those matters, this Part is administered by the Minister for Workplace Safety)
• Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 —
  • in so far as it relates to the land shown as Crown Allotment 2036, City of Melbourne, Parish of Melbourne South (Parish Plan No. 5514D) reserved for Public Purposes (Government House and Grounds)
    (The Act is otherwise administered by the Assistant Treasurer, the Minister for Business Precincts, the Minister for Corrections, the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, the Minister for Health, the Minister for Ports and Freight and the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events)
• Electoral Act 2002 — Division 1 of Part 5 and Part 9A
  (The Act is otherwise administered by the Attorney-General and the Minister for Government Services)
• Essential Services Act 1958
• Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor Act 2016
• Inquiries Act 2014
• Melbourne Cricket Ground Act 2009
  (The Act is jointly and severally administered with the Minister for Business Precincts and the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events)
• Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act 1985
  (The Act is jointly and severally administered with the Minister for Business Precincts and the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events — except:
  • sections 24–28 [these sections are administered by the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change])
• Ombudsman Act 1973 — sections 3–6
  (The Act is otherwise administered by the Attorney-General)
• Parliamentary Administration Act 2005 —
  • Part 2 and sections 14–17
  • Part 5 (this Part is jointly and severally administered with the Minister for Government Services)
    (The Act is otherwise administered by the Minister for Government Services)
• Parliamentary Committees Act 2003 — except:
  • sections 7, 7A and 52 (in so far as these sections relate to public interest disclosures about conduct by or in the Victorian Inspectorate [these sections are jointly and severally administered with the Attorney-General])
• Project Development and Construction Management Act 1994 — except:
  • section 11 in so far as it relates to a project nominated under section 6 for which the Secretary referred to in Part 5A is the facilitating agency (in so far as it relates to those matters, this section is jointly and severally administered with the Minister for Business Precincts and the Minister for Transport Infrastructure)
  • Part 4 (this Part is administered by the Assistant Treasurer)
  • Part 5A (this Part is jointly and severally administered by the Minister for Business Precincts and the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, except to the extent that it relates to the exercise of powers and functions under Part 9A of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, in so far as it relates to those powers and functions this Part is administered by the Minister for Planning)
  • section 46 (this section is administered by the Minister for Planning)
  • Part 7 (this Part is administered by the Minister for Planning)
  • Parts 8, 9 and 10 (these Parts are jointly and severally administered by the Minister for Business Precincts and the Minister for Transport Infrastructure)
• Public Administration Act 2004 —
  • Parts 1, 2 and 8, section 67(3)(d) and Divisions 2 and 3 of Part 6 (these provisions are jointly and severally administered with the Minister for Government Services)
  • Part 3
  • Part 5A
  • sections 66(3), 98–98A
  • Part 7A
    (The Act is otherwise administered by the Minister for Government Services)
• Public Records Act 1973 — in so far as the Act relates to public records in the possession of, transferred from or to be transferred from the Cabinet Office
  (The Act is otherwise administered by the Minister for Government Services)
• Public Safety Preservation Act 1958
• Public Sector (Union Fees) Act 1992
• Senate Elections Act 1958
• Statute Law Revision Acts
• Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 — sections 5A, 9 and 12G
  (The Act is otherwise administered by the Minister for Government Services)
• Succession to the Crown (Request) Act 2013
• Superannuation (Public Sector) Act 1992
• Vital State Industries (Works and Services) Act 1992
• Vital State Projects Act 1976 — except:
  • sections 5–16 (these sections are administered by the Attorney-General)
• Wrongs (Public Contracts) Act 1981

Acts of Parliament administered by the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs

• Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Act 2018
• Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006
• Aboriginal Lands Act 1970
• Aboriginal Lands Act 1991, which is jointly and severally administered with the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change

Acts of Parliament administered by the Minister for Industrial Relations

• Child Employment Act 2003
• Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1997
• Fair Work (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2009
• Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018
• Long Service Leave Act 2018
• Long Service Benefits Portability Act 2018
• Outworkers (Improved Protection) Act 2003
• Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005
• Public Sector Employment (Award Entitlements) Act 2006
• Trade Unions Act 1958
• Wage Theft Act 2020

Acts of Parliament administered by the Minister for Government Services

• Constitution Act 1975, section 72
  (The Act is otherwise administered by the Attorney-General, [the Minister for Regulatory Reform], the Minister for Training and Skills, the Treasurer and the Premier)
• Electoral Act 2002 — except:
  • Division 1 of Part 5 and Part 9A, which are administered by the Premier and Part 8, which is administered by the Attorney-General
• Electoral Boundaries Commission Act 1982
• Land Act 1958, subdivisions 1 and 2 of Division 9 of Part 1, in so far as they relate to the exercise of powers in respect of the land described as Crown Allotment 13A of section 92 at North Melbourne in the Parish of Jika, being the site of the Public Record Office Victoria; the Act is otherwise administered by the Assistant Treasurer, the Attorney-General, the Minister for Corrections, the Minister for Creative Industries, the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, the Minister for Health, the Minister for Ports and Freight and the Minister for Roads and Road Safety
• Members of Parliament (Standards) Act 1978
• Parliamentary Administration Act 2005 — except:
  • Part 2 and sections 14–17 (these provisions are administered by the Premier)
  • and Part 5 (Part 5 is jointly and severally administered with the Premier)
• Parliamentary Precincts Act 2001
• Parliamentary Salaries and Superannuation Act 1968 — except: sections 6(6), 9K(3), 9K(5), 9L and Part 3, which are administered by the Assistant Treasurer
• Public Administration Act 2004 — except:
  • Parts 1, 2 and 8, section 67(3)(d) and Divisions 2 and 3 of Part 6 (these provisions are jointly and severally administered with the Premier)
  • Part 3 (this Part is administered by the Premier)
  • Part 5A (this Part is administered by the Premier)
  • sections 66(3), 98, 98A (these sections are administered by the Premier)
  • Part 7A (this Part is administered by the Premier)
• Public Records Act 1973 — except:
  • in so far as the Act relates to public records in the possession of, transferred from or to be transferred from the Cabinet Office (in so far as the Act relates to those matters, the Act is administered by the Premier)
• Service Victoria Act 2018
• State Owned Enterprises Act 1992 —Division 2 of Part 2 in so far as it relates to Cenitex
  (The Act is otherwise administered by the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, the Minister for Water and the Treasurer)
• Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 — except:
  • sections 5A, 9 and 12G (these sections are administered by the Premier)
• Victorian Data Sharing Act 2017
• Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal and Improving Parliamentary Standards Act 2019.

Aboriginal Heritage Act

Compliance with the Aboriginal Heritage Act

Under section 192 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006, the Secretary must report on the operation of the Act including:

• the exercise and performance by authorised officers of their powers, functions and duties under the Act
• any complaints received in relation to authorised officers
• actions taken to address those complaints.

The Act establishes the role of authorised officers and makes provision for appointing authorised officers. The key functions to be carried out by an authorised officer include:

• monitoring compliance with the Act
• investigating suspected offences against the Act
• directing the conduct of a cultural heritage audit to assess the impact of an activity on Aboriginal cultural heritage
• issuing and delivering stop orders without formal approval if there are reasonable grounds for believing that Aboriginal cultural heritage is under threat from an activity.

On 30 June 2021:

• 27 authorised officers, all DPC employees, are appointed under the Act
• 13 Aboriginal heritage officers, all employees of a registered Aboriginal party, are also appointed under the Act.

All appointees have successfully completed a Certificate IV in Government Investigations within the past five years and receive ongoing training about the operation of the Act.

There were no complaints made about authorised officers during this period.

In 2020–21 authorised officers exercised their powers, functions and duties as set out on the following page.

Information on the exercise and performance by authorised officers of their powers, functions and duties under the Aboriginal Heritage Act

Full details of all powers and functions exercised by authorised officers in previous years can be requested via email to the Director, Heritage Services, First Peoples–State Relations at aboriginal.heritage@dpc.vic.gov.au (opens in a new window) .

Building Act

Compliance with the Building Act

DPC complied with obligations under the Building Act 1993, the Building Regulations 2006 and associated statutory requirements and amendments. An occupancy permit or certificate of final inspection endorsed by a registered building surveyor is obtained for all upgrades to existing facilities requiring a permit. Design consultants and building contractors engaged are registered practitioners and registrations are maintained during the course of the work.

DPC manages the Victorian Archives Centre and Government House and its outbuildings. There are several mechanisms for inspection, reporting and carrying out of maintenance works at these two sites including:

• regular property inspections conducted by staff, tenants and external contractors
• independent, formal condition audits undertaken every five years
• site risk surveys undertaken at least biennially by the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority
• onsite facilities managers responding to and prioritising identified issues and managing breakdown, preventative and cyclical maintenance contracts.

Major works projects (greater than $50,000)

Carers Recognition Act

Compliance with the Carers Recognition Act

DPC acknowledges and values the contribution that carers make to both the workplace and to the broader community and their families. DPC is committed to creating a workplace where greater flexibility is supported in the way we work in the future. By working flexibly and in a hybrid manner our people have reported greater flexibility in managing work and life commitments. DPC has taken active steps to support our people with their caring responsibilities under the Carers Recognition Act 2012. This encompasses:

• ensuring flexible work arrangements are embedded as part of the DPC working culture (in line with requirements under the Gender Equality Act 2020) and are available to all staff for any reason including supporting employees with family and caring responsibilities. During 2020–21 the VPS introduced a new Flexible Work Policy to support the way VPS organisations will work in the future
• embedding a hybrid working model to support diversity, inclusion and a more equitable workplace
• championing the DPC Enablers Network, a network run by people with disability for people with disability, with an executive sponsor, open to all staff including carers
• delivering a mental health and wellbeing training program for all staff and leaders including those who have caring responsibilities
• using qualified psychologists, delivering a range of webinars about wellbeing and working remotely during COVID-19 for all staff including those who have caring responsibilities
• providing support to all staff through the Peer Support Program and the Employee Assistance Program.

Gender Equality Act

Compliance with the Gender Equality Act

DPC acknowledges gender diversity within our workforce and is committed to developing strategies that promote opportunities for all staff.

DPC’s obligation under the Gender Equality Act 2020 commenced on 31 March 2020 and requires defined entities including the public sector, local councils and universities to take positive action towards achieving workplace gender equality.

Under the Act DPC is required to:

• develop and implement a Gender Equality Action Plan, including results of a workplace gender audit and strategies for achieving workplace gender equality
• promote gender equality in policies, programs and services that affect the public
• complete gender impact assessments
• publicly report on our progress in relation to workplace gender equality.

The Act also requires defined entities to consider intersectionality when developing strategies and measures to promote gender equality in the workplace.

Competitive Neutrality Policy

Competitive neutrality requires government businesses to ensure that, where services compete or potentially compete with the private sector, any advantage arising solely from their government ownership be removed if it is not in the public interest. Government businesses are required to cost these services as if they were privately owned. The Competitive Neutrality Policy supports fair competition between public and private businesses and provides government businesses with a tool to enhance decisions on resource allocation. This policy does not override other policy objectives of government and focuses on efficiency in service provision.

DPC continues to ensure Victoria fulfils its requirements on competitive neutrality reporting for government businesses against the enhanced principles as required under the Competition Principles Agreement.

Open Data Policy

In 2020–21 DPC continued our review of the DataVic Access Policy following extensive public service and citizen consultation and we are now finalising that work and seeking appropriate authorisation. The updated Open Data Policy (2021) replaces the previous Data Vic Access Policy (2012) and refreshes the Victorian Government’s practice of safely releasing government data to the public for free, unfettered reuse. The new policy covers the reasons, principles and outcomes expected from strengthening the Open Data Program. It updates the previous policy position to incorporate advances in data science, the Victorian Government’s IT reforms and sophistication in data usage. This policy, and its associated user guidelines, focuses on how the VPS can improve its open data supply through better application of existing information management policies and procedures.

The Victorian Government’s open data portal (data.vic.gov.au) is the central service for discovering, accessing and interacting with the Open Data Program. VPS agencies publish their data assets through the service, providing opportunities for citizens to search, discover and connect with Victorian Government data. In 2020–21 the portal saw the highest number of sessions on record (432,729 sessions), up from 234,378 sessions in the previous year. This increased activity on the data.vic website was driven almost entirely by the demand for COVID-19-related data. On 26 August 2020 Victoria began publishing frequently updated releases of Victorian COVID-19 open data, which has since been downloaded more than 300,000 times and accessed via the DataVic portal for data visualisations on the Department of Health coronavirus website plus citizen initiatives such as covidlive.com.au and covid19nearme.com.au.

Disability Act

Compliance with the Disability Act

DPC’s next Disability Action Plan will be launched in 2021–22. The plan will continue to provide a framework for DPC to ensure equitable access to employment opportunities for people with disability.

Highlights under the Disability Act 2006 during 2020–21 included the following:

• DPC hosted the VPS Enablers Network for the third year. The Enablers Network is run by employees with disability and their allies. This role has been transitioned to the Department of Transport in 2021–22.
• DPC also hosts the department-level Enablers Network for people with disability, representing the needs, interests and concerns of government employees with lived experience of disability to ensure fair and equitable treatment. The network is now supported by a newly appointed Executive champion.
• DPC appointed a dedicated Senior Adviser Disability Access and Inclusion.
• DPC continued our partnership with the Australian Network on Disability (AND). AND is a national, membership-based, for-purpose organisation that supports organisations to advance inclusion for people with disability.

Freedom of Information Act

Compliance with the Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 gives members of the public a right to access documents held by DPC. The purpose of the Act is to extend as far as possible the right of the community to access information held by government departments, local councils, ministers and other bodies subject to the Act.

An applicant has a right to apply for access to any document held by DPC, which comprises documents both created and received by DPC. Other than regular electronic and paper records, applicants may also request access to documents such as maps, films, computer discs and tape recordings.

The Act allows DPC to refuse access, either fully or partially, to certain documents or information. Examples of documents that may not be accessed include Cabinet documents; certain internal working documents; law enforcement documents; documents covered by legal professional privilege; documents containing personal information; documents containing certain commercial and financial information; and information provided to DPC in confidence.

If an applicant is not satisfied with a freedom of information (FOI) decision made by DPC, under section 49A of the Act they have the right to seek a review from the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner within 28 days of receiving a decision letter.

For the 12 months ended 30 June 2021, the FOI Unit received 112 requests for DPC documents and 21 for the Office of the Premier.

No requests were received during this period for any other DPC portfolio ministers.

The department finalised 92 FOI requests to DPC during the 12 months ending 30 June 2021. Forty-two per cent of access decisions were made within the statutory time period, 15 per cent were between one and 45 days overdue and 42 per cent were overdue by more than 45 days. DPC also finalised 18 requests for the Office of the Premier.

Ten DPC matters went to the Information Commissioner for review and 19 complaints about DPC matters were made to the Information Commissioner.

Ten DPC matters were appealed to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Three complaints about Office of the Premier matters were made to the Information Commissioner.

Making a request

Requests to access documents should be made in writing to DPC’s FOI officer. The requirements of a request are set out in section 17 of the FOI Act.

In summary, a request should:

• be in writing
• identify as clearly as possible the documents requested
• be accompanied by the appropriate application fee (which may be waived if it would cause hardship to the applicant).

Requests for documents in DPC’s possession should be addressed to:

Freedom of Information Officer
Department of Premier and Cabinet
GPO Box 4912
Melbourne 3001

Requests can also be lodged via https://online.foi.vic.gov.au. Access charges may apply once documents have been processed and an access decision has been made.

Charges may be applied — for example, for costs associated with photocopying and for search and retrieval of documents. More information about DPC’s FOI arrangements can be found at www.vic.gov.au/foi-part-ii-statements.

Local Jobs First Act

Compliance with the Local Jobs First Act

The Local Jobs First Act 2003, introduced in August 2018, brings together the Victorian Industry Participation Policy (VIPP) and the Major Project Skills Guarantee (MPSG) policy, which were previously administered separately.

Departments and public sector bodies are required to apply the Local Jobs First policy in all projects valued at $3 million or more for metropolitan Melbourne or statewide projects, or $1 million or more for projects in regional Victoria.

MPSG applies to all construction projects valued at $20 million or more. The MPSG guidelines and VIPP guidelines will continue to apply to MPSG-applicable and VIPP-applicable projects respectively where contracts have been entered prior to 15 August 2018.

During 2020–21 DPC had two Local Jobs First Standard projects valued at $8.9 million under contract, carried across from previous financial years. The projects were in metropolitan Victoria. No projects began in regional Melbourne or were deemed as statewide. The MPSG did not apply to this project. Of the two Local Jobs First projects in progress, the expected outcomes are:

• an average of 98 per cent of local content commitment
• the retention of one job (annualised employee equivalent).

Public Interest Disclosure Act

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2012 (formerly the Protected Disclosure Act 2012) encourages and assists people to disclose improper conduct or detrimental action involving public officers and public bodies. The Act provides protection to people who make disclosures in accordance with the Act and establishes a system for the matters disclosed to be investigated.

DPC is committed to the Act’s objectives. DPC does not tolerate improper conduct by our employees or reprisals against those who make disclosures about such conduct.

Compliance with the Public Interest Disclosure Act

The Guide to Making and Handling Public Interest Disclosures, which outlines the system for reporting disclosures of improper conduct or detrimental action by DPC or any of our employees or officers, is available on the internet at www.vic.gov.au/dpc-public-interest-disclosures.

Public interest disclosures must remain confidential under the law, so it is difficult to be accurate about the number of disclosures in any year. For example, managers or executives can receive public interest disclosures and may report these straight to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) without anyone knowing. Equally, people can report directly to IBAC themselves without DPC necessarily knowing.

There have been three disclosures made to DPC under the Public Interest Disclosures Act and notified to IBAC in 2020–21.

Social Procurement Framework

During 2020–21 DPC launched the Social Procurement Strategy, which was developed in line with Victoria’s Social Procurement Framework.

In 2020–21 DPC improved our social procurement performance against four objectives:

• opportunities for Victorian Aboriginal people
• opportunities for Victorians with disability and disadvantaged Victorians
• supporting safe and fair workplaces
• opportunities for Victorian social enterprises.

Purchases from social suppliers, 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021

Summary of contributing activities and initiatives

• DPC renegotiated the Oracle State Purchase Contract and included a key performance indicator for Oracle’s Women in Leadership program to host at least two events yearly in Australia, including one in Melbourne, to empower women to reach their leadership potential.
• DPC is working on several upcoming projects with embedded social procurement commitments. This involves asking suppliers for measurable social and sustainable outcomes; requesting regular reporting and commitments to hard targets under the head agreements; improving system functionality for buyers to easily identify social enterprises; proactive outreach to social enterprises to inform them of these head agreements; and providing dedicated assistance to them during the onboarding process.
• Invitations to supply during the financial year included requirements for a minimum of one social procurement objective to be included in supplier proposals. As a result, DPC awarded contracts to the value of $30,310,544 to suppliers who provided a social benefit.
• Through refined procurement and business processes DPC continued to encourage direct spend with Aboriginal suppliers where Aboriginal knowledge and expertise is needed.
• DPC procured a range of services from several Victorian Aboriginal businesses in 2020–21, including professional advisory services and strategic research to inform policy advice.
• DPC’s ‘Stay Engaged’ program continued during 2020–21. The program gives people with disability a chance to engage in meaningful employment within DPC through fixed-term paid work placements offered in various areas such as administration and policy.
• All suppliers engaged via a competitive procurement process with DPC have committed to the Victorian Government Supplier Code of Conduct by signing a commitment letter prior to the engagement.

Subsequent events

Refer to the section on subsequent events at Note 8.10 in DPC’s financial statements.

Other information available on request

In compliance with the requirements of the Standing Directions of the Assistant Treasurer, details of items listed below have been retained by DPC and are available on request, subject to the provisions of the FOI Act. These items include:

a) a statement that declarations of pecuniary interests have been duly completed by all relevant DPC officers

b) details of shares held by a senior officer as nominee or held beneficially in a statutory authority or subsidiary

c) details of publications produced by DPC about itself and how these can be obtained

d) details of changes in prices, fees, charges, rates and levies charged by DPC

e) details of any major external reviews carried out on DPC

f) details of major research and development activities undertaken by DPC

g) details of overseas visits undertaken, including a summary of the objectives and outcomes of each visit

h) details of major promotional, public relations and marketing activities undertaken by DPC to develop community awareness of DPC and our services

i) details of assessments and measures undertaken to improve the occupational health and safety of employees

j) a general statement on industrial relations within DPC and details of time lost through industrial accidents and disputes

k) a list of major committees sponsored by DPC, the purposes of each committee and the extent to which the purposes have been achieved

l) details of all consultancies and contractors including:

• consultants/contractors engaged
• services provided
• expenditure committed to for each engagement.

This information is available on request from:

Director
Corporate Governance
Department of Premier and Cabinet
1 Treasury Place
East Melbourne 3002
Email: dp&c@dpc.vic.gov.au

Disclosure index

The Department of Premier and Cabinet’s annual report is prepared in accordance with all relevant Victorian legislation and pronouncements. This index has been prepared to help identify the department’s compliance with statutory disclosure requirements.