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Annual Report 2002–03Performance ReviewOutput Group 3 – Members' Services
DescriptionOutput Group 3 provides advice, services and support for members. Its activities include the payment of salaries and allowances, the upkeep of accommodation and furniture at Parliament House, and the delivery of office and communication services such as maintaining information technology facilities and printing. Services to members are provided by the Finance Office, the People Strategies Office, the Information Systems and Publishing Office, and the Serjeant-at-Arms' Office. The Presiding Officers accepted the recommendations of the Podger review relating to the security management function. This function is therefore now administered by the Joint House Department under the oversight of the Security Management Board through a purchaser–provider arrangement. The Serjeant-at-Arms represents the department on that board. Funding for this function remains with the Chamber departments. The actual expenses for the provision of services by Output Group 3 were $16.70 million, while the budget allocated was $13.37 million. A summary of the financial resources for the output group is provided in Table 1. PerformanceThis output group performed well throughout the year, with members giving positive feedback both formally and informally. Changing work practices and staffing arrangements enabled some savings to be made on service provision in some areas. Improving performanceThe in-house printing service improved its performance during 2002–03, particularly in relation to its services for members. Printing staff were trained in the use of Digipath, enabling greater flexibility in staffing arrangements, and the trialling of new staffing arrangements in the publishing office resulted in the streamlining of the flow of work to the printing service. The process of reviewing and refining the presentation of information on the House of Representatives website will be assisted by the implementation of the latest version of Webtrends – a web usage analysis tool – and specialised training undertaken by staff. Staff from the Information Systems and Publishing Office were recently trained as Webtrends administrators and will be able to assist work areas in the department to generate and analyse web usage reports. This should improve the information provided to members and the public on our website. During the year, several work areas were staffed by ongoing staff members supplemented by part-time or sessional staff as needs arose. This strategy resulted in considerable savings and the ability to match staffing arrangements to our clients' needs. Finally, as outlined previously, the security arrangements at Parliament House were significantly enhanced during the year. OutlookIt was noted last year that a more effective system would be devised and implemented for obtaining regular feedback from members about their needs and their expectations of the department's services. As mentioned in the Clerk's review, the first of the new-style annual surveys of members was completed in 2002–03 (more detail is provided in the Management and Accountability chapter). The survey provided, and will continue to provide in future years, valuable information that will enable us to cater even more effectively for the needs of members. An upgrade to the department's intranet software is planned for the coming year. This will streamline the log-in process and improve functionality for all users of the system, with particular benefits for our publishing staff. The challenge in the security area will be to sustain the increased security effort for the foreseeable future, perhaps in the face of an even more serious threat. The changes in the governance of parliamentary security made during 2002–03 place us, together with the other parliamentary departments with responsibility for security, in a strong position to respond to future challenges.
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