The following tables summarise the performance of the Department of
the House of Representatives in 2002–03.
Table 10 Summary of overall performance in relation to Outcome
1, 2002–03
| Outcome 1: The House of Representatives
fulfils its role as a representative and legislative body |
| Performance indicator: Chamber and Main
Committee operate effectively |
| Measure |
Performance |
| Number of sittings of the House and Main Committee |
The House sat on 73 occasions (53 occasions) involving
696 hours including suspensions (e.g. meal breaks) or 659 hours excluding
suspensions (507 hours including suspensions or 465 hours excluding
suspensions) |
| Hours of sittings |
The Main Committee met on 47 occasions (31 occasions)
involving 223 hours including suspensions or 186 hours excluding
suspensions (117 hours including suspensions or 99 hours excluding
suspensions) |
Legislation processed
- number of bills
- number of amendments
|
203 (214) bills were introduced and 160 (143) passed
both Houses and were assented to
28 (34) bills were amended by the House of Representatives
32 (32) bills were amended by the Senate and agreed to by the House of
Representatives |
| Performance indicator: Committees fulfil
their role in the parliamentary consideration of policy and legislation
and the scrutiny of government |
| Measure |
Performance |
| Percentage of committee recommendations reflected in
amendments to government policy and administration |
Legislation introduced and government responses to
committee reports presented revealed that, in subjects as diverse
as the education of boys and stem cell research, recognition of the
contribution of committees and the acceptance of recommendations
was high |
| Performance indicator: Members receive
approved services to fulfil their parliamentary duties in a secure
and accessible environment |
| Measure |
Performance |
| Members satisfied that support and security services
enable them to fulfil their parliamentary duties |
In the survey of members 95 per cent of survey participants
were at least satisfied with the security services with 50 per cent
being extremely or highly satisfied
Members indicated that they were comfortable with changes to internal security
arrangements affecting them
However, a number of members felt the security barriers that had been erected
were excessive and discouraged public access |
| Ratio of persons involved in incidents compared to
the number of visitors to Parliament House |
A total of 1.02 million visitors (1.13 million) passed
through the security screening procedures at the main public entrance
The following other totals were achieved in relation to security:
- visitor passes processed – 86,919 (84,080)
- function passes issued – 38,143 (29,781)
- protests, incidents or events monitored – 138 (42)
- major incidents contained – 0 (3)
- exclusions made and weapons prohibited – 15,200 (10,720)
- weapons confiscated – 17 (11)
- policy advice items provided – 68 (65)
|
| Performance indicator: Productive and
amicable international and regional relationships with other parliaments,
parliamentary bodies and organisations |
| Measure |
Performance |
| Percentage of memberships of relevant parliamentary
organisations |
Of eligible senators and members, 74 per cent (73 per
cent) were members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Of eligible senators and members, 47 per cent (43 per cent) were members
of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), while 80 eligible
former senators and members were life members of the CPA
Of eligible senators and members, 37 per cent (36 per cent) were members
of the Asia–Pacific Parliamentary Forum |
| Number and trends in official invitations for bilateral
visits to and from the Parliament of Australia |
At the end of the year, the following invitations were
outstanding:
- incoming – 47 (43)
- outgoing – 30 (12)
|
| Performance indicator: Community understanding
of, and interaction with, the work of the House of Representatives
and the Commonwealth Parliament |
| Measure |
Performance |
| Increased community awareness and involvement |
We received visits from 106,349 students from 3,165
schools (106,511 students from 3,173 schools)
470 persons (440 persons) attended seminars
Five issues (three issues) of About the House magazine were published
Fortnightly advertisements about the work of the House and committees were
placed in The Australian |
Note Comparable performance information
for 2001–02, where available, is shown in brackets.
Table 11 Summary of performance in relation to administered
items, 2002–03
| Administered item: Members' salaries |
| Measure |
Performance |
| Quality: All variations and salary increases
are processed with an accuracy rate of at least 99 per cent |
All variations and salary increases were processed
with an accuracy rate of at least 99 per cent (99 per cent) |
| Quantity: 150 payments processed monthly with
an annual budget of $19.41 million for salaries and allowances |
1,800 (1,790) payments were processed monthly at a
cost of $5.44 ($4.76) per transaction
One (one) pay increase was processed
Salary and allowance expenses for members were $20.16 million ($19.27 million)
Other payments totalled $0.29 million
Total expenses were $20.45 million ($19.5 million) |
| Administered item: Citizenship
Visits Program |
| Measure |
Performance |
| Quality: Subsidy payments are processed within
seven days of receiving a payment request |
Subsidy payments were processed within two days (two
days) of receiving a completed payment request |
| Quantity: 14,000 student visitors with an annual
subsidy budget of $0.51 million (the Senate also contributed
$0.51 million) |
16,047 eligible student visitors were subsidised, at
an average subsidy payment of $63.10 per student (15,470 students
at an average of $64.84) – costs were shared with the Department
of the Senate
Total expenses were $0.51 million |
| Administered item: Holders
of public office |
| Measure |
Performance |
| Quality: All variations are processed with less
than a 1 per cent error rate |
All variations were processed with an accuracy rate
of 99 per cent (99 per cent) |
| Quantity: 7 average staffing level (ASL) with
an annual salary budget of $0.56 million |
7 ASL (7 ASL) at an average of $62,566 ($74,285) per
ASL
Total expenses were $0.52 ($0.52 million) |
Note: Performance information for 2001–02,
where available, is shown in brackets.
Table 12 Summary of performance in relation to each output,
2002–03
| Output Group 1: Chamber and
Main Committee |
| 1.1 Procedural advice and support services:
Provision of policy advice, facilities and services in support
of the operation of the Chamber and Main Committee |
| Measure |
Performance |
Quality: The department will provide the necessary
services and support to enable the Chamber and Main Committee to
meet and address business as scheduled, to ensure members have the
information required for effective participation in the proceedings
and to produce the records of the proceedings accurately and on time
Mechanism: Qualitative evaluation using client group discussions |
The secretariats to the Chamber and the Main Committee
operated in accordance with the standing and sessional orders and
achieved a continuing high level of satisfaction among members with
the quality and timeliness of services provided
100 per cent of members surveyed were satisfied with advice and service
provision; 95 per cent were 'extremely' or 'highly' satisfied |
| Quantity: 820 sitting hours |
Hours of sitting of House 659 (465)
Hours of meeting of the Main Committee 186 (99) |
| Total price: $3.07 million |
$2.36 million ($2.32 million) |
| 1.2 Legislation and research services:
Provision of legislative drafting and research services and the
processing and production of bills and associated materials |
| Measure |
Performance |
Quality: Rate of client satisfaction with advice
and assistance supplied with particular regard to accuracy, timeliness
and completeness
Less than 1 per cent errors for legislation documents
Mechanism: Qualitative evaluation using client group discussions |
All deadlines were met and there were no significant
errors
100 per cent of members surveyed were satisfied with advice and service
provision
Levels of 'extremely' or 'highly' satisfied members
surveyed were 95 per cent for legislation and 90 per cent for research |
| Quantity: 5,000 hours processing bills |
4,649 hours |
| Quantity: 7,000 hours of research and legislative
drafting |
6,509 hours |
| Total price: $0.72 million |
$0.73 million ($0.77million) |
| 1.3 Community awareness: Provision of
information and education services to promote public knowledge
and awareness of, and interaction with, the work of the House of
Representatives and the Commonwealth Parliament |
| Measure |
Performance |
| Target: Increased public knowledge and awareness
of, and interaction with, the work of the House of Representatives
and the Commonwealth Parliament |
95 per cent of the 500 respondents to a survey on the About
the House magazine said reading the magazine had increased
their knowledge about the work and procedures of the House |
| Quality: 90 per cent of participants completing
seminar evaluations are satisfied with the seminar program |
98 per cent (98 per cent) of participants completing
seminar evaluations were satisfied with the seminar program |
| Quantity: Annual community outreach program,
including publications, seminar and lecture program, advertising
and Centenary commemoration projects – CD-ROM and documentary
and publication on 100 years of the House of Representatives |
The community outreach program was sustained and enhanced
during the year, and centenary projects were progressed |
| Quantity: 90,000 student visitors |
106,349 student visitors (106,511) |
| Total price: $1.46 million |
$1.1 million ($2.10million) |
| Output Group 2: Committee services |
| 2.1 Non-inquiry support services: Provision
of services to support the general (non-inquiry) activities of
committees |
| Measure |
Performance |
Quality: Rate of satisfaction of committee members
with advice and services provided
Mechanism: Qualitative evaluation through discussions with and surveys
of key clients |
80 per cent of members surveyed were 'satisfied' to 'extremely
satisfied' with the general non-inquiry support provided by
the Committee Office |
| Quantity: 25,000 hours |
28,630 hours (68,571 hours) |
| Total price: $3.94 million |
$2.30 million ($2.93 million) |
| 2.2 Inquiry facilitation: Provision of
procedural, research, analytical and administrative support for
the conduct of inquiries and the publication of final reports |
| Measure |
Performance |
Quality: Inquiries conducted meet target number
and are within budget; satisfaction of committee chairs, deputy chairs
and members with inquiry process
Mechanism: End of year comparisons with original target and
budget; qualitative evaluation through discussions with and surveys
of key clients |
80 per cent of members surveyed were 'satisfied' to 'extremely
satisfied' with the procedural, research, analytical, drafting
and administrative support provided for the conduct of inquiries
and production of reports |
| Quantity: 40 full year equivalent committee
inquiries completed |
37 (21) full year equivalent committee inquiries were
conducted |
| Total price: $3.483 million |
$8.37 million ($3.97 million) |
| 2.3 Interparliamentary relations: Provision
of advice and support to facilitate the conduct of the Parliament's
international and regional affairs |
| Measure |
Performance |
| Quality: Interparliamentary relations foster
effective communication with affiliated bodies and accord with the
standards set down by the respective organisations and office holders |
There were 31 outgoing parliamentary delegations, and
14 official and 28 unofficial incoming visits (27 outgoing and eight
incoming)
There were 10 (17) visits by parliamentary officials |
| Quantity: 10,000 hours |
11,700 hours |
Quality: Incoming and outgoing delegations proceed
in accordance with the agreed program and the visit objectives are
met
Mechanism: Qualitative evaluation through debriefing sessions
at the conclusion of each visit |
Incoming and outgoing delegations proceeded in accordance
with the agreed programs and the visit objectives were met, according
to qualitative evaluation achieved through debriefing sessions conducted
at the conclusion of each visit
100 per cent of members surveyed who had participated in outgoing parliamentary
delegations were satisfied with the advice and support, including report
drafting support, they received from departmental staff |
| Quantity: 3,000 hours support for outgoing delegations |
2,925 hours |
| Quantity: 3,000 hours support for incoming visits |
2,925 hours |
Quality: Interests of other parliamentary visitors
are met and there is at least one interparliamentary study program
per calendar year
Mechanism: Feedback from visitors at end of each program |
An interparliamentary study program was conducted
Participants and other such visitors reported very high levels of satisfaction
with arrangements made for them |
| Quantity: 2,000 hours |
1,950 hours |
| Total price: $2.44 million |
$1.44 million ($1.90 million) |
| Output Group 3: Members' services |
| 3.1 Policy advice: Provision of advice
to the Speaker, members and others on members' entitlements
and support |
| Measure |
Performance |
Quality: 95 per cent satisfaction of the Speaker
and members
Mechanism: Qualitative evaluation through feedback provided
by the Speaker and members |
The Speaker and members informally indicated their
satisfaction with the advice provided on members' entitlements
and support and this satisfaction was reflected in the positive comment
from members in the members' survey |
| Quantity: 1,850 hours |
7,141 hours (519 hours) |
| Total price: $0.28 million |
$0.56 million ($20,000) |
| 3.2 Salary and entitlements: Processing
of members' salaries and entitlements in accordance with
legislation and administrative decisions |
| Measure |
Performance |
| Quality: All payments and requests processed
with an error rate of less than 1 per cent |
All salary payments and one pay increase were processed
on time and with an error rate of less than 1 per cent (less than
1 per cent) |
| Quantity: 2,000 hours |
295 hours |
| Total price: $0.103 million |
$0.04 million ($7,000) |
| 3.3 Facilities and services: Provision
of facilities and services in accordance with administrative decisions |
| Measure |
Performance |
Quality: Rate of satisfaction of members with
the appropriate accommodation and facilities to enable them to carry
out their parliamentary duties
Mechanism: Qualitative evaluation from formal and informal client group
discussions and surveys |
100 per cent of members surveyed were satisfied with
services provided; 95 per cent were 'extremely' or 'highly' satisfied
334 (462) routine maintenance requests were actioned
The target for emergency requests was action within five minutes and this
target was reached in relation to 99.75 per cent (100 per cent) of the
367 (363) emergency requests received
The target for furniture movement requests was to satisfy Priority 1 tasks
within three hours, Priority 2 tasks within 12 hours, Priority 3 tasks
within 24 hours and Priority 4 tasks within two to five days – of
the 602 (839) requests received, all Priority 1, 2, 3 and 4 tasks were
completed within the target time
We achieved a 99.85 per cent (99.5) per cent degree of accuracy in relation
to the agreed target of conducting the transport service without error |
| Quantity: 150 members |
150 (150) members used our facilities and services |
| Total price: $13.39 million |
$19.02 million ($14.35 million) |
Performance information for 2001–02,
where available, is shown in brackets.
References to 'members surveyed' relate to the
survey of members conducted in 2002–03 – for more information,
see Appendix 13.
In 2002–03, the department used a timecard based system
combined with an analysis of direct costs to attribute time and expenses
to outputs. The basis of attribution has changed from last financial
year, when an analysis of costs and drivers was used to attribute time
and expenses.
Total price includes resources received free of charge.
