House of Representatives Annual Report 2004

Annual Report 2004–05

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Departmental overview

Purpose
Role and Functions
Organisational Structure
Outcome and Output Structure
Financial performance

Purpose

The purpose of the Department of the House of Representatives, as set out in its Corporate Plan, is:

To support the House of Representatives and the Parliament by providing advice and services of the highest possible standard.

Role and functions

The Department of the House of Representatives has existed since 1901. It is established under the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 and is one of three departments supporting the Australian Parliament. The other two departments, the Department of the Senate and the Department of Parliamentary Services, report separately to the Parliament.

In the 2004–05 financial year, the department continued to support the work of the House of Representatives, its members, its committees and certain joint committees. The department also supported the Parliament in its community and international relations.

By working in cooperation with the other parliamentary departments, the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General, and executive agencies, the department ensured that the outcomes of parliamentary proceedings were processed and recorded on time and accurately.

Organisational structure

In financial year 2004–05, the departmental structure remained constant. It comprised nine offices managed by the Executive of the department: the Clerk, the Deputy Clerk, the Clerk Assistant (Committees), the Clerk Assistant (Table) and the Serjeant-at-Arms.

Figure 1 shows the department’s organisational structure at 30 June 2005. Figure 4 shows the relationship between the organisational structure and the department’s output structure.

Figure 1 Organisational structure, 30 June 2005
Clerk of the House Ian Harris
Deputy Clerk Bernard Wright
Clerk Assistant Table Robyn McClelland	Clerk Assistant Committees Robyn Webber	Serjeant-at-Arms David Elder
Table Office Chamber Research Office	Committee Office Parliamentary Relations Office Liaison and Projects Office	Serjeant-at-Arms’ Office People Strategies Office Finance Office Information Systems and Publishing Office

Outcome and output structure

The department contributes to a single outcome:

The House of Representatives fulfils its role as a representative and legislative body.

The outcome and output structure and reporting framework for 2004–05 remained broadly consistent with those described in the department’s 2004–05 Portfolio Budget Statements. The output structure was adjusted slightly in December 2004 to align it more closely with the department’s organisational structure. The numbered output level has been removed and there are now five output groups, two new groups having been established from existing output groups.

What was Output Group 1 (Chamber, Main Committee and community awareness) was split to form output groups 1.1 (Chamber and Main Committee) and 1.2 (Community awareness). What was Output Group 2 (Committee services and interparliamentary relations) was split to form output groups 1.3 (Committee services) and 1.4 (Interparliamentary relations). The former Output Group 3 became Output Group 1.5 (Members’ services).

The purpose of the adjustment was to enable the provision of more reliable information to users of the department’s Portfolio Budget Statements and annual report. The department’s previous outcome and output structure is shown in Figure 2 and the current structure is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 2 Outcome and output structure, July–December 2004

Figure 3 Outcome and output structure, 30 June 2005

Figure 4 Relationship between organisational and output structures, 30 June 2005

Financial performance

The 2004–05 Financial Statements show a surplus of $2.5 million. This level of surplus is not unusual in an election year when there are reduced activities across the department. The surplus will enable the department to fund corresponding higher levels of activity during the Forty-first Parliament.

Overall revenue and expenses were significantly lower in 2004–05 than in 2003–04 because security funding was transferred to the Department of Parliamentary Services. This lower funding base may put additional pressure on the department’s finances in the future, especially in the area of employee expenses, which now represent a significantly higher proportion of the department’s total expenses.

During 2004–05 the department received additional funding for the Citizenship Visits Program. There continues to be a higher demand for this program, with most of the 2005–06 budget being committed.

Figure 5 Financial performance, 2000–01 to 2004–05

Figure 5 - Financial performance, 2000-01 to 2004-05

a Jointly funded by the department and the Department of the Senate.
b Jointly funded by the department and the Department of the Senate and administered by the Department of the Senate.
c Included in this output group for budgetary purposes.

Text description of Figure 5

Table 1 Summary of resources for Outcome 1, 2004-05
Outcome 1	Budget 2004–05 $'000	Actual 2004–05 $'000	Variation $'000	Budget 2005–06 $'000
Total administered expenses	23,071	22,902	(169)	24,177
Price of departmental outputs
Output groups
1—Chamber and Main Committee	4,117	3,142	(975)	4,167
2—Community awareness	1,125	1,269	144	1,139
3—Committee services	10,732	9,352	(1,380)	10,863
4—Interparliamentary relations	1,923	1,977	54	1,946
5—Members' services	3,546	3,168	(378)	3,590
Revenue from government (appropriations) for departmental outputs	21,443	18,908	(2,535)	21,705
Revenue from other sources	250	118	(132)	297
Resources received free of charge	4,003	3,978	(25)	4,000
Total price of departmental outputs	25,696	23,004	(2,692)	26,002
TOTAL FOR OUTCOME 1	48,767	45,906	(2,861)	50,179
Staff	166	153	(13)	166

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Clerk’s Review | Contents | Performance