© Commonwealth of Australia 2020

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International Licence.

The details of this licence are available on the Creative Commons website:
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ISSN: 0812-1427

Digital version of this report: www.aph.gov.au/senate/dept/annreps/2020

Department of the Senate website: www.aph.gov.au/senate

Prepared and printed by the Department of the Senate

Use of the Coat of Arms

The terms under which the Coat of Arms can be used are detailed on the Prime Minister and Cabinet website: www.pmc.gov.au/government/commonwealth-coat-arms

Contact officer

For further information about the content of this report, please contact the annual report coordinator:

Chief Finance Officer
Department of the Senate
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Phone: 02 6277 3897
Email: fms.sen@aph.gov.au

Letter of transmittal

About this report

This annual report of the Department of the Senate documents the department’s performance for the financial year ending 30 June 2020.

The report is presented in six parts.

Overviews

Commentary by the Clerk on performance and significant matters that affected the department, and a description of the role, aims, structure and functions

Report on performance

A summary of overall performance, the department’s annual performance statement, and a description of each office’s contribution to the department’s outcome

Management and accountability

A report on corporate governance and the management of resources

Financial statements

The auditor’s report and audited financial statements

Appendices

Resources

Staffing

Contact details

References

Tools to assist the reader:

a glossary and abbreviations list

an index showing how the report complies with annual reporting requirements

an alphabetical index

The report is presented for tabling in the Senate pursuant to section 65 of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999. It is also produced to meet the information needs of interested people, including:

senators and their staff

the Australian community

staff of the Department of the Senate and other parliamentary departments

staff of other legislatures

staff of executive government departments and agencies, and

the media.

The report is available on the department’s website:
www.aph.gov.au/senate/dept/annreps/2020

Overviews

Clerk’s review

In compiling our recent Corporate Plan, a natural focus was Australia’s still-evolving response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the unpredictable trajectory of that crisis. Quite apart from the tragic consequences of the virus for so many in the community, public health imperatives have recast our interactions around unfamiliar risks and rewritten the rules on working together. As we noted in that plan, these factors will have long-term consequences for the operations of the Senate and parliamentary committees, and for the way we support them. Some of these represent challenges; requirements to recognise and mitigate risks. But there are also opportunities, among them the embrace of technology to expand participation in proceedings of parliamentary committees and enable remote participation in Senate proceedings.

Unsurprisingly, the changes to our operations during the onset of the pandemic and the need to support the Parliament in formulating its response overshadow much of the year just gone. However, this review begins, as the year did, with the escalation of legislative and committee activity following the Opening of Parliament on 2 July 2019. The demand for the advice and support that are the mainstay of our work primarily flows from this activity.

To tease that out a little, the Senate determines its own schedule of meetings and its agenda, and delegates to its network of committees a range of scrutiny, accountability and investigative functions. We succeed in our work when the Senate and its committees can meet in accordance with their decisions, and when senators and others have the advice and support they need to participate in those meetings. In turn, the decisions senators make in connection with those meetings determine the scope of our work and our workload. Their decisions about the Senate’s legislative work drive demand for procedural advice and legislative drafting. Their decisions about committee work determine the number of operative committees and the nature and scope of their inquiries, driving demand for the advice, administrative support, research and writing undertaken by our committee staff.

Our work is also affected by broadly predictable cycles in the parliamentary calendar. Legislative and committee activity falls away during the election period, then ramps up over the first months of a new parliament. This is generally followed by a busy second year, with often intense levels of activity and demand, tailing off as the next election looms. These cycles map imperfectly to financial years but help us to estimate the resources – in essence, the complement of staff – required to meet forecast levels of activity.

The election period occurred in the previous financial year. Last year’s review noted that our activities during that time included delivering an orientation program for new senators as well as preparing two large logistical exercises: the swearing-in of a new Governor-General on 1 July 2020; and the Opening of Parliament the next day. The current session – the 46th Parliament – began, unusually, with three sitting weeks in July, a consequence of that election timing. With the momentum of this early start, legislative and committee activity rapidly returned to the elevated levels seen in recent years, although that trend was interrupted when the pandemic curtailed the parliament’s customary committee work from mid-March 2020. The effect of this is clear in the indicators of activity we use to assess performance.

For instance, looking at the Senate’s committee work, 74 new references were made to committees supported by our Committee Office in 2019–20, compared with 70 in the previous year. Secretariat staff processed around 7,300 submissions, many more than the 5,400 received in 2018–19. On the other hand, committees heard from around 4,300 witnesses in the course of 225 hearings (respectively, 6,000 and 290 in the previous year). This reflects the pause in interstate hearings in the latter part of the reporting period and the deferral of the Budget estimates round – typically involving 40 or so hearings and more than 1,000 witnesses – from May to October 2020.

At the same time, responding to the pandemic introduced wholesale changes to the operations of parliamentary committees, requiring staff to adjust numerous aspects of their work. The most obvious effect has been the move to videoconferencing. The Senate first authorised its committees to meet “by electronic communication” more than 2 decades ago, however it has been rare until now for committees to meet with multiple senators and witnesses participating remotely. For a time this became the predominant means by which committees took evidence, and it is certain to remain a feature of their operations into the future. We have supported, and been appreciative of, the efforts of our colleagues in the Department of Parliamentary Services to scale up the parliament’s capacity to operate this way. However, the significant logistical challenges in organising so many virtual hearings and ensuring they run smoothly added significantly to the work of our secretariats.

Staying with committees, a particularly telling indicator of the demand for our services during 2019–20 can be seen in the appointment of nine Senate select committees and two joint select committees. Select committees are committees of senators (and, for joint committees, members) that sit outside the Parliament’s established committee system. For many years, there was an agreement among parties in the Senate that no more than three or four select committees would operate at any one time. The average number running concurrently in the 45th Parliament was five. At the end of the financial year the department was supporting twice that number.

The department has generally sought to absorb support for select committees within its standing committee secretariats. This is not possible when large numbers of select committees run concurrently, without affecting the level of support available to legislation and references committees. To that end, the President obtained the endorsement of the Senate Appropriations, Staffing and Security Committee to seek additional funds for committee secretariats. One-off supplementation was provided in the October 2020 Budget, a welcome recognition of the resources required to support the level of activity determined by the Senate. Similar resources will be required on an ongoing basis if committee activity – and more to the point the number of committees we are required to support – remains at its current levels.

Looking beyond our committees, the government response to the pandemic introduced a stop-start element to the sittings toward the end of the financial year. While it was widely reported that sittings were suspended, in the end only a handful of scheduled sitting days did not take place. Again, the indicators we use to measure our performance demonstrate the extent to which business-as-usual held sway, notwithstanding the unusual circumstances.

The Senate sat for 58 sitting days, a little above the average of recent non-election years. For non-government senators, procedural and legislative support is principally provided through the Procedure Office. During 2019–20 that office continued to assist senators by drafting bills and legislative amendments. Thirty-two private senators’ bills were prepared and introduced, comparable to recent years, while more than 600 legislative amendments were prepared and circulated in the Senate (473 last year). The office also provides procedural advice and documentation, preparing more than 970 procedural scripts for senators’ use, around 17 per day, compared with 19 last year. Similar procedural support was provided by the Table Office for the President and Deputy President, and for ministers and committee chairs, with around 1,286 procedural scripts provided, or around 22 per sitting day, somewhat lower than the average of around 30 last year. The Senate Public Information Office provided a range of information resources supporting each sitting week, while the Table Office maintained formal records of the Senate’s work.

In addition, the department supported the three legislative scrutiny committees in holding meetings and producing reports each sitting week, analysing bills and instruments. These committees also initiated an additional schedule of meetings and reports from March, particularly to examine regulations made in aid of the government response to the pandemic, which sometimes involved the use of sweeping powers with limited opportunities for parliamentary oversight.

Outside of business-as-usual, the response to the pandemic also necessitated the adoption of new approaches to much of our work. This has included rapid adjustment to working from home, where practical, and the introduction of new technologies and new approaches to teams collaborating and keeping in touch. We proposed and managed procedural changes for the Senate and changed our chamber support processes to minimise the risk of transmission. Similarly, our staff have been involved in implementing public health advice on hygiene practices and social distancing in their own work.

For the first time since its inception in the late 1980s, the Parliamentary Education Office had to suspend its onsite educational experience, as school visits came to a halt. The PEO typically hosts more than 90,000 students each year, however, that number was reduced by a third. A great deal of time and effort has been directed to reconfiguring our education programs to focus on resources for dispersed groups of students, including a significant increase in delivery of programs by video conference, and to reset onsite experiences to meet distancing advice. Inevitably this will be an area of continued evolution for the office.

Several long-term projects came to fruition during the year, although delivery of some projects and programs was disrupted by the pandemic. On 11 June 2020 the President made a statement in the Senate to mark 50 years since the inception of the current Senate committee system, but an event to launch new web resources presenting the history, significance and work of committees has been deferred until later in the year. The department also suspended its program of occasional lectures, while moving its seminar and training programs online. Several new information resources were delivered, including a new Procedural Hub for senators and staff and a new website for the PEO, as well as enhancements to corporate systems and shared databases. The groundwork for a digital division system for the Senate was completed in March 2020, but it was held over while procedural and practical changes to the Senate’s operations necessitated by the pandemic were implemented. Work continued on projects to receive and publish digital copies of tabled documents and to enhance the estimates questions on notice process, and it is expected that these will be completed in the next reporting period.

The achievements of each office, and their experiences adapting to the circumstances of the year, are recorded in more detail in the report in the chapters on their performance. The annual performance statements beginning on page 15 chart the demand for our services across the board and detail our performance in meeting planned outcomes. An innovation this year is a case study, providing a narrative to help describe how all the moving parts of our operations combine to support senators in their work.

As I have often said, the department is nothing without its people. Their expertise, their dedication and their gumption underpin our capacity to serve the Senate and senators. It has been a year in which their resilience has come to the fore. Many were affected by last summer’s bushfires; returning to work after fighting fires at the edges of their properties or volunteering with the rural fire service. They experienced the same apprehension at the onset of the pandemic as their colleagues across the public sector, and found ways to introduce the now-familiar public health and hygiene measures into their everyday work. Some of the adaptations they were required to make have been mentioned above and elsewhere in this report. I thank them for their commitment to supporting the essential activities of the parliament despite that apprehension, and for the many innovations introduced along the way. It would be remiss of me not to mention the tireless work of our Human Resources team in advising and supporting staff during this time, and the creativity of the department’s staff social club in devising virtual and distanced activities to engage their colleagues. I know how much staff appreciated these contributions to their well-being.

Finally, there was a significant change in personnel this year, with the retirement of Maureen Weeks, after many years of exemplary service to the Senate and to the ACT Legislative Assembly. Maureen led the Senate’s Committee Office, its Table Office and Procedure Office, before her appointment as Deputy Clerk in 2017. She had long experience as secretary to numerous parliamentary committees, culminating in her stint as Secretary of the Senate Privileges Committee. Maureen was held in high esteem by senators and staff alike, and by her colleagues, past and present. She will be remembered as tutor, mentor, and inspiration to scores of Senate staff, undertaking her myriad duties with good grace, with great humour and with aplomb.

Jackie Morris was promoted to Deputy Clerk in February, having recently undertaken roles as Senior Clerk of Committees and Clerk Assistant (Procedure). A partial rotation of senior officers saw Rachel Callinan move to lead the Procedure Office and the PEO, and Tim Bryant move to lead the Table Office and SPIO. John Begley continues to lead our corporate services teams as Usher of the Black Rod, while Toni Matulick joined our SES ranks late in the year, after serving as Director, Procedure and Research, and brings considerable experience to her new role as Clerk Assistant (Committees). Our policy of rotating officers at different levels through new duties serves to build and sustain the department’s capabilities. This is particularly important in maintaining our expertise and institutional continuity, as an adjunct to our objectives of recruiting well and enhancing the skills and knowledge of our staff through targeted learning and development activities, and by mentoring them in the specialised work we undertake.

May I quickly thank my colleagues who lead the other parliamentary departments, for their counsel and support during the year. It has been wonderful working with the Clerk of the House, Claressa Surtees, on numerous matters throughout the year, none more than in our virtual networking with colleagues in parliaments in other jurisdictions seeking to innovate in the face of the same challenges. My thanks to Rob Stefanic and his team in DPS, particularly for their rapid and effective retooling of the computing network to accommodate our need to work from home, and for taking the lead in implementing COVID-safe arrangements in Parliament House. And finally, we farewelled Parliamentary Budget Officer, Jenny Wilkinson, a formidable colleague who moved on to greater challenges in January. I also thank Acting PBO Linda Ward for her collegiality and good humour for the balance of the year.

Looking ahead

Each office sets out its aims and expectations for the next year in their reports on performance. Common to most will be managing the continuing challenges of the pandemic, but also embedding innovations introduced this year. While this report was being compiled, the first sittings for the new reporting period were set aside following health advice connected to the ‘second wave’ of COVID-19 cases that emerged in Victoria, and evidence of community transmission elsewhere.

This prompted the agreement of each House to adopt procedures for senators and members to participate in their proceedings by video link; a practice implemented in sittings from 24 August 2020. This built on work initially undertaken in March and April to devise the technological, practical and procedural means of delivering this outcome. The use of videoconferencing technology to participate in the Senate and its committees has quickly become second nature, with the next looming test being its use in support of the 2020 Budget estimates hearings. At the same time, tentative moves to reinstate interstate hearings and site visits also brought additional logistical complexity, not least because of remaining travel restrictions applicable to senators and secretariat staff and the need to implement social distancing and manage other risks in hearing venues to ensure the safety of senators, witnesses and staff.

The backdrop to our work will doubtless include continuing elevated levels of legislative and committee activity. As has been mentioned, our capacity to support an unprecedented number of committees depends on our ability to recruit and maintain a workforce of commensurate size and skill, and will require additional funds if the level of activity continues beyond the new financial year.

Let me finish where I started, with an observation echoing our Corporate Plan. Many of the factors discussed above will significantly influence our planning and risk management, how we support our staff, and how we do our work. No doubt, when we report on our performance next year, we will have more to say about the adaptability required to navigate them, of the resilience of our people and teams, and also of the lasting innovations they have driven.

Richard Pye
Clerk of the Senate

Departmental overview

The Senate secretariat

The Senate department provides secretariat support for the Senate and its committees, and advice and support to enable senators and others to participate in their meetings. Its work is substantially driven by the requirements of the Senate and senators.

The department provides services and undertakes activities in the following areas:

advice about Senate and committee proceedings

secretariat support for the Senate

secretariat support for committees

administrative advice and support for senators

public information and parliamentary education

capability, governance and accountability.

In undertaking its functions the department is responsible not to the government of the day but to the Senate and all senators, maintaining complete impartiality in serving equally senators from all political parties and independent senators.

Before turning to the department’s performance during 2019–20, this overview sets out the department’s organisational structure, program structure and objectives.

Organisational structure

The department is responsible to the Senate through the President of the Senate, Senator the Honourable Scott Ryan, who was elected to that position on 13 November 2017. The accountable authority for the department is the Clerk of the Senate, Mr Richard Pye, who was appointed on 9 March 2017. Figure 1 shows the structure, roles and responsibilities of each office, and the department’s senior managers at the time of publication.

Figure 1 – Organisational structure

Outcome and program structure

The department is one of four departments of the Australian Parliamentary Service established under the Parliamentary Services Act 1999. We work collaboratively with our colleagues in the parliamentary service to support the parliament. To achieve this, the department adheres to the guiding objectives of the Strategic Plan for Parliamentary Administration, namely:

providing services and support to enable the Houses and their committees to function effectively

ensuring parliamentarians are supported in their work today and we are responsive to the future

enhancing engagement in the work of the Parliament

ensuring Australian Parliament House operates as a safe and accessible workplace and national institution, and

enhancing our capability as an independent, non-partisan and professional parliamentary service.

In order to coordinate common and joint activities with the other parliamentary departments, the department participates on a range of interdepartmental committees. Chief among these are: regular meetings of the heads of the four parliamentary departments; the Parliamentary Administration Advisory Group; the Security Management Board; the Parliamentary ICT Advisory Board (and its subordinate ICT committees); and numerous bodies managing joint projects and endeavours such as the implementation of the Parliament’s Reconciliation Action Plan.

Within the broader role of the parliamentary service, the department’s planned outcome is to provide advisory and administrative support services to enable the Senate and senators to fulfil their representative duties and exercise the legislative power of the Commonwealth. The department delivers its outcome through a single program, which is described in the next chapter.

Reporting on performance

The next chapter contains the annual performance statements for 2019–20. It also contains a performance report for the seven offices of the department, each of which commences with a table reporting results against the criteria contained in the department’s portfolio budget statements and in office work plans.

A report on the department’s financial performance is included in the ‘Management and accountability’ chapter.

Report on performance

Annual performance statements

As the accountable authority of the Department of the Senate, I present the department’s annual performance statements for 2019–20, as required by subsection 39(1) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. In my view, these statements are based on properly maintained records, accurately reflect the department’s performance and comply with subsection 39(2) of that Act.

(Richard Pye)

Clerk of the Senate

1 October 2020

Performance reporting framework

Overview

In 2019–20, the department successfully achieved its purpose of facilitating all meetings required under decisions of the Senate and its committees, acknowledging the disruption to those meetings at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, the department provided comprehensive, timely and high-quality support to senators, the Senate and committees, as well as prompt and accurate procedural advice and legislative support.

Throughout the year the department also:

published a range of materials on the role and work of the Senate and the Parliament, and delivered effective education and information programs

managed its staff in accordance with its enterprise agreement, provided learning and development opportunities, and managed the department’s response to the pandemic to maintain the department’s capabilities, and

delivered its services in a cost-effective manner and in accordance with accountability requirements.

At the end of the reporting period, the department provided advice and assisted the Senate with practical and procedural adjustments during the pandemic.

Several of the adjustments implemented in response to the pandemic required close cooperation between the parliamentary departments. More broadly, the department continued to work with the other parliamentary departments to deliver its services, to improve support for the Parliament and the work of its members and to enhance the strategic direction of the parliamentary service. Other collaborative work during this reporting period included the opening of the 46th Parliament, a number of joint ICT projects such as an upgrade of the APH website and continued implementation of the Australian Parliament Digital Strategy 2019–2022.

The department’s financial result of the year was a deficit of $0.055m (excluding depreciation and loss on disposal of assets). This result reflects the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a reduction in large expenditure items such as staff travel to support committees. Without this downturn in activity in the last quarter, the department would have been significantly overspent against current resourcing levels. A return to typical levels of travel and the trend of increasing demand on the Committee Office will necessitate additional resources to sustain the department’s services and activities into the future. In this regard, the department welcomes the recognition of this through the one-off funding supplementation it received in the October 2020 budget. An analysis of the department’s financial performance and the financial statements commence at page 81.

These annual performance statements record the department’s results against the planned performance table in figure 2 (below), which is derived from its Corporate Plan 2019–20 and Portfolio Budget Statements 2019–20. They are based on records of services provided by the department, feedback recorded by departmental staff and comments made by relevant groups and committees.

In summary, this data shows both a high level of demand for the department’s services and advice, and very high levels of satisfaction with what is provided. The Senate’s requirements at the beginning of the 46th Parliament continued to be driven by the large crossbench and continued elevated levels of committee and legislative activity. Factors influencing demand are analysed further below.

Before addressing the department’s performance in detail, an innovation in this year’s report is a case study (see figure 3 below) intended to illustrate the kinds of support the department provides to the Senate, its committees and senators.

Case study narrative – Sitting of 10 to 12 June

Program managers agreed in May to proceed with a case study on the sitting of 10 to 12 June 2020 – this week was chosen because the second last sitting week in June is generally a typical week in terms of the volume and type of legislative and procedural support provided by the department. It proved to be so. However, it was an unusual sitting week as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Supporting meetings of the Senate during the pandemic required the department to quickly identify procedural and practical options for the Senate to adapt its proceedings to these unprecedented circumstances. For example, the department implemented several measures to support the Senate meeting safely in these circumstances including arranging additional seating and speaking points in the Senate to accommodate social distancing requirements.

Figure 3 indicates the key activity that occurred during this case study.

The department prepared a range of documents and provided written and oral advice to support senators performing their roles during a meeting of the Senate. Documents prepared for each sitting day included:

the Notice Paper and Order of Business (the matters on the Senate’s agenda)

procedural scripts to support senators chairing the Senate and those who are participating in the proceedings (for example by introducing legislation or proposing that the Senate refer a matter to a committee for inquiry), and

the Journals and the Senate Daily Summary (which record the decisions of the Senate including any legislation agreed to, amended or rejected).

A higher than normal number of “notices of motion” given and determined in the Senate during the week added to the volume and complexity of each of these tasks.

An important aspect of supporting the Senate was providing live tracking of the meeting (the Dynamic Red) so that senators and their staff, ministerial offices, departments providing support to ministers, the media and the general public could follow the proceedings. Similarly, advice provided by the clerks in the Senate was provided at short notice, and sometimes instantaneously, to support the President and senators acting as chairs in the Senate to apply the rules of the Senate consistently.

This advice also assisted senators to utilise the procedural mechanisms available to them to inquire into issues (particularly to support their role in holding the government accountable for its administration of policies and programs), to debate issues of concern to the people they represent and to propose changes to government bills or their own legislation. For example, the department provided support to senators by drafting and publishing 31 amendments for non-government senators and supporting the introduction of three bills by Opposition and minor party senators. The bills related to diverse topics: electoral representation for the Northern Territory, financial transparency of aged care providers and economic support relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The department provides secretariat support to three legislative scrutiny committees which examine bills and legislative instruments from the perspective of their compatibility with the protection of individual rights, principles of parliamentary oversight, the rule of law and human rights. Legislative scrutiny of bills and instruments supports senators in several ways: it may highlight issues with a bill and form the basis of a non-government senator’s instructions for amendments, or it may identify concerns in relation to a legislative instrument which lead to a senator lodging a proposal that the Senate disallow (or veto) the instrument. The verbal and written advice provided by Senate officers during the week included advice about whether instruments were subject to disallowance and the effect of disallowing particular instruments. During the week, senators debated, and ultimately rejected, a proposal to disallow government rules which limited the eligibility of universities for the JobKeeper wage subsidy.

Senate standing and select committees were supporting 47 inquiries at the commencement of the week: the tasks involved in providing secretariat support to those committees are detailed at page 18. Those committees did not table any reports during the week. The department also provided secretariat support to an all-party committee, the Selection of Bills Committee, which meets every sitting week to recommend whether bills should be referred to committees for detailed consideration. On 12 June, the Senate accepted its recommendation for three new inquiries into government bills. Departmental staff supported these committees to advertise the inquiries, identify potential submitters, and suggest a proposed approach to the inquiry including a timetable to meet the reporting deadlines set by the Senate.

The next part of the performance statements analyses the department’s performance in each of its key areas of service delivery and activity.

Figure 3 – Case study infographic – Sitting of 10 to 12 June

Results

Advice about the operations of the Senate and its committees

Assessment
Senators (and others) have the advice and support they require to participate in meetings of the Senate and its committees

One of the key outputs of the department is advice about the operations of the Senate and its committees. Much of this advice is given verbally and instantaneously by the Clerk and other senior officers in the Senate, and by committee secretaries and their staff during committee meetings. These officers also provide procedural advice to senators and their staff at other times, both verbally and in writing. Committee secretaries are supported in providing advice by the Clerk Assistant (Committees) and Senior Clerk of Committees, ensuring advice to committees is consistent and accurate.

Senators and other recipients of written advice continued to acknowledge its value, and advice was provided within agreed timeframes to meet the purposes for which it was sought. On occasion during the year, recipients of advice published it as a contribution to public debate, at the same time subjecting it to public scrutiny. When committees seek the Clerk’s advice it is almost always for the purpose of publishing it, to show the basis on which committees may have taken particular decisions or reached particular conclusions. No committee expressed dissatisfaction with advice received.

Advice about the programming of business in the Senate is the responsibility of the Clerk Assistant (Table), as is the provision of advice and support to government Senate office holders. Procedural advice and support for non-government senators is a particular responsibility of the Deputy Clerk and the Clerk Assistant (Procedure). Senators continued to acknowledge the value of their advice. The Procedure Office drafted large numbers of legislative amendments and private senators’ bills, helping senators participate in legislative proceedings. Amendments and bills accurately reflected the drafting instructions and were prepared within required timeframes and to the satisfaction of senators.

Advice provided by the department was also tested during estimates hearings and in other Senate proceedings and senators relied on such advice throughout the year. In addition to comments made by senators recorded in Hansard, feedback from senators obtained through two formal surveys regarding services provided by the Table Office and the Procedure Office, indicated high levels of satisfaction with both advice and the levels of administrative support provided.

Procedural briefings among senior officers and the publication and dissemination of procedural resources assisted in maintaining the capacity of officers to provide advice and support.

Secretariat support for the Senate and its committees

Assessment
The department’s activities enable the Senate and its committees to meet in accordance with their decisions

This outcome has been met during 2019–20 through two program components.

1. Secretariat support for the Senate

The department provided secretariat support for the Senate on each of its 58 sitting days.

During the sittings the Clerk, the Deputy Clerk and senior officers provided advice in the Senate to the President, Deputy President and other occupants of the chair, as well as to other senators and their staff. The Table Office and the Procedure Office provided procedural scripts and advice to assist senators participating in proceedings. Feedback from senators and their staff acknowledged the value and accuracy of this advice and support.

The Black Rod’s Office provided formal and ceremonial support for sittings, including the swearing in of three new senators who filled casual vacancies during the year.

The Table Office and Senate Public Information Office (SPIO) published the Senate’s formal records and informal guides to its work. These resources were accurate and timely, and produced to meet the needs of senators and Senate deadlines. Documents supporting the Senate’s legislative work were also uniformly accurate and timely. Documents received for tabling were processed, recorded in procedural documents and archived. Increasingly, documents and business information are published online, enhancing the ability of senators and others to follow and participate in Senate proceedings, and further improvements to digital publishing processes and online measures were implemented during the reporting period.

2. Secretariat support for committees

The department provided secretariat support for all committee meetings required under decisions of the Senate and of committees themselves, including those joint committees to which the department provides support. This support was primarily provided by the Committee Office, although the Clerk’s Office, Table Office and Procedure Office also supported a number of standing committees.

Secretariat support for committees encompasses:

procedural advice for the chair and other members, including advice and support to new senators

logistical support for meetings (including interstate hearings) and site visits

preparation of meeting documents, including minutes and agenda

managing and publishing submissions, and organising witnesses

research, analysis of evidence and briefings to members, and

preparation of draft reports, and their finalisation for tabling.

The Committee Office experienced another sustained period of very high workload. The office supported 16 legislation and references committees, nine Senate select committees, two joint select committees and five other joint committees, undertaking between them, at one point, 74 separate inquiries. Secretariat staff in the Committee Office processed more than 7,300 submissions, arranged 225 public hearings (which heard from over 4,300 witnesses) and 545 private meetings. The Senate made 133 references during the year and the office assisted in drafting 106 reports.

Advice, documentation and draft reports were consistently provided to committees in accordance with their requirements. Reports were drafted and presented to the Senate in accordance with the timeframes set by committees and by the Senate.

Secretariat staff work closely with senators in supporting committees and, in particular, work closely with the chair to prepare draft reports. This provides an ongoing opportunity for direct feedback about senators’ satisfaction. Despite the considerable workload, this direct feedback continued to indicate high levels of satisfaction.

Senators referring to committee reports during debates in the Senate also indicated their high levels of satisfaction with the support provided by secretariat staff.

Administrative advice and support for senators

Assessment
Senators are satisfied with the administrative advice and support they receive from the department

The department, principally through the Black Rod’s Office, provides support services to the Senate, to Senate committees and to senators at Parliament House. These services include preparing and supporting the Senate chamber for each sitting day, general office support, asset management, maintenance of equipment and furniture, and stationery services. The office also paid senators’ salaries and allowances as required, organised office accommodation within the Senate wing and provided other services such as arranging transport and delivery services.

The Usher of the Black Rod provided security advice and support to the President, committees, senators and the department. The Usher of the Black Rod and Deputy Usher of the Black Rod also worked with colleagues in the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) Security Branch and the Serjeant-at-Arms’ Office, and with the Australian Federal Police, providing the Senate’s perspective on security matters.

The office made arrangements for the commencement of new senators’ terms on 1 July 2019, including office accommodation movements and payroll activities. The office was instrumental in two major formal events; the swearing in of the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) on 1 July 2019 and the opening of the 46th Parliament on 2 July 2019. These events were the culmination of a significant amount of work for the office in coordinating stakeholders, inviting and ushering guests, managing security arrangements and logistics on the day. Informal feedback received from senators and other stakeholders with regard to the preparation and execution of these arrangements was very positive. The office also made arrangements for the Senate’s Address-in-Reply to be presented to His Excellency the Governor-General on 19 September 2019.

A significant focus of the office in the fourth quarter of 2019–20 was the COVID-19 pandemic. This required measures to be put in place to reduce the risk of transmission while enabling the essential work of the Senate to proceed. The configuration of the Senate chamber was changed to allow for social distancing and the delivery of services to senators in the chamber was also adjusted to reduce the risk of transmission. Work from home arrangements were rapidly put in place for departmental staff to reduce the number of staff in the building and reduce the likelihood of transmission within the building. The department’s response to the pandemic required significant coordination between the parliamentary departments and with Commonwealth Government central agencies, such as the Australian Public Service Commission.

Services were delivered within established timeframes and met relevant legislative requirements. This aspect of the department’s work involves regular and direct contact with Senate office holders, senators and their staff, and other stakeholders, all of whom provided regular informal feedback which was generally positive. Positive comments were also recorded in Hansard about the quality of the support for senators provided by the office and the department.

Public information and parliamentary education

Assessment
Public information about the work and role of the Senate and its committees and parliamentary education programs are current and accessible to all

The department continued its public information programs this reporting period including delivering 14 seminars, 13 training programs for senators and their staff, and five public lectures as well as publishing material on the role of the Senate and its committees. The formal and informal feedback regarding these services indicated that the programs effectively met their objectives. These programs were reduced in the fourth quarter of 2019–20 due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through the Parliamentary Education Office (PEO), the department also delivered a comprehensive education program to students visiting Parliament House from more than 1,100 Australian schools, as well as an outreach program to students in Queensland and Tasmania. Attendance levels, requests for training and educational programs and feedback collected from these sessions indicated high levels of satisfaction among those accessing these services. The number of users of the PEO website remains steady and feedback indicates high levels of satisfaction with educational information and resources provided online. In response to the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, PEO scaled up its delivery of programs via videoconference, delivering sessions to over 3,000 students in this reporting period. This figure represents a 134 per cent increase on 2018–19 participation rates for programs delivered by videoconference.

Senate Public Information Office (SPIO) develops and publishes a range of public information resources to support the operation of the Senate, including on sitting days the Dynamic Red and Senate Daily Summary and, during estimates hearings, Estimates Live, and manages the department’s web presence and Twitter account @AuSenate. The office also collates statistics on Senate activity and in this reporting period completed a significant project to redesign the PEO website. These resources were provided on all sitting days, and accurate, reader-friendly public information resources were delivered within established timeframes.

Capability, governance and accountability

Assessment
All identified accountability obligations to the Senate are met

Senate committees provide opportunities for senators and others to monitor the department’s performance. The department met its accountability obligations to the Senate during the year, particularly through its appearance before estimates hearings. The Clerk and other officers appeared at estimates hearings of the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee during each round of Senate estimates and also provided responses to 84 estimates questions on notice, which were published on that committee’s web pages. These activities provide an important accountability mechanism by which senators may test advice provided by departmental officers and evaluate the department’s performance in a public forum. The Appropriations, Staffing and Security Committee also has a specific role in relation to the department’s appropriations as well as matters concerning the department’s structure, staffing and ICT and security arrangements. Reports on the department’s financial performance were provided to the President of the Senate and the Appropriations, Staffing and Security Committee, as was the annual report of the department’s Audit Committee. Regular reports on other departmental matters are also provided to the President.

Analysis

The department reports against the performance indicators contained in its portfolio budget statements, tabled in the Senate in April 2019, and those in its Corporate Plan for 2019–20. Those indicators have two dimensions, comprising an assessment of the demand for the department’s services and an evaluation of the department’s performance in delivering those services.

Factors influencing demand

A constant in the department’s planning and reporting has been the recognition that much of the demand for its services shifts in line with levels of Senate legislative and committee activity. Demand is overwhelmingly driven by the requirements of senators, and the decisions and activities of the Senate and its committees. Each year, significant factors include:

the political dynamics of the Senate

the number of days and hours, and distribution, of its sittings

the legislative workload of the Senate

the number of committees on which senators serve, and

the number and complexity of committee inquiries.

Each of these is in turn affected by the electoral cycle. 2019–20 was the first year of the 46th Parliament and the Senate’s large and diverse crossbench continued to affect the level of demand for advice, and the character of advice and support required.

Significant factors during this reporting period included the uncertainty generated by the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to scheduled sitting days and the need to facilitate sittings at short notice while adapting practices and procedures to comply with the health and safety constraints imposed by these unusual circumstances.

Following the opening of Parliament on 2 July 2019, the Senate sat on 58 days. High levels of committee activity resumed quickly, with nine Senate select and two joint select committees established within the first year of the 46th Parliament. This activity was funded from the department’s existing appropriation.

Performance in delivery services

Evaluation of the department’s performance is based upon the degree to which its services meet the requirements of the Senate and its committees, and senators, principally measured against criteria centred on:

accuracy—frequently assessed by considering whether advice or documents were demonstrated to be inaccurate

timeliness—particularly whether advice, documents or services were provided in time to meet the purpose for which they were sought

satisfaction of senators (including committees of senators) with the advice, documents or other services provided—the assessment of which is considered further below.

The particular criteria which apply are described in the department’s portfolio budget statements and in the performance summary tables for each office contained in this chapter.

Monitoring and assessing satisfaction

Much of the department’s work involves contact with senators and their staff, presenting the most direct means of eliciting (often informal) feedback about services and performance, and an avenue for addressing concerns as they are raised. During 2019–20, two formal surveys of senators and their staff obtained specific feedback regarding services provided by the Table Office and the Procedure Office. As noted throughout this report, direct feedback was very positive across all service areas during the year, particularly in relation to core advisory, drafting and secretariat support roles. Senators’ comments about the department and its staff, placed on the public record during Senate and committee proceedings, constitute another valuable source of performance information. These comments continued to be resoundingly positive during 2019–20. The department also monitors its performance through formal and informal channels, including letters, emails, phone calls, seminar evaluation forms and outputs from management information systems. Again these sources were positive. The direct accountability of the department to the Senate through its committees was noted, above, at page 22.

The department’s program managers have adopted a formal process for recording and providing feedback to the Clerk to provide assurance for his certification of the annual performance statements. These measures have been provided to the department’s Audit Committee, which has provided advice that the measures and these annual performance statements are appropriate.

The subsequent parts of this chapter report on the activities and performance of the department against the criteria contained in the departmental work plans.

Clerk’s Office

Outputs

Advice on, and support for, proceedings of the Senate and its committees.

Leadership and strategic direction for the department.

Secretariat and advisory support to the Procedure and Privileges Committees.

Procedural information and related resources for senators and the department.

Performance information

Performance results

Advice and support are sound and timely, and provided to the satisfaction of the President, other officeholders, Senate committees and senators so that they are able to fulfil their roles.

Senators and other recipients of advice on powers, privileges and proceedings continued to acknowledge its accuracy and value.

Advice and support was invariably provided in time to meet procedural and operational requirements.

The capacity of the department and its employees to provide advice and support meets operational requirements.

Activities under the learning and development framework underpinned the department’s advisory and support capacities.

Governance structures advance the department’s accountability and the achievement of its outcome.

Governance forums achieved all significant targets for the year, including managing budgeting and staffing targets.

Contributions to interdepartmental forums advanced the strategic aims of parliamentary administration.

Advice, documentation, publications and draft reports are accurate, of a high standard and produced to meet the required timeframes.

All advice, documents and draft reports produced in support of committees supported by the office were of a high standard and met required timeframes; none were shown to be inaccurate.

Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice is updated to reflect significant changes in the Senate.

The Procedural Information Bulletin is produced after each sitting period and other procedural resources are updated and augmented as required.

The Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice, Supplement to the 14th edition – Updates to 30 June 2019, was published (tabled 9 September 2019).

The Procedural Information Bulletin was produced promptly after sitting periods and estimates hearings.

Procedural and administrative information for senators was published to intranet site, Senate Connect.

Overview

The Clerk of the Senate, Richard Pye, manages the department in accordance with the Parliamentary Service Act. The Clerk is also the principal adviser to the President of the Senate and senators on proceedings in the Senate, parliamentary privilege, and committee proceedings and their outcomes in the Senate. The Deputy Clerk of the Senate supports the Clerk in these roles and, with the Clerk Assistant (Procedure), provides procedural and legislative advice and support to non-executive senators. The Deputy Clerk also has particular corporate governance roles, including as the department’s senior representative on the Audit Committee and as chair of the Program Managers’ Group. The cost of the office for 2019–20 was $1.0m ($1.1m in 2018–19).

Advice and information

The provision of advice, particularly to the President, senators and parliamentary committees, is a core function of the department and a priority for the Clerk’s Office. Much advice is provided orally and instantaneously, particularly in the Senate chamber, in private meetings of committees, and to senators who seek advice in person. Such advice is impossible to quantify in any meaningful way, but the number and kinds of written advices provide some indication of work undertaken.

Written advice

The number of requests for written advice increased compared to the previous financial year, reflecting a return to the usual level of demand expected in a non-election year. A key topic on which senators sought advice included procedural options to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing for greater flexibility in the timing of Senate meetings and the possibility of remote participation by senators, and by adjusting procedures to facilitate social distancing during sittings. Advice was also provided on more usual topics, such as the powers of committees, claims of public interest immunity and a number of aspects of parliamentary privilege. Figure 4 shows the number of written advices provided by topic, while figure 5 shows demand over recent years. The Clerk’s Office continued to move towards more succinct and less formal advice targeted at the needs of the senator requesting the advice.

Figure 4 – Types of written advice provided by the Clerk, 2019–20

Figure 5 – Number of advice provided by the Clerk’s Office, 2016–17 to 2019–20

Performance indicators for provision of advice focus on timeliness and accuracy. Senators and other recipients of advice continued to acknowledge its accuracy and its value. All advice was provided in time to meet the purposes for which it was sought. Most advice is provided on a confidential basis and it is for the recipient to decide whether to release it, and if so, on what basis. On several occasions during the year, recipients of advice published it as a contribution to public debate, at the same time subjecting it to public scrutiny. As this advice can inform the actions of senators, the Senate and its committees, as well as public debate, all advice is prepared to the highest standards and on the soundest possible basis.

Procedural information

The Clerk produced issues of the Procedural Information Bulletin after each sitting period and the two rounds of estimates hearings, covering all the major procedural developments and matters of procedural interest which arose. Updates on procedural and administrative matters affecting senators were also published to an intranet site developed for senators and their staff, Senate Connect. In particular, this site was updated to reflect various procedural changes trialled by the Senate from the first sitting day in 2020.

A supplement to the 14th edition of Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice was published early in the reporting period. An updated supplement, covering developments over the last 12 months and particularly the procedural changes adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was being prepared at the end of the reporting period.

The Clerk and Deputy Clerk prepared and presented sessions in the department’s learning and development activities, and in other forums for parliamentary staff. They also provided introductory briefings to four senators whose terms commenced during the year and nine training sessions to senators who took on the role of Chair of the Senate.

Procedural documents and templates were revised and updated, including a booklet summarising Presidents’ rulings for Chairs of the Senate and the briefing notes for clerks at the table.

Committees

The office provided secretariat support to two Senate standing committees. Advice and support was acknowledged as meeting the needs and timeframes of the committees and their members.

Procedure Committee

The Clerk served as secretary to the Procedure Committee, which responds to references from the Senate or the President by evaluating, and recommending improvements to, Senate procedure.

During the year the committee met four times and presented two reports; one in October 2019 and one in December 2019. The October report endorsed two proposals: the first that the Senate suspend when the Prime Minister presents the annual report on progress in meeting the “Closing the Gap” targets to enable senators to attend; and the second that, where evidence is taken before a Senate committee in an Indigenous Australian language, the Senate require that the evidence be transcribed in Hansard both in that language and in English. The Senate agreed to these procedural changes on 17 October 2019. The December report recommended arrangements to streamline aspects of Senate business and reduced speaking times. On 3 December 2019, the Senate agreed to a trial of these changes from the first sitting day in 2020 until August 2020.

Committee of Privileges

The Deputy Clerk served as secretary to the Committee of Privileges, which met 17 times in 2019–20 (13 in 2018–19) and presented three reports. The committee protects the integrity of Senate and committee proceedings by inquiring into matters which may amount to contempt of the Senate. Those matters, which arise from concerns raised by other committees or individual senators, are referred to the committee by the Senate.

The committee’s 177th report (tabled on 14 November 2019) considered whether there had been an attempt to improperly influence senators, or improperly interfere with senators performing their duties, through alleged threats which had been reported in the media. The committee concluded that the alleged conduct, whilst extremely distasteful, did not require further investigation as a possible contempt.

The 178th report (tabled on 28 November 2019) related to the proposed development of a foreign influence transparency (FIT) scheme to apply to parliamentarians and be established in parallel to the executive FIT scheme.

The committee also administers the right-of-reply mechanism for people seeking to respond to adverse comment made about them in the Senate. One request was received and reported on during the year in the 179th report. The Senate adopted the recommendation of the report that the reply be incorporated in Hansard.

Governance

The Deputy Clerk chaired the Program Managers’ Group whose focus included adapting the department’s operations in light of the health and safety requirements necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as updating and embedding the department’s risk and fraud management frameworks. The deputy is also the department’s senior representative on its Audit Committee.

During the financial year, the Clerk attended four meetings of the Heads of the Parliamentary Departments. This group generally meets quarterly and provides a forum across the parliamentary departments on administrative matters and for setting the strategic direction of the parliamentary service.

More broadly, the Clerk and other senior officers collaborated with their counterparts in the other parliamentary departments on matters connected to parliamentary administration.

The department’s 2018–19 annual report foreshadowed work on a new enterprise agreement for the department in 2020. However, after consultation with staff, the Clerk made a determination under the subsection 24(1) of the Parliamentary Service Act to set salary increases for 2020 to 2022 while maintaining existing terms and conditions. The Clerk also made two determinations in April under the same provision to provide greater flexibility for staff to utilise existing leave entitlements, if required, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More information on governance is in the ‘Management and accountability’ chapter.

Performance outlook

The next reporting period, the second year in an electoral cycle, will continue to be affected by the uncertainties introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic but is likely to see a return to a more predictable sitting pattern and increased committee and legislative activity. The number of requests for advice should be consistent with 2019–20 though the requests may continue to traverse some novel areas.

The office will publish an updated supplement to the 14th edition of Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice. The supplement will particularly take into account the recent procedural adaptions necessary to adjust the practices of the Senate to the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Training for senators newly undertaking duties in the Chair of the Senate will remain a priority.

The office will refresh the department’s learning and development framework with a view to consolidating work to identify the key knowledge, skills and attributes staff require to provide support to the Senate and its committees, and the most effective means of building those capabilities among departmental staff.

Work on the development of a privilege manual was delayed by the more pressing demands of 2019–20 but will commence with a view to completion of this project during the next election period.

The department has made significant progress strengthening its corporate governance processes and systems over the last three years particularly in response to the new performance reporting requirements under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014. The next year will be a period of consolidation on this front.

Table Office

Outputs

Programming and procedural support to the Senate and the legislative process.

Publication of formal and informal records of Senate business.

Receipt, dissemination and storage of documents.

Inquiries service.

Secretariat support for the Appropriations, Staffing and Security; Publications; Selection of Bills; and Senators’ Interests committees.

Performance information

Performance results

Procedural advice and legislative documents are accurate and timely.

Advice was given as required. Legislative documents were accurate and produced within required timeframes.

Order of Business, Notice Paper and Journals of the Senate are accurate and published within required timeframes.

Other publications are accurate and timely.

All information resources were accurate and published according to required timeframes, including the Order of Business and Notice Paper published in advance of each sitting day and proof Journals of the Senate published at the end of each sitting day (followed by final Journals before the next sitting period).

Tabled documents are processed and stored, and available online wherever possible.

Senate records were accurately recorded and safely stored and documents were distributed in a timely manner.

Inquiries assistance is effective and supported by online information services.

Inquiries were responded to immediately, or within reasonable or agreed timeframes for more complex queries.

Committees are supported; advice, documentation, publications and draft reports are accurate and timely.

Committee meetings were held, documents provided and reports prepared within agreed timeframes.

Overview

The Table Office is led by the Clerk Assistant (Table) and has three functional areas, as shown in figure 6.

Figure 6 – Elements and responsibilities of the Table Office

Executive and programming

Tim Bryant, Clerk Assistant

Procedural advice to government senators, programming support and production of the Order of Business.

Secretary to the Selection of Bills and Senators’ Interests committees, and Registrar of Senators’ Interests.

Legislation and Documents

Journals and Notice Paper

Ivan Powell, Director

Processing legislation

Processing and custody of documents
Inquiries services

Secretary to the Publications Committee

James Warmenhoven, Director

Production of the Notice Paper and Journals of the Senate

Processing questions on notice, orders for the production of documents and petitions

Secretary to the Appropriations, Staffing and Security Committee

The Table Office provided support for the Senate on each of its 58 sitting days in this reporting period which, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, represents a reasonably typical number of sitting days. All performance results, as outlined in the above table, were achieved within established timeframes. Project work was completed or has continued, as forecast.

Much of the work of the Table Office involves direct contact with senators and their staff, as well as other clients. This presents an ongoing opportunity to receive and respond to feedback about the services provided by the office. Responses to a survey indicated high levels of satisfaction with the services provided by the Table Office. In addition, ad hoc feedback was almost invariably positive.

Staff numbers remained steady during the reporting period, with an average full-time equivalent level of 13.4. The cost of the office was $2.1 ($2.3m in 2018–19).

Programming and procedural support

The Table Office supported the operation of the Senate by providing programming support, preparing procedural scripts for use in the chamber (1,286 in 2019–20, averaging 22 per sitting day) and providing a broadcast captioning service of Senate proceedings. The Order of Business (the program for each day’s sitting) was prepared in draft form to assist senators (especially the whips) and published as a final edition prior to each sitting. The Clerk Assistant (Table) and other staff of the office provided procedural advice to government office holders in relation to programming and the management of government business in the Senate, and also worked closely with the Parliamentary Liaison Officer (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet) to facilitate government business in the Senate.

Formal records

The Notice Paper is the formal agenda of the Senate. The Notice Paper was produced and published by the Table Office in advance of each sitting day excepting the opening of Parliament on 2 July 2019. The Journals of the Senate is the official record of decisions made by the Senate. Proof Journals were published online shortly after the end of each sitting day, and printed versions distributed the next morning. Final Journals were subsequently produced following thorough checking of source materials.

Legislation

The office facilitated the legislative work of the Parliament by processing all bills considered in the Senate, preparing legislative documents including third reading and assent prints of bills passed, and processing assent messages.

The office also prepared the formal messages by which the two Houses communicate on legislative and other activity. In 2019–20, 212 messages were prepared, of which 168 related to the passage of bills (the remaining related to matters such as committee memberships). These figures compare to 182 messages, of which 155 related to the passage of bills, in 2018–19. Figure 7 reflects the level of legislative activity in recent years.

Figure 7 – Senate legislative activity, 2016–17 to 2019–20

Questions on notice, notices of motion and petitions

Senators continued to use the questions on notice process – written questions to ministers on the administration of public policy – as an important accountability mechanism. Throughout the reporting period, 1,677 questions were asked on notice. These were processed and published to a searchable database on the Parliament’s website within established timeframes.

In 2019–20, the office processed all notices of motions received for inclusion in the Notice Paper – 878 for this reporting period compared to 657 in the previous period. These notices signal senators’ intentions to move particular motions on specified days. The office also processed 12 petitions (with 45,747 signatories) which senators had lodged for presentation to the Senate (compared to eight petitions with 132,917 signatures in 2018–19).

Another frequently used means of obtaining information about matters of concern to the Senate are orders for the production of documents. During 2019–20, the office processed the 78 orders for the production of documents made by the Senate, some of which were then the subject of follow-up orders, and four of which were continuing orders.

Documents

The office received and processed all of the 4,576 documents provided for tabling in the Senate in this reporting period, recorded their details in the Journals and Index to the Papers Presented to Parliament, and archived them. This figure is comparable to the 4,126 documents tabled in the previous period. The documents presented to the Senate in 2019–20 added approximately 18 metres of boxed documents to the archive. Figure 8 shows the number of documents tabled in the Senate in recent years.

Documents from the President, ministers, the Auditor-General and committees may also be presented when the Senate is not sitting. The office administers this procedure, which facilitates the timely publication of material of interest to, or required by, the Parliament. In 2019–20, a total of 506 documents (or approximately 11 per cent of all documents tabled in the Senate) were presented using this procedure. This compares with 752 documents (or 18 per cent of all documents tabled) during the previous year.

All documents presented to the Senate in the reporting period were digitised and made publicly available on the Parliament’s website or on the Federal Register of Legislation by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.

Significant work was also undertaken in the reporting period to organise and rationalise the office’s holdings of hardcopy materials. This work will continue in the next reporting period to ensure the preservation of historically important material and the efficient use of the office’s document storage areas.

Figure 8 – Documents tabled in the Senate, 2016–17 to 2019–20

Inquiries

Hard copies of all documents presented to the Senate are made available on request through the inquiries and distribution services provided by the office. The inquiries service also fields a range of queries about Senate proceedings from senators and their staff, government agencies and others. In 2019–20, 3,021 inquiries were received (approximately 24 per cent from senators or their staff). This compares to 2,918 inquiries in the previous reporting year. The majority of inquiries – which are communicated face to face, by telephone or email – were responded to immediately, with other more complex inquiries responded to within timeframes agreed with the requestor. While these figures are drawn from formal statistics kept for performance reporting purposes, the staff of the office (as do other staff of the department) also respond to considerably more requests for information from senators and their staff as they go about their duties on sitting days.

Support for committees

During the year, the office provided secretariat support to four committees. All committee meetings were convened, papers prepared (including draft reports as required) and other administrative support provided within the timeframes required by the committees.

The Clerk Assistant (Table) is secretary to the Selection of Bills Committee which meets and reports each sitting week on recommendations to refer bills to the legislation committees for inquiry. He is also secretary to the Senators’ Interests Committee and the Registrar of Senators’ Interests, with responsibility for administering the Register of Senators’ Interests, which is published online. In this reporting period, a new online system was implemented for senators to make their interests declarations and to support the new Register of Senators’ Qualifications requirements commencing at the start of the 46th Parliament.

In addition, the office’s two directors provided secretariat support to the Senate Publications Committee and the Senate Appropriations, Staffing and Security Committee.

Performance outlook

In 2020–21, the Table Office will continue to serve as the secretariat to the Senate, and to certain committees.

The existing timeframes set for the provision of various services remain appropriate, with a few minor adjustments reflected in the office’s 2020–21 work plan. The office will continue to monitor its performance through the collation of a range of statistics and feedback and exception based reporting of non-compliance.

The key procedural publications – Order of Business, Notice Paper and Journals – produced by the office will continue to be refreshed to reflect the evolving style of Senate and departmental documents, and a continued emphasis on publishing procedural material in digital formats to support accessibility and efficiency and to reduce printing costs.

The office will also continue to support various ICT related activities, including contributing to the ongoing maintenance, enhancement and testing of existing systems that support the work of the office and the Senate, as well as involvement in projects such as the development of a new system to facilitate the receipt and publication of tabled documents in digital format, which will be implemented in the 2020–21 reporting period.

The key staffing focus for the next reporting period remains the sharing of skills and knowledge to ensure sufficient back-up is available to fill in for staff who may not be able to come in to the office, as well as bringing in staff from other areas of the department from time-to-time, to ensure that expertise in relation to specific tasks is not unduly concentrated.

Senate Public Information Office

Outputs

Produce, publish and manage information resources about the activities of the Senate and its committees.

Liaison with the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) and others in relation to the ICT systems and resources that underpin the support provided to the Senate, including system enhancement and development.

Performance information

Performance results

Manage the production of: Dynamic Red (ParlWork); Senate Daily Summary; The Week Ahead; StatsNet; and Senate Discovery.

All publications were published within agreed timeframes set out in the 2019–20 office work plan.

Coordinate the Senate’s public information resources and produce and publish material for the department in multiple formats.

Current, accurate and relevant information was available about the role and work of the Senate and its committees as required.

Ongoing improvements were made to the availability and accessibility of information resources.

Develop, manage and participate in projects to improve information dissemination.

A number of projects to streamline work practices and to improve the delivery of information were successfully implemented.

Liaise with DPS and the other parliamentary departments on ICT matters.

The requirements of the Senate and the department were effectively represented in the ICT priorities of the Parliament.

Manage the Senate’s Twitter account.

Through @AuSenate, the department engaged with and informed followers about the work of the Senate.

Overview

The Senate Public Information Office (SPIO) is led by the Clerk Assistant (Table) and the Director, SPIO, Matt Keele. The Director and the SPIO team work closely together to deliver services to the Senate, the public and the department. The Clerk Assistant (Table) is also responsible for strategic leadership in relation to the department’s ICT dependencies, including liaison with the Department of Parliamentary Service’s Information Services Division.

SPIO produces and publishes an array of information resources so that people can understand and engage in the work of the Senate and its committees. This work is undertaken against the strategic goal of improving the department’s approach to publishing and sharing information and being responsive to the evolving ways in which senators and the public expect to find and consume information.

SPIO also coordinates the department’s involvement in forums and projects affecting the production and dissemination of Senate and departmental information resources. In 2019–20, SPIO coordinated the department’s involvement and contribution to the development of the ICT road maps for the Parliament, led by DPS.

From March 2020, SPIO, worked closely with colleagues from DPS Information Services Division, to support the department’s transition to remote working arrangements due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The disruption from the pandemic has resulted in revised timelines for a number of projects that had completion dates on or before 30 June 2020, notably the Online Table Documents project, which will now be implemented in late 2020.

The cost of the office for 2019–20 was $1.4m ($1.4m in 2018–19), with staffing levels maintained at an average of 10 full-time equivalent.

Information resources

SPIO supported each of the 58 sitting days in this reporting period by producing and publishing the following information resources relevant to the meetings of the Senate, and meeting corresponding performance results:

The Week Ahead – 17 editions

Dynamic Red (and ParlWork web-application) – 58 editions with an average of 109 updates per day

Senate Daily Summary – 58 editions

Senate Discovery – 11 episodes, and

compilation and publication of statistics about the work of the Senate: StatsNet and Statistical Summary.

In this reporting period, the office’s work to develop and publish information resources also included:

development of a webpage to bring together a collection of published writings by the former Clerk of the Senate, Harry Evans

StatsNet – back capture of statistical information from the 43rd and 44th parliaments

assisting with the development of a website to commemorate the 50th year of the operation of the modern Senate committee system

producing video, print and web resources for the Parliamentary Education Office (PEO), notably Parliament in Pictures

production of the department’s corporate reporting and planning documents, and

ongoing development of Senate Connect (senators’ intranet) and SENNET (departmental intranet).

SPIO also managed the Senate’s Twitter account, @AuSenate, providing regular and frequent updates about the work of the Senate and its committees. Through Twitter, the department is able to increase its outreach, engage with citizens and others and respond quickly to requests for information.

Projects and support

During the reporting period, SPIO continued to collaborate with DPS and the Department of the House of Representatives (DHR) on a number of ICT projects to enhance the systems that underpin our work and to create new resources. During this period eight projects were completed:

Procedural Hub, an online hub with access to procedural information, resources and advice regarding the conduct of business in the Senate – completed July 2019

new PEO website – completed October 2019

enhancements to the Common Data Access Platform (CDAP), a system used to manage, reuse and share parliamentary data – completed October 2019

coordinated the department’s participation in the APH website upgrade project – completed February 2020

development of the Senate Divisions Recording System – completed in March 2020 although implementation was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic

implementation of the Reserve Bank of Australia EasyPay online payment system and integration with the PEO’s online shopping cart – completed March 2020

enhancements to the Parliamentarians’ Information Portal, a tool for managing a dataset within CDAP – completed June 2020, and

enhancements to the Venue Management System used by the PEO to manage school bookings for visiting students – completed June 2020.

Other significant work during 2019–20 which is expected to be completed in the next reporting period includes:

Passage of Legislation – an online interactive flowchart illustrating the parliamentary processes relating to bills

Online Tabled Documents project (with DPS, DHR and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet), a system to receive and publish digital copies of tabled documents, and

enhancement of Committee Office systems that support the estimates questions on notice process.

Performance outlook

In 2020–21, SPIO will continue its information resource production, projects and support programs and ICT liaison, in line with the department’s strategic aims and to achieve its service delivery to senators and the public.

The office will continue to work with DPS and others to progress various ICT projects designed to strengthen and streamline the systems and resources that enable the department’s work. Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic emphasise the need for ICT systems that provide mobility and seamless user experience between office and remote working arrangements, for senators and staff alike. Working with DPS, SPIO will coordinate the department’s transition later this year to the Windows 10 operating system and Microsoft 365 suite of applications, providing a foundation for greater mobility. In addition, SPIO will be working closely with DPS and the House of Representatives to develop appropriate video conferencing capabilities to support the remote participation of senators and members in their proceedings. Other projects include the expansion of the ParlWork application to provide live hearing updates from committees (analogous to Estimates Live and the Dynamic Red), a new document management and publishing system to support the legislative scrutiny committees, enhancements to the Senate’s online statistical collection StatsNet and the development of a Senate YouTube channel to promote awareness of the work of the Senate and expand on the Senate Discovery video series.

SPIO’s work will continue to focus on capacity building throughout the department to support digital innovation to mitigate the department’s strategic risks in relation to ICT systems and resources and workforce capability.

Procedure Office

Outputs

Legislative drafting and procedural support to non-executive senators.

Secretariat support for legislative scrutiny committees.

Procedural research services.

Parliamentary information for public servants and the community.

Policy support and funding for inter-parliamentary relations.

Performance information

Performance results

Procedural advice and support is sound and timely, enabling the instructing senator to fulfil their role.

Senators and their staff continued to acknowledge the accuracy and value of procedural advice though a formal survey and ad hoc feedback.

Legislative amendments and private senators’ bills are constitutionally and legally sound and meet the requirements of instructing senators.

Legislative amendments and bills were accurate, and were prepared within required timeframes and to the satisfaction of senators.

Secretariat support to the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation Committee, the Scrutiny of Bills Committee and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights is accurate, of a high standard and timely.

Advice and documents prepared for the legislative scrutiny committees were accurate, of a high standard and provided within the timeframes set by the Senate and the committees.

Parliamentary research information is accurate, timely and comprehensive.

Seminars, lectures and other parliamentary information projects are provided to increase the awareness of the work and role of the Parliament.

Inter-parliamentary functions are supported to the satisfaction of participants.

Accurate and comprehensive parliamentary research was provided within required timeframes.

Seminars and lectures were held in accordance with the programmed schedule (with some interruption due to the pandemic), and public information projects were delivered in accordance with the required timeframes. Training was provided to the satisfaction of participants, demonstrated by positive feedback obtained through evaluation processes.

Inter-parliamentary functions were carried out to the satisfaction of participants.

Overview

The Procedure Office is led by the Clerk Assistant (Procedure) and has three functional areas, as shown in figure 9.

Figure 9 – Elements and responsibilities of the Procedure Office

Executive and legislative drafting

Rachel Callinan, Clerk Assistant

Procedural advice, support and training.

Drafting of legislative amendments and private senators’ bills.

Procedural support and public information

Legislative scrutiny

Toni Matulick, Director, Procedure and Research

Legislative drafting and procedural advice

Publications, seminars, public lectures and exhibitions

Parliamentary liaison and research on parliamentary matters

Anita Coles, Secretary, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights

Glenn Ryall, Secretary, Scrutiny of Bills Committee and Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation Committee (formerly Regulations and Ordinances Committee)

Secretariat, advisory and administrative support to the committees

The office provides a range of advisory, research and public information services to support the work of senators and the Senate, including legislative drafting services and support for the Parliament’s legislative scrutiny committees. The demand for procedural and legislative advice and support is driven by the requirements of senators and the Senate. The work of the secretariats of the legislative scrutiny committees is similarly driven by the volume of legislation coming before the Senate and additional inquiries undertaken by the committees.

The Procedure Office monitors levels of satisfaction with its performance through formal and informal channels such as seminar evaluation forms, surveys and direct feedback from senators and their staff, and members of the public.

The full-time equivalent staffing level for the Procedure Office in 2019–20 was 20.5 (20.1 in 2018–19). The cost of providing the services of the Procedure Office in 2019–20 was $4.0m ($4.3m in 2018–19).

Procedural support

In 2019–20, the office assisted non-executive senators and their staff by providing advice relating to the role and work of the Senate and its committees. There was strong demand for such advice, particularly during sitting periods. Advice was provided on many procedural issues, including the constitutional powers of the Senate, the legislative process, the process for disallowance of delegated legislation, reference of matters to committees, orders for production of documents and opportunities for debate. The office also provided research support to the Clerk and Deputy Clerk on procedural matters.

Staff ensured the accuracy of advice by researching appropriate precedents and consulting other departmental officers, particularly the Clerk Assistant (Procedure), the Clerk and the Deputy Clerk. Advice was non-partisan, consistent, and provided to senators and their staff in a timely fashion often within very short time frames.

In 2019–20, the office prepared an average of 17 procedural scripts per sitting day for use by senators in the chamber with a total of 977 scripts for the year. This was similar to the previous year’s average of 19. These scripts assist senators to pursue matters of concern to them through, for example, orders for the production of documents, committee references and the introduction of bills.

The office also checked material, particularly draft motions, for procedural accuracy on request from senators and their staff. The advice provided was accurate and provided in time to enable senators to use this material in the Senate and elsewhere.

Legislative drafting

In 2019–20, the office provided legislative support to senators by drafting amendments and private senators’ bills, primarily for non-government senators.

The office prepared and circulated 52 second reading amendments (an increase on the previous year, when 26 such amendments were circulated). The office also drafted and circulated 170 sets of committee of the whole amendments, comprising 608 individual amendments (compared to 473 amendments circulated on 122 sheets in the previous year). While the preparation of second reading amendments is usually straightforward, committee of the whole amendments, which propose amendments to bills, can range from simple to quite complex and resource intensive.

A further 76 sets of amendments were requested and drafted, but not circulated. Reasons that amendment sheets may not be circulated include the sponsoring senator deciding not to proceed with the amendments, or amendments being drafted to inform negotiations between parties or as an alternative position to circulated amendments.

In accordance with section 53 of the Constitution, 16 sets of amendments were framed as requests to the House of Representatives. For these requests, the office produced statements of reasons to explain why the amendments were framed as requests, as required by the Senate’s procedures. The majority of the requests that were drafted related to the government’s coronavirus response package.

Senators continued to use private senators’ bills as a means of furthering debate on policy issues and, in some cases, influencing the government to pursue legislative action. In 2019–20, the office received requests for 48 private senators’ bills, and 32 private senators’ bills were introduced. This demand was similar to the previous reporting period and reflects a strong interest among non-government senators for a legislative response to policy matters of concern to them. Two private senators’ bills were passed by the Senate during 2019–20.

Figure 10 summarises legislative drafting and procedural services provided to senators over the past four years.

Figure 10 – Legislative drafting and procedural advice services provided to senators

Service

2016–17

2017–18

2018–19

2019–20

Committee of the whole amendments circulated

667

1011

473

608

Second reading amendments circulated

43

30

26

52

Private senators’ bills introduced

21

31

39

32

Procedural scripts prepared

701

727

689

977

The results of a formal survey of senators and staff, as well as informal feedback, confirmed the quality of the procedural advice and legislative drafting service provided by the office including where support was provided within the tight time constraints common in sitting weeks.

Support for legislative scrutiny committees

During the year, the Legislative Scrutiny Unit provided secretariat, research and administrative support to the following committees:

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, and

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation (formerly the Regulations and Ordinances Committee).

The committees examine all bills and legislative instruments according to each committee’s terms of reference. The committees generally report each sitting week on the bills and legislative instruments scrutinised, and annually outline their work and the significant matters they have pursued during the year.

In preparing the reports tabled during this period, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights secretariat examined 278 bills (181 in 2018–19) and drafted 13 reports containing comments on 76 bills (49 in 2018–19), raising matters relating to the committee’s scrutiny terms of reference (contained in the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011). The committee also examined 2,272 disallowable and exempt legislative instruments (1,144 in 2018–19) and drafted comments on 33 instruments (24 in 2018–19).

In preparing the reports tabled during this period, the Scrutiny of Bills Committee secretariat examined 296 bills (192 in 2018–19) and drafted 16 reports, containing comments on 129 bills (73 in 2018–19), raising matters relating to the committee’s scrutiny terms of reference (under Senate standing order 24).

Following amendments to standing order 23, on 4 December 2019 the Regulations and Ordinances Committee was renamed the Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation and the scope of the scrutiny principles on which the committee assesses legislative instruments was clarified. In preparing the reports tabled during this period, the secretariat examined 1,695 legislative instruments (1,202 in 2018–19) and drafted 16 reports, containing comments on 290 legislative instruments (229 in 2018–19), raising matters related to the committee’s scrutiny terms of reference. On 30 April 2020 the committee initiated (under standing order 23(12)) a broad-ranging inquiry into the exemption of delegated legislation from parliamentary oversight. This inquiry will conclude in the next reporting period.

The work of the three committees in scrutinising bills and legislative instruments supports parliamentary consideration of legislation in a number of important ways, including influencing the drafting of bills and legislative instruments, informing debate in the Senate and the House of Representatives, and resulting in amendments to bills and legislative instruments and associated explanatory materials.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the three legislative scrutiny committees examined and reported on a significant volume of delegated and primary legislation made in response to the pandemic, with the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights and the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation Committee publishing lists of COVID-19 related legislation relevant to their terms of reference on their websites to promote public scrutiny of these laws. As at 30 June 2020, 12 COVID-19 related bills had been introduced into the Parliament and 211 COVID-19 related legislative instruments had been registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. Committee secretariats supported the committees in this work in addition to the usual support provided to the committees. This work will continue into the next reporting period.

Parliamentary information and training

The Procedure and Research section helps to increase knowledge of the role and work of the Senate by coordinating a range of lectures, seminars and public information activities and by producing parliamentary resources.

Training and resources

In July 2019, the section launched Procedural Hub, a resource located on the senators’ intranet (Senate Connect), to assist senators and their staff to learn about and utilise various procedural mechanisms to further their aims in the Senate. Web traffic and survey results suggest that this online resource is a valuable and accessible reference for senators and their staff on procedural matters, particularly during sitting periods. This resource was further developed in 2020 with the addition of audio-visual materials.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw access to Parliament House restricted from March 2020 and ongoing limitations on the size of gatherings for building occupants, an increased emphasis was placed on online training programs and resources in the fourth quarter of the reporting period.

In addition to providing ad hoc one-on-one training sessions for senators by senior officers, the section provided a comprehensive program of training for senators’ staff. Formal and informal feedback indicated that the program is well regarded by participants, many of whom attended via video and teleconference.

As can be seen in figure 11, the number of seminars provided to public service agencies reduced substantially due to the inability to provide face-to-face training in March–June 2020. However, the section successfully trialled a modified session delivered online and will continue to develop its remote delivery capacity in 2020–21.

A program of specialised procedural training sessions and practical placements for Senate department staff, first offered in 2018–19, recommenced in 2019–20 due to popular demand.

Work commenced on a project to revise and re-purpose the Senate Briefs, a set of public information sheets about the work of the Parliament and the Senate, for the digital environment. The revision aims to improve readability, reduce duplication and utilise multimedia and links to digital sources to revitalise this important resource on the Senate and its work.

50th anniversary of the Senate committee system

On 11 June 2020 the President of the Senate made a statement in the Senate to mark 50 years since the establishment of the current Senate committee system. New web resources presenting the history, significance and work of committees through interactive maps, timelines and other data visualisations have been developed throughout the reporting period and will be launched in the first half of 2020–21.

Figure 11 – Seminars, training programs and lectures, 2016–17 to
2019–20

Service

2016–17

2017–18

2018–19

2019–20

Senators’ orientation sessions

2

1

2

2

Senators’ staff training sessions

10

12

6

11

Seminars for public service officers

number of seminars

number of attendees

21

519

28

573

25

573

14

354

Public lectures

number of lectures

number of attendees

live online views

10

1077

236

7

631

379

7

648

376

5

321

562

Inter-parliamentary relations and capacity building

The Australian Parliament’s international program focuses on strengthening engagement and cooperation between parliaments internationally, with an emphasis on parliamentary relations with countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The program’s activities and projects in 2019–20 were coordinated by the International and Parliamentary Relations Office (IPRO) and the Parliamentary Skills Centre (PSC), with input from all four parliamentary departments. IPRO manages incoming and outgoing delegation programs, membership of inter-parliamentary organisations, and the international interests and travel of senators and members. The PSC is responsible for all parliamentary strengthening and capacity building programs of the Australian Parliament, including study programs for visiting parliamentarians and staff of other parliaments.

IPRO and PSC are offices administered by the Department of the House of Representatives, and IPRO is funded jointly by the Department of the Senate and the Department of the House of Representatives. A detailed description of the work of IPRO and PSC is provided in the annual report of the Department of the House of Representatives.

Performance outlook

As with other areas of the Department, a key focus for the Procedure Office for 2020–21 will be to ensure that we continue our high level of service provision within the constraints of the pandemic. While many of our services, including legislative drafting, can continue largely unaffected, others require careful adjustment such as the method of delivery of our training and seminar programs. To the extent possible, the office will harness the changes imposed upon us to revise our ways of working and position ourselves better for the future. The office will also continue its work to provide training and development opportunities for departmental staff in order to contribute to knowledge sharing and succession planning across the department.

The Legislative Scrutiny Unit will continue to support the work of the three parliamentary scrutiny committees, including the work being undertaken by the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation Committee to scrutinise the delegated legislation related to the government’s COVID-19 response.

In terms of public education, a key focus in 2020–21 will be the delivery of a project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Senate committee system with a new website which presents historic information on committees. The office will also continue its work of revising key resources to better align them with digital format as the primary means of consumption.

Parliamentary Education Office

Outputs

Parliamentary education resources and programs.

Performance information

Performance results

Curriculum-aligned programs for students and teachers are delivered onsite, offsite and digitally to encourage ongoing engagement with Australia’s parliament.

Feedback from teachers using Parliamentary Education Office services shows very high levels of satisfaction with the education program.

Teaching programs were consistently conducted in accordance with the booking schedule.

Relevant and accurate print and digital resources are produced that explore the role and value of the Australian Parliament and illuminate the aims and achievement standards of the Australian Curriculum.

Parliamentary Education Office websites and publications are updated and refreshed regularly to ensure accuracy.

Provision of a range of resources and services that facilitate parliamentarian engagement with the community in order to increase citizen understanding of and engagement with Parliament.

Senators and members are satisfied with the provision of services and support.

Overview

Jointly funded by the Department of the Senate and the Department of the House of Representatives, the Parliamentary Education Office (PEO) delivers parliamentary education services to students, teachers and others across Australia. To date, more than 2 million students have expanded their knowledge of the Australian Parliament through participating in a PEO program.

In addition to operational management from both departments, the PEO is guided by the PEO Advisory Committee. The committee is comprised of interested members and senators, meets twice a year and reports to the Presiding Officers.

The full-time equivalent staffing level for the PEO in 2019–20 was 11.4 (in 2018–19 the FTE staffing level was 10.6.) The cost of providing the service of the PEO in 2019–20 was $1.6m (compared to $1.6m in 2018–19).

Education programs: onsite, digital and outreach

The PEO delivers education programs onsite at Parliament House, in classrooms across Australia through its outreach program, and digitally through video conferencing and is recognised as a leader in civics and citizenship education in Australia. School visits to Parliament House were greatly reduced in this reporting period by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019–20, 61,344 students from 1,167 schools across Australia participated in onsite PEO programs. These figures represent a 35 per cent decrease on 2018–19 student participation rates.

In 2019–20, the PEO delivered outreach to 967 participants from 12 schools in two states, Queensland and Tasmania. Additional outreach planned for the 2020 calendar year was cancelled due to travel restrictions imposed due to the pandemic.

The PEO continues to increase the number of students and teachers who take part in a video conferencing program, with 3,036 participants in this reporting period. This increase of over 134 per cent on 2018–19 participation rates is attributable to the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic. The PEO scaled up its delivery of programs via videoconference, and in the last four months of the financial year delivered 72 sessions to 1,893 students. By bringing video conferencing to the forefront of program delivery, the PEO maintained services to students and teachers to the fullest extent possible and is well positioned to continue, and strengthen, digital engagement in the next reporting period.

Content: online and print

PEO websites provide information about parliament and curriculum-aligned teaching resources for all Australian teachers and students. In October 2019, the PEO’s redeveloped main website was launched and user testing indicates accessibility, navigation and search functionality all work particularly well for intended audiences. In 2019–20 a total of 916,318 users (representing 2.29 million unique page views) were recorded.

The PEO also produced and distributed a range of publications during the reporting period, including the redeveloped Parliament in Pictures and Australia’s Constitution pocket edition, produced in partnership with the Australian Government Solicitor.

Services for members and senators

The PEO provides dedicated support to encourage and assist senators and members to engage with schools and students. Senators and members are offered a complimentary annual allocation of education and information materials for students, teachers and others in their communities. Senators and members can also request a tailored brochure, Representing You, to assist them when explaining their work as an elected representative. In 2019–20, 150 parliamentarians requested their allocation, which is generally comparable to previous years.

Performance outlook

Over the next reporting period, the PEO will follow all relevant health and other advice to safely resume face-to-face programming and reintroduce school visits to Parliament House, noting that a great deal of flexibility will be required. The PEO will also continue to promote video conferencing programs as a method to engage students and teachers who are unable to visit Canberra.

Through the ongoing provision of high calibre digital and print content for parliamentarians, teachers and students, the PEO will continue to provide quality parliamentary education services for citizens across the country.

Committee Office

Outputs

Secretariat support and procedural advice to the legislative and general purpose standing committees, select committees, and certain joint committees.

Performance information

Performance results

The degree of satisfaction of the chairs of committees, committee members and other senators with the quality and timeliness of advice and support.

Formal and informal feedback, including reference to committee reports during debates in the Senate, shows that senators consider the support provided by the committee office to be effective.

Draft reports, reports and other documents are timely, accurate and of a high standard. Tabling deadlines are met.

Accurate advice, documentation, and draft reports were provided to committees in accordance with their requirements.

Reports were drafted and presented to the Senate in accordance with the timeframes agreed by committees and deadlines set by the Senate.

Inquiry information, evidence and reports are published promptly upon authorisation.

Information was updated promptly and accurately on committee web pages. Submissions, other documents and reports were published consistent with the decisions of committees.

Inquiries from the public regarding committees are handled promptly and professionally.

Telephone and email queries from the public were responded to promptly and accurately.

Members of the public had access to up to date, accurate and relevant material regarding committee activities and procedures.

Overview

Committee Office secretariats supported 16 legislation and references standing committees, nine Senate select committees, two joint select committees and five other joint committees (see figure 12). As in the previous year, secretariats experienced a demanding workload, with large numbers of inquiries and hearings taking place. The cost of the office in 2019–20 was $9.6m ($10.1m in 2018–19), with staff salaries comprising approximately 88 per cent of the office’s total expenses.

The remaining costs continued to be administrative (for example, printing, venue hire and transport and accommodation for secretariat staff attending hearings). These administrative costs reduced in the fourth quarter of the financial year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, largely as a result of a reduced number of interstate hearings.

Committee secretariats provided administrative support to committees, including processing submissions, publishing material to committee websites and arranging hearings around Australia. Staff analysed the evidence committees received, drafted briefing material and reports, arranged for the tabling and publication of reports, and assisted witnesses and others to participate in inquiries. In addition, secretariats provided procedural advice to chairs, committee members and other stakeholders.

While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the number of interstate hearings in the last quarter of the year, the Committee Office workload was sustained, with committees pivoting quickly to hold hearings with a number of members of the committee and witnesses participating by video and teleconference.

Feedback from members of committees, made in the Senate when committee reports are tabled or debated, and provided informally during the course of the year, indicates that there are very high levels of satisfaction with the quality of the advice and support provided by secretariats.

Figure 12 – Elements and responsibilities of the Committee Office

Executive

Toni Matulick, Clerk Assistant
David Sullivan, Senior Clerk of Committees

Procedural advice and training.

Planning and coordination.

Secretariat staffing and resources.

Statistics and records.

Legislative and general purpose standing committee secretariats

Joint committee secretariats

Senate select committee secretariats

Community Affairs

Jeanette Radcliffe

Economics

Mark Fitt

Education and Employment

Jane Thomson
(to 27 April 2020)

Alan Raine
(from 28 April 2020)

Environment and Communications

Stephen Palethorpe

Finance and Public Administration

Ann Palmer

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

Lyn Beverley

Legal and Constitutional Affairs

Sophie Dunstone

Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport

Gerry McInally

Additional Support Unit

Lee Katauskas

Joint statutory

Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity

Sean Turner

Corporations and Financial Services

Patrick Hodder

Law Enforcement

Sean Turner

Joint standing

National Broadband Network

Lee Katauskas

National Disability Insurance Scheme

Bonnie Allan

Joint select

Australia’s Family Law System

Ann Palmer

Road Safety

Gerry McInally

Jobs for the Future in Regional Areas

Bonnie Allan

Effectiveness of the Australian Government’s Northern Australia agenda

Lee Katuaskas

Multi-Jurisdictional Management and Execution of the Murray Darling Basin Plan

Sean Turner

Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology

Lyn Beverley

Autism

Jane Thomson
(to 27 April 2020)

Alan Raine
(from 28 April 2020)

Foreign Interference through Social Media

Lee Katuaskas

Temporary Migration

Lee Katuaskas

Administration of Sports Grants

Jeanette Radcliffe

COVID-19

Jane Thomson

Activity levels and workload

The workload of the Committee Office is determined by decisions of the Senate and of the committees themselves. During this reporting period, the Committee Office continued to manage a significant workload in terms of the number of committees and inquiries supported. The highest number of inquiries managed at one time was 74 in February 2020.

Submissions, public hearings and witnesses

The significant work undertaken by committee secretariats during 2019–20 is evident in the administrative support provided to committees. This included processing 7,312 submissions, an increase of almost 2,000 submissions when compared with the previous reporting period. In addition, secretariats arranged 225 public hearings (including 43 estimates hearings) at which 4,323 witnesses appeared (including 1,967 witnesses at estimates hearings). Secretariats supported committees by arranging 545 private meetings and six site inspections.

Figure 13 – Number of committee hearings, 2016–17 to 2019–20

To manage this volume of work, the office continued to operate in a flexible manner with staff regularly working across secretariats, supporting different committees, and with staff from other programs within the department assisting when their workload permitted.

Estimates hearings

Supplementary estimates hearings took place in October 2019 and additional estimates hearings in March 2020. As shown in figure 13, there were 43 estimates hearings, down from 61 hearings in the previous period. This reduced number, when compared with the previous reporting period, was caused by the delay to the 2020 Budget estimates hearings which were scheduled to take place in May 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these hearings have been postponed to October 2020.

References and reports

In addition to a considerable number of legislation inquiries, committees inquired into and reported on a diverse array of topics including the regulation of auditing in Australia; barriers to patient access to medicinal cannabis in Australia; the adequacy of Newstart and related payments; the provision of rescue, firefighting and emergency response at Australian airports; and the feasibility of a national traceability register for horses.

Figure 14 – Number of references to committees, 2016–17 to 2019–201

1 These figures refer to packages of bills referred to committees not to the number of individual bills referred.

The office supported committees to table a total of 106 reports. Figure 15 indicates clearly how the election cycle influences the workload of Senate committees. The three low points in the graph coincide with election years and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Figure 15 – Reports presented by all committees supported by the Committee Office 2016–17 to 2019–20

Each committee report, while initially drafted by Committee Office staff is, in the end, a committee document which reflects the views of members of the committee undertaking the inquiry. Feedback indicates that despite the pressure created by the volume and short timeframe of many inquiries, the high standard of committee reports has been maintained. This was achieved through the dedication and expertise of secretariat staff, supplemented by support from staff of other areas of the department when required.

Activities following the commencement of the 46th Parliament

The commencement of a new parliament provided the opportunity for Committee Office staff to review and update internal manuals, policies and guidelines, and also information designed to support senators in their role conducting inquiries. The commencement of the 46th Parliament saw a number of committee secretaries and other Committee Office staff move to new secretariats as a way of building and sharing professional experience and expertise. Committee Office staff undertook significant work providing materials and support to assist new senators to engage with the work of committees.

Public information

The provision of information to the public about the work of Senate committees is an area of ongoing focus for the Committee Office.

The office continued to work with the Senate Public Information Office on projects to improve systems for writing reports and managing the high volume of submissions and answers to questions on notice provided to committees during estimates. Timely, accessible publication of committee evidence and reports supports the continual focus on improving public information and encouraging engagement with the work of committees.

Committee Office staff supported the department’s seminar program by delivering training sessions to public servants and other members of the public about the operation of Senate committees, as well as delivering training offered by the Parliamentary Library for parliamentary staff.

International engagement

Committee Office staff presented information to international delegations visiting Australia. The support that committee secretaries provide to outgoing parliamentary delegations was suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Management and leadership

Under standing order 25(10) a Chairs’ Committee, comprising the chairs of standing committees and Senate select committees, may be convened by the Deputy President to discuss any matter relating to the operations of those committees. The Clerk Assistant (Committees) is the secretary. During 2019–20, this committee met to consider issues including levels of committee activity and satisfaction of senators with committee support processes.

Committee secretaries also met regularly throughout the year to discuss corporate and administrative issues and procedural matters.

Performance outlook

The 2019–20 reporting period saw the Committee Office support a large number of inquiries. Despite the uncertainty and reduction in committee travel as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the office continued to deliver high levels of support to committees including the processing of almost 2,000 more submissions when compared with the previous reporting period. Similar levels of activity are expected in 2020–21, with many committee meetings and hearings to take place using telephone and videoconference facilities.

Black Rod’s Office

Outputs

Chamber, committee room, office and printing support, ceremonial services, and security advice.

Corporate services, including payroll services for senators and human resources strategies and services for departmental staff, and support to the Clerk in meeting public governance, performance and accountability and certain record keeping requirements.

Support services, in conjunction with the Department of the House of Representatives, to the Association of Former Members of the Parliament of Australia (AFMPA).

Financial management and human resource corporate services to the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).

Performance information

Performance results

Services are provided to the satisfaction of the President, office holders, Senate committees and senators so that they are able to fulfil their roles.

Services were delivered within timeframes and legislative requirements. Consistently positive feedback from senators, including office holders, and their staff was received throughout the reporting period.

Provision of corporate services facilitates the operations of the Senate and meets accountability obligations under the law and to the Senate.

Services were delivered within timeframes. Services supported the Clerk as the accountable authority to meet legislative obligations and the requirements of the Senate.

Services to the AFMPA are of a high standard, are provided promptly and are accurate.

Support was provided to the AFMPA as required and to a high standard.

Provisions of services to the PBO is of a high standard and is in accordance with the memorandum of understanding which includes a service level agreement.

Services were delivered to the satisfaction of the PBO.

Overview

The primary functions of the Black Rod’s Office are to provide support services to the Senate, including to Senate committees and to senators at Parliament House, and to deliver certain corporate services to the department. The office is led by the Usher of the Black Rod and has three operational areas, as shown in figure 16.

The Usher of the Black Rod undertakes duties in the Senate chamber, including clerking and ceremonial roles, assisted by three senior staff and the chamber attendant team, among others. A major focus for the Black Rod’s Office during this reporting period was supporting the Senate and the department with advice and modifications to continue operations through the COVID-19 pandemic. The office also managed two major events in Parliament House during the first two days of the financial year. Namely, the swearing in of the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) on 1 July 2019 and the opening of the 46th Parliament on 2 July 2019.

The Usher of the Black Rod represented the department at cross-parliamentary forums including the Parliamentary Administration Advisory Group and the Security Management Board. The Usher of the Black Rod also administered the Presiding Officers’ Rules for Media Related Activity in Parliament House and its Precincts as the President’s delegate.

The Black Rod’s Office maintained its high level of service and support to the Senate, the President, senators and committees during this reporting period.

The regular work of the Black Rod’s Office involves frequent and direct contact with Senate office holders, senators and their staff, and other stakeholders, all of whom provide regular informal feedback which is generally positive. The work of the office was also subject to scrutiny by the Appropriations, Staffing and Security Committee, and by the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee in estimates hearings.

The average full-time equivalent staffing level for the Black Rod’s Office for 2019–20 was 33.6 (35.5 in 2018–19), and the cost of running the office was $4.5m ($3.3m in 2018–19).

Senators’ services

The Usher of the Black Rod and the Senators’ Services Section assist the President and Clerk on ceremonial and other occasions, and also provide chamber, committee room and message delivery services. Officers from other sections of the department continued to assist with chamber attendant duties to provide additional support as required.

During the reporting period the section also provided certain office support services to senators, their staff and departmental staff.

The printing and delivery services unit continued printing the Notice Paper and Journals of the Senate. Over the period, service turnaround times were met consistently, ensuring that documents, including committee reports, were available when required. The section also provided a high standard of delivery services to senators, their staff and departmental staff.

The section facilitated 41 suite moves for senators in the Senate wing of Parliament House as a result of vacancies, and ministry and shadow ministry changes.

The section also represented the interests of senators and the department in relation to building projects that continued throughout the reporting period, approving over 875 individual maintenance and building access requests.

Figure 16 – Responsibilities of the Black Rod’s Office

Executive

John Begley, Usher of the Black Rod

Procedural, protocol, ceremonial and security advice.

Advice on corporate and certain parliamentary administrative matters.

Membership of the Security Management Board.

Secretariat support to the House Committee.

Secretariat support to various departmental committees including the Audit Committee and Workplace Consultative Committee.

Senators’ Services

Human Resource Management

Financial Management

John Baczynski, Deputy Usher of the Black Rod and Director, Senators’ Services

Agency security advice and support

Information technology security advice

Accommodation

Equipment management

Chamber and committee room support

Comcar shuttle liaison and coordination

Delivery services

Fleet management

Office equipment

Printing

Project board membership

Furniture replacement project

Olivia Rankin, Director, Human Resource Management

Recruitment and staffing

Pay and conditions

Learning and development

Work health and safety

Rehabilitation coordination

Industrial relations

Performance management

Records management

Services to the PBO

Fiona O’Loughlin, Chief Finance Officer

Financial management and advice

Financial reporting and systems management

Asset management

Accounts processing

Strategic procurement advice

Support for senior management decision-making

Services to the PBO

Corporate governance support and advice

Compliance assurance

Risk framework management

Security advice

The Usher of the Black Rod and the Deputy Usher of the Black Rod provided security advice and support to the President, Senate committees, other senators and the department. Security matters continued to have an increased profile in Parliament House during the reporting period as a range of physical security upgrades continued to be rolled out. The swearing in of the Governor-General and the opening of Parliament involved significant security planning and coordination across Parliament House and with other stakeholders.

The Usher of the Black Rod and Deputy Usher of the Black Rod worked with colleagues in the Department of Parliamentary Services’ Security Branch, the Serjeant-at-Arms’ Office and the Australian Federal Police, providing input into security matters from a Senate perspective.

Human resource management

The Human Resource Management Section delivers people strategy and services across the employee life cycle for departmental staff, in addition to administering certain allowances paid to senators and providing payroll services to the Parliamentary Budget Office. During the period the section focused on initiatives to improve staff health and well-being, support to staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, updates to key policies and leadership development training for managers.

Records management

The Human Resource Management Section, which is also responsible for the administration of certain records and the department’s information management system, continued work on digitisation of records and updates to the records management software.

Financial management

The Financial Management Section delivers financial management, accounting and budgeting services, and supports the Clerk in meeting his governance and accountability obligations. The section administers the department’s financial management information system and oversees the fraud control framework.

During the reporting period, the section continued to provide assurance to the Clerk and other senior officers that the department had complied with financial reporting responsibilities, including producing audited annual financial statements and in relation to procurement. It also supported the department’s budget process, including the preparation of the portfolio budget statements and internal budgets.

The department’s corporate governance support services were relocated to the section during the reporting period. Services provided included monitoring the department’s compliance with relevant legislation, oversight of the department’s risk framework and administration of the department’s audit committee.

Corporate services for the Parliamentary Budget Office

The office also provides certain financial management and human resource corporate services to the PBO on a fee-for-service basis. This is done in accordance with a memorandum of understanding which includes a service level agreement. The PBO expressed satisfaction with the department’s delivery of the outsourced corporate services functions during the period. Services provided by the department included transactional human resource and financial management services.

Performance outlook

Key priorities for 2020–21 are to support the Senate and the department to continue to operate effectively during the COVID-19 pandemic and further work scoping with the Department of Parliamentary Services for a shared transactional business centre.

Management and accountability

Corporate governance

The department’s operations for 2019–20 were governed by the Parliamentary Service Act 1999, the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 and other legislation.

Corporate plan

The department’s Corporate Plan 2019–20 outlines our objectives, role and structure, the environment in which we operate, and our approach to maintaining the capabilities of our key resource – our staff. Work reports provided to the Clerk throughout the reporting period showed continued progress in key areas and work tasks. Planned outcomes are explained in the department’s portfolio budget statements and performance results, including our annual performance statements, and are included in this report.

Management and assurance

The department’s corporate governance mechanisms include two senior committees, the Program Managers’ Group, chaired by the Deputy Clerk, and the Audit Committee, chaired by an independent member from outside the department. These committees provide advice, support and assurance to the Clerk to ensure that effective governance and statutory responsibilities for the management of the department are met. The role, membership and activities of these groups are described in figure 17. A copy of the Audit Committee Charter can be found on the Department of the Senate website –www.aph.gov.au/senate/dept.

The department also participates in a range of interdepartmental committees through which the parliamentary departments coordinate common and joint activities. Chief among these were meetings of the heads of the four parliamentary departments, the Parliamentary Administration Advisory Group, the Security Management Board, the Parliamentary ICT Advisory Board (and its subordinate ICT committees), and other bodies managing joint projects.

Figure 17 – Management and assurance, 2019–20

Program Managers’ Group

Role

Coordinate corporate governance matters, including

human resource management

risk management and planning

performance reporting

financial planning, and

departmental service quality

Activities

Nine meetings.

Examined a range of issues in the following areas

budget

staffing (including learning and development)

health and well-being strategy (including work, health and safety)

ICT and associated risk strategies

compliance, auditing and reporting requirements

risk management (including risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic)

administrative arrangements, and

administration in common with other parliamentary departments.

Membership

Deputy Clerk and program managers.

Chaired by the Deputy Clerk.

Audit Committee

Role

Provide independent advice to the Clerk on the department’s financial and performance reporting responsibilities, risk oversight and management, and systems of internal controls.

Activities

Five meetings

Based on the committee’s charter, the committee undertook a progressive annual work plan against its four main areas of focus

financial reporting

performance reporting

risk oversight and management, and

systems of internal control.

An annual report of the committee’s activities is provided to the Clerk in December each year.

Membership

Three independent members (of whom one is the Chair), the Deputy Clerk and one program manager. Further information on the members is outlined below (see figure 18).

Observers: Usher of the Black Rod (Secretary), Chief Finance Officer, representatives from the Australian National Audit Office and the department’s internal audit service provider.

Figure 18 – Audit Committee member information, 2019–20

Member name

Qualifications, knowledge, skills or experience (include formal and informal as relevant)

Number of meetings attended / total number of meetings^

Total annual remuneration*

E Montano

Ms Montano holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (UNSW) and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

She has over twenty years’ experience as chair, deputy chair and member of boards and audit committees across a range of government and not for profit entities. She has broad-ranging experience in governance and the machinery of government including in financial and performance reporting, risk, assurance and program and project management and oversight.

She is a former chief executive officer in the Commonwealth and senior financial services lawyer with King & Wood Mallesons.

5 (of 5)

$12,732

S Murtagh

Mr Murtagh holds a Certificate in Governance and Risk Management from the Governance Institute of Australia and is a member of the Risk Management Institute of Australia.

He has been a member of public sector audit committees for most of the past 12 years, informed by a career in the general government sector spanning more than 37 years, and in governance-focused roles at branch head or equivalent levels for over 12 years.

4 (of 5)

$7,293

G Knuckey

Mr Knuckey holds a Bachelor of Economics (ANU), is a Fellow Chartered Accountant, graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Registered Company Auditor.

He has extensive experience as an audit committee member or chair and is currently serving on audit committees for numerous government entities. He also has extensive experience as a director and serves on boards and audit committees of multiple private sector entities.

Mr Knuckey has been a full-time company director and audit committee member since 2009 following a 32-year career with Ernst & Young specialising in audit and assurance services in both the public and private sectors across a range of industries.

5 (of 5)

$6,000

M Weeks (to 31 Dec 2019)

Ms Weeks holds an Arts (Hons) degree from the Australian National University.

She was the Deputy Clerk of the Senate until her retirement in January 2020. In this role, she supported the Clerk in providing advice on Senate and committee proceedings and leading and managing the Senate department. She was the secretary to the Senate Privileges Committee and chaired the department’s Program Managers’ Group.

Prior to her role as Deputy Clerk, Ms Weeks was Clerk Assistant (Procedure), Clerk Assistant (Table), Clerk Assistant (Committees) and secretary to various committees. She has also held a number of senior positions in the secretariat to the ACT Legislative Assembly.

3 (of 3)

$0

J Morris

Ms Morris holds degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Queensland.

She is currently Deputy Clerk of the Senate where she supports the Clerk in providing advice on Senate and committee proceedings and leading and managing the Senate department. She is secretary to the Senate Committee of Privileges and chairs the department’s Program Managers’ Group.

Prior to her current role, she worked in several roles within the department, including Clerk Assistant (Procedure) and Senior Clerk of Committees. Before joining the department, she worked for the Indigenous Land Corporation in both policy and project roles.

5 (of 5)

$0

T Bryant (from 1 Feb 2020)

Mr Bryant holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Fine Arts from the University of Sydney.

He is currently the Clerk Assistant (Table). His primary responsibilities include the leadership of the Table Office and the Senate Public Information Office (SPIO), and the provision of procedural advice and programming services for the Senate. He is also the secretary to the Selection of Bills Committee and the Registrar of Senators’ Interests.

Prior to his current role, he worked in several roles within the department including Clerk Assistant (Committees), committee secretary and Director of Research. Prior to joining the department, he worked in the Department of Education.

2 (of 2)

$0

^ The comparison relates to the total number of meetings for the reporting period held during the member’s tenure. In addition to attending meetings, the committee members are required to consider material out-of-session including significant preparation for each meeting.

* Total annual remuneration is GST exclusive.

Fraud control and risk management

Consistent with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act, the Clerk’s Instructions and associated financial management policies promote the proper use of the department’s resources. The Clerk’s Instructions are reviewed regularly to ensure their applicability and coverage.

The department has in place appropriate fraud prevention, detection, investigation and reporting mechanisms that comply with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Framework. No incidents of fraud were detected in this reporting period.

During 2019–20, risk areas and associated controls and mitigation strategies were routinely considered by senior management and reported to the department’s Audit Committee. The framework for managing risk is revised regularly and made available to staff on the department’s intranet. Risk oversight and management is a standing agenda item for meetings of the program managers. The risk management and fraud control frameworks were reviewed during 2019–20 and updates were made to strengthen and simplify their purpose and to complement the existing policies and strategies behind both frameworks.

External scrutiny

The Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee and the Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations, Staffing and Security provide means by which senators and others may monitor the department’s performance. Matters relating to the structure and functions of the parliamentary departments may also be examined by the Appropriations, Staffing and Security Committee.

Estimates hearings are an important accountability mechanism in which senators may test advice provided by departmental officers and evaluate the department’s performance. The Clerk and officers of the department appeared before the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee on 21 October 2019 and 2 March 2020. Matters considered included committee workload and resourcing, office support to senators, and arrangements for security at Parliament House. The department also provided responses to 84 estimates questions on notice. These are published on the committee’s web pages.

The department’s activities were also scrutinised by both an internal audit service provider and the Australian National Audit Office, although that office did not conduct any performance audits covering the department’s activities during the reporting period.

The department was not subject to any judicial or administrative tribunal decisions which had, or may have, a significant impact on the department’s operations.

While not subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982, the department’s policy is to comply with the intent of the Act in relation to its administrative records to the extent practicable, having regard to the legal issues which may arise in the absence of the protections afforded by the Act. In this reporting period the department did not receive any formal requests for information in relation to its administrative records.

Management of human resources

Staffing

The Clerk of the Senate is appointed by the President of the Senate under subsection 58(1) of the Parliamentary Service Act after consulting senators. Staff are engaged under section 22 of that Act.

Additional support was provided to the department through secondment arrangements with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, with the Attorney-General’s Department (to support the Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System) and by graduates participating in the Parliament of Australia Graduate Program.

Figure 19 shows that the average full-time equivalent staffing level for 2019–20 was 156, a decrease from 158 in 2018–19, reflecting the commencement of the 46th Parliament and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operations of Parliament (particularly the reduced number of casual staff employed by the Parliamentary Education Office).

Further staffing statistics are provided in Appendix 2.

Figure 19 – Full-time equivalent staff numbers, 2016–17 to 2019–20

The department’s learning and development framework supports staff to develop and maintain relevant skills and knowledge. In 2019–20, 24 learning activities were offered. The department offered eight internal training sessions that focused on parliamentary skills and knowledge. Participation in learning activities is encouraged, particularly to ensure that staff continue to develop expertise in parliamentary procedure and practice and thus support the capability of the department to provide accurate and timely procedural advice. Sixteen learning activities that focused on skills for the workplace, leadership, health and well-being and role-specific learning (e.g. subject matter conferences) were also undertaken by staff in 2019–20. Financial assistance or paid leave (or both) is available under the department’s Studybank scheme, to assist ongoing staff to undertake tertiary studies relevant to the department’s objectives. In 2019–20, 15 employees accessed Studybank.

The department is participating in the 2020 Australian Public Service Employee Census, administered by the Australian Public Service Commission, in October 2020, which was postponed from May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employment arrangements

The remuneration of the Clerk of the Senate, who is the holder of a statutory office, is determined by the President of the Senate after consultation with the Remuneration Tribunal.

The department’s six Senior Executive Service (SES) employees are covered by determinations made under subsection 24(1) of the Parliamentary Service Act.

The department’s 178 non-SES employees (including casual or sessional employees and those on long-term leave) are covered by the Department of the Senate Enterprise Agreement 2017–2020.

On 15 May 2020, the Clerk made the Department of the Senate Non-SES Employees Remuneration Determination 2020, providing salary increases to employees commencing in May 2021 in accordance with the government’s Workplace Bargaining Policy 2018, in lieu of bargaining for a new enterprise agreement. This followed a 92 per cent ‘yes’ vote in support of a determination by eligible employees.

One employee had an Individual Flexibility Arrangement with the Clerk in accordance with clause 7 of the enterprise agreement.

Employees work at Parliament House, Canberra. Two employees identified as Indigenous, the same number as in the previous reporting period.

In addition to salary, certain staff have access to a range of entitlements including leave, study assistance, a workplace support allowance, salary packaging, guaranteed minimum superannuation payments and other allowances. Employees can also use other services offered at Parliament House including the sporting facilities and the Parliamentary Library. The department’s employment arrangements do not provide for performance pay.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Clerk made the Department of the Senate Non-SES Employees COVID-19 Determination 2020 and the Department of the Senate SES Employees COVID-19 Determination 2020, providing greater flexibility within existing leave arrangements, including the option of paid discretionary leave to casual or sessional employees. These determinations aimed to support staff who needed additional leave as a result of the pandemic and reflected similar arrangements made in relation to the Australian Public Service.

Work health and safety

In accordance with Schedule 2, Part 4 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, the department reports on certain work health and safety matters. In 2019–20 there were no incidents which required the giving of notice under section 38 of the Work Health and Safety Act and no investigations or notices under sections 90, 191 and 195 of that Act.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the department’s workforce transitioned to working from home as far as practicable during the final quarter of the year. When work was required to be performed in Parliament House, appropriate hygiene and physical distancing measures were implemented.

Management of financial resources

Procurement

The department applies the requirements of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act and the Commonwealth Procurement Rules. No issues were identified with the department’s procurement practices during the reporting period. The department supports small business participation in the Commonwealth Government procurement market. Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Small Enterprise participation statistics are available on the Department of Finance’s website. The department has adopted the Commonwealth Contracting Suite for low-risk procurements valued under $200,000 and electronic systems and processes are used to facilitate on-time payment performance.

Consultants

The department engages consultants to provide specialist expertise when not available within the department, or where an independent assessment is desirable. The department uses various selection processes to engage consultants, including open tender, selective tender, direct sourcing, a panel of recognised or pre-eminent experts, or consultants who have previously undertaken work for the department or are known to have the requisite skills.

During 2019–20, three new consultancy contracts were entered into involving total actual expenditure of $0.05m. In addition, four ongoing consultancy contracts were active during the period, involving total actual expenditure of $0.14m. This amount does not include $0.16m for the provision of independent legal advice supporting the work of the two Senate legislative scrutiny committees and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights. Annual reports contain information about actual expenditure on contracts for consultancies. Information on the value of contracts and consultancies is available on the AusTender website.

Advertising and market research

In 2019–20, the department did not conduct any advertising campaigns or market research.

Report on financial performance

Overview

In 2019–20, the department was appropriated $23.452m by the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No.1) 2019–20. The department ended the financial year with an operating deficit of $0.055m (excluding depreciation and loss on disposal of assets). The department’s activity has been impacted by COVID-19 pandemic with some budgeted expenses not incurred or delayed; such as travel and facility hire costs associated with interstate committee activity. These savings have been offset by the continued high level of committee activity and required adjustments to the department’s leave balances as a result of changes in the government bond rate.

Expense impacts

The department’s total operating expenses for 2019–20 was $23.960m (excluding depreciation and loss on disposal of assets). The department spends most of its budget on employee related expenses ($21.614m), travel ($0.506m), professional fees ($0.502m) and general office – primarily membership fees ($0.451m). A further breakdown of the proportion of expenses is shown in the following figure:

Figure 20: Expense by type 2019–20

Financial position

As at 30 June 2020, the department’s net equity was $7.599m, representing $15.951m of assets offset by $8.352m of liabilities. Most of these assets and liabilities are of a financial nature, with the largest balance being appropriation and other receivables ($12.478m). The majority of the department’s liabilities relate to employee provisions ($7.737m) and the remainder to short term payable ($0.561m) for accrued salaries and trade payables.

Entity resource statement

The entity resource statement provides additional information about the funding sources that the department had access to during the year. Appendix 1 details the resources available to the department during 2019–20 and sets out a summary of total expenses for Outcome 1.

Sustainability

The department’s financial performance for the last five years is demonstrated below:

Figure 21: Financial performance 2015–16 to 2019–20

The department incurred an operating loss despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly impacted costs associated with interstate committee activity. The establishment of a record number of select committees requiring secretariat support from the department has necessitated additional secretariats. The cost of these services cannot be accommodated within the current funding envelope. The department expects the unprecedented level of committee office activity to continue throughout the 2020–21 financial year.

In the short term, the department’s budget remains financially sustainable. However, should the elevated demands on the services continue, additional ongoing funding will be required.

Financial statements

Independent Auditor’s Report

Independent Auditor’s Report (continued)

Certification by the Clerk of the Senate and the Chief Finance Officer

Statement of comprehensive income

for the period ended 30 June 2020

Notes

2020

$’000

2019

$’000

Original

Budget

$’000

EXPENSES

Employee benefits

1.1A

21,614

21,184

21,069

Suppliers

1.1B

4,563

4,760

2,833

Depreciation and amortisation

2.2

156

158

176

Loss on disposal of assets

69

84

-

Total expenses

26,402

26,186

24,078

LESS:

REVENUE

Other revenue

Sale of goods and rendering of services

1.2

453

475

450

Resources received free of charge

1.2

2,217

2,127

-

Total other revenue

2,670

2,602

450

NET COST OF SERVICES

23,732

23,584

23,628

Revenue from government

23,452

23,463

23,452

Deficit

(280)

(121)

(176)

Total comprehensive loss

(280)

(121)

(176)

The above statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Original budget figures are those published in the department’s 2019–20 Portfolio Budget Statements.

Resources received free of charge are not included in the Portfolio Budget Statements.

Statement of financial position

for the period ended 30 June 2020

Notes

2020

$’000

2019

$’000

Original

Budget

$’000

ASSETS

Financial assets

Cash and cash equivalents

2.1A

153

224

210

Trade and other receivables

2.1B

12,478

12,124

11,118

Total financial assets

12,631

12,348

11,328

Non-financial assets

Property, plant and equipment

2.2

2,049

2,117

2,702

Right of use

2.2

54

-

-

Intangibles

2.2

848

30

59

Inventories

130

133

86

Prepayments

239

236

237

Total non-financial assets

3,320

2,516

3,084

Total assets

15,951

14,864

14,412

LIABILITIES

Payables

Suppliers

2.3A

94

232

227

Other payables

2.3A

467

238

210

Total payables

561

470

437

Interest bearing liabilities

Leases

2.3B

54

-

-

Total interest bearing liabilities

54

-

-

Provisions

Employee provisions

3A

7,737

6,916

6,325

Total provisions

7,737

6,916

6,325

Total liabilities

8,352

7,386

6,762

Net assets

7,599

7,478

7,650

EQUITY

Contributed equity

2,915

2,514

2,915

Reserves

11,347

11,347

11,347

Accumulated deficit

(6,663)

(6,383)

(6,612)

Total equity

7,599

7,478

7,650

The above statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Original budget figures are those published in the department’s 2019–20 Portfolio Budget Statements.

Statement of changes in equity

as at 30 June 2020

2020

$’000

2019

$’000

Original

Budget

$’000

CONTRIBUTED EQUITY

Opening balance

Balance carried forward from previous period

2,514

1,739

2,514

Adjusted opening balance

2,514

1,739

2,514

Transactions with owners

Contribution by owners

Equity injections – appropriation

401

775

401

Total transactions with owners

401

775

401

Closing balance as at 30 June

2,915

2,514

2,915

RETAINED EARNINGS

Opening balance

Balance carried forward from previous period

(6,383)

(6,262)

(6,436)

Comprehensive income

Deficit for the period

(280)

(121)

(176)

Total comprehensive income

(280)

(121)

(176)

Closing balance as at 30 June

(6,663)

(6,383)

(6,612)

ASSET REVALUATION RESERVE

Opening balance

Balance carried forward from previous period

11,347

11,347

11,347

Closing balance as at 30 June

11,347

11,347

11,347

TOTAL EQUITY

Opening balance

Balance carried forward from previous period

7,478

6,824

7,425

Adjusted opening balance

7,478

6,824

7,425

Comprehensive income

Deficit for the period

(280)

(121)

(176)

Transactions with owners

Equity injections – appropriation

401

775

401

Closing balance as at 30 June

7,599

7,478

7,650

The above statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Original budget figures are those published in the department’s 2019–20 Portfolio Budget Statements.

Amounts appropriated which are designated as equity injections for a year (less any formal reductions) and Departmental Capital Budgets (DCB) are recognised directly in contributed equity in that year.

Cash flow statement

for the period ended 30 June 2020

2020

$’000

2019

$’000

Original

Budget

$’000

OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Cash received

Appropriations

23,327

23,087

23,452

Sale of goods and rendering of services

387

466

450

Net GST received

156

217

-

Total cash received

23,870

23,770

23,902

Cash used

Employees

20,566

20,566

21,069

Suppliers

2,649

2,932

2,833

Section 74 receipts transferred to OPA

717

696

-

Total cash used

23,932

24,194

23,902

Net cash from / (used by) operating activities

(62)

(424)

-

INVESTING ACTIVITIES

Cash used

Purchase of property, plant and equipment

135

435

401

Purchase of intangibles

830

-

-

Total cash used

965

435

401

Net cash used by investing activities

(965)

(435)

(401)

FINANCING ACTIVITIES

Cash received

Contributed equity

967

873

401

Total cash received

967

873

401

Cash used

Principal payments of lease liabilities

11

-

-

Total cash used

11

-

-

Net cash from financing activities

956

873

401

Net increase / (decrease) in cash held

(71)

14

-

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period

224

210

210

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period

153

224

210

The above statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Original budget figures are those published in the department’s 2019–20 Portfolio Budget Statements.

Net GST received and section 74 receipts are not separately identified in the Portfolio Budget Statements.

Overview

Note 1: Financial performance

Note 2: Financial position

Note 3: People and relationships

Note 4: Appropriations

Note 5: Explanation of major budget variances

Overview

Objective of the Department of the Senate

The Department of the Senate is a not-for-profit entity. Its activities are classified as departmental. Departmental activities involve the use of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses controlled or incurred by the department in its own right within its one outcome. Further details are contained in the statement of comprehensive income and the statement of financial position, and in the resource statement on page 113.

Basis of preparation of the financial statements

The financial statements are general purpose financial statements and are required by section 42 of the Public Governance Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act).

The financial statements and notes have been prepared in accordance with:

the Public Governance Performance and Accountability (Financial Reporting Rule) 2015 (FRR), and

Australian Accounting Standards and Interpretations – Reduced Disclosure Requirements issued by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) that apply for the reporting period.

The financial statements have been prepared on an accrual basis and are in accordance with historical cost convention, except for certain assets and liabilities at fair value. Except where stated, no allowance is made for the effect of changing prices on the results or the financial position.

The financial statements are presented in Australian dollars and values are rounded to the nearest thousand dollars unless otherwise specified.

Significant accounting judgements and estimates

In the process of applying the accounting policies listed in this note, the department has made the following judgements that have the most significant impact on the amounts recorded in the financial statements:

leave provisions involve assumptions based on the expected tenure of existing staff, patterns of leave claims and payouts, future salary movements and future discount rates.

No accounting assumptions or estimates have been identified that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next accounting period.

New accounting standards

AASB 16 Leases

This new standard replaces AASB 117 for reporting periods commencing on or after 1 July 2019. Under the standard, the department is required to recognise the costs of use of leased assets and the associated benefits on the statement of financial position and expense an interest charge on the lease liability through the statement of comprehensive income.

The department did not have any existing leases that required recognition on initial application of AASB 16. During the reporting period, the department recognised right-of-use assets and lease liabilities in relation to leases of motor vehicles, held on behalf of Senate office-holders.

AASB 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers / AASB 1058 Income of Not-for-Profit Entities

These new standards apply for the 2019–20 reporting period. AASB 15 replaces AASB 18 Revenue and outlines the principles that a for-profit entity must apply to recognise and measure revenue.

AASB 1058 replaces most of the not-for-provisions of AASB 1004 Contributions by outlining income recognition requirements.

As the department’s previous revenue recognition process was broadly consistent with the requirements of the new standards there was minimal impact on the current and future financial reporting periods as a result of these new standards.

Future Australian Accounting Standard requirements

No new or revised pronouncements were issued by the AASB prior to the finalisation of the financial statements which are expected to have a material impact on the department in future reporting periods.

Taxation

The department is exempt from all forms of taxation except Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Events after the reporting period

No events have occurred after balance date that should be brought to account or noted in the 2019–20 financial statements.

Note 1: Financial performance

2020

$’000

2019

$’000

Note 1.1: Expenses

Note 1.1A: Employee benefits

Wages and salaries

14,961

14,299

Superannuation

Defined benefit plans

1,277

1,520

Defined contribution plans

1,591

1,379

Leave and other entitlements

3,785

3,986

Total employee benefits

21,614

21,184

Accounting policy

Superannuation

Employees of the department are members of the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS), the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme (PSS), Public Sector Superannuation accumulation plan (PSSap) or other elected defined contribution schemes.

The CSS and PSS are defined benefit schemes for the Commonwealth. The PSSap is a defined contribution scheme.

The liability for defined benefits is recognised in the financial statements of the Australian Government and is settled by the Australian Government in due course. This liability is reported by the Department of Finance as an administered item.

The department makes employer contributions to the relevant employees’ defined benefit schemes at rates determined by an actuary to be sufficient to meet the current cost to the government and accounts for the contributions as if they were contributions to defined contribution plans.

Leave and other entitlements

Accounting policies for leave and other entitlements are contained at note 3A – Employee Provisions.

2020

$’000

2019

$’000

Note 1.1B: Suppliers

Goods and services

Professional and financial fees

502

363

Asset and ICT related

301

603

Staff development

115

88

Hire charges and hospitality

124

176

Travel

506

668

Public information and advertising

166

134

General office expenses

451

386

Printing

104

136

Resources received free of charge

DPS – Accommodation at Parliament House

2,075

2,041

ANAO – 2019–20 audit fee

87

86

Secondments

55

-

Total goods and services

4,486

4,681

Other supplier expenses

Workers compensation

66

79

Short-term leases

11

-

Total other supplier expenses

77

79

Total supplier expenses

4,563

4,760

Accounting policy

Short-term leases and leases of low-value assets

The department has elected not to recognise right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for short-term leases of assets that have a lease term of 12 months or less and leases of low-value assets (less than $10,000). The department recognises the lease payments associated with these leases as an expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

2020

$’000

2019

$’000

Note 1.2: Own-source income

Revenue from contracts with customers

Sale of goods

24

120

Provision of services

429

355

Total revenue from contracts with customers

453

475

Resources received free of charge

DPS – Accommodation at Parliament House

2,075

2,041

ANAO auditor remuneration

87

86

Secondments

55

-

Total resources received free of charge

2,217

2,127

Total own-source income

2,670

2,602

Disaggregation of revenue from contracts with customers

Major product / service type:

Provision of corporate services

107

105

Provision of parliamentary education services

322

332

Sale of goods

24

38

Total revenue from contracts with customers

453

475

Accounting policy

Revenue

The department receives revenue from appropriations, the rendering of services and the sale of goods.

Revenue from sale of goods is recognised when control has been transferred to the buyer. The department reviews contracts with customers to ascertain if the contact is in scope of AASB 15 and if the performance obligations are required by an enforceable contract and they are sufficiently specific to enable the department to determine when they have been satisfied.

The department had no remaining or unsatisfied performance obligations as at 30 June 2020.

The following is a description of the principal activities from which the department generates its revenue:

provision of corporate services to other government entities via formal contract – revenue recognised over time as identified performance obligations fulfilled, i.e. as services rendered.

provision of parliamentary education services via formal contract – revenue recognised over time as identified performance obligations fulfilled, i.e. as services rendered.

sale of merchandise and educational materials based on customary business practices – revenue recognised at point of time when payment received and control passes to customer, i.e. upon shipment to customer.

The transaction price is the total amount of consideration to which the department expects to be entitled in exchange for transferring promised goods or services to a customer. The consideration promised in a contract with a customer may include fixed amounts, variable amounts, or both.

Receivables for goods and services, which have 30 day terms, are recognised at the nominal amounts due less any impairment allowance account. Collectability of debts is reviewed at the end of the reporting period. Allowances are made when collectability of the debt is no longer probable.

Resources received free of charge

Resources received free of charge are recognised in the statement of comprehensive income as revenue where the amounts can be reliably measured and the services would have been purchased if they had not been provided free of charge. Use of those resources is recognised as an expense.

The department’s resources received free of charge relate to audit services from the Australian National Audit Office, accommodation at Parliament House from the Department of Parliamentary Services and secondments to the department.

Revenue from government

The departmental appropriation for the financial year (adjusted for any formal additions and reductions) is recognised as revenue from government when the department gains control of the appropriation. Appropriations receivable are recognised at their nominal amounts.

Note 2: Financial position

2020

$’000

2019

$’000

Note 2.1: Financial assets

Note 2.1A: Cash and cash equivalents

Cash at bank

153

224

Total cash and cash equivalents

153

224

Note 2.1B: Receivables

Appropriation receivable

12,354

12,079

Trade and other receivables

104

23

GST receivable (from ATO)

20

22

Total receivables

12,478

12,124

Accounting policy

Financial assets

Cash is recognised at its nominal amount. Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand and deposits in bank accounts.

Receivables for goods and services are recognised at nominal amounts due less any impairment allowance account. Collectability of debts is continually reviewed. Allowances are made on an expected loss basis.

Trade receivables and other receivables are recorded at face value less any impairment.

Trade receivables are recognised when the department becomes party to a contract and has a legal right to receive cash. Loans and receivables are assessed for impairment on initial recognition. Impairment allowances are made on a lifetime expected loss basis. Trade receivables are derecognised on payment.

The fair values of the department’s financial assets and liabilities approximate their carrying amounts.

2020

$’000

$’000

$’000

$’000

$’000

Note 2.2: Non-financial assets

Reconciliation of opening and closing balances of property, plant and equipment, right of use and intangibles

PP&E

RoU

Intangibles

Work in Progress-Intangibles

Total

As at 1 July 2019

Gross book value

2,243

-

540

-

2,783

Accumulated depreciation, amortisation and impairment

(126)

-

(510)

-

(636)

Total as at 1 July 2019

2,117

-

30

-

2,147

Additions by purchase

135

-

117

713

965

Right of use additions

-

64

-

-

64

Depreciation/amortisation expense

(134)

-

(12)

-

(146)

Right of use depreciation expense

-

(10)

-

-

(10)

Gross value of disposals

(80)

-

(106)

-

(186)

Accumulated depreciation on disposals

11

-

106

-

117

Total as at 30 June 2020

2,049

54

135

713

2,951

Total as at 30 June 2020 represented by:

Gross book value

2,298

64

551

713

3,626

Accumulated depreciation, amortisation and impairment

(249)

(10)

(416)

-

(675)

Total as at 30 June 2020

2,049

54

135

713

2,951

Right of use and intangible assets are measured and carried at cost. Property, plant and equipment assets are carried at fair value following initial recognition at cost.

The opening balance of PPE and intangibles have been adjusted to better reflect the split between gross value and accumulated depreciation/amortisation.

Contractual commitments for the acquisition of plant, equipment and intangible asset

The department has $112,265 of contractual commitments payable within 1 year, primarily for the acquisition of intangible assets.

Amounts for capital commitments are GST inclusive.

2020

$’000

2019

$’000

Note 2.3: Payables

Note 2.3A: Supplier and other payables

Trade creditors and accruals

94

233

Salaries and wages

314

144

Superannuation

45

22

FBT payable (to ATO)

108

71

Total supplier and other payables

561

470

The department’s only financial liabilities are supplier payables.

Note 2.3B: Interest bearing liabilities

Lease liabilities

54

-

Total interest bearing liabilities

54

-

Lease liabilities analysis

The department’s lease liability maturity profile is as follows:

Within 1 year

22

Between 1 to 2 years

22

Between 2 to 3 years

10

Total lease liabilities

54

Accounting policy

Payables

Supplier and other payables are recognised at amortised cost. Liabilities are recognised to the extent that the goods or services have been received (and irrespective of having been invoiced). Supplier and other payables are derecognised on payment. Supplier payables are settled within 20 days.

The liabilities for salaries and superannuation recognised as at 30 June 2020 represents outstanding contributions for the final pay fortnight of the year.

Contingent liabilities and contingent assets

The department had no quantifiable or unquantifiable contingent assets or liabilities as at 30 June 2020 (2019: nil).

2020

$’000

2019

$’000

Note 2.4: Aggregate assets and liabilities

Assets expected to be recovered in:

No more than 12 months

13,022

12,717

More than 12 months

2,929

2,147

Total assets

15,951

14,864

Liabilities expected to be settled in:

No more than 12 months

1,995

1,672

More than 12 months

6,357

5,714

Total liabilities

8,352

7,386

Accounting policy

Acquisition of assets

Purchases of non-financial assets are initially recognised at cost in the statement of financial position, except for purchases costing less than $2,000, which are expensed in the year of acquisition (other than where they form part of a group of similar items which are significant in total).

The cost of acquisition includes the fair value of assets transferred in exchange and liabilities undertaken. Financial assets are initially measured at fair value.

Property, plant and equipment

Revaluations

Following initial recognition at cost, plant and equipment assets (excluding ROU assets) are carried at fair value less subsequent accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Carrying amounts are reviewed every year to determine if an independent valuation is required. The regularity of independent valuations depends upon the volatility of movements in market values for the relevant assets.

Revaluation adjustments are made on a class basis. Any revaluation increment is credited to equity under the heading of asset revaluation reserve except to the extent that it reverses a previous revaluation decrement of the same asset class that was previously recognised through operating result. Revaluation decrements for a class of assets are recognised directly in the surplus/deficit except to the extent that they reverse a previous revaluation increment for that class. Upon revaluation, any accumulated depreciation is eliminated against the gross carrying amount of the asset. A revaluation of the department’s assets was last undertaken as at 30 June 2018.

Depreciation

Depreciable plant and equipment assets are written-off to their estimated residual values over their estimated useful lives to the department, using in all cases the straight-line method of depreciation.

Depreciation rates (useful lives), residual values and methods are reviewed at each reporting date.

Depreciation and amortisation rates applying to each category of depreciable asset are based on the following useful lives:

Asset class

2020

2019

Plant and equipment

5 to 15 years

5 to 15 years

Furniture and fittings

5 to 100 years

5 to 100 years

The depreciation rates for ROU assets are based on the commencement date to the earlier of the end of the useful life of the ROU asset or the end of the lease term.

Impairment

All assets were assessed for indications of impairment at 30 June 2020. Where indications of impairment exist, the asset’s recoverable amount is estimated and an impairment loss recognised if the asset’s recoverable amount is less than its carrying amount.

Derecognition

An item of property, plant and equipment is derecognised upon disposal or when no further future economic benefits are expected from its use or disposal. Gains or losses from disposal of plant and equipment are recognised when control of the asset has passed to the buyer.

Lease Right of Use (ROU) Assets

Leased ROU assets are capitalised at the commencement date of the lease and comprise of the initial lease liability amount, initial direct costs incurred when entering into the lease less any lease incentives received.

Following initial application, an impairment review is undertaken for any right of use lease asset that shows indicators of impairment and an impairment loss is recognised against any right of use lease asset that is impaired. Lease ROU assets continue to be measured at cost after initial recognition in Commonwealth agency, GGS and Whole of Government financial statements.

Fair value measurement

All property, plant and equipment is measured at fair value in the statement of financial position. When estimating fair value, market prices (with adjustments) are used where available. Where market prices are not available, depreciated replacement cost is used. A reconciliation of movements in property, plant and equipment is included at note 2.2 – Non-financial assets.

Intangibles

The department’s intangible assets comprise of internally developed software and purchased software for internal use. These assets are carried at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses.

Software is amortised on a straight-line basis over its anticipated useful life. The useful life of the department’s software is 3 to 7 years (2019: 3 to 7 years).

All software assets were assessed for indications of impairment as at 30 June 2020.

Inventories

Inventories held for sale are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

Note 3: People and relationships

2020

$’000

2019

$’000

Note 3A: Employee provisions

Leave

Annual leave

1,974

1,696

Long service leave

5,763

5,220

Total employee provisions

7,737

6,916

Accounting policy

Employee benefits

Liabilities for ‘short-term employee benefits’ (as defined in AASB 119 Employee Benefits) and termination benefits due within twelve months of the end of the reporting period are measured at their nominal amounts.

The liability for employee benefits includes provision for annual leave and long service leave. No provision has been made for personal leave as all personal leave is non-vesting and the average personal leave taken in future years by employees of the department is estimated to be less than the annual entitlement for personal leave.

The leave liabilities are calculated on the basis of employees’ remuneration at the estimated salary rates that will apply at the time the leave is taken, plus the department’s employer superannuation contribution rates, and applicable on-costs, to the extent that the leave is likely to be taken during service rather than paid out on termination.

The liability for long service leave has been determined by reference to FRR 24.1(a) using the shorthand method. The estimate of the present value of the liability takes into account attrition rates and pay increases though promotion and inflation.

Note 3B: Key management personnel remuneration

Key management personnel are those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the department, directly or indirectly, including any director (whether executive or otherwise) of the department.

The department has determined the key management personnel to be the Clerk, Deputy Clerk, Clerk Assistants and the Usher of the Black Rod. Key management personnel remuneration is reported in the table below.

2020

$’000

2019

$’000

Key management personnel remuneration

Short-term employee benefits

1,575

1,528

Post-employment benefits

230

236

Other long-term employee benefits

35

35

Total key management personnel remuneration

1,840

1,799

The total number of key management personnel included in the above table is seven individuals (2019: seven).

Note 3C: Related party transactions

Related parties to the department are defined as key management personnel and close family members of key management personnel. A related party transaction is a transfer of resources, services or obligations between the department and a related party, regardless of whether a price is charged.

During 2019–20, there were no related party transactions.

Note 3D: Executive remuneration disclosure – Key management personnel

Short-term benefits

Post-employment benefits

Other long-term benefits

Termination benefits

Total remuneration

Name

Position title

Base salary

Bonuses

Other benefits and allowances

Superannuation contributions

Long service leave

Other long-term benefits

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

R Pye

Clerk of the Senate

397,544

-

1,529

58,203

9,933

-

-

467,209

M Weeks1

Deputy Clerk of the Senate

153,916

-

16,052

24,883

3,594

-

-

198,445

J Morris2

Clerk Assistant, Procedure / Deputy Clerk of the Senate

213,426

-

27,241

36,900

5,253

-

-

282,820

T Bryant4

Clerk Assistant, Committees / Clerk Assistant, Table

197,481

-

27,241

37,033

4,915

-

-

266,670

R Callinan4

Clerk Assistant, Table / Clerk Assistant, Procedure

201,984

-

27,241

30,376

4,915

-

-

264,516

J Begley

Usher of the Black Rod

198,382

-

27,164

29,816

4,915

-

-

260,277

T Matulick3, 4

Clerk Assistant, Procedure / Clerk Assistant, Committees

75,882

-

10,376

12,640

1,815

-

-

100,713

Total5

1,438,615

-

136,844

229,851

35,340

-

-

1,840,650

1 Commenced long term leave 28 January 2020.

2 Promotion (from SES1 to SES2) on 7 February 2020.

3 Commenced acting as KMP on 10 February 2020 / Promotion effective 8 May 2020.

4 Rotation of Clerk Assistants effective 25 May 2020.

5 The total amounts outlined in the table above correspond with the disclosure at note 3B.

Note 3E: Executive remuneration disclosure – Senior executives and other highly paid staff

During the reporting period, all the department senior executives were included in the key management personnel disclosed above (2019: Nil).

The department did not have any other highly paid staff that meet the reporting threshold (2019: Nil).

Accounting policy

Remuneration policies, practices and governance arrangements

The Clerk of the Senate’s remuneration is determined by the President of the Senate, after consultation with the Remuneration Tribunal, under section 63 of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999. In practice, the advice of the tribunal and the determinations of the Presiding Officers fix the remuneration of the heads of the four parliamentary departments at the same level. All other Senior Executive Service (SES) staff are remunerated under determinations made by the Clerk of the Senate under subsection 24(1) of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999.

For many years the department’s policy has been that changes in SES terms and conditions reflect equivalent changes for non-SES employees in the department’s enterprise agreements.

The department’s remuneration arrangements do not provide for performance pay for any staff. Staff can also use other services offered at Parliament House, including vehicle parking.

The department did not identify any non-SES staff in the period whose remuneration exceeded the threshold amount for reporting key management personnel.

Note 4: Appropriations

2020

$’000

2019

$’000

Note 4A: Annual appropriations (recoverable GST exclusive)

Annual appropriation

23,452

23,463

PGPA Act – section 74 receipts

717

696

Departmental capital budget (DCB)1

401

775

Total appropriation

24,570

24,934

Appropriation applied (current and prior years)

24,295

23,960

Variance

275

974

1 The DCB is appropriated through the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1). It is not separately identified in the Appropriation Act.

Note 4B: Unspent annual appropriations (recoverable GST exclusive)

Departmental

Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2017–18

-

150

Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2018–19

-

12,153

Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2019–20

12,507

-

Total

12,507

12,303

Note 4C: Special appropriations managed through third party arrangements (recoverable GST exclusive)

Authority2

Department of Finance – Parliamentary Superannuation
Act 2004, s. 18

2,769

2,495

Department of Finance – Australian Constitution, s. 66

1,417

1,516

Department of Finance – Parliamentary Business Resources
Act 2017, s. 59

21,312

20,099

Total

25,498

24,110

2 Arrangements have been entered into with the Department of Finance to allow the department to draw upon these appropriations.

Note 5: Explanation of major budget variances

Explanation of major variance

Variance to budget

$’000

Variance to budget

%

Affected line items

The appropriation receivable balance was higher than originally budgeted due to lower than anticipated asset purchases and reduced supplier expenditure.

(1,360)

-11%

Statement of financial position:

Trade and other receivables

Significant delays in ICT projects resulted in the use of prior year capital to fund intangible purchases.

(789)

-93%

Statement of financial position:

Intangibles

(830)

-100%

Cash flow statement:

Purchase of intangibles

(567)

-59%

Cash flow statement:

Contributed equity

Movement in discount factors used to calculate employee leave balances led to higher employee leave provisions at year end compared to original budget.

(1,412)

-18%

Statement of financial position:

Employee provisions

Appendices

Appendix 1—Resources

Pursuant to paragraph 17AF(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014, the following table provides a summary of the department’s total resources and payments made during the reporting period and corresponds with the department’s portfolio budget statements for 2019–20.

Resource statement, 2019–20

Actual available appropriations for 2019–20
$’000
(a)

Payments made in 2019–20
$’000
(b)

Balance remaining
$’000
(a – b)

Appropriation 1

Departmental appropriation

Prior year departmental appropriation

12,303

Annual appropriation 2

23,853

Section 74 receipts (net)

717

Total

36,873

24,024

12,850

Total available annual appropriations and payments

36,873

24,024

12,850

Total net resourcing and payments

36,873

24,024

12,850

1 Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No.1) 2019–20

2 Includes an amount of $0.401m in 2019–20 for the departmental capital budget

Appendix 2—Staffing

The figures in these tables include staff on long-term paid leave, but exclude staff on leave without pay or on temporary movements out of the department at 30 June 2020, as well as non-ongoing staff employed on an irregular or intermittent basis who did not work on 30 June 2020.

Staff numbers, by classification, salary range and gender, 30 June 2020

Salary ($)

Gender

Total

Classification

Male

Female

Clerk of the Senate

434,690*

1

-

1

Deputy Clerk of the Senate (SES Band 2)

225,875–237,763

-

2

2

Clerks Assistant and Usher of the Black Rod (SES Band 1)

186,374–195,740

2

2

4

Parliamentary Executive Level 2 (PEL 2)

141,088–150,857

11

12

23

Parliamentary Executive Level 1 (PEL 1)

113,417–127,043

10

20

30

Parliamentary Service Level 6 (APS 6)

93,844–102,942

12

36

48

Parliamentary Service Level 5 (APS 5)

83,314–88,476

2

3

5

Parliamentary Service Level 4 (APS 4)

74,575–80,103

9

18

27

Parliamentary Service Level 3 (APS 3)

66,494–71,833

7

14

21

Parliamentary Service Level 2 (APS 2)

58,514–65,153

3

2

5

Parliamentary Service Level 1 (APS 1)

52,050–57,808

-

2

2

Total

57

111

168

SES = Senior Executive Service, PEL = Parliamentary Executive, APS = Australian Parliamentary Service

* Indicates total remuneration package

Employees by classification

2019–2020

2018–2019

Classification

Ongoing

Non-ongoing

Ongoing

Non-ongoing

Clerk of the Senate

-

1

-

1

SES2

2

-

1

-

SES1

4

-

4

-

PEL2

23

-

22

-

PEL1

27

3

28

-

APS6

41

7

35

1

APS5

5

-

6

-

APS4

25

2

26

1

APS3

16

5

21

1

APS2

5

-

5

APS1

2

-

2

-

Total

150

18

151

4

Full-time and part-time employees

2019–2020

2018–2019

Full-time or part-time

Ongoing

Non-ongoing

Ongoing

Non-ongoing

Full-time

129

14

132

4

Part-time

21

4

19

-

Total

150

18

151

4

Employees by gender

2019–2020

2018–2019

Gender

Ongoing

Non-ongoing

Ongoing

Non-ongoing

Female

98

13

99

1

Male

52

5

52

3

Total

150

18

151

4

Appendix 3—Contact details

This appendix lists contact details for all areas of the department.

Department of the Senate

Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600

Phone: 02 6277 7111

Website: www.aph.gov.au/senate/dept

Office holders and senior officers of the Senate

President’s Office

President of the Senate
Senator the Hon. Scott Ryan

Email: senator.ryan@aph.gov.au

Parliament House

Phone: 02 6277 3300

Electorate Office— East Melbourne, Victoria

Phone: 03 9326 1088

Deputy President of the Senate
Senator Sue Lines

Email: senator.lines@aph.gov.au

Parliament House

Phone: 02 6277 3804

Electorate Office—West Perth, Western Australia

Phone: 08 9481 4844

Clerk’s Office

Clerk of the Senate
Richard Pye

Email: clerk.sen@aph.gov.au

Phone: 02 6277 3350

Deputy Clerk of the Senate
Jackie Morris

Email: depclerk.sen@aph.gov.au

Phone: 02 6277 3360

Table Office, SPIO

Procedure Office, PEO

Clerk Assistant (Table)
Tim Bryant

Email: ca.table.sen@aph.gov.au

Phone: 02 6277 3020

Clerk Assistant (Procedure)
Rachel Callinan

Email: ca.procedure.sen@aph.gov.au

Phone: 02 6277 3380

Committee Office

Black Rod’s Office

Clerk Assistant (Committees)
Toni Matulick

Email: ca.committees.sen@aph.gov.au

Phone: 02 6277 3371

Usher of the Black Rod / Chief Operating Officer
John Begley

Email: blackrod.sen@aph.gov.au

Phone: 02 6277 3398

References

Glossary and abbreviations list

amendments and requests for amendments

Proposals to alter a bill, which may be moved by any senator or member. Any amendments made by one House must be agreed to by the other House before a bill can become law. The Senate may not amend bills imposing taxation or appropriating money for the Commonwealth’s ordinary annual services; nor may it amend an appropriation bill so as to increase a charge or burden on the people. The Senate may, however, ‘request’ the House of Representatives to make such amendments.

AFMPA

Association of Former Members of the Parliament of Australia

AusTender

Australian Government tender information system

bill

A proposal for a law that is introduced into Parliament. Bills are considered consecutively by the House of Representatives and the Senate. The two Houses must agree to a bill in identical terms before it can be transmitted to the Governor-General for assent, which marks its passage into law.

committee of the whole

A committee consisting of all the members of the Senate formed to consider a bill in detail.

COVID-19

Stands for novel coronavirus disease 2019, which is the illness caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2).

DPS

Department of Parliamentary Services

estimates hearings

The term commonly used to describe the consideration by Senate legislation committees of the annual and additional estimates of expenditure of government departments and agencies.

IPRO

International and Parliamentary Relations Office

motions

Proposals for the Senate to agree to something, which must be expressed in a way that conforms with the standing orders.

pandemic

A worldwide spread of an infectious disease.

parliamentary privilege

Two significant aspects of the law relating to parliament: the privileges or immunities of the Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament; and the powers of the Houses to protect the integrity of their processes, particularly the power to punish contempts.

PBO

Parliamentary Budget Office

PBS

Portfolio Budget Statements

PEO

Parliamentary Education Office

PGPA Act

Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013

PSC

Parliamentary Skills Centre

Presiding Officers

The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are the Presiding Officers. Each presides over the proceedings of his or her respective House. Administratively, each is responsible for his or her respective House department and together they are responsible for the Department of Parliamentary Services and the Parliamentary Budget Office.

procedural scripts

Scripts containing both routine and complex wording to be used by senators to ensure compliance with standing orders when taking part in proceedings in the Senate.

questions on notice

When referred to in the context of the Senate, these are written questions to ministers from other senators. Questions on notice in the context of estimates proceedings are written or oral questions from committee members to a minister and/or the minister’s departmental officers, which require written answers from the minister or the minister’s department.

second reading amendments

Proposed resolutions which comment on or affect the passage of bills, but do not propose specific changes to the text of bills.

SES

Senior Executive Service

SPIO

Senate Public Information Office

Standing Orders

Procedural rules that govern the conduct of proceedings in the Senate and its committees.

TOPS

Table Offices Production System

List of requirements

PGPA Rule reference

Description

Requirement

Location

General

17AD(g) & 17AI

Letter of transmittal

Mandatory

iii

17AJ(a)

Table of contents

Mandatory

v

17AJ(b)

Alphabetical index

Mandatory

127

17AJ(c)

Glossary and abbreviations list

Mandatory

121

17AJ(d)

List of requirements

Mandatory

123

17AJ(e)

Contact officer

Mandatory

ii, 117

17AJ(f) & (g)

Web address and electronic address of report

Mandatory

iv

Clerk’s review

17AD(a)

A review by the accountable authority

Mandatory

3

Departmental overview

17AE(1)(a)(i)

Role and functions

Mandatory

9

17AE(1)(a)(ii)

Organisational structure

Mandatory

9–10

17AE(1)(a)(iii)

Outcome and program structure

Mandatory

11

17AE(1)(a)(iv)

Purposes as included in corporate plan

Mandatory

17

17AE(1)(aa)

Information on the accountable authority

Mandatory

9

17AE(1)(b)

Portfolio structure

Portfolio departments - mandatory

N/A

17AE(2)

Variations to outcomes and programs

If applicable, mandatory

N/A

Report on performance

Annual performance statements

17AD(c)(i); 16F

Annual performance statements

Mandatory

15–27

Report on financial performance

17AF(1)(a)

Discussion and analysis of the department’s financial performance

Mandatory

16,
78–79

17AF(1)(b)

Table summarising the total resources and total payments of the department

Mandatory

111

17AF(2)

Significant changes in the financial results

If applicable, mandatory

N/A

Management and accountability

Corporate governance

17AG(2)(a)

Information on compliance with section 10 (fraud systems)

Mandatory

73

17AG(2)(b)

Fraud control certification by the accountable authority

Mandatory

iii

17AG(2)(c)

Corporate governance structure and processes

Mandatory

69–73

17AG(2)(d)-(e)

Reportable non-compliance with finance law

If applicable, mandatory

N/A

Audit Committee

17AG(2A)(a)

Charter of the Audit Committee (electronic link)

Mandatory

69

17AG(2A)(b)-(e)

The name, qualifications, knowledge, skills or experience of each member. Information about the attendance of each member at committee meetings and their remuneration.

Mandatory

71–72

External scrutiny

17AG(3)

Developments in external scrutiny

Mandatory

74

17AG(3)(a)

Judicial decisions and decisions of administrative tribunals and by the Australian Information Commissioner that may have a significant effect on operations

If applicable, mandatory

N/A

17AG(3)(b)

Reports on operations of the entity by the Auditor General (other than report under section 43 of the Act), a parliamentary committee, or the Commonwealth Ombudsman

If applicable, mandatory

N/A

17AG(3)(c)

Capability reviews on the entity released during the period

If applicable, mandatory

N/A

Management of human resources

17AG(4)(a)

An assessment of the departments’ effectiveness in managing and developing employees to achieve department objectives

Mandatory

75–76

17AG(4)(aa) and (b)

Statistics on the department’s APS employees on an ongoing and non-ongoing basis

Mandatory

75–76,
115–116

17AG(4)(c)

Employment arrangements

Mandatory

76

17AG(4)(c)(i)

Number of SES and non-SES employees covered by employment agreements

Mandatory

76

17AG(4)(c)(ii)

Salary ranges by classification level

Mandatory

115

17AG(4)(c)(iii)

A description of non-salary benefits provided to employees

Mandatory

76

17AG(4)(d)

Performance pay

If applicable, mandatory

N/A

Assets management

17AG(5)

Effectiveness of assets management where asset management is a significant part of the department’s activities

If applicable, mandatory

N/A

Purchasing

17AG(6)

Department performance against the Commonwealth Procurement Rules

Mandatory

77

Consultants

17AG(7)(a) and (b)

Summary statement regarding number of new and existing consultancy contracts

Mandatory

77

17AG(7)(c)

A summary of the policies and procedures for selecting and engaging consultants and the main categories of purposes for which consultants were selected and engaged

Mandatory

77

17AG(7)(d)

A statement that ‘Annual reports contain information about actual expenditure on contracts for consultancies. Information on the value of contracts and consultancies is available on the AusTender website’

Mandatory

77

Australian National Audit Office access clauses

17AG(8)

Australian National Audit Office access clause

If applicable, mandatory

N/A

Exempt contracts

17AG(9)

Contracts or standing offers with a value greater than $10,000 (inclusive of GST) which have been exempted from being published in AusTender

If applicable, mandatory

N/A

Small business

17AG(10)(a)

Statement regarding support of small business participation

Mandatory

77

17AG(10)(b)

An outline of the ways in which the procurement practices of the department support small and medium enterprises

Mandatory

77

17AG(10)(c)

Statement recognising the importance of ensuring that small businesses are paid on time

If applicable, mandatory

77

Financial statements

17AD(e)

Financial statements

Mandatory

81

Executive remuneration

17AD(da)

Executive remuneration

Mandatory

105–106

Other information

17AH(1)(a)(i)

Statement regarding advertising campaigns

If applicable, mandatory

N/A

17AH(1)(a)(ii)

If the department did not conduct advertising campaigns, a statement to that effect

If applicable, mandatory

77

17AH(1)(b)

A statement that ‘Information on grants awarded by [name of entity] during [reporting period] is available at [address of entity’s website]’

If applicable, mandatory

N/A

17AH(1)(c)

Outline of mechanisms of disability reporting, including reference to website for further information

Mandatory

N/A

17AH(1)(d)

Website reference to where the entity’s Information Publication Scheme statement pursuant to Part II of FOI Act can be found

Mandatory

N/A

17AH(1)(e)

Correction of material errors in previous annual report

If applicable, mandatory

N/A

17AH(2)

Information required by other legislation

Mandatory

N/A