Inter-parliamentary departmental collaboration
Meetings of parliamentary departmental heads
Formal quarterly meetings between the Clerk, the Clerk of the Senate, the Secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services and the Parliamentary Budget Officer continued during the reporting year. Meetings were held on 20 August 2014, 20 November 2014, 18 February 2015 and 20 May 2015. Responsibility for chairing the meetings rotates between the departments on an annual basis.
Matters discussed in 2014–15 included:
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the development of a strategic plan for parliamentary administration
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the introduction of paid parking in the Parliamentary Triangle
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strategic asset and accommodation reviews
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budget processes for the parliamentary departments
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commemoration of the Anzac centenary
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the capital works program
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award modernisation
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ICT projects.
Parliamentary Administration Advisory Group
The Parliamentary Administration Advisory Group supports the parliamentary departmental heads by overseeing and advising on the implementation of corporate services matters and initiatives of common interest across the parliamentary departments.
The group’s members are the Serjeant-at-Arms, the Usher of the Black Rod, the Chief Operating Officer of the Department of Parliamentary Services, and the Assistant Parliamentary Budget Officer, Corporate Strategy Branch of the Parliamentary Budget Office. Responsibility for chairing the group rotates annually. In 2014–15, the group held four formal meetings; matters discussed included:
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the proposed new parliamentary service determination
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parking in the parliamentary precinct
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proposed legislative amendments, and the development of the policy rationale for these,
and
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governance structures and requirements within the parliamentary departments.
Shared services
At the beginning of the year, staff in the department’s People Strategies Office provided payroll services to the Parliamentary Budget Office. In September 2014, the Parliamentary Budget Officer advised the Clerk that the office no longer required these services from the department. The arrangement was officially terminated in November 2014.
Purchaser–provider arrangements
The department does not have any other purchaser–provider arrangements in place for selling services to or buying services from an Australian government agency.
The department receives certain building and ICT services from the Department of Parliamentary Services, and audit services from the Australian National Audit Office. These services are accounted for in the department’s financial statements as resources received free of charge.
The department also has agreements in place with the Department of the Senate for the provision of inter-parliamentary services (by this department) and parliamentary education services (by the Department of the Senate). The department runs parliamentary education seminars on a fee-for-service basis for government agencies.
The Federation Chamber. Photo: David Foote AUSPIC/DPS.