Review of selected reports

2.1        The committee provides the following comments on the annual reports of the Audio-Visual Copyright Society, Classification Board and Classification Review Board, and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

Audio-Visual Copyright Society Limited (Screenrights)

2.2        Screenrights' Annual Report 2015–16 was tabled in the Senate on 27 March 2017. Screenrights has prepared its annual report in accordance with section 135ZZZQ of the Copyright Act 1968 (Copyright Act).

2.3        Screenrights is an Australian-domiciled company and a non-profit entity. Its principal activities include: exercising its right as a collecting society under Parts VA, VB and VC (in relation to audiovisual items) of the Copyright Act; and collecting money from educational institutions for distribution to relevant copyright owners.

2.4        In the Chief Executive's Report, Mr Simon Lake outlined Screenrights' achievements in 2015–16, which included:

• increased revenue growth and distributions paid to members;
• investment in EnhanceTV Direct to improve access for teachers; and
• the introduction of the Express Resolution Process on 1 September 2015.[7]

Performance reporting

2.5        Screenrights has provided an informative report on its performance and contains extensive details of its key revenue and expenditure for 2015–16. The information is presented in a variety of formats including graphs, tables and diagrams. The inclusion of trend data for some categories, such as total licensing revenue, changes to licensing revenue over the past three years and expenditure to collections, was useful for comparative purposes.

2.6        The committee notes that an inconsistency in the use of colours for agencies in figure three in its annual report for 2014–15 has been rectified in the 2015–16 annual report. The committee welcomes the improved consistency in the presentation of this information.

2.7        The committee considers that Screenrights has met its reporting obligations under the Act and its annual report is 'apparently satisfactory'.

Financial reporting

2.8        The committee notes that Screenrights paid a total of $43.1 million to its members in 2015–16, up from $38.6 million paid in the previous reporting period.[8]  

Classification Board and Classification Review Board

2.9        The Classification Board and the Classification Review Board (the Review Board) are independent statutory authorities established under the National Classification Scheme. The National Classification Scheme is a legislated co-operative arrangement created on 1 January 1996 between the Australian, state and territory governments that provides a national approach to classification. The Classification Board is responsible for classification decisions concerning films, computer games and publications. The Review Board is a part-time board which meets to review a decision of the Classification Board as needed.

2.10      The annual reports of the Classification Board and the Review Board were provided in the one document and submitted to the Minister on 22 September 2016.[9] The annual report for 2015–16 was tabled in the Senate on 9 November 2016.

Performance reporting

2.11      The Classification Board provided clearly presented and informative statistics and an overview of classification decisions during 2015–16. The annual report notes that of the 3,777 classification decisions in 2015–16, no decisions exceeded the statutory time limit of 20 days for standard applications and five days for a priority decision.[10]

2.12      The annual report contained a helpful breakdown of the number of complaints received by the Classification Board during the reporting period. Overall, the Classification Board received 244 complaints, representing a 13 per cent reduction compared to the previous reporting period.[11]

2.13      During 2015–16, the Review Board conducted three reviews, all of which were completed within the specified statutory timeframe.[12] In all three cases, the Review Board overturned the decision of the Classification Board. The annual report also contained a helpful summary of its decisions and attendance figures for Review Board meetings.

2.14      The Review Board reported receiving one complaint in relation to one of its decisions and noted that no applications for review of a Review Board's decision were lodged with the Federal Court during the reporting period.

2.15      The committee considers that the Classification Board and the Classification Review Board have met their reporting obligations under the Act and their annual reports are 'apparently satisfactory'.

Financial reporting

2.16       The committee notes that the Department of Communications and the Arts is responsible for the financial management of the operations of the Classification Board and the Review Board. 

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

2.17      The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) Annual Report 2015–16 was tabled in the Senate on 8 November 2016.

2.18      GBRMPA is a non-corporate Commonwealth entity established under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 as an Australian Government statutory authority. GBRMPA's primary outcome is to ensure the 'long-term protection, ecologically sustainable use, understanding and enjoyment of the Great Barrier Reef for all Australians and the international community through the care and development of the Marine Park'.[13] This outcome is supported by four objectives:

• protecting and restoring the Reef's ecosystem health and biodiversity;
• safeguarding the Reef's heritage;
• ensuring use of the Marine Park is ecologically sustainable and benefits current and future generations; and
• reducing cumulative impacts.[14]

2.19      The Chairman's Review detailed a number of key activities that were undertaken during the reporting period across these objectives in 2015–16 , which included:

• implementing of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan;
• surveying the extent of the 2015–16 mass coral bleaching event;
• reporting of 1240 possible offences within the Word Heritage Area through the joint Field Management Program;
• culling the crown-of-thorns starfish; and
• welcoming and assisted 17 international delegations from around the region and the world.[15]

2.20      The committee notes that during the 2015–16 reporting period GBRMPA marked the 40^th anniversary of its establishment and its management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Performance reporting

2.21      GBRMPA's performance reporting on its objectives, deliverables and key performance measures is clearly presented and allows for easy comparison with the 2015–16 Portfolio Budget Statements. The flow of information provides a linear overview of the agency's performance and conveys a broad understanding of the work GBRMPA undertakes in each of its objectives.

2.22      The committee notes, however, that the annual performance statement included in the annual report only provides detail in relation to three of the four stated objectives as outlined in GBRMPA's Corporate Plan 2015–2020. The committee would like to draw GBRMPA's attention to the Department of Finance's guidance in relation to paragraph 17AD(c)(i) of the PGPA Rule 2014 that:

...annual performance statements must report on the performance of the entity in fulfilling its purpose(s) during the reporting period. This can only be achieved by an entity acquitting the performance criteria as published in both its corporate plan and the relevant Portfolio Budget Statements for the reporting period.[16]

2.23      The committee looks forward to this information being included in future annual reports so that GBRMPA's performance can be appropriately assessed. 

2.24      The annual report provides an informative and detailed management and accountability section. The section contained information on GBRMPA's strategic and operational plans, ethical standards, the management of human resources and external scrutiny. In its external scrutiny section, GBRMPA also provided detailed information of the reports by outside bodies, which included the Australian National Audit Office and parliamentary committees.

2.25      The committee considers that GBRMPA has met its reporting obligations as a non-corporate Commonwealth entity under the PGPA Rule and its annual report is 'apparently satisfactory'.

Financial reporting

2.26      In 2015–16, GBRMPA recorded an operating deficit of $2.562 million. GBRMPA stated:

This result was due to the cost of litigation, relating to the 2010 grounding of the 225 metre-long bulk carrier Shen Neng 1. The agency obtained approval from the Minister for Finance for an operating loss for this reporting period.[17]

Office of the National Wind Farm Commissioner

2.27      The committee notes that this is the first annual report of the Office of the National Wind Farm Commissioner (the Office). The Australian Government created the role of the National Wind Farm Commissioner in response to the recommendations of the Senate Select Committee on Wind Turbines. The Commissioner's role is to receive and refer complaints from concerned community residents about wind farms, as well as promote best practices for industry and government to adopt in regard to the planning and operation of wind farms.

2.28      The Annual Report of the Office of the National Wind Farm Commissioner was presented out-of-session on 12 April 2017 and tabled in the Senate on 9 May 2017.

2.29      The Commissioner's Review provided a summary of the key activities of the Office during its first sixteen months of operation. Some of these activities included:

• establishing the administrative and complaints handling policies and processes of the new office;
• engagement with 500 stakeholders across government, industry and communities;
• receiving a total of 90 complaints;
• the deployment and development of the public website; and
• presentations to the Clean Energy Council (CEC) Summit in July 2016 and the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council in December 2016.[18]

2.30      The committee notes that complaints to the Office are voluntary and cannot override or duplicate the statutory responsibilities of state, territory or local government authorities.     

Performance reporting

2.31      The Office has provided an overview of its complaints management system and activity for the period up to 31 December 2016. This includes a breakdown of the number of complaints based on the development stage of the wind farm, the issues raised by complainants, their resolution and closure, and matters still subject to the complaints handling process.[19] The information is provided in a range of formats including graphs and charts.

2.32      While there is much information provided in relation to complaints in the annual report, the committee considers that it would be useful if the report also included data on the number of complaints that were referred by the Commissioner to another party, such as a state or local government department or agency.

2.33      The Office has also provided a comprehensive and detailed list of observations and recommendations for potential improvements in the planning, governance and operation of the wind energy industry for consideration by government, industry and key stakeholders.[20] The committee welcomes the inclusion of these recommendations and looks forward to details of responses received from key stakeholders being included in future annual reports.

2.34      The committee considers that the Office of the National Wind Farm Commissioner has comprehensively reported on its activities under its terms of reference and considers its report to be 'apparently satisfactory'.

Senator Jonathon Duniam
Chair

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