Management and accountability
Corporate governance
To oversee corporate governance and determine strategic priorities, the Director acts in consultation with the deputy directors and senior managers, with input from the Advisory Council.
Management committees
Details of the roles and membership of the key senior management committees and other committees that assist in the management of the agency are outlined in Table 3.
Advisory Council
The Old Parliament House Advisory Council provides expert advice to the minister and the agency on the agency's role, functions and activities.
The Advisory Council met three times during 2013–14, and council members:
- provided expert advice on the museum’s development, programs and management
- participated in advisory groups on particular areas, such as the Australian Prime Ministers Centre
- represented the museum in various activities and forums.
Advisory Council members are drawn from a range of relevant backgrounds and areas of expertise, and are appointed by the minister. During 2013–14 five new members were welcomed to the council:
- Mr Barrie Cassidy (appointed as chair)
- the Hon Dr David Kemp (appointed as chair following Mr Cassidy’s resignation)
- the Hon Graham Edwards AM
- Mrs Heather Henderson
- Sir David Smith KCVO, AO.
Three members departed:
- Mr Barrie Cassidy resigned as chair in October 2013
- Ms Sue Mackay resigned from the council in November 2013
- Ms Natasha Stott Despoja’s term ended in February 2014.
Ms Sally Basser, a representative of the Ministry for the Arts in the Attorney-General’s Department, acted as an official observer of the council in 2013–14.
The Advisory Council contributed to the museum’s activities by:
- participating in expert advisory groups and meetings. This included, in particular, contributions from Dr Griffin, Professor Darian-Smith and Dr Kemp
- making a range of suggestions and representations regarding potential future partnerships with outside organisations, possible venues and new audiences
- providing input into the review of the agency’s Heritage Management Plan
- engaging on key strategic matters.
The Advisory Council also continued to provide advice on the agency’s ongoing operations, including:
- providing input to important agency planning documents, including the strategic plan
- suggesting potential contributors to the Oral History program
- commenting on potential acquisitions and providing contacts for sources of appropriate items for the collections
- providing input to the development of activities and exhibitions
- providing individual expertise in specific relevant areas. A noteworthy example was Professor
Darian-Smith’s contribution to the development of the five-year strategy for the Australian Prime Ministers Centre - continuing to effectively represent the museum and promote it to a range of outside individuals and enterprises, including the media, other cultural institutions and places of learning, potential donors, partners and key stakeholders.
At 30 June 2014, the Advisory Council had eight members and two vacancies. Table 4 provides details of the council’s membership.
Strategic planning
The work of the agency is guided by the Old Parliament House Strategic Plan 2013–18. The plan establishes a five-year vision for the museum, with a detailed underpinning framework. The vision is based on living democracy and community building, and four core priorities:
- Bold—Catalyst for uncensored conversations
- Relevant—Empowered and engaged communities
- Authentic—A welcoming and vibrant meeting place
- Dynamic—A sustainable and thriving future.
Plans and policies
A framework of corporate and operational plans and policies enables Old Parliament House to meet its governance responsibilities and achieve its objectives. The Senior Management Group oversees the development and implementation of plans and policies.
Table 5 summarises the main plans and policies that underpinned management and operations in 2013–14.
Audit arrangements
The Audit Committee operates under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) and is directly accountable to the Director.
In 2013–14, the committee met four times and considered the progress and outcomes of external and internal audit reviews. Completed internal audits covered:
- a review of the Fraud Control Plan and an assessment of the agency’s fraud risks
- an assessment of the project management framework
- an assessment of work health and safety policies and practices to ensure compliance with the current legislation and ensure they are fit for purpose in terms of Old Parliament House’s specific operations as a museum and heritage building.
The committee also undertook a range of ongoing
audit-related functions, including:
- overseeing risk management
- considering registers of whole-of-government and Old Parliament House–specific audit recommendations
- receiving and considering update briefings from the Australian National Audit Office
- considering and endorsing proposed control framework measures
- reviewing and endorsing the agency’s annual financial statements
- reviewing financial reports from the Chief Financial Officer.
The committee acted in accordance with its role and obligations under the Old Parliament House Audit Committee Charter. The charter was reviewed for compliance with the requirements of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, which came into effect on 1 July 2014.
Ernst & Young provided internal audit services under contract during the year.
Ethical standards
The agency places a high priority on ensuring a safe, healthy, supportive and productive workplace, preventing discrimination or harassment, and fostering ethical behaviour on the part of staff and managers.
Such standards are guided by the Australian Public Service (APS) Values, Employment Principles and Code of Conduct, the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines and the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, and reinforced by the agency’s:
- Risk Management Policy and Framework
- Fraud Control Policy, Fraud Control Plan and Fraud Risk Register
- Workplace Harassment Guidelines
- Public Interest Disclosure Policy
- Staff Guidelines on the APS Code of Conduct.
A number of these documents were revised and updated during 2013–14.
Client Service Charter
The Client Service Charter sets out the standards of service which visitors can expect; information about the agency’s aims, standards and code of conduct; and ways to contact the museum or provide feedback. It commits the museum to:
- engage with, inform, educate and entertain our visitors
- continually strive to improve the visitor experience
- take account of the diverse backgrounds, needs and expectations of all of our clients and stakeholders.
The charter is available from the museum’s website, along with a feedback form that can be downloaded or completed online. Overall feedback was positive and indicated that the museum was providing its services to a high standard in 2013–14.
Remuneration of executives
Remuneration for the Director is determined by the Remuneration Tribunal under the Public Service Act 1999.
At the start of 2012–13, remuneration for the two Senior Executive Service officers was determined in line with the guidelines of the then Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport. The remuneration of each officer was negotiated between the individual officer and the Director. The conditions were prescribed in individual section 24 (1) determinations.
Risk management
During 2013–14, the agency’s Risk Management Policy and Framework were updated to articulate the agency’s risk appetite, to provide tools with agency-specific examples and to streamline documents. The Register of Key Business Risks was regularly reviewed and updated, identifying the major risks the museum faces and treatments for their mitigation and control. Risk management training was undertaken by the majority of staff members.
The agency participated in the annual Comcover Risk Management Benchmarking Survey, achieving a score of 8 (an increase from 7.9 in 2012–13) and upgrading our overall risk management rating from ‘Top Down’ to ‘Structured’ for the first time.
Business continuity and disaster management
The Business Continuity Plan and Building and Collection Disaster Recovery Plan outline the agency’s response in the event of a serious incident or disaster, taking into account Old Parliament House’s status as a major heritage site and collecting agency.
The Business Continuity Plan was reviewed and updated during 2013–14, and awareness training was provided to all staff.
A memorandum of understanding with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet allows the museum to make use of the department’s premises and information technology resources as an offsite base in the event of an incident that disrupts business operations in Old Parliament House.
Fraud control
Old Parliament House has in place appropriate fraud prevention, detection, investigation, reporting and data collection procedures and processes that meet the specific needs of the agency, in compliance with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines.
There were no cases of suspected fraud reported or investigations undertaken during 2013–14. Following a review by the agency’s internal auditors, the Fraud Control Policy, Fraud Control Plan and Fraud Risk Register were all reviewed and updated.
Protective security
The agency’s level of compliance with the Protective Security Policy Framework 2010 is now 100 per cent.