Department of the Environment and Energy

Corporate Plan 2017–18

(Excluding Appendices)

Address:John Gorton Building
King Edward Terrace
Parkes ACT 2600
Australia

Mail:GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Australia

Internet:www.environment.gov.au

Phone:02 6274 1111
+61 2 6274 1111 (international)

Fax: 02 6274 1666
+61 2 6274 1666 (international)

© Commonwealth of Australia, 2017.

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Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Australian Government or the Minister for the Environment and Energy.

Cover image
Sunset over iceberg near Casey research station © Paul Endersby/Australian Antarctic Division

I, Gordon de Brouwer, as the accountable authority of the Department of the Environment and Energy, presentthe 2017–18 corporate plan, which covers the periods of 2017–18 to 2020–21, as required under paragraph 35(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. The corporate plan is prepared in accordance with section 16E of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014.

Table of contents

Message from the Secretary

Our purposes and activities

Our strategic priorities

Operational context

Operating within and beyond government

Acknowledging our risks and risk appetite statement

Capabilities

Preparing our workforce for the future

Partnering for better outcomes

Building a positive risk-management culture

Making evidence-based decisions

Fostering innovation

Continually improving our ICT and digital capabilities

Communicating and engaging effectively

Pursuing regulatory maturity

Measuring our performance

Supporting evaluation of our work

The Department acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia and theircontinuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures and to their elders both past and present.

Message from the Secretary

As our primary planning document, this corporate plan sets the direction for the Department for the next four years. Significant developments since the last corporate plan—the recently released Australia State of the Environment 2016 and the Finkel review—provide an opportunity to reflect on our achievements and on how we support the Government to improve outcomes for Australia’s environment and people.

The state of the environment report confirms that our marine environment, naturaland cultural heritage areas, the Antarctic environment and the air quality of our cities are in generally good condition. Our environmental watering activities are having a positive effect on water bird and fish stocks and we are seeing urban populations using energy more efficiently. But challenges remain: climate change is an ongoing pressure, invasive species, land-use change and habitat fragmentation continue to threaten ecosystems, and we have not yet reversed the decline in threatened species and threatened ecological communities.

The Finkel review highlights the need for good energy governance and policy to ensure energy security and reliability, access to affordable energy, and reducedemissions.

This plan builds on the progress we have made and positions us to respond to these challenges. Over the next four years, we will focus on good governance, sound evidence and strong collaboration to deliver against our full suite of responsibilities and respond to significant and emerging issues. This is reflected in our strategic priorities—they set out the most important actions we need toprogress.

Information is essential in making evidence-based decisions and in communicating to others what we do, why we do it and what it means for them. Wearemosteffective when we are open, clear and accurate in the information we provide, consultative in our approach, objective in our analysis and persuasive in our advice. Our new Knowledge and Technology Division will enhance our use of information, data and our underpinning information and communication technology infrastructure.

We can’t respond to the challenges alone. We need to look beyond government, to collaborate more and leverage the activities of others. We are doing this through partnerships with the community and business, co-designing regulatory approaches, data sharing, and finding better ways to deliver our services.

A diverse, strong and supported workforce will ensure we are best placed to adapt to the needs of the future work place. Through our people strategy, we are cultivating a positive leadership culture, nurturing and growing our skills, embracing the benefits of diversity and creating healthy workplaces.

The approach we take to reconciliation matters to our shared future. We are making clear progress in implementing our reconciliation action plan to ensure that we value the experience, perspectives and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We embrace diversity knowing we are stronger as an inclusive and consultative organisation.

This corporate plan reinforces the importance of our work, to us, to the Australian community, to business and to Government. All staff should see their work in this plan, and reflect it in their performance discussions.

— Dr Gordon de Brouwer
Secretary, Department of the Environment and Energy

Our purposes and activities

We deliver major Government initiatives to promote the conservation and sustainable use of Australia’s natural resources and to maintain a competitive and reliable energy system as we transition to a lower emissions future. Wesupport our Minister in achieving government objectives and meeting our legislative and policy responsibilities. Wedo this across four purposes that set out the high-level outcomes we seek to achieve. We will achieve these results by focusing on nine activities that are supported by the cross-cutting science, information and research activity.

‘With the right choices, policies, management andtechnologies, Australia has the capacity to ensureeconomic prosperity and meet people’s health,education, social and cultural needs, whileprotectingthe environment for futuregenerations.’

—Australia State of the Environment 2016: overview, independent report to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Energy (p. xiii)[1]

Department’s Role / The role of the Department of the Environment and Energy is to advise on and implement environment and energy policy to support the Government in achieving a healthy environment, strong economy and thriving community now and for the future.
Purposes / EnvironmentandHeritage
Conserve, protect and sustainably manage Australia’s biodiversity and heritage / ClimateChange
Develop and implement a national response to climate change / Antarctica
Advance Australia’s strategic, scientific and environmental interests in the Antarctic / Energy
Support the reliable, affordable, sustainable and secure operations of energy markets.
Activities / Investing in our environment and heritage / Reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions / Antarctic science, policy and presence / Energy market reform and energy efficiency programs
Environmental watering
Regulating to protect our environment andheritage / Adapting to climate change / Energy security
Environmental health
Science, information and research
Our identity / We are stewards of Australia’s natural resources and an authority on the Australian environment and energy markets.
Our people /
  • Our diversity
  • Our leadership
  • Our skills and expertise
/
  • Our relationships
  • Our collaboration
  • Our contribution
/
  • Our resilience
  • Our professionalism
  • Our stewardship

Further information on the Department’s performance measures and how they map to our outcomes and programs is available at AppendixA and B.

Our strategic priorities

Our strategic priorities identify areas of focus for the next 12 months and beyond. Each Deputy Secretary has provided priorities for the areas of the Department for which they are responsible, with energy and climate change presented as an integrated set of priorities. The priorities seek to capitalise on recent achievements and respond to the challenges we face in leading a national approach to reliable, affordable, sustainable and secure energy markets and as stewards of Australia’s environment.

Our climate change and energy functions include ensuring ongoing affordability, reliability and security of our electricity systems while transitioning to a low emissions economy. We do this by leading energy market reform to support investment and market outcomes in the long term interests of consumers, consistent with our Paris agreement commitments. Our climate change and energy priorities are:

  • implementing the Government’s response to the Finkel review
  • finalising the Government’s 2017 review of climate policy, and subsequentimplementation
  • improving energy productivity through the National Energy Productivity Plan
  • progressing the COAG Energy Council reform program
  • finalising the approach to fuel quality and vehicle and emissions standards for Australian vehicles
  • supporting the development of new clean energy technologies and innovation
  • strengthening Australia’s climate resilience
  • supporting transition in affected communities
  • progressing return to compliance with International Energy Agency stockholding obligations
  • International Energy Agency reform
  • engaging internationally on energy and climate issues
  • reporting on greenhouse gas and energy outcomes.

Jo Evans
Deputy Secretary, ClimateChange and Renewables Innovation

Rob Heferen
Deputy Secretary, Energy

Our environment protection functions include developing policy advice, regulating and investing to protect Australia’s environment and heritage, in a way that supports social and economic development in Australia. Ourenvironment protection priorities are:

  • implementing our Reef 2050 Long-term Sustainability Plan, with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Queensland Government, to protect the Great Barrier Reef
  • enhancing our regulatory maturity through more effective and efficient environmental regulation. In particular, we will focus on large, regional-scale strategic assessments to support the sustainable development of our cities, and natural resource and agricultural sectors
  • delivering environmental water to restore and protect the Murray–Darling Basin’s rivers, wetlands and floodplains, and evaluating our effectiveness in delivering outcomes for the Basin
  • investing in partnerships through the National Landcare Program to deliver on-the-ground conservation of our biodiversity, natural heritage and wetlands across Australia.

Dean Knudson
Deputy Secretary, Environment Protection

Our strategy and operations functions include corporate and high-level policy support for the Department, the Department’s science and information base and the Department’s activities in Antarctica. Our strategy and operations prioritiesare:

  • By implementing the Australian Antarctic Strategy and 20 Year Action Plan, we have a once in a generation opportunity to improve the protection and understanding of Antarctica. In addition, modernising the infrastructure on Macquarie Island will be a specific priority.
  • Enabling a greater understanding of, and more effective responses to, Australia’s environmental and energy challenges through more focused application of our science, technology and data capabilities. In particular, through central involvement in whole-of-government data and digital initiatives including the Data Integration Partnership for Australia where the Department is one of the four analytic hubs.
  • This corporate plan makes clear that our success in delivering the Government’s agenda for the environment and energy depends on the capability of our people and the strength of our systems. We are aiming to grow capability, including through promoting diversity, over the coming years.

Matt Cahill
Deputy Secretary (A/g), Strategy and Operations

Operational context

Once every five years, the state of the environment report provides a comprehensive and independent national assessment of the state, trends and management of Australia’s environment. Australia State of the Environment 2016, released in March 2017, provides an account of the biophysical context in which we operate, sets out the challenges we face, highlights successes, and presents a future outlook.

Similarly, Dr Finkel’sIndependent review into the future security of the National Electricity Market articulates the opportunities and challenges we face on energy matters and provides recommendations for an improved energy outlook. It represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the National Electricity Market, to make it more resilient to the challenges of change, and to enable the new and better services Australians want.

Both of these reports inform our responses to our international obligations and domestic challenges.

‘During the past five years, environmental policies in Australia have had some notable success in improving the state and trends of parts of the Australian environment … There are, however, areas where the condition of the environment is poor and/or deteriorating.’

—Australia State of the Environment 2016: overview, independent report to
the Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Energy (p. xiii)

The state of the environment 2016 report tells us that our marine environment, natural and cultural heritage areas, and the air quality of our cities are all generally in good condition. This is also true for the Antarctic environment and our water management is improving biodiversity outcomes in the Murray–Darling Basin. More than 17 per cent of our land is now being managed to protect species, up from 13 per cent in 2011.

Pressures and threats remain. The main drivers of environmental change are population growth and economic activity. The main pressures facing the Australian environment remain climate change, land-use change, habitat fragmentation and degradation, and invasive species. The interaction between these and other pressures results in cumulative impacts that amplify environmental threats. We need a deeper understanding and greater capacity to identify and measure cumulative impacts.

‘Australia’s electricity system is in transition. There is no going back from the massive industrial, technological and economic changes facing our electricity system. No country is immune to the change. What distinguishes countries’ approaches to the transition is how well-prepared they are in ensuring a secure, reliable and affordable electricity system.’

—Independent review into the future security of the National Electricity Market: blueprint for the future,Commonwealth of Australia 2017 (p. 5)

Our energy activities occur against a backdrop of unprecedented change. Australia’s National Electricity Market was designed for a world that was less complex than today’s, in which traditional generation (coal, gas and hydro) provided all of our energy needs.

Technology is transforming the electricity sector, and consumers are driving the change. Demand for electricity has declined, use of distributed self-generated energy has increased and electricity retail prices have risen. Thesechanges are occurring as we transition to a lower emissions economy.

The challenges articulated in the state of the environment 2016 report and the Finkel review are complex. Solutionswill take time, resources and partnerships. Over the next four years we will take an evidence-based and collaborative approach that capitalises on existing national frameworks to address the challenges. The integration of our energy and climate change responsibilities allows us to provide comprehensive advice to government.

‘Bringing energy and climate change functions together is achieving better outcomes for both elements of the Department’s work.’

—Dwayne Purdy, Gas Policy

Representing Australia internationally

We are the Australian Government lead for over 20 multilateral agreements, many of which provide the constitutional basis for the Department’s legislation, policy and programs. These forums were created to encourage the international community to protect the environment and support secure and reliable energy markets. Engaging in these forums alongside other governments and international organisations facilitates information exchange and helps Australia to learn and benefit from international actions to protect the environment and to advance our global energy interests.

The Australian Government is committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the 2030 Agenda address the social, economic and environmental aspects of development. The Department leads on giving effect to the goals concerning energy, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water and life on land. We support a range of other goals, including those concerning clean water and sanitation, sustainable economic growth and sustainable cities and communities. Further information on the link between these goals and the Department’s purposes and activities is in Appendix A.

Over the next four years, we will continue to be an influential and constructive adviser on environment and energy issues, advancing sustainable development both regionally and globally.

Operating within and beyond government

Our responsibilities, how and where we work, who we work with and the issues we face are diverse. Often the scope of the problems we address extends beyond our direct influence. This affects our ability to achieve our purposes.

  • We have the most influence over how we conduct our work, who we engage with, how and where we allocate our resources, our approach to risk, the quality of the information and advice we provide and the policies we develop.
  • We have moderate influence over how others engage with our policies, programs and regulations and the actions they take in response.
  • And we are able to influence but not control broader government decisions and budgets, the economy, and the value others place on our role and our work.

The legacy of historical environmental damage and the changes already underway in the world’s climate systems cannot be undone over the period of this plan. But we can, in partnership with business, the community and other governments, respond to them.