DEPARTMENTOF FINANCE

ANNUAL REPORT 2013-14

Statement of compliance

For the year ended 30 June 2014

I hereby submit for your information and presentation to Parliament, the Annual Report for the Department of Finance for the financial year ended 30 June 2014.

The Annual Report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of Section 61 of the Financial Management Act 2006.

Anne Nolan Director General

11 September 2014

About this report

Every effort has been made to improve readability and accessibility of this report in print and online.

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Department of Finance Annual Report 2013-14

© Department of Finance 2014

ISSN 2203-594X (Print)

ISSN 2203-5958 (Online)

Key legislation

The Department of Finance complies with all relevant legislation that governs its functions.

The Department also has responsibility for the administration of 34 Acts and collected taxes, duties and fees, and paid subsidies, grants and rebates during 2013-14 in accordance with legislation.

These are listed in Appendix 1.

OVERVIEW

  • Executive summary
  • Organisational structure
  • Performance management framework

Executive summary

The Department of Finance, in its third year of operations, consolidated its strategic focus and managed significant changes in its core business. This has been achieved cost effectively and under budget.

As a central agency, Finance has extensive influence across government and the community. The scope of the Department’s influence is clearly seen through:

  • delivering more than $1 billion worth of
  • maintenance and construction services for non-residential buildings, including hospitals, schools and police stations
  • assisting up to 119 agencies with government office accommodation
  • administering State grants and revenue for more than 250,000 customers
  • delivering procurement services across government for around 745 suppliers
  • working with the Government to deliver on its energy reform agenda.

State Revenue was funded to implementinitiatives to improve the timeliness of revenue collections. The efficiencies that were achieved through these improvements in taxation administration exceeded the Government’s revenue targets and resulted in the collection of well over $200 million in additional revenue for the State. In total, State Revenue collected around $7.3 billion in revenue and paid out more than $320 million in grants and subsidies.

A major project for the Public Utilities Officewas the merger of Verve Energy and Synergy to remove duplication of functions to help reduce the cost of electricity. In a further reforming step, the Public Utilities Office has taken the lead on managing the Government’s review of the electricity market in the South West Interconnected System.

This review is looking at rising electricity costs, how to reduce the Government’s subsidy to energy retailer Synergy, and the structure of the market. It is due to report to the Minister for Energy in October 2014.

Another success for the Department was the smooth closure of Shared Services. It was a large and complex task to return financial, procurement and, in some cases, payroll activities to 59 agencies. The program also had to support agencies through the transition to providing their own services while minimising the impact of winding down operations.

At the beginning of the year, the Department’s focus broadened to include assisting government with reducing barriers to competition, broad micro-economic reform and reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens in Western Australia. This change was brought about by the Government’s decision to transfer the Economic Reform business unit from the Department of Treasury. Economic Reform builds upon the Department’s existing policy functions by advising government on regulatory reform and competition policy,and delivering the Government’s regulatory gatekeeping functions.

In the drive to meet the future needs of thecommunity, Building Management and Works delivered its non-residential program of schools, a court house, a training institution and other government buildings.

The Department delivered value-for-money through a portfolio approach to government office accommodation. A new policy includes increasing density and delivering flexible,fit-for-purpose office accommodation to facilitate cost and operational efficiency.

The Department began laying the foundation to lead the management of public sector information communication and technology (ICT) investment. A Directors General ICT Steering Committee was established to provide high-level leadership and build support for whole-of-government ICT-related initiatives. The Department also used its core strengths in procurement to develop ICT policies and toolkits.

Government Procurement continued to help agencies deliver their business more efficiently by saving money through sector-wide contracts. It negotiated a new Microsoft Enterprise Agreement that delivers savings of $4.5 million per annum to government.The new agreement has a number of other benefits. These include the ability for agencies to move to cloud computing and gain further savings and efficiencies by making better use of the suite of products available.

Merger of Verve Energy and Synergy on time and on budget

In April 2013, the Premier announced thatthe State-owned electricity generator, Verve Energy, and retailer, Synergy, would merge to form a single entity.

The objectives of this reform were realisation of cost savings; avoiding adverse impactson reliability and security of supply; and sustaining private sector investment.

The successful merger of Verve Energy and Synergy on 1 January 2014 was a major achievement for the Public Utilities Office.

This restructuring included considerable industry engagement and the development of a robust regulatory framework requiring significant legislative changes. These activities were all completed within six months.

The Public Utilities Office managed themerger on time and on budget with general stakeholder support for the implementation model. Implementation concluded in May 2014 with the start of the Standard Products Regime. This was to address industry concerns about pricing discipline and governance of the merged entity’s wholesale business unit.

Organisational structure

The Department of Finance provides quality advice and services to facilitate the achievement of government objectives.

A new minister, the Honourable Dean Nalder, MLA, was appointed to the Finance portfolio in March 2014. The previous Minister for Finance, the Honourable Mike Nahan, MLA, retained responsibility for the Energy portfolio. The appointment of a new minister re-focusedour efforts to provide excellent service to the people of Western Australia.

The Department recognises the pivotal role of teamwork and collaboration that ensures success in meeting its goals and objectives.

Underpinning the Department’s unityis a strong culture built on the values of Accountability, Commitment, Leadership, Listening and Caring, and People Matter. These values are recognised and promoted internally through formal programs. They also form the foundation of our strategic goals and directions.

The Department’s five strategic goals are:

  • Provide quality service for our customers
  • Shape and lead the development of influential advice
  • Build excellent relationships
  • Ensure efficiency and effectiveness in our systems and processes
  • Invest in our people and our workplace.

The Department’s strategic direction setsout a clear pathway for us to provide better information and timely, reliable and innovative advice.

This direction also enables the Department’s six business units to share a common focus of delivering services and advice that meets the needs of government and stakeholders.

The business units achieve this by:

  • Administering revenue laws and grant and subsidy schemes, in a fair and efficient manner for the community.
  • Leading the planning, delivery and management of a property portfolio that supports the delivery of government services to the community including the delivery of new buildings, maintenance programs for existing buildings and office accommodation.
  • Leading a whole-of-government approach to the procurement of goods and services to efficiently meet the business needs of agencies, manage risk and deliver value-for- money from public sector procurement.
  • Providing advice and analysis on economic and structural reform, competition policy and regulatory reform.
  • Providing corporate services to enable the Department to efficiently and effectively conduct its business.
  • Leading the provision of advice to government on the delivery of gas and electricity services to ensure Western Australian businesses and the community have access to affordable, secure, reliable and cleaner energy services.

Commitment paid off for successful closure of Shared Services

The success of the decommissioning ofShared Services was largely driven by strong governance and leadership from the Decommissioning Steering Group.

In an excellent example of cross-agency collaboration, the group was chaired by Department of Finance Director General Anne Nolan, and attended by Directors General from other central agencies and lead client agencies.

The group members worked together to take responsibility for overseeing the progressof the program, making key decisions, addressing risks and ensuring whole-of- government support. Together they agreed the best methods to handover responsibility for services and place staff in a way that best suited the needs of all parties.

When the final meeting was held in February2014, the members agreed that the group had been well run and also acknowledged the strong governance demonstrated by the Department of Finance as a key to ensuring the program was delivered on time and under budget.

Performance management framework

Broad government goals are supported at agency level by specific outcomes. Agencies deliver services to achieve these outcomes. This table illustrates the relationship between the services and desired outcomes, and the government goal it contributes to. The key effectiveness indicators measure the extent of impact of the delivery of services on the achievement of desired outcomes. The key efficiency indicators monitor the relationship between the service delivered and the resources used to produce the service.

Government goals / Desired outcomes / Services
Financial and economic responsibility
Responsibly managing the State’sfinancesthroughtheefficientand effective delivery of services, encouraging economic activity andreducing regulatory burdens onthe private sector. / Due and payable revenue iscollected and eligible grants,subsidies and rebates paid. / Revenue assessment andcollection, and grants andsubsidies administration.
Results-based service delivery
Greater focus on achieving resultsin key service delivery areas for thebenefitofallWestern Australians. / Value-for-money from publicsector procurement. / Development and managementof CUAs, state fleet leasing and disposal, and providingfacilitation service for agencyspecificcontracts.
Decommissioning of SharedServices. / Project management,decommissioning of the whole-of-government shared corporateservices reform.
Provision of corporate services. / Services to government.
State building - major projects
Building strategic infrastructurethat will create jobs and underpinWesternAustralia’s long-termeconomic development. / Value-for-money fromthe management of the Government’s non-residentialbuildings and public works. / Leads the planning,delivery, management and maintenance of governmentbuildings,projects and officeaccommodation.
Social and environmental responsibility
Ensuring that economic activityis managed in a socially and environmentally responsiblemannerfor thelong-term benefitof the State. / Asustainable,efficient,secureand affordable energy sector. / Development andimplementation of energy policyand programs.

AGENCY PERFORMANCE

  • Achievingexcellence
  • Showing leadership
  • Delivering value-for-money
  • Building for the community
  • Outlook for the future
  • Significantissues
  • Report on operations

Achievingexcellence

In 2013-14, the Department demonstrated a commitmentto high-quality performanceacrossgovernment.

Through excellent project management anda focus on building strong relationships, the Department successfully wound upcentralised corporate services for governmentagencies with the closure of Shared Serviceson 31 March 2014. Under a decommissioningprogram, which started in January 2012, theDepartmentreturned financeand payrollsystems to 59 agencies by December 2013.

Significantly,the cost of returningcorporateservices to agencies was $45 million less thanexpected over the life of the project.

Throughout2013-14,BuildingManagementandWorkshasbeenleadingtheimplementation oftheSmallBusinessCommissioner’s14recommendationsfromtheconstructionsubcontractorinvestigation.Twelveoftherecommendationshavebeenimplementedwiththeremainingtwowellprogressed.

A key achievement in this program of workwas starting the Government’sproject bankaccounttrial. Building Management andWorksis leading the waynationally on the use of thisinnovativeapproachtopayment,designedtoimprove the security of paymentfor a project’ssmall and medium subcontractingenterprises.In2013-14,the Department awarded itsfirstcontractfor the project bank accounttrial, withanother twoawarded in July and August 2014.Twomorecontracts will be advertised as partof the trial in 2014-15.

To provide further support to subcontracting businesses, the Department has maintaineda dedicated subcontractor complaints andfeedback line, conducted spot checks oncontractor payments to subcontractors, andreleased an industry educational resourcein conjunction with the Small Business Development Corporation and the BuildingCommission.

Through these initiatives, the Department isencouraging small and medium enterprisesto participate in its projects and continue todeliver buildings to the benefit of theWesternAustralian community.

GovernmentProcurement also helped ensurevalue-for-money in governmentby buildingthe procurement capacity of governmentagencystaffwhobuycommunity services.

It conducted the Community ServicesProcurementVocational Program, with morethan 110 public sector staff participating. Inaddition, procurement training and awarenesssessions were delivered to 2,530 attendees inmetropolitan and regional locations.Trainingincluded:

  • Better Buying
  • an introduction to government buyingpolicy and practice
  • Community ServicesTendering
  • contract management awareness sessions.

More than 280 suppliers attended the New toQuotes andTenders information sessions.

Government Procurement completedProcurement Capability Reviews to further enhance the capacity of agencies that procure community services in Western Australia. The reviews rated agencies’ capabilities against best practice and provided a baseline for future assessments. Government Procurement developed a purpose-built self-assessment tool so agencies can now conduct their own review and monitor their processes and practices against the baseline, allowing for continual improvement.

In January 2014, State Fleet implemented a State Government decision that allgovernment light commercial vehicles must have a 5-Star Australasian New Car Assessment Program rating. A new State Fleet eDecision Aid was introduced in October 2013 to help agencies select a vehicle, replacing a labour intensive manual database.

A major initiative of the Government is the review of the electricity market within the South West Interconnected System. The Public Utilities Office is leading this review to address rising electricity costs, reduce the Government’s exposure to energy market risks, and attract private-sector participants to the energy market. The Minister for Energy launched the review in March 2014. A steering committee was then formed to govern the review project team and is based in the Public Utilities Office. The steering committee will present options for reform to the Minister for Energy.

Newenergyconcessionsystemdeliversforpensionersandseniors

State Revenue, in conjunction with the Public Utilities Office, implemented an extension to the Government’s concession scheme to help pensioners and seniors pay their energy bills.

The State Government pays a concession to eligible pensioners and seniors who receive their energy bills from Synergy and Horizon. However, some customers did not receive the concession because they lived in retirement villages or apartments and didn’t receive their bill directly from their energy provider.

The Department implemented the Energy Concession Extension Scheme to pay the concession to those pensioners and seniors that did not have a direct billing relationship with Synergy or Horizon.

A cost effective solution was developed to administer the scheme, which included a simple online application form for pensioners and seniors to apply for the concession.

State Revenue communicates with customersabout their concession using email and payments go directly into the customer’s bank account.

This simplifies and speeds up the process of sending or clarifying information, as well as notifying customers when applications have been received and payments made.

Showing leadership

The Department has fulfilled a strong leadership role in the delivery of State Government services.

Building Management and Works strengthened the ability of the Department to lead the planning for whole-of-government office accommodation. By broadening its policy,it obtained the 10-year office accommodation requirements of 113 agencies, providing government with a consolidated view. This has enabled the Department to more efficiently manage office accommodation for all general government agencies while helping meet their individual needs.

State Revenue also led the implementation of the Government’s payroll tax rebate scheme, which helped small businesses with a one- off payroll tax rebate. Employers that paid Australia-wide wages of up to $1.5 millionwere eligible to apply for a rebate to fully offset their 2012-13 tax liability. Nearly 7,540 rebates totalling more than $111 million were paid by 30 June 2014.

Another State Revenue initiative showed how the Department is leading in the use of technology and helping the community in a practical way. This was the release of newversions of the online calculators for land tax, payroll tax and duties that are compatible with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This means, for example, that people attending a home open can have immediate access to accurate information about potential tax liabilities.

Government Procurement showed leadership by working with the State Supply Commission (SSC) Board to identify changes to SSC policies that will make procurement activities more efficient, while maintaining sound risk management practices. The new policies took effect on 1 July 2014, providing the public sector with a streamlined approach to procurement.

The Department demonstrated leadership again when Government Procurement identified a need for commercial advisory services for Public Private Partnerships and major State Government projects.