Review of Government Service Provision
Background Information
The Review of Government Service Provision was an initiative of the Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers at the Premiers’ Conference in July 1993 and now operates under the auspices of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).
A Steering Committee, established in 1994, oversees the Review. The Committee comprises senior representatives from central agencies in the Australian, State and Territory Governments. It is chaired by the Chairman of the Productivity Commission which also provides the Secretariat.
The original terms of reference for the Review are at Attachment A. The two main tasks of the Review set out in these terms of reference are to:
- develop agreed national performance indicators for government services (which are published in the annual Report on Government Services); and
- analyse service provision reforms.
Since the original terms of reference were established, the Review has been active in reporting information on Indigenous Australians. The Prime Minister in his capacity as chair of COAG, wrote to the Chairman in May 1997, asking the Steering Committee to give priority to developing indicators that assessed the performance of mainstream services in meeting the needs of Indigenous Australians. This was followed by a further request arising out of the COAG meeting on 5 April 2002, for the Steering Committee:
to produce a regular report against key indicators of Indigenous disadvantage, to measure the impact of changes to policy settings and service delivery and provide a concrete way to measure the effect of the Council’s commitment to reconciliation through a jointly agreed set of indicators.
A compendium of Indigenous data in the ROGS is also compiled and placed on the Review webpage.
The Review does not consider policy issues. Rather, it aims to assemble indicators of performance given the existing policy framework of governments. The performance measures established are to assist each Government in the formulation of its own policy objectives and priorities.
The Review aims to inform parliaments, governments, service providers and the clients of services — the wider community — about overall performance and reforms in service provision so as to promote ongoing performance improvement.
The first part of the Review’s terms of reference is addressed by the annual Report on Government Services (ROGS). The ROGS publishes a set of performance indicators agreed by the Steering Committee, and data for these indicators, for each jurisdiction (where possible). These indicators assist governments to assess the performance of the services provided in their jurisdiction.
The service areas covered by the Review include:
- School education
- Vocational education and training
- Police
- Courts administration
- Corrective services
- Emergency management
- Health
- Aged care
- Services for people with a disability
- Children's services
- Protection and support services
- Housing
Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: key indicators
The Review has more recently been tasked to report information on Indigenous Australians. A draft framework for reporting was released in September 2002 to form the basis for consultations with key stakeholders. The first report, based on a framework agreed by COAG, was released in November 2003. Ongoing consultations continued in 2004 and a second report was published in July 2005.
Review of reforms in service provision
The second element of the Review is to publish analysis of service provision reforms that have been implemented, or are under consideration, by the Australian, State and Territory governments. The Review covers major reforms including those involving the separation of policy developments from service provision. The reform analyses take the form of case studies of major initiatives developed in cooperation with the relevant jurisdictions. The first report, Reforms in Government Service Provision 1997, was published in June 1997. The second report was released in September 1998.
Cooperative process
The Review has adopted a co-operative approach based on participation of all governments in Australia. The Review is organised as follows:
Working Groups
For the purpose of producing the ROGS, the Steering Committee is supported by working groups convened by a Steering Committee member for each area of service provision covered by the Review. The working groups are responsible for the development of performance indicators within the agreed performance indicator framework. Each jurisdiction has the opportunity to nominate a representative on each working group and working groups generally comprise senior staff working in the relevant line departments. For example, the Schools and Vocational Education and Training Working Groups comprises people working in the education and training agencies from each jurisdiction.
An Indigenous Disadvantage Working Group, also comprising representatives from each jurisdiction, assists the Steering Committee in preparing Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage: Key Indicators.
Specialist input and parallel exercises
A number of technical experts also attend working group meetings. The working groups may also draw on advice from specialist research groups.
For example:
- The AIHW is the Secretariat for a number of interjurisdictional exercises that collect data in the health and community services area. The Review uses these data to report performance indicators.
- The ABS also provides technical expertise and data to a range of Review working groups.
There may be other interested groups who wish to contribute to the Review. Their suggestions as to which performance indicators should be considered and which reforms should be reviewed are most valuable.