Charter of Operations for the Review of Government Service Provision

Preamble

1. This charter of operations outlines the governance arrangements and decision-making processes for the Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision (the Steering Committee). It should be read in conjunction with the Council on Federal Financial Relations (CFFR)-endorsed terms of reference for the Steering Committee and relevant reports.

Steering Committee

2. The Steering Committee comprises senior officials from central agencies (First Ministers, Treasuries and Finance departments) of the Australian, state and territory governments, and specialist observers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
3. The Steering Committee is chaired by the Chair of the Productivity Commission or a delegate nominated by the Chair.
4. The Steering Committee meets three times a year, and may hold additional meetings or progress work out-of-session, as needed:
   • May – endorse mid-year updates and annual work plans
   • August – review progress and agree proposed changes to reporting products
   • December – endorse reporting products and release strategies.
5. Decisions are made by consensus. Where consensus is not reached, decisions are made by majority vote (one vote per jurisdiction; observers may not vote). In the event of a tie, the Chair has a casting vote.
6. Members may choose not to publish information relating to their own jurisdiction but cannot veto publication for other jurisdictions.
7. When the Chair or the Secretariat seeks feedback from Steering Committee members, silence on a matter is taken as assent.
8. The Steering Committee is committed to a principles-based approach to performance reporting. The Steering Committee’s guiding principles are at attachment 1.

Working groups

9. Cross-jurisdictional, subject-matter working groups established by the Steering Committee support its work by providing expert advice and data. Subject-area working groups are listed in attachment 2.
10. Working groups typically comprise a convenor (Steering Committee member), representatives from Australian, state and territory line agencies, and relevant specialist observers (for example, the ABS, the AIHW, Ministerial Councils, and other expert agencies). Working groups are encouraged to seek the advice of external subject matter experts, as appropriate.
11. Working groups meet twice a year and may hold additional meetings or progress work out-of-session, as needed:
    • March/April – develop work plans and other matters, subject to Steering Committee endorsement
    • June/July – progress reporting developments according to Steering Committee directions.
12. Working group members need appropriate seniority and subject-matter knowledge to represent and commit their jurisdictions on working group matters, provide strategic advice, and support continuous reporting improvements, as directed by the Steering Committee.
13. Working group members are primarily responsible for providing data to support the Steering Committee in its reporting functions. The Steering Committee might also seek working group advice on data sensitivities, caveats and commentary to support publication.
14. Working groups do not endorse report content. The Steering Committee may draw on the advice of its working groups but is not bound by it.
15. Recommendations are made by consensus. Where consensus is not reached, dissenting views should be provided to the Steering Committee to inform its decision.
16. When input is sought from working group members, silence on a matter is taken as assent.

Convenors

17. A Steering Committee member convenes each working group to facilitate effective communication between the Steering Committee and working groups.
18. Convenors represent the Steering Committee at working group meetings, not their own jurisdiction or the service area of the working group.
19. Convenors are expected to support the Steering Committee’s reporting priorities, strategic directions and guiding principles for reporting in discussions with working group members.
20. At Steering Committee meetings, Convenors represent both their working group and their jurisdiction.
21. Working groups provide advice to the Steering Committee through their Convenors, who report on progress against work plans, raise issues, and convey dissenting views for the Steering Committee’s consideration.
22. Working group members may also raise jurisdiction-specific issues directly with their jurisdiction’s Steering Committee member(s), who will decide whether to raise the issue at a Steering Committee meeting.

Secretariat

23. The Steering Committee and its working groups are supported by a Secretariat located within the Productivity Commission. The Secretariat supports the Steering Committee to meet its Terms of Reference and deliver agreed reporting products in accordance with the guiding principles (attachment 1).
24. Secretariat responsibilities include:
    • drafting strategic and annual work plans, correspondence, submissions, briefings, and other materials
    • drafting agendas, meeting papers, and minutes for Steering Committee and working group meetings
    • liaising with working group members and other parties
    • data collection, report drafting, and managing review and clearance processes
    • undertaking research and analysis to highlight issues of policy interest (e.g., innovative practice), addressing reporting gaps in Steering Committee products, and improving data comparability and completeness
    • engaging with relevant subject-matter experts.
25. The Secretariat makes operational decisions on administration, stakeholder liaison, data collection and report drafting. The Secretariat consults with working groups where relevant, with significant issues referred to the Steering Committee.
26. The Secretariat is a neutral body and does not represent any jurisdiction.

Attachment 1. Steering Committee’s guiding principles

Comprehensive – performance should be assessed against all objectives.

Streamlined – reporting should be concise, measuring performance against indicators aligned to agreed objectives, with contextual information included when necessary to support interpretation.

Meaningful – data should measure what it claims to measure. Proxy indicators should be clearly identified and more meaningful indicators developed where practicable.

Understandable – data should be reported in a way that is meaningful to a broad audience, many of whom will not have technical or statistical expertise.

Timely – data for each reporting period should be the most recent possible. Incremental reporting when data becomes available, and then updating all relevant data over recent years, is preferable to waiting until all data is available.

Comparable – data should be comparable across jurisdictions and over time. Where data is not yet comparable across jurisdictions, time series data within jurisdictions is particularly important.

Complete – data should be reported for all jurisdictions (where relevant). Where this is not possible, data should be reported for jurisdictions that can report, rather than waiting until data is available for all.

Administratively simple and cost effective – use acceptable performance indicators that are already in use in other national reporting arrangements, where appropriate, to reduce duplication and minimise reporting burden.

Accurate – data should be of sufficient accuracy to provide confidence in analysis based on information in the report.

Hierarchical – outcome indicators should be underpinned by output indicators and additional disaggregated data where a greater level of detail is required.

A focus on outcomes – performance reporting should focus on outcomes, reflecting whether service objectives have been met, supplemented by input and output measures where they relate to desired outcomes.

Validation – data can vary in the extent to which it has been reviewed or validated (at a minimum, all data is endorsed by the provider and reviewed by intergovernmental stakeholders).

Full costing of services – unit cost estimates should reflect the full cost to government (where possible).

Source: Adapted from schedule C of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations (2022).

Attachment 2. Steering Committee subject-area working groups

The following working groups established by the Steering Committee support reporting across key policy and service delivery areas:

• School, Early Education and Care Working Group
• Vocational Education and Training Working Group
• Courts Working Group
• Corrective Services Working Group
• Police and Emergency Management Working Group
• Health Working Group
• Disability and Aged Care Working Group
• Child Protection and Youth Justice Working Group
• Housing and Homelessness Working Group