Corporate and Communication
Support from DPMC and DSD
As a very small agency, the office relies on the assistance of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) in handling staff and other administration issues and in providing general support. This support is provided on the basis that we are a portfolio agency and collocated with DPMC.
In 2005–06 the office made a $46 000 (GST exclusive) payment to DPMC in recognition of the increasing costs associated with the support provided to the office. The current arrangement works well and I am appreciative of DPMC’s continued support.
The other major provider of support is DSD which maintains the internal secure computer network systems within the office. I would like to record my thanks for DSD’s continued assistance.
Corporate governance
The office has an Audit Committee chaired by myself and which also includes an external member from DPMC. The committee considers corporate governance issues such as internal and external audit findings, fraud and risk management, occupational health and safety, and significant financial issues.
The small size of the office lends itself to a collegiate approach to dealing with workplace issues. Whole of agency meetings are held frequently and all staff have direct access to me on a daily basis.
Disaster recovery plan/business continuity plan
The office has its own disaster recovery/business continuity plan to ensure the continued operation of the office in the event of a disaster. This plan is reviewed periodically to ensure its currency.
Fraud control
I am satisfied that OIGIS has in place appropriate fraud control mechanisms that meet the needs of the agency and comply with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines. A risk assessment was conducted during the reporting period and the office has a current Fraud Control Plan 2006–2008. There were no cases of suspected fraud in the reporting period.
Staffing and resources
There were a number of changes to the staffing composition of the office during the reporting period, relating to the staffing of two newly created positions.
Salary ranges are aligned with those under the DPMC certified agreement. Salaries are formally reviewed in June each year.
Composition of the office
During the reporting year positions were filled as follows:
- Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security
Mr Ian Carnell - Principal Investigation Officer
Mr Neville Bryan - Senior Investigation Officers
Ms Jane Trevor
Ms Samantha Clark (from 1 August 2005) - Senior Review Officers
Dr Yasmine Gray (from 19 January to 5 April 2006), and
Ms Lisa Buckingham (from 18 April 2006) - Personal Assistant to the Inspector-General
Ms Jodie Williams - Office Manager and Monitoring Officer
Ms Robyn Kelly
Performance pay
OIGIS staff have indicated that they do not wish to participate in a performance based pay scheme. Accordingly, no staff members were allocated performance based pay during the reporting period.
Workplace agreements
The Workplace Relations Act 1996 established a framework in which agencies are required to directly negotiate agreements on pay and conditions matters with their staff.
All staff have entered into individual Australian Workplace Agreements. These agreements are subject to periodic review.
Workplace diversity
In such a small workplace the background, skills, talents and viewpoints of each employee are recognised and highly valued.
The main objective of the office is to provide assurance that the intelligence and security agencies act legally, ethically and with propriety and regard to human rights. As such each member of my staff and I are committed to fostering and demonstrating such values within our own workplace.
Disability strategy
The office is committed to its responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Commonwealth Disability Strategy.
Occupational health and safety
During the reporting period the office signed a new agreement with SRC Solutions Pty Ltd which will facilitate, among other services, workplace and work space audits.
During the reporting period a number of recommendations were made as a result of work space and workplace inspections. The results of these inspections were reported to the office Audit Committee. All of these recommendations were addressed within the reporting period.
There were no incidents reported to Comcare Australia under the reporting requirements of section 68 of the Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991.
Under the SRC Solutions contract provisions, members of the office are able to participate in health week activities and the influenza vaccination program.
From time to time, DPMC offers organised exercise classes for staff which are also available to my office.
Management of human resources
The small size of the office necessitates that all staff be exposed to a variety of work and developmental activities. There are also annual staff performance assessment meetings at which development needs and how they can be met, are discussed.
Staff attend relevant courses and information sessions in line with these performance assessment discussions.
Purchasing
All procurement and purchasing activities conducted by the office were in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines.
Consultancy services
Generally a small number of consultants are engaged each year by the office on an as needed basis. Consultants are used where short term resources are inadequate or specialist expertise is required. Consultancy contracts tend to be low in value and short term in nature.
The security requirements of the office and the specialist nature of the consultancy work often means that consultants are directly sourced. Where the work is more general in nature the office will, where possible, access consultants selected by DPMC through an open tender or panel selection process.
During 2005–06 one new consultancy contract was entered into at an estimated cost of some $21 000. No payment was made for services performed under this contract in 2005–06. The end date for this contract is 31 December 2006.
The consultant has been engaged to conduct specialist operational audits. The selection method was direct sourcing with the consultant selected on the basis of experience, independence and specialist expertise in conducting similar audits.
There were no ongoing consultancy contracts which operated from 2004–05 into 2005–06.
In summary, there was no consultancy expenditure in 2005–06.
Consultancy expenditure for recent financial years was $9 038 in 2004 –05 and $24 900 in
2003–04. In addition in 2004–05 an adjustment totalling $690 was made in respect of consultancy work performed in 2002–03 and 2003–04.
A consultancy services table is at Annex 2. The office policy is set out above.
Contract services
Nexis Accountants was engaged to provide financial services in 2005–06 at a total value of $19 580 GST inclusive. In 2004–05 accountancy services were purchased to the value of $20 460. These services included the production of monthly and annual financial statements on actuals and bi-annual financial estimates.
Legal advice is obtained from the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) as required. Under the Legal Services Directions national security related legal work is tied to the AGS. In 2005–06 OIGIS paid for 10 separate AGS legal advices at a combined cost of $40 006 (2004–05: $6 689).
Competitive tendering and contracting
The office is not involved in competitive tendering and contracting (CTC). CTC activity relates only to the contracting out of the delivery of government activities previously performed by a government agency, to another organisation.
Energy saving measures
The office through its collocation with DPMC continues to benefit from that department’s commitment to energy saving measures. Trends in energy consumption for the DPMC building (inclusive of OIGIS office space) are contained in DPMC’s 2005–06 annual report.
OIGIS will be moving with DPMC to new premises in 2007. Details of the planned energy efficiencies of the new building’s design and recycling facilities are also contained in DPMC’s annual report.
The office uses an 80–20 (80 per cent recycled–20 per cent new/virgin paper) for photocopying, facsimile report and document printing and purchases recycled paper writing pads. Where possible documents are printed or reproduced double-sided (that is, using both sides of the paper). The empty toner cartridges from the unclassified facsimile are recycled. The office uses DPMC waste recycling services for all paper unclassified waste.
During the reporting period OIGIS did not have an office car.
Social justice: access and equity
As stated earlier, the OIGIS seeks to provide assurance that each of Australia’s intelligence and security agencies act legally, with propriety, and with regard to human rights. Respect for these fundamental principles fosters an awareness and appreciation of social justice issues.
Details of OIGIS community outreach activities are available in the “Year in Review” chapter of this report.
Internet presence
The IGIS website http://www.igis.gov.au provides information about the office, including copies of previous annual reports which include as annexes, publicly released reports on inquiries conducted and occasional statements about current activities.
Numerous inquiries about the work of the office are received via our e-mail facility info@igis.gov.au.
Occasionally members of the public use this facility to provide ‘tip-off’ information regarding suspicious persons and the like. In such cases we ordinarily pass this information on to the National Security Hotline (NSH).
The NSH is the appropriate body to process and handle such information in the first instance. The NSH can be reached by phoning 1800 123 400. This is a freecall for any person calling from within Australia. E-mail messages to NSH can be sent to hotline@nationalsecurity.gov.au.
The office also occasionally receives concerns about, or requests to investigate, suspect e-mails soliciting personal information or banking details. In most cases we advise that the e-mails in question are obviously part of a hoax or scam and can safely be ignored. In some cases the offending e-mail will be referred to the AFP’s High Tech Crime Centre.
Media
Intelligence matters continued to be very much to the fore during the period covered by this report. Not surprisingly there was intense media interest in some subjects in which the Inspector-General played a part or otherwise has a direct interest.
In cases where the fact that the IGIS is conducting an inquiry has been made public, in accordance with the IGIS Act the practice is not to discuss the particulars of that inquiry beyond process issues and the formal requirements of the IGIS Act.
International liaison
Details of foreign visitors to OIGIS and international cooperation are available in the “Year in Review” chapter of this report.
I plan to attend the fifth biennial conference of international intelligence oversight bodies in South Africa in 2006.
Advertising and market research
OIGIS incurred no expenditure on general advertising or advertising campaigns during the reporting period.
Freedom of information
This office is an exempt agency for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
External scrutiny
The office has again received an unqualified audit report from the ANAO in relation to its financial statements.
Further details of OIGIS interaction with parliamentary committees are available in the ‘Year in Review’ and the ‘Legislative Review’ chapters of this report.
Summary of the office’s financial performance and resources for outcomes.
The office has one outcome and one output.
| 2005-06 OUTCOME 1 |
2005-06 OUTPUT 1 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Revenue and Expenses | $ | $ |
| Operating revenues | ||
| Revenues from government (Budget and Additional Estimates Appropriations) | 1 124 000 | 1 124 000 |
| Other income (Resources received free of charge) | 72 925 | 72 925 |
| Total operating revenues | 1 196 925 | 1 196 925 |
| Operating expenses | ||
| Employees | 843 611 | 843 611 |
| Suppliers | 294 667 | 294 667 |
| Assets written-off | - | - |
| Net losses from sale of assets | 2 099 | 2 099 |
| Equipment depreciation | 35 902 | 35 902 |
| Total operating expenses | 1 176 279 | 1 176 279 |
| OPERATING RESULT | 20 646 | 20 646 |
In 2005–06, the office received an operating appropriation of $1.124 million as shown in the previous table. The 2005–06 funding allocation consisted of:
- - a Budget appropriation of $1 058 000, and
- - an Additional Estimates appropriation of $66 000.
The additional funding of $66 000 received in the 2005–06 Additional Estimates was the first part of a reallocation of a prior year’s capital funding to allow it to be used to meet increased operating expenses. To complete this reallocation the office handed back the original capital amount of $66 000 before financial year end.
The major components of 2005-06 expenditure were:
- - 72% employee expenses
- - 25% supplier expenses, and
- - 3% depreciation expense.
The 25% supplier expenses outlined above consist of:
- -- 60% other goods and services
- -- 24% resources received free of charge
- -- 15% payment to DPMC, and
- -- 1% Comcare premium.
The office realised a $20 646 operating surplus in 2005–06.