Corporate and communication

Support from PMC and DSD

My office relies on the assistance of PMC in handling staff and other administration issues and in providing general support. This support is provided on the basis that we are a very small portfolio agency and collocated with PMC.

In 2006–07 the office made a $45 000 (GST exclusive) payment to the PMC in recognition of the increasing costs associated with the support provided to the office. The current arrangement works well and I am appreciative of PMC’s continued support.

On 16 February 2007 my office relocated with PMC to its new premises at One National Circuit Barton. In recognition of the additional costs associated with relocating our office, a one-off payment of $29 934 (GST exclusive) was made to PMC.

The other major provider of support to my office is DSD, which maintains the internal secure computer and communication 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 me and which also includes an external member from PMC. The committee considers corporate governance issues such as financial compliance, internal and external audit findings, fraud and risk management, occupational health and safety, and significant financial issues.

The expansion of the office has allowed me to engage an additional staff member who assists me in the overall corporate management of the office.

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.

The office has also been included in the PMC Pandemic Plan.

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. The office has a current Fraud Control Plan 2006-2008.

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 three newly created positions.

Salary ranges are aligned with those under the PMC collective agreement. Salaries are formally reviewed in June each year.

Composition of the office

During the reporting period positions were filled as follows:

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. 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

SRC Solutions Pty Ltd facilitated workplace inspections and prior to our office’s relocation, work space audits. While a work space inspection of the new premises did not take place during the reporting period, staff were encouraged to identify any occupational health and safety matters. As a result PMC were notified of a small number of matters. There was one outstanding item at the end of the reporting period. The issue related to a building fitting and PMC instigated a trial to ascertain the best long term solution. At the time of writing this report it is anticipated that the issue will be resolved shortly. No directions or notices were issued to my office under the Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991(as amended).

The results of workplace inspections were reported to the office Audit Committee.

There were no incidents reported to Comcare Australia under the reporting requirements of section 68 of the OH&S Act.

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, PMC 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 and contract services

The office has only a small need for consultancies and contracts each year. Information on expenditure on contracts and consultancies is available on the AusTender website <http://www.tenders.gov.au>.

Consultancies

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.

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 PMC through an open tender or panel selection process.

During 2006–07 one new consultancy contract was entered into. The end date for this contract is 30 June 2007 but that contract was extended for a further three months on 28 August 2007.

There was also an ongoing consultancy contract which operated from 2005–06 into 2006–07. Payments under these contracts for the 2006–07 financial year (including superannuation) totalled $42 292.

The same consultant was engaged for the above two contracts to conduct specialist operational audits and special project work. The selection method was direct sourcing with the consultant selected on the basis of experience, independence and specialist expertise in conducting similar audits.

In summary, there was $42 292 in consultancy expenditure in 2006–07. Note this expenditure included superannuation payments required under legislation.

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 2006–07 at a total value of $17 325 (GST inclusive). In 2005–06 accountancy services were purchased to the value of $19 580. These services included the production of monthly and annual financial statements on actuals and bi-annual financial estimates.

Legal services

Legal advice is obtained from the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS). In 2006–07 OIGIS paid for four separate AGS legal advices at a combined cost of $3 339 GST inclusive (2005–06: $40 006). My office did not engage any other solicitors or any counsel during the reporting period, and there are no internal legal services.

Energy saving measures

The office through its collocation with PMC continues to benefit from that Department’s commitment to energy saving measures. Due to the small size of my office, PMC does not separately measure the utilities used by OIGIS and provides these utilities free of charge. For this reason ecologically sustainable development and details of environmental performance are not addressed in this report. The new premises incorporate many energy efficiencies. Details of these measures are contained in PMC’s 2006–07 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 PMC waste recycling services for plastic, glass and unclassified paper waste.

During the reporting period the office leased a fleet vehicle with an overall green vehicle rating of three and a half stars (out of a possible five star rating).

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, ethically and with propriety. Respect for these fundamental principles fosters an awareness and appreciation of social justice issues.

The office brochure is now available in 16 languages (Arabic, Chinese – simplified, Chinese – traditional, English, Farsi, Filipino, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Pushto, Sinhalese, Spanish, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese).

Copies of these brochures are available on request from our office (individual and community group requests are welcomed), via the office’s website <http://www.igis.gov.au> and through some community centres. In addition the office accepts calls from members of the public accessing the Translation and Interpreting Service (through the Department of Immigration and Citizenship).

During the reporting period planning commenced to make the office’s website more user friendly, more user focused and offer better access to information.

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 IGIS 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.

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 – General Matters’ and the ‘Parliament and Legislation’ chapters of this report.

Summary of the office’s financial performance and resources for outcomes.

The office has one outcome and one output.

 

 

2006–07
Outcome 1

2006–07
Output 1

Revenue and Expenses

 

$

$

Operating revenues

 

 

 

 

Revenues from government (Budget and Additional Estimates Appropriations

1 485 000

1 485 000

 

Other income (Resources received free of charge)

93 000

93 000

Total operating revenues

 

1 578 000

1 578 000

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses

 

 

 

 

Employees

905 112

905 112

 

Suppliers

432 873

432 873

 

Assets written-off

-

-

 

Net losses from sale of assets

9 676

9 676

 

Equipment depreciation

28 743

28 743

Total operating expenses

 

1 376 404

1 376 404

OPERATING RESULT

 

201 596

201 596

In 2006–07, the office received an operating appropriation of $1.485 million as shown in the previous table. The major components of 2006–07 expenditure were:

The 32% supplier expenses outlined above consist of:

The office realised an operating surplus of $201 596 in 2006–07.

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