IGIS Annual Report 1998-99

MANAGEMENT OF THE OFFICE

174. As a very small agency, the office has traditionally relied on PM&C for general administrative support. This support has been provided because we are a portfolio agency, we are physically co-located with PM&C, and there are insufficient economies to justify an alternative approach.

175. The other major provider of support is DSD, which has set up and maintains a secure local area network (LAN) in the office. I am grateful for the continued support of DSD, which ensures that the LAN is both operational and year 2000 compliant. DSD also provides us with on-line access to Australian intelligence community information.

Staffing and Resources

176. Staffing in the office remained reasonably stable during the reporting period, as is reflected in the section, below, which deals with the composition of the office.

177. The only changes of note related to Ms Trevor proceeding on an extended period of approved leave in September 1998, and the secondment of Mr Steven Pinhorn, from ONA, for six weeks from late May 1999.

178. I am grateful to the Director-General of ONA for agreeing to
Mr Pinhorn's secondment and to Mr Pinhorn for the assistance he provided.

179. In overall terms the office's staffing budget has remained static now for several years. Resources at this level are adequate in the absence of unusual workload demands.

Composition of the office

180. During 1997-98, positions in OIGIS were filled as follows:

Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security

Mr Bill Blick PSM

Assistant Inspector-General

vacant

Principal Investigation Officer

Mr Neville Bryan

Senior Investigation Officers

Ms Jane Trevor (until 2 September 1998)
Mr Stephen Pinhorn (from 26 May 1999)

Personal Assistant to the Inspector-General

Ms Sandy Thomas

Administrative Assistant/Office Manager

Ms Robyn Kelly

Performance Pay

181. One staff member was allocated performance pay during the 1998-99 reporting period.

Workplace Agreements

182. 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.

183. All staff have entered into individual Australian Workplace Agreements.

Industrial Democracy

184. The small size of the office lends itself to a 'collegiate' style 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.

Social Justice: Access and Equity

185. The Inspector-General oversees the activities of Australia's intelligence community to ensure that each agency acts legally, with propriety, and with appropriate regard to human rights. Respect for these fundamental principles fosters an awareness and appreciation of social justice issues.

Workplace Diversity

186. All agencies are responsible for developing a workplace diversity plan and reporting progress on workplace diversity issues to the Public Service Commissioner.

187. Given the small size of the office, we have adopted PM&C's workplace diversity plan.

Occupational Health and Safety

188. The office is covered by the PM&C occupational health and safety plan. No incidents occurred during 1998-99 that needed to be reported.

Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Plan

189. The office developed its own disaster recovery/business continuity plan in May 1997 to ensure the continued operation of the office in the event of a catastrophic disaster. This plan is reviewed periodically to ensure its currency.

Communications Strategy

190. The office's "shop window" to the world is provided via our Internet homepage, which is located at < http://www.igis.gov.au >.

191. The site features general information about the role and functions of the office, an archive of our annual reports, statements of public interest, links to relevant legislation, and links to other government sites of interest.

192. As discussed elsewhere in this report, I also appeared on the Sunday television current affairs program on 23 May 1999.

Year 2000 Compliance

193. As previously mentioned, the office operates a secure LAN which is maintained by DSD. The office also has access to the PM&C network, for administrative purposes.

194. All computer equipment in our office is 2000 compliant.

Fraud Control

195. The office is covered by the fraud control plan of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Training and Development

196. During the year staff attended several courses or information sessions on such diverse subjects as intelligence, financial management, accrual accounting, and using new computer software.

Internal and External Scrutiny

197. The office continues to meet all requirements for internal and external scrutiny of its finances and administration.

198. The office has again received an unqualified audit report from the Australian National Audit Office in relation to its financial statements.

199. During the year, I appeared before the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, which considered the Office's estimates.

200. The Commonwealth and Defence Force Ombudsman, Mr Ron McLeod, as Acting Inspector-General, represented the office before the Parliamentary Joint Committee on ASIO, when the committee took evidence on the ASIO Legislation Amendment Bill 1999, in April 1999.

Consultancy Services

201. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu provided assistance with the preparation of the financial statements in last year's annual report, at a cost in the range between $2000 and $3000.

Advertising and Market Research

202. The office incurred no expenditure on general advertising during the reporting period.

203. The office undertook no market research and no advertising campaigns during the reporting period.

Freedom of Information

204. This office is an exempt agency for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act.

 

1998-99