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IGIS Annual Report 1999-00 |
IGIS Annual Report 1999-00
MANAGEMENT OF THE OFFICE
308. As a very small agency, the office relies on the assistance of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) 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 PM&C. The arrangement works well and I am grateful to PM&C for their continued support.
309. The other major provider of support is DSD which maintains the secure computer network system within the office. This system has been upgraded to meet year 2000 compliance. I would like to record my thanks for DSD's continued assistance.
Outcomes and outputs
310. The office is committed to maintaining the outcome for the office which is to create an environment in which Australia's intelligence agencies act legally, ethically and with propriety.
311. The Agency outcomes and outputs are an integral part of the accrual budgetary structure and are outlined in detail in the current Portfolio Budget Statements.
Staffing and resources
312. 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.
313. Ms Jane Trevor returned to the office in October 1999, after an extended period of approved leave. Mr Richard Mills and Ms Amanda Cattermole were seconded from PM&C from July 1999 to December 1999 and from February 2000 to April 2000. I would like to thank both officers for the assistance they provided.
314. My staffing budget has remained static now for several years. I believe resources at this level are adequate to meet my responsibilities providing workload demands remain at a normal level and the cost of employing people does not rise significantly.
Composition of the office
315. During 1999-2000, positions in the office were filled as follows:
Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security
Mr Bill Blick PSMAssistant Inspector-General
Vacant
Principal Investigation Officer
Mr Neville Bryan
Senior Investigation Officer
Ms Jane Trevor (from 25 October 1999)
Personal Assistant to the Inspector-General
Ms Sandy Thomas
Administrative Assistant/Office Manager
Ms Robyn Kelly
Performance pay
316. No staff members were allocated performance pay during the reporting period.
Workplace agreements
317. 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.
318. All staff have entered into individual Australian Workplace Agreements.
Industrial democracy
319. 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
320. 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
321. All agencies are responsible for developing a workplace diversity plan and reporting progress on workplace diversity issues to the Public Service Commissioner.
322. Given the small size of the office, we have adopted PM&C's workplace diversity plan.
Occupational health and safety
323. The office is covered by the PM&C occupational health and safety plan. No incidents occurred during 1999-2000 that needed to be reported.
Disaster recovery/business continuity plan
324. 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
325. The office has an internet homepage, located at http://www.igis.gov.au.
326. 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. The site is updated when necessary.
Year 2000 compliance
327. All computer equipment in our office is 2000 compliant.
Fraud control
328. The office is covered by the PM&C fraud control plan
Training and development
329. During the year staff attended several courses or information sessions on such diverse subjects as intelligence, financial management issues, risk management and using updated computer software.
330. I place considerable weight on making relevant training opportunities available to staff. I will therefore be encouraging staff to make greater use of these opportunities as they arise.
Internal and external scrutiny
331. The office continues to meet all requirements for internal and external scrutiny of its finances and administration.
332. The office has again received an unqualified audit report from the Australian National Audit Office in relation to its financial statements.
333. During the year, I appeared before the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, which considered the office's estimates and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation.
Consultancy services
334. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu provided assistance with the preparation of the financial statements in last year's annual report, at a cost of $3000.
335. A consultant, Mr Anthony Blunn AO was engaged by the office in March this year to conduct an inquiry on behalf of the Inspector-General.
Advertising and market research
336. The office incurred no expenditure on general advertising or advertising campaigns during the reporting period.
337. The office was part of a cluster formed by the portfolio agencies to market test banking services.
Freedom of information
338. The office is an exempt agency for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.