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The Australian Government Information Management Office Archive

Part 4 - Management and Accountability

Overview

This section sets out the management and accountability measures put in place to meet NOIE's new role and functions as an Executive Agency. With the attainment of Prescribed Agency Status, which takes effect 1 July 2001, NOIE will also take over responsibility for financial reporting. For this year, financial reporting remained the responsibility of the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (the Department) and the full set of NOIE's financial accounts are to be found in the Department's Annual Report.

The nature of the relationship between the Department and NOIE meant that it was more effective and efficient for NOIE to continue having many of its corporate services delivered by the Department. This enabled both the Department and NOIE to reap the same economies of scale in corporate services as it did prior to NOIE being established as an Executive Agency. The corporate services are delivered to NOIE under a Service Level Agreement and include: Human Resources, Legal, Parliamentary Coordination, Security, Budgeting Advice, and Property and Services.

NOIE's corporate area complements the services provided by the Department. In a practical sense, resources to form NOIE's own corporate branch were derived from the Administration units that formerly supported the constituent elements of NOIE when they were part of the Department. As a Prescribed Agency, there will be adjustments in the services provided by the Department over the year, in line with NOIE's new reporting responsibilities on financial matters. The Service Level Agreement has been structured to take account of changing circumstances in both agencies.

The task of establishing an independent agency is considerable. It was neither practical nor efficient in the timeframe to establish a completely new set of policies unique to NOIE. In the first instance, NOIE determined it would transfer the full set of the Department's corporate policies as the basis for going forward. These policies are being progressively reviewed over time, on an as needs basis, as part of NOIE's benchmarking and continuous improvement program, to ensure its policies set the optimal operating environment for a small agency.

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Corporate Governance

Senior Executives and their responsibilities

The Executive's role was to provide active and strategic leadership to the National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE). This involved responsibility for implementing the Government's overall policy directions and for ensuring that the Agency's structure, culture and resources were aligned to meet the Government's key priorities, outcome and outputs.

The Executive comprised:

• Mr John Rimmer, Chief Executive Officer;
• Dr Rod Badger, Deputy Chief Executive Officer;
• Mr Keith Besgrove, Acting Chief General Manager; and
• Mr Tim Field, Acting Chief General Manager.

Mr John Rimmer commenced duties with the Agency on 5 February 2001. He was appointed by, and is directly accountable to, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston.

Pursuant to the Public Service Act 1999, Mr Rimmer's management and accountability responsibilities are similar to that of a Departmental Secretary. He advises and assists the Minister to fulfil his obligations to Parliament, including accountability through the annual report process. He also provides the overall leadership to the Agency - by determining priorities and resource allocation across NOIE, and by driving organisational performance and high priority initiatives.

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Dr Rod Badger, acted as Chief Executive Officer from 18 October 2000 until Mr Rimmer took up duties. During this period, Dr Badger was responsible for the initial establishment phase of NOIE and, in particular, melding the three separate groups into a single entity. Dr Badger oversaw the achievement of Prescribed Agency Status.

Dr Badger's role as Deputy Chief Executive Officer is to assist the Chief Executive Officer with the overall operation of NOIE, playing a particular role with respect to corporate resources and Governance issues. Dr Badger also is the key interface with the Department, liaising on policy matters of common interest to both agencies and the Minister.

Two acting Chief General Managers, Mr Keith Besgrove and Mr Tim Field, were appointed to NOIE and were responsible for managing the overall delivery of the Agency's outputs through:

• communicating the Executive's expectations to Branches within their divisions;
• helping to shape the strategic direction of NOIE;
• championing effective corporate leadership and management;
• reporting to the Executive on policy and operational developments; and
• providing support to the Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, as required.

Organisational priorities

The Chief Executive Officer's first priority was to work with his executive to build a coherent and high performing organisation. After extensive consultations with external stakeholders, the Chief Executive Officer identified the need to articulate a more coherent framework for the information economy and for NOIE to engage stakeholders more actively in its agenda. This was accompanied by a review of the internal operations of NOIE, which focused on putting in place a structure that could produce a higher level of coordination of information economy issues.

The review revealed that NOIE needed to better capture the collective knowledge of the organization, and apply it across both e-Government and e-commerce issues. A major element in achieving this was to emphasise the role of Branches as the primary management unit. This gave General Managers more responsibility for the key day-to-day operations, while freeing Chief General Managers to take up broader responsibilities as part of the cross-organisational management executive team.

It was further determined that a third Chief General Manager position was required. Permanent filling of all three Chief General Manager positions was finalised in June. This resulted in the appointment of Mr Keith Besgrove, Mr John Grant and Mr Patrick Callioni (who was scheduled to take up duties in July 2001). A copy of the new organisational chart is at Appendix 1.

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Senior management committees and their roles

Executive Management Group

The Chief Governance Committee is the Executive Management Group. This comprises the Chief Executive Officer, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, all Chief General Managers, and the General Manager, Corporate and Governance. It is chaired by the Chief Executive Officer and meets fortnightly.

The Executive Management Group provides the highest level of collegiate decision-making in the Agency. It primarily addresses Agency-wide issues and is responsible for advising the Chief Executive Officer on matters of corporate governance, which includes:

• setting the strategic direction for the organisation;
• understanding and communicating roles and responsibilities;
• monitoring progress and altering direction as required; and
• reporting progress on performance to stakeholders.

Following its establishment, NOIE adopted a corporate governance framework based on the Government's resource management framework. This provides for the direction (through planning), the control environment and accountability needed to provide assurance to stakeholders that the agency is fulfilling its responsibilities with due diligence and accountability. The accountability framework includes the Annual Planning and Reporting Cycle as depicted at Figure 4.1 and the Corporate Governance Cycle as depicted at Figure 4.2 (Diagrams 1 and 2). Further details of the accountability framework are in Appendix 2.

The Executive Management Group is supplemented by meetings of all Senior Executive Service officers each alternate fortnight. These meetings provide a focus for an exchange of views on issues impacting across NOIE.

The Executive Management Group is supported by the Fraud, Audit and Evaluation Committee, the Workplace Consultative Committee and Agency Project Teams, which are each discussed separately below.

 

Fraud, Audit and Evaluation Committee

As an Executive Agency, NOIE's fraud and audit functions were addressed by the Department's Fraud, Audit and Evaluation Committee. The specific activities overseen by the Committee of relevance to NOIE are discussed under 'Internal Audit Arrangements' on page 60 of this report.

Under Prescribed Agency status, which is to take effect from 1 July 2001, NOIE will establish its own Fraud, Audit and Evaluation Committee with terms of reference according to the functions specified in the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.

Workplace Consultative Committee

As an Executive Agency, NOIE was required to put in place a Certified Agreement covering employment conditions of staff (see Certified Agreement under Management of Human Resources at page 63). The NOIE Certified Agreement 2000 took effect from 18 October 2000. The Certified Agreement required the establishment of a Workplace Consultative Committee (the Committee), which held its inaugural meeting in May 2001 (see Workplace Consultative Committee, Management of Human Resources on page 63).

The Committee comprises equal numbers of executive and employee representatives, and a representative of the Commonwealth Public Sector Union. The Executive membership includes the Chief Executive Officer, who chairs the Committee, a Chief General Manager, a Branch General Manager and the General Manager of Corporate and Governance Branch. Each Divisional group elected staff representatives.

The terms of reference for the Committee are to oversee the implementation of the current Certified Agreement, to gather input for NOIE's successor Agreement and to provide a forum for management to consult staff. The scope of its duties are to:

• ensure the Executive Management Group is informed of staff views on human resources and organisation development proposals;
• promote good workplace relations in NOIE;
• foster free and open communications;
• provide a forum for consultation and discussion between the executive and employee representatives, including resolution of differences in a mutually acceptable manner;
• facilitate mutual exchange of information and ideas; and
• oversee occupational health and safety issues.

The Committee's Charter is at Appendix 3.

Agency Project Teams

The Executive Management Group has provision to establish ad hoc project teams for fixed periods as required to address specific policy, program and organisational matters that are best dealt with outside of Branch responsibilities.

A joint inter-agency team involving NOIE and the Department was established to implement the ICT Centre of Excellence, which is a central element of the Government's Backing Australia's Ability initiative. The team was led by Dr Simon Pelling, who was seconded from the Department to NOIE. The day-to-day management of the team was part of NOIE's general activity. The team reported to a steering committee that comprised the Chief Executive Officer of NOIE and the Secretary of the Department.

Eight internal project teams were established as part of the outcomes of the strategic planning workshop, which is discussed below under the heading 'Corporate and operational plans and associated performance review'.

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Corporate and operational plans and associated performance review

Shortly after its establishment, NOIE developed a high-level, three year Strategic Plan that identifies key result areas and the specific strategies needed to achieve the Commonwealth Government's objectives for the Information Economy. It has a complementary annual Business Plan that details key priorities/initiatives, resources and performance indicators for 2000-2001. The Plans were underpinned by management of individual performance through the performance management system. Details of the operation of the performance management system are provided under 'Certified Agreement' on page 63.

A Strategic Planning Workshop was held in March 2001 to review the organisation's future direction and mode of operation. Staff at, and above, the Executive Level 2 attended the workshop.

Eight action items relating to policy, program and organisational matters were identified during the course of the workshop. Internal project teams were established following the workshop to manage each of these items. The project teams had responsibility for:

• reviewing target dates and resource priorities associated with the delivery of key Government priorities;
• developing a restatement of the Government's Strategic Direction Framework for the Information Economy;
• reviewing the effectiveness of the internal organisational structure;
• undertaking continuous improvement of corporate governance processes and mechanisms;
• developing processes for consulting stakeholders;
• developing a staff recruitment and staff development strategy;
• developing a knowledge sharing strategy; and
• reviewing information management within NOIE.

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Internal audit arrangements

Fraud and audit

The Department's Fraud, Audit and Evaluation Committee is accountable for promoting efficient, effective and ethical use of resources, by overseeing and providing guidance on audit, risk management, fraud control and evaluation activities. This involves advising the Secretary of the Department on the adequacy and effectiveness of administrative, operating, and accounting policies, and overseeing and appraising the quality of reviews conducted both by the Department's internal auditor (KPMG) and the Department's external auditor (the Australian National Audit Office). The Committee, which is chaired the Department's Secretary, is also responsible for monitoring and advising on the probity, compliance and internal control issues relating to NOIE's operations. NOIE's Deputy Chief Executive Officer is a member of the Committee. The Committee met three times during the year. Further details concerning the operation of the Department's Fraud and Audit Committee are contained in the Department's annual report.

The Department's contract with KPMG covers the provision of internal audit services to NOIE. KPMG conducted several audits in relation to NOIE. These included:

The internal auditor met separately with the Deputy Chief Executive Officer to determine specific activities for NOIE's internal audit and evaluation plans for 2001-2002.

Risk Management

NOIE undertook responsibility for establishing its own risk management policy framework. A NOIE Risk Management Policy and NOIE Risk Management Guidelines were developed for the organisation. These documents followed the Australian/New Zealand Standard for Risk Management: AS/NZS 4360:1999 and were approved by Comcover as meeting Australian Public Service requirements for Risk Management.

In addition, a high-level organisational Risk Management Plan was developed for the organisation. The Plan was well integrated with NOIE's strategic planning process, having been based on the planning workshop and the associated internal project teams discussed under 'Corporate and operational plans and associated performance review' on page 59.

Ethical standards

The National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) is strongly committed to supporting and promoting the Australian Public Service (APS) Values and Code of Conduct in accordance with the Public Service Act 1999.

Information about staff and managers' responsibilities under the APS Values and Code of Conduct was distributed to all staff and was included as part of the induction package for new recruits.

The APS Values and Codes of Conduct was integrated into the performance management process.

Remuneration for senior executive service officers

The Chief Executive Officer determines Senior Executive Service (SES) remuneration. In setting remuneration levels, consideration was given to NOIE and individual performance outcomes, market forces and the outcomes of the annual Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business' SES Remuneration Survey.

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External scrutiny

Judicial or administrative tribunal decisions

No judicial or administrative tribunal decisions had a significant impact on the operations of the National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) during financial year.

Ombudsman

In 2000-2001, the Ombudsman did not receive any complaints in relation to the National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE). The Ombudsman made no formal recommendations to NOIE or formal reports to the Minister under the provisions of the Ombudsman Act 1976. No recommendations for act of grace payments were made.

Auditor-General reports

The ANAO issued a number of reports in 2000-2001 that the Department (and NOIE under the Service Level Agreement) participated in or had a specific interest in. These are listed at Appendix 4.

Parliamentary committees

The Department, on behalf of NOIE, appeared before and made a submission to inquiry by parliamentary committees during the year. The inquiry is listed at Appendix 5.

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Management of Human Resources

Workforce planning, staff retention and turnover

A strategic planning workshop was held in March 2001 for Executive Level 2 and above (see 'Corporate and operational plans and associated performance review' on page 59). The workshop focused on the achievement of the National Office for the Information Economy's (NOIE) outcomes and outputs and, with respect to human resource management, the capacity of the organisation's workforce to contribute to these. A significant outcome from the workshop was the establishment of a project team that had responsibility for developing a staff recruitment and staff development strategy. This resulted in the development of a Human Resource Strategy, which focused on:

• retention of key staff;
• succession planning;
• the use of innovative recruitment practices; and
• the organisation's relationship with its outsourced provider.

A recruitment exercise was undertaken for various levels within the Senior Executive Service (SES) and bulk recruitment action was undertaken in the Press, website and the Australian Public Service Gazette for all non-SES levels. The recruitment exercises were accompanied by the organisational restructure described under 'Organisational priorities', 'Senior Executives and their responsibilities', with a view to positioning the organisation to deliver its future outcomes (see pages 51 & 52). The SES and their responsibilities as at 30 June 2000 included:

Details of SES changes during 2000-2001 are listed at Appendix 6.

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Staffing overview

NOIE had 171 ongoing and non-ongoing staff, as at 30 June 2001. Details on the composition of staff are detailed in Appendix 7. This includes: numbers of full and part time staff, numbers of staff according to classification and Equal Employment Opportunity statistics.

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Certified Agreement

A Certified Agreement 2000 was ratified by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission on 7 December 2000. It was negotiated between management, staff and Union, and nominally expires on 30 June 2002. The Certified Agreement covered 164 staff, with 32 of these under Australian Workplace Agreements.

The main features of the Certified Agreement covered:

• workplace consultation mechanisms between executive and staff;

• the achievement of high performance;

• the management of under-performance; and

• training.

Workplace consultation mechanisms

A Workplace Consultative Committee was established to provide a forum for management to consult staff on a range of workplace issues (see Workplace Consultative Committee, Senior Management Committees and their Roles on page 58). It has equal numbers of management and staff representation, with union representation. The main function of the Committee is to oversee compliance with the Certified Agreement and to work towards the development of a replacement Certified Agreement. The inaugural meeting of the Committee was held in May 2001.

Achievement of high performance

The Certified Agreement places increased emphasis on the achievement of high levels of performance across NOIE. This is through the provision of incentives and greater opportunities for leadership and management development. Staff were provided with the opportunity to be involved in the development of the Performance Management System, with the main features of the Certified Agreement related to performance. The benefits of the Agreement include:

• a base salary increase of 4 per cent, effective from 18 October 2000;
• a lump sum gross payment equivalent to 4 per cent of the employee's ordinary time earnings over the period 1 July 2000 to 17 October 2000;
• a lump sum gross payment of $400 to employees bound by the Agreement;
• a further base salary increase of 3 per cent paid from the first pay period commencing on or after 1 July 2001;
• revised salary structure available to staff from 1 July 2001;
• introduction of performance-based "Accelerated" salary advancement and performance-based incentive payments;
• performance management training for all staff;
• Leadership and Management Development programs for all Executive Level staff;
• training will be provided in Capital Cities in which NOIE employees are located;
• enhanced study assistance provisions;
• enhanced provisions relating to utilisation of flex credits;
• variation to the operation of the Flexible Working Hours Bandwidth;
• access to accrued Planned Leave prior to crediting date;
• streamlined underperformance process; and
• revised workplace consultation mechanisms for reviewing issues affecting employees and development of the next Certified Agreement.

Management of under-performance

The process for managing under-performance was streamlined, as were other matters related to general employment conditions.

Training and development strategies

A leadership and management training strategy was created for Executive Level 1 and Executive Level 2 staff. This was a requirement of Clause 31 of the Certified Agreement, which commits all Executive Level 1 and Executive Level 2 staff to participate in NOIE's Leadership Development Program. This is part of their Performance Agreements, where the demonstration of leadership attributes forms an integral part of their Performance Management assessment.

A consolidated list of residential programs was put together and distributed to senior management for consideration. These courses were available to eligible staff, dependent on approvals and budgetary constraints. The main courses included the Mt Eliza five-day residential program and the Public Service and Merit Protection Commission (PSMPC) four-day residential program.

A Training Register, which lists relevant work/business-related training for all staff, was provided online. Courses covers core functions such as research and analysis, corporate and governance, policy coordination and PCMS are arranged and provided by the Department with the assistance of external providers, under the Service Level Agreement between the Department and NOIE. A full list of the subjects covered by training is at Appendix 9.

Training is generally arranged in response to demand identified through the performance management system. This involves an Individual Development Plan (IDP) component, where staff are assessed on an individual basis at least twice a year by Managers and staff.

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Australian Workplace Agreements

Thirty-two employees were covered by Australian Workplace Agreements (AWA):

• 13 Senior Executive Service (SES); and
• 22 non-SES.

Non-salary benefits

All non-SES employees on AWAs had access to the provisions of the Certified Agreement. They also had access to further salary benefits. The salary ranges of employees under AWAs are provided in Appendix 8.

The range of non-salary benefits available for employees covered by AWAs varies from Agreement to Agreement, but cover such items as:

• air lounge membership;
• professional memberships;
• information technology packages;
• enhanced professional development provisions; and
• access to performance-based payments.

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Performance pay

18 APS employees in the National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) received performance pay in financial year 2000-2001. The total aggregate bonus payment for NOIE totalled to $135,352.

A breakdown of employee classifications, total paid for each classification level, the average bonus payment at each classification level and the range of those payments is at Appendix 8.

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Occupational Health and Safety

The National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) recognises that achievement of its corporate goals is through healthy and productive employees. As a result, NOIE is committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment for all staff and contractors, in accordance with the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991.

Management and accountability

NOIE receives its Occupational Health and Safety services from the Department under the Service Level Agreement. With respect to the establishment and maintenance of appropriate ethical standards, NOIE has operated under the same policies as the Department, including:

• procedures for Determining Breaches of Code of Conduct, which was adopted from the Public Service and Merit Protection Commission Guidelines;
• a Workplace Diversity Program, which is currently being reviewed by the Department; and
• a Policy and Guidelines for Dealing with Harassment in the Workplace.

The Department commenced a revision of its Occupational Health and Safety Policies in consultation with NOIE through its Workplace Consultative Committee. Discussions are expected to take place shortly with staff and union associations.

As some of the Committee members have left the organisation, the Department is revising membership of its Committee to ensure that the appropriate parties are involved. Following update of policies, elections for the next Occupational Health and Safety representatives can be conducted.

Occupational Health and Safety performance

The Department utilised SRC Solutions to provide the following OH&S services to NOIE:

• advice on all aspects of occupational health and safety relating to policy and procedures;
• workstation assessments on request, including recommendations on equipment, information on correct work practices and procedures, and advice on ergonomic practices;
• occupational health and safety audits;
• accident and injury investigation and reporting; and
• rehabilitation and case management.

OH&S performance under the contract for NOIE included:

• a 98 per cent return to work rate since the commencement of the contract;
• approximately 100 workstation assessments during 2000-2001;
• management of approximately 15 compensation claims at any given time. Of these, all, with the exception of two staff, are at work, with most being on full duties and full hours; and
• five staff are being managed on a Graduated Return to Work Program, with Rehabilitation Providers and monitored by the Case Manager. It is expected that these staff will be successfully returned to pre-injury duties and hours in the near future.

There have been no incidents that have required the giving of notice under Section 68.

There have been nil investigations conducted during the year that relate to undertakings carried on by the employer.

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Commonwealth Disability Strategy

The Commonwealth Disability Strategy (the Strategy) was introduced in 1994 as a ten year planning framework to assist Commonwealth agencies to meet their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act (Commonwealth) 1992. (See Commonwealth Disability Strategy on page 69).

As an employer, NOIE had a policy of a discrimination free workplace. This was reinforced in the Values and Behaviours Framework and the workplace diversity program. A complaints and grievance mechanism was outlined in NOIE's Certified Agreement. This was supplemented by Human Resource counselling services and Employees Assistance Program (EAP).

NOIE received human resource services from the Department under the Service Level Agreement. The Department expects to collect relevant data in 2001-2002. NOIE will review the specific performance indicators in consultation with the Department.

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Purchasing policies and principles

Policy

The purchasing policies and principles are based on the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines, including:

• value for money;
• open and effective competition;
• ethics and fair dealing;
• promoting national competitiveness and developing industry;
• supporting other Commonwealth policies; and
• accountability and reporting.

NOIE advertises public tenders in the press, on the Commonwealth Electronic Tender System (CETS) website, and in the Purchasing and Disposals Gazette, and publishes forward procurement plans to assist entry for new suppliers and small to medium business enterprises.

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Performance

NOIE performed well against these policies and principles during the 2000-2001 financial year.

The Department's centralised contracts unit provides support to NOIE in relation to tendering and arranging contracts. This ensures that:

• staff have access to a single contact point when seeking advice on tendering and arranging contracts;
• timely and helpful advice and support is provided in relation to arranging and administering contracts, while ensuring that accountability requirements are met;
• consistent policies and practices are disseminated; and
• better practice is drawn together and continuous improvement is encouraged across the organisation.

Staff are provided with risk guidelines and advice on how to identify whether a contract will be high or low risk. Projects with a high risk profile receive more input from the contracts unit. The inclusion of a risk matrix in the procurement guidelines encourages adequate consideration of risk in contract management and provides a consistent framework for assessment of risk factors.

Project officers use a consultancy checklist to answer a series of questions and forward the responses to the contracts unit. The checklist assists in ensuring key issues are addressed during the preparation of the specification, selection of the consultant and assessment of performance. The checklist encourages effective contract management by focusing attention on matters of importance, providing a formal reporting discipline for project officers and their managers and ensuring consistent provision of information to the contracts unit for monitoring purposes.

Contract documentation has been rewritten to accord with current best practice. Procedures relevant to contracting for consultancies are currently under review by DCITA with a view to streamlining tendering and contracting processes.

Training courses covering procurement policies and principles and project management have been conducted.

In 2000-2001, NOIE let a total of 41 consultancy services contracts. The total expenditure on consultancy services during the financial year was $1 628 881. These figures include contracts let from 1 July 2000 to 19 October 2000 by the Department, that related to matters that are now within NOIE's responsibility. See Appendix 10 for the list of contracts during 2000-2001.

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Competitive Tendering and Contracting

Following its establishment as an Executive Agency, NOIE reached a Service Level Agreement with the Department for the provision of a range of corporate services to NOIE. No corporate functions provided by the Department are duplicated in NOIE.

The Department undertook market testing of several services it provided to NOIE under the Service Level Agreement, including Property Management, Offices Services, Financial Management Services and Human Resources Services. Requests for tender were released in September 2000 to organisations short-listed from an expression of interest conducted earlier.

It was decided in December 2000 that the Department would retain the delivery of Property Management and Office Services. A decision to retain Financial Management Services within the Department was made in March 2001. These services continued to be provided to NOIE under the Service Level Agreement.

It was decided to outsource Human Resources Services, with contract negotiations commencing with The Empower Group in March 2001. As part of the service delivery The Empower Group will be implementing a new Human Resources Management Information System to replace the PERSPECT System. Human Resources Services will be provided to NOIE by The Empower Group under the Service Level Agreement.

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Commonwealth Disability Strategy

The Commonwealth Disability Strategy (the Strategy) was introduced in 1994 as a ten year planning framework to assist Commonwealth agencies meet their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act (Commonwealth) 1992.

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Access to online services of Commonwealth government agencies

NOIE made a direct contribution to the achievement of the Government's goals for the Strategy, with respect to NOIE's responsibilities relating to the provision of Government services online. In the Investing for Growth policy statement released in 1997, the Prime Minister committed the Federal Government to deliver all appropriate services electronically on the Internet by December 2001.

To that end, the Government announced the Government Online Strategy - a national framework to facilitate the delivery of Federal Government services via the Internet. It is the responsibility of each Federal Government agency to determine which of their services can be appropriately delivered via the Internet. NOIE oversees the implementation of the Strategy. Through Online surveys, NOIE monitors progress by agencies in implementing all elements of the strategy, including meeting accessibility requirements.

The Government Online Strategy provides a tremendous opportunity to reach out to people with disabilities. However, many could be excluded from Government Online if website design does not recognise the special online requirements of this group. Similarly, people who have low speed Internet connections (or other technical limitations in accessing information online) can be disenfranchised if websites are designed without any allowance for their limited access to bandwidth.

Commonwealth agencies are already obliged by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 to ensure that online information and services are accessible to all. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) has responsibility to ensure that Commonwealth websites are accessible to all.

From 1 June 2000, it was agreed that all websites were to be tested by agencies for accessibility, and all new website contracts were to include accessibility as a key performance measure. By 1 December 2000, all websites were to follow the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) guidelines to a sufficient extent that they pass recognised tests of accessibility.

The Online Council agreed in June 2000 to the adoption of the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines as the common best practice standard for all Australian government websites. Adoption of common standards by all Australian governments will promote the confidence of users in online services, and the accessibility of online government information and services.

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Accessibility to NOIE websites

The NOIE websites aim to conform to best practice and current Commonwealth guidelines in terms of website accessibility.

The quality assurance system within the NOIE website content production process incorporates a number of methods to improve and monitor the accessibility of NOIE web pages. This includes:

• regular testing of page conformance with W3C accessibility guidelines using tools such as Bobby and other automated checkers;
• use by NOIE web authors of page templates that conform to accessibility standards; and
• clear specification of accessibility requirements within the NOIE Online Style Guide.

An encouraging feature in relation to the accessibility of the NOIE sites, evident from site statistics, is the strong proportion of site visitors using browsing tools commonly used by people with disabilities.

As part of its provision of corporate services to NOIE, the Department has accepted responsibility for the preparation of an online action plan for NOIE, under the Service Level Agreement. While the current Departmental Online Action Plan, prepared in September 2000, does presently include NOIE, this Online Action Plan is being re-developed to reflect new agency arrangements.

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Client Service Charter

The National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) adopted a Service Charter, in line with the Government's commitment for Commonwealth agencies to deliver high quality services to customers.

The Service Charter explains the standard of service delivery that NOIE's clients can expect. The standards go beyond general contact and communication with clients to cover the full range of services provided by the Agency, including:

• development and review of policy and legislation;
• administration of programs; and
• contract management with respect to contractors, consultants and suppliers.

The establishment of service delivery standards will enable NOIE's performance to be benchmarked and monitored for improvements in performance over time. This will be accompanied by an internal annual review - with an external review in 2004 - to ensure ongoing relevance and effectiveness.

The Service Charter outlines the entitlements of NOIE's clients, including the steps that can be taken if NOIE's service standards are not met. A Client Service Manager was appointed and a Committee established to handle and investigate customer complaints. Feedback can be provided through NOIE's website. NOIE did not receive any complaints.

The Charter can be accessed on the Agency's website at www.noie.gov.au/about.