Page 3914 - Week 12 - Thursday, 29 October 2015
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The rest of the recommendations in the main are about how we look at risk. In recommendation 2 the committee recommends:
… that the ACT Government should investigate methods to introduce standard risk management practices across all Directorates in relation to funding for community services.
Recommendation 3 says:
… that the ACT Government should consider and review the use of standard reporting templates with a view to introducing a more consistent approach across Directorates in relation to performance monitoring and acquittal processes …
That is so that we understand we are getting the value for money that we determined. In recommendation 4 we say that the government should conduct an internal audit on how the services to the community are funded, within 12 months, and then create a schedule for future internal audits. In recommendation 5, the committee says that the government should update this Assembly, before we go into caretaker mode, about a plan for future developments on each directorate’s progress for managing the grant processes online.
With respect to the secretariat, the report started under Dr Cullen, who, as we all know, is on leave overseas. Ms Kate Harkins took over—thank you, Kate, for stepping into the breach—assisted by Greg Hall and Lydia Chung. I thank my colleagues, Ms Porter, Ms Lawder and Ms Fitzharris, for their efforts and the way they worked together to produce this report.
MS LAWDER (Brindabella) (5.32): I would like to make a few brief remarks on this report. As Mr Smyth said, this PAC inquiry looked at Auditor-General’s report No 8 of 2013—Management of funding for community services. It focused on the management of funding for community services by three directorates—the Health Directorate, the Community Services Directorate and the Economic Development Directorate.
The audit undertaken by the Auditor-General was aimed at providing an independent opinion on whether the selected directorates have efficient controls and procedures for managing funding of community services. It was good to see that the inquiry and the Auditor-General’s report found there were a couple of issues but overall that it was done adequately.
The funding that the ACT government provides to these essential community services organisations enables them to provide a range of services to the ACT community every day of the year. The successful management of that process is very important because those organisations provide services to the most vulnerable in our community. So the audit was important in assessing the efficiency of the government’s management of funding for community services.
There were five recommendations made by the committee. I am sure the government will look at those and make a response, and I hope they take them very seriously. I
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