Department of Premier and Cabinet Annual Report 2021-22

As Victoria’s First Minister’s department, the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) provides strategic leadership across the Victorian public service through its guidance and coordination of whole of government policy and performance.

Since 2020, there have been changes in how we live and work that have impacted us all — as individuals, as a community and as a public service.

In this context, DPC continues to demonstrate excellence through its delivery of strong policy outcomes. During 2021–22 this has been evident in our response to the persistent challenges of COVID-19 and the ongoing work to support the recovery and revitalisation of Victoria’s economy, industry, and communities.

In close partnership with the Department of Health, DPC has advised on significant investment in Victoria’s health system, to ensure it remains strong even in the face of the sustained peaks caused by COVID-19.

Supporting Victoria’s economic revitalisation has also seen DPC providing advice and coordination on the delivery of major infrastructure projects, new planning processes for state projects and a suite of other economic recovery initiatives.

DPC has also achieved major milestones for a number of key government policy commitments and reforms such as the establishment on 1 July 2021 of Wage Inspectorate Victoria as a statutory authority. Since then, Wage Inspectorate Victoria has worked to protect the safety and welfare of children working in Victoria, and a range of fundamental employment rights of workers and employees in Victoria.

Looking more broadly, following its establishment within DPC in April 2021, the First Peoples–State Relations group has been foundational to DPC’s support for First Peoples in Victoria to be strong and self-determining. This includes through participation in negotiations with the democratically elected First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, and leading whole of government reforms to progress the government’s commitment to treaty. First Peoples–State Relations has also provided leadership and coordination on the whole of government response to the historic Yoorrook Justice Commission since the Commission’s establishment in May 2021.

Another key pillar of our work is to uphold and improve the standards of professional public administration.

Changes in previous years to the way the public service works have now become enduring features, reflecting our capacity to adapt to a rapidly evolving environment. I am proud to see the public service embedding practices that ensure modern, responsive, innovative and collaborative delivery, reflecting the experiences of all Victorians.

DPC’s whole of government leadership has also been evident in the digital transition of services and supports to enable evidence-based policy making and the provision of safer, more efficient and accessible government services. Digital Victoria’s leadership of this transition in 2021–22 culminated with the release of the Victorian Government Digital Strategy 2021–2026. This strategy outlines whole of government objectives to create better, fairer and more accessible services, a digital-ready public sector and a thriving digital economy.

The Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel has continued to excel in its provision of legislative services, critical to progress government reforms, while also working with Digital Victoria to improve its project management practices and systems.

These improvements across the breadth of public administration have been achieved with a view to efficiency and effectiveness. Together with the Department of Treasury and Finance, DPC has provided advice to the government on the implementation of a range of budget efficiency initiatives to ensure the provision of government services to Victorians remains economical and delivers strong public value.

I look forward to the privilege of continuing to work alongside my colleagues at DPC and the Victorian Secretaries’ Board, to lead a department and a public service always committed to improving outcomes for all Victorians.

Jeremi Moule
Secretary

Our vision

The Department of Premier and Cabinet’s (DPC) vision is to be a recognised and respected leader in whole of Victorian Government policy and performance.

Our mission

DPC’s mission is to support the people of Victoria by:

• helping government achieve its strategic objectives
• providing leadership to the public sector to improve its effectiveness
• promoting collaboration across government to drive performance and improve outcomes.

DPC supports the Victorian Government’s commitment to a stronger, fairer, better Victoria by promoting excellence in government service delivery and reform.

Our values

DPC upholds the public sector values as outlined in the Public Administration Act 2004.

Responsiveness

• Providing frank, impartial and timely advice to the government
• Providing high-quality services to the Victorian community
• Identifying and promoting best practice

Integrity

• Being honest, open and transparent in our dealings
• Using powers responsibly
• Reporting improper conduct
• Avoiding any real or apparent conflicts of interest
• Striving to earn and sustain public trust of a high level

Impartiality

• Making decisions and providing advice on merit without bias, caprice, favouritism or self-interest
• Acting fairly by objectively considering all relevant facts and applying fair criteria
• Implementing government policies and programs equitably

Accountability

• Working to clear objectives in a transparent manner
• Accepting responsibility for our decisions and actions
• Seeking to achieve best use of resources
• Submitting ourselves to appropriate scrutiny

Respect

• Treating others fairly and objectively
• Ensuring freedom from discrimination, harassment and bullying
• Using others’ views to improve outcomes on an ongoing basis

Leadership

• Actively implementing, promoting and supporting these values

Commitment to human rights

• Making decisions and providing advice consistent with the human rights set out in the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006
• Actively implementing, promoting and supporting human rights

Our objectives

DPC’s objectives are as follows.

Strong policy outcomes

• Pursue policy and service delivery excellence and reform
• Lead the public sector response to significant state issues, policy challenges and projects
• Support the effective administration of government

First Peoples in Victoria are strong and self-determining

• Improve outcomes and services for First Peoples through prioritising actions to enable self-determination, including advancing treaty, protecting and promoting cultural rights and conducting a truth telling process
• Address trauma and support healing; address racism established through colonisation
• Provide culturally safe systems and services; and transfer power and resources to communities

Professional public administration

• Foster and promote a high-performing public service
• Ensure effective whole of government performance and outcomes
• Protect the values of good public governance, integrity and accountability in support of public trust

Premier of Victoria

The Hon Daniel Andrews MP

The Premier is Victoria’s head of government. DPC advises and supports the Premier and his portfolio.

The Premier is the main channel of communication between the Governor, as Head of State, and Cabinet, and between the Victorian Government and other state and territory governments.

The following DPC entities are part of the Premier’s portfolio:

• Office of the Governor
• Breakthrough Victoria Pty Ltd.

Contact details

1 Treasury Place
East Melbourne VIC 3002
Email: daniel.andrews@parliament.vic.gov.au
Website: www.premier.vic.gov.au

Minister for Government Services

The Hon Danny Pearson MP

DPC advises and supports the Minister for Government Services and his portfolio, which includes Digital Victoria and public sector administration and reform.

The Minister for Government Services is also responsible for the following DPC portfolio entities:

• Cenitex
• Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel
• Office of the Victorian Government Architect
• Public Record Office Victoria
• Service Victoria
• Victorian Electoral Commission
• Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal
• Victorian Public Sector Commission.

In addition to his DPC responsibilities, Minister Pearson is the Minister for Housing, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Regulatory Reform.

Contact details

1 Treasury Place
East Melbourne VIC 3002
Email: danny.pearson@parliament.vic.gov.au
Website: www.dannypearson.com.au

Minister for Industrial Relations

Tim Pallas MP

DPC advises and supports the Minister for Industrial Relations and his portfolio. This includes Industrial Relations Victoria, which works towards achieving a positive working environment for all Victorians.

The Minister for Industrial Relations is also responsible for the following DPC portfolio entities:

• Labour Hire Authority
• Portable Long Service Authority
• Wage Inspectorate Victoria.

In addition to his DPC responsibilities, Minister Pallas is the Treasurer, the Minister for Economic Development and the Minister for Trade.

Contact details

1 Treasury Place
East Melbourne VIC 3002
Email: tim.pallas@parliament.vic.gov.au
Website: www.timpallas.com.au

Minister for Treaty and First Peoples

Gabrielle Williams MP

DPC advises and supports the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples* and her portfolio. This includes oversight of First Peoples–State Relations, which focuses on promoting cultural rights, self-determination, treaty and truth.

The Minister for Treaty and First Peoples is also responsible for the following DPC portfolio entity:

• Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council.

In addition to her DPC responsibilities, Minister Williams is the Minister for Mental Health.

Contact details

50 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Email: gabrielle.williams@parliament.vic.gov.au
Website: www.gabriellewilliams.com.au

Other officials

Mr Steve McGhie, Cabinet Secretary

DPC’s Cabinet Office provides support to the Cabinet Secretary for the operations of the Cabinet process and supports the Cabinet Secretary in his role.

Contact details

Email: steve.mcghie@parliament.vic.gov.au
Website: www.stevemcghie.com.au

The Hon Sonya Kilkenny MP was the Cabinet Secretary until 27 June 2022, when she was appointed to the ministry.

Mr Nick Staikos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier

Mr Staikos assists the Premier with his portfolio responsibilities.

Contact details

Email: nick.staikos@parliament.vic.gov.au
Website: www.nickstaikos.com.au

The Hon Steve Dimopoulos MP was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier until 27 June 2022, when he was appointed to the ministry.

DPC as at 30 June 2022:

The Secretary is Jeremi Moule, who leads the department comprised of 7 groups and its associated entities and agencies.

Department of Premier and Cabinet

Secretary, Jeremi Moule

Office of the Secretary

Executive Director, Jane Gardam

Social Services Workforce Reform

Deputy Secretary, Sandy Pitcher

Delivery and Strategy

Executive Director, Marcus Walsh

Legal, Legislation & Governance

Deputy Secretary and General Counsel, Toby Hemming

Office of the General Counsel

Executive Director, Miriam Holmes

Governance

Executive Director, Jennifer Barton

Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal

Director, Nick Voukelatos

Diversity on Boards

Executive Director, Vicky Hudson

Digital Victoria

Chief Executive Officer, Michael McNamara

Digital

Deputy CEO and Chief Digital Officer, Lisa Tepper

Cyber Security

Chief Information Security Officer, John O’Driscoll

Strategy and Performance

Chief of Strategy and Operations, Suzanne Aitken

Technology and Transformation

Chief Technology Officer, Luke Halliday

Victorian Centre for Data Insights

A/Chief Data Officer, David Cullen

Cabinet, Communications & Corporate

Deputy Secretary, Vivien Allimonos

Cabinet Office

Executive Director, Rachel Cowling

Corporate Services

Executive Director, Genevieve Dolan

Corporate Governance

Director, Evelyn Loh

Strategic Communications, Engagement and Protocol

Chief Communications Officer and Chief of Protocol, Fin Bird

Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations

Deputy Secretary, Kate Houghton

COVID-19 Coordination & Performance / Education / Social Recovery, Families, Fairness & Housing

Executive Director, Lucy Toovey

Health / Mental Health

Executive Director, Ross Broad

Intergovernmental Strategy

Executive Director, Lauren Kaerger

Justice / Community Security and Emergency Management

Executive Director, Emma Catford

Office of Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor

Director, Shasta Holland

Economic Policy and State Productivity

Deputy Secretary, Tim Ada

Economic Development and International

Executive Director, Rob Holland

Economic Strategy

Executive Director, Heather Ridley

Energy, Resources and Environment

Executive Director, Matt Minchin

Infrastructure, Planning and Major Projects

Executive Director, Andrew Witchard

First Peoples–State Relations

Deputy Secretary, Elly Patira

Self-Determination, Transformation and Policy

Executive Director, Ruth Barson

Traditional Owner Relationships and Heritage

Executive Director, Travis Lovett

Treaty Negotiations and Strategy

Lead Negotiators:

• David McAuley
• Shen Narayanasamy

Industrial Relations Victoria

Deputy Secretary, Matt O’Connor

Private Sector

Executive Director, Lissa Zass

Public Sector

Executive Director, Jesse Maddison

Portfolio entities

Administrative Offices

• Office of the Governor
• Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel
• Office of the Victorian Government Architect
• Public Record Office Victoria
• Service Victoria

Other entities

• Victorian Public Sector Commission

Special bodies

• Victorian Electoral Commission
• Electoral Boundaries Commission
• Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal

Public entities

• Breakthrough Victoria Fund Pty Ltd
• Cenitex
• Labour Hire Authority
• Portable Long Service Authority
• Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council
• Wage Inspectorate Victoria

Changes to the department during 2021–22

On 1 July 2021 Wage Inspectorate Victoria was transferred from DPC and established as a statutory entity following the appointment of its first commissioner. Wage Inspectorate Victoria promotes and enforces Victoria’s laws on wage theft and child employment, long service leave entitlements and owner driver, forestry contractor, hirer and freight broker obligations.

On 1 September 2021 the Public Sector Reform branch transferred from DPC to a DPC entity — the Victorian Public Sector Commission. Public Sector Reform was responsible for leading and coordinating work on major issues relating to the management and operations of the Victorian Government including the strategic direction and reform of the public sector and public sector performance.

On 28 February 2022 the Social Services Workforce Reform branch was established as a new project office within DPC to lead and coordinate whole of government reform efforts to support workforce development within the social services sector. The Social Services Workforce Reform project office focuses on addressing the challenges of training, recruiting and retaining the critical social services workers needed to deliver the government’s significant investments in prevention of family violence and mental health reforms, as well as reforms in child protection and family services, youth justice, housing and homelessness, early childhood and other areas.

Our groups

DPC consists of 7 groups:

• Legal, Legislation and Governance
• Digital Victoria
• Cabinet, Communications and Corporate
• Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations
• Economic Policy and State Productivity
• First Peoples–State Relations
• Industrial Relations Victoria.

Legal, Legislation and Governance

The Legal, Legislation and Governance group delivers public sector legal, legislation and governance expertise and combines the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) and the Governance branch.

OGC provides legal and policy advice, including in the areas of administrative, constitutional and corporate law. OGC’s policy focus is on issues in the Premier’s and the Minister for Government Services’ portfolios, principally in relation to Victoria’s public sector, electoral system and subordinate legislation. OGC advises on the government’s legislative agenda and supports DPC in developing legislative and regulatory proposals. It also manages the department’s freedom of information and privacy functions.

Governance branch unifies DPC’s efforts to promote good governance and public administration, high-quality decision and policymaking, government integrity and accountability, and trust in public institutions. It also supports the critical work of the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal.

Digital Victoria

Digital Victoria drives digital transformation across the Victorian Government to create better, fairer, more accessible services, a digital-ready public sector and a thriving digital economy. Digital Victoria launched the first Victorian Government Digital Strategy 2021–2026 in November 2021, setting a unified vision for a digital, thriving Victoria. As the steward of the whole of government digital agenda, Digital Victoria is building the foundations required to solve systemic whole of government or interdepartmental digital challenges and prepare the government to be future ready and digitally enabled for all Victorians. Digital Victoria comprises 5 branches: Digital; Cyber Security; Strategy and Performance; Technology and Transformation, and the Victorian Centre for Data Insights.

Cabinet, Communications and Corporate

The Cabinet, Communications and Corporate group provides services and Victorian public service-wide advice to support robust public administration and promote DPC’s role as the First Minister’s department. The group provides timely and practical guidance on the operation of Cabinet, Cabinet committees and the Executive Council. The group leads work to support DPC to meet integrity, financial accountability and institutional governance obligations to parliament and ministers and provides specialist communication, event, behavioural insights and protocol advice across government. The group also provides the operational backbone to DPC and its entities through finance; operations; people and culture; and procurement services and assistance.

Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations

The Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations group brings together social policy expertise by coordinating the state’s intergovernmental relations. The group provides policy advice on the following areas: health; mental health; education; skills and training; justice; community security and emergency management; and families, fairness and housing.

The group also leads oversight and coordination of intergovernmental advice, COVID-19 pandemic response efforts and the government’s response to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. It also supports the Office of the Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor.

Economic Policy and State Productivity

The Economic Policy and State Productivity group leads economic policy advice to the Premier. The group collaborates with relevant departments and agencies to support a coordinated whole of government approach to policy and projects in the areas of economic development and industry recovery; fiscal policy; regional and suburban development; local government; regulatory reform; consumer affairs; racing; workplace safety; creative industries; major events, tourism and sport; innovation; small business; employment; international engagement; infrastructure and planning; precincts; public transport; agriculture; resources; energy and climate change; and water and the environment.

First Peoples–State Relations

The First Peoples–State Relations group was established in April 2021 and is responsible for an extensive program of nation-leading work in the areas of cultural rights, self-determination, treaty and truth with First Peoples. The group recognises Victoria’s First Peoples as the self-determining drivers of Aboriginal affairs in Victoria and is committed to building ongoing, just and respectful relationships between self-determining First Peoples and the State.

Industrial Relations Victoria

Industrial Relations Victoria (IRV) provides strategic industrial relations legislative, policy and technical advice to government and departments. IRV engages with Victorian employers, employees and their representatives to support a positive industrial relations environment, and to advocate for fair and productive workplaces, secure work and gender pay equity. IRV also oversees industrial relations matters and enterprise bargaining policy and processes across the Victorian public sector. IRV comprises of the Private Sector Industrial Relations branch, the Public Sector Industrial Relations branch and the Office of the Deputy Secretary. IRV supports 3 portfolio entities: the Labour Hire Licensing Authority, the Portable Long Service Authority and Wage Inspectorate Victoria.

DPC’s senior executives

Secretary

Jeremi Moule was appointed as the Secretary of DPC in October 2020. Prior to this role, he was DPC’s Deputy Secretary of Governance Policy and Coordination, a position he held since August 2018.

Jeremi has held various executive positions in the Victorian and South Australian public services for more than 20 years. He started his career as a journalist and was the CEO of a registered training organisation. Jeremi lives in Bendigo and has worked extensively in regional Victoria.

He holds a journalism degree from the University of South Australia and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Deputy Secretary/General Counsel, Legal, Legislation and Governance

Toby Hemming was appointed as General Counsel in May 2018.

Toby has significant experience in the Victorian public sector, having held senior positions in organisations including the County Court of Victoria, the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority and the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority.

Toby holds degrees in the areas of law, arts and corporate governance. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has completed Executive Fellows programs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.

Chief Executive Officer, Digital Victoria

Michael McNamara was appointed CEO for Digital Victoria in September 2021.

Michael has more than 25 years of experience in the digital transformation paradigm. Prior to DPC, Michael was the Chief Information Officer and Deputy CEO for Services Australia where he was responsible for major digital transformation programs. Before joining the public sector, he had a lengthy private sector career supporting the likes of ANZ and other banking and energy providers to build and modernise their digital infrastructure. Michael was ranked in the top 10 in the CIO50 awards in 2021.

Deputy Secretary, Cabinet, Communications and Corporate

Vivien Allimonos is Deputy Secretary of Cabinet, Communications and Corporate. Vivien also acted as the Chief Executive Officer of Digital Victoria from March 2021 until September 2021. Prior to DPC, Vivien was the Chief Communications Officer at the Department of Education and Training. Vivien has more than 20 years of experience in public administration, with a focus on international affairs, trade and communications. She has held various executive positions in the Victorian and Australian public services as well as the US State Department. She holds an honours degree in commerce/arts from the University of Melbourne and was listed in IPAA Victoria’s Top 50 Public Sector Women 2020.

Deputy Secretary, Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations

Kate Houghton PSM was appointed as a Deputy Secretary in DPC in November 2018, initially looking after Social Policy and Aboriginal Affairs. In April 2021 Aboriginal Affairs became the separate First Peoples–State Relations group and Kate took on responsibility for intergovernmental relations.

Kate has led many teams across a variety of portfolios within the Victorian public service. Before joining DPC she was Deputy Secretary of Police and Crime Prevention at the then Department of Justice and Regulation. Kate spent many years working within the natural resources and environment portfolio. She led the Water and Catchments group as Deputy Secretary and the Environment Policy Division as Executive Director.

Kate has an honours degree in economics and a Master of Environment. She is also an IPAA Fellow. In the June 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, Kate was awarded the Public Service Medal in recognition of her contribution in support of Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputy Secretary, Economic Policy and State Productivity

Tim Ada began in the role of Deputy Secretary of Economic Policy and State Productivity in April 2019. Previously, Tim was Deputy Secretary at the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, where he was responsible for the strategic development of key industry sectors including manufacturing, life sciences, international education and delivering telecommunications and employment programs.

Tim has a Master of Agriculture Sciences from the University of Melbourne. He grew up in rural Victoria.

Chris Miller acted in the role of Deputy Secretary of Economic Policy and State Productivity from April to October 2021. Chris substantively served as Executive Director of the Infrastructure, Planning and Major Projects branch at DPC. Chris departed DPC in February 2022.

Deputy Secretary, First Peoples–State Relations

Elly Patira was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of First Peoples–State Relations in April 2021. Elly is a lawyer and policy adviser with broad experience across constitutional, Indigenous and minority rights law and policy, both domestically and internationally. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a JD (Juris Doctor) from the University of Melbourne and a Master of International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford. Elly has held various executive positions in the Treaty and First Peoples portfolio at DPC. She has previously worked as an academic, in the corporate sector, for Aboriginal organisations and as an adviser during the Fijian constitution-making process.

As Deputy Secretary, Elly is responsible for an extensive program of priority work with First Peoples in the areas of treaty, truth and transitional justice, self-determination and cultural rights and protection.

Deputy Secretary, Industrial Relations Victoria

Matt O’Connor was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of Industrial Relations Victoria in April 2015.

Matt has worked in the Victorian Government since 2003. He has overseen the development of significant industrial relations legislative policy reforms including wage theft, labour hire licensing, long service leave and child employment.

Matt provides strategic input on a range of whole of government industrial relations matters. He has overseen the government’s participation in significant legal proceedings in the Fair Work Commission, advocating for secure and fair employment through increases to the national minimum wage; paid family and domestic violence leave; and a minimum wage floor for piece rates in the horticultural award. He has also represented the Victorian Government in consultations with the Commonwealth Government on federal industrial relations legislative proposals including amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009.

Matt has steered the government’s public sector industrial relations strategy for several years and, more recently, played a pivotal role in developing enduring flexible working arrangements and managing COVID-19 workforce issues.

Deputy Secretary, Social Services Workforce Reform

Sandy Pitcher began as Deputy Secretary, Social Services Workforce Reform in February 2022. Sandy has around 15 years of executive experience across the Victorian, South Australian and Commonwealth public sectors as well as the Commission for Racial Equality in the UK. Sandy was the inaugural Secretary of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing in 2021, after co-leading the contact and case management COVID-19 response for Victoria from July 2020. She was the Secretary of the South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources from 2015 to 2018. Sandy has held a number of community and university board positions. She also had a stint in an ASX company from 2018 to 2019.

Sandy holds degrees in law and arts from Adelaide University and was appointed an IPAA National Fellow in 2013, as well as being awarded the National Telstra Businesswoman of the Year in 2012.

Administrative offices

Administrative offices are established and abolished through orders under section 11 of the Public Administration Act, and each is established in relation to a department.

DPC is responsible for the effective, efficient and economical management of the following administrative offices.

Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel

The Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel transforms policy into legislation and advises the government on its legislative program. The office is responsible for ensuring up-to-date public access to authoritative Victorian legislation. The Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel is also the Government Printer for Victoria, responsible for printing Victorian legislation.

Office of the Governor

The Office of the Governor supports the Governor of Victoria in carrying out all aspects of their official duties for the benefit of the Victorian community. It also maintains Government House and grounds as a unique heritage community asset. The Governor’s role includes constitutional and ceremonial duties, community and international engagement as well as official municipal, regional and overseas visits.

Office of the Victorian Government Architect

The Office of the Victorian Government Architect (OVGA) provides leadership and independent advice to government about architecture and urban design. OVGA puts quality of design at the centre of all conversations about the shape, nature and function of our cities, buildings and landscapes. OVGA’s activities include reviewing significant state and local government projects as well as commercial projects with a significant impact on the public. OVGA also leads on significant good-design initiatives and provides input, advice and advocacy on policies and issues of relevance to the Victorian Government.

Public Record Office Victoria

Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) maintains the archives of the State Government of Victoria, holding records dating from the mid-1830s to today. PROV manages these for use by the government and people of Victoria. PROV’s collection contains records of decisions, events, people and places that have shaped our history. PROV sets mandatory recordkeeping standards for state and local government agencies and provides support and advice on recordkeeping to government.

Service Victoria

Service Victoria is a whole of government service capability with responsibility for improving and modernising the way government transactions are delivered online.

Service Victoria brings together more than 80 government services into a central access point — the Service Victoria app and website — making it easier for Victorians to transact with government.

Service Victoria is responsible for implementing the Service Victoria Act 2018, which helped Victoria to become the first jurisdiction to offer Level of Assurance 3 online identity verification, which is the highest rigour possible online.

Other entities

DPC supports the Premier and its ministers in their responsibilities for the Victorian Public Sector Commission and the following special bodies and public entities.

Special bodies

Special bodies are defined in section 6 of the Public Administration Act and are created under separate legislation:

• Electoral Boundaries Commission
• Victorian Electoral Commission
• Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal.

Public entities

Public entities include statutory authorities, state-owned enterprises, state-owned corporations and formally constituted advisory boards that perform functions outside of the public service:

• Breakthrough Victoria Pty Ltd
• Cenitex
• Labour Hire Authority
• Portable Long Service Authority
• Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council
• Wage Inspectorate Victoria.

Key financial indicators from 2017–18 to 2021–22

The above table shows a summary of key financial indicators for DPC.

Notes:

(1) The increase in 2021–22 income and expenditure is mainly due to new government initiatives delivered during the year including digital vaccination certification, business licensing initiatives and the development of the Digital Victoria Marketplace. In addition, there is an increase associated with 2022 State Election readiness. Assets increased as a result of revaluation from formal valuation of property, plant and equipment. Department liabilities increased as a result of higher employee leave liabilities and provision for the early retirement packages announced during the year.

(2) The decrease in 2020–21 income and expenditure is mainly due to machinery of government changes where Fairer Victoria transferred from DPC to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing on 1 February 2021, and Bushfire Recovery Victoria transferred to the Department of Justice and Community Safety from 1 July 2020. An increase in assets is driven by asset revaluations. Transfer of employee and supplier liabilities to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing contributed to a decrease in liabilities.

(3) The increase in 2019–20 income and expenditure is mainly due to bushfire recovery activities and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. DPC’s assets decreased due to reductions in financial assets from the use of funding received in prior financial years and machinery of government decisions where functions were transferred from DPC.

(4) The increase in 2018–19 income and expenditure is mainly due to new government initiatives delivered during the year including Pick My Project, Multicultural Community Infrastructure programs and the Victorian Jobs and Investment Fund. Separately, there was increased income and expenditure due to the 2018 State Election. Assets increased due to investments in modernising DPC’s office spaces and further investments in Service Victoria’s digital services platform. DPC’s liabilities increased due to higher payables and employee liabilities because of growth and machinery of government transfers into DPC.

(5) The increase in income from transactions and an increase in expenses from transactions in 2017–18 relate to new government initiatives carried out during the year. Separately, the increase in total assets is mainly due to building Service Victoria's digital services platform.

Progress towards achieving departmental objectives

This section reports on the outcomes the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) achieved during the year against key initiatives and departmental objectives.

Departmental output changes during 2021–22

Following the transfer of departmental outputs to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing on 1 February 2021, DPC established a new departmental objective and made the following changes to its output structure in 2021–22.

Departmental objectives, indicators and linked outputs

DPC’s medium-term objectives, associated indicators and linked outputs as set out in the 2021–22 Victorian Budget Paper No. 3 — Service Delivery are shown below.

This objective pursues policy, service and administration excellence and reform. It leads the public sector response to significant state issues, policy challenges and projects. It supports the effective administration of government and the delivery of policy and projects that enable increased productivity and competitiveness in Victoria.

DPC’s outcomes on the following key initiatives have helped us achieve the ‘Strong policy outcomes’ strategic objective.

Provide support for core government systems and activities vital to the Victorian response to, and recovery from, the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 communications evolved throughout 2021–22 to promote self-protective decision making, supporting public health orders and integration with COVID-19 advertising campaigns.

Behavioural insights were further applied to communications and campaigns to encourage individuals and communities to take proactive steps to protect themselves and others against COVID-19, and to adhere to public health measures.

COVID-19 communications continued to ensure consistency of message, reinforced accessibility requirements, advocated for in-language communications for First Nations and culturally diverse audiences, and facilitated collaboration across departments to ensure coronavirus.vic.gov.au remained the central source of COVID-19 information.

The Public Sector Administration Committee (PSAC) met regularly during 2021–22 to consider a range of issues connected with ensuring the public service could continue to deliver core services through the pandemic.

PSAC coordinated advice to the Emergency Management Commissioner at the beginning of 2022 on risks to critical services in the face of rising COVID-19 case numbers due to the emergence of the Omicron variant. PSAC has been a central coordination point for developing and implementing the Victorian public service (VPS) approach to flexible working, including on matters such as COVIDSafe workspaces, staff wellbeing and vaccination policy.

Suburban Hubs have been established to support flexible and remote working for VPS staff. The Health, Safety and Wellbeing team provided audit and COVIDSafe compliance support to the project team while establishing and opening the hubs.

Supporting the government’s response to COVID-19

DPC has continued to support government decision making on Victoria’s approach to COVID-19 management, including at National Cabinet. DPC played a key role in coordinating and delivering strategic communications in year 2 of the pandemic and has worked with departments to provide advice on significant policy changes throughout 2021–22. The key COVID-19 measures that DPC supported throughout 2021–22 included: delivering COVID-19 vaccinations; implementing the Victorian vaccinated economy; changing quarantine requirements for international arrivals; delivering rapid antigen tests through testing sites, schools and early childhood education and care services; and continued engagement and support for at-risk and priority communities.

Throughout the year DPC continued to collaborate with the Department of Health (DH) to deliver equitable access to vaccinations for all eligible Victorians, particularly with the increased availability of booster doses in late 2021. Extension of state sites in early 2022 ensured Victorians had safe, efficient and easy access to vaccines as soon as they were eligible. Over time the vaccination program transitioned to be predominantly delivered through primary care settings, with Victoria continuing targeted engagement and outreach to support vaccination for at-risk and priority communities.

DPC worked closely with COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria and the Commonwealth Government to deliver the Victorian Quarantine Hub, which started accepting residents from February 2022 and provides a safe place for community members to self-isolate or quarantine.

DPC collaborated with DH to implement Victoria’s new pandemic management framework under Part 8A of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008. DPC briefed the Premier to consider making and extending the pandemic declaration and helped prepare reports to parliament as a key measure to promote transparency and accountability in relation to the government’s COVID-19 response. The reports are tabled in parliament and publish the Premier’s statement of reasons for making or extending a pandemic declaration. They also include advice from the Chief Health Officer and the Minister for Health in respect of the making or extending of the pandemic declaration. They summarise pandemic orders made, the public health risk powers and pandemic management powers exercised and the reasons for exercising those powers.

Supporting the Victorian Government to deliver improved health outcomes for Victorians in the context of unprecedented challenges

Working closely with DH, DPC plays a key role in ensuring the Victorian health system is prepared and supported to manage fluctuations in demand, including COVID-19 demand, across the state. This year DPC continued to provide advice to government on the investment and responses needed to respond to COVID-19, including supporting significant investments in workforce, hospital-based and primary care, critical infrastructure and equipment.

DPC has also worked closely with DH to support the recovery of Victoria’s health system — for example, the Victorian Government’s COVID Catch-Up Plan to address non-urgent surgery that had been deferred due to the pandemic.

Providing advice on current and future economic challenges and opportunities, including related to Victoria’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic

In 2021–22 DPC continued to work closely with the Department of Treasury and Finance and other departments to support the government’s economic recovery following COVID-19. This included advising on budget and fiscal strategy, industry recovery, employment, consumer affairs, local government, transport policy and infrastructure delivery. DPC also supported the Premier in the annual State Budget process and in implementing budget efficiency initiatives. Since the onset of COVID-19, DPC has actively supported the Victorian Government to identify and implement measures to assist businesses and individuals affected financially by the pandemic.

Advocate for Victoria’s interests in intergovernmental forums, including supporting the Premier at National Cabinet

In 2021–22 DPC led the provision of advice to the Premier and senior departmental officials to support their participation in a high volume of formal intergovernmental meetings. In the 12-month period DPC supported and coordinated strategic advice for more than 90 intergovernmental meetings. The highest number of meetings took place in the period from July 2021 to March 2022. Issues included vaccine rollout and implementation of the national plan for transitioning Australia’s response to COVID-19. This addressed recovery and financial measures to support workers and businesses.

DPC also provided strategic policy advice and collaborated across government to support the negotiation of key National Cabinet reform matters and priority portfolio agreements. These covered health, education and energy, maintaining a focus on Victorian priorities and maximising benefits to the Victorian community. In total, DPC helped negotiate more than 20 agreements including multilateral and bilateral Mental Health Agreements, Public Dental Services for Adults and the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children.

Ensure strategic decision-makers are supported in their efforts to strengthen the disaster resilience and security of all Victorians, including through implementing the recommendations of state and national reviews and inquiries

Through coordination and collaboration with all Victorian Government departments, DPC has continued to strengthen emergency management arrangements and to support a strong reform agenda in response to several reviews and inquiries. These included the Inspector-General for Emergency Management (IGEM) Inquiry into the 2019–20 Victorian Fire Season, IGEM’s Review of 10 Years of Reform in the Emergency Management Sector, the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry and the ESTA Capability and Service Review. DPC, in partnership with Emergency Management Victoria, also continues to work with other jurisdictions through the Australia–New Zealand Emergency Management Committee to strengthen disaster resilience.

Further in 2021–22 DPC supported national counterterrorism reforms through the Australia–New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee. DPC also supported reforms to tackle the early warning signs of radicalisation and violent and extremist behaviour, delivering on recommendations of the Expert Panel on Terrorism and Violent Extremism Prevention and Response Powers. DPC continued to provide protective security measures for government personnel and its information and physical assets through coordinating VPS personnel vetting and the Member of Parliament Protective Security Program.

Support the Victorian Government to deliver critical social policy reforms, including recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, continuing to strengthen the VET system, justice reforms, and continuing the rollout of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten

DPC has continued to support landmark social policy reforms through providing a whole of government lens to ensure their successful implementation.

In 2021–22 DPC continued to support implementation of reforms across the justice system, including helping to progress legislation to transform financial assistance for victims of crime, with the existing Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal set to be replaced with an administrative Financial Assistance Scheme built around the needs of victims and aiming to minimise trauma. DPC also supported development of the government response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Historical Forced Adoption in Victoria, with work underway to design Australia’s first redress scheme for historical forced adoption practices and administer an exceptional circumstances fund. DPC also continued to support work to modernise Victoria’s youth justice system via oversight of the new youth justice facility, Cherry Creek, which is set to open in mid-2023. DPC also continued to support work to modernise Victoria’s youth justice system via oversight of the new youth justice facility, Cherry Creek, which is set to open in mid-2023.

In partnership with DH, DPC has continued to support a coordinated government response to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. In the year since the final report was tabled, work has begun on more than 90% of the Royal Commission’s 74 recommendations to lay the foundations for Victoria’s future mental health system.

Key achievements in 2021–22 include introducing the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Bill into the Victorian Parliament, releasing the Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Strategy 2021–2024 and Victoria signing the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement. DPC also continues to work with DH to facilitate government-wide decision making to improve the mental health and wellbeing system, including a Mental Health and Wellbeing Cabinet Committee, a Mental Health and Wellbeing Victorian Secretaries’ Board Committee, a Suicide Prevention and Response Victorian Secretaries’ Board Committee and an interdepartmental Committee on Mental Health and Wellbeing Promotion.

DPC continued to play a key role in supporting the design and delivery of major education and training reforms in 2021–22. In the past year, DPC worked closely with the Department of Education and Training (DET) to strengthen the training and skills system, including:

• helping establish the Victorian Skills Authority to respond to Victoria’s training needs
• supporting the introduction of a new TAFE funding model to strengthen Victoria’s economic and social recovery and improve the sector’s financial sustainability
• progressing the Senior School Pathways Reform agenda to provide greater vocational and applied learning opportunities for school students.

During 2021–22 DPC continued to support DET’s implementation of universal funded three-year-old kindergarten. The reform has progressed according to the public rollout schedule, and in 2022 all services across the state are delivering at least 5 hours of funded three-year-old kindergarten each week. Further, DPC informed the design and ongoing implementation of the newly announced Best Start, Best Life agenda, which will overhaul early childhood education and care in Victoria including making kindergarten free from 2023 and introducing a new year of universal Pre-Prep for 4-year-olds.

Support the successful delivery of the Victorian Government’s Big Housing Build to help increase the state’s social housing supply by 10% in 4 years and support Victorians in need

DPC continues to support the work of Homes Victoria in delivering the Big Housing Build, including through key governance forums and ongoing engagement in policy reform to enable system improvements. DPC co-chairs the Housing Interdepartmental Committee, supporting coordinated discussion of housing policy issues across government, and is a member of a range of other governance forums across the housing portfolio. DPC will continue to support regular reporting on delivering the Big Housing Build to the Victorian Government, to support appropriate oversight and monitoring of this generational reform to the social housing system.

Provide clear, timely and practical guidance, expertise and support to our stakeholders in relation to Cabinet, parliament, legislation, Executive Council and ministerial correspondence-related matters

In 2021–22 DPC provided strong policy advice and administration to support Cabinet, parliament, legislation, Executive Council and ministerial correspondence matters. This included guidance and support for the Premier and DPC ministers, as well as across all departments and the ministry where needed, as well as for the Governor in relation to Executive Council matters.

Provide behavioural science capability to all Victorian Government departments to support the delivery of behaviourally informed programs and services

Throughout 2021–22 the Behavioural Insights Unit provided advice and research support and delivered projects across a range of policies and services. This included the uptake of grant initiatives, enhancing the accessibility of forms and website communications and improving internal government processes such as procurement and recruitment activity.

The Behavioural Insights Unit also continued to support departments and agencies to understand the likely impact of policies and programs on Victorians’ behaviours in relation to COVID-19. The unit used international evidence to support effective implementation of policies, programs and communications for COVID-19–related requirements, including getting vaccinated, mask wearing and other COVIDSafe behaviours.

Provide central media relations, communications, advertising and research governance advisory services to Victorian departments and stakeholders in relation to private and ministerial offices

DPC’s Strategic Communications, Engagement and Protocol Branch delivered a range of products and services including speeches, media releases, internal communications and events, video production, photography and live streaming throughout 2021–22. It also fulfilled its key role of coordinating and delivering COVID-19 strategic communications.

As part of its strategic governance and central advisory role for all government advertising campaigns, DPC:

• ensured adherence to the Victorian Government Communication Guidelines and relevant legislation
• supported the consistent development of campaign creative and media buying across government
• provided strategic advice on communicating with diverse and regional audiences
• led coordinated communications for COVID-19 policies and projects to ensure a consistent and cohesive approach across government.

DPC’s dedicated media team provided media and communications support to the department. In 2021–22 the team:

• developed whole of government media protocols for enquiries on the Yoorrook Justice Commission
• led on support for major ministerial announcements around Treaty negotiations with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria
• supported a partnership between Digital Victoria and Code Like a Girl
• supported the role of the Service Victoria app in the state’s COVID-19 response.

DPC developed and delivered communication strategies to support campaigns and announcements including the Recognition Matters campaign, the Diversity on Boards campaign and VPS-wide COVID-19–related internal communications and announcements. Products included more than 115 videos covering content including on the State Budget, NAIDOC Week live events and milestones such as the path to Treaty, Truth and Justice for First Peoples in Victoria.

DPC’s Protocol and Events team provided strategic advice and oversight of the protocol policies and functions of government and delivered numerous events, visits and meetings including Australia Day public events and programs; the ANZAC Day State Luncheon; facilitation support for the QUAD Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Commonwealth Games Federation delegation visit; and significant ceremonial events including the State Memorial Services for Victoria Police and Mr Shane Warne AO.

Support strong policy outcomes for First Peoples by driving whole of government policy and reform in the Treaty and First Peoples portfolio

In 2021–22 DPC, primarily through the First Peoples–State Relations group, continued to drive both whole of government and internal Aboriginal affairs policy and reform in partnership with First Peoples. A key milestone was establishing the DPC Board of Management Subcommittee on Self-Determination Reform. The subcommittee has an advisory role and supports DPC to progress significant reform underway in the Treaty and First Peoples portfolio such as progressing treaty; responding to and supporting the Yoorrook Justice Commission; leading whole of government reform under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018–2023 (VAAF); and promoting cultural rights. The subcommittee also performs a key role in improving internal systems, policies and processes to enable self-determination.

In March 2022 DPC, in partnership with the Department of Justice and Community Safety, set up the landmark $155 million Stolen Generations Reparations Package. The package is testament to the strength of Stolen Generations and their families, who have long fought for justice. To ensure the package was developed for and by Stolen Generation survivors, DPC established the community-led Stolen Generations Reparations Steering Committee to lead engagement on the package’s design. Assessment of applications is underway, with some advance payments to people who are terminally or critically ill. DPC will continue to work alongside the Department of Justice and Community Safety to ensure the package meets community expectations.

DPC is driving preparation across government to support Victoria’s ongoing treaty process. To build capability for this critical work, DPC is engaging with Victorian Government departments and agencies to ensure government is ready to respond to the transformational change that treaty is expected to bring. This includes a Treaty Interdepartmental Committee of senior representatives and a working-level network of Treaty Coordinators from each government department to facilitate whole of government engagement.

Support the delivery of energy, climate change and environmental priorities

In 2021–22 DPC supported the Premier, departments (including the departments of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and Jobs, Precincts and Regions) and government entities in delivering the government’s energy, resources and environment commitments including:

• launching the second Victorian Renewable Energy Target Auction to bring online at least 600 megawatts of new renewable energy capacity in Victoria
• steps to establish Australia’s first offshore wind industry including through the announcement of offshore wind targets of 2 gigawatts (GW) by 2032, 4GW by 2035 and 9GW by 2040
• securing the future of gas in Victoria by remaking the Petroleum Regulations 2021 to safely govern the onshore conventional gas sector and developing the Gas Substitution Roadmap to guide the transition to sustainable gas alternatives and greater electrification
• supporting Victorian energy consumers through the extension of the $250 Power Saving Bonus for concession card holders until 30 June 2022 and eligibility expansion of the payment to all Victorian households from 1 July 2022
• introducing legislation to reform governance arrangements for Victoria’s alpine sector, including establishing the new statutory authority, Alpine Resorts Victoria
• supporting the release of the Marine and Coastal Strategy, Victoria’s first 5-year implementation plan to support sustainable use and improve how marine and coastal environments are managed
• continuing to support circular economy reforms including introducing Recycling Victoria as the new waste and recycling sector regulator and developing Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme.

Support delivery of the government’s infrastructure program

In 2021–22 DPC continued to work with the Department of Transport and the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority on many of the major transport projects in construction including the Level Crossing Removal Project, Metro Tunnel Project, North East Link Project, West Gate Tunnel Project and multiple road upgrades. The government has 165 major road and rail projects being constructed or planned at an investment of $90 billion and the creation of more than 18,000 jobs. DPC has also continued to work across government in supporting the Suburban Rail Loop Authority to progress the Suburban Rail Loop project.

DPC worked with partners across government and, in particular, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning to introduce new planning pathways for state projects including establishing the State Project Concierge service.

Support to establish Breakthrough Victoria and administration of the Victorian Jobs and Investment Fund

In 2021–22 DPC has:

• supported the establishment and early operation of Breakthrough Victoria Pty Ltd as a government-owned company to administer the $2 billion Breakthrough Victoria Fund. This fund is supporting research and technology commercialisation in the health and life sciences, digital technology, advanced manufacturing, agri-food and clean economy sectors to deliver economic and societal outcomes and grow jobs
• administered the Victorian Jobs and Investment Fund, a whole of government framework that governs investment attraction programs across multiple departments. In 2021–22 the fund helped secure more than 3,800 new jobs and over $850 million in new investment.

Support the efficient operation of markets and appropriate consumer protections

DPC has worked with the departments of Justice and Community Safety and Treasury and Finance to improve the design of government regulation to protect consumers while minimising costs on businesses and the community. In 2021–22 this included changes to casino regulation in response to the Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and Licence, establishing new gambling and liquor regulators, decriminalising sex work in Victoria, adopting an automatic mutual recognition scheme for occupational licences and various projects funded through the Regulatory Reform Incentive Fund.

Support engagement with international partners to improve investment, trade and other whole of government outcomes

DPC has worked across government in 2021–22 to further Victoria’s international engagement objectives by:

• supporting whole of government cooperation with key international partners to promote trade, investment and cultural and education ties that benefit Victorians, including facilitating engagement between the diplomatic community and Victorian leaders including the Premier and Governor
• collaborating with Asia Society Australia and the Australia-India Institute to enhance Victoria’s connections to, engagement with and knowledge of Asia
• supporting foreign investment through the Victorian Jobs and Investment Fund.

Digital government and communications

Drive digital transformation through a whole of government digital strategy, creating a cohesive and modern approach to ICT and taking a more agile and coordinated approach to funding digital initiatives

Digital Victoria launched the Victorian Government Digital Strategy 2021–2026 in November 2021. The strategy provides a blueprint for how the Victorian Government will accelerate change and invest in the digital infrastructure and skills required to serve the people and businesses of Victoria over the next 5 years. It sets the vision to:

• enable better, fairer and more accessible services
• create a digital-ready public sector
• grow a thriving digital economy.

Digital Victoria has made significant progress in delivering important strategic and foundational activities to ensure transformation efforts focus on what is critical to deliver the vision. This includes the transition to common, connected platforms that reduce complexity and unlock productivity and delivering strategic investment models to coordinate investment in digital services to improve the Victorian citizen experience.

Deliver better customer experiences through insightful design and public engagement, improving trust and participation with the Victorian Government

Engage Victoria is the government’s online consultation platform that enables Victorians to share their ideas and opinions and converse with others on a range of policies, programs, issues and topics relevant to Victoria. In 2021–22 Engage Victoria conducted 208 consultations across all government departments and 8 agencies including Parks Victoria, the Environment Protection Authority and the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority. It received more than 1,064,000 visitors and over 93,000 pieces of feedback on the platform. Victorians took part in many important consultations including the Annual Victoria Police Community Sentiment Survey, shaping Homes Victoria’s new social housing development and contributing to the design of critical transport projects including North East Link and the Suburban Rail Loop.

Digital Victoria has continued to embed human-centred design across government to ensure services align with the needs of Victorians. In 2021–22 the human-centred design website was visited more than 31,400 times and over 2,500 copies of the playbook have been downloaded. Training was delivered to 600 people from 81 government entities and departments from across the VPS.

Implement a cyber security strategy that focuses on the safe and reliable delivery of government services and better protects businesses and the community from the growing threat of cyber crime

Digital Victoria launched Victoria’s Cyber Strategy in September 2021, setting the government’s cyber agenda for the next 5 years. Three outcomes underpin the strategy: the safe and reliable delivery of government services; a cyber safe place to work, live and learn; and creating a vibrant cyber economy.

Throughout 2021–22 Digital Victoria worked with public sector departments and agencies to grow the adoption of baseline security controls and improve protection of government services. To combat email authentication risks Digital Victoria is leading the public sector’s implementation of Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance across all departments, agencies and local councils.

Digital Victoria has further contributed to the cyber maturity of Victorian public bodies through the ongoing delivery of cyber security training, programs uplifting cloud security and increasing public sector visibility of Victoria’s mitigation strategy maturity.

Unlock improved service delivery by using data, analytics and artificial intelligence to better identify and understand Victoria’s needs

In 2021–22 the Victorian Centre for Data Insights (VCDI) led data-driven initiatives to improve policy design, service delivery and efficiency across the Victorian Government while ensuring data is used safely, securely, legally and ethically.

VCDI supported the government’s COVID-19 response and recovery activity by enabling rapid reporting and analysis on public health and economic impacts while also accelerating data sharing between Victoria and other Australian jurisdictions through new data sharing policy initiatives.

VCDI expanded its strategic partnerships program, engaging with government departments and agencies on more than 15 initiatives to uplift data analytics, management, governance and strategic and technical capabilities. The program also supported critical government priorities including in the response to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, Regional Economic Development Strategies and Local Jobs First Policy.

Provide open government data to the public in a safe, secure, lawful and ethical way, empowering our public and private sectors to make better decisions and strengthening collaboration with our digital and technology industry

Through the government’s open data portal ( data.vic.gov.au), Digital Victoria has supported the public to search, discover and access Victorian Government data. Vicmap data, Victoria’s foundational spatial data, and data relating to school zones, water fluoridation and real-time train positions, is available from the portal. In 2021–22 the portal saw a record 721,612 sessions, up from 432,729 sessions in the previous year due to public demand for COVID-19 data.

Digital Victoria engaged in extensive VPS and public consultation, finalising its review of the DataVic Access Policy in September 2021. It is expected that an updated Open Data Policy will be released in 2022–23, refreshing the government’s commitment and practice of safely and ethically releasing government data for public reuse.

Digital Victoria also continued to work with citizens and industry to identify opportunities and to promote the government’s open data, including through its sponsorship of GovHack.

Prioritise open and efficient ICT spend and purchasing processes to reduce costs, improve procurement outcomes and support our local small and medium technology enterprises

Digital Victoria has led a number of ICT procurement and investment reform activities throughout 2021–22 to maximise value for the Victorian public sector.

The Victorian Government IT Dashboard (https://itdashboard.digital.vic.gov.au) was updated quarterly to provide the Victorian public with transparency of government ICT projects with a total value of $1 million or more.

Six State Purchase Contracts with an annual spend of $440 million delivered estimated financial benefits exceeding $100 million. Digital Victoria also began work on developing Digital Marketplace — a centralised online platform for the government to procure ICT and infrastructure more effectively. The Digital Marketplace will simplify and enhance the procurement process for small, local and social businesses to do business with government. A proof of concept was delivered in June 2022. The minimal viable product is now under development.

Create common corporate and public digital platforms across all government departments to improve productivity and staff experience

Digital Victoria continued to modernise departmental processes through the operation and delivery of common platforms that are accessible across government including the Common Corporate Platforms Program, Single Digital Presence (SDP), Digital Public Notices and the whole of government Application Programming Interface (API) Capability Program.

During 2021–22 the Common Corporate Platform program, which focuses on the design and implementation of modern, cloud-based platforms and standardised processes for human capital management, finance and procurement functions, has:

• established a portfolio governance board
• developed an implementation roadmap
• aligned human resources processes across government
• developed the whole of government platform for human capital management and integrated the first modules — Recruitment, Onboarding, Employee Central and Employee Central Payroll — into the platform.

The SDP program has continued to make it easier for Victorians to find, access, understand and use Victorian Government information. In 2021–22 the program enhanced the platform’s security, safety and reliability, improved its governance and processes, and delivered training programs to uplift capability across government. More than 50 web presences were delivered using SDP in 2021–22, with representation from 7 departments and various other organisations and agencies. More than 500 VPS staff now use the platform’s content management system, and the SDP community of practice continues to evolve and grow with more than 600 registered members. The year also saw more than 300 participants undertake writing for the web sessions, with another 130 attending Google Analytics training — both programs helping to upskill the VPS to deliver improved online experiences.

Digital Victoria’s API Capability Program supported departments and agencies to securely connect their systems and applications to other systems and data sources and to find or update data in real time. During 2021–22 the API program implemented, supported and contributed to critical government priorities including:

• the state’s COVID-19 emergency response
• contact tracing API for tracking positive COVID-19 infection spikes
• integrating systems between Family Safety Victoria, Victoria Police and Court Services Victoria to facilitate data sharing
• integrating Court Services Victoria’s systems with the Department of Justice and Community Safety.

In addition, the program also built integrations with the Commonwealth Government’s document verification services, which helped determine eligibility for various individual and business grants.

Enhance customer experience with more digital services for Victorians

Service Victoria has continued to modernise, expand and personalise government services in 2021–22.

New services were added to Service Victoria’s website and app, including the Sick Pay Guarantee, Disability Worker Registration Screening, Victorian Travel Voucher Scheme, Seniors Travel vouchers and Get Active Kids vouchers.

More than a billion transactions took place between Victorians and the government, and the Service Victoria app was the most downloaded in the country after being installed on 6.6 million devices.

Service Victoria also played an important role in Victoria’s COVID-19 response, enabling rapid deployment of a range of digital services including supporting Victoria to be the first jurisdiction to help customers add their COVID-19 vaccination certificate to their contact tracing check-ins.

Industrial Relations

Drive cooperative and productive workplace relations in the Victorian public sector by developing and facilitating compliance with the Victorian Government’s industrial relations policy and overseeing the timely and efficient resolution of enterprise bargaining

In 2021–22 DPC’s Industrial Relations Victoria (IRV) provided leadership and support on public sector bargaining matters. This included assisting portfolio departments and agencies to finalise about 80 new public sector enterprise agreements during the transitional period in the lead up to the 1 January 2022 introduction of the new wages policy. IRV, with the Department of Treasury and Finance, led on developing the new wages policy and its implementation.

IRV worked with VPS employers and other stakeholders to develop and publish 35 common practice policies to support the consistent application of the current Victorian Public Service Enterprise Agreement.

Deliver and support policy and legislative reform that contributes to fair, productive and secure Victorian workplaces, including promoting gender pay equity

Following an in-depth review of the Child Employment Act 2003, IRV developed the Child Employment Amendment Bill 2022, which makes amendments to the Act to improve the child employment regulatory framework and strengthen protections for children in the workplace. The Bill received royal assent on 28 June 2022.

IRV has led development of submissions to significant legal proceedings in the past year, advocating for:

• secure and fair employment in a range of settings
• increases to the national minimum wage under the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review process
• paid family and domestic violence leave
• a historic minimum wage floor for piece rates in the Horticulture Award.

IRV has also contributed to other whole of government submissions to the Commonwealth and the Fair Work Commission on:

• supporting fair treatment for Pacific workers through labour mobility initiatives and seasonal worker programs
• supporting wage increases for aged-care workers in recognition of the increased complexity and responsibility of their work and historical gendered undervaluing.

IRV’s submission supporting a minimum wage floor for piece rates in the Horticulture Award was published in April 2022. The Fair Work Commission made a historic change to the minimum rates of pay in the modern award following this and other supporting submissions.

IRV provides the secretariat for the Equal Workplaces Advisory Council, which advises the Minister for Industrial Relations about initiatives to address the gap in women’s pay and workforce participation. The council helped develop a submission to the Inquiry into Economic Equity for Victorian Women led by the Department of Treasury and Finance.

IRV oversaw implementation of the:

• Women in Construction Strategy 2019–22, which seeks to increase women’s participation in trade and semi-skilled roles because they consistently comprise only 2 to 3% of the workforce. The strategy sets out a 4-year work program with actions at 3 key points of intervention: attraction, recruitment and retention
• Building Equality Policy, which aims to create training and employment opportunities for women on government-funded construction projects valued at $20 million or more.

IRV continued to provide industrial relations support and advice to the Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner following the implementation of the Gender Equality Act 2020. It developed a model gender equality provision for public sector employers to include in their enterprise agreements, which enlivens the dispute resolution powers of the Commissioner for disputes involving systemic gender equality issues.

Promote access to secure, ongoing and meaningful employment for Victorian workers

IRV began work to implement several recommendations of the Report of the Inquiry into the Victorian On-Demand Workforce including:

• developing Fair Conduct and Accountability Standards and consulting stakeholders about them
• considering options for a support service to assist platform workers and businesses to understand entitlements and obligations
• preparing a submission to Fair Work Commission proceedings considering an application to develop an On-Demand Delivery Services Award
• advocating for improvements to national laws to better protect gig workers.

IRV worked with the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions to design and implement the Victorian Sick Pay Guarantee pilot scheme. The scheme, which began in March 2022, provides workers in specified industries who have no entitlement to paid sick leave with up to 5 days’ pay at the national minimum wage.

IRV worked with VPS employers to audit the use of casual and fixed-term employment in the VPS to better understand the drivers for using insecure forms of work and barriers to providing secure work.

IRV developed and maintained a range of supports for public sector workers affected by COVID-19 including:

• paid special leave to care for children undertaking remote learning
• paid time off to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

Monitor significant public and private sector industrial relations matters and disputes and provide timely and strategic advice to government

IRV continued to work with industry stakeholders and to provide secretariat support to the Transport Industry Council and the Forestry Industry Council.

IRV undertook a review of the operation and effectiveness of the Victorian Government Tip Truck Owner Driver Policy, which provides for minimum rates of pay for tip truck owner-drivers working on government-funded construction projects. In accordance with the requirements of the Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005, IRV reviewed rates and costs schedules and published revised interim schedules in April 2022. These rates and costs schedules set minimum rates of pay for tip truck owner-drivers working on government construction projects.

IRV has continued to support the Victorian Government’s policy responses to COVID-19 directed towards supporting workers and businesses in the private sector, including compliance with restrictions and the implementation of vaccination mandates.

IRV worked with the Department of Justice and Community Safety to complete a review of Victoria’s private security industry and continued to work with the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions to develop the Victorian Fair Jobs Code.

Support industrial relations portfolio agencies and authorities to deliver their legislative obligations, including in relation to wage theft, long service leave, labour hire, child employment and owner-drivers

IRV continued to support the industrial relations portfolio entities: Wage Inspectorate Victoria, the Portable Long Service Authority and the Labour Hire Licensing Authority.

IRV led development of the Child Employment Amendment Act 2022 , working closely with Wage Inspectorate Victoria, and will continue to work with them throughout the implementation process.

IRV works with the Portable Long Service Authority with respect to its responsibilities and functions under the Long Service Benefits Portability Act 2018. The Act established a portable long service scheme for workers in the community services, contract cleaning and security sectors. To date, more than 2,800 employers and 230,000 workers have registered for the scheme.

IRV also works with the Labour Hire Licensing Authority, the independent statutory body set up to administer the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018. The Act establishes a labour hire licensing scheme to address exploitation in the labour hire industry. There are currently 5,291 labour hire licences in force in Victoria, including 1,044 licences granted in the period 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.

Influence Victorian workplaces to achieve enduring compliance with Victorian law covering wage theft, child employment, long service leave and contractors in transport and forestry

On 1 July 2021 Wage Inspectorate Victoria was set up as an independent statutory authority under the Wage Theft Act 2020, which introduced criminal wage theft offences. The new authority also assumed responsibility for administering existing child employment, long service leave and owner-driver and forestry contractor legislation. These functions were previously performed by Wage Inspectorate Victoria as a business unit of DPC.

In its first year of operations as a statutory authority, the Wage Inspectorate:

• protected the safety and welfare of children working in Victoria by administering child employment laws including assessing and issuing 7,758 child employment permits and undertaking 329 proactive compliance checks and investigations
• received 295 reports of alleged breaches of long service leave laws, initiated 124 long service leave investigations and finalised 95, recovering $309,367 in outstanding long service leave entitlements
• answered 13,791 calls about wage theft, long service leave, child employment and owner-driver laws through its helpline and responded to 1,825 written enquiries
• filed 4 new prosecutions alleging breaches of theLong Service Leave Act 2018 and the Child Employment Act and was successful in securing guilty verdicts and penalties against 3 employers, including in cases carried over from the previous financial year (3 of the 4 matters filed in the 2021–22 financial year were still before court as of 30 June 2022)
• began intelligence-led, criminal wage theft investigations using the powers granted under the Wage Theft Act, including exercising warrants, issuing compulsory notices, entering premises and seizing evidence
• undertook regulatory responsibilities under the Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act, including through proactive auditing activities focused on hirers of owner-drivers and checking compliance with the law for 259 individual drivers
• reached approximately 80% of the Victorian population with awareness-raising messages about the Wage Inspectorate’s role — in addition to receiving more than 286,000 visits to the educational resources on its website
• engaged with business and unions, meeting with more than 50 stakeholders to raise awareness of the wage theft legislation and the Wage Inspectorate’s role
• began implementing a 3-year education strategy focused on productive and prosperous Victorian workplaces to raise awareness of workplace rights and obligations in Victoria and increase compliance with the law
• engaged with the mainstream media to educate the community about Wage Inspectorate legislation, issuing 11 media releases and achieving coverage in more than 500 media titles across Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Office of the Victorian Government Architect

Provide advice, advocacy and collaboration on good design through the Office of the Victorian Government Architect

In 2021–22 the Office of the Victorian Government Architect (OVGA) continued its work ensuring that government investment in public projects delivers value for the community. OVGA is embedded in many initiatives and projects across portfolios. Highlights include:

• Publications — launch of publications including Good Design and Local Government, Good Design and Design Review and a revised version of Government as Smart Client.
• Design-led Planning Reform — advancing the Future Homes Project, in partnership with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, to refine and validate replicable Future Homes competition winning designs. This work will inform potential planning reforms including a streamlined planning process for developments that use the exemplar designs produced from the Future Homes competition.
• Social housing — supporting Homes Victoria to achieve liveable, accessible, site-responsive and sustainable social housing through Victoria’s Big Housing Build program. OVGA has also worked closely on adapting and constructing one of the competition-winning designs as a demonstration project on public land for Homes Victoria.
• Health infrastructure — working with the Victorian Health Building Authority to deliver its significant pipeline of projects including the New Footscray Hospital and the Frankston Hospital Redevelopment.
• Education — undertaking post-occupancy evaluations of recently completed school projects and capturing lessons to inform future projects for the Victorian School Building Authority.
• Creative industries — worked closely with Creative Victoria and Development Victoria on the NGV Contemporary Design Competition assessment process. The Victorian Government Architect was also a member of the jury. OVGA has also been working with Creative Victoria on its Creative Spaces Design Guide.
• Transport infrastructure — collaborating with the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority on Victoria’s Big Build program including the Level Crossing Removal Project, North East Link and Metro Tunnel. OVGA also worked with the Suburban Rail Loop Authority on its Urban Design Strategy. OVGA is a member of a dedicated Urban Design Advisory Panel providing strategic advice on the project.
• Design Review — OVGA’s core advisory role is supplemented by OVGA’s Victorian Design Review Panel through structured design review of public and private sector projects. In 2021–22 special areas of focus for the panel included regional projects, social housing projects, development in sensitive heritage places and development for which the Minister of Planning is the responsible authority. Building on OVGA’s advocacy work on Good Design and Review, the design review team also provided strategic advice to metropolitan and regional councils on establishing local design review panels.

Progress towards achieving the objective

The output performance measures that provide information on DPC’s progress in achieving the ‘Strong policy outcomes’ strategic objective are outlined below.

Objective indicator: DPC’s policy advice and its support for Cabinet, committee members and the Executive Council are valued and inform decision making

Objective indicator: The development and effective use of technology supports productivity and competitiveness

Further details on DPC’s 2021–22 performance against its output performance measures are covered on pages 47–61.

This objective focuses on improving outcomes and services for First Peoples through prioritising actions to enable self-determination, including advancing treaty, protecting and promoting cultural rights and conducting a truth telling process. It addresses trauma and supports healing; addresses racism established through colonisation; and provides culturally safe systems and services. It also transfers power and resources to communities.

DPC’s outcomes on the following key initiatives helped us achieve the ‘First Peoples in Victoria are strong and self-determining’ strategic objective.

Advance Aboriginal self-determination in line with the commitments made in the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018–2023 and the Victorian Closing the Gap Implementation Plan 2021–2023

Throughout 2021–22 DPC has continued to progress whole of government self-determination reform in line with the VAAF and the Victorian Closing the Gap Implementation Plan 2021–2023.

DPC undertook extensive engagement with departments and the Aboriginal sector to develop the Victorian Government Aboriginal Affairs Report 2021, an important accountability mechanism that measures whole of government progress to improve outcomes for and with First Peoples. The delivery and tabling of the 2021 Aboriginal Affairs Report was postponed, relieving pressure on departments due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to be tabled in parliament in September 2022. It incorporates reporting against the VAAF, the Self-Determination Reform Framework and, for the first time, the Closing the Gap Implementation Plan. DPC has also established a VAAF Data Dashboard, which will be updated following the tabling of the Aboriginal Affairs Report to promote community access to local data.

DPC also supported the establishment of the new Closing the Gap Partnership Forum in early 2022. The Partnership Forum consists of 13 representative Aboriginal community-controlled organisations elected to represent their sector, nominated delegates from Aboriginal Governance Forums and senior departmental executives.

Progress the Victorian Government’s negotiation of the treaty process with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, in line with the Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Act 2018

In 2021–22 DPC continued to lead negotiations with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and drive whole of government reform to progress the government’s commitment to treaty including:

• executing the historic Treaty Authority Agreement and introducing the Treaty Authority Bill to parliament in early June 2022. The Treaty Authority will act as the ‘independent umpire’ for the treaty process and is innovative and unique to Victoria’s treaty process. Its design has been led by the Assembly, who have consulted across community to determine the most appropriate model to support a fair and effective treaty negotiation process
• negotiating features of a Treaty Negotiation Framework and a Self-Determination Fund with the Assembly, which are required before Victoria can move to the next phase of the treaty process and begin negotiations on a treaty or treaties between the government and Aboriginal negotiating parties
• leading work across the Victorian Government to inform the State’s position in negotiating treaty elements and support institutional change required as part of the treaty process, including through coordinating a Treaty Interdepartmental Committee. The committee is an interdepartmental working-level network of Treaty Coordinators, delivering 25 presentations on treaty and rolling out Treaty Microcertifications from the University of Melbourne across the VPS
• preparing the Treaty Annual Report as required under the Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Act. The report outlines the work of the State in advancing the treaty process, ensuring the government is transparent in its work to advance treaty in Victoria.

Lead the whole of Victorian Government response to the historic Yoorrook Justice Commission, the first ever truth-telling inquiry into the historical and ongoing systemic injustices committed against Aboriginal Victorians since colonisation

Since May 2021 the Yoorrook Justice Commission has been investigating historical and ongoing injustices perpetrated against First Peoples since colonisation by State and non-State entities, across all areas of social, political and economic life. Yoorrook is the Wemba Wemba / Wamba Wamba word for ‘truth’.

In 2021–22 DPC played a central role in coordinating the whole of government response to and engagement with the Yoorrook Justice Commission. DPC progressed key activities to fulfil its role in meeting the State’s commitment to genuine, transparent and proactive engagement with the commission including:

• establishing and coordinating an interdepartmental committee, a whole of government working group and the DPC Yoorrook Justice Commission Response Network to provide governance oversight
• developing and implementing a suite of processes, policies and guidance to support the State and DPC’s response to the commission
• coordinating the State’s and DPC’s response to Notices to Produce issued by the commission under the Inquiries Act 2014 and supporting the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples in her appearance before the commission
• coordinating the tabling of the commission’s Interim Report in parliament.

Drive and support strong cultural heritage management and protection including supporting Traditional Owners and the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council and acquitting DPC’s statutory functions

DPC has ongoing responsibilities working with First Peoples to protect and manage Victoria’s Aboriginal cultural heritage.

DPC performs statutory functions under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006, recognising the leading role of strong and engaged Traditional Owners in Victoria’s progressive Aboriginal cultural heritage protection system. The important work of Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) is central to Victoria’s system. Unlike other jurisdictions, Traditional Owners via RAPs are given direct and substantial statutory decision-making functions, which are supported by DPC through operational funding and policy, cultural heritage management, enforcement and ICT support.

In 2021–22 DPC has supported cultural heritage management and protection by:

• providing the necessary assistance to ensure RAPs were properly supported in their independent statutory role in the approval of 479 cultural heritage management plans last financial year
• directly evaluating 136 cultural heritage management plans in areas for which there is no RAP
• adding 822 Aboriginal places to the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register
• providing expert advice to government relating to Aboriginal cultural heritage protection matters both within Victoria and nationally
• supporting processes to consider ongoing protection for significant Aboriginal cultural landscapes such as Ghow Swamp — an area of considerable traditional cultural significance as well as global archaeological significance
• providing secretariat support to the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council, comprised of up to 11 Traditional Owners, including resourcing the council with specialist staff to oversee the protection and repatriation of Aboriginal ancestral remains
• enforcing compliance with the Act through a dedicated Compliance and Enforcement Unit (see also Section 4 — Appendix 6).

Deliver the Aboriginal Community Infrastructure Program to enable Aboriginal organisations to meet their infrastructure needs and serve their communities

From 2017–18 to 2021–22 the Aboriginal Community Infrastructure Program has funded 73 Aboriginal community infrastructure projects to the value of $28.819 million to build or repair, refurbish or expand existing infrastructure. Further projects will be announced following the program’s sixth funding round.

In 2021–22 DPC, in partnership with the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, delivered 2 funding rounds. The fifth funding round closed on 6 September 2021 and attracted 32 applications, with 13 projects funding a total of $7.9 million new infrastructure projects. The sixth funding round closed on 9 May 2022 and was announced in August 2022, with 21 Aboriginal organisations sharing $11 million to build or upgrade community infrastructure.

Support the recognition of Traditional Owner groups by driving nation-building initiatives, particularly to support non-formally recognised Traditional Owner groups

DPC has continued to support the Nation-Building Package in partnership with First Nations Legal & Research Services and the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations. The package supports both formally and non-formally recognised Traditional Owner groups across Victoria so they can prepare for and participate in the treaty process and deliver on statutory and cultural responsibilities.

The 2021–22 State Budget invested $11.12 million over 2 years in the package, building on $13.58 million allocated in the 2019–20 State Budget. It has a strong focus on supporting Traditional Owner groups without formal recognition in the Mid North West, Central North, North East and Far East Gippsland regions of Victoria.

In 2021–22 support provided under the package included:

• $120,000 in grants, with a further $55,000 in direct support to Traditional Owners without formal recognition
• n five facilitation and Indigenous governance workshops, and 50 online and in-person information and planning workshops held with applicants
• $1.207 million for First Nations Legal & Research Services to employ staff to work directly with Traditional Owners seeking formal recognition, independent of government
• more than $1.2 million in grant funding to extend Traditional Owner Engagement Officers in RAPs until June 2023, to support the nation-building and treaty readiness aspirations of RAPs
• $1.654 million to the federation for core funding, the Resource Pool, and administration of the Resource Pool. The Resource Pool provides funding for each formally recognised Traditional Owner group for nation-building and treaty readiness activities and cultural heritage-related projects.

Progress and fulfil the statutory responsibilities of the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council

DPC has continued to provide secretariat and operational support to the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council, which has statutory responsibilities under the Aboriginal Heritage Act including to make decisions on RAP applications and oversee RAP operations. The council is also responsible for protecting and returning Ancestors to Country, for repatriating Secret and Sacred Objects to their Traditional Owners and helping to promote awareness and understanding of Aboriginal culture.

In 2021–22 DPC supported the council to:

• run the Taking Control of Our Heritage Conference in October 2021 — this conference provided an integral forum for Traditional Owners, cultural heritage practitioners and academics to discuss cultural heritage protections, both nationally and locally, with a focus on ensuring Traditional Owners remain central to these processes
• make a determination about RAP status for the Melbourne CBD, along with Country and waters to the east and west, which are now formally cared for and protected by Traditional Owners.

Progress towards achieving the objective

The output performance measures that provide information on DPC’s progress in achieving the ‘First Peoples in Victoria are strong and self-determining’ strategic objective are outlined below.

Objective indicator: First Peoples in Victoria have increased control over decisions that impact their lives

Further details on DPC’s 2021–22 performance against its output performance measures are covered on pages 47–61.

This objective fosters and promotes a high-performing public service. It ensures effective whole of government performance and outcomes. It protects the values of good public governance in support of public trust.

DPC’s outcomes on the following key initiatives have helped us achieve the ‘Professional public administration’ strategic objective.

Advice and support to the Governor

Support the Governor to carry out the role for the benefit of Victoria

In addition to constitutional and ceremonial duties, the Governor, the Hon Linda Dessau AC, took part in a wide range of community and international engagement events in 2021–22. The Governor and her spouse, Mr Anthony Howard AM QC, hosted a variety of events at Government House, with a particular focus on supporting the State’s pandemic recovery. Events included the Australia Day Flag Raising Ceremony, a celebration of Victorian farmers, a reception for the F1 Grand Prix and the inaugural Governor of Victoria Startup Awards. When COVID-19 restrictions were in place, the Governor conducted her program through a range of online events across the state.

In 2021–22 the Governor continued international engagement on behalf of the state at the request of the government, both locally and overseas. This included visiting the World Expo in Dubai and leading the delegation to Birmingham for Victoria’s successful 2026 Commonwealth Games bid.

Chief Parliamentary Counsel Services

In 2021–22 the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel (OCPC) drafted a variety of legislation to implement major government policy initiatives and reforms across a wide range of law.

OCPC drafted 74 Bills in the reporting period, of which 56 became Acts during that period. Bills of note include the major rewriting of a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Bill 2022, the Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Symbol Prohibition) Act 2002, the Treaty Authority and Other Treaty Elements Bill 2022 and the Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2002.

In 2021–22, 152 statutory rules were made.

Throughout 2021–22 OCPC continued providing drafting services to parliament to facilitate the passage of Victorian legislation, the preparation of House amendments and the introduction of Private Members’ Bills.

The demand from opposition and independent Members of Parliament for drafting services for House Amendments and Private Members’ Bills continues to require resources.

Develop and implement a new work management system to deliver efficiencies and enhanced services to stakeholders and the public

OCPC received funding in 2021–22 over 2 years to develop and implement a new replacement work management and legislative database system. Assisted by an external consultant, the office undertook a comprehensive review of its business operations, which included scoping and developing detailed requirements for the replacement system.

The new system will deliver efficiencies and enhanced services to government, parliament, industry and the public and will completely replace the office’s current systems for managing legal projects. OCPC has worked closely with Digital Victoria to refine the requirements package, explore delivery platform options and identify potential solutions. The office is on track to start the tender process in early 2022–23, with the expectation that the new system will be delivered in 2024–25.

Management of Victoria’s public records

Improve government recordkeeping through standards, guidance and compliance monitoring

In 2021–22 the Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) concluded the review and redevelopment of the mandatory recordkeeping standards and specifications issued by the Keeper of Public Records for government. These contain principles and requirements for records created and held by public offices in all formats and in all systems and storage environments. PROV also released an Approvals Processes Policy and a Value and Risk Policy. These products were developed in consultation with public offices and will be periodically reviewed to maintain their currency.

As a member of the Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities, PROV led development of ‘Functional Requirements for Managing Records in Microsoft 365 (M365)’. PROV has provided advice and assistance to public offices across government as they transition to M365 and associated systems.

The organisational self-assessment tools and recordkeeping e-learning module offered by PROV continue to be well used. PROV is developing a new e-learning module on digital recordkeeping that will be released in 2022–23. Two successful online Records Management Network forums were held in 2021–22, with almost 200 attendees at each.

Increase the usage of the state’s archives through digitisation, provision of innovative online access and promotion of the collection

Digitisation activities during 2021–22 saw the introduction of a new online system to streamline the ordering process for the public. PROV staff also responded to requests for digitised records from government agencies and the wider community during periods of COVID-19 lockdowns. Significant improvements to the PROV website were also introduced, enabling users to download an increased number of high-quality images of digitised records including a major collection from the Department of Education and Training.

A successful public consultation on community expectations about the online availability of digitised records was undertaken through the Engage Victoria platform. The 568 submissions informed an updated policy position. PROV partnered with the Australian Centre for the Moving Image to fully appraise its audio-visual collection and subsequently began a program of digitising at-risk audio-visual material, which will be made available online over time.

PROV continued to support the Old Treasury Building’s exhibition program by loaning key items from the State collection for public display. A project to publish the fully digitised public record collection of Beechworth’s Burke Museum on the PROV website began and will be completed in early 2022–23.

In addition to the online public programs series delivered throughout 2021 and 2022, PROV now has an ongoing podcast channel called ‘Look History in the Eye’ available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. This channel offers a platform for storytellers and historical researchers to share their discoveries and to tell under-represented histories uncovered from public records.

Build the collection by identifying records of state significance and ensuring they are securely cared for

During 2021–22 PROV appraised records across a diverse range of government functions resulting in new Retention and Disposal Authorities for the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Service Victoria, Energy Safety, the Legal Aid Commission, Small Owner Operators (exempt sex workers) and the Electricity Generation function. Highlights included appraising records associated with the oversight of voluntary assisted dying and records generated by the unique functions administered by Service Victoria.

PROV’s new digital archive was deployed in late 2021, enabling the preservation of more complex digital records and providing faster ingest capacity. The permanent digital records of the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants and the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System were transferred from DPC to PROV in line with the Inquiries Act. All departments can now transfer digital Cabinet in Confidence records and participate in the annual Cabinet in Confidence records transfer program.

PROV also completed several large-scale physical records transfer projects, including one commissioned by Ports Victoria to document and transfer the historic maps, plans and hydrographic records of the former Melbourne and Geelong Harbor Trusts stored at the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum. The records, dating from the mid-19th century to the year 2000, document Victoria’s bays, tides and coastal infrastructure. Plans of subdivision from Land Use Victoria and historic records of the former Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital and Royal Melbourne Hospital were also transferred to PROV.

Enhance public sector integrity and governance capability, including through shadowing the Victorian Public Sector Commission, to ensure that the public sector operates in accordance with the highest expectations of trust

Governance branch unifies DPC’s efforts to promote good governance and public administration, high-quality decision and policymaking, government integrity and accountability, and trust in public institutions.

Key priorities and deliverables for the branch include:

• advising departments and public sector boards on the Appointment and Remuneration Guidelines and monitoring and reporting on compliance
• advising on best practice entity creation by updating and providing fact sheets, templates and guidance promoting best practice to stakeholders
• providing advice to support effective public administration and good governance (e.g. by supporting the administration of the Public Administration Act 2004)
• supporting public sector employers to apply the government’s employment policies consistent with the Public Administration Act and the Public Entities Executive Remuneration Policy.

Governance branch also manages DPC’s relationship with the Victorian Public Sector Commission (VPSC) and provides advice to the Minister for Government Services on the VPSC’s performance against its annual plan. DPC works closely with the VPSC to support a trusted public sector that delivers exceptional outcomes for the Victorian community.

Provide guidance and advice on the caretaker conventions to support the operation of government during the caretaker period

DPC is responsible for providing guidance and advice to the VPS on the operation of the conventions that apply during the caretaker period prior to a State Election. In April 2022 the Secretary for DPC issued the Guidelines on the Caretaker Conventions 2022 to guide the public sector in handling ongoing government business and administration before and during the 2022 State Election caretaker period. In the lead up to the November 2022 election, DPC will support agencies across the public sector by providing training and presentations on the caretaker conventions.

Support the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal to promote transparency and accountability in remuneration arrangements for Members of Parliament, public sector executives and local government elected officials

DPC provides secretariat support to the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal to make determinations and provide advice about remuneration for Members of Parliament, public sector executives and local government elected officials.

During 2021–22 the secretariat supported the tribunal to:

• make the first comprehensive Determination setting the values of allowances for mayors, deputy mayors and councillors
• make an annual adjustment Determination to the values of salaries and allowances for Members of Parliament
• make annual adjustment Determinations to the values of remuneration bands for executives employed in the VPS and in prescribed public entities
• provide advice to the Minister for Government Services about base remuneration arrangements for specialist investment executive roles in the Victorian Funds Management Corporation and the Treasury Corporation of Victoria.

The secretariat also supports the compliance officer function that is attached to the tribunal to independently hear and determine appeals from Members of Parliament in relation to claims for work-related parliamentary allowances and the separation payment. The compliance officer heard 2 appeals in 2021–22.

The section provides information about DPC’s performance against our output performance measures. It provides comparison with our output targets that were published in the Departmental Performance Statement section of the 2021–22 Victorian Budget Paper No. 3 — Service Delivery.

Commentary is provided where there are variances of more than 5% between targets and actual results for performance measures.

Government-wide leadership, reform and implementation

This output provides advice and support to the Premier and Cabinet on all aspects of government policy. This involves advice on issues as they arise, policy coordination, research and analysis, consultation with stakeholders and leadership in long‑term policy development.

Results legend

✓ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

■ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5% or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Strategic advice and government support

This output provides strategic policy analysis and advice to the Premier, leads policy development on key priority issues and supports informed government decision making.

Results legend

✓ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

■ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5% or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Digital government and communications

This output encourages innovative use of ICT to improve service delivery and business processes and provides information and services to Victorian citizens and businesses through digital and other delivery channels.

Results legend

✓ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

⚬ Performance target not achieved — within 5% or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

■ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5% or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Office of the Victorian Government Architect

This output provides strategic leadership and advice to government and key stakeholders on architecture and the built environment.

Results legend

✓ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

■ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5% or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Industrial relations

This output contributes to providing fair jobs and a positive industrial relations environment through sound industrial relations policy and advice to government. This includes oversight of enterprise bargaining across the Victorian public sector and support for Victoria’s participation in the national workplace relations system.

Results legend

✓ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

Aboriginal policy, strengthening Aboriginal cultural heritage and communities

This output supports the Victorian Government’s commitment to self‑determination for Aboriginal Victorians and to improving long‑term social and economic outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians. This includes protecting and managing Aboriginal cultural heritage; strengthening Aboriginal community organisations; progressing treaty; broad community engagement; and work to reform government to enable self‑determination.

Results legend

✓ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

⚬ Performance target not achieved — within 5% or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

■ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5% or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Advice and support to the Governor

This output provides advice and support to the Governor and maintenance of Government House and its collections as a heritage asset of national importance.

Results legend

✓ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

Chief Parliamentary Counsel services

This output provides Bills for introduction in parliament including: providing quality and timely legislative drafting services; hard copy and electronic publication of Acts and statutory rules; and maintaining a database of Victorian legislation and legislative information at www.legislation.vic.gov.au.

Results legend

✓ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

Management of Victoria’s public records

This output provides direction to government on the management of public records and ensures the historical memory of the Victorian Government endures, is secure and is accessible.

Results legend

✓ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

■ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5% or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Public administration advice and support

This output provides advice and support on issues relevant to public sector administration, Members of Parliament and executive officer remuneration, governance, service delivery and workforce matters, as well as to public sector professionalism and integrity. It includes related research, determinations, data collection, reporting and dissemination of information.

Results legend

✓ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

■ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5% or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

State electoral roll and electoral events

This output, through the Victorian Electoral Commission, provides a high‑quality electoral system that supports democracy in Victoria through administering an accurate and secure electoral roll, electoral services to ensure fair and equitable representation, the conduct of fair and impartial elections and encouraging greater participation in civic life through education and awareness activities and improving ease of access.

Results legend

✓ Performance target achieved or exceeded in a desirable way

■ Performance target not achieved — exceeds 5% or $50 million (cost measures only) variance

Accountable Officer’s and Chief Financial Officer’s declaration

The attached financial statements for the Department of Premier and Cabinet have been prepared in accordance with Direction 5.2 of the Standing Directions of the Assistant Treasurer under the Financial Management Act 1994, applicable Financial Reporting Directions, Australian Accounting Standards including Interpretations, and other mandatory professional reporting requirements.

We further state that, in our opinion, the information set out in the comprehensive operating statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, statement of changes in equity and accompanying notes, presents fairly the financial transactions during the year ended 30 June 2022 and the financial position of the department at 30 June 2022.

At the time of signing, we are not aware of any circumstance that would render any particulars included in the financial statements to be misleading or inaccurate.

We authorise the attached financial statements for issue on 2 September 2022.

Anthony Bale
Chief Financial Officer
Department of Premier and Cabinet
Melbourne

2 September 2022

Jeremi Moule
Secretary
Department of Premier and Cabinet
Melbourne

2 September 2022

Comprehensive operating statement for the financial year ended 30 June 2022

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.

Note:

(i) Capital asset charge was discontinued in 2021–22, with a corresponding reduction in appropriation revenue provided to the department to cover the expense. Refer to Note 3.1 for further detail.

Balance sheet as at 30 June 2022

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.

Cash flow statement for the financial year ended 30 June 2022

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.

Note:

(i) Capital asset charge was discontinued in 2021–22, with a corresponding reduction in appropriation revenue provided to the department to cover the expense. Refer to Note 3.1 for further detail.

Statement of changes in equity for the financial year ended 30 June 2022

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.