The Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) leads whole of government policy to support the people of Victoria, and the social and economic wellbeing of the state.

Our primary focus in the coming year is to deliver strong policy outcomes that support the government to achieve its strategic objectives, while providing leadership to the public service to improve its effectiveness and promoting collaboration across government to drive performance.

DPC continues to pursue its vision of being recognised and respected leaders in professional public administration, promoting integrity and accountability. We support and encourage our staff, both within DPC and across the Victorian Public Service (VPS), to develop the diverse skills and capabilities that characterise a high-performing, modern public service.

We are proud to be leading significant reforms in partnership with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria to advance Treaty and self-determination for First Peoples and create a new relationship between government and the Aboriginal community in Victoria. We are also protecting and promoting Aboriginal Cultural Heritage across the state and have committed to open and genuine engagement with the Yoorrook Justice Commission to achieve truth and justice for First Peoples.

Our whole of government leadership is evident in the digital strategy and transformation work led by Digital Victoria to modernise and optimise the Victorian Government’s information and technology systems and approaches. The focus remains on evidence-based decision making, developing and implementing cyber security strategies, innovation and collaboration with Victorians, across government and the information technology sector.

DPC continues to lead on policy and service delivery excellence as we respond to significant state issues, as well as supporting Victoria’s recovery and revitalisation following the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

DPC’s Corporate Plan 2022–26 highlights important opportunities and the responsibilities we have as the central agency to provide service excellence to our networks across the VPS, so that together we can continue to deliver stronger and fairer outcomes for the government and the public we serve.

I look forward to implementing the commitments outlined in this Plan, alongside my colleagues at DPC and through my role as Chair of the Victorian Secretaries’ Board.

Jeremi Moule
Secretary

We support the government’s priorities, working with strong networks across the public service to deliver positive outcomes for Victorians.

Our vision

To be recognised and respected leaders in whole of government policy and performance.

Our mission

We support the people of Victoria by:

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

Our values

We uphold the public sector values as enshrined in the Public Administration Act 2004.

• Accountability: working to clear objectives in a transparent manner, accepting responsibility for our decisions and actions, seeking to achieve best use of resources, and submitting ourselves to appropriate scrutiny.
• Human Rights: making decisions and providing advice consistent with the human rights set out in the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006, and actively implementing, promoting and supporting human rights.
• 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.
• Integrity: being honest, open and transparent in our dealings, using powers responsibly, reporting improper conduct, and avoiding real or apparent conflicts of interest, striving to earn and sustain public trust of a high level.
• Leadership: actively implementing, promoting and supporting these values.
• Respect: treating others fairly and objectively, ensuring freedom from discrimination, harassment and bullying, using views to improve outcomes on an ongoing basis.
• Responsiveness: providing frank, impartial and timely advice to the government, providing high-quality services to the Victorian community, identifying and promoting best practice.

Our Ministers

We support the following 5 Ministers:

• Premier, The Hon Daniel Andrews MP.
• Deputy Premier, The Hon Jacinta Allan MP.
• Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, Gabrielle Williams MP.
• Minister for Government Services, The Hon Danny Pearson MP.
• Minister for Industrial Relations, Tim Pallas MP.

Our groups

To best support the government, we manage our functions across the following groups:

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 policy-making, 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 is responsible for driving digital transformation across the Victorian Government. In November 2021, the Victorian Government released the Victorian Government Digital Strategy 2021-2026 (the Digital Strategy). The Digital Strategy sets the Victorian Government’s vision for creating a thriving digital Victoria delivering better, fairer and more accessible services, creating a digital ready public sector and growing a thriving digital economy.

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 is made up of five 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 VPS wide advice to support robust public administration and promote DPC’s role as the First Minister’s department. Through Cabinet Office, CCC provides timely and practical guidance on the operation of Cabinet, Cabinet Committees and the Executive Council. CCC leads work to support DPC meet integrity, financial accountability and institutional governance obligations to Parliament and Ministers. Through Strategic Communications, Engagement and Protocol Branch, CCC also provides specialist communication, event, behavioural insights and protocol advice across government. Corporate Services provides the operational backbone to DPC and its entities, though 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 with coordination of the state’s intergovernmental relations. The group is responsible for providing policy advice on all social policy matters including health, mental health, education, skills, justice, community security and emergency management, social recovery, families, fairness, housing and social services workforce reform. The group 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. Additionally, the group supports the Office of Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor.

Economic Policy and State Productivity

The Economic Policy and State Productivity group leads the provision of economic policy advice to the Premier. The group works in collaboration 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; planning; precincts; public transport; agriculture; resources; energy, climate change; and water and the environment.

First Peoples-State Relations

First Peoples – State Relations 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 recognise 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. The group is also committed to promoting Aboriginal leadership.

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 consists of the Private Sector Industrial Relations Branch, the Public Sector Industrial Relations Branch and the Office of the Deputy Secretary. IRV supports three portfolio entities: the Labour Hire Authority, the Portable Long Service Authority and Wage Inspectorate Victoria.

Our portfolio entities

Administrative Offices

DPC is responsible for the effective, efficient, and economical management of the following Administrative Offices and have included their key initiatives in this Corporate Plan:

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 the review of significant state and local government projects as well as commercial projects with significant impact to the public. Further, the OVGA leads on significant good design initiatives and provides input, advice and advocacy on policies and issues of relevance to the Victorian Government.

Service Victoria

Service Victoria is a whole of government service capability created to improve the way government transactions are delivered to Victorians and provide a more effective customer experience.

Service Victoria brings together the most popular digital transactions in one place and has played an important role in the government’s COVID-19 response, developing the QR check-in service and the Service Victoria mobile app, which was the most downloaded app in Australia in 2021.

Service Victoria is responsible for implementing the Service Victoria Act 2018 and provides customer service and identity verification functions.

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 provides support to the Governor of Victoria in carrying out all aspects of their official duties for the benefit of the Victorian community and 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 and regional visits.

Public Record Office Victoria

The 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 the history of Victoria. PROV sets mandatory recordkeeping standards for state and local government agencies and provides support and advice on recordkeeping to government.

Other portfolio entities

DPC supports the Premier and our Ministers in their responsibilities for the Victorian Public Sector Commission and the following public entities and special bodies:

• Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council
• Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal
• Wage Inspectorate Victoria
• Cenitex
• Labour Hire Authority
• Portable Long Service Authority
• Victorian Electoral Commission, including Electoral Boundaries Commission
• Breakthrough Victoria Pty Ltd.

Key initiatives for the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council, Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal and Wage Inspectorate Victoria are included in this Corporate Plan, on the basis that their performance against key initiatives will be consolidated into DPC’s annual report.

Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council

The Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council is established under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 to ensure the preservation and protection of Victoria’s rich Aboriginal cultural heritage. With important decision-making responsibilities and entirely Victorian Traditional Owner membership, the Council is the only statutory body of its kind in Victoria.

The Council’s vision is of a community that understands and respects Aboriginal cultural heritage and the cultural responsibilities of Traditional Owners. The Council recognises Traditional Owners as the primary guardians, keepers and knowledge holders of their culture.

The Council is made of up to 11 Traditional Owners who are appointed by the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples.

The Council plays an important role in the implementation of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006, with its principal functions being to: make decisions on Registered Aboriginal Party applications and monitor them; protect Ancestors’ resting places and return Ancestors to Country; manage Secret or Sacred Objects in Victoria; manage the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Fund: and implement measures to promote awareness and understanding of Aboriginal cultural heritage.

Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal

The Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal was established under the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal and Improving Parliamentary Standards Act 2019 to support transparent, accountable and evidence-based decision-making in relation to the remuneration of Members of the Parliament of Victoria (MPs), Victorian public sector executives and Victorian local government officials.

The Tribunal is required by its legislation to independently inquire into and make determinations in relation to salaries and allowances for MPs, remuneration bands for executives employed in public service bodies, remuneration bands for executives employed in prescribed public entities, and allowances provided to Mayors, Deputy Mayors and Councillors in local government.

Two independent Compliance Officers, attached to the Tribunal, hear and determine appeals from MPs in relation to the use of parliamentary allowances and the separation payment.

The Tribunal and the Compliance Officers are supported by a Secretariat that sits within the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Wage Inspectorate Victoria

Wage Inspectorate Victoria promotes and enforces Victoria’s wage theft laws, child employment laws, long service leave entitlements, owner driver, forestry contractor, hirer and freight broker obligations.

Wage Inspectorate Victoria gives practical advice, information and support to employees and employers. It conducts targeted information campaigns and investigates complaints. Wage Inspectorate Victoria carries out a range of enforcement functions to ensure the laws are being followed. It works with other government agencies to ensure fair employment conditions.

DPC provides advice and support to the Premier and Cabinet and responds to government priorities by supporting our Secretary as leader of the VPS.

DPC’s operating environment has been characterised by the continuing response to COVID-19. DPC’s leadership of departments to cohesively respond to the pandemic is critical to Victoria’s recovery.

As a First Minister’s department, DPC will continue to protect and advance Victoria’s interests through sophisticated policy development, advocacy and implementation. We work with other departments and portfolio entities to deliver for Victorians through this crucial period with a view to Victoria’s economic and social recovery.

DPC promotes a whole of government perspective and cooperation, engaging across jurisdictions, and with the Commonwealth and local governments. We provide oversight of the business of government and provide public administration stewardship to build trust in transparent and accountable government institutions.

DPC also works closely with stakeholders in the private sector, community sector and academia. We have a direct relationship with the community through our community engagement and service delivery responsibilities, and through our ministerial portfolios. This includes working with Victoria’s First Peoples, unions and employer organisations.

DPC leads and liaises with several interdepartmental groups and committees, most notably the Victorian Secretaries’ Board as the peak leadership group for the VPS. DPC will continue its leadership of the Victorian Secretaries’ Board, working with the Secretaries of each department, the Chief Commissioner of Police, and the Victorian Public Sector Commissioner, to coordinate major policy initiatives across the public sector.

We are focused on maintaining an agile and high-performing workforce where our employees are empowered and engaged to deliver policy outcomes that meet the evolving needs of Victorians.

We attract, develop and retain talented and diverse people to achieve DPC’s objectives. We do this by filling skill and capability gaps and providing learning and development to deliver on DPC priorities. We enable the mobilisation of talent across DPC and the VPS to fill capability gaps, develop our people and retain our talent with a focus on succession planning across critical roles.

We foster a values-based culture based on respect, diversity, inclusivity, wellbeing and positive employee engagement. We do this by developing and supporting the growth of our leaders and encourage all our employees to demonstrate leadership and model flexible and agile ways of working.

DPC is committed to taking a holistic and inclusive approach to supporting mental health at work, promoting positive mental wellbeing, preventing mental injury and illness, and where mental injury and illness occurs, taking action to support recovery. Staff engage with mandatory mental health and wellbeing training and can access other bespoke programs throughout their employment.

DPC actively promotes diversity, inclusion and an equal opportunity workplace. We welcome applicants from all diverse backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people with disabilities. DPC is committed to holding equal representation of women in senior leadership positions and gender diversity within the workforce, including trans and gender diverse people, who may require specific approaches to ensure their inclusion and access to opportunity. Flexible working is the default position for all employees at DPC and we consider when, where and how we work so that we can meet our employment commitments and perform our jobs well for the Victorian community.

Workforce profile

We are managing our workforce profile and composition to ensure we have the optimum mix of talent at the right levels across DPC. This includes ensuring analysis of organisational needs against the available funding for policy, program and enabling areas.

We aim to integrate risk management into our strategic and business planning, decision making processes and operations.

As the First Minister’s department, we are motivated to deliver important social and economic reforms, and to support the Victorian government in meeting the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

DPC’s integrated risk management approach means that we aim to integrate risk management into our strategic and business planning decision-making processes and operations. This integration means that, as a routine part of our work, we take informed risks and make decisions that are consistent with the amount of risk we will accept to meet our objectives.

DPC has moderate appetite for risk and will consider the costs and benefits when taking risks, preferring balanced outcomes. Staff are supported to manage risks within risk appetite, through the regular identification, assessment, monitoring and briefing up of risks at all levels of the department.

Principles for making complex decisions

We apply the following principles against our risk categories when making complex decisions.

Strategic

Adopt a confident approach when taking risks that support significant policy reform and improve outcomes for Victorians. Reduce exposure to risks that could negatively impact the achievement of long-term strategic objectives.

Operational/Service delivery

Be confident when making improvements to service delivery and performance, acknowledging the potential for short-term disruptions in the pursuit of long-term benefits.

Reputation

Always assess the likely impacts and benefits of reforms before selecting a preferred option. Look for other options where reforms deliver less benefit than anticipated, avoiding options that may result in sustained or material loss of public or government trust.

Financial

Manage within budgets and avoid the risk of cost overruns by reallocating existing resources to deliver priority work. Always comply with ministerial financial management directions or relevant financial requirements.

Compliance and Legal

Comply with DPC’s legal and statutory obligations. Misbehaviour and intentional non-compliance are taken seriously at all levels.

People

DPC works to foster and promote professional public administration, good governance and accountability to achieve public value, whilst being responsive to government demands.

All employees are required to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees at all times.

Risk oversight is allocated between the Board of Management, Groups and initiative or program leads, depending on the types of risks being managed, which may include:

1. Branch / initiative or program risk — risks that are specific to DPC branches or specific programs of work.
2. Enterprise risk — risks that impact the ability to achieve departmental objectives.
3. Shared risk — risks shared by two or government more agencies; and
4. State-significant risk — risks where potential consequences or impacts on the community, the Government and the private sector are so large as to be of state significance.

All staff are responsible for risk management at DPC. DPC strives to enable a positive risk culture in which risk is routinely considered at all levels of the department. DPC is committed to the continual improvement of risk management practices and culture, which is responsive to internal and external contextual changes.

DPC strives to enable a positive risk culture in which risk is routinely considered at all levels of the department. Regular communication on risk, tone from the top, senior leaders and managers who are supported in their decision making and encouraging staff to raise and discuss risk as part of their work.

We aim to achieve the following objectives, monitoring progress towards them through indicators, in delivering our key initiatives (refer following page) that align with Government priorities. We have outlined the key challenges that may impact our ability to achieve these objectives.

The objectives and indicators align with DPC’s 2022–23 Departmental performance statement (DPS), which is in Budget Paper No. 3 Service Delivery. Refer to the DPS for more detailed performance measures and targets that are used to evaluate our performance.

We aim to deliver these key initiatives and activities in 2022–23 through to 2026 and will report on progress and outcomes against them achieved in our annual report.

Achieving strong policy outcomes

To achieve DPC’s strong policy outcomes objective, we will deliver the following initiatives through Digital Victoria; Service Victoria; Cabinet, Communications and Corporate; Office of the Victorian Government Architect; Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations; Economic Policy and State Productivity; Industrial Relations Victoria; and Wage Inspectorate Victoria.

First Peoples–State Relations

• Support strong policy outcomes for First Peoples, by driving whole of government policy and reform in the Aboriginal affairs portfolio.

Digital Victoria

• Drive digital transformation through the whole of government Victorian Digital Strategy 2021-26, creating a cohesive and modern approach to digital reform.
• Maximise the value of digital investment across government by collaborating with departments and agencies to collectively deliver future digital investment strategies and provide central agency support for departments to deliver on their digital reforms.
• Drive a coordinated approach to digital strategy development and provide strategic guidance to support departments and agencies deliver sub-strategies to bring clear improvements to Victoria’s digital economy.
• Drive digital policy reform and enable digital transformation by applying service design and digital insights. Deliver citizen facing whole of government products and platforms.
• Implement Victoria’s Cyber Strategy 2021 to strengthening Victorian Government networks and services, support businesses and the community to connect, engage, and work safely online, and develop strategic partnerships to grow Victoria’s cyber sector and drive innovation.
• Improve Victorian Government data capability by enhancing data protection and privacy, enabling data-driven policymaking, ensuring effective and ethical use and sharing, and building data literacy to increase administrative efficiency and improve citizen experience with government services.
• 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.
• Embed new skills, ways of working and digital mindsets across the Victorian Public Service through the creation of a Digital Academy, with a particular focus on promoting opportunities for women in tech.
• Identify procurement reform opportunities for whole of government IT spend with a focus on simplifying buying process, reducing cost, enabling policy and removing barriers for local, small and social businesses.
• Uplift corporate services across Government through the design and implementation of modern polices, processes and cloud-based platforms across Human Capital Management (HCM), Finance and Procurement functions.

Service Victoria

• Enhance customer experience with more digital services for Victorians to improve citizen satisfaction with government services.
• Deliver new features and journeys to make it easy for customers to find and access the services they need.
• Support regulatory reform through a digital reg-tech platform and adding more services for business customers.
• Improve digital inclusiveness with new channels for simple and fast interactions with government to make transacting with government as accessible as possible.

Cabinet, Communications and Corporate

• 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.
• Provide central media relations, communications, advertising and research governance advisory services to Victorian departments and stakeholders in relation to Private and Ministerial offices.
• Provide behavioural science capability to all Victorian government departments to support the delivery of behaviourally informed programs and services.
• Drive an efficient, sustainable and high-quality delivery of DPC services through implementing a range of corporate and workforce transformation initiatives.

Office of the Victorian Government Architect

• Provide advice, advocacy and collaboration on good design through the Office of the Victorian Government Architect.
• Undertake a review of the office’s operating model to ensure a sustainable, efficient and high impact delivery of services.
• Provide key advice for projects of state significance including the Commonwealth Games.

Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations

• Provision of advice and coordination of strategic Victorian Government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic at both a state and national level, including supporting the health system and Victoria’s policy approach to COVID-19 management across departments and agencies.
• Advocate for Victoria’s interests in intergovernmental fora, including supporting the Premier at National Cabinet.
• 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.
• Support the Victorian Government to deliver critical social policy reforms, including continuing to strengthen the VET system, justice reforms, and implementing Best Start, Best Life reforms alongside the continued roll out of three-year-old kindergarten.
• Lead development of a Whole of Victorian Government approach to building the social services workforce.
• Support the successful delivery of the Victorian Government’s Big Housing Build, to help increase the state’s social housing supply by 10% in four years and support Victorians in need.
• Support the implementation of recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, to deliver a reformed and integrated mental health and wellbeing system with community at its core.

Economic Policy and State Productivity

• Provide advice on current and future economic challenges and opportunities, including advice on measures to support Victoria’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Provide advice to support the government’s budgeting and financial management and efficient government operations.
• Provide advice to deliver a renewable energy transition and emissions reduction; support delivery of the government’s environmental and agricultural priorities; and maintain the sustainable use of Victoria’s natural resources in a changing climate.
• Support delivery of the government’s infrastructure program and coordinate a range of reforms to improve the safety, liveability and sustainability of Victoria’s built environment.
• Support delivery of the government’s industry and innovation agenda, including support for the newly established state-owned company, Break-through Victoria Pty Ltd, which is driving investment in commercialisation and jobs outcomes.
• Provide advice to support the efficient operation of markets, while maintaining appropriate protections for consumers.
• Facilitate engagement with international stakeholders in Victoria and overseas, particularly by the Premier and Governor, that promote trade, foreign investment and other priority whole of government objectives.

Industrial Relations Victoria

• Drive co-operative 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.
• Deliver and support policy and legislative reform that contributes to fair, productive and equitable Victorian workplaces, including promoting gender pay equity.
• Promote access to secure, ongoing and meaningful employment for Victorian workers.
• Monitor significant public and private sector industrial relations matters and disputes and provide timely and strategic advice to government.
• 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.

Wage Inspectorate Victoria

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

Ensuring First Peoples in Victoria are strong and self-determining

To ensure we meet this objective, we will deliver the following initiatives through our First Peoples-State Relations group, including the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council.

First Peoples–State Relations

• Advance Aboriginal self-determination and improved outcomes in line with the commitments made in the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018-2023, the Self-Determination Reform Framework, and Victoria’s Implementation Plan for the National Agreement on Closing the Gap 2021-2023.
• Progress the Victorian Government’s negotiation of treaty elements with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria (as the representative body for Traditional Owners and Aboriginal Victorians), in line with the Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Act 2018.
• Lead the whole of government response to the historic Yoorrook Justice Commission, the first ever truth-telling inquiry into the historic and ongoing systemic injustices committed against Aboriginal Victorians since colonisation.
• Drive and support strong cultural heritage management and protection, including supporting Traditional Owners, maintaining the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register and acquitting statutory functions under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006, such as activities to promote and enforce compliance.
• Deliver the Aboriginal Community Infrastructure Program and the First Mortgage and Community Infrastructure Program to enable Aboriginal organisations to meet their infrastructure needs and serve their communities.
• Support and resource Traditional Owner Groups by delivering Nation-Building initiatives, particularly that build and strengthen non-formally recognised Traditional Owner Groups.
• Support the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council to progress and fulfil its statutory functions.
• Progress and fulfil the Victorian Government’s statutory responsibilities under the Aboriginal Lands Act 1970 and Aboriginal Lands Act 1991, and support self-governance and self-determination activities at Lake Tyers and Framlingham Aboriginal Trusts.

Providing professional public administration

To achieve the professional public administration objective, we will deliver the following initiatives through the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, the Office of the Governor and Public Record Office Victoria. Our Legal, Legislation and Governance group also have an oversight role in supporting the Victorian Public Sector Commission and public entities and special bodies deliver initiatives.

Legal, Legislation and Governance

• 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.
• Provide guidance and advice on public sector executive workforce policies to ensure consistent and transparent executive employment and remuneration practices across the public sector.
• Provide legal and policy advice to support the Premier, DPC’s Ministers and the department more broadly, including during the caretaker period.
• Support the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal to uphold integrity and trust in remuneration arrangements for Members of Parliament, senior public officials and elected local government officials.

Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel

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

Office of the Governor

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

Public Record Office Victoria

• Improve government recordkeeping through standards, guidance and compliance monitoring.
• Increase the usage of the state’s archives through digitisation, provision of innovative online access and promotion of the collection.
• Build the collection by identifying records of state significance and ensuring they are securely cared for.

In addition to the corporate and government business groups that support DPC’s business, the forward estimates represent the allocation of resources that also enable the delivery of DPC’s key priorities and ongoing delivery of economic, commercial, financial, budget and resource management outputs.

DPC operating statement

DPC capital program 2022–23

New projects

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Existing projects

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Completed projects

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