The department aims to deliver the following key initiatives. We will report on achievements against them and progress towards meeting our objectives in the department’s 2023–24 annual report.
Stronger policy outcomes for Victoria
Economic Policy and State Productivity
- Provide advice on current and future economic challenges and opportunities, including the government’s budgeting and financial management, as well as efficient government operations, including the digitising of government services.
- Provide advice to support the efficient operation of markets, while maintaining appropriate protections for consumers.
- Provide advice to deliver a renewable energy transition and emissions reduction, including the State Electricity Commission, 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.
- Coordinate the whole-of-government approach to land and precincts.
- Support delivery of the government’s industry and innovation agenda, including driving investment in commercialisation and jobs outcomes. Provide advice to deliver the government’s skills and workforce priorities.
- Facilitate engagement with international stakeholders in Victoria and overseas, particularly by the Premier and the Governor, that promote trade, foreign investment and other priority whole-of-government objectives.
Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations
- Ensure strategic-decision makers are supported in their efforts to undertake key reforms to the justice system and strengthen the disaster resilience and security of all Victorians, including through implementing the recommendations of state and national reviews and inquiries.
- Support the delivery of critical social policy reforms to improve outcomes for vulnerable Victorians, including the Big Housing Build, reform in the children and families system and continuing implementation of family-violence reform.
- Support the Victorian Government to deliver key commitments to improve the health and wellbeing of Victorians, including the record health-infrastructure pipeline, as well as supporting health-system reform and performance.
- Support the Victorian Government to deliver critical education policy reforms, including negotiating the new National School Reform Agreement and implementing Best Start, Best Life reforms alongside the continued roll out of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten.
- Support the ongoing 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, as well as the progression of critical alcohol and other drug system reforms.
- Advocate for Victorian interests in intergovernmental relations and work collaboratively with other jurisdictions and the Commonwealth Government on National Cabinet priorities, including on health reform and productivity enhancing proposals.
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, including through engagement with the Commonwealth Government and other Australian jurisdictions, that contributes to fair, productive and equitable Victorian workplaces, and promotes gender pay equity.
- Promote access to secure, ongoing and meaningful employment for Victorian workers, including through advocating to the Commonwealth Government for reforms to the Fair Work Act 2009.
- Monitor significant public and private sector industrial relations matters and disputes and provide timely and strategic advice to government.
- Support industrial relations portfolio entities and authorities to deliver their legislative obligations, including in relation to wage theft, long service leave, labour hire, child employment and on-demand workers.
Wage Inspectorate Victoria
- Influence Victorian workplaces to achieve enduring compliance with Victorian law covering child employment, long service leave and contractors in transport and forestry.
- Drive operations of wage-theft compliance, enforcement and education activities to continue to protect workers from exploitation.
Ensuring First Peoples in Victoria are strong and self-determining
First Peoples-State Relations
- Support strong policy outcomes for First Peoples that promote self-determination and address injustice, by driving whole-of-government policy and reform in the Treaty and First Peoples portfolio.
- Coordinate implementation across government of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, including supporting the Partnership Forum on Closing the Gap as the Victorian Government’s formal shared decision-making forum.
- Advance Aboriginal self-determination and improved outcomes in line with commitments made by the Victorian Government.
- Prepare to embark on the next phase of the landmark Treaty process and commence formal Treaty negotiations with Victoria’s Traditional Owners and First Peoples.
- Drive and support strong cultural heritage management and protection under Victoria’s Aboriginal cultural heritage system.
- Support non-formally recognised Traditional Owner groups to access the independent legal and research services required to gain recognition and activate rights.
- Work with First Peoples and support the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples to respond to native title claims made in the Federal Court of Australia.
- Negotiate and implement agreements between the State and Traditional Owner Groups, under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010.
- Lead the whole-of-government response to the Yoorrook Justice Commission, the nation’s first truth-telling inquiry into historic and ongoing systemic injustices committed against Aboriginal Victorians since colonisation.
- Support Aboriginal organisations to build, repair, refurbish or expand community infrastructure.
- Deliver the Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence in accordance with self-determined decision-making processes.
- Support self-governance and self-determination activities at the Lake Tyers and Framlingham Aboriginal Trusts.
- Recognise the achievements of Aboriginal Victorians and celebrate the diversity of Aboriginal cultures in Victoria through Aboriginal cultural events and awards.
- Support the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council to progress and fulfil its statutory functions.
Improved public administration and support for the Victorian public service
Cabinet, Legal and Governance
- Provide legal and policy advice to support the Premier, DPC’s Ministers and the department more broadly.
- 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.
- 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
- supporting the Premier and the Minister for Government Services to respond to key integrity agency reports and improve Victoria’s parliamentary integrity and standards regime.
- Provide guidance and advice on public sector executive workforce policies to ensure consistent and transparent executive employment and remuneration practices across the public sector.
- 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.
Strategic Communications, Engagement and Protocol
- Lead and advise Victorian government departments and agencies on best practice and setting standards in advertising and research governance, strategic communications, media strategy and insights.
- Provide advice on protocol matters to the public service and deliver events of major state significance.
- Develop a whole-of-government communications strategy to improve access to information for people with disability.
Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel
- Continue implementing 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.
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