Corporate governance
Department of Health Executive(30 June 2014)
The department is led by the Secretary andismanaged by a senior executive group comprising of a Deputy Secretary for each of thefive divisions, the Chief Executive of the Commission for Hospital Improvement and the Chief Adviser on Innovation, Safety and Quality.
Dr Pradeep Philip
Dr Pradeep Philip leads the department in developing and implementing government health strategies and policy. Dr Philip is responsible for giving advice to ministers and providing support to the government on matters within the department’s portfolios.
Elise Davies
Elise Davies is the Acting Chief Executive oftheCommission for Hospital Improvement. TheCommission supports the health sector to deliver better healthcare andpatient outcomes inVictoria by building leadership capability, fostering best practice andinnovation, and facilitating communication and collaboration.
Peter Fitzgerald
Peter Fitzgerald is the Deputy Secretary of theHealth Strategy, Productivity and Analytics Division, which is responsible for supporting the Victorian health system through the development of longer-term strategy, the management of workforce planning and initiatives, the building ofa data analytics and intelligence capability, and the management of media and government relations.
Pier De Carlo
Pier De Carlo is Acting Deputy Secretary for theRegulation Health Protection and Regions Division.
The division is responsible for improving and protecting the health of all Victorians by providing health regulation and expert information and advice; clinical statutory leadership and monitoring; regional relationship management, service system coordination and performance monitoring; and emergency management health responses.
Paul Smith
Paul Smith is the Deputy Secretary of the Mental Health, Wellbeing and Ageing Division, whichdraws together program activities across mental health, ageing and aged care, prevention and population health, Aboriginal health, and primary and community health.The division also drives policy work aimed at addressing the health needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) community and disadvantaged groups such as vulnerable children and refugees. With a strong focus on community wellbeing, the division ensures there is integration of the department’s non-hospital, community-based programs.
Frances Diver
Frances Diver is the Deputy Secretary of the Health Service Performance and Programs Division.
The division draws together the key areas of interface with the health service sector, providing an integrated approach to health service performance management.
It is responsible for health service programs andpolicy, governance and accountability arrangements, including clinical governance, quality and safety, consumer participation, andperformance. In addition, it leads asset management, capital projects and service planning as well as oversight of key specialist clinical program areas including drugs, blood products and new technology.
The division also has carriage of ambulance services and responsibility for shaping the department’s approach to private hospitals.
Lance Wallace
Lance Wallace is the Deputy Secretary, Corporate Services Division.
The division provides an integrated approach to corporate services, allowing the department to generate benefits in terms of both effectiveness and scale. It is responsible for driving significant improvements in departmental support processes, including enhancements delivered under the Unified: Purpose, Passion, People Business Process Improvement initiative. The division provides a coordinated corporate and performance planning process and drives efficiency gains in the procurement process.
Prof.Chris Brook
Professor Brook is the Chief Adviser on Innovation, Safety and Quality, responsible for delivering marquee improvement projects by drawing together resources and knowledge from across the department and health sector.
The Chief Adviser provides advice, expertise andleadership to support the integrated approach the department is taking to meet fundamental policy challenges for the Victorian health system into the future.
Organisational structure
As at 30 June 2014
Delegations register – Executive
The Chief Finance Officer is designated as the Chief Finance and Accounting Officer under s.43(1)(a) of the Financial Management Act 1994.
The generic and specific executive recurrent general financial authorisations applicable to the department are:
Position / AuthorisationMinister / $10,000,000 plus
Secretary / Up to $10,000,000
Deputy Secretary / Up to $1,000,000
Chief Executive, Commission for Hospital Improvement / Up to $1,000,000
Chief Finance Officer / Up to $250,000
Directors / Up to $250,000
Executive Officers / Up to $50,000
Office Service Managers / Up to $5,000
Note: Under $100,000 a number of other financial authorisations are delegated to various positions
Health Executive Remuneration Committee
The committee is responsible for ensuring a consistent and rigorous approach to executive remuneration. In the context of wider Victorian Government executive wages policy, the committee determines departmental executive remuneration policy and considers individual adhoc remuneration adjustment requests.
The committee comprises:
•Secretary, Department of Health (Chair)
•Deputy Secretary, Corporate Services
•Director, Human Resources
Business Technology and Information Management Subcommittee
The Business Technology and Information Management Subcommittee of the Executive (formerly the Information Management and Information and Communications Technology Subcommittee) is responsible for ensuring acoordinated, outcome-focused approach toallbusiness technology and information management activity in the department, including:
•strategy and policy development and compliance
•structure and resourcing
•program management
•interaction with relevant external parties.
All management within the department is required to interact with this subcommittee andits related structures to ensure business technology and information management is usedefficiently and effectively to achieve the department’s goals.
The subcommittee comprises:
•Deputy Secretary, Corporate Services, Department of Health (Chair)
•Deputy Secretary and/or a nominated Directorfor each division
•Chief Information Officer, Department ofHealth
•a national representative.
The Business Technology and Information Management Subcommittee functions as the Information Management Program Board every second meeting. The Information Program Board is responsible for delivering the outcomes of the departmental Information Management Strategy and associated work program.
Joint Accredited Purchasing Unit
The Financial Management Act 1994 makes provisions for the Victorian Government Purchasing Board to develop, implement and monitor procurement policy, including the accreditation of government agencies for procurement activity for the supply of goods andservices, and the management and disposalof goods.
The delegation of the board’s powers through theaccreditation process has enabled the Department of Health and Department of HumanServices to maintain a Joint Accredited Purchasing Unit to ensure compliance with the board’s policy, oversee the procurement processand approve requisitions (procurement proposals) within the accreditation limit, currently tier two (approval up to $10 million), without reference to the board.
The primary objective of the Joint Accredited Purchasing Unit is to provide leadership and a central point of focus forstrategic matters related to all purchasing within each department.
The Joint Accredited Purchasing Unit currentlycomprises the following members:
From the Department of Health:
•Chief Finance Officer
•A/Director, System Intelligence and Analytics
•A/Deputy Secretary, Regulation, Health Protection and Regions
•Manager, Commercial Operations
•Manager, Strategy, Commercial Operations
From the Department of Human Services:
•A/Executive Director, Corporate Services (Chair)
•Director, Procurement and Contract Management (CPO)
•Director, People and Culture
•Director, Corporate Services, West Division
Reporting and accountability
Corporate management information and reporting services operate in accordance withinternal and external accountability requirementsand decision-making needs.
An annual report of the department’s operationsand financial statements is preparedand tabled in Parliament each year. The financial statements are audited by the Victorian Auditor-General.
The financial statements include the declaration of the Accountable Officer and Chief Finance and Accounting Officer that the financial statements accurately reflect the financial transactions of the year and financial position atthe end of the year.
The department certifies its compliance with the requirements of the Standing Directions of the Minister for Finance 2003 each year through the Financial Management Compliance Framework Certification.
The department certifies its compliance with riskmanagement through the Risk Management Attestation each year, which is signed by the Secretary and included in the annual report.
The department certifies its compliance with insurance through the Insurance Attestation, which issigned by the Secretary and included inthe annual report.
Each year, the Chief Finance Officer formally states to the Secretary and the Audit and Risk Management Committee that:
•the financial report is an accurate reflection, inall material respects, of the department’s financial condition and operational results inaccordance with the requirements of the Financial Management Act 1994, including the directions
•the financial report is founded on a sound system of risk management, and internal compliance and control, which implements the policies adopted by the Accountable Officer (as the responsible body)
•the department’s risk management, and internal compliance and control system, isoperating efficiently and effectively in all material respects in accordance with the requirements of the Standing Directions of theMinister for Finance under the Financial Management Act 1994.
The governance certifications and risk attestations are supported by the work of theRisk and Assurance Unit (with KPMG the outsourced internal audit service provider), a Financial Governance function, an Audit and Risk Management Committee, Budget Management and Funding Unit and a Fraud Prevention Unit (a shared service through the Department of Human Services) and risk management attestations to the Secretary.
Audit, risk and insurance management
Audit and Risk Management Committee
The Audit and Risk Management Committee is an independent committee established in accordance with the Financial Management Act 1994 and the Standing Directions of the Minister for Finance (2003).
The committee operates under an approved charter and is comprised of the following members:
•Jo-Anne Stephenson, Chair (independent appointee)
•Jan West AM (independent appointee)
•Gaye Mason (independent appointee)
•Peter Fitzgerald (Deputy Secretary, Health Strategy, Productivity and Analytics)
•Tony Dunn (Regional Director, Hume Region) (resigned in June 2014)
•Peter Nagel (Manager, Mental Health, Drugs and Regions Division) (resigned in December 2013)
•Vincent Brown (Manager, Wellbeing, Integrated Care and Ageing Division) (resigned in February 2014)
The committee is an important component of the department’s approach to governance, ensuring thatsystems and processes for identifying and monitoring risks are operating as intended. The independence of the committee will be strengthened in 2014–15 with the appointment of additional independent members.
The department has engaged KPMG to undertake all internal audit services.
Risk management context
The department’s 2013–14 attestation is supported by:
•ongoing consideration of risk management processes as part of the department’splanning and decision-making processes
•risk management maturity reviews conducted by the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority and the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office
•annual review of the risk profile of the department with divisional and regional managers
•an annual attestation process in relation to risk management processes by key executives across the department
•an audit and assurance program aligned with the department’s risk profile
•closer integration of risk and audit services with other corporate services that provide oversight and technical advice to the department.
The department has developed an improvement strategy for its risk management framework and processes and is progressively delivering against this strategy.
Risk attestation
I, Dr Pradeep Philip, certify that the Department of Health is progressively improving its risk management processes consistent with the Australian/New Zealand Risk Management Standard AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 within the context set out above. An internal control system is in place and continues to be strengthened and improved to enable the Executive to understand, manage and satisfactorily control risk exposures consistent with the level of risk management maturity of the department.
The department’s risk profile has been critically reviewed within the last 12 months and the Audit and Risk Management Committee endorses this assurance.
Dr Pradeep Philip
Secretary
Department of Health
Insurance attestation
I, Dr Pradeep Philip, certify that the Department of Health has complied with Ministerial Direction 4.5.5.1 – Insurance.
Dr Pradeep Philip
Secretary
Department of Health
Compliance with DataVic Access Policy
Consistent with the DataVic Access Policy issued by the Victorian Government in 2012, theinformation included in this annual report will be available at machinereadable format.
During 2013–14 the department made 1,266 datasets available on the Victorian Government Data Directory, exceeding our original target of 123 datasets set by the Department of Treasury and Finance. The majority of the data made available was town and community profiles.
Summarised data published by the department is at This includes information about service provision (including health service performance), public health indicators, infectious disease surveillance, birth and birth defects and alcohol and drug services.
As well as summarised data,the department maintains a number of de-identified datasets that health researchers can access. These detailed datasets, which adhere to strict privacy guidelines, contain a wealth of information to support better understanding of Victorian’s health.
They include:
•Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset on all patients admitted to Victorian hospitals
•Perinatal Data Collection which contains information about mothers and babies born in Victoria
•Notifiable Infectious Diseases Data on conditions that must be reported to the department under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008.
Victorian health data is also made available by a number of national agencies including:
•through the MyHospitals website:
•Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (data):
•National Health Performance Authority:
People management
This workforce information is provided in accordance with the Minister for Finance’s Reporting Direction 29, ‘Workforce data disclosures in the report of operations, public service employees’.
A new organisational structure was introduced in April 2014 and as a consequence of this change adirect year-to-year comparison of divisional FTE is not possible.
Workforce data
Total staffing numbers
Staffing numbers (FTE) – division / 30 June 2013 / 30 June 2014Commission for Hospital Improvement / 14.1 / N/A
Finance and Corporate Services / 220.6 / N/A
Hospital and Health Service Performance / 194.9 / N/A
Mental Health, Drugs and Regions / 114.8 / N/A
Office of Secretary / 5.8 / N/A
Strategy and Policy / 143.5 / N/A
Wellbeing, Integrated Care and Ageing / 405.1 / N/A
Regions / 188.3 / N/A
Total / 1287.1 / N/A
Total staffing numbers
Staffing numbers (FTE) – division / 30 June 2013 / 30 June 2014Commission for Hospital Improvement / N/A / 17.1
Corporate Services / N/A / 286.1
Health Service Performance and Programs / N/A / 173.3
Mental Health, Wellbeing and Ageing / N/A / 245.8
Office of Secretary / N/A / 11.0
Health Strategy, Productivity and Analytics / N/A / 171.0
Regulation, Health Protection and Regions* / N/A / 225.6
Regions / N/A / 193.8
Total / N/A / 1323.7
*Excludes regional staff
Total staffing numbers – ongoing
OngoingEmployees
(head count) / Full-time
(head count) / Part-time andother
(head count) / Full-time
equivalent
As at 30 June 2013 / 1244 / 980 / 264 / 1155
As at 30 June 2014 / 1299 / 1022 / 277 / 1202
Total staffing numbers – fixed-term
Fixed-termEmployees
(head count) / Full-time
(head count) / Part-time andother
(head count) / Full-time
equivalent
As at 30 June 2013 / 140 / 118 / 22 / 132
As at 30 June 2014 / 129 / 110 / 19 / 122
Total staffing numbers – gender
Gender / As at 30 June 2013 / As at 30 June 2014Ongoing / Fixed-term
and other / Ongoing / Fixed-term
and other
Head count / Full-time equivalent / Full-time equivalent / Head count / Full-time equivalent / Full-time equivalent
Female / 802 / 719 / 83 / 841 / 751.0 / 79.6
Male / 442 / 436 / 49 / 458 / 450.8 / 42.1
Total staffing numbers – age
Age / As at 30 June 2013 / As at 30 June 2014Ongoing / Fixed-term
and other / Ongoing / Fixed-term
and other
Head count / Full-time equivalent / Full-time equivalent / Head count / Full-time equivalent / Full-time equivalent
0–24 / 17 / 17.0 / 3.4 / 11 / 11.0 / 5.2
25–34 / 192 / 179.5 / 57.4 / 203 / 190.0 / 36.4
35–44 / 366 / 323.7 / 37.7 / 381 / 338.8 / 39.1
45–54 / 386 / 361.4 / 21.4 / 384 / 353.8 / 26.8
55–64 / 263 / 256.0 / 8.6 / 294 / 284.5 / 11.0
65+ / 20 / 17.5 / 3.4 / 26 / 23.7 / 3.4
Total staffing numbers – officer type
Officer type / As at 30 June 2013 / As at 30 June 2014Ongoing / Fixed-term
and other / Ongoing / Fixed-term
and other
Employees
(head count) / Employees
(FTE) / Employees
(FTE) / Employees
(head count) / Employees
(FTE) / Employees
(FTE)
Executives / 38 / 37.8 / 0 / 41 / 39.5 / 1.0
Senior Tech Specialists / 9 / 8.6 / 0 / 9 / 8.2 / 1.0
VPS-6 / 278 / 267.2 / 24.2 / 306 / 293.3 / 18.2
VPS-5 / 501 / 458.9 / 63.2 / 519 / 472.5 / 51.7
VPS-4 / 191 / 174.8 / 16.3 / 209 / 192.8 / 23.0
VPS-3 / 108 / 98.7 / 17.2 / 104 / 95.7 / 10.2
VPS-2 / 53 / 49.3 / 3.0 / 45 / 40.1 / 4.9
VPS-1 / 1 / 0.9 / 0 / 1 / 0.9 / 0
Other / 65 / 59.0 / 8.0 / 65 / 58 / 13
Reconciliation of executive numbers
The number of executives in the report of operations is based on the number of executive positions occupied at the end of the financial year.
The note to the financial statements regarding remuneration of executives lists the actual number andremuneration paid to executive officers over the course of the reporting period. The note to the financial statements does not distinguish between executive levels, nor does itdisclose separations, vacant positions, or include the Accountable Officer. Separations are those executives who have left the department or executive employment during the financial year.
Disclosures in the report of operations contain information on:
•executive classifications and the number of positions
•gender composition of the classifications
•variations between the current and previous reporting period.
The reconciliation of executive numbers betweenthe report of operations and note 19 (remuneration of executives) of the financial statements is to improve the transparency and completeness of the information disclosed.
The department has also included executive numbers for all Victorian public sector authorities within its portfolio responsibility.
Executive officer definition
For a department, an executive officer is a person employed as an executive under Part 3, Division 5 of the Public Administration Act 2004. The total group of executives is classified into two distinct categories based on the following definitions:
•ongoing executives are executives responsible for functions or outputs that are expected to be ongoing at the reporting date
•special projects executives are executives who are employed for a specific project. These projects are generally for a fixed period and relate to a specific government priority.
The definition of an executive does not include Governor-in-Council appointments as statutory office holders.