2013/14 reporting year
Enquiries:
Agency Support Division, Public Sector Commission
Dumas House, 2 Havelock Street, West Perth 6005
Locked Bag 3002, West Perth WA 6872
Telephone: (08) 6552 8500 Fax: (08) 6552 8710
Email:
Website: www.publicsector.wa.gov.au
© State of Western Australia 2014
There is no objection to this publication being copied in whole or part, provided there is due acknowledgement of any material quoted or reproduced from the publication.
Published by the Public Sector Commission (Western Australia), March 2014.
Copies of this publication are available on the Public Sector Commission website at www.publicsector.wa.gov.au
Disclaimer
The Western Australian Government is committed to quality service to its customers and makes every attempt to ensure accuracy, currency and reliability of the data contained in these documents. However, changes in circumstances after time of publication may impact the quality of this information.
Confirmation of the information may be sought from originating bodies or departments providing the information.
Accessibility
Copies of this document are available in alternative formats upon request.
Contents
Commissioner’s overview 4
Introduction 5
1. Principles for reporting 6
Quality of information 6
Presentation 7
Readability 7
Format and layout 7
2. Guidelines for reporting 8
Timing 8
Distribution 9
Publication 11
Feedback 13
Annual reporting awards 13
3. Sources of annual reporting requirements 14
Financial Management Act 2006 and Treasurer’s instructions 14
Model annual reports 14
Other sources 15
Government goals 15
4. Structure and content of annual reports 16
Overview of the agency 16
Agency performance 17
Significant issues impacting the agency 17
Disclosures and legal compliance 17
Need assistance? 24
Appendix A – Annual report checklist 25
Annual reporting framework Contents 4
Commissioner’s overview
Annual reports are a vital tool in ensuring financial and performance accountability to the Western Australian Parliament. They are also increasingly important in assisting the public’s understanding of the operations of government agencies.
The Annual reporting framework (the Framework) is designed to guide agencies in the development of their annual report and ensure that the various reporting obligations can be readily identified and consistently addressed.
The Commission facilitates the annual coordination and publication of the Framework through content provided by the Department of Commerce, Department of Finance, Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Department of Treasury, WA Electoral Commission, Disability Services Commission, Equal Opportunity Commission, State Library of WA and the National Library of Australia.
This year, the Commission has revised the Framework to reflect recent changes to reporting requirements regarding board and committee remuneration. Agencies are now required to report on the individual and aggregate costs of remunerating all positions on all boards and committees as defined in the Premier’s Circular 2010/02 – State Government Boards and Committees.
I hope the Framework will assist you in the development of your annual report to ensure the transparency of your agency and in turn, contribute to increasing the reputation of the public sector.
M C Wauchope
PUBLIC SECTOR COMMISSIONER
Annual reporting framework 2013/14 reporting year Appendix A – Annual report checklist 28
Introduction
This Framework assists agencies in the preparation of annual reports by providing a summary of expectations and the various reporting requirements.
It is a requirement under s. 61 of the Financial Management Act 2006 (FM Act) that the accountable authority of an agency prepares an annual report at the end of each financial year. An agency is defined as a department, sub-department or statutory authority listed in Schedule 1.
Agencies should also be familiar with legislation and policies that stipulate their annual reporting obligations, including the:
· Public Sector Management Act 1994 (s. 31) (PSM Act)
· Financial Management Act 2006 (FM Act)
· Legal Deposit Act 2012
· Treasurer’s instructions (TIs)
· specific legislation, including enabling legislation, for statutory authorities
· cabinet decisions
· policy statements such as Premier’s Circulars, Public Sector Commissioner’s Circulars and Public Sector Commissioner’s Instructions
· Public Sector Commissioner’s Circular 2013-01 – Annual Reporting.
Agencies that are not subject to the FM Act, but are required to prepare an annual report, should do so in accordance with their enabling legislation and consider how that legislation relates to the PSM Act and FM Act in terms of reporting requirements.
The following four sections form the structure of the Framework:
1. provides principles for the presentation and content of annual reports
2. provides guidelines for timing, distribution and publication
3. identifies the sources for annual reporting requirements
4. outlines the structure and presentation of content.
Annual reporting framework 2013/14 reporting year Appendix A – Annual report checklist 28
1. Principles for reporting
The four principles agencies should follow for annual reporting are:
· quality of information
· presentation
· readability
· format and layout.
Quality of information
The quality of information contained in annual reports is paramount and should enable the reader to understand the agency, its purpose, services and performance.
The annual report should be the primary mechanism for reporting agency performance against the strategic plan, budget papers, resource agreement and other strategic documents. It should also outline the agency’s contribution to broader Government-desired outcomes.
Information should be factual, avoid generalisations and include all relevant information—not just the ‘good news’. Outcomes should be emphasised, as opposed to purely the process or procedure.
All obligatory components of the annual report (listed in sections 3 and 4 of this document) must be included. If the agency has no applicable information for a particular requirement, an appropriate explanation should be provided.
The annual report should also specify the extent of the agency’s compliance with various legislative and Government policy requirements, as discussed in section 4.
Presentation
With Parliament as the primary audience, annual reports should be presented as an objective account of agency performance, rather than be designed for promotional or commercial purposes.
While presentation can attract the reader and clarify content, agencies should ensure costs are kept to a minimum for graphics, photographs, artwork and printing.
Limited use of colour is permitted, however its purpose should be to add value to the report and enhance its readability. It should not be used extensively throughout the report or as a means of promoting the agency.
If a glossy or colourful document is required, the agency should produce a document separate to the annual report in accordance with the agency’s policy for developing promotional materials. Content extracted from the annual report may be used for such a document, but it should not be the official annual report.
Readability
Reports should be:
· clear and concise – written in plain English, excluding unnecessary text and with minimal technical jargon
· easy to understand – key points of interest should be highlighted for readers, with graphs and comparative data to allow for quick understanding of the report’s content
· written with the target audience in mind – although Parliamentarians are the primary audience, agencies should consider a wide range of stakeholders including special interest citizens’ groups, non-government organisations as well as the general public including people with disability. As such, the language used should cater for all readers. Information should also be made available in alternative formats upon request.
Format and layout
The presentation of the annual report should be simple and logical, allowing readers to easily access information.
A table of contents should be included, applying the recommended structure to present information as required in section 4 of this document:
· Overview of the agency
· Agency performance
· Significant issues impacting the agency
· Disclosures and legal compliance.
Annual reporting framework 2013/14 reporting year Appendix A – Annual report checklist 28
2. Guidelines for reporting
Agencies should consider specific guidelines for:
· timing
· distribution
· publication, including accessibility considerations and reporting of costs
· feedback
· awards for public sector annual reporting.
Timing
Ministers must table audited annual reports, including the audit opinion on the financial statements and key performance indicators, in Parliament within 90 days of the end of the financial year (s. 64(2) FM Act).
Unless an Act provides otherwise, the financial year of an agency ends on 30 June. This is the last working day within the 90 day period for June 2014 reporting entities. Taking into account Parliamentary Sitting Dates, this determines the deadline for 2013/14 reporting as Friday 26 September 2014. Agencies should refer to the enabling legislation for their entity as this may specify a different period or way of determining the date for submission.
Agencies should liaise with the Minister’s Office to ensure that the Minister is afforded sufficient time to consider the information and meet the tabling deadline. In the event that an annual report will not be tabled on time, the Minister must report to Parliament with reasons for the deadline not being met and advise of a revised date for tabling (s.65 FMAct).
Contact: /Anthony Smith
Assistant Director
Financial Policy
Phone: (08) 6551 2466
/ Mark Hort
A/Principal Financial Advisor
Financial Policy
Phone: (08) 6551 2577
Distribution
General
Only a small number of hard copy annual reports should be produced. The main means of distribution and communication should be via the agency’s website.
Parliament
Hard copies
The agency must forward eleven hard copies (and one electronic copy, discussed below) to the relevant Minister’s Office to be tabled in Parliament, unless the Minister’s Office requests additional copies.
It is the responsibility of the Minister’s Office to forward ten hard copies and the electronic copy to the Parliamentary Services Branch, Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC), to facilitate tabling. The reports should be forwarded to:
Peter Kennon
Parliamentary Services Branch
Department of the Premier and Cabinet
1 Parliament Place
WEST PERTH WA 6005
Email:
Electronic copies
While it is the responsibility of the Minister’s Office to provide an electronic copy to the Parliamentary Services Branch, agencies may choose to submit the electronic copy directly by email. Note: large files should not be sent by email.
Parliamentary Services will arrange the inclusion of an electronic copy of the agency’s annual report in Parliament’s Tabled Papers database, available at www.parliament.wa.gov.au
Contact: Peter Kennon, Parliamentary Services, DPC, on (08) 6552 5897 or
Accessibility
To meet accessibility requirements, the annual report needs to be provided in two different formats (i.e. PDF, Word, HTML, RFT). PDF and Word are recommended as these formats are generally the easiest for agencies to create, while meeting the accessibility requirements.
The annual report should be 4MB in size at most, with relevant sections bookmarked to enable navigation from the table of contents. Should the report be too large as one document, agencies may choose to break their report into two or three parts (each being smaller than 4MB) with all chapters available for individual download.
It is accepted that for financial data, 12-point Arial font may not be suitable. At their discretion, agencies may choose a different font size to present their financial data most effectively, while also trying to lessen accessibility concerns.
Images should be compressed at a low resolution to minimise the file size for download from the tabled papers database. The electronic file name should clearly indicate the agency name and reporting year, for example: ‘PSC AR 2014’ or ‘Fisheries AR 2014’.
Contact: John Strijk, State Law Publisher, on (08) 6552 6001 or
Libraries
In addition to the above, the agency must deposit one hard copy with the National Library of Australia within one month of publication, see www.nla.gov.au/legal-deposit.
One hard copy and one electronic copy in PDF format must also be deposited with the State Library of Western Australia as required by the Legal Deposit Act 2012 and Premier’s Circular 2003/17 – Requirements for Western Australian Government Publications and Library Collections. For more information on digital archival standards, see Creating and Keeping Your Digital Treasures - A User Guide, published by SLWA.
Contact: /Legal Deposit Unit
National Library of Australia
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Phone: (02) 6262 1312
Email: / Legal Deposit
State Library of Western Australia
25 Francis Street
PERTH WA 6000
Phone: 9427 3348
Email:
The Minister’s Office must forward one hard copy to the DPC Library:
Information Services
Department of the Premier and Cabinet
6th Floor, 2 Havelock Street
WEST PERTH 6005
Phone: 6552 5888
Email:
Publication
Official version
There must be only one official version of an agency’s annual report, which is the version tabled in Parliament. The content of subsequent copies of the report, including electronic versions, must be identical to the original report tabled in Parliament and include the information audited by the Auditor General. Minor colour differences between versions are acceptable. If changes are necessary subsequent to tabling in Parliament, Standing Order 156 ‘Alteration of papers’ must be complied with.
Contact: Peter Kennon, Parliamentary Services, DPC, on (08) 6552 5897 or
General requirements
Agencies should ensure that:
· annual reports are publicly available, with priority distribution through their website, as soon as possible after tabling in Parliament. Agencies should liaise with the relevant Minister’s Office to determine when their annual report will be tabled
· electronic file sizes are less than 4MB to assist with easy downloading
· if a colour electronic version is provided on the website, it must accommodate non colour printing after download. Items such as maps or graphs, for example, should remain meaningful and easily readable in black and white
· hard copy annual reports can be produced from the electronic copy in black and white or colour
· the cover is produced on uncoated, recyclable and lightweight paper less than 250 gsm in either black and white or colour
· the inside pages are restricted to uncoated, recyclable and lightweight paper less than 110 gsm
· the margins are sized to allow a hard copy to be bound if necessary
· consideration is given to the costs incurred each time any part of the report is printed in colour. While colourful graphics and photographs published on the website may cost significantly less than printing, agencies must consider the printing costs