Introduction

We have professionally engaged with portfolio departments, the boards in the case studies (from Box Hill Institute and Centre for Adult Education, CenITex, Fed Square Pty Ltd and Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute), the Department of Premier and Cabinet and the Victorian Public Sector Commission throughout the course of the audit. In accordance with section 16(3) of the Audit Act 1994 we provided a copy of this report or relevant extracts to those agencies, and requested their submissions and comments.

Under the Public Administration Act 2004 (PAA), a public sector board is responsible for:

Under the Public Administration Act 2004 (PAA), portfolio departments and the Victorian Public Sector Commission (VPSC) support public entities and boards to fulfil their functions effectively.

In this Part of the report, we assess the guidance and support all public boards receive from their portfolio departments and from the VPSC.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) administers the Appointment and Remuneration Guidelines (the Guidelines) for public sector boards. We assessed the Guidelines and how DPC administers them.

The Victorian public sector is made up of the Victorian public service (departments, offices and other designated bodies), and special bodies and public entities such as statutory authorities, state-owned corporations and advisory bodies that exercise a public function.

Public entities are generally legally distinct and established for a specific purpose. They have defined functions and operate with varying degrees of autonomy. Public entities are ultimately accountable to a minister for their performance.

Boards are the governing bodies of public sector entities. Board members set the overall strategic direction for the entity, and monitor and manage the performance of senior management. They also oversee operations and regulatory compliance, and have an important role in keeping responsible ministers and government departments aware of the major risks that their entities face. Effective boards set policies to mitigate these risks and promote transparent, accountable governance.

Ordered to be published

VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRINTER May 2017

 PP No 246, Session 2014-2017

Activity-based funding

Method of allocating funding based on unit prices for each activity undertaken and the volume of that activity an entity is to perform.

Adverse opinion

An audit opinion expressed if the auditor has sufficient appropriate audit evidence and concludes that misstatements, individually and in aggregate, are both material and pervasive in the financial report.

Figure C1 shows the risk ratings applied to issues raised in management letters, what it represents and the expected time taken to correct the issue.

Figure C1

Risk definitions applied to issues reported in audit management letters

Figure B1 shows the indicators used in assessing the financial sustainability risks of public hospitals. These indicators should be considered collectively, and are more useful when assessed over time as part of a trend analysis.

Figure B1

Financial sustainability risk indicators