Buses are a significant form of public transport, providing cross-town transport, local services and links to the rail network. They are often the only readily accessible form of public transport available for people living in Melbourne's middle and outer suburbs.
Public Transport Victoria (PTV) oversees public transport operators. It is responsible for managing all bus service contracts, which currently cost the state around $1 billion per year.
In July 2005, the state entered into a contract to develop myki, a smartcard public transport ticketing system to replace the ageing Metcard system.
Just over half of myki's almost $1 billion initial budget—around $520 million—was for establishing the system by 2007 and operating it for 10 years. The remainder was for operating Metcard in parallel with myki during the transition, and to cover the former Transport Ticketing Authority's (TTA) related costs for managing Metcard and its replacement.
Maritime recreational activities contribute greatly to Victorians' quality of life. The growing popularity of these activities, coupled with the significant scale and, in some instances, the remoteness of state waters, highlights the challenge and need for the state to manage the associated safety risks effectively. The responsibility for managing marine safety is shared between:
VAGO undertakes performance audits into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of public sector agencies and their operations to provide assurance to Parliament and drive public sector improvement. We aim to achieve this by identifying issues and making recommendations to agencies about how to address them. However, our recommendations cannot result in improvements unless they are accepted and enacted by public sector agencies.
Audit committees play a key accountability role in the governance framework of Victorian public sector agencies. While management retains ultimate accountability for operations, audit committees independently review and assess the effectiveness of key aspects of an agency's operations.
The Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity defines biosecurity as 'the management of risks to the economy, the environment, and the community, of pests and diseases entering, emerging, establishing or spreading'.
Victoria's agricultural sector comprises around 30 000 businesses and employs more than 190 000 Victorians, mostly in regional Victoria. The sector contributes significantly to the state's economy. In 2014–15, Victorian food and fibre exports were valued at $11.6 billion—27 per cent of Australia's total food and fibre exports.
Major Projects Victoria (MPV) was established to provide project delivery and development services across the Victorian public sector for complex, technically challenging or unique projects of state significance.
Effective infrastructure planning and delivery are critical to the state's future prosperity and liveability. Government introduced the High Value High Risk (HVHR) process to address systemic weaknesses undermining agencies' performance in developing and investing in major projects.
Regional Victoria is an integral part of Victoria's economy. Approximately a quarter of Victorians live in regional areas where the population is projected to grow from 1.48 million to 2.91 million by 2036. The regional economy contributed $66.9 billion to the state economy in 2013–14, approximately 19.6 per cent. It also provided 21 per cent of the state's employment.