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

Public Transport Victoria (PTV) established a project in 2015 to prepare for the next franchise agreements—known as the MR4 project.

Figure D1

MR4 project governance structure

Source: PTV.

Operational performance

Public Transport Victoria (PTV) measures operational performance in two main ways, summarised in Figure C1.

Figure C1

Train and tram operational performance measures

Figure B1 summarises past audits with similar themes and findings.

Figure B1 Past VAGO audits and findings

We have consulted with the Department of Economic Development, Jobs & Transport, Public Transport Victoria, and Victorian Rail Track throughout the course of our audits, and we considered their views when reaching our audit conclusions. As required by section 16(3) of the Audit Act 1994, we gave a draft copy of this report, or relevant extracts, to those agencies and asked for their submissions and comments.

Responsibility for the accuracy, fairness and balance of those comments rests solely with the agency head.

Responses were received as follows:

The current train and tram franchise agreements—known as MR3—expire in November 2017. The agreements give franchisees the exclusive right to negotiate with the state to extend the agreement for up to seven years, if they meet certain performance benchmarks.