Appendix C. Scope of this audit
| Who we audited | What we assessed | What the audit cost |
|---|---|---|
| All eight Victorian Government departments | We assessed:
|
Appendix B. Acronyms and abbreviations
| Acronyms | |
|---|---|
| BP3 | Budget Paper No. |
Appendix A. Submissions and comments
We have consulted DELWP, DET, DFFH, DH, DJCS, DJPR, DoT, DPC and DTF, and we considered their views when reaching our audit conclusions. As required by 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.
4. Using performance information
Conclusion
It is difficult for the government, Parliament and the community to use the results departments publish in BP3 and their annual reports to understand performance. This is due to:
3. Measuring output performance
Conclusion
Across all departments and service delivery areas, there are many output performance measures that provide little genuine insight into departmental performance. This is despite the Framework describing output performance measures as the 'building blocks of the accountability system' and the 'basis for the certification of departmental revenue'. This is a significant failure by departments in the application of the state's key performance and accountability framework. Contributing issues include:
2. Measuring outcomes
Conclusion
Departments have not consistently developed or reported on objective indicators that show their achievement against their stated objectives. This means departments are not meeting the Framework's mandatory requirements. More importantly, it weakens departments' accountability and transparency by preventing the government, Parliament and the community from accessing vital information about their performance. Without information on departments' outcome achievement, the government lacks a sound basis for future investment and policy decisions.
1. Audit context
Departments measure and report on their service performance to show what they have delivered with public money. This information helps the government to allocate funding, and Parliament and the community to understand if departments are delivering efficient and effective services.
DTF sets performance reporting requirements for departments. Each year, departments provide details of their objectives and associated performance measures, targets and results in the state's Budget papers. Departments also publicly report on their performance in their annual reports.
Maintaining Local Roads
Road maintenance ensures roads are safe and functional. In Victoria, councils manage local roads, which comprise 87 per cent of the state's road network. Local roads represent 10 per cent of council expenditure, so councils need to maintain them in a cost efficient and financially sustainable way.
We examined whether councils use asset data, budget information and community feedback to inform their planning for road maintenance. We also looked at whether councils are finding and implementing ways to achieve value for money and maintain roads in a timely manner.
Reporting on Local Government Performance
Our dashboard is an interactive tool to compare council performance across the nine service areas that councils report on in the Local Government Performance Reporting Framework (LGPRF). The dashboard includes four years of available performance information between 2014–18, which lets you compare a council’s performance against any of the 79 councils in Victoria. You can view performance information by a service area, or focus on a performance category such as the cost of services.
Results of 2017–18 Audits: Local Government
Our dashboard is an interactive visualisation tool summarising the financial statement data for Victoria’s 79 councils in financial year 2017-2018.
We grouped councils into five cohorts based on size, demographics and funding: