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Content from this annual report should be attributed as: The State of Queensland (Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services) Annual Report 2015–16.
This report summarises our performance for the financial year ending 30 June 2016. This report reviews our performance against:
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30 September 2016
The Honourable Shannon Fentiman MP
Minister for Communities, Women and Youth,
Minister for Child Safety and Minister for the
Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence.
The Honourable Coralee O’Rourke MP
Minister for Disability Services,
Minister for Seniors and
Minister Assisting the Premier on North Queensland.
The Honourable Grace Grace MP
Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations,
Minister for Racing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs
Dear Ministers
I am pleased to submit for presentation to the Parliament the Annual Report 2015–16 and financial statements for the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services.
I certify that this annual report complies with:
A checklist outlining the annual reporting requirements can be found in appendix 5 of this annual report.
Yours sincerely
Michael Hogan
Director-General
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I am pleased to present the 2015–16 annual report for the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services.
The past year has been another rewarding and challenging one as we maintain our focus on day–to-day service delivery and performance, while driving significant reforms in all our three service areas – child and family services, community services and disability services. Significantly, this includes the commencement of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), as well as implementation of a suite of initiatives as part of the 10-year reforms laid out by the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry, and the Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Strategy.
We have a strong program to deliver the changes needed and much yet to do, but I am very pleased with the work and progress that is making a real difference to the lives of vulnerable Queenslanders.
Our achievements in 2015–16 include:
As reform and change take place we have continued to build the knowledge and capability of our staff as well as embrace innovation to find new and better ways of doing what we do. For example, we delivered more than 150,000 hours of training to 3,750 child safety officers and non-government family support staff across the state regarding our new child safety practice framework. On the innovation front we launched our ideas generation platform, Lightbulb, which staff statewide can use to make suggestions, share ideas and be active participants in innovation processes.
We have strengthened our governance and performance management.
I am especially pleased at the engagement and strong relationships we have developed with our partners in the non-government sector and other government agencies to ensure we deliver the best possible services to our clients. Their commitment, energy and ideas will continue to be important for our future.
We look forward to continuing to work together and to support our three Ministers to implement the government’s objectives and priorities.
I would like to thank staff for their hard work and commitment as we continue to deliver services to enable Queenslanders to participate in and contribute to a fair, resilient and prosperous Queensland.
Michael Hogan
Director-General
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Our purpose is to enable vulnerable Queenslanders to participate in and contribute to a fair, resilient and prosperous Queensland.
The department was established in April 2012 through the Governor-in-Council, under the authority of the Public Service Act 2008 and the Queensland Government Gazette No. 77.
We are accountable to three Ministers:
We are responsible for administering legislation that regulates the services we deliver or fund (more details are contained in appendix 1).
Our clients are diverse and we are responsible for supporting some of the most disadvantaged Queenslanders, including:
We support carers, volunteering, young people, women, seniors, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and people and communities affected by natural disasters.
We work closely with other government agencies and non-government health and human services organisations to support our clients to improve their lives.
The Department has a significant reform and innovation agenda which aims to reduce disadvantage and enable vulnerable Queenslanders to improve their lives. The strategic agenda of the department drives our reform focus and centres around:
The department is focused on assisting in delivering the Queensland Government’s objectives for the community, especially:
More information about our policies, programs and services can be found in parts 4 to 8 of this report.
Our Strategy 2015–19 expressed our commitments. These can be summarised as contributing to a Queensland where:
The Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services’ policies, programs and services align with the Queensland Government Interim Response to The Queensland Plan (the Interim Response). The Interim Response supports the government’s objectives for the community and identifies the priorities and key initiatives that will contribute towards implementing Queenslanders’ vision.
Our Strategy 2015–19 expressed a number of priorities. These can be summarised as:
This report shows how we demonstrated the whole-of-government values in 2015–16:
We work as one agency, part of one government, and as stewards and partners of social services. We listen to the voices of citizens/customers.
We do this through:
Over a five-year period we are working towards being able to account fully for the public value we create. We will progressively assess and report on:
More information about our performance can be found in part 9 of this report.
Our strategies are being implemented to actively manage key risks related to:
In 2015–16, we worked to:
The budget for the department in 2015–16 was $2.684 billion.
The department also administered:
Comprehensive financial statements can be found in in the Financial statements document . A financial summary is also included in part 2 of this report.
Queensland’s first Indigenous focused Family and Child Connect (FaCC) was established, resulting in higher take-up rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in earlier intervention and support services.
A project was started to coordinate implementation of NDIS for Indigenous communities across the Brisbane Local Government Area region, in collaboration with the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships.
We moved 82 services to the value of $460 million to streamlined service agreements.
Brisbane was the first region to introduce billable client time reporting, with clinicians in disability services recording 66 per cent of time spent on client support activities, exceeding industry average of 65 per cent.
We liaised with MDA to develop training packages for staff in engaging with families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
We began operating a new 72-hour domestic and family violence shelter called ‘Bridges’ in December 2015. The shelter is managed by Save the Children and provides onsite, 24-hour access, intake and referral for women and children escaping domestic and family violence.
A new mobile support outreach support service called Safer Lives Mobile Support commenced in December 2015. The service is managed by Micah Projects and provides outreach support for women experiencing domestic and family violence who have been placed in motels by DV Connect. Safer Lives also provides outreach and case management support to women still living in the community, either at home or with friends and family.
The region co-hosted the Better Together Partnering for Social Impact and Innovation Conference with liveWELL CQ in December 2015 to strengthen partnering and explore what is required to support a collective impact initiative.
Culturally informed child protection practice was increased through:
The Eureca Project strengthened and improved therapeutic and behaviour support for young people in care placed in residential settings and displaying high-risk behaviours. The nine-month project established successful partnerships with key government and non-government agencies including health and police.
Planning commenced to support Cherbourg as the discrete Indigenous community trial site for an integrated response to domestic and family violence. This trial will provide an opportunity to develop a culturally appropriate integrated response to domestic and family violence that is tailored to the needs of discrete Indigenous communities.
The Community Healing Project responded to the tragic deaths of eight children in Manoora in December 2014. The project, delivered by Red Cross Australia and funded by the department, built on early work led by the Wuchopperen Health Service. It was expanded over time to include longer-term supports and community capacity building in Manoora and the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area. The Manoora Community Centre was re-established as a focal point for community members looking to engage with services, participate in cultural and recreational activities, share stories and skills and revitalise the centre.
Mentors in Violence Prevention is part of the Cairns Safer Streets Taskforce initiative. Participants in this leadership program have gone on to deliver Mentors in Violence Prevention awareness sessions within their own community or workplace. Sessions are focused on preventing all forms of men’s violence against women.
The response to the Ravenshoe cafe explosion in June 2015 tested the department’s human and social disaster recovery response capability. The multi-agency recovery program was showcased as ‘best practice’ at the Australian and New Zealand Disaster Management Conference in May 2016 and is a finalist in the Queensland Police Service’s Awards for Excellence. Activities included:
The region trialled the Family Engagement Networkers (FEN) to link ‘family engagement networkers’ with families when they first come to the attention of the department. The trial assisted families to develop a support network, reduce domestic and family violence, and facilitate culturally sensitive family meetings. The trial showed that it was successful in keeping children within the family network and diverting them from entering out-of-home care.
Beyond Expectations is a program, in partnership with Integrated Family and Youth Services (IFYS), to assist young people in care to join the part-time workforce while they are at school and, ultimately, to become job ready for their future career. Since the trial commenced in October 2015, Beyond Expectations has achieved positive outcomes for a number of young people in care in the North Coast Region, including securing paid employment and traineeships.
More than 100 clinical staff from the department and funded service providers attended The Future is Now, a one-day clinical conference, which focused on technology that supports people with disability to lead increasingly independent and better quality lives.
As a National Disability Insurance Scheme early launch site, the region engaged with the NDIA and other Queensland Government agencies through a local transition working group to facilitate local implementation and coordinate planning and preparation activities. This was supported by an ongoing program of participant readiness activities in the early launch areas, including a specific initiative to prepare Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The local transition working group formulated working arrangements for key operational areas that will become the foundation for statewide working arrangements in areas such as child protection. More information can be found in the early launch spotlight on page 60.
An Engaging Fathers Forum resulted in increased service capability in engaging fathers in the family support system.
The region prepared for the introduction of the regional city domestic and family violence integrated response trial in Mount Isa. A trial will deliver vital outreach activities in Mount Isa and surrounding areas, a recommendation of the Not Now, Not Ever report. Importantly, the Mount Isa trial will provide an opportunity to bring together specialist elements of a Family and Child Connect, Intensive Family Support and domestic and family violence services to operate as part of a suite of linked-up services.
The region also supported the establishment of a new 72-hour crisis shelter in Townsville by the end 2015, then convened a workshop in Townsville to review the service model for the new shelter to inform new service agreements for Townsville shelters to take effect in late 2016.
The region permanently connected children with families through the delivery of Adoption Services for Queensland. There were 41 Adoption Orders finalised, including 23 inter-country adoptions.
The region commenced planning for a centralised investigation and assessment hub for the Gold Coast to support reforms to improve our response to child safety notifications.
We initiated the My Home program to provide a permanent home for children unable to live with their own families.
The region contributed to the design, development and implementation of place-based responses and initiatives, including the Integrated Service Response to Domestic and Family Violence in Logan and Beenleigh. The trial will enhance existing support services and be supported by a new role of Integration Manager.
In June 2016 a series of co-design workshops were held with a range of government and non-government stakeholders in Logan–Beenleigh to commence design of the local, place-based integrated response model.
We continued to deliver the Safer Schoolies initiative. This is a coordinated whole-of-government safety response and education program to keep youth safe at Schoolies and reduce the impact on local communities. In 2015 the initiative supported 21,967 school leavers on the Gold Coast.
To assist the three Local Level Alliance (LLA) Groups and the Regional Child and Family Committee (RCFC); South West regional staff produced the document Linking our priorities to highlight the work being completed to support vulnerable families, improve life outcomes for children and young people in the child protection system and address the disproportionate representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people and domestic and family violence matters.
Support for families experiencing domestic and family violence will be improved through a new initiative where a worker from the Domestic Violence Action Centre works one day a week from Ipswich North, Ipswich South and Springfield Child Safety Service Centres to provide case consultation and early intervention services.
A more flexible use of respite care in 2015–16 has resulted in more children and young people with disability staying connected with their school, family and community. Without these flexible services, 19 families would have relinquished their children.
The Department started operating under a new organisational structure from 1 July 2015.
The Portfolio Executive Board (PEB) replaced the former Executive Management Team (EMT) in September 2015 and is the key strategic governing body for the department.
The board’s key focus areas include the department’s overarching strategy and delivery interface, strategic investment and performance management and oversight of the department’s portfolio of programs and projects.
Michael Hogan
Chair and Director-General
BA (Hons), LL.B
Michael was appointed as Director-General, Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services in April 2014.
He has held various senior executive roles in the department and its predecessors, as well as in Premiers departments in both Queensland and New South Wales.
Michael also spent 10 years in the non-government sector. He commenced his career three decades ago working on the reform of child welfare and juvenile justice legislation in New South Wales.
Kathy Dunning
Deputy Director-General, Corporate Services
B.Bus. (Accounting)
Kathy commenced the role of Deputy Director- General, Corporate Services, Department of Communities in November 2009.
Previously, Kathy was Acting Deputy Director- General of Community and Youth Justice Services from March to November 2009; and General Manager, Service Delivery, Department of Communities from March 2007 to March 2009.
Prior to this, Kathy was in senior management roles over a 12-year period in Disability Services Queensland. During this time, she held the position of Executive Director, Programs and Community Specialist Services for six years, and various positions as a Regional Director.
Tony Hayes
Deputy Director-General, Disability Services and Seniors and Northern Regions
B.Bus. (Accountancy), Grad. Dip. Exec. Mgmt., M. Admin., CGEIT, AFCHSE, CHE, FACS, FCPA, FIIA
Tony has extensive experience across the Queensland public sector in many line departments and central agencies.
He has specialist experience and skills in strategic management and planning, organisational review and business process improvement, information and business strategy development, change management and project management.
Tony is also an adjunct professor and Chair of the Business Information Systems Advisory Council to the University of Queensland’s School of Business, Economics and Law. He is a current board member and past International President of ISACA, a global professional association for IT and business professionals based in Chicago, USA.
Cathy Taylor
Deputy Director-General, Child, Family and Community Services and Southern Regions
LL.B, Grad Dip L.P., Executive Masters in Public Administration
Cathy commenced as Deputy Director-General in October 2014 and was previously the Acting Deputy Director-General, Strategic Policy and Programs from November 2013 to September 2014.
She has held senior roles in government since 2002, including General Manager, Youth Justice and Youth Development; Executive Director, Child Safety, Youth and Families Policy and Performance; and Regional Executive Director, Brisbane Region.
Prior to joining government, Cathy practised child and family law and was the inaugural director of Women’s Legal Aid in Queensland.
Leigh Roach
Deputy Director-General, Strategy, Engagement and Innovation
BA (Economics), Grad Diploma Securities Institute of Australia
Leigh was appointed Deputy Director-General, Strategy, Engagement and Innovation within the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services in July 2015.
She has worked in senior positions in both Australian and state governments and developed expertise in trade, industry, innovation, employment and consumer policy and programs.
Leigh also has expertise in managing organisational change and has facilitated major change processes in service delivery activity to business and across the public sector.
Michael Linnan
Regional Executive Director, Far North Queensland Region
Member, Australian Property Institute
Michael has more than 42 years’ experience in the public service. He started his career as a cadet valuer in the 1970s and held management and director roles in the Department of Lands; Department of Natural Resources and Mines; State Development; and Tropical North Queensland TAFE prior to joining the Department of Communities in 2006.
Sandra Moore
Regional Executive Director, North Queensland Region
B. Sc, Postgraduate Diploma of Management, Masters of Business Administration
Sandra commenced as Regional Executive Director, North Queensland Region in January 2015. She came to the department following her role as Chief Operating Officer for the Central and North West Queensland Medicare Local since 2011. Prior to that, Sandra was the Regional Manager for the Cancer Council Queensland from 2009.
Sandra’s earlier career was in management roles in engineering companies, including The Shell Company of Australia. Sandra is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an associate fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.
Michael Shearer
Regional Executive Director, Central Queensland Region
B. HumanMovSt
Michael has over 29 years’ experience in the human services sector having worked within several Queensland Government departments.
He has delivered, managed and led child protection, youth justice, social housing, disability and community services throughout his career.
Michael is an ANZSOG fellow, a member of the Executive Leadership Network Central Region, participates in the Gladstone Region Community Development Committee and is Chair of the liveWELLCQ, a primary health and community services partnership.
Brent McCracken
Regional Executive Director, North Coast Region
B. Soc Sc, Grad Dip in Ed, Executive Masters in Public Administration
Brent commenced as the Regional Executive Director, North Coast Region, in February 2013 and resigned from the department in June 2016.
Brent has 30 years’ experience working in youth, disability and age care services in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales for both government agencies and NGOs. In recent years, Brent has worked extensively with NGOs to build strong, collaborative service delivery partnerships.
Merrilyn Strohfeldt
Regional Executive Director, Brisbane Region
Executive Masters in Public Administration; Bachelor of Speech Therapy
Merrilyn has extensive experience in the delivery of disability services, health and rehabilitation services across Australian and state government jurisdictions, the not-for- profit sector, and private industry.
She joined the department in 2008 as Executive Director, Disability Programs and Reform. For the past four years Merrilyn has worked in service delivery leadership roles.
Amanda Currie
Regional Executive Director, South East Region
B.Soc Sc (Human Services)
Amanda joined the then Department of Families, Youth and Community Care in 1995 as a Family Services Officer at the Inala and Goodna Offices.
She gained a wide range of policy development and implementation experience in areas as diverse as youth justice, child protection, and violence prevention.
In 2009, she was appointed Regional Director, Child Safety, Youth and Families in the Brisbane Region, and in 2012 was appointed Regional Executive Director, South East Region.
Brooke Winters
Regional Executive Director, South West Region
BA, Grad Cert Mngt, MA (Hons)
Brooke joined the public service in 1985 and worked in a number of senior management positions in a range of challenging and complex environments.
She spent 19 years working in Corrective Services in fields such as business management, human resources, community corrections, custodial corrections and women’s community custody. She joined the Department of Communities in 2003.
After managing the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, she became the Regional Executive Director for the former Moreton and South West regions in 2007 and continues to work in the South West. In 2012, Brooke was awarded the inaugural National Emergency Medal for support to the community during the 2010–11 floods.
Arthur O’Brien
Chief Financial Officer
FCPA FIPA, M Bus (Professional Accounting), B Bus (HRM)
Arthur was appointed as Chief Finance Officer in February 2012 and has more than 30 years’ experience in the Queensland Government, including 16 years’ experience in senior management roles. Arthur has held a variety of positions across a number of Queensland Government agencies with experience in strategic management, planning, policy, risk management, finance and business continuity, as well as leading a number of major change projects for the Queensland Government.
He provides financial, grants and procurement management expertise and a broad governance role to the department. In 2008 Arthur was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his commitment and contribution to the Queensland Ambulance Service and the Queensland community.
Neil Smith
Chief Human Resources Officer
M. Hlth Sc. Grad Dip (OHS)
Neil first joined the former Department of Communities in 2004 and went on to hold senior officer and executive roles. He was appointed as the Chief Human Resources Officer of Human Resources and Ethical Standards, Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services in August 2009.
Neil has extensive experience as a human resources professional having worked in central and line agencies in the Queensland Public Service as well as in private sector heavy engineering and construction. Neil has a passion for leading major organisational reform and change.
Darrin Bond
Chief Information Officer (CIO)
B. SC (IT/Mathematics)
Darrin has more than 28 years’ experience working in government and executive management roles. In 1997, Darrin was appointed as Chief Information Officer, Department of Treasury.
In 2002, Darrin managed the creation of CorpTech and the associated IT frameworks for the Shared Services initiative. He led the implementation of the whole-of-government Shared Services solutions until moving to the Department of Communities in 2007 to lead the department’s ICT portfolio.
In 2012, Darrin was appointed as the department’s CIO.
Additional information for a number of departmental initiatives and measures is reported through the department’s website and the Queensland Government Open Data website.
The department provides government data for open use in an easily accessible format at no cost to the public.
During 2015–16 we published 58 datasets and 618 resources to provide the public with access to key government information and to generate market opportunities.
The department publishes and regularly updates data on the open data website, including information about:
The department has an open data governance process which involves extensive risk assessment of datasets prior to publication, to ensure identifiable data is not published.
Grant funding provided to organisations in 2015–16 is reported through the Queensland Government Open Data website and the Investment Portal.
Visit our website for additional reporting information (including consultancies, overseas travel) for 2015–16.
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Section 77 (2)(b) of the Financial Accountability Act 2009 requires the Chief Finance Officer of the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services’ to provide the accountable officer with a statement as to whether the department’s financial internal controls are operating efficiently, effectively and economically.
The 2015–16 Statement of Assurance provided to the Director-General satisfies all requirements of section 42 of the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009. The statement was also provided to the department’s Audit Committee.
It indicated no deficiencies or breakdowns in internal controls, which would impact adversely on the department’s financial governance or financial statements for the year.
In 2015–16 internal financial controls were further strengthened through the successful implementation of the SAP ECC5 financial system. This also provides the benefits of an improved and simplified system and reduced financial processing costs.
Our income in 2015–16 was $2.697 billion, with the major sources of income provided by the Queensland and Australian governments for the provision of services.
During 2015–16, we received our income from:
Our department provides a wide range of services to the community, delivered by contracted non-government organisations and through direct service delivery. As a result, our two largest expense categories are supplies and services and employee expenses.
In 2015-16, $1.763 billion of the supplies and services expenses were for service procurement. This included total payments of $28.445 million under the National Partnership Agreement for pay equity for the social and community services sector to assist with additional wage costs arising from recent Pay Equity Orders.
Our total operating expenses for 2015–16 were $2.678 billion, including:
Our total assets as at 30 June 2016 were $511.62 million.
The primary assets held by our department were properties utilised to:
The department’s assets also include intangible assets, primarily internally generated software and systems.
The value of our assets by category was as follows:
The department’s cash at bank balance includes a cash-fund investment established with Queensland Treasury Corporation for the Elderly Parent Carer Innovation Trial.
The balance of the cash-fund investment as at 30 June was $5.216 million.
Our liabilities consist primarily of payables for service procurement, trade creditors and provisions for employee entitlements.
Our total liabilities as at 30 June 2016 were $52.651 million. Liabilities by category were:
In 2015–16, the Bilateral Agreement between the Commonwealth and Queensland for the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme was signed. The cross-billing arrangements under the National Partnership Agreement for Transitioning Responsibilities for Aged Care and Disability Services were also concluded. This resulted in the clearance of the department’s balance sheet of those receivables and payables.
In 2015–16, on behalf of the Queensland Government, we administered concession payments for:
Income and expenditure on these items is accounted for separately from our operating accounts.
Variances between budget and actual results are explained in our financial statements.
We remain committed to managing financial risks and liabilities by reviewing our financial performance through our corporate governance framework. To help us manage risks, the department’s Audit Committee oversees audit activities, audit recommendations, financial reporting, internal controls and compliance.
As we transition to a National Disability Insurance Scheme it will be vital that we continue to review and improve our programs of service delivery to ensure they are achieving the most effective outcomes while delivering value for money.
For more information on our financial performance, please see our financial statements .
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The 2015-19 Workforce Capability Plan was released to ensure the department had the workforce it needed to deliver services to vulnerable Queenslanders. The plan seeks to:
In 2015, the department issued revised guides and procedures to facilitate flexible working arrangements.
The department worked cooperatively with the Office of Industrial Relations in the government’s negotiations of the State Government Entities Certified Agreement 2015 which was certified on 1 June 2016.
During 2015–16, the department worked collaboratively with the Public Service Commission, the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission and unions on the process to modernise Queensland’s employment awards. On 1 June 2016, the following three modern awards relevant to this department came into effect:
Joint consultative arrangements for the department were continued. This enabled management and union representatives to regularly meet to discuss a broad range of issues. Committees met in central, regional and local locations.
The results from the 2014–15 Employee Opinion Survey were analysed both centrally and locally. Action plans were developed and promoted on the department’s intranet.
The survey results showed:
The survey results showed a notable increase (+5 per cent or more) across 30 of the survey questions, and indicated staff have a high level of commitment to the department’s organisational goals.
The department invested strongly in capability development for staff to support effective service delivery to clients. This includes both internally conducted learning initiatives and brokered in program delivery.
Managers were encouraged to consider the use of all available formal and informal development opportunities.
Other staff capability improvement options included:
Staff were supported to access a wide range of skills and training programs as listed below:
Total | 43,944 |
Topic | Participations |
---|---|
Child safety | 13,815 |
Community recovery | 489 |
Corporate programs | 2,299 |
Disability services | 14,279 |
Finance and strategic procurement | 3,212 |
Leadership and management development | 3,466 |
Information and records management and privacy | 4,992 |
Regionally coordinated training | 1,392 |
The Achievement and Capability Planning process plays a key role in identifying an individual’s development needs and goes beyond mandatory training required for some roles.
An Achievement and Capability Plan (ACP) records the conversations between an individual and their supervisor. This includes the requirements and expectations of their role and how the role links to the goals of the department and work unit. These conversations also consider an individual’s future career ambitions, and the opportunities for growing capabilities.
The plan records an individual’s development so that they can fulfil the expectations of their current role, as well as assist them in designing their career pathway.
The department is committed to the consistent and comprehensive induction of all new employees.
The department’s induction program was made up from local and corporate induction processes, and provides information on:
New staff members, and staff returning after a year or more of absence, were enrolled in the following training programs:
The department respects and is supportive of inclusion, diversity and equity in the workplace and the need to reflect the community it serves.
The department is working towards creating an environment that values and utilises the contributions of people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. This means we need to increase the participation of people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and women.
Diversity initiatives were underpinned by a number of strategies, including the:
In 2015–16, we:
Table 1: Percentage of staff by equal opportunity groups as at 30 June
Equal opportunity group | Our department | Queensland public sector average |
---|---|---|
People with disability | 3.80% | 2.92% |
People from a non-English speaking background | 11.56% | 9.12% |
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander | 3.65% | 1.97% |
Women | 77.95% | 69.00% |
Our Cultural Capability Action Plan is helping us to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures into every aspect of the department’s activities. This goes beyond a simple awareness of culture: it is part of our core business and is critical to our ongoing success.
To ensure staff interact respectfully and competently with people from all cultural backgrounds:
As at 30 June 2016, women comprised 77.95 per cent of the total workforce in the department, which is favourable compared with the Queensland Public Service benchmark of 69 per cent. Women also held 58.2 per cent of the department’s leadership positions (senior officer level and above).
The department is committed to providing and maintaining a safe, healthy and supportive work environment at all times.
In 2015–16, we undertook the following activities to ensure that we provided a safe workplace for our employees:
The department is committed to protecting vulnerable Queenslanders from corrupt conduct and misconduct. We promote a culture that reflects the department’s Integrity Framework for practice.
Departmental employees are obliged to adhere to the ethics values contained within Division 2 of the Public Service Act 2008. These are outlined in the Queensland Public Service Code of Conduct. The ethics principles and values contained in the Code of Conduct are reflected in departmental policy, procedures and plans. These also appeared in each employee’s achievement and capability plan.
The department regularly provided ethical decision-making education to all employees, and ensured all new employees undertook ethics-related training as part of the mandatory induction process.
During 2015–16, 1,388 departmental employees completed ethical decision making training.
When conduct matters involving a departmental employee were reported to Ethical Standards, the matter was assessed with consideration given to the definition of corrupt conduct outlined within section 15 of the Crime and Corruption Act 2001. At the same time, the complaint was considered by Ethical Standards in line with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010.
Ethical Standards notified the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) if the matter reasonably raised a suspicion of corrupt conduct. This was consistent with the requirements of the Crime and Corruption Act 2001. The CCC also assessed issues of concern and, in some instances, referred matters back to the department for appropriate management.
Matters that did not reach the corrupt conduct threshold were managed within the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) Conduct and Performance Excellence (CaPE) framework. They were either investigated by Ethical Standards or sent to the appropriate region for management action in accordance with the department’s Integrity Framework.
During 2015–16 the department managed 68 corrupt conduct matters and 88 misconduct matters under the CaPE framework.
The department invested in our current and future leaders through a range of leadership and professional development programs.
In 2015–16 the department expanded implementation of the REACH leadership framework and the related development programs that support staff to grow effective leadership skills.
The REACH framework is founded upon five key elements of leadership competency: Relationships, Ethics, Acumen, Core Practice, and Health.
Over the last 12 months, over 650 staff directly participated across the suite of REACH programs - including fundamental and advanced workshops and the self-paced online learning modules. Many more engaged with REACH processes through activities organised by local regional leadership teams.
For aspiring leaders, the department continued to deliver STEPs – Supervision for Tomorrow in every Position and Stream. This program provided foundational learning for those commencing their leadership journey. Approximately 112 staff participated in STEPs during 2015–16.
The department also continued its commitment to growing a coaching and mentoring culture, with 54 staff participating in Mentor Connect. The program which aims to build leadership capability and strengthen networks between leaders.
The department also supported 40 staff to participate in the range of leadership programs led by the Public Service Commission, including People Matters.
We recognise the importance of workforce planning, particularly in an environment where there is a large amount of workforce change. Planning is important to ensure that we can continue to deliver and enable delivery of high-quality services for people experiencing vulnerability.
In 2015–16, a new Strategic Workforce Plan 2015–19 was approved. The plan focuses on:
Our 5,977.88 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff were distributed across three service areas: Child and Family Services; Disability Services; and Community Services.
In 2015–16, we continued our strong focus on client service, with 89.05 per cent of all staff employed in providing direct services to the public or providing support to those who do.
Of our total staff, 4990.31 were permanent (83.48 per cent), 794.95 were temporary (13.30 per cent), 149.62 were casual (2.50 per cent) and 43 were contract staff (0.72 per cent).
During 2015–16, three employees received redundancy packages at a cost of $276,664 in severance payments.
In 2015–16, there were no employees requiring placement as a result of workplace change and no staff members were retrenched.
The Voluntary Medical Retirement pilot scheme is a compassionate employee initiated option for staff with significant health issues.
During 2015–16, a total of 27 voluntary medical retirements from employees in the department were approved at a total cost of $883,271.
The annual separation rate for 2015–16 for permanent staff was 8.38 per cent while the annual retention rate for 2015–16 was 91.91 per cent for permanent staff.
In 2016–17, we will:
The department’s strategic direction in 2015–16 was guided by our Strategy 2015–19.
The strategy is framed around five key deliverable areas, including:
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We committed to delivering whole-of-government and agency Child and Family reforms in collaboration with other agencies.
The government is continuing to invest $425 million over five years to implement the reform program, including new initiatives to make tangible and positive differences to the lives of vulnerable Queensland children, young people, families and communities.
The 10-year Supporting Families Changing Futures: Advancing Queensland’s child protection and family support reforms (Supporting Families Changing Futures) program remains on track after two years, with all but one of the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry’s 121 recommendations progressing and 31 of those recommendations completed. The final recommendation — a review of the role of non-government organisations — will start in 2019.
While there is some way to go, the reforms are starting to have a positive impact.
Supporting Families Changing Futures: Advancing Queensland’s child protection and family support reforms advises on progress to date and outlines priorities for the next two years of the reform program. It includes new actions and initiatives to enhance the reform agenda.
Over the period March 2015 to March 2016:
2015–16 achievements
In 2016–17 we will:
We committed to commissioning additional secondary child and family, parenting, and domestic and family violence services and to link to universal services.
We undertook extensive consultation to develop a service model for the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Wellbeing locations. The procurement process is underway and 20 services to improve the social, emotional and physical wellbeing and safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Families will start in 2016–17.
Nine new Family and Child Connect services and 14 new Intensive Family Support services were established in 11 catchments across Queensland to provide information, advice, referral for support and intensive intervention for vulnerable families. These services include specialist domestic and family violence workers given the high number of families seeking family support that have also experienced domestic and family violence.
We established five new sexual assault services in high-need locations. We provided additional funding to DV Connect and 13 domestic and family violence services across the state to respond to increased demand. We provided additional funding to 11 services to provide safety upgrades to support victims to remain in their homes.
We committed to supporting the development and implementation of a Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Strategy and Violence Against Women Prevention Plan, and implementing the government response to the Not Now, Not Ever report.
In 2015–16 we shaped and led implementation of key elements of the Queensland Government’s Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Strategy. Of the 30 recommendations led by the department, six were completed, 21 commenced and the remaining three recommendations will commence in 2016–17. Achievements include:
We also developed and implemented the Integrated Justice Information Strategy in collaboration with the Department of Justice and Attorney-General, the Queensland Police Service and Queensland Corrective Services to enable information sharing across Queensland criminal and civil jurisdictions for domestic violence matters involving children up to 18 years of age.
We led the department’s and cross-agency input into Commonwealth and national initiatives, including:
We also:
We led the development of workplace policies and systems, in collaboration with the Public Service Commission, to:
During Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month in 2016, 57 community groups shared in $153,000 to run community awareness events across Queensland. This was an almost 40 per cent increase in funding from 2015, delivering on a Not Now, Not Ever recommendation to expand the grants program.
The department’s awareness-raising campaign used the theme ‘Not Now, Not Ever—in our schools, change rooms, workplaces, neighbourhoods and communities’. Queensland schools, workplaces, sporting clubs and communities uploaded their own videos and photos to the campaign website to showcase how they were taking up the Not Now, Not Ever challenge.
We committed to
responding to relevant matters and recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
We participated in discussions at public hearings and round tables and contributed to the Queensland Government’s response to publications and requests for information from the Royal Commission.
The department will continue these actions in 2016–17. The department will also review policy issues arising from the Royal Commission’s work and the implications of any relevant recommendations.
We committed to implementing a new strengths-based, safety-oriented Child Protection Practice Framework.
One of the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry’s key recommendations was to introduce a new practice framework.
The Commission said that the aims of the framework should be to:
The department engaged the US-based Children’s Research Centre to develop a framework. This resulted in the launch of the Strengthening Families Protecting Children Framework for Practice in March 2015.
In 2015–16 more than 150,000 hours of training in the foundations of the new framework for practice were provided to 3,750 child safety officers and non-government family support staff across the state.
Ongoing leadership training and coaching, family decision making and practice-related training have also been provided to departmental and recognised entity staff to strengthen their engagement, collaborative assessment and planning skills.
Frontline child safety staff have reported that the framework for practice tools have significantly improved how they engage with children, families and their support networks. These tools include the:
We committed to delivering high-quality statutory child protection services and funding and supporting out-of-home care and transition services delivered by carers and non-government organisations.
We released the Hope and Healing Framework so residential services can develop and adopt a trauma therapeutic framework . This will be implemented in 2016–17.
We recognised the need to redesign how we use placement services so children in out-of-home care have better life outcomes. This will be a key project for the department in 2016–17.
Kummara Association, an Indigenous community organisation based in Brisbane and Ipswich, was the first Indigenous community organisation to successfully tender for a Family and Child Connect (FaCC) service.
In stage three of the FaCC rollout, two Indigenous community organisations, Kurbingui and Indigenous Family and Child Support Services (IFACCS), successfully partnered with Mercy to deliver a FaCC service across three Brisbane catchments.
Having Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander non-government organisations partnering with other organisations and delivering FaCC themselves, strengthens the cultural capability of both the FaCC and Intensive Family Support (IFS) programs overall and the responsiveness of services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
All generic FaCC and IFS services are recruiting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff to:
We need to do more to overcome the broader issues of social and economic disadvantage and the specific circumstances in families that drive the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the statutory child protection system.
This is why an action plan is being developed through a collaborative approach involving Elders, relevant government agencies and community leaders, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and peak bodies. The action plan will be considered by the Queensland Government before the end of 2016.
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We committed to leading and facilitating whole-of-government and agency National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) transition planning, delivering the agency’s Disability Services reform and readiness initiatives and co-delivering a Queensland NDIS launch.
On 16 March 2016, the Queensland and Commonwealth governments agreed to the Bilateral Agreement for the transition to the NDIS in Queensland.
The Bilateral Agreement and associated schedules detail the roles and responsibilities for the Queensland and Commonwealth governments during the transition to the NDIS in Queensland over a three-year period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2019. The schedules cover implementation matters including (but not limited to) funding, phasing and support arrangements, quality and safeguarding arrangements, and how the NDIS will interface with mainstream services.
The NDIS is the most important social policy measure in Australia since Medicare and will transform the way Queenslanders with a disability are supported and the way disability services are funded. The NDIS will change the way many Queensland Government employees will work, depending on their roles and the types of supports and services NDIS participants seek. It will result in significant changes for the department, including how it supports disability services clients and its staffing profile, budget and structure.
The NDIS will be the new way of providing support for Australians with disability, their families and carers. The NDIS will provide about 460,000 Australians under the age of 65 with a permanent and significant disability with the reasonable and necessary supports they need to live an ordinary life.
About 15,000 Queenslanders with disability will enter the scheme in the first year; more than 16,000 will join in the second year; and more than 60,000 will enter in the third year.
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) estimates that, by 30 June 2019, the NDIS will also support demand for 15,900 to 19,400 additional full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in the state’s disability sector, supporting a total workforce of 29,450 to 35,950 FTE jobs by 2019.
The NDIA will recruit approximately 340 permanent positions across Queensland during the transition.
In 2015–16 the focus has been on:
We developed and implemented a communication and engagement plan, supported by tools such as posters, fact sheets, videos and a website, to make general information and advice available to people with disability, their families, service providers, communities and industry to support a successful transition to the NDIS.
The Nous Group was funded to consult with providers to update the building provider capacity tools and train Disability Services staff to deliver workshops for providers throughout Queensland. (The tools assist providers to respond to NDIS consumer demands and are available on the department’s website .)
National Disability Services Queensland was provided with non-recurrent funding of $283,379 to assist small-to-medium service providers to ready their businesses for the NDIS. This was in addition to the recurrent funding of $451,878 (ex GST) to build organisations’ capacity to respond to reforms, including the NDIS.
As at 30 June 2016, National Disability Services Queensland had delivered 116 workshops and events across all regions with 591 organisations participating, and provided one-on-one consultancy support to 64 small-to-medium service providers.
The department provided $3.94 million to 10 participant readiness initiative providers who delivered 1,376 workshops for more than 17,600 attendees. Activities included participant workshops, information sessions delivered at other forums, home visits, face-to-face meetings, online training, mentoring and coaching, and phone support.
The department provided more than 72 information sessions about the rollout of the NDIS in Queensland and the steps involved in implementing the departmental workforce strategy at a statewide and local level. Almost 1900 staff members have attended at least one of these information sessions.
More than 1,050 staff also attended 26 Strategic Workforce Workshops held across Queensland.
We have made changes to the Disability Services Act 2006 so it supports the NDIS introduction.
We have also worked closely with the Commonwealth Government on the review of the interface principles for the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and other parties, including principles relating to forensic disability clients.
We have worked closely with the Commonwealth Government on the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Framework.
In 2016–17:
Also, in 2016–17, the NDIS will roll out in the following areas:
We committed to continue to deliver, through transition, high-quality service access, and clinical, forensic, and accommodation support and respite services and to reducing and eliminating the use of restrictive practices through statewide implementation of positive behaviour supports.
We registered our Accommodation Support and Respite Service as a service provider with the National Disability Insurance Agency, effective from 29 April 2016.
We continued to meet the treatment needs of Forensic Disability Service and community-based clients.
We also:
We committed to funding and supporting disability and community care services delivered by non-government organisations.
Funding provided in 2015–16 included:
The Queensland and Commonwealth governments agreed on an early launch for Queensland from January 2016 that involved:
We helped clients and families to prepare for the early launch and provided a specific initiative to prepare Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for the NDIS.
In April 2016, the first family in Queensland received NDIS funding for disability supports through an approved individual plan.
As at 30 June 2016, 537 participants were eligible for the NDIS and, of those, approximately 400 participants received their support packages with the National Disability Insurance Agency.
In addition, families with young children with disability were assessed through the NDIS Early Childhood Gateway operated in North Queensland by Uniting Community Care.
Participating in the early launch allowed us to:
A number of local area coordinators engaged by the NDIA for the early launch came from regional areas of the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services.
This means when the phasing begins in these locations we will already have some experience and knowledge of managing the transition to the NDIS.
We committed to leading and facilitating the National Disability Strategy in Queensland.
The National Disability Strategy 2010–20 sets out the vision of an inclusive Australian society that enables people with disability to fulfil their potential as equal citizens, and is a mechanism to deliver on the principles and articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
In 2015–16 we facilitated a process to ensure all Queensland Government agencies prepared Disability Services Plans as required by the Disability Services Act 2006. Work also commenced on the development of a new state disability plan for the period 2017–20.
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We committed to developing a community services jobs, skills and industry strategy with the community services industry.
We established an Office for Community Sector and Industry from 1 July 2015 that worked closely with the Community Services Partnership Forum to develop a Jobs, Skills and Industry Strategy. This included co-hosting the Community Services 2025: Charting our Path to the Future Forum in September 2015.
The forum was followed by regional and targeted workshops delivered in partnership with the Community Services Partnership Forum. An online polling process was used to engage more than 500 stakeholders in the strategy development process.
The department partnered with the Community Services Industry Alliance (CSIA) to commission Deloitte Access Economics to analyse social and economic data to inform a future state forecasting report of Queensland’s community services industry.
The report predicts 3.8 per cent annual employment growth in the Queensland community services industry and the creation of more than 20,000 new jobs over 10 years. It also identifies success imperatives for the industry over the next 10 years.
The report says the community services industry needs to:
The report considers policy implications and seven key success imperatives to ensure industry is able to meet clients’ future needs.
The key success imperatives include:
The report’s findings have guided and will continue to inform a broad range of industry strategy development work across the department.
We committed to co-developing capacity-building strategies with community-controlled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.
The department reviewed capacity-building activities occurring across government and supported the work being undertaken by the Queensland Families and Children’s Commission.
The department has increased funding for Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak (QATSICPP) and worked closely and collaboratively with QATSICPP, the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC), and the Healing Foundation. We also engaged Price Waterhouse Coopers Indigenous Consulting to facilitate community engagement for the Service Reform Project with discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
We committed to partnering in the Logan Together project and supporting other place-based initiatives.
We worked closely with Logan Together, Logan City Council and a broad range of government and community stakeholders as part of our contribution to Logan Together, which aims to improve life outcomes for children aged 0–8 years. This included providing more than $250,000 to support the work of Logan Together and allocating a further $100,000 over two years to July 2017 to build the capacity of community organisations in Logan.
The Logan Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) was established to oversee development of solutions to enable place-based approaches. The IDC also ensures Queensland Government agency contributions are well coordinated.
We committed to co-developing and implementing outcomes frameworks and innovative investment initiatives.
We developed and started using an Investing for Outcomes Framework (IFOF) to ensure departmental funds are allocated in a planned, strategic way.
We engaged with other state government departments and the community services sector to develop a 10-year Strategic Investment Direction and Action Plan.
We started working with our partners on an Out-of-Home Care Outcomes Framework to be released before the end of 2016.
We also contributed to the Queensland Government Social Benefit Bond Pilot Program, primarily by providing data, advice, guidance and support.
We committed to contributing to cross-agency social services reforms.
We established a Social Services Performance and Reform Committee to drive cross-department social service reforms relating to investment and outcomes, jobs, and industry, community and place- related issues.
We developed a social services reform program to ensure departmental investment makes the most of future opportunities and addresses challenging social issues.
We also led or contributed to cross-agency social service reforms relating to: age-friendly communities; multicultural inclusion; domestic and family violence; youth; community-controlled organisations; women; and child and family wellbeing.
We committed to supporting community services delivered by non-government organisations to improve the lives of Queenslanders experiencing vulnerability.
We invested more than $1.5 billion through service agreements with organisations and individuals to provide disability, child and family, and community services. These services were delivered by more than 970 community organisations and local, state and federal government agencies across the state.
We ceased requiring NGO providers to refrain from making comment on funding and legislative matters under their contractual arrangements.
We also invested $6.5 million in peak services to build sector capability, support research and deliver vital support to non-government organisations.
As well as providing financial support, the department convened a range of partnership forums, advisory committees and working groups to ensure that non-government organisations were able to provide advice to the department on key issues affecting service delivery.
We committed to implementing further red-tape reduction and service improvement initiatives with non-government organisations.
We built clear outcome measures into service agreements, including those for domestic and family violence prevention, supporting young people and families at risk.
We transitioned more than 31 non-government organisations to five-year service agreements. So far, approximately one-sixth of contracts have been considered for transition after assessing each contract’s actual performance on a value-for-money and risk basis. (Assessment occurs when a contract expires so it will take three years to fully transition to the new model.)
The quality of non-government services was monitored via output-based reporting, Human Services Quality Framework audits and child safety licensing.
We committed to facilitating service integration initiatives for the most vulnerable clients.
We supported 26 different place-based initiatives across the department to improve outcomes for people experiencing vulnerability.
Place-based responses are a long-recognised way of organising effort and ensuring resources are allocated to where they are most needed. They are generally part of a broader response where all levels of government work together to review investment and ensure outcomes are community driven.
In 2015–16, the department played a key role in a number of place-based initiatives, including :
This collective-impact model is in its early stages and during 2015–16 the focus has been on the key place-based elements of engagement, profiling, validation, issue analysis, and planning.
During 2015–16 the Family Integrated Case Management (ICM) model was established to identify vulnerable families, young people and adults who would benefit from a multi-agency intervention and timely and coordinated services.
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We committed to co-developing contemporary strategies for women, seniors, young people and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
We engaged a broad range of stakeholders in the development of:
We also established an Interim Multicultural Community Reference Group while we recruited members to the Multicultural Queensland Advisory Council.
The Queensland Women’s Strategy 2016–21 was the first Queensland women’s strategy in almost 10 years and provides a framework for government, the private sector and the wider community to act on gender equality.
The strategy focuses on action in four key areas: participation and leadership; economic security; safety; and health and wellbeing. These issues are crucial to progressing the fight for gender equality in Queensland.
A Queensland Women’s Strategy Community Implementation Plan will include details on what government agencies and various non-government, private sector and industry organisations are doing to deliver on the vision and goals of the strategy.
In 2016, International Women’s Day was expanded into a week-long event—Queensland Women’s Week from 7–13 March.
The document Queensland Women’s Strategy 2016–21 was released on 9 March 2016 as part of Queensland Women’s Week.
The theme for 2016 was ‘Good for her. Great for us. When women achieve, Queensland succeeds’.
The department allocated $150,000 for a subsidy grants program to fund 44 community groups to host events around the state.
There were 123 nominations received for the 2015 Queensland Multicultural Awards, the highest number of nominations received in the previous five years. In June 2015, 23 finalists from across the state were selected by an independent judging panel and winners were announced at the Awards Gala Dinner in August 2015.
The Community Action for a Multicultural Society (CAMS) program centres on social connectedness outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse individuals and community groups. In 2015–16, $1.7 million was provided to 19 community-based organisations across Queensland, including new services in Rockhampton and Mount Isa, and a new statewide service supporting Muslim women.
For the first time, the government established recurrent annual funding of $1 million to support multicultural events and projects through the Celebrating Multicultural Queensland grants program. In 2015–16 funding was committed to support 121 organisations across Queensland to deliver 128 diverse cultural celebrations, events and multicultural projects.
The Queensland Multicultural Recognition Act 2016 was passed on 16 February 2016 and commenced on 1 July 2016. The Act:
The Act:
The Act complements existing government legislation such as the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 and the Queensland Government’s Language Services Policy.
We committed to establishing an Advisory Taskforce on Residential Transition for Ageing Queenslanders.
We supported the government-appointed independent taskforce to develop a framework on transition to address key issues affecting seniors. The taskforce’s report will be considered later in 2016.
We committed to co-developing a Financial Resilience and Inclusion Strategy, administering concessions and commissioning new financial resilience services.
We administered an estimated $241 million to assist eligible pensioners, seniors and veterans with cost-of-living expenses.
On 28 April 2016, a service was trialled to make it easier for seniors to sign up for money-saving concessions . The online service allowed people registering and applying for their Queensland Seniors Card to also sign up to save money on their car registration at the same time.
A Financial Literacy and Resilience Strategy was announced in the 2015–16 State Budget.
The strategy’s approach was developed through consultation with stakeholders involved in the provision of financial and material assistance, financial counselling, microfinance and financial literacy skills development, as well as the broader non-government sector.
Under the strategy, Good Money shops operated by Good Shepherd Microfinance, Australia’s largest microfinance organisation, will be located in Cairns and on the Gold Coast. These shops will be the first of their kind in Queensland. They will offer people on low incomes an alternative to pay day lenders. Customers will be supported to make responsible and sustainable financial decisions which lead to long-term self-management. It is expected these shops will be operational by early 2017.
The department will fund financial resilience workers and/or counsellors in high-priority locations across the state. These workers will be able to assist people to enhance their financial resilience and address current financial difficulties. Financial resilience workers/counsellors will provide financial literacy education, case management and links to a wide range of supports such as providers of no-interest loans, utility subsidies, emergency relief and referral to specialist service providers such as Gambling Help services.
It is intended that the procurement process will be completed by the end of 2016 to allow for services to commence in early 2017.
We committed to support community hub initiatives.
In 2015–16 we invested $14.08 million in 121 neighbourhood centres in rural, remote and urban communities across Queensland. These centres play important roles in their local communities, providing access to child, family and community services.
A maintenance and upgrade program for multipurpose and neighbourhood centres was implemented.
The department also participated in the Department of State Development’s Community Hubs and Partnerships Program in 2015–16.
The development of Queensland: an age-friendly community — action plan was informed by more than 9,000 responses to an online survey in January 2016. The action plan outlines the Queensland Government’s priorities, initiatives and services that contribute to building age-friendly communities and supporting the strategic direction statement, Queensland: an age-friendly community . The direction statement was launched on 20 April 2016 and provides an age-friendly vision for the whole community to work towards.
We hosted Professor Alexandre Kalache, an international expert on age-friendly cities, in March 2016. He explained how the age-friendly approach is recognised globally as a useful and effective way to improve the lives of older people as well as people of all ages.
An age-friendly community ensures people are free from age-related barriers that prevent their participation and inclusion. Older people are most likely to experience these types of barriers so would benefit most from an age-friendly approach.
The direction statement will influence the design of policies, services and structures to support and enable older people to live in safety, enjoy good health, and continue to participate fully in society, accessing services as needed.
An action plan that outlines the priorities, initiatives and services that contribute to building age-friendly communities was launched on 22 June 2016.
It contains 79 actions to be delivered across a range of state government agencies to support seniors in Queensland. Progress will be monitored and reported through an annual progress report card to be published online in 2017. A new Advancing Queensland: an age-friendly community grants program of $1 million per annum for three years will be launched in July 2017.
In 2015–16 we also:
We committed to funding and supporting social and human recovery in disaster-affected communities and improving community recovery operations.
We undertook a comprehensive review of community recovery operations to improve outcomes in Queensland during 2015–17. Implementation of all review recommendations planned for 2015–16 was completed by 30 June 2016 within existing budget allocations.
We committed to funding drought assistance to affected communities.
We allocated $4 million in 2015–16 to administer community support packages up to 31 December 2016. A range of organisations benefited from this funding, including 28 local councils, 17 community and neighbourhood centres, the Queensland Country Women’s Association, and Agforce.
This year a flexible financial hardship component was included in the funding, giving organisations the ability to assist those in the greatest need. Vouchers for local business were also distributed to those who are eligible to assist with the purchase of food, fuel or essentials such as medical bills and schooling essentials.
A new online portal has been developed to allow people to apply, be assessed and receive payment directly to their bank accounts. This means they will be able to access support without having to leave their homes and avoid a queue at a recovery centre.
This new system will ensure much faster processing and greater access to information about local support services so community organisations can help people in more direct ways.
The online portal is a first for any jurisdiction in Australia and is at the forefront of disaster relief administration worldwide.
The DeployMe application for Ready Reservists was completed in February 2016. This new app provides electronic, read-only access to information about disaster events, applicable contacts and appropriate social feeds during disaster event deployment.
A further $2 million has been allocated in 2016–17 to design and implement further improvements, including:
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We committed to valuing staff and enabling them to fully engage in our reforms, innovations and improvement initiatives.
We committed to implementing the Simpler, Smarter, Better internal red-tape reduction initiatives.
Simpler, Smarter, Better 2015–16 success stories included:
The department also introduced a dedicated innovation and ideas generation platform called Lightbulb. Staff from across the state can use Lightbulb to suggest ideas, vote for ideas, contribute to problem solving and be an active participant in innovation processes. As at 30 June 2016, Lightbulb had 1,088 members, 44 ideas had been suggested, 616 votes were received and 211 comments made.
The department hosted two senior leaders forums to develop the capability of the department’s leaders and support them in driving the department’s reform and innovation change agenda.
Swap meets were held at the end of 2015 to help embed the department’s 1 July 2015 realignment and promote working together in new ways across teams and across the state.
The swap meets saw regional and centrally based staff exchange ideas, workshop new ways to work together, and better understand links across the department using an action-learning approach.
We committed to addressing the results of the 2015 Employee Opinion Survey and the 2015 stakeholder survey.
See employee surveys under part 3 and part 9 of this report.
We committed to implementing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Capability Action Plan.
The department’s Cultural Capability Action Plan, Respectfully Journey Together, sets out the department’s approach and commitment to growing our cultural capability.
It also defines how we will build our capacity to:
Implementation commenced on 1 July 2015, and major achievements during 2015–16 included:
We committed to build capability in key practice areas and in customer service, community and customer engagement, co-design and innovation, performance, commissioning, procurement, leadership, cultural capability and community recovery.
Many examples of how we have achieved this are detailed throughout this report.
We also partnered with QUT to use its new consultation tool, InstaBooth—an interactive information-sharing booth—at Brisbane’s Central Station to support the development of the Queensland Women’s Strategy. Using the InstaBooth gave 500 people from across south-east Queensland the opportunity to contribute to the strategy.
Each year we survey our stakeholders to measure their level of satisfaction with the services we offer and find out where we can improve. A summary of the stakeholder satisfaction survey results is available on the department’s website. Our non-government organisation survey results can be found in part 9 of this report.
We committed to progressing our Digital Vision and Action Plan.
We progressed the Our Future Ways of Working Blueprint including the rollout of more than 1,000 mobile tablet devices to enable frontline staff to work more efficiently and remain connected anywhere, anytime.
We developed enterprise integration and external identity management capabilities which, coupled with information exchange agreements, will provide the capability to share information between the department and service partners.
We partnered with industry across a number of new ‘as a service’ initiatives including print and imaging and data storage to ensure we are gaining the best-possible value from our ICT investments. The department’s ‘storage-as-a-service’ solution provides the department with the ability to rapidly scale ICT storage in response to changing demands. Transitioning to a managed print service will deliver more cost-effective and efficient print, scan, copy and fax services. It will involve installing new, state-of-the art, multifunction print devices (MFDs) in all departmental sites. It will also include ‘follow you’ printing, allowing a print job to be collected on demand when the user who printed the job releases it with a swipe card.
We also significantly progressed the rollout of the Windows 10 operating system to enhance end-user device functionality for corporate and regional staff. This new operating system includes direct access functionality to enable corporate devices to use a wider range of wireless networks and improve accessibility for staff using mobile tablet devices.
In 2015–16 young people helped us design and set out requirements for a new mobile and web application called kicbox.
The app provides a contemporary channel to improve wellbeing for young people in out-of-home care. It also enables them to access information to support their transition to independence.
Stage one of the kicbox project is complete . Stage two of the project in 2016–17 will involve a statewide rollout and include additional capabilities such as integrating information from the case management system and developing a carer portal for people caring for young people to interact with kicbox.
Stage one feedback from case workers and young people in care provides some insight into kicbox’s main storyline, messaging, document retention and transition planning features.
Young people in out-of-home care told us:
“I was travelling interstate for a sport competition where I was representing Queensland. I was at the airport and realised I had forgotten my identification. I remembered that my birth certificate was on kicbox. I loaded kicbox and showed them my birth certificate on my phone and was then able to fly and go to my competition.”
“I didn’t feel confident asking my CSO directly about seeing my family interstate but I felt I could message my CSO and ask. I was able to visit my extended family interstate whom I hadn’t seen in years.”
Case workers told us:
“I attended a birthday party for a young person and afterwards I was able to upload photos to her storyline in about 10 minutes.”
“The young person and I were able to talk directly about things she needed for university. I think the direct contact reduced her anxiety. We were able to plan together and stay on track.”
“A high-risk teenager sent me a message saying something had happened at her placement and she had taken off. I was able to stay in contact with her through messaging on kicbox.”
We committed to implementing organisational realignment.
On 1 July 2015 we implemented a new organisational structure to support us to deliver our reform agenda, incorporate machinery-of-government changes, and carry out our business into the future.
The changes also enabled us to have a sharper focus on emerging areas of reform, including domestic and family violence and legislative reforms.
The coming three years will see more changes to our organisation as we transition to the NDIS, further progress our reform agenda and deal with increasing demand for services.
We committed to streamlining information-sharing between agencies and partner organisations to deliver better client outcomes.
We partnered with the Queensland Family and Child Commission to deliver Oneplace, an online community services directory of more than 46,000 community services to help Queensland families to access the right service at the right time.
We provided a new integrated referral, intake and case management system for all Family and Child Connect and Intensive Family Support services. As at 30 June 2016, ARC was being used by more than 750 human service professionals across 15 non-government organisations. There have been more than 7,000 referrals since January 2015.
We delivered a data-sharing platform to support the creation of the Office of the Director of Child Protection Litigation. This platform allows the Department of Justice and Attorney-General and the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services to securely share court materials.
We engaged specialist consultants to complete analysis and identify improved practice and system processes to support data exchange with the Department of Education and Training and Queensland Health.
We refreshed our Performance Management Framework and developed a new performance architecture to provide a clear overview of all strategic objectives, business as usual performance, risks, opportunities and accountabilities.
We developed the infrastructure to support the performance architecture and to increase availability of fit-for-purpose business intelligence tools from 2016–17 onwards.
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The following scorecard summarises our quantifiable measures and qualitative achievements against our service delivery statement performance indicators.
Quantitative results
Summary
Following several years of reductions, this figure has increased from 1.9 per 1000 children in 2014-15 to 2.2 per 1000 children in 2015-16.
Analysis
Child and Family reforms, together with increasing capacity of Family and Child Connect, Intensive Family Support and Family Wellbeing and other services over coming years, are expected to result in the longer-term in a decrease in the number of children entering out-of-home care.
Data
2011-12 actual | 2012-13 actual | 2013-14 actual | 2014-15 actual | 2015-16 target/est. | 2015-16 actual |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2.5 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.2 |
(Note: Not a SDS measures prior to 2014-15)
Quantitative results
Summary
The rate of children subject to substantiated harm has improved over recent years.
Analysis
Continuing improvement in the rate of children subject to substantiated harm is expected over the coming years with the implementation of child and family reforms, particularly through extra investment in prevention and early intervention services.
Data
2011-12 actual | 2012-13 actual | 2013-14 actual | 2014-15 actual | 2015-16 target/est. | 2015-16 actual |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
6.5 | 6.6 | 6.0 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 5.0 |
Quantitative results
Summary
The rate of children subject to protective orders increased over the last several years.
Analysis
The child and family reforms are expected to result in a reduction in the number of children subject to protective orders. This is anticipated to occur gradually due to the complexity of issues families face, and the staged implementation of reforms.
Initiatives to address over-representation are expected to reduce the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children subject to protective orders over time.
Data
Demographic | 2011-12 actual | 2012-13 actual | 2013-14 actual | 2014-15 actual | 2015-16 target/est. | 2015-16 actual |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children | 40.4 | 41.9 | 42.7 | 44.6 | 43.0 | 45.4 |
Other children | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.4 |
All children | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.5 |
Quantitative results
Summary
The result is higher than the previous year, with 56.5% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children placed with kin, other Indigenous carers or Indigenous residential care services.
Analysis
The proportion of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children in out‑of‑home care placed with kin, other Indigenous carers or Indigenous residential care services has improved over recent years in spite of the continuing growth in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care.
Data
2011-12 actual | 2012-13 actual | 2013-14 actual | 2014-2015 actual | 2015-16 target/est. | 2015-16 actual |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
53.7% | 55.5% | 55.1% | 55.9% | 55.0% | 56.5% |
Quantitative results
Analysis
While it is generally preferred children experience as few placements as possible, this needs to be balanced against other placement quality indicators such as placements in compliance with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, local placements, and placements with siblings.
Multiple placements may also occur for other positive reasons, such as an initial emergency placement being followed by a longer-term placement or a child transitioning to placement with kin.
Summary
The proportion of children with minimal number of placement changes was 37.2% of children who exited out-of-home care in the financial year ending 30 June 2016.
Data
2011-12 actual | 2012-13 actual | 2013-14 actual | 2014-15 actual | 2015-16 target/est. | 2015-16 actual |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
38.2% | 37.7% | 43.5% | 40.0% | 40.0% | 37.2% |
Quantitative results
Summary
The result is higher than previous years with 47,784 people receiving services. The result includes all Queenslanders with disability who received a service in 2015–16, including those who transitioned to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) during the year.
Analysis
Services have responded to demand for support by more people across the state, ahead of a phased transition to the NDIS. However, it is anticipated that, as more Queenslanders with disability transition to the NDIS, the number of people receiving services will decline.
Data
2011-12 actual | 2012-13 actual | 2013-14 actual | 2014-15 actual | 2015-16 target/est. | 2015-16 actual |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
44,855 | 46,067 | 45,547 | 45,963 | 46,000 to 47,000 | 47,784 |
(Note: Not a SDS measures prior to 2014-15)
Quantitative results
Summary
A slightly higher cost to deliver services in 2015–16 compared to previous years is expected.
Analysis
The 2015–16 final result will not be available until January 2018, as part of the national release of the Report of Government Services. Based on inflationary costs to deliver services, it is estimated the result will be higher than in 2014–15.
Data
2011 - 12 actual | 2012- 13 actual | 2013- 14 actual | 2014 - 15 actual | 2015-16 target/est. | 2015-16 actual |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
$38,991 | $40,461 | $42,394 | $44,259 | $44,000 to $45,500 | Not yet available |
(Note: Not a SDS measure prior to 2014-15)
Quantitative results
Summary
Non-government organisations rated their satisfaction with their engagement with DCCSDS higher compared to 2014–15.
Analysis
DCCSDS engages with non-government organisations through contract management, advisory mechanisms, as well as targeted engagement including active involvement in the development of DCCSDS policies, programs and legislation.
Data
2011-12 actual | 2012-13 actual | 2013-14 actual | 2014-15 actual | 2015-16 target/est. | 2015-16 actual |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Not measured | Not measured | 78% | 82% | 85% | 93% |
Quantitative results
Following a whole of government review, the method used to calculate the reduction in regulatory burden was seen to not be an accurate measure of efficiency and effectiveness. As such no result is available for 2015–16.
The measure has been discontinued.
Data
2011-12 actual | 2012-13 actual | 2013-14 actual | 2014-15 actual | 2015-16 target/est. | 2015-16 actual | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No data | No data | No data | 21.4% | 23% | Measurement was not counted as discontinued |
[ Return to top | Return to section ]
The department’s risk management framework provides the foundation and organisational arrangements for managing risk within the department.
The Financial Accountability Act 2009 requires all accountable officers and statutory bodies to establish and maintain appropriate systems of internal control and risk management.
This framework aligns with the AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 Risk management—Principles and guidelines.
The framework aims to streamline and embed risk management to support the department achieving its strategic and operational objectives through:
The department has a quarterly risk certification process as an assurance activity that ensures all strategic risks are reviewed and updated throughout the year.
The department has an internal audit function which is independent of management and authorised auditors. The audit function is undertaken in accordance with a strategic and an annual plan approved by the Director-General. The Audit Committee Charter is consistent with relevant audit and ethical standards.
Further information about the Audit Committee can be found at Appendix 3: Governance boards and committees.
In 2014, the Queensland Audit Office (QAO) undertook an audit to assess whether child safety information is secure yet available to authorised personnel who provide child safety services. The entities subject to the audit were:
The audit’s focus was on information management for child safety services provided during the ongoing intervention phase. It did not include information provided to and from foster and kinship carers.
A full copy of the report and recommendations can be found at the Queensland Audit Office's website.
Actions taken in response to each recommendation as at 30 June 2016 are as follows:
Recommendation 1 — Mechanisms are now in place to monitor ongoing information sharing between the Department of Education and Training and the agency. This recommendation has been complete.
Recommendation 2 — This recommendation cannot be fully addressed without substantial changes to the current Integrated Client Management System (ICMS). This system is being considered for replacement. However, the department has implemented the Advice, Referrals and Case management (ARC) system for use by the sector to enhance the sharing of information as part of community-based intake and referral reforms. Further progress will be reviewed in December 2016.
Recommendation 3 — Mechanisms are now in place to monitor ongoing information sharing so we can verify whether children not recorded as attending schools are really not attending schools.
We’ve implemented measures to evaluate the ongoing success of our partnership with the Department of Education and Training to address school attendance, suspension, exclusions, absences and abscondments.
We are currently executing a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Education to implement procedures to ensure effective monitoring of all relevant aspects of child safety services. It is expected this will be finalised in September 2016.
Other parts of this recommendation are being progressed and will be reviewed in September and December 2016.
Recommendation 4 — An information management model has been developed for child and family reforms. Further progress, including a replacement for the ICMS system, will be reviewed in December 2016.
Recommendation 5 — All measures have been actioned except the roll out of an electronic document records management system. This was piloted in March 2016 and progress will be reviewed in December 2016.
Recommendation 6 — A revised Non -Government Service Provider Basic Recordkeeping Guide will be incorporated as a contractual obligation into the investment specifications used by funded non-government agencies. Further work is required to monitor compliance and the financial impact on NGOs. Progress will be reviewed in January 2017.
The Coroner made three recommendations to the department on 9 October 2015 regarding the death of a 13-year-old girl who stole a non-government organisation car and died in a car accident shortly after. The department agreed or agreed in part to the recommendations, all three of which remain in progress as at 30 June 2016.
Internal
Queensland has a two-tiered review system for reviewing involvement with children and young people known to the department who have died, in accordance with legislative reforms introduced in July 2014. The department undertakes systems and practice reviews of its involvement following the serious physical injury or death of a child who is known to the department in the year prior to their injury or death or at the request of the Minister. Systems and practice reviews are conducted in accordance with Chapter 7A of the Child Protection Act 1999 and focus on facilitating ongoing learning and improvement in the provision of services by the department and promoting the accountability of the department.
External
Independent and external Child Death Case Review Panels then review the department’s reviews as the second tier of the review system. Findings from Child Death Case Review Panels are used by the department to inform improvements to practice and the implementation of the reform program.
The department provides a complaints management system, as per s.219A of the Public Service Act 2008. This system provides the department’s clients and the general public with an opportunity to voice their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with our services.
The Complaints Management system is oversighted by the Queensland Ombudsman as per the Ombudsman Act 2001, and is aligned with the Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 10002:2014 — Guidelines for complaints management in organisations.
The department’s complaints management model is a three stage process and includes the option of an external review:
Stage 1 Complaints management
Stage 2 Internal review
Stage 3 External review
Complaints are assessed in accordance with the requirements of various legislation, policy and procedures.
Complaints are managed within service centres, regional offices or by the central complaints unit depending upon their complexity.
Key activities in 2015–16 included:
A number of initiatives will be implemented from July 2016 including:
In accordance with Section 219A of the Public Service Act 2008 the department is required to publish the following information on the department’s website:
Market and Communications Research (MCR) conducted a survey of the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services complainants in early 2016 with a view to understanding overall client satisfaction with the complaint process.
The sample size consisted of 200 complaint management cases closed between January to December 2015. The following table shows the number of respondents across the department’s regions.
CBD | Brisbane | South West | South East | North Coast | Central | North Queensland | Far North Queensland | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
76 | 24 | 20 | 22 | 31 | 11 | 14 | 2 | 200 |
Given the small response rate across the regions, MCR advised that only North Coast and CBD results could be relied upon for accurate representation.
The final survey results for 2015–16 were as follows:
As a Queensland Government agency, we meet the accountability requirements of the Public Records Act 2002, as well as other whole-of-government policies and standards, including Information Standard 40: Record-keeping and information standard 31: Retention and disposal of public records.
During 2015–16, the department continued its commitment to compliant record-keeping practices by:
The statutory objectives for each Act are outlined below.
Act | Statutory objective |
---|---|
Adoption Act 2009 |
The objective of this Act is to provide for the adoption of children in Queensland and provide access to information in a way that:
|
Carers (Recognition) Act 2008 |
The objectives of this Act are to:
|
Child Protection Act 1999 |
The objective of this Act is to provide for the protection of children. The main principle for administering the Act is that the safety, wellbeing and best interests of a child are paramount. The Act recognises a number of important principles, including:
|
Child Protection (International Measures) Act 2003 |
The Act’s main objectives are to recognise:
|
Community Services Act 2007 |
The Act’s main objective is to safeguard funding for the delivery of products or services to the community that contribute to Queensland’s economic, social and environmental wellbeing and enhance the quality of life of individuals, groups and communities. |
Disability Services Act 2006 |
The objectives of this Act are to acknowledge the rights of people with disability, including promoting their inclusion in community life, and ensuring that disability services funded by the department are safe, accountable and respond to the needs of people with disability. The Act also recognises the right of people with disability to live a life free from abuse, neglect and exploitation. It safeguards the rights of adults with an intellectual or cognitive disability who exhibit behaviours of concern by mandating a positive behaviour support approach and regulating the use of restrictive practices by departmentally provided and funded services. |
Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 |
The main objectives of this Act are to:
|
Forensic Disability Act 2011 |
The Act provides for the involuntary detention, and the care, support and protection of forensic disability clients, while at the same time:
|
Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs Act 2009 |
The objectives of this Act are to assist people with disability who rely on certified guide, hearing or assistance dogs to have independent access to the community and ensure the quality and accountability of guide, hearing and assistance dog training services. |
Multicultural Recognition Act 2016 |
The purposes of this Act are to:
|
Youth Justice Act 1992 |
The Act’s principal objectives are to:
|
The following changes in law have affected, or will affect, the department:
Act | Change in law |
---|---|
Child Protection Reform Amendment Act 2016 |
The Child Protection Reform Amendment Act 2016 made amendments to the Child Protection Act 1999 and was passed by the Queensland Parliament on 11 May 2016. The Act implemented 10 specific court-related recommendations of the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry to:
The Act also implemented a recommendation made by the Court Case Management Committee to require the Director of Child Protection Litigation to seek leave of the court to withdraw an application for a child protection order. |
Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment Act 2015 |
The Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment Act 2015 was passed by the Queensland Parliament on 15 October 2015. In line with Recommendation 8 of the Taskforce Report, the Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment Act 2015 established the Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board and a legislative framework to ensure the Board can effectively perform its functions. |
Criminal Law (Domestic Violence) Amendment Act 2015 |
The Criminal Law (Domestic Violence) Amendment Act 2015 was passed by the Queensland Parliament by the Queensland Parliament on 15 October 2015. The Act implemented priority legislative amendments arising from recommendations made by the Special Taskforce on Domestic and Family Violence in Queensland in Not Now, Not Ever report. The Act amended:
|
Criminal Law (Domestic Violence) Amendment Act 2016 |
The Criminal Law (Domestic Violence) Amendment Act 2016 was passed by the Queensland Parliament on 19 April 2016. The Act implemented the final suite of priority legislative reforms in response to the Taskforce Report by:
|
Director of Child Protection Litigation Act 2016 |
The Director of Child Protection Litigation Act 2016 was passed by the Queensland Parliament on 11 May 2016. The Act established the Director of Child Protection Litigation, implementing recommendation 13.17 of the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry. The Director of Child Protection Litigation is an independent statutory officer, reporting to the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice. The Director must decide whether child protection order applications received from DCCSDS should be made and the type of order that should be sought. If an application for a child protection order is made, the Director will be responsible for conducting the proceedings in the Children’s Court. The Director of Child Protection Litigation is required by the Act to work collaboratively with the chief executive of DCCSDS in relation to child protection order applications. |
Disability Services and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2016 |
The Disability Services and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2016 was passed by the Queensland Parliament on 15 March 2016. The Act provided for an interim arrangement until a national quality and safeguards framework is operationalised by the Australian Government. The amendments:
A number of other benchmark safeguards were also captured, including:
There were also amendments to allow information sharing for the purposes of Queensland’s financial reconciliation of invoices and contributions to the NDIS. Amendments were also made to other legislation, including:
|
Domestic and Family Violence Protection and Another Act Amendment Act 2015 |
The Domestic and Family Violence Protection and Another Act Amendment Act 2015 was passed by the Queensland Parliament on 3 December 2015. The Act implemented further priority amendments in response to the Not Now, Not Ever report by amending the Police Power and Responsibilities Act 2000 and the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012. The Act made amendments that:
|
Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs Amendment Act 2015 |
The Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs Amendment Act 2015 was passed by the Queensland Parliament on 17 October 2015. The Act provided amendments to:
|
Multicultural Recognition Act 2016 |
The Act was passed by the Queensland Parliament on 16 February 2016 and came into effect on 1 July 2016. The Act introduced a new legislative framework to:
|
All legislation is available at the Queensland Government legislation website.
Disclosure requirements for government bodies have been revised for 2015-16. Details of board remuneration can be found on the Queensland Government open data website.
Role, function and responsibilities |
In response to Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry recommendations, the Child Death Case Review Panels (CDCRP) were established from 1 July 2014 with administrative support provided by the department. Twelve external members, seven departmental employees and 10 senior officers from other government departments were appointed by the former Minister until 28 July 2015 to a pool from which panels could be comprised. All panels consisted of at least three external members, one departmental officer and one officer from another government department. At least one member on each panel is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person. The review process for children known to the department who have died or suffered a serious physical injury now includes an internal Systems and Practice Review conducted by the department and consideration of the department’s review by an independent Child Death Case Review Panel. The purpose of both reviews is to facilitate ongoing learning and improvement in the department’s service provision and to promote the department’s accountability. |
Achievements for 2015-16 |
In 2015–16:
|
Legislation under which the entity was established |
Child Protection Act 1999 |
Financial reporting arrangements |
Transactions of the entity are accounted for in the department’s financial statements. |
Number of meetings held in 2015–16 |
13 panels held. |
Role, function and responsibilities |
The company acts as a bridge between the government and non-government sectors. It supports existing non-government organisations on the island, attracts funding and expands services where there is an identified need. The board’s directors represent the three partners in the company: the Palm Island Community Company, the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council and the Queensland Government. |
Achievements for 2015–16 |
In 2015–16 the Palm Island Community Company:
|
Legislation under which the entity was established |
The Palm Island Community Company is an Australian Public company limited by shares and operates under the Corporations Act 2001 and the Corporations Regulations. |
Financial reporting arrangements |
The Palm Island Community Company prepares yearly financial statements that are independently audited. |
Number of meetings held in 2015–16 |
|
Role, function and responsibilities |
The council’s purpose is to provide advice to the Minister about strategies aimed at increasing public authorities’ recognition of carers and advancing carers’ interests. |
Achievements for 2015–16 |
Council members have provided advice to the Minister about a number of priority issues, including:
|
Legislation under which the entity was established |
Carers (Recognition) Act 2008 |
Financial reporting arrangements |
The entity’s transactions are accounted for in the department’s financial statements. |
Number of meetings held in 2015–16 |
Three |
Role, function and responsibilities |
The Queensland Disability Advisory Council and seven regional disability advisory councils provide the Minister with independent and timely advice about important disability matters that have a regional, state-wide or national impact. In their new term since November 2014, council members have had a specific focus on helping Queenslanders prepare for the NDIS and on promoting a socially inclusive Queensland. Members are representative of their communities and include people with disability, family members, carers, advocates and academics, as well as members from community organisations, businesses, local government and disability service providers. The Queensland Disability Advisory Council comprises an independent chair, the chairs of the seven regional councils, and up to four additional members with specialist expertise or knowledge. Each of the regional councils has between seven and nine members. The term of the previous disability advisory councils expired on 31 August 2014. The majority of members and 10 new members were reappointed to the councils for a further term from 10 November 2014 through to 30 June 2016. |
Achievements for 2014–15 |
During 2014–15, the Queensland Disability Advisory Council and seven regional councils met quarterly. Queenslanders with disability benefited from the councils’ feedback on the how we can best prepare people and communities for the NDIS, specific accessibility requirements for people using public transport, the impact of funding and availability of vocational education and training courses on people with disability to participate in training, and the importance of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Legacy Project ensuring the games venues and housing are accessible and suggestions for ways that the Gold Coast’s transport, accommodation, and public spaces and places can better meet everyone’s needs, including people with disability. Individual members have also represented the councils in a broad range of fields, including transport, health, accessible tourism, universal design and education. |
Legislation under which the entity was established |
Disability Services Act 2006 (Qld), sections 222 and 223 |
Financial reporting arrangements. |
Transactions of the entity are accounted for in the financial statements of the department. |
Number of meetings held | 32 |
Total remuneration payments and |
$119,141 |
Role, function and responsibilities |
The Queensland National Disability Insurance Scheme Transition Advisory Group (QTAG) first met on 5 May 2015. QTAG, a key advisor to the Minister for Disability Services, is comprised of sector representatives with a broad range of knowledge and expertise. Members provide feedback and comment on challenges and issues encountered throughout the planning and commencement of transition to the NDIS. |
Achievements for 2015–16 |
Five meetings took place in 2015–16, with members providing valuable advice on issues such as workforce, local area coordinator training, participant and provider readiness, ongoing provision of mainstream government services, rural and remote and Indigenous strategies, and mental health under the NDIS. |
Legislation under which the entity was established | N/A |
Financial reporting arrangements |
The entity’s transactions are accounted for in the department’s financial statements. |
Number of meetings held in 2015–16 |
Five |
Role, function and responsibilities |
The Queensland Disability Advisory Council and seven regional disability advisory councils provide the Minister with independent and timely advice about important disability matters that have a regional, statewide or national impact. In 2015–16 council members have had a specific focus on helping Queenslanders prepare for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and on promoting a socially inclusive Queensland. All council members are representative of their communities and include people with disability, family members, carers, advocates and academics, as well as members from community organisations, businesses, local government and disability service providers. The Queensland Disability Advisory Council comprises an independent chair, the chairs of the seven regional councils, and up to four additional members with specialist expertise or knowledge. Each regional council has between seven and nine members. In 2015–16 the councils operated with 59 members. Members’ term of appointment ceased on 30 June 2016. |
Achievements for 2015–16 |
During 2015–16, the Queensland Disability Advisory Council and seven regional councils met quarterly. Queenslanders with disability benefited from the councils’ feedback on how the state can best prepare people and communities for the NDIS, specific accessibility requirements for people using public transport, the effect of costs and availability of vocational education and training courses on people with disability to participate in training, and the importance of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Legacy Project ensuring the games venues and housing are accessible and suggestions for ways that the Gold Coast’s transport, accommodation, and public spaces and places can better meet everyone’s needs, including people with disability. Individual members have also represented the councils in a broad range of fields, including transport, health, accessible tourism, universal design, and education. |
Legislation under which the entity was established |
Disability Services Act 2006 (sections 222 and 223). |
Financial reporting arrangements |
The entity’s transactions of the entity are accounted for in the department’s financial statements. |
Number of meetings held |
32 |
Description |
The Audit Committee’s primary role is to advise the Director-General on audit-related matters, and assist in the discharge of the Director-General’s financial management responsibilities under the Financial Accountability Act 2009, Financial Accountability Regulation 2009 and the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009. The audit committee has observed the terms of its charter and had due regard to Treasury’s Audit Committee Guidelines. |
Membership |
Mr Neil Jackson (retired) former Assistant Auditor-General Queensland Audit Office (Chair) Mr Rod Wilson, Acting Deputy Chief Executive, Public Safety Business Agency (member) Deputy Director-General, Corporate and Executive Services, Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services (DCCSDS) (member) Senior Executive Director, Policy and Legislation, Strategy, Engagement and Innovation, DCCSDS (member) Head of Internal Audit, Internal Audit and Compliance Services, DCCSDS (invitee) Chief Finance Officer, Financial Services, Corporate and Executive Services, DCCSDS (invitee) Director of Audit, Queensland Audit Office (invitee) Audit Manager, Queensland Audit Office (invitee) Director-General (special invitee) |
Total remuneration payments and on-costs |
In 2015–16, the external members received total remuneration of $12,612.49. |
Meeting frequency |
The Audit Committee met five times, with an additional meeting in August to steward and approve the annual financial statements. |
Achievements for 2015–16 |
In 2015–16, the committee:
|
Description |
The Portfolio Executive Board (PEB) is the department’s key strategic governing body. PEB meets monthly to consider the department’s overarching strategy and delivery interface, investment management and performance. To maintain oversight of the portfolio of programs and projects, PEB also fulfils a key strategic leadership role as the Reform Portfolio Board. PEB topics typically include escalated issues and reporting from other governance committees, portfolio performance dashboards, sessions to explore issues in depth, and high-level strategic financial issues. |
Membership |
Director-General (Chair) Deputy Director-General, Corporate and Executive Services Deputy Director-General, Child, Family and Community Services and Southern Regions Deputy Director-General, Disability Services and Seniors and Northern Regions Deputy Director-General, Strategy, Engagement and Innovation Regional Executive Director, Far North Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, North Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, Central Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, North Coast Region Regional Executive Director, Brisbane Region Regional Executive Director, South East Region Regional Executive Director, South West Region Chief Information Officer Chief Finance Officer Chief Human Resources Officer |
Meeting frequency |
Monthly |
Achievements for 2015–16 |
In 2015–16, the Portfolio Executive Board:
|
Description |
The Executive Leadership Committee (ELC) was established in September 2015 as part of new departmental governance arrangements. ELC focuses on the department’s strategic activities, performance and partnerships, and responding quickly and agilely to emerging strategic issues. ELC concentrates on:
|
Membership |
Director-General (Chair) Deputy Director-General, Corporate and Executive Services Deputy Director-General, Child, Family and Community Services and Southern Regions Deputy Director-General, Disability Services and Seniors and Northern Regions Deputy Director-General, Strategy, Engagement and Innovation Guests as invited |
Meeting frequency |
The ELC meets weekly or as required by the Chair and considers verbal briefings and information papers on topics nominated by the Director-General or Deputy Directors-General focusing on high-level strategic activities and issues. |
Description |
The Service Delivery Leadership Forum (SDLF) focuses on service delivery issues, service integration, reform implementation effects, and comparative regional performance, and works through the effects of delivering reforms within and across regions, in the context of continuing our commitment to excellent customer service. SDLF oversees two service delivery forums: the Child and Family Regional Directors Forum, and the Disability Services and Community Services Regional Directors Forum. |
Membership |
Deputy Director-General, Disability Services and Seniors and Northern regions Deputy Director-General, Child, Family and Community Services and Southern Regions (Co-chaired) Regional Executive Director, Far North Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, North Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, Central Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, North Coast Region Regional Executive Director, Brisbane Region Regional Executive Director, South East Region Regional Executive Director, South West Region Deputy Director-General, Corporate and Executive Services (standing guest) Deputy Director-General, Strategy, Engagement and Innovation (standing guest). |
Meeting frequency |
Monthly |
Achievements for 2015–16 |
In 2015–16 the committee:
|
Description |
The Social Services Performance and Reform Committee (SSPaRC) is a decision-making committee that fulfils a dual role as part of the department’s overall governance arrangements:
The Social Service Performance and Reform Committee and its subcommittees also contribute to whole-of-government, industry-led and place-level reforms. |
Membership |
Deputy Director-General, Strategy, Engagement and Innovation (Chair) Deputy Director-General, Corporate and Executive Services Deputy Director-General, Child, Family and Community Services Chief Information Officer, Corporate and Executive Services Senior Executive Director, Policy and Legislation Executive Director, Disability Services Commissioning Executive Director, Child, Family and Community Services Commissioning Executive Director, Stakeholder Engagement and Communication Executive Director, Investment, Performance and Innovation Director, Office for Community Sector and Industry Director, Strategic Investment and Quality Director, Office for Youth and Office for Seniors, Carers and Volunteering Regional Executive Director, Brisbane Region Regional Director, North Coast Region Head of Internal Audit and Compliance Investigation Services (standing guest). |
Meeting frequency |
Monthly |
Achievements for 2015–16 |
In 2015–16, the committee:
|
Description |
The Child, Family and Community Services Performance and Reform Committee is a decision-making committee that fulfils a dual role as a performance committee and reform program board as part of the department’s overall governance arrangements. The committee is responsible for providing governance and strategic oversight of reforms in Child Protection and domestic violence as the Reform Program Board. It also considers the performance and effectiveness matters of Child, Family and Community Services (CFCS) commissioned services. |
Membership |
Deputy Director-General, Child, Family and Community Services and Southern Regions (Chair) Deputy Director-General, Corporate and Executive Services Deputy Director-General, Strategy, Engagement and Innovation Chief Information Officer, Corporate and Executive Services Senior Executive Director, Policy and Legislation, Strategy, Engagement and Innovation Executive Director, Investment, Performance and Innovation, Strategy, Engagement and Innovation Executive Director, Child, Family and Community Services Commissioning Executive Director, Child and Family Practice and Service Improvement Executive Director, Child and Family Reform Oversight Executive Director, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Families Executive Director, Office for Women and Domestic Violence Reform Regional Executive Director, Central Queensland Region Regional Director, Child Safety, South East Region Regional Director, Disability and Community Services, Brisbane Region Director, Change and Innovation (standing guest). Audit Manager, Queensland Audit Office (standing guest). |
Meeting frequency |
Monthly |
Achievements for 2015–16 |
In 2015–16, the committee:
|
Description |
The Disability Services Performance and Reform Committee replaced the Disability Services Reform Program Board in September 2015 and fulfils a dual role as part of the department’s overall governance arrangements. This is as a:
The committee provides the program level overarching framework for disability services and community care reforms to be implemented both to:
The committee has oversight of the performance of Disability Services Commissioning, Disability Practice and Service Improvement, and DCCSDS Regions (disability services and community care). |
Membership |
Deputy Director-General, Disability Services and Seniors and Northern Regions (Chair) Executive Director, Disability Services Commissioning Executive Director, Whole-of-Government NDIS Implementation Executive Director, Disability Practice and Service Improvement Chief Finance Officer, Corporate and Executive Services Chief Human Resource Officer, Corporate and Executive Services Senior Executive Director, Policy and Legislation, Strategy, Engagement and Innovation Executive Director, Investment, Performance and Innovation Regional Executive Director, North Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, South West Region Regional Director, Disability and Community Services, Far North Queensland Region Regional Director, Disability and Community Services, South East Region Head of Internal Audit and Compliance Services (standing guest) Director, Change and Innovation (standing guest) |
Meeting frequency |
Monthly or as required by the Chair. |
Achievements for 2015-16 |
In 2015–16 the committee oversaw the department’s preparation for the phased implementation of the NDIS in Queensland commencing 1 July 2016. This included providing direction to and coordination of the following key areas:
|
Description |
The Finance and Budget Committee monitors our financial strategy and performance. It is a decision-making committee and its primary role is to:
|
Membership |
Deputy Director-General, Corporate and Executive Services (Chair) Chief Finance Officer, Corporate and Executive Services Deputy Director-General, Child, Family and Community Services and Southern Regions Deputy Director-General, Disability Services and Seniors and Northern Regions Deputy Director-General, Strategy, Engagement and Innovation Regional Executive Director, Far North Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, North Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, Central Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, North Coast Region Regional Executive Director, Brisbane Region Regional Executive Director, South West Region Regional Executive Director, South East Region Director-General (standing guest) |
Meeting frequency |
Monthly |
Achievements for 2015–16 |
In 2015–16, the committee:
|
Description |
The Information Steering Committee ensures strategic alignment of the department’s ICT investment. It is a decision-making committee and its role is to:
|
Membership |
Deputy Director-General, Corporate and Executive Services (Chair) Chief Finance Officer, Corporate and Executive Services Chief Information Officer, Corporate and Executive Services Executive Director, Child and Family Reform Executive Director, Disability Services Commissioning Executive Director, Investment, Performance and Innovation Regional Executive Director, Far North Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, South West Region Regional Director Child Safety, North Coast Region Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships representative Other attendees: Whole-of-government representative Head of Internal Audit and Compliance Investigation Services |
Meeting frequency |
Bi-monthly |
Achievements for 2015–16 |
In 2015–16, the committee:
|
Description |
This committee provides strategic and operational direction on human resource and workforce management issues. It is a decision-making committee and its primary role is to:
|
Membership |
Deputy Director-General, Corporate and Executive Services (Chair) Chief Human Resources Officer, Human Resources and Ethical Standards Executive Director, Child and Family Practice and Service Improvement Executive Director, whole-of-government NDIS Implementation Executive Director, Stakeholder Engagement and Communication Regional Executive Director, Far North Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, North Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, Central Queensland Region Regional Executive Director, North Coast Region Regional Executive Director, Brisbane Region Regional Executive Director, South East Region Regional Executive Director, South West Region Director, Workforce Capability, Human Resources and Ethical Standards. |
Meeting frequency | Bi- monthly |
Achievements for 2015-16 |
In 2015–16, the committee:
|
Additional information
In 2012 all Australian governments endorsed the revised National Disability Agreement through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). The agreement reflects changed responsibilities for aged and disability care arising from the National Health Reform Agreement and COAG’s commitment to commence foundation work for a NDIS.
Objectives/targets
The agreement affirms the commitment of all governments to work in partnership with stakeholders, including people with disability, their families and carers, to improve outcomes for people with disability.
Achievements for 2015-16
Priority areas under the National Disability Agreement include providing greater opportunities for choice and control, enhancing family and carer capacity, and maintaining flexible support models for people with complex needs. Queensland invested in a wide range of disability services to enable people with disability to live as independently as possible and participate in the community. These services included accommodation support, community participation and life skills development, and early intervention to give children with a disability the best start in life.
More than 2,000 people took up opportunities for greater choice and control by self-directing their support through the Your Life, Your Choice initiative.
Queensland continued to respond to carers’ needs by investing in respite services and funding carer support organisations, and stimulating the development of innovative options so that elderly parent carers can secure accommodation for their adult children with a disability.
Bilateral Agreement between the Queensland and Commonwealth governments for transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Queensland
On 16 March 2016, the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments agreed to the Bilateral Agreement for the transition to the NDIS in Queensland.
The Bilateral Agreement and associated schedules detail the roles and responsibilities for the Queensland and Commonwealth governments during the transition to the NDIS in Queensland over a three-year period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2019. The schedules cover implementation matters including (but not limited to) funding, phasing and support arrangements, quality and safeguarding arrangements, and how the NDIS will interface with mainstream services.
Additional information
The National Disability Strategy 2010–20 sets out the vision of an inclusive Australian society that enables people with disability to fulfil their potential as equal citizens, and is a mechanism to give effect to principles and articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Objectives/targets
The strategy is a broad whole-of-government response to advance social inclusion for people with disability in mainstream areas such as education, health, transport and housing. The strategy applies to anyone with disability and is not limited to those who may be eligible for specialist disability support services.
Achievements for 2015-16
All agencies prepared disability services plans as required by the Disability Services Act 2006.
Work commenced on the development of a new state disability plan for the period 2017–20.
Additional information
The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009–2020 (National Framework) was endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments in April 2009. Progress to implement the National Framework is monitored through a series of three-year action plans, annual reports and reporting on the indicators of change. The First Action Plan (2009–12) and Second Action Plan (2012–15) have been completed.
The Third Action Plan 2015–18 was endorsed by Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers in 2015 and was launched by the Honourable Christian Porter MP, Commonwealth Minister for Social Services in December 2015.
Objectives/targets
The primary focus of the Third Action Plan 2015–18 is to substantially reduce the number of children and young people experiencing abuse and neglect; improve the lifetime wellbeing of children through a strong focus on prevention and early intervention; and strengthen families’ capacity to care for their children.
Over the three-year period of the plan, activities will focus on three strategies:
Overarching across all aspects of the Third Action Plan is a strong commitment to improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, and a focus on research and reporting.
Achievements for 2015-16
The department implemented a number of initiatives that align with priorities for the Third Action Plan such as:
Additional information
The Department of Housing and Public Works (DHPW) has lead responsibility for negotiations and implementation of the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness 2014–15 (NPAH). The Youth Housing and Reintegration Service (YHARS) and the Transition and Post-Care Support initiative and Young Adults exiting Care of the State (YACS) initiative, which are part of the NPAH, are administered by the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services.
Objectives/targets
The NPAH supports Commonwealth and jurisdiction efforts to reduce homelessness across Australia, recognising that a reduction in homelessness requires targeting key groups: rough sleepers; people experiencing violence, especially women and children; children and young people, including those subject to or exiting care and protection; Indigenous people; and people exiting social housing and institutional care, such as health and mental health services, juvenile justice or adult prisons.
Achievements for 2015-16
In 2015–16 the department continued to support young people at risk of homelessness or homeless through the YHARS and After Care Service as per the NPAH Project Plan—Queensland. In addition, the department supported the Transition and Post-Care Support initiative and Young Adults exiting Care of the State (YACS).
The agreement was set to expire on 30 June 2014, or upon completion of all requirements set out in the agreement, including the acceptance of final performance reporting and processing of final payments, whichever is the later. The implementation of the agreement continued in 2015–16.
Objectives/targets
The agreement’s objective was to implement Schedule F of the National Health Reform Agreement which agreed on budget-neutral funding responsibilities for a range of services for people over and under the age of 65.
Achievements for 2015-16
In 2015–16, we continued funding the delivery of basic community care support to younger people with disability and assisted funded organisations to prepare and implement the program reforms across client services.
Negotiations continued with the Australian government incorporating the previous Schedule F financial arrangements into the broader funding agreements within the NDIS Bilateral Agreement.
Objectives/targets
The plan brings together the efforts of governments across the nation to make a real and sustained reduction in the levels of violence against women. It sets out a framework for action over a 12-year period and shows Australia’s commitment to upholding the human rights of Australian women through the:
Achievements for 2015-16
The Queensland Government continues to contribute to the Second Action Plan 2013–16 Moving Ahead that supports the ongoing implementation of the national plan through five national priorities:
Highlights include
Objectives/targets
This agreement was introduced in 2013 and will contribute to assisting the social and community services sector with additional wage costs arising from pay equity orders.
Achievements for 2015-16
In 2015–16, the department made payments of $28.445 million to approximately 290 organisations delivering specialist disability services.
Summary of requirement | Basis for requirement | Annual report page reference | |
Letter of compliance | A letter of compliance from the accountable officer or statutory body to the relevant Minister/s | ARRs—section 8 | 3 |
Accessibility |
Table of contents Glossary |
ARRs—section 10.1 |
4 188 |
Public availability |
ARRs—section 10.2 | 2 | |
Interpreter service statement |
Queensland Government Language Services Policy ARRs—section 10.3 |
2 | |
Copyright notice |
Copyright Act 1968 ARRs—section 10.4 |
2 | |
Information licensing |
QGEA—Information Licensing ARRs—section 10.5 |
2 | |
General information | Introductory information |
ARRs—section 11.1 |
6 |
Agency role and main functions |
ARRs—section 11.2 |
10 | |
Operating environment |
ARRs—section 11.3 |
10-24 | |
Non-financial performance | Government's objectives for the community | ARRs—section 12.1 |
16 |
Other whole-of-government plans/specific initiatives |
ARRs—section 12.2 | 179 | |
Agency objectives and performance indicators |
ARRs—section 12.3 | 81 | |
Agency service areas and service standards |
ARRs—section 12.4 | 81 | |
Financial performance |
Summary of financial performance |
ARRs—section 13.1 | 31 |
Governance—management and structure |
Organisational structure |
ARRs—section 14.1 | 25 |
Executive management |
ARRs—section 14.2 | 26 | |
Government bodies (statutory bodies and other entities) |
ARRs—section 14.3 | 30 | |
Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 |
Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 ARRs—section 14.4 |
40 | |
Governance—risk management and accountability |
Risk management |
ARRs—section 15.1 | 92 |
Audit committee |
ARRs—section 15.3 | 161 | |
Internal audit |
ARRs—section 15.4 | 92 | |
External scrutiny |
ARRs—section 15.2 | 92 | |
Information systems and recordkeeping |
ARRs—section 15.5 | 97 | |
Governance—human resources |
Workforce planning and performance |
ARRs—section 16.1 | 36 |
Early retirement, redundancy and retrenchment |
Directive No. 11/12 Early Retirement, Redundancy and Retrenchment ARRs—section 16.2 |
42 | |
Open data |
Consultancies |
ARRs—section 17 ARRs—section 34.1 |
30 |
Overseas travel |
ARRs—section 17 ARRs—section 34.2 |
30 | |
Queensland Language Services Policy |
ARRs—section 17 ARRs—section 34.3 |
30 | |
Financial statements | Certification of financial statements |
FAA—section 62 FPMS—section 42, 43 and 50 ARRs—section 18.1 |
140 |
Independent Auditor's Report |
FAA—section 62 FPMS—section 50 ARRs—section 18.2 |
141 |
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The department works to strengthen and protect the wellbeing of Queenslanders, particularly those most in need of support.
Information about the department’s supports and services can be accessed through:
We deliver services at service centres located in communities throughout Queensland. Dedicated child safety, community and disability service centres provide services from everyday support for families and individuals through to organising specialised services in emergencies.
The 13 QGOV (13 74 68) telephone number provides a single entry point to the Queensland Government for customers. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
At a Queensland Government Service Centre you can access a range of Queensland Government services, advice and information from a single location. You can also make payments over the counter for a variety of government services, irrespective of which department offers the service.
Along with the face-to-face counter service, the Queensland Government Service Centres have self-service computer kiosks and a telephone linked to Smart Service Queensland’s Integrated Contact Centre.
The service centres are in addition to the Queensland Government Agent Program offices in regional locations across Queensland. These offices provide government information about transactional services for people in their local community.
The Queensland Government website is designed to present information based on relevance to customer groups so people can find information at one online location, regardless of which department is responsible for providing the service.
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