Mehmet Tillem (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Chair of the Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee, I present the report on departmental and agency contracts together with a Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee.

Ordered that the report be printed.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

On behalf of the Chair of the Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee, Senator Kate Lundy, it is a pleasure to speak on the tabling of the committee's report on the Senate order for departmental and agency contracts. This is the committee's third report into the operation of the Senate order and it is narrowly focussed on two matters: the use of AusTender to comply with the Senate order and an assessment of the ongoing role of the Auditor General in auditing compliance with the Senate order.

Firstly, the committee strongly supports the continuation of the Senate order for the production of lists of departmental and agency contracts. Since it was introduced there has been a significant decrease in the number of government contracts containing confidentiality provisions. Numbers have dropped from 24 per cent in the 2001-02 financial year to four per cent in the 2012 calendar year. While the committee supports initiatives to remove duplication of agencies' reporting functions, the primary concern of the committee during the inquiry has been to ensure that the proposed AusTender reports are capable of complying with the Senate order.

A demonstration of AusTender during the public hearing failed to show that it is capable of producing reports that comply with the Senate order. For AusTender reports to comply with the Senate order, the committee's expectation is that there is access to a pregenerated list of contracts for agencies. However, the committee has received subsequent assurance from the Minister for Finance that AusTender will be modified so Senate order reports will be pre-generated and that compiled reports for individual agencies will be available without users needing to set their own search parameters.

Given the committee has not had the opportunity to view this capability, it is recommending a staged approach to the changes. By 1 September 2014, the committee has asked to be provided with a link to a prototype of the AusTender website with agencies' compiled Senate order reports for the 2013-14 financial year and the draft revised guidance from Finance which assists agencies to meet the requirements of the Senate order. Subject to the caveat that the committee is satisfied that AusTender is able to produce reports which comply with the Senate order, the committee has recommended agencies be able to use AusTender as a mechanism to comply with the Senate order for a trial period of 18 months from 1 January 2015.

It is important to note that AusTender can only be used to comply with the Senate order in respect of procurement contracts. All other non-procurement contracts required to be reported pursuant to the Senate order will need to be reported using the current mechanism—that is, a list which is accessed via a link to individual agencies' websites.

I turn now to the role of the Auditor-General. Given the length of time the Auditor-General has been reporting on compliance with the Senate order and the improvement in the use of confidentiality clauses, the committee is sympathetic to the Auditor-General's view that the need for ongoing audits of compliance with the Senate order has diminished. However, in view of the trial, the committee was reluctant to move directly to a model whereby the Auditor-General would monitor compliance with the Senate order through the ANAO's audit of programs more generally.

The committee believes the oversight by the Auditor-General will be critical in the committee's assessment of the trial. The committee therefore recommends a phased approach to changing the role of the Auditor-General. This would see the Auditor-General table a report no later than 30 September 2014 pursuant to the current Senate order. The committee has then recommended that the Senate order be amended to reflect that the Auditor-General will table two subsequent reports no later than 30 September 2016 and 30 September 2018.

To provide a quality assurance mechanism regarding the proper use of confidentiality provisions, the committee has supported the proposal by the Clerk of the Senate that ministers be required to certify in the letters tabled pursuant to paragraph (1) of the Senate order that none of the contracts in the list include inappropriate confidentiality provisions as measured against the guidance issued by finance. Amendments to the Senate order would also take a staged approach, and the committee has gratefully accepted the offer by the Clerk of the Senate to assist with the drafting of the amendments.

The first set of amendments would reflect legislative changes as a result of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, which is due to take effect 1 July 2014. The committee does not propose amending the wording of the Senate order to take account of the trial. The committee envisages that, for the purposes of the trial, agencies will provide a link to AusTender via their website home pages in addition to the link where non-procurement contracts are listed. If the trial is successful, further amendments to the Senate order would be proposed to refer to AusTender as an acceptable means of complying with the Senate order. At the end of the trial period the committee will consider any further amendments such as the minister's proposal for the Senate order to capture contracts 'published' in the six month reporting period, rather than contracts 'active' during the past 12 months.

It has been a privilege to be involved in this committee and to see the tabling of this important report for the Senate. I thank all those who contributed to the inquiry. In particular I would like to thank the Secretary of the Finance and Public Administration Senate References Committee, Ms Lyn Beverley, and all staff of the committee secretariat. I commend the report to the Senate.

I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.