To provide efficient and cost-effective support services to programs and staff and to facilitate program accountability.
The Corporate Services sub-program included the following components and resources, and covered the greater part of the activities of the Department’s Corporate Services Division:
5.2.1 Personnel (Personnel Branch)
5.2.2 Management services (Services Branch)
5.2.3 Resources (Resources Branch-also responsible for sub-program 3.3)
5.2.4 Information technology (Information Technology Branch-also responsible for sub-program 4.1)
5.2.5 Corporate evaluation (Corporate Evaluation Branch)
A Staff Counsellor, Careers Adviser, Foreign Service Medical Adviser, and the Corporate Projects Section (formerly the Workplace Bargaining Unit) in the Corporate Services Division contributed to the components of this sub-program.
Improvement in accounting procedures and staff appraisal in response to Australian National Audit Office and other external and internal scrutiny;
Progress in enterprise bargaining negotiations with workplace unions;
Improvements in staff training, resulting in more career satisfaction, enhanced relevance of staff skills to departmental programs and staff productivity;
Energy-saving performance in excess of targets set by the Government; and
Extension of computer network facilities resulting in improved productivity and client service across the Department and at overseas posts.
The need for continuous improvement in how the Department deals with its most valuable resource, its staff, saw further fine tuning in the organisation, policies and practices of the Personnel Branch during 1993-94. A professional psychologist was appointed to operate the Department’s staff counselling service, enabling the Careers Adviser to concentrate full-time on assisting officers to make better-informed decisions on their career options. Personnel policies covering recruitment, deployment and appraisal of staff were reviewed in consultation with staff associations and the outcomes promulgated by administrative circulars aimed at improving equity and transparency in staffing practices. Because of the global reach of the Department and the potential impact that policies in these areas can have on staff and their families all around the world the Department remains committed to continuing dialogue and reviews when problems with current policies are identified.
Recruitment
The Department continued its practice of filling the majority of its vacancies through bulk promotion processes. Generic duty statements and selection criteria applied to more than 90% of positions in the Department. Selecting officers for promotion against generic criteria ensured that officers were able to perform the duties of most positions at their level, an essential requirement in an organisation with such high staff mobility as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It also contributes to efficiency gains, particularly in small to medium sized overseas posts where multi-skilled staff are able to perform a range of functions which were previously distributed across different categories of staff.
Under its memorandum of understanding with the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), the Department arranged bulk promotion rounds at each level from ASO2 to ASO6 using joint selection committees established under section 50D(b) of the Public Service Act, chaired by a representative of the Merit Protection and Review Agency (MPRA) and including representatives of both the Department and the CPSU. Promotions made on the unanimous recommendation of a joint selection committee are non- appealable. While there are significant up-front costs in using joint selection committees, the Department considers that these are more than offset by the productivity savings gained through having a more transparent system which produces a non-appealable outcome accepted by the overwhelming majority of applicants.
Senior Executive Service (SES) and Senior Officer and equivalent promotions were also made through bulk promotion processes but not as the result of the recommendations of joint selection committees. Management nominates all members of selection advisory committees for Senior Officer classifications. SES promotions were conducted in accord with normal Public Service practice-that is, recommendations were made to the Public Service Commissioner by the Secretary, drawing on the recommendation of a committee which included two departmental nominees and a Public Service Commission nominee.
In 1993-94 the Department met its commitment to staff to conduct a promotion round at every level in the clerical-administrative classifications from ASO2 to SOGB. Other major recruitment exercises were held for Information Technology Officers and Public Affairs Officers. The Department conducted 14 bulk promotion processes and a further 29 ‘one-off’ selection processes were also advertised. Appeals were lodged with the MPRA against only two of the 29 ‘one-off’ promotion processes. One was successful.
Despite the high level of recruitment activity it became apparent early in 1994 that the Department was experiencing a shortage of staff at the Senior Officer Grade C and ASO 6 levels. Following a review of the Department’s recruitment strategy, the staffing implications of the Department’s new policy proposals the executive agreed to accelerate recruitment activity in 1994-95 and open up competition for promotion to Senior Officer and ASO6 levels to applicants from outside the Public Service.
Staff deployment
Staffing more than 800 positions in 81 overseas missions continued to present a unique challenge to the Department. During 1993-94, more than 200 officers and their families were transferred to overseas positions on two to four-year term transfers and a similar number either returned to Australia at the end of their postings or were transferred to other overseas locations. The process involved the selection of officers for posting, placement of officers within the Department on their return from posting as well as arranging their travel, removals and storage of personal effects and other administrative arrangements associated with postings. Costs associated with these services totalled about $10 million. Careful management saw further savings realised in the costs of temporary accommodation in Canberra, air fares and storage of personal effects. The shipping of officers’ effects back to Australia at the end of a posting was being examined to identify further savings.
A review of procedures saw the Overseas Transfer Advisory Committee, which formerly had responsibility for recommending staff for overseas transfer, replaced by the Placements and Postings Advisory Committee. In addition to recommending staff for overseas transfers, this new committee was also given responsibility for monitoring the performance of the deregulated placements system and, where necessary, the authority to override that process and recommend placements in the corporate interest. While the deregulated placements system works well for the vast majority of officers and program managers, the changes were introduced as a way of injecting the necessary level of ‘corporate’ perspective into the placements process.
Pay and conditions
The Pay and Conditions Subsection of the Department was responsible for paying over 2000 staff, including more than 800 overseas. It also processed salary and allowances and applying conditions of service for officers of other agencies serving overseas. The complex nature of overseas conditions of service and the need constantly to vary allowances and other entitlements required extensive knowledge of conditions of service (both local and overseas) and imposed a heavy burden on officers working in the Pay and Conditions area. They typically processed three to four times the number of transactions per officer compared with other Australian Public Service agencies. The remote locations of officers based overseas added to the complexity of the operation.
Staff appraisal and development
The Department’s new ‘Staff Appraisal and Development Scheme’ commenced on 1 March 1994. It is in three parts: the ‘staff appraisal’ and ‘strategy for development’ components applying to all officers classified ASO 1 to 6 or equivalent, and the ‘supervisor appraisal’ (upward appraisal) applying to all officers up to the Secretary and heads of mission. Each aspect of the scheme is compulsory. The appraisal cycle runs from 1 March to 28 February.
Staff appraisal: The focus of the staff appraisal in DFAT is primarily skills-based. Officers’ performances are assessed against generic criteria. The scheme serves as an integrated package, to provide, for the information of officers, a history of their performance and development throughout their career in the Department.
Strategy for development: The ‘strategy for development’ process allows officers to identify, at the beginning of the appraisal period, which of the skills required for their position they do not have, and to keep a record of the courses they undertake to acquire these skills throughout the cycle. At the commencement of the appraisal period, the ‘strategy for development’ form is completed by officers in consultation with their supervisors, making it a form of performance agreement. The Personnel Development area of the Department uses these forms to design training schemes and courses to suit the particular training needs of the Department, its individual sections, and even of particular officers.
Supervisor appraisal: Every officer who supervises staff in DFAT must be subject to appraisal by his or her immediate subordinates. Like staff appraisal, ‘supervisor appraisal’ is designed as an assessment of the appraised officer’s performance against generic managerial criteria. Staff have the choice of appraising their immediate supervisor as a group or individually-the supervisor has no choice in the matter. Appraisal takes place at the end of the appraisal period, although once again it is expected that upward appraisal will be ongoing.
Scheme administration and evaluation: The scheme has been advertised thoroughly throughout the Department, by administrative circular and cable, and in the orientation and overseas familiarisation courses. The Staffing Policy Section runs a help desk which answers any inquiries, or registers any criticisms.
SES and Senior Officer performance appraisal and pay
The Department made several changes to its appraisal procedures for SES and Senior Officers. Some of these changes were prompted by two external reports: the Australian National Audit Office Report No. 16: Project Audit-‘Pay for Performance’ Performance Appraisal and Pay in the APS 1993-94 (ANAO Report); and the Joint PSC, DIR and DoF Memorandum to Agencies on Performance Appraisal and Performance Based Pay, 27 April 1994 (Joint Memorandum). The largely procedural changes recommended in the ANAO report, and the interpretive changes of the joint memorandum have been incorporated into new consolidated performance appraisal and pay guidelines for SES and Senior Officers.
Experience also led to other changes. These included amending the appraisal documentation; devolving some responsibility for administration to division heads and heads of mission; introducing an ‘appraisal record’ form, to accommodate leave and multiple appraisals; and most particularly, the creation and continual development of an appraisal database which will automate much of the administrative procedure.
The Senior Officer appraisal cycle runs from 1 January to 31 December. The SES appraisal cycle runs from 1 July to 30 June.
Results of the 1993 Senior Officer appraisal cycle: Senior Officer ratings were subject to two tiers of moderation, by division heads or heads of mission, and then by a central committee, to ensure consistency in appraisal standards across the Department.
Performance pay
Performance pay was paid to SES and Senior Officers who achieved an overall performance rating of ‘fully effective’ or higher for a period of three months or more during the appraisal cycle. Amounts for each officer, according to classification and rating, were calculated within Department of Finance (DoF) parameters of a fixed performance pay pool, and within maximum amounts set for any one officer in each classification.
Two further considerations influenced the calculation. The joint memorandum recommends that officers receiving a rating of ‘outstanding’ should receive 90-100% of the maximum, with ‘superior’ ratings attracting 67-80%, and ‘fully effective’ no more than 55%.
Staff welfare
The Department remains strongly committed to the welfare of its staff, seeking in particular to provide support to counter the stresses associated with overseas service. The Department’s Welfare Unit comprised a welfare officer, an assistant welfare officer responsible for paying education assistance entitlements and assisting with occupation health and safety issues and a compensation officer responsible for Comcare recipients.
The unit also provides advice and information on education assistance where 58 officers with 71 children received education assistance. The administration of medical and excess dental issues was devolved in March 1994 from the unit to overseas posts.
The unit organised 376 family reunion visits, most of which involved children undergoing education in Australia visiting their parents overseas for school holidays.
Compassionate travel to Australia was approved for 14 officers and/or their spouses in cases of the death or serious illness of parents in Australia.
Equal employment opportunity
The Department’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) program (1991-94) has the overall aim of achieving acceptance and implementation of EEO principles in all areas of the Department’s management structure. Program objectives focus on selection, promotion, posting and placement processes; supervisory responsibilities; staff development; the promotion of the Department as an effective equal employment opportunity employer; the development of a broad base of statistical data to facilitate performance monitoring and the provision of a working environment free of harassment.
Key EEO achievements
In staffing policy and practices, equity considerations have been included in the development of staffing policies; and heads of mission/post have been briefed on best management practice, including EEO and the Department’s policy in relation to the elimination of workplace harassment.
In selection and promotion policy and practices,advice is provided to selection committees on the Department’s EEO policy.
Presentations at universities and colleges across Australia to prospective graduate administrative assistants (GAAs) have emphasised the Department’s EEO policies and practices.
During 1993-94 the Department continued its participation in the Intellectual Disability Access Program.
In staff development and training, EEO has been incorporated into various training programs, including management courses. An EEO component is a regular feature of all induction courses, presentations to GAAs and youth trainees;
As part of ongoing staff development, during 1993-94 the DFAT EEO Bulletin became a regular monthly insert in the staff newsletter, DFAT News, featuring articles on various aspects of the Department’s EEO activities and general EEO directions in the public sector.
Integration into ‘best management’ practices
Throughout 1993-94 there was continuing emphasis on ensuring that EEO is considered as part of the Department’s best management practices and performance assessment processes. For example, during the 1993-94 post evaluation review process, 99% of posts and 86% of regional offices were rated as fully effective in implementing the Department’s EEO program. The remaining 1% of posts and 14% of regional offices were rated as adequate
A similar assessment of EEO performance was included in the divisional evaluation review process in 1993, with further refinements expected in 1994.
Data on the EEO characteristics of departmental officers in 1993-94 is presented in the appendices to this report.
Important work in progress in 1993-94:
The Secretary, in May 1994, convened the first of a series of focus group meetings with female officers in the Department to discuss issues relevant to their career development and satisfaction. Two key areas were identified by participants at the meeting: first, the progression of senior officer women into the SES and second, the career development opportunities for women in the ASO1-4 classification ranges. The outcome of the May meeting included the preparation of discussion papers on both of these issues. Another meeting was scheduled in August 1994 with the aim of deciding on a plan of action.
The Department’s Child Care Consultative Committee approved final plans for the Child Care Centre in the new Foreign Affairs and Trade building and agreed to reconvene to develop an operational plan, including a management and operational structure for the centre.
EEO measures have been a vital component of the workplace bargaining process in Foreign Affairs and Trade. Family-friendly measures in the draft Foreign Affairs and Trade agency agreement include more flexible working hours, increased carry-over (credit and debit) periods, special leave to care for sick family members and flexible working year and leave arrangements;
The Department continued to work towards redressing the anomaly in the Australian Public Service which precludes officers in stable same gender relationships from obtaining the same overseas conditions of service available to officers with heterosexual spouses.
Advice was provided to management and complainants by the Foreign Affairs and Trade Workplace Harassment Contact Group on the resolution of EEO-related and workplace harassment grievances. The vast majority of cases in 1993-94 have been resolved informally and through early conciliation.
Work commenced on reviewing the achievements of the Department’s EEO program and steps have been taken to develop a new program for the period 1994-1997, including the Department’s participation on the Reference Group on a New Model for EEO Programs convened by the Public Service Commission.
The Department is involved in a joint Public Service Commission and Office of Multicultural Affairs study into the utilisation of multicultural skills in the Australian Public Service.
Women’s policy
The EEO personnel policies and practices outlined above, and the Secretary’s support for them, are essential in securing equal treatment and wider opportunities for women in the Department. Important related developments in 1993-94 were a presentation in the Department on International Women’s Day by an ANU academic, Dr Lorraine Elliot, on the relevance of gender to international relations, and Foreign Affairs and Trade sponsorship of a workshop in Canberra in May on ‘Gender and International Law’, at which Justice Elizabeth Evatt AO and other prominent women speakers addressed a range of international status of women issues.
In line with the Government’s policy of seeking greater representation of women on committees, boards and authorities, the Department sought information from the Register of Women during 1993-94. Like the APPOINT data base, the register is administered by the Office of the Status of Women and is used by ministers, departments and authorities (it is also available to the private sector), as a source of names for possible appointments to committees, boards and authorities. Seven searches (five from the Department and two from AIDAB) were made of the Register of Women during 1993-94.
The Business Affairs Unit (BAU) began compiling a database of key business contacts, including an extensive list of Australian business women in the first half of the year. BAU and Asia Projects Section, in conjunction with posts overseas, provided logistic and other support in the months leading up to the Australia-ASEAN Women Leaders Telstra Business Forum held in Singapore in July 1994. The planned Directory of Australian and Asian Women Business Leaders, to be produced in the coming financial year, will provide a useful adjunct to the Department’s business database.
Medical unit
The Foreign Service Medical Unit is staffed by a medical adviser and an administrative assistant in Canberra. Its function is to ensure the good health of officers and families at overseas posts, especially those serving in difficult health locations.
The unit monitors all preposting medical examinations, as well as providing health briefings on an individual basis and at familiarisation and orientation courses. These briefings are also attended by officers and families from other Departments.
The unit continued to support the eight clinics attached to Australian missions-in Beijing, Shanghai, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Rangoon, Islamabad, Jakarta and Port Moresby staffed by Australian doctors and nurses. The mission in Shanghai was upgraded with additional equipment and medical supplies. The Islamabad mission received emergency medical supplies for possible health effects resulting from severe drought and water shortages there. The new hepatitis A vaccine, Havrix, added to the unit’s workload and budget as it sought to cover all officers and families at risk. Medical supplies were also dispatched to remote area posts as well as to posts where crises were foreseen or anticipated.
An important element of the unit’s work continued to be to provide medical information and advice to individual officers and posts. As in past years, the Medical Unit assisted with a number of other medical evacuations from posts.
The Medical Unit maintained close working links with the Welfare and Occupational Health and Safety Unit. The Medical Adviser provided the departmental Comcare officer with the necessary information to conclude successful negotiations concerning compensation for Foreign Affairs and Trade officers who had served at the Australian Embassy in Vietnam during the war when Agent Orange spraying occurred and who later may have contracted Hodgkin’s disease, non Hodgkin’s lymphoma or leukaemia.
The Medical Adviser maintained close contacts with relevant medical instrumentalities and medical officers from other agencies, sharing information of mutual interest to these departments with officers serving overseas. The Medical Adviser attended the Foreign Service Medical Advisers’ Conference in London in October 1993, maintaining the Department’s links with the international network of foreign service doctors from 12 advanced medical nations. During the year the Medical Adviser also made direct assessments of the medical conditions for staff at missions in Ankara, Nairobi, Seoul, Port Vila and Honiara.
Graduate recruitment
The number of graduates interested in a career in Foreign Affairs and Trade remained exceptionally high, with almost one-third of the 6800 candidates who sat the Australian Public Service Graduate Selection Test in April-May 1994 nominating the Department as their first choice. This allowed the Department to choose from some of the most outstanding young Australians to represent their country abroad.
The Department recruited 38 Graduate Administrative Assistants (GAAs) in 1994, including three Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander graduates and three graduate accountants. The group comprised 16 women and 22 men. Three were of non-English speaking background and four others were of multicultural backgrounds, representing the diverse ethnic mix of Australian society. In all, members of the 1994 graduate intake speak 14 different languages.
Overseas conditions of service
The Department is committed to maintaining high productivity among officers overseas and ensuring the continued availability of quality staff at Australia’s overseas missions. A key element in achieving this objective is the provision of fair, transparent, flexible and defensible overseas conditions for officers and their dependants. The Department recognises that the circumstances in which officers and their families live and work overseas are difficult at many posts, particularly in respect of personal security, health and isolation. The purpose of the various overseas conditions packages at posts is to provide an adjustment for higher costs of living overseas, to address welfare concerns arising from separation, to alleviate hardship to the extent possible and to compensate for unalleviated hardship.
Overseas conditions was a significant item of departmental expenditure and resource allocation, $44 million in 1993-94.
The administration of overseas conditions is affected by the changing Public Service environment. The progressive devolution of decision-making authority from the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) gives the Department greater control over the management of resources affecting its own programs, as well as welcome flexibility in dealing with conditions issues. The Department continued to pursue changes to the overseas conditions system, particularly to improve the methods by which officers and their families are compensated for difficult conditions.
During 1993-94, the Department, in consultation with other agencies, introduced a more comprehensive health scheme for officers overseas. This removed a number of areas of disadvantage experienced by officers overseas as compared with persons in Australia. Also in consultation with other agencies, the Department managed a worldwide reassessment of the cost-of-living adjustments element of Overseas Living Allowance, to ensure that it was as up-to-date and accurate as possible. The Department negotiated adjustment to conditions packages at several posts with DIR. In most cases this involved the provision of additional relief travel in order to alleviate problems faced by officers and their dependants at more difficult posts. The Department continued to administer welfare-related provisions, such as for the reunion of officers with family members in Australia, in a flexible and sensitive way.
The Department placed considerably greater emphasis on ensuring that departmental officers and their families have a good understanding of the overseas conditions system by providing regular courses and briefings, as well as a range of newsletters and other information on changes affecting overseas conditions. As part of a continuing program, the Department also participated in four overseas visits to review conditions at 15 posts, the majority hardship posts.
Occupational health and safety
In recognition of the increasing importance of occupational health and safety (OH& S) issues, the Department has established a designated OH& S officer at the SOGC level, who oversees an OH& S and Welfare Sub-Section. Several officers have completed diploma courses in OH& S. The Department had an annual OH& S budget of $65 000 available to the OH& S Unit. This may be expanded as a comprehensive training program for departmental officers is implemented.
The Department’s OH& S Committee met every three months and brought together management and union representatives to discuss OH& S issues and concerns. As required under the Act, an OH& S agreement was formally negotiated and agreed with the relevant unions in 1992.
An OH& S policy document has been circulated to all staff. It affirms management’s commitment to providing a healthy and safe work environment in Australia and overseas and sets out strategies for achieving OH& S objectives.
In 1993-94, agreement was reached with the involved unions that designated work groups in Canberra would be re-established along divisional lines. Where substantially different types of work or work environment are present in one division, separate designated work groups were deemed to be necessary. In Canberra, the Department has 21 designated work groups and 23 health and safety representatives. Each regional office has been identified as a designated work group with elected staff representatives.
A comprehensive ergonomic assessment of the Administrative Building by an expert consultant at a cost of $22 000 was carried out in 1992-1993. The priority issues and recommendations in the consultant’s report have been addressed. The ergonomic assessment was completed in 1993-94 with the assessment of the International Public Affairs Branch and the Passports Office. Recommendations resulting from this survey will be implemented in 1994-95.
A primary objective of the unit is to encourage officers at all levels to be aware of and take responsibility for health issues within their control. The OH& S Unit sponsored a range of health promotion activities. These included a regular health newsletter, fun runs, a fortnightly stress management supplement in the staff newsletter, DFAT News; triathlons and a six-monthly health assessment program are sponsored by the Department’s OH& S Unit.
Close cooperation has continued between the OH& S Unit, the Medical Unit, Office Services Section, the building supervisor, Technical Services Section and divisional support units in terms of monitoring and promoting a safer and healthier workplace.
The OH& S Unit worked with the Medical Adviser to achieve workers’ compensation conditions similar to those set down under the Veterans’ Entitlement Act. This new arrangement provides staff who served in Vietnam during the Agent Orange spraying and who subsequently developed specific illnesses with access to workers’ compensation, which was previously not available.
Although the extraterritorial application of the OH& S Act is limited and does not require the establishment of OH& S committees and health and safety representatives at overseas posts, the Department takes seriously its obligation to provide a healthy and safe working environment for all departmental officers. To this end, OH& S mechanisms are being established at posts to promote the safety of overseas staff.
Industrial democracy
Unions and management continued to demonstrate their commitment to the principles of Industrial Democracy through ongoing engagement in the process of open and honest consultation. The Department facilitated the involvement of staff associations in a wide range of management issues both on an ad hoc basis and through the Departmental Consultative Council (DCC), which is the Department’s peak representative body. The DCC is chaired by the Secretary and includes representatives of the following unions which are active in the Department:
Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU);
Automotive, Food, Metals and Engineering Union (AFMEU); and
Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA).
The DCC is responsible for the monitoring, implementation and review of the Department’s industrial democracy plan. It is supported by functionally oriented consultative committees that report to the DCC and operate to increase the participation of staff in all decisions affecting them at work including on occupational health and safety issues, overseas conditions of service, equal employment opportunity concerns, personnel development, departmental resources, Canberra accommodation, and Canberra child care. The consultative committees met regularly throughout the year.
The Department’s industrial democracy plan includes state and regional offices, overseas posts and a number of specialised agencies. Each of the Department’s regional offices has an industrial democracy consultative committee which is chaired by the regional director. Industrial democracy principles are also an essential element of post management overseas. All heads of mission are briefed on industrial democracy principles and procedures before proceeding on posting. Implementation takes a variety of forms, ranging from consultative committees to less formal arrangements, depending on the size and nature of posts.
Achievements during the year were:
development of a plan for the promotion of ID principles through training courses and seminars;
successful management of the Department’s retirement and redundancy program;
satisfactory resolution of industrial disputes;
continued use of joint selection committees for bulk promotion rounds.
Family liaison
The Family Liaison Office provides support and assistance to officers and their families overseas and coordinates and provides support to the Community Liaison Officer Program which operates successfully in 23 overseas posts. This program provides information and assistance to officers and families at posts, particularly on their arrival.
In 1993-94 the Family Liaison Office provided information and assistance to an increasing number of departmental officers and their families. Officers and their families were encouraged to seek preposting consultations and briefings in the Family Liaison Office. This assistance was also available to officers and families from other departments.
During 1993-94 the Family Liaison Officer visited the South Australian and Queensland regional offices, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Beijing.
Staff counsellor
In September 1993 the Department appointed a professionally qualified psychologist as Staff Counsellor. The position is based on a three-year contract and is part of the Department’s commitment to improve support services for staff and families in the Department.
The principal activity of the Staff Counsellor is to provide a confidential counselling service for staff and their families to resolve personal and work-based problems.
A major focus is to improve individual coping strategies in the face of workplace or overseas environmental stresses.
Support is provided through face-to-face counselling, an after-hours telephone counselling service, traumatic stress debriefing services, and psychometric testing.
Initial acceptance by staff has been positive with 203 face-to-face counselling sessions and 112 calls taken on the after-hours telephone counselling service, mainly from officers and families serving overseas.
The Departmental Counsellor also provides advice to senior management on matters which relate to the general morale and psychological welfare of officers and their families and offers assistance to supervisors to resolve conflicts in the workplace through alternate dispute resolution techniques.
Continuous improvement
In November 1993, a program of continuous improvement was introduced into the departmental workplace. The Secretary has defined continuous improvement in DFAT as ‘..continually seeking ways to improve performance in terms of quality, productivity and efficiency’.
With the objective of achieving early reforms in the Department under the program, two task groups, chaired at Deputy Secretary level and comprising officers with relevant line management responsibilities, have been formed to review personnel practices and administrative processes.
One task group will broadly encompass the framing of a draft personnel strategy, whilst the second task group will focus on the streamlining of administrative processes, with an early emphasis on reducing the volume and high cost of administrative demands placed on overseas posts.
The Continuous Improvement Program will complement and, in some cases, further develop, initiatives arising out of the Department’s agency bargaining program.
Workplace bargaining
Negotiations were commenced with the three unions in DFAT for an agency bargaining agreement aimed at increasing productivity, efficiency and flexibility, improving the effectiveness of program delivery, and securing improvements in pay and working conditions. This is part of the process provided for in the December 1992 agreement between unions and the Government, Improving Productivity, Jobs and Pay in the Australian Public Service 1992-94, for the implementation of workplace bargaining in the Public Service.
The Workplace Bargaining Unit, and its successor, the Corporate Projects Section, has represented management in ongoing negotiations with representatives of the relevant unions (the Community and Public Sector Union; Automotive, Food, Metals and Engineering Union; and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance) on the terms of an agency agreement in the Department. The section conducted an information program to improve understanding of the principles of workplace bargaining, encourage productivity improvement suggestions and obtain feedback. Good progress was made in negotiations on conditions of service issues, consultative arrangements and productivity measures. Differences remained on the amount of productivity pay increase for ASO 1-6 level officers and Senior Officers.
Careers adviser
With the establishment of the position of Staff Counsellor in September 1993, the former position of Departmental Counsellor was renamed Careers Adviser. The main task of the Careers Adviser is to provide advice and resources to staff to help them manage their careers in the Department. The Careers Adviser held discussions with staff at all levels on a range of career management issues such as promotion prospects and applications, posting options, placement decisions, preparation for appraisal interviews with supervisors and possible changes in career direction. These discussions have been completely confidential. The Careers Adviser is a member of the Postings and Placements Committee and contributes to staffing policy on issues related to career management. Such issues have included staff appraisal and referee reports and the handling of arrangements for officers leaving on, or returning from, overseas postings.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recruitment and career development
In keeping with its responsibilities as an equal opportunity employer and consistent with the Government’s commitment to principles of fairness and equity, the Department has sought to address workplace disadvantages faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with the development and implementation of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Career Development Strategy. The Department’s strategy was launched by Senator Evans in July 1993. The strategy provided a plan for achieving by 1997 a complement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff in the Department commensurate with their representation in the wider community.
The strategy contains five objectives relating to recruitment, retention, career development and training, cross-cultural awareness and the positive promotion of the Department as an equal opportunity employer amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander networks.
The position of a full-time executive officer responsible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recruitment and career development was created and appointed in February 1994. The executive officer is responsible for the coordination of the implementation of the strategy and is located in the Corporate Services Division. The Department has supported the continued periodic convening of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Network Group.
During the 93-94 financial year progress in recruitment remained steady with the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff reaching 0.94% of total staff. The Department is therefore well placed to achieve its overall objective of 1-2% of total staff by 1997. The bulk of this recruitment has been achieved through the Government’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Graduate Administrative Assistant Program, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cadetship Program and the Youth Traineeship Scheme.
Responsibility for the implementation of the strategy rests with the divisions, regional offices and overseas posts. In order to increase awareness of this responsibility in the Department a task force will be established in the next financial year. The task force will be made up of indigenous representatives and experienced senior departmental officers from various divisions. Essentially the role of the task force will be to consider staffing policy and practices as they impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and to recommend improvements or refinement in the ongoing implementation of the strategy.
Staff training
Under the combined pressure of continued financial restraints and the technological revolution taking place in DFAT, the Department requires increasingly multi-skilled and highly versatile staff. The Department’s training programs are therefore under continuous review and adaptation to meet the changing requirements of a modern foreign service operation. In 1993-94 the Personnel Development Section coordinated fifteen post-specific management workshops at overseas posts. These workshops focused on the post as a work unit and reinforced the increasing role of locally-engaged staff. In Australia, management training for officers at all levels was given priority. Seven strategic management workshops and three first line management courses were conducted. Eleven SES officers undertook Public Service Commission SES management training courses, funded by the Department, and a departmental SES management seminar was conducted in February.
Professional skills training emphasising department-specific content concentrated on writing, analysis, reporting, economics, media, presentation and public speaking skills development. Other courses have included an EEO or OH& S focus. A stress management course will begin in 1994-95. All officers proceeding overseas on long-term posting, including heads of mission, have to pass a finance course prior to departure from Australia.
For the first time officers undertook a competency-based training course. Four officers at the ASO1-4 level undertook a Certificate/Advanced Certificate/Associate Diploma in Public Administration (APS) at the Canberra Institute of Technology. All professional skills courses coordinated by the Personnel Development Section have been designed to adapt to competency-based training. Work was commenced on the development of an overall competency-based training and assessment (CBTA) program for the Department.
The Department’s appraisal and development scheme introduced in February 1994 was designed to identify individual training needs. The strategy for development component of this scheme provided invaluable information about the training needs of departmental officers. In 1993-94 personnel development continued to operate under the cost-effective demand-driven system. This enabled tailoring of training courses to departmental operations and officers’ professional development. Training activities accorded with activities envisaged under the training agreement between DFAT and the Community and Public Sector Union. Increased emphasis was given to evaluation of courses to ensure that required outcomes in terms of enhanced officer skills were achieved.
Expenditure on personnel development training in the 1993-94 financial year was $688 000.
Tertiary studies
The process of continuing evaluation resulted in improvements to the flexibility of the Department’s diploma program-the Graduate Diploma in Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Associate Diploma in Policy Studies (Foreign Affairs and Trade). These courses, fully funded by the Department, are designed to meet the educational and professional development needs of officers engaged in formulation of foreign, trade and administrative policy advice and the implementation and delivery of departmental programs.
In 1993-94, 86 officers were undertaking the graduate diploma and 55 officers were undertaking the associate diploma. Thirty one officers and 9 overseas foreign ministry officials completed the graduate diploma, and 15 officers completed the associate diploma in 1993. Three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Graduate Administrative Assistants commenced the graduate diploma in 1994 and three are continuing from 1993. Eighteen overseas foreign ministry officials commenced the program at the beginning of the 1994 academic year. The overseas participants are all sponsored by AIDAB and are from China, Eritrea, Fiji, Kiribati, Lesotho, Mauritius, Micronesia, Nauru, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tonga and Vietnam. Two AIDAB officers and one DEET officer are currently undertaking courses.
The graduate diploma may be awarded at the masters’ level to those who complete the course at a sufficiently high standard and undertake additional work.
The contract for the delivery of the graduate diploma with the ANU expires at the end of 1994. Monash University was successful in its tender proposal and will deliver the course from 1995.
Assistance under the Department’s Studybank scheme continued to form a major part of the Department’s tertiary studies program. In most cases, the form of assistance includes leave for study purposes and the reimbursement of Higher Education Contribution (HEC) charges and other compulsory university fees. As at the end of 1993-94, 156 officers were approved for studies assistance: 139 for part-time study, including 34 for study by distance learning, and 10 for full-time study without pay. Two officers were granted full-time study leave with pay. Fifteen officers undertook language training unassociated with preposting preparation, 29 undertook pre-tertiary and TAFE studies, 73 undertook undergraduate university studies, and 39 undertook postgraduate studies.
In accordance with the Department’s policy on the reimbursement of HEC charges, 145 officers received financial assistance during the financial year for subjects successfully completed in 1993-94.
A full-time scholarship program was introduced in 1993 to assist officers wishing to upgrade or update their tertiary qualifications by undertaking full-time study at an approved institution, either in Australia or overseas in areas of particular relevance to the Department’s operational needs. Five scholarships were awarded.
Language training
Within an annual budget of $1.7 million, the Department provided language training directly related to postings for 185 officers and 36 spouses in 30 different foreign languages. Training was undertaken at the Department’s Language Training Unit, the Canberra Institute of Technology, the Royal Australian Air Force School of Languages in Victoria, and overseas. Training locations were determined by cost-benefit considerations. Languages of key relevance to the Department’s operational needs and effectiveness are Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Russian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Spanish.
In addition to formal language training, the Department conducted a program of regular lunchtime foreign language discussion groups to assist officers to maintain and improve their language proficiency while in Australia. A total of 20 groups per week were conducted at varying proficiency levels in Arabic, Cantonese, Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish and Vietnamese.
About 555 officers qualified for language proficiency allowance in 1993-94.
Information management and access
In order to promote a consistent and uniform approach to records management, the Department’s automated records management system, TRIM (Tower Records Information Management) was installed at three overseas posts, Hong Kong, Manila and Honiara. The program of progressively installing TRIM at overseas posts will continue through 1995, with installation in 45 overseas posts by 1998.
Archives
A 36-month contract was let on 21 October 1993 to sentence and process the remaining 11 850 linear metres of inactive records held by the Department. To date a total of 3 125 linear metres has been sentenced for either permanent retention or destruction in accordance with records disposal authorities issued by Australian Archives.
To maintain the benefits of this sentencing project and to help prevent another backlog of inactive records, overseas posts and divisions have been made responsible for their own records disposal programs. To facilitate this the Department’s Information Management and Access Section conducts regular work shops in records disposal, records management procedures and TRIM training. A records disposal manual for overseas posts was prepared and distributed to each overseas post. The manual is also available on CD-ROM.
To assist public access to records created by overseas posts a major project commenced for registering all overseas posts and their records as part of the Australian Archives Commonwealth Record Series. This project is being undertaken in conjunction with the Department’s Historical Records Information and Access Unit.
Library
Usage of the departmental library continued to increase. The library provides high quality reference services for departmental officers including the use of both national and international on-line database systems such as DIALOG, LEXIS NEXIS and AUSTRALIS. The United Nations document index is also on CD-ROM from 1983 to date. The library also continues to service officers and overseas students undertaking the graduate and associate diplomas in Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Energy use
The Department’s main energy consuming asset is the Administrative Building in the ACT. The building primarily consumes electricity and, for the period 1 June 1993 to 30 May 1994 (representing an annual consumption from the figures available), consumption was 7 981 722 kWh.
The departmental energy plan was issued in January 1994 although aspects of the plan had been operational for a longer period. The plan was designed to be realistic in terms of the expected outcomes, the levels of resources required to implement it and the tasks of the personnel responsible for implementing the plan. The primary objectives of the energy management program are to achieve a 15% reduction in energy consumption within five years and a 25% reduction within 10 years. The plan included implementation phases and an energy management structure incorporating the energy management teams, their duties and responsibilities in regard to data management, audits, reviews, implementation and staff awareness. The plan detailed resourcing issues, targets, reporting requirements and a timetable.
Aspects of the implementation of the energy management plan in regional offices were hampered by the continuing possibility of moving some offices to more suitable accommodation. This particularly affected the implementation of energy-saving measures which had an initial cost and a pay-back period measured in years. In addition, energy audits conducted on departmental operations seldom recommended specific measures designed to reduce energy usage other than staff awareness campaigns to encourage staff to turn off office machines.
Energy usage in the Department declined from 1991-92 to 1993-94 by 9.14% and from 1992-93 to 1993-94 by 3.1%. These reductions exceeded the targets set by the Government.
Energy use in the Department was specifically targeted for a staff awareness campaign during the period October 1993 to May 1994. During this period, energy usage reduced by 185 316 kWh compared to the same period in the previous financial year. This equates to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 183 462.84 kg of CO2.
The Department proposes to refine its staff awareness campaign in 1994-95 with a view to moving to the new DFAT offices early in 1996. At that time and because it will be in a new, energy-efficient building, the Department will commence monitoring energy usage with a view to producing any possible savings in 1998.
The resources component of the Corporate Services sub-program seeks to provide effective resource management through continuing to align resources to priorities based on flexibility, transparency and consistency in resource allocation decisions, as portfolio objectives are refined and strategies and tactics are fine tuned.
Major outcomes in the resources component of the sub-program for 1993-94 were:
additional resources for trade related activities in 1994-95 including funding for new posts (Ho Chi Minh City and Almaty), for new positions at existing posts, and for additional positions in Australia to support trade activities, particularly in Asia;
increased funding for APEC-related activities, particularly to provide for wider research, consultation and support both in Australia and in Singapore;
funding for the second National Trade and Investment Outlook Conference;
broadened funding base for the honorary consul program to encompass more honorary consuls and to provide adequate resources for the existing honorary consul network;
increased resources for enhanced general and language training to enable the department to devote more resources to developing and training staff to operate effectively in an increasingly complex and demanding international environment; and
revised procedures to meet new Fringe Benefits Tax obligations.
Resources Branch continued implementation of the Financial Management Information System through development of the corporate reporting module known as the Corporate Report Writer (CRW). The system provides for a revised system for foreign exchange adjustments so that managers whose budgets are affected by foreign exchange have a more accurate indication of their funds availability by more accurate and more frequent attribution of foreign exchange losses and gains. It also allows for automation of post expenditure reports providing improved monitoring of overseas Australia-based salary-related costs.
The Department negotiated a resources agreement with the Department of Finance to provide a firm basis for adjustments for overseas inflation.
Improved financial management training of staff was a high priority, in particular in the area of accrual accounting. The Department introduced the following external tertiary accounting courses:
Monash University-School of Distance Learning. 105 officers successfully completed semester one and a further 84 officers were scheduled to sit examinations at the completion of semester two; and
Canberra Institute of Technology-three in-house courses of 10 weeks duration were conducted involving 58 officers, with a further 15 officers on courses.
The Department conducted four internally run half-day courses on accrual accounting; conducted regular budget coordinators’ briefings; progressed the development of a computer-based financial training package; and conducted 11 overseas regional financial management seminars.
In an endeavour to achieve best practice in resource management, Resources Branch prepared the Department for compulsory introduction for agencies of accrual accounting in 1994-95. It did so by strengthening accounting expertise with recruitment of three additional specialist accountants; agreement to report the Department’s 1993-94 financial statements on an accrual accounting basis as part of a Department of Finance pilot program; introduction of new financial policies and systems and procedures necessary for accrual accounting within the government sector; and conduct of an accrual accounting trial in conjunction with 10 overseas posts.
A significant development was the conclusion of a general memorandum of understanding with the Canadian Government providing an umbrella agreement for colocation arrangements at overseas Australian and Canadian missions aimed at streamlining use of overseas resources. Site-specific agreements were also concluded governing colocation of the Australian High Commission with the Canadian High Commission in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Global exchanges of information continue to be critical to the achievement of the Department’s goals. The Department has been faced with the challenges of continuing the development of the secure communications network (ADCNET), initiating the standardisation of global unclassified networks, the commencement of formal planning for the move to a new building at York Park and the development and marketing of global network services.
The Department has reviewed its Information Technology Plan 1992-95. A midterm review has provided staff with a guideline to the direction of information technology development in the Department through to 1996 when the Department is scheduled to move into its new York Park complex.
The Department’s vision for the future of information technology is based upon the following aims:
a corporate approach to the management and use of information technology;
through Acquisition Council and capital resource agreement processes, to establish the funding base to create the integrated information technology infrastructure for national secure and non-national secure office systems and communications;
a modern, standards-based and secure information processing environment and communications network to the overseas posts and regional offices providing appropriate information flows to the desktop;
robust, versatile work stations for all staff to set the stage for higher productivity through appropriate office automation and work practice reform and to provide access to corporate applications regardless of the platform and location of the data;
inter-connectivity via local area network and wide area network technology between the Department’s divisions, regional offices and posts, to enhance information dissemination capabilities and communications including the private sector and client agencies;
the introduction of system development and system management methodologies to provide guidelines and predefined outcomes in the development and management of information technology projects- bringing a reliable and timely product which fully meets the client’s need;
a tailored training and skill retention program to empower staff to use the technology available to the fullest effect; and
an open and vendor-independent computing environment with a minimum number of easy-to-use interfaces that maximise the Department’s return on investment. Outsourcing options will be examined in this context.
Network services
The Department operates a range of secure and non-secure telecommunications links with its overseas missions. A Network Services Business Plan 1993-96 was developed to address increasing requirements for data, voice, and image services, from existing funding allocations. Foreign Affairs and Trade provided such links to government organisations at competitive rates. Agreements for provision of selected network services were made between the Department and the Australian Geological Survey Organisation, AIDAB, the Department of Defence and the Department of Finance. These global services are now available to most government agencies.
Where viable, the carrier services are provided by Optus Networks Pty Ltd and Telstra Corporation Ltd, with Telstra subcontractors Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aeronautiques and Sprint International Pty Ltd. Optus and Telstra were selected after an evaluation of tenders. During 1993-94 quotations were sought for a telephone services facilities manager and for supply of a call accounting system. These were awarded respectively to Consultel Australia Pty Ltd (with subcontractor Ericsson Australia), and Phoneware Communications Systems Pty Ltd.
Non National Secure Systems (NNS)
Work commenced on the development of an unclassified computer platform and a wide area network (WAN) covering the Department, regional offices and posts. This platform will eventually become the basis for all unclassified WAN information technology in Foreign Affairs and Trade including a variety of office automation tools to information dissemination and management reporting systems. A number of trials were undertaken to pilot the proposed architecture in our posts in Suva and Honiara. These installations were undertaken as a joint venture with AIDAB, with AIDAB officers being part of the installation and support teams. Good progress was made towards standardisation of the NNS platform.
Further information on the progress of application of the Department’s (ADCNET) midterm review may be found in sub-program component 4.1.
The Corporate Evaluation Branch serves departmental management by evaluating and advising on financial and other aspects of management performance and by promoting high ethical and professional standards.
These goals are pursued through program evaluations and audits of the Department’s operations, through the promotion of fraud awareness as well as by conducting investigations. The branch consists of Evaluation and Audit Section and Fraud Prevention and Investigation Section.
Evaluation and audit
The Evaluation and Audit Section undertook or advised on program evaluations, preparing the portfolio evaluation plan and Program Performance Statements (replaced during the year by the new Portfolio Budget Measures Statements), and formulating and conducting the Department’s internal audit program. The section also acted as the focal point for assessments about the financial and personnel management of overseas posts in the annual post evaluation report process.
The Evaluation and Audit Committee, chaired by a Deputy Secretary, provided strategic direction in evaluation and audit and approved the annual plans. The Portfolio Evaluation Committee coordinated the evaluation priorities identified by the management systems of the Department and the agencies within the portfolio, and approved the portfolio evaluation plan.
Program evaluation
In 1993-94, Evaluation and Audit Section assisted with evaluations of the Australian Program of Training for Eurasia (APTEA) and the Australian Antarctic Foundation. Work commenced on evaluations of South and South East Asia Division and North Asia Division, the Department’s safe hand mail operation and the library. An evaluation of the departmental system of grants and contributions is expected to be finalised by the end of 1994.
The evaluation of APTEA was completed in February 1994. APTEA consists of a fellowship sub-program for high level training in Australia, and a management support sub-program under which overseas posts can respond to requests for assistance, such as for financing small training activities.
The purpose of the evaluation was to assess APTEA’s appropriateness, effectiveness and efficiency, and to make recommendations on the future of the program. Overall, the evaluation concluded that APTEA was appropriate, effective and efficient.
The evaluation recommended that real funding levels for APTEA be maintained for 1994-95 and extended for a further period of three years until 1997-98, and that a strategy be put in place for the evaluation of the program in 1996.
The evaluation of the Australian Antarctic Foundation was conducted in accordance with a request by the Minister for Finance that a review take place to enable Cabinet to decide on the appropriateness of continued funding.
The review concluded that there is a high level of satisfaction among clients that the foundation was meeting its primary objective of promoting informed debate on Antarctic issues. The review also concluded that the foundation was supporting well-designed projects that have achieved or were likely to achieve outcomes consistent with its primary and ancillary objectives.
The review recommended that the term of the Australian Antarctic Foundation should be extended for a further three years to enable achievement of the new directions flowing from the Government’s current Antarctic objectives; to consolidate, by its presence in Hobart, the status of that city as an Antarctic centre; and to maximise the considerable investment the Government has made to establish an effective body.
Audit
The Department’s internal audit is an independent appraisal function designed to examine and evaluate activities as a service to the organisation. The Director of the Evaluation and Audit Section is responsible to the Secretary and works to a plan approved by the departmental Evaluation and Audit Committee.
During 1993-94, audits were undertaken of eight work units or functions in Australia, and 25 DFAT- managed overseas posts.
Canberra and regional office audits
Audits of eight work units and functions found five to be satisfactory. In the three found unsatisfactory, all necessary corrective action was subsequently taken.
PERSPECT (personnel management information system): Satisfactory. The audit recommended that management procedures need to be changed and that off-site storage arrangements be made.
Passport revenue: Satisfactory. The audit noted that the Passport Office was able to reduce its revenue discrepancy to 0.00632% of total revenue in 1992-93 and that the Passport Office is investigating new ways to reduce the discrepancy to a lower figure in 1993-94.
Information technology procurement: Satisfactory. Procedural controls were, however, assessed as being relatively weak. The annual report requires certification by the Secretary that information technology procurements have accorded with government policy. The audit determined that procedures could be relied on in the 1992-93 financial year but needed to be corrected before certification in 1993-94.
Public Affairs Division car usage: Satisfactory. Monitoring of the usage of Senior Executive Service and office vehicles was found to be efficient and effective.
Australia Antarctic Foundation: Satisfactory. Remedial action was recommended on minor administrative weaknesses such as the exercise of delegations and the submission of a Audit Act section 50 return.
PABX and Voicemail: Unsatisfactory. Audit found that there was inadequate security in the system. Recommendations have been made (June 1994) designed to eliminate unauthorised usage.
Financial transactions in the Canberra Foreign Affairs and Trade database: Unsatisfactory. The Department has not been complying fully with departmental and government purchasing procedures. The major area of concern was the incorrect recording of assets. New procedures have been implemented which are intended to ensure adherence to correct purchasing procedures. A follow-up audit conducted in June 1994 showed significant improvement in the handling of transactions.
Overseas post audits
In audits of 25 Foreign Affairs and Trade-managed posts, 23 were found to be operating overall in a satisfactory manner, whilst at two posts weaknesses were identified in financial and administrative functions. Corrective action was begun at those posts.
Other matters
Evaluation and Audit Section completed a major review of internal audit standards and operations. The review concluded that the audit system needed to be revised in order to give management a sharper assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of departmental financial systems and to provide transparent standards against which overseas post managers should aim to perform. The review also recommended the introduction of performance auditing of management systems in Canberra and at overseas posts. The specific recommendations, which take effect on 1 September 1994, have been endorsed by the Executive and the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO).
Liaison with ANAO
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) participated in the Department’s quarterly Evaluation and Audit Committee meetings. Close consultation on a wide range of issues was maintained with ANAO officers responsible for the financial, efficiency and information technology audits of the Department.
Fraud prevention and investigation
The Fraud Prevention and Investigation Section continued to be staffed by officers with a mix of skills in investigation and administration. Increased emphasis was placed by the section on fraud prevention through the implementation of controls to supplement the fraud control plan and by greater efforts to raise awareness about fraud and ethics.
Fraud risk assessments of overseas posts were completed and the information collated and fed back to posts. Ongoing review of fraud controls took place through the internal audit of Canberra-based and overseas operations. A review of the existing fraud control plan was commenced and work began to replace it with three separate frameworks for plans covering Canberra-based operations, regional offices and overseas posts.
All information disclosing possible criminal offences was referred to the Australian Federal Police in accordance with a 1992 memorandum of understanding. Administrative remedies were pursued in all other cases, including, where appropriate, recovery of monies and assets lost to the Commonwealth.
A greater emphasis was place on increasing the awareness of staff about fraud and ethics. More than 40% more Australia-based and locally engaged staff attended training sessions held in Australia and overseas. The section also commenced work on the production of an interactive computer based training package for staff overseas. Officers proceeding to and returning from posts, particularly heads of mission, continued to receive individual briefings.