CHAPTER 3 – DEPARTMENTAL OUTPUT STATEMENTS
This chapter details the goods and services (outputs) that each government department
intends to deliver in 2011-12 and describes how these services are designed to contribute to
departmental objectives and strategic priorities.
An output represents the aggregate of goods or services which are either produced or
delivered by, or on behalf of, a department and its agencies.
Departmental output statements are a key accountability mechanism for departmental service
delivery as they include performance standards for each output that enable the assessment of
departments’ service delivery. Performance measures are provided to describe the cost of each
output, the quantity of output units to be delivered, the expected level of quality, and the
timeliness of service delivery.
Departmental outputs and the performance measures used to evaluate service delivery are
assessed annually for their continuing relevance and robustness. Where departments have
introduced changes to their outputs, these changes are reflected in a summary table with an
explanation as to the nature of the change.
The Government has invited the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) to
review proposed changes to output performance measures. This is to ensure measures that are
substantially changed, or are proposed to be discontinued, are given a high degree of scrutiny.
This review also ensures that comparisons of service delivery performance can be maintained
from year to year, while recognising the importance of annually evaluating the quality of
measures.
In the 2011-12 Budget some departments have introduced changes to the outputs and
associated performance measures. These changes mainly reflect the impact of machinery of
government changes since the 2010-11 Budget as well as the implementation of new
organisation/business structures to better facilitate improvements in service delivery.
Information about these changes is provided within each department’s output statement.
Within the output statements, ‘nm’ refers to a new performance measure and ‘na’ refers to
data either not being available or not applicable in the specified year. Where a department has
included a new measure in 2011-12, historical performance data has been provided, where
available, to assist with comparability of the department’s performance over time.
Service Delivery 2011-12
Chapter 3
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Structure and changes
This year, Chapter 3 includes several changes designed to increase transparency in government
reporting.
Financial tables
Each departmental output statement includes two new financial tables. One details the
amounts available to the department from Parliamentary authority while the other outlines
income generated through transactions. These tables were previously found in Budget
Paper No. 4 Statement of Finances, now Budget Paper No. 5.
The sources of Parliamentary authority available to a department include ‘Annual
appropriations’ in the Appropriation (2011-12) Bill to fund the provision of outputs, additions
to the net asset base and payments made on behalf of the State. Payments made on behalf of
the State include grants for on-passing and superannuation payments.
A department’s income from transactions includes appropriations to fund the provision of
outputs described in this chapter and other income to fund the operations of the department.
Total expenditure for departments can be found in Budget Paper No. 5, Chapter 3
Departmental financial statements.
Changes to performance measures
For some outputs, performance measures that were reported in the 2010-11 departmental
output statements may not be reported in 2011-12. This could occur either because the
program has ceased, improved measures have been identified or new data sets provide
improved performance information.
Performance measures that are proposed to no longer be reported in 2011-12 are identified in
Appendix A – Output performance measures for review by the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee.
Common reasons for the proposed discontinuation of performance measures include the
achievement of milestones in a period, project/program completion, the impact of policy
decisions, the implementation of different programs, and the development of superior
alternative measures.
Proposed discontinued or substantially changed measures highlighted in Appendix A will be
presented to the PAEC after the release of the 2011-12 Budget for review.
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Chapter 3
Service Delivery 2011-12