AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT
GRANTS NEWS
December 2013
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Grants
News, a quarterly publication about key
activities involving Commonwealth grants
administration. It is an eventful time to be
working in grants administration, with the
updated Commonwealth Grants Guidelines
(CGGs) coming into effect in June 2013. The
Grants Policy team in Finance has been busy
running information sessions for agencies
with a focus on how the CGGs encourage
you to reduce red-tape and apply
proportionality. In August, we hosted a
whole-of-government skills roundtable on
grants
to
discuss
collaboration
opportunities across government.
This
newsletter was a suggestion arising out of
the roundtable.
This edition contains information about the
Public Governance, Performance and
Accountability Act 2013 and its implications
for the CGGs. A progress update of the
exciting new grants.gov.au project is
provided, as well as information on the
work being undertaken by Finance (AGIMO)
around grant management business
processes and a taxonomy. Contributions
and suggestions for future editions of
Grants
News
are
welcomed
via
grants@finance.gov.au.
We would like to wish you all a Merry
Christmas and a prosperous New Year. We
look forward to our continued collaboration
with you throughout 2014.
The grants.gov.au project
The Australian Government Grants System,
(grants.gov.au), was announced in the
2013–14 Budget. Grants.gov.au will be a
whole-of-government grants system, similar
to Austender, and will be a single point of
reference for agencies and grant applicants.
It will enable the transfer of application
information to and reporting information
from agencies’ systems. For Parliament and
the public, this single consolidated source of
information will improve transparency and
accountability about the use of public
resources.
Importantly
grants.gov.au
does
not
supersede agencies’ grant management
systems, but will instead interface with
agency systems. It will help industry, small
business and the not-for-profit sector
identify grant opportunities and find out
who received a grant.
A scoping study, to inform the development
of the system, is currently underway. The
grants.gov.au questionnaire was sent to all
agencies on the 4 December 2013. It
collects comprehensive data about current
agency practices to determine the business
and
functional
requirements
of
grants.gov.au.
The final scoping study
report is due for release mid 2014.
If you would like to know more please
contact us at grants@finance.gov.au.
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Public Governance, Performance
and Accountability Act
Implementing Better Practice
Grants Administration Guide
What is the PGPA Act?
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO)
released an updated version of the
Administration of Grants Better Practice
Guide in early December 2013, entitled
Implementing better practice
grants
administration (the Guide).
From 1 July 2014, the Public Governance,
Performance and Accountability Act 2013
(PGPA Act) replaces the Financial
Management and Accountability Act 1997
(FMA
Act)
and
the Commonwealth
Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (CAC
Act). It will bring together the fundamental
elements of the Commonwealth financial
framework under one piece of legislation.
The PGPA Act is the cornerstone of the
broader public management reform agenda.
The objective of the reform agenda is to
improve performance, accountability and
risk management across government,
through a framework that is simple, easy to
use and valued by all stakeholders.
The PGPA Act will be supported by rules
that will set out specific financial
management
requirements
for
Commonwealth entities. These rules will be
made by the Finance Minister and will be
disallowable instruments that must be
tabled in the Parliament.
Finance, in collaboration with relevant
stakeholders, is currently developing these
rules and the guidance material to assist
Commonwealth
entities
to
manage
resources under the PGPA Act.
What does it mean for Commonwealth
grants?
As the CGGs were recently updated we are
planning to maintain the CGGs with minor
changes, although they may be called the
Commonwealth Grant Rules.
More information
Further information, including draft rules
for consultation, fact sheets, latest news and
relevant links etc, are available on the Public
Management Reform Agenda website at
http://www.pmra.finance.gov.au.
The Guide is a companion reference to the
CGGs to assist decision-makers and agencies
in carrying out granting activities.
Specifically, the Guide will assist decisionmakers to understand and comply with
their obligations and implement the better
practice principles, having regard to the
particular circumstances of individual
granting activities. The updated Guide
reflects the revised CGGs that came into
effect in June 2013 and draws together key
messages identified in audits of granting
activities undertaken since the previous
version was released.
As
a
result
of
the
progressive
implementation of the PGPA Act, further
changes to the legislative and policy
framework are expected in the context of
grants administration. This version of the
Guide has been developed with these
changes in mind. The Guide will be further
updated once the details of the PGPA Act
framework are finalised.
More Information
Copies of the Guide can be downloaded
from www.anao.gov.au or requested from
the
ANAO
Publications
area
on
02 6203 7505 or webmaster@anao.gov.au.
Questions or requests for clarification in
relation to the contents of the Guide can be
directed to Brian Boyd on 02 6203 7672 or
brian.boyd@anao.gov.au.
Queries in relation to the reform agenda can
be directed to pmra@finance.gov.au.
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Frequently Asked Questions
If my agency gained responsibility for a
grant administered by another agency prior
to machinery of government changes, does
my agency need to publish the grant on our
website?
Yes. The CGGs state that information must be
retained on an agency’s website for at least
two financial years. Where machinery of
government (MoG) changes have resulted in
responsibility for grants programs changing,
agencies should ensure that the information
is moved from the losing agency’s website to
the receiving agency’s website, wherever
practicable.
This will ensure the CGGs
requirements continue to be met.
What are my agency’s grant reporting
responsibilities under the Minchin Order?
Senators are informed of granting activity
through the Procedural Order of Continuing
Effect 14 - Departmental and Agency Grants.
This is also known as the Minchin Order or
Senate Order 14.
This order requires agencies to produce a
consolidated list of all grants approved each
reporting period, including the value of the
grant, recipient of the grant and the program
from which the grant was made.
The
reporting period commences the day after the
last tabling date, which is no later than 7 days
before the commencement of the budget
estimates, supplementary budget estimates
and additional estimates hearings.
Grants management business
process and taxonomy
development
In late 2012, the Secretaries’ ICT
Governance Board (SIGB) asked Finance
(AGIMO), in partnership with agencies
managing significant grants programs, to
continue business analytical work around
grants management. This work involved
identifying a high level set of business
processes that could apply across
government. AGIMO was also asked to
compile a taxonomy, or common language,
for grants management. The taxonomy
work was to be based on existing
taxonomies, such as Standard Business
Reporting.
This work will help decide whether a wholeof-government feasibility study of a more
coordinated grants management ICT system
should be undertaken.
A draft grants management business
process and taxonomy was released for
comment by agencies participating via the
Grants Working Group on 29 November
2013. This group has also been contributing
to the development of the Low-Risk Grant
Agreement
Template.
Agencies
are
encouraged to provide feedback by close of
business on Friday 10 January 2014.
Comments
should
be
sent
to
solutionsandstandards@finance.gov.au.
For any agency whose grants programs have
been affected by MoG changes, the responses
should be based on the receiving agency’s
responsibilities as at the end of the reporting
period. All grants must be reported and
should only be reported once.
Contacting Grants News
Mailing list – if you wish to subscribe to Grants News please enter your contact details on the
Grants News webpage located at http://www.finance.gov.au/financial-framework/financialmanagement-policy-guidance/grants/news.htm.
Submissions – to submit an article for Grants News please contact grants@finance.gov.au.
Collaborative opportunities – to request interagency engagement or to share information on
a collaborative opportunity please contact grants@finance.gov.au.
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Grants policy framework – please visit http://www.finance.gov.au/financialframework/financial-management-policy-guidance/grants/.
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