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An efficiency dividend is an annual reduction in resources available to an organization. [1] It is usually applied as a percentage of operational (running) costs.
It has been used by the Australian Government on Australian Public Service departments and agencies since 1987. Some departments and agencies have been exempted. [2]
A 1.25% efficiency dividend was introduced by the Bob Hawke Government in 1987-88. It was reduced to 1% from 1994-95 to 2004-2005 then increased to 1.25% from 2005-06. For 2008-09 a one-off 2% efficiency dividend on top of the ongoing efficiency dividend was applied. In 2011-12 it was 1.5% and in 2012-13 another extra one-off 2.5% was applied. [3]
Proponents of the efficiency dividend argue that it improves the cost effectiveness of the public sector, allows managerial flexibility in the allocation of resources, and is a good way to generate savings in the cost of public sector administration. [4] Critics have described the efficiency dividend as a blunt instrument, [5] a false economy, [6] and lazy budgeting. [7] Smaller agencies have also highlighted the difficulty in finding such savings. [8]
Medicare is the publicly-funded universal health care insurance scheme in Australia, operated by the nation's social security department, Services Australia. Medicare is the principal way Australian citizens and permanent residents access most health care services in Australia. The scheme either partially or fully cover the cost of most primary health care services in the public and private health care system. All Australian citizens and permanent residents have access to fully covered health care in public hospitals, funded by Medicare, as well as state and federal contributions. International visitors from 11 countries have subsidised access to medically necessary treatment under reciprocal agreements.
Tertiary education fees in Australia are payable for courses at tertiary education institutions. The Commonwealth government provides loans and subsidies to relieve the cost of tertiary education for some students. Some students are supported by the government and are required to pay only part of the cost of tuition, called the "student contribution", and the government pays the balance. Some government supported students can defer payment of their contribution as a HECS-HELP loan. Other domestic students are full fee-paying and do not receive direct government contribution to the cost of their education. Some domestic students in full fee courses can obtain a FEE-HELP loan from the Australian government up to a lifetime limit of $150,000 for medicine, dentistry and veterinary science programs and $104,440 for all other programs.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for statistical collection and analysis and for giving evidence-based advice to federal, state and territory governments. The ABS collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, environmental and social issues, publishing many on their website. The ABS also operates the national Census of Population and Housing that occurs every five years.
Income taxes are the most significant form of taxation in Australia, and collected by the federal government through the Australian Taxation Office. Australian GST revenue is collected by the Federal government, and then paid to the states under a distribution formula determined by the Commonwealth Grants Commission.
The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) is a statutory agency of the Australian Government, within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, that acts to ensure the organisational and workforce capability to meet future needs and sustainability of the Australian Public Service (APS), that comprises approximately 160,000 people, or 0.8% of the Australian workforce.
The machinery of government is the interconnected structures and processes of government, such as the functions and accountability of departments in the executive branch of government. The term is used particularly in the context of changes to established systems of public administration where different elements of machinery are created.
An industry superannuation fund is an Australian superannuation fund originally established to provide for the retirement of workers from a specific industry. While industry funds are no longer tied to specific industries, they remain not-for-profit, mutual funds which are membership-based and do not have shareholders. Industry super funds can be contrasted with retail super funds, which are public offer funds managed by financial institutions. Profits from retail funds are distributed to shareholders or investors, whereas industry funds return profits directly to members.
The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the Government of Australia. The Australian Public Service was established at the Federation of Australia in 1901 as the Commonwealth Public Service and modelled on the Westminster system and United Kingdom's Civil Service. The establishment and operation of the Australian Public Service is governed by the Public Service Act 1999 of the Parliament of Australia as an "apolitical public service that is efficient and effective in serving the Government, the Parliament and the Australian public". The conduct of Australian public servants is also governed by a Code of Conduct and guided by the APS Values set by the Australian Public Service Commission.
In Australia, a departmental secretary is the most senior public servant of an Australian Government or state government department. They are typically responsible for the day-to-day actions of a department.
A carbon pricing scheme in Australia was introduced by the Gillard Labor minority government in 2011 as the Clean Energy Act 2011 which came into effect on 1 July 2012. Emissions from companies subject to the scheme dropped 7% upon its introduction. As a result of being in place for such a short time, and because the then Opposition leader Tony Abbott indicated he intended to repeal "the carbon tax", regulated organizations responded rather weakly, with very few investments in emissions reductions being made. The scheme was repealed on 17 July 2014, backdated to 1 July 2014. In its place the Abbott Government set up the Emission Reduction Fund in December 2014. Emissions thereafter resumed their growth evident before the tax.
The Broadcasting Services Act 1992(Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, which broadly covers issues relating to content regulation and media ownership in Australia. The law stipulates what is political advertising and the specific conditions which must be met before they are authorised for publication.
John Richard Lloyd is a former Australian public servant. He formally resigned from the Australian Public Service in August 2018, following controversy over his conduct and relationship with the conservative think tank and his former employer, the Institute of Public Affairs. Lloyd has returned to work at the Institute of Public Affairs.
Phillip Bruce Thompson, is an Australian politician. His party is the Liberal National Party of Queensland and he sits with the Liberal Party in federal parliament.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has a range of uses in government. It can be used to further public policy objectives, as well as assist the public to interact with the government. According to the Harvard Business Review, "Applications of artificial intelligence to the public sector are broad and growing, with early experiments taking place around the world." Hila Mehr from the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University notes that AI in government is not new, with postal services using machine methods in the late 1990s to recognise handwriting on envelopes to automatically route letters. The use of AI in government comes with significant benefits, including efficiencies resulting in cost savings, and reducing the opportunities for corruption. However, it also carries risks.
This is a list of members of the House of Representatives of the 46th Parliament of Australia (2019–2022).
Gerard Rennick is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for Queensland since July 2019. He is a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland and sits with the Liberal Party in federal parliament.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission, often shortened to the NACC, is an Australian federal integrity commission being established by the Albanese government. The commission is expected to be finalised by mid-2023.
The 47th Parliament of Australia is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the Australian federal government, composed of the Australian Senate and the Australian House of Representatives. The 2022 federal election gave the Australian Labor Party control of the House; Labor won 77 seats in the lower house and holds a two-seat majority government. Labor leader Anthony Albanese became the 31st Prime Minister of Australia, and was sworn in by the Governor-General David Hurley on 23 May 2022. The 47th Parliament opened in Canberra on 26 July 2022.
On 2 June 1939 the Menzies government agreed to the creation of a Royal Commission to look into the £400,000 contract for extensions to the Sydney GPO. On 8 June 1939 the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into the expansion works were released. The enquiry was held under Justice Victor Maxwell with Victor Windeyer council assisting, with the final report given in September 1939.
