Achieving government goals
The State government has four goals to guide the development of high level policies and/or priorities that support its vision. Given the variety and diversity of public agencies in Western Australia, not all of the goals are equally applicable to all agencies.
At the department, we focus on driving regulator stewardship to achieve strong communities, better places, and future jobs and skills in key service delivery areas for the benefit of all Western Australians. The following section shows these three goals and the specific outcomes we deliver against each goal.
Western Australia’s public sector performance management framework is referred to as Outcome Based Management (OBM). The OBM is the formal mechanism for the department to demonstrate accountability and transparency to Parliament and the general public, by:
- reporting on our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs);
- demonstrating our impact on achieving the government’s goals; and
- delivering the government’s desired outcomes across the public sector.
The OBM also enables the department to monitor how the services delivered achieve the intended outcomes. The services described in the department’s OBM provide meaningful insight into our performance.
The relationship between government goals, agency outcomes and services is illustrated below:
Figure 5: Relationship between government goals, agency outcomes and services
At the department, the OBM aligns with the Strategic Intent by reflecting the department’s role as a regulator, service provider and policy maker. It is a helpful tool in monitoring the impact of its services. The department uses the OBM in the following way:
Figure 6: Role of OBM in monitoring departmental performance
The department’s OBM framework illustrates the relationship between the Government’s goals, agency outcomes and services with corresponding effectiveness and efficiency KPIs.
Government Goal
Strong Communities: Safe communities and supported families
The department is committed to the ‘strong communities’ government goal, which focuses on achieving safe communities and supporting families by:
- fostering equity and inclusiveness;
- improving health and education outcomes; and
- enhancing community safety and resilience.
Table 2: Table 2: Alignment of the department’s outcomes and services with ‘strong communities’
| Outcomes |
Services |
0.1
A fair trading environment that protects consumers and traders in Western Australia.
|
S.1
The provision of consumer protection advice, information, education and business
regulation services to the Western Australian community. (Consumer Protection)
|
0.2
Community in which the use of electricity and gas is regulated and safe.
|
S.2
The provision of regulatory services to the Western Australian community through
licensing and compliance activities in the area of EnergySafety. (EnergySafety)
|
0.3
A workplace operated in a safe and healthy manner.
|
S.3
The provision of advice, information, education, licensing and enforcement services
to the Western Australian community in the area of occupational safety and health.
(WorkSafe)
|
Government Goal
Better Places: A quality environment with liveable and affordable communities and vibrant regions.
The department is committed to the ‘better places’ government goal, which focuses on a quality environment with liveable and affordable communities and vibrant regions by:
- delivering well planned liveable communities, and integrated transport networks;
- building strong and vibrant regions;
- protecting and enhance environmental and heritage values and assets; and
- delivering effective regulation to support sustainable development.
Table 3: Alignment of the department’s outcomes and services with ‘better places’
| Outcomes |
Services |
0.4
Buildings and plumbing installations that are safe, sustainable and respond to
community needs.
|
S.4
The provision of government administration, licensing, regulatory and dispute
resolution services that enable the building and plumbing industries, to
efficiently deliver buildings and plumbing installations, that are safe,
sustainable and respond to community needs. (Building Commission)
|
0.5
Contribute to making WA the destination of choice for responsible resource
exploration, development and operations.
|
S.5
Providing resource sector information and advice to industry, community and government. (Resources)
S.6
Managing land access for resource related activity. (Resources)
S.7
Regulating resource sector development for health and safety, social responsibility, environment and dangerous goods. (Resources)
|
Government Goal
Future Jobs and Skills: Grow and diversify the economy, create jobs and support skills development.
The department is committed to the ‘future jobs and skills’ government goal, which focuses on growing and diversifying the economy, creating jobs and supporting skills development by:
- reducing barriers to business growth;
- encouraging new industries and innovation attracting investment and maximise its impact;
- creating new jobs and apprenticeships;
- building a skilled workforce for the future; and
- developing economic infrastructure.
Table 4: Alignment of the department’s outcomes and services with ‘future jobs and skills’
| Outcomes |
Services |
0.6
Shape and influence industrial relations systems in Western Australia.
|
S.8
To assist private and public sector workplaces to be economically sustainable and
fair by providing our stakeholders and clients with expert labour relations advice,
education and regulation. (Private Sector Labour Relations and Public Sector Labour
Relations)
|
The OBM framework in 2017–18 represented the amalgamation of the frameworks of two
former departmental frameworks. The previous outcome and service relating to industry
development and innovation functions from the former Department of Commerce was
transferred to the Department Jobs, Tourism, Innovation and Science and is not reflected in the
department’s OBM framework.
The amalgamation of the former departments’ OBM frameworks was supported by the Office of
the Auditor General, Department of Treasury and the Minister as the most effective approach to
maintain the integrity of existing methodology and governance practices for collecting and
reporting on KPIs.
The 2017–18 period represents the first reporting for the amalgamated departments’ OBM
frameworks. It reflects the broad range of services delivered by the new department with
10 effectiveness indicators and 19 efficiency indicators.
A significant body of work was undertaken during 2017–18, in reviewing contemporary
approaches to performance measurement. A new OBM framework and suite of KPIs will be
introduced for the 2018−19 financial year, which will capture the diverse work of the department
in line with its core functions and objectives.
The department contributed to the delivery of several whole-of-government and cross-agency initiatives – each of which had shared accountabilities for their successful implementation. These shared responsibilities, detailed in Table 5, are reported against the 2017–18 Resource Agreement established between the responsible Minister, Director General and Treasurer.
Table 5: Shared responsibilities with other agencies in 2017–18
(1) Finance or resource
(2) Minister for Mines and Petroleum; Commerce and Industrial Relations (Minister)
(3) Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS)
(4) Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD)
(5) Main Roads Western Australia (MRWA)
(6) Western Australian Police (WAPOL)
