Special feature: Our reform and improvement programme, one year on
As last year's Annual Report was being prepared, the department had just embarked on a comprehensive programme of reform and improvement to respond to the criticism and concerns expressed by Mr Mick Palmer AO APM in his Inquiry into the Circumstances of the Immigration Detention of Cornelia Rau. Not only have we responded to the specific issues Mr Palmer raised about compliance and detention, we have also addressed the broader concerns about leadership, governance, training, culture, values, structures, and systems.
In the past year there has been much change in the department. Short-term objectives have been achieved and there has been substantial planning for the longer term. Major achievements include: enhanced detention health service delivery, structural changes, an expanded Senior Executive Service (SES), improved governance, and development of the DIMA Plan 2006-07, which sets out our strategic priorities for the coming year.
What follows is a short analysis of the steps we have taken to develop and implement reform and improvement. Looking back, we have come a long way, but there is still a great deal more to do.
Change management and planning
The first priorities of the new Secretary on his appointment on 18 July 2005 were to:
- establish interim governance and structural arrangements, within the department, for decision-making, accountability, and management of risk
- identify ways to implement the recommendations of the Palmer Report and meet the government's commitment to table an implementation plan in Parliament
- engage with key external stakeholders.
These were articulated in an all-staff message from the Secretary, circulated on the day he took up his appointment. In particular, he emphasised the need to make common-sense and reasonable decisions within the framework of the law and the absolute requirement that members of staff escalate matters immediately if they suspected we had acted unlawfully.
Change Management Taskforce
A key initiative was the Change Management Taskforce, which was established in July 2005 with a mix of high-level external and internal staff.
The taskforce was a temporary think-tank to support the Secretary and our Senior Executive in developing the framework for change. It gave us an additional resource that could focus exclusively on developing the response to the Palmer and Comrie Reports (the latter in relation to the Vivian Alvarez case) and the broader reform and improvement programme.
External members of the taskforce brought a fresh perspective, while internal members brought an understanding of our business and culture. The taskforce met with the Secretary and the Deputy Secretaries daily for four months to develop strategy, cut through implementation road blocks, calibrate the different streams of activity, develop the programme for change as a team, and assist in communication with staff and stakeholders.
Change leaders
We appointed change leaders in each state and territory office to promote understanding and acceptance of change. These officers continue to play a key role in supporting the change agenda across the department including:
- being a conduit for information transfer
- coordinating responses on policy, business process, or systems change
- promoting understanding of the governance framework
- developing and leading good practice.
We established clear lines of responsibility and accountability through two new Deputy Secretaries, who also started in the department in July 2005. (A third Deputy Secretary commenced in November 2005). The early focus was on arrangements in those areas most severely criticised by Mr Palmer. We restructured the compliance and detention divisions and appointed key SES staff to head up these new divisions.
The taskforce wound up at the end of November following the implementation of the new National Office structure (explained below). While change initiatives are being managed by line divisions, the new Strategic Policy Group provides ongoing advice to the Secretary and the Executive on the reform and improvement agenda.
Stakeholder engagement
We channelled considerable effort into identifying and interacting with our key external stakeholders, including those who have been highly critical and those who have a role in scrutinising our activities. During the course of the year, the Secretary and senior executives have actively and regularly sought their input and feedback on a range of issues, including the Client Service Charter and the high-level DIMA Plan 2006-07 (explained below).
The framework for change
Implementing change within any business context needs very clear objectives and a simple framework - one that will stand the test of time and meet the needs of all stakeholders. The strategic themes for the reform and improvement programme were settled very early in developing the implementation plan. We needed to achieve three key things to meet people's expectations:
- be an open and accountable organisation
- have fair and reasonable dealings with clients
- employ well trained and supported staff.
These themes are summarised by our motto, - people our business - which is the key way the change agenda has been articulated.
Palmer Plus Package - October 2005
This framework informed the development of the $231 million Palmer Plus Package of measures and the implementation plan announced by the government in October 2005. The key areas of criticism in the Palmer and Comrie Reports are addressed - leadership, governance, training, culture, values, structures, and systems - along with the specific recommendations about detention and compliance activities. The Palmer Plus Package is the blueprint for change - over 70 initiatives have been or are being delivered, including the following key aspects of the reform agenda:
- leadership and technical training - with the College of Immigration starting its first pilot course on 3 July 2006, and SES and executive level staff receiving leadership and change management skills training
- improvements to detention health service delivery and detention infrastructure
- introduction of a national case management framework and community care pilot
- major improvements to client service delivery
- stronger stakeholder engagement and feedback mechanisms.
The initiatives are split into those we made a commitment to achieve in the first 100 days - effectively by the end of 2005 - and initiatives that would be developed in that time but implemented in 2006 and beyond. Much has been achieved. The focus of activity has been on providing the foundations necessary to ensure we can deliver identified outcomes, particularly around engagement with clients, engagement with staff, compliance and detention programmes, training, and systems support. The original 77 initiatives have changed and grown to 115 projects and sub-projects. Fifty-six have been completed; and the remainder are underway.
There is a strong focus on transparency and accountability for the Palmer Plus Package to ensure its key objectives are being met. The Secretary reports on progress regularly to the Parliament, through the Minister.
Strengthening key areas
Once the government had made its commitment to the Palmer Plus Package, the Secretary's priority was to implement new structures in those areas most critical to achieving the necessary reforms - training, systems, client services, audit, procurement, strategic policy, and communications. Over 40 new appointments, promotions, and transfers were made to our Senior Executive Service. Our National Office has been substantially restructured to reflect more realistic spans of control, especially in those areas that pose the highest levels of risk to organisational outcomes.
Governance
Improved governance was also a priority. We formed a new Executive Management Committee (EMC), that is chaired by the Secretary and comprises the Deputy Secretaries and key Division Heads (Finance, Legal, National Communications, and Strategic Policy). The EMC meets weekly and has a strong governance role around whole-of-department strategic planning and integration.
We also have a Corporate Leadership Group that comprises EMC members, all Division Heads, and all State and Territory Directors. This group meets monthly to share information about business risk and change, to discuss the broader strategic environment in which the department operates, and to negotiate agreement about joint operational responsibilities.
A strengthened departmental Audit and Evaluation Committee, with an independent chair and second external member, is rigorously overseeing a significantly expanded internal audit programme. We established a new Values and Standards Committee that includes four external members - the Deputy Commonwealth Ombudsman, the Deputy Australian Public Service Commissioner, and two community members. This committee is well placed to ensure we are meeting the expectations of the wider community and developing the culture needed to meet our objectives. The College of Immigration will be overseen by a high-level advisory board, comprising a number of external members.
Implementation planning
We have placed a high priority on implementation planning. Project management principles and a strong governance framework are key tools we are using to maximise the success of the initiatives established as part of the Palmer Plus Package and, more broadly, the success of all the initiatives we are implementing.
We established a Programme Services Office (PSO) to assist in the effective implementation of the Palmer Plus Package of initiatives and to provide a high level of visibility of progress through regular monitoring and reporting. The PSO has provided project management support and expertise to line divisions implementing Palmer initiatives. There was weekly reporting to the EMC during the delivery of the 100-day projects (up to December 2005) and fortnightly reporting to both the Minister and EMC continues. Quarterly reports are provided to the government through the Cabinet Implementation Unit, and the Secretary provides regular reports to Parliament through the Minister.
The implementation plan also included a number of major reviews - of systems and records management, detention health service delivery, detention infrastructure, the detention services contract, and compliance activity. These reviews informed the 2006-07 Budget process and as a result, we received a total of nearly $780 million in new and redirected funding to progress our reform and improvement programme. This includes $495 million over four years to implement the Systems for People systems and business transformation programme.
Systems for People is one of the first government programmes to be subject to the Department of Finance and Administration's gateway process. This process takes major government programmes through a series of gates at critical points in a project's development. The review is undertaken by an independent team that includes government, industry, and programme management experts. They focus on the robustness and adequacy of how the programme has been conceived, planned, and how it is being executed.
Communicating with staff
Ongoing communication with staff about the reform and improvement programme is an essential element of our agenda. Without clear understanding of the strategic direction of change, staff are unlikely to embrace and implement the necessary reforms. Communication must come from the top, but the messages must be reinforced every day by immediate supervisors and managers. This is particularly important in an organisation that has offices in every state and territory and in 60 countries around the world.
A range of mechanisms have been implemented to ensure there is regular, clear, and meaningful communication with staff. The Secretary circulates all staff emails twice weekly. These messages are used to discuss progress, the next steps in the reform and improvement programme, and key external issues that have an impact on our activities, successes, and challenges. All staff addresses have been presented by the Secretary every six to eight weeks or so since July 2005, marking key milestones in the reform and improvement programme.
A key leadership quality is the ability to communicate effectively, and this is reinforced in all leadership training provided to our staff at both the SES and executive levels. We have used cascade briefings through the department to communicate critical aspects of the reform agenda.
Staff are also asked regularly for their views. All staff have an open invitation to send comments, concerns, and suggestions for improvement directly to both the Secretary and the Minister. A staff opinion survey was conducted in December 2005, the first in a decade, and a further survey will be held later in 2006-07.
One DIMA
A significant initiative was undertaken to examine and improve the relationships between our national and state and territory offices - the DIMA National project. This was in response to a strong demand from staff that the department analyse the way the network operates. It has led to a programme of work to ensure the different parts of the business work collaboratively together. Much stronger links between the service delivery network and National Office have been developed.
The Secretary introduced a requirement that all SES officers regularly visit state and territory offices and observe client contact activity to ensure that those involved in developing policy or managing programmes have a better understanding of the impact their work has on front line staff and, most importantly, clients. This is leading to better products and connection with stakeholders and continuous improvement of client service.
Consolidation and planning for the future - DIMA Plan 2006-07
Our reform and improvement programme is being implemented alongside our migration, refugee, humanitarian, settlement, citizenship, multicultural affairs, immigration compliance, and immigration detention programmes. Indeed, review and reform are integral to running our business. Both need to be managed carefully and in an integrated way through robust planning and governance. These frameworks enable us to more effectively manage our business, including through strong performance measurement, management of risk, and engagement with stakeholders.
Planning has been based on comprehensive feedback from a broad range of external stakeholders and staff. Formal surveys, value creation workshops, and feedback directly to the Secretary and the Minister have been used to inform the development of the new DIMA Plan 2006-07, being launched on 18 July 2006. The plan consolidates the strategic and other work of the past year into one high-level document that charts our future direction. It makes clear our purpose, the things we value, the Secretary's leadership model, and key outcomes, priorities, and themes for our work. There are high expectations about leadership which are set out in the plan. It is the leaders who can model behaviour, make a difference, and bring people with them.
The plan provides a service focus for integrating policy, programmes, and delivery, and sets the following strategic priorities for the coming year:
- implement Systems for People improvements
- implement the Client Service Improvement Programme
- build community and stakeholder confidence
- develop leadership and organisational capability
- implement the Palmer Plus Package change and improvement programme effectively.
In parallel with planning, we have developed a new business operating model based on the way we go about 'business as usual' and how we manage our policy and programme delivery to enable excellent client service delivery. The newly established DIMA Performance Management Committee is taking the strategic priorities in the DIMA Plan 2006-07 and converting them into performance measures and targets for programme delivery. Through the model, we set objectives, monitor performance, and identify issues and best practice.
As we have worked through the reform process it is increasingly clear that our capacity to absorb change is not infinite. To help us continue to respond flexibly to the government's priorities, we have established a change management process that integrates policy development with all aspects of implementation and delivery, and promotes strong principles of consultation and planning.
The Secretary chairing an Executive Management Committee meeting.