Completed
Background
The Government’s plan for the State’s finances and spending is presented each year in the Budget. In 2016‑17 the Government spent $58 billion delivering services and programs and raised $61 billion in revenue.
But how effective and efficient was the public sector in delivering the initiatives outlined in the State Budget?
The financial and performance outcomes inquiry
The Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) undertakes an outcomes review every year. It assists Parliament and the community to gauge what the Government actually achieved in the last financial year, compared to what the Government planned to achieve. The purpose of this review is to complement the Committee’s assessment, undertaken at the start of the financial year, of the budget estimates.
The Committee’s review of outcomes aims to improve the accountability of Victorian Government departments and agencies. The report contains recommendations directed at improved transparency and clarity in the reporting of public sector performance. It also provides the Parliament and community with more meaningful information about the results achieved in the last financial year.
The inquiry process
- Information used by the Committee to inform its report and recommendations include:
- Departmental annual reports
- PAEC public hearings with the secretaries and senior staff of departments
- responses from departments, agencies and Parliament to the PAEC’s questionnaire
- the Department of Treasury and Finance’s 2016‑17 Financial Report
- Auditor‑General’s reports.