Inquiry into the Effective Decision Making for the Successful Delivery of Significant Infrastructure Projects

Received from the Legislative Assembly on 5 May 2011

That to strengthen effective decision making for the successful delivery of significant infrastructure projects, including public-private partnership arrangements, there is an integral need for public sector managers overseeing these projects to possess appropriate skills and expertise in the field and therefore, requires that under s 33 of the Parliamentary Committees Act 2003, an inquiry be referred to the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee for consideration and report no later than 14 December 2012 on:

(a) the competencies and skills that public sector managers require for the effective evaluation, decision making and oversight of significant infrastructure projects and protection of the public interest;

(b) the extent to which Government policies such as the National Public Private Partnership Policy and Guidelines and the Partnerships Victoria Requirements specify these requisite competencies and skills, and support the Department of Treasury and Finance's application of these across the public sector;

(c) strategies in place within the public sector for the development of such requisite competencies and skills and for their ongoing refinement and enhancement through knowledge-building from the sharing of best practice examples and guidance in the public sector;

(d) whether particular significant infrastructure projects have been developed and implemented in a manner which aligns with the public interest and maximises transparency and accountability for the life-cycle of the project;

(e) relevant infrastructure delivery strategies and practices, including in public-private partnerships, in relation to enhancing public sector expertise in place in other Australasian jurisdictions and relevant jurisdictions outside Australia; and

(f) the merits of centralisation versus decentralisation of available skilled experts in the Victorian public sector during the life-cycle stages of public-private partnership projects, including considering any benefits that may be derived from greater flexibility to contract specialist services from external sources.