Clear direction and support for public participation is necessary to ensure consistent understanding and effective public participation practice across the Victorian public sector. All agencies have different purposes and activities and it is important they set their own specific policies and guidance to complement any whole‑of-government framework. Agency-wide policies should set a consistent understanding, context and expectations across the agency.

Delivering consistent, high-quality public participation relies on both leadership at a whole-of-government level and effective prioritisation by agencies. This Part examines how the central agencies support better-practice principles in public participation across the whole of government and how the audited agencies support public participation as a priority.

In Australia and overseas, governments have increasingly recognised public participation as an essential part of planning projects and making decisions. This marks a shift in government culture from 'announce and defend' to 'debate and decide'. Transparent and well-managed public participation is now being seen as a critical input for informing government policies, strategies and programs, and as a key feature of good public administration and governance.

Public participation is the involvement of those affected by a decision in the decision‑making process. In Australia and overseas, there is growing recognition of the value of public participation as an essential part of planning projects and making decisions.

Increasingly, governments recognise the contribution the public can make in helping them to understand problems and risks, and to craft solutions that are more likely to work. The public perceive decisions that arise from open and collaborative processes to be more credible.

Ordered to be published

VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRINTER May 2016

PP No 252, Session 2014-2017

Figure D1 lists the records management clauses that agencies are required to include in their third-party outsourcing agreements and contracts.

Figure D1

PROV requirements for records of outsourced activities

Figure C1 presents the results of our compliance assessment of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Department of Education and Training (DET).

Figure C1

Compliance with records management standards

Figure B1 provides an overview of Victoria's records management standards and their respective specifications.

Figure B1

Records management standards and specifications

We have professionally engaged with the Public Record Office Victoria, the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Education and Training and the Department of Health and Human Services throughout the course of the audit. In accordance with section 16(3) of the Audit Act 1994 we provided a copy of this report or relevant extracts to those agencies, and requested their submissions and comments.

Responsibility for the accuracy, fairness and balance of those comments rests solely with the agency head.

Responses were received as follows: