The Victorian public sector is made up of the Victorian public service (departments, offices and other designated bodies), and special bodies and public entities such as statutory authorities, state-owned corporations and advisory bodies that exercise a public function.

Public entities are generally legally distinct and established for a specific purpose. They have defined functions and operate with varying degrees of autonomy. Public entities are ultimately accountable to a minister for their performance.

Boards are the governing bodies of public sector entities. Board members set the overall strategic direction for the entity, and monitor and manage the performance of senior management. They also oversee operations and regulatory compliance, and have an important role in keeping responsible ministers and government departments aware of the major risks that their entities face. Effective boards set policies to mitigate these risks and promote transparent, accountable governance.

Ordered to be published

VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRINTER May 2017

 PP No 246, Session 2014-2017

Figures B1, B2 and B3 give detailed information the purpose, activities and stakeholders for each of the three audited programs.

Figure B1

Strategic bushfire management plan

We have professionally engaged with the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Victorian Public Sector Commission, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Level Crossing Removal Authority 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.

Public participation activities should meet their objectives and fulfil policy, legislation and better practice principles in their planning, implementation and evaluation.

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.