Half-yearly reporting: 1 July to 31 December 2023

Working with Ministerial Offices

Departmental Liaison Officers 

A Departmental Liaison Officer (DLO) is a public servant who is temporarily placed in a Minister's office to act as a conduit between their Department and the Minister's office.

Information on the allocation of Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) DLOs to Portfolio Ministers is provided below. This information is updated twice a year. 

Correct as of: 31 December 2023

Ministerial briefs

Departments and agencies routinely provide briefings to their Ministers.

Statistics for the provision of submissions, briefs and correspondence provided to Ministers by PM&C and its portfolio agencies for the 2023-24 financial year are provided below.

Portfolio entities, Interdepartmental Committees, Taskforces and Reviews

The Australian Government Organisations Register (AGOR) provides information on the function, composition, origins and other details of Australian Government bodies. Bodies include entities such as advisory bodies. 

There are 12 main types of bodies reported in the AGOR. PM&C is responsible for collecting information about the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio entities and bodies listed, with the exception of the Indigenous Portfolio Agencies which are managed by the National Indigenous Australians Agency.

Quarterly reporting, in the form of the AGOR Dashboard and a register movements of new and/or ceased bodies, is available on the AGOR website.

An Interdepartmental Committee (IDC) is a common governance body for cross-agency taskforces, where officials from representative agencies may discuss work and provide input on deliverables. 

PM&C and its portfolio agencies are regularly involved in the work of IDCs.

By their nature, IDCs can be established and conclude their work rapidly as the need arises. 

Taskforces have become a dynamic method of doing business across the APS, particularly in PM&C. Taskforces are regularly established within PM&C to meet emerging or high-profile government priorities. Some are short term (3-6 months), some longer (1-3 years), but all require dedicated focus, varying timescales, set-up and delivery resourcing and effort from many parts of PMC and more broadly across the APS. 

PM&C and its portfolio agencies are regularly involved in the work of a range of taskforces.

As at 31 December 2023, PM&C hosts the:

• 2024 Independent Intelligence Review 
• Aged Care Taskforce
• ASEAN Commemorative Summit Taskforce 
• Care and Support Economy Taskforce
• COVID-19 Response Inquiry Taskforce 
• Jenkins’ Report Implementation Team

PM&C and its portfolio agencies are also involved in reviews. The outcome of reviews are typically announced by portfolio ministers. 

Operational matters

Travel

PM&C’s Official Travel Policy provides the overarching rules and principles for officials undertaking official travel, or organising official travel for others, including: 

• Officials should ensure maximum value for money is achieved when booking travel. Value for money requires the use of Commonwealth resources in a proper (efficient, effective, economical and ethical) manner. 
• When booking travel, officials must make decisions based on an impartial consideration of the fares available and not on a personal preference for a particular airline or aircraft type, provision of access to airline lounges or accumulating airline status points. 
• Official travel should only be undertaken where other communication tools, such as teleconferencing and videoconferencing, are an impractical option.

PM&C Official travel statistics for the 2023-24 Financial Year are outlined below.

Travel Expenses (including travel for staff, contractors, guests and other travellers)*

Secretary and Deputy Secretaries travel (included in total above)*

* Data is provided by the Whole-of-Government contract provider and at the time of publication may not include adjustments of trips (amended travel dates, late cancellations, unprocessed refunds etc.) in this reporting period. 

^ Total cost includes costs associated with flights, accommodation and booking fees. 

^^ Secretary total cost includes costs associated with flights, accommodation, booking fees and travel allowance granted in accordance with the Remuneration Tribunal (Official Travel) Determination 2023.

** Deputy Secretary positions reflect titles and occupants outlined on the PM&C organisation chart at the time of publication. Trips undertaken by previous incumbents including acting in Deputy Secretary positions on higher duties are included under ‘previous incumbents’. 

Facilities

Upgrades to PM&C’s staff amenities are managed in accordance with Commonwealth guidelines and policies, including the Commonwealth Procurement Rules. 

In the 2023-24 Financial Year, PM&C has not upgraded any of its staff amenities. PM&C’s procurement contracts with a maximum contract value of $10,000 (GST inclusive) and above are reported on AusTender, available at www.austender.gov.au. 

Our People

At PM&C we continue to invest in our people’s capability and grow the diversity of our workforce to support the Government to deliver outcomes for all Australians. 

PM&C’s employee data is reported on biannually, based on data as at the end of June and end of December, via the APS Employment Database (APSED).

As at 31 December 2023, PM&C had 198 labour-hire contractors working in the department and during the 2023-24 Financial Year, extended 109 labour-hire contracts. 

Information regarding the department’s organisation structure, including Senior Executive Services Officers, is available at https://www.pmc.gov.au/about-us/our-structure.

Average Staffing Level (ASL) for the 2023-24 Financial Year

Work Health and Safety

PM&C is committed to promoting and sustaining a robust safety and wellbeing culture –valuing physical and psychological health, safety and wellbeing and promoting inclusivity. 

In the 2023-24 Financial Year:

• zero claims were referred to Fair Work Commission
• zero claims were referred to Comcare. 

Advertising and information campaigns 

In the 2023-24 financial year, PM&C: 

• has not undertaken any advertising or information campaigns that meet the definition in the Australian Government Guidelines on Information and Advertising Campaigns by non-corporate Commonwealth entities.
• spent $60,605 (GST inclusive) on reportable non-campaign advertising contracts including:
  • $24,462 for advertising CEO and Advisory Board roles for the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service.
  • $36,143 advertising for the public notice of the COVID-19 response inquiry’s call for public submissions and evidence.

Promotional Merchandise

In the 2023-24 financial year, PM&C spent $939 (GST inclusive) on promotional merchandise for PM&C branded items for the 2023 graduate program.

Media monitoring

PM&C has a contract for media monitoring with Streem Pty Ltd. PM&C’s expenditure for the 2023-24 financial year is $227,700 (GST inclusive). 

This contract includes a shared services arrangement with portfolio agencies:

• National Indigenous Australians Agency 
• Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
• Aboriginal Hostels Limited 
• Workplace Gender Equality Agency 
• Australian Public Service Commission. 

Procurement Activities (including Indigenous Procurement Policy)

PM&C’s approach to procuring goods and services, including consultancies, is undertaken in accordance with the Public Governance Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.

In the 2023-24 Financial Year, PM&C reported 175 new reportable contracts with a total value of $23,034,341 (GST inclusive). The department’s procurement contracts with a maximum contract value of $10,000 (GST inclusive) and above are reported on AusTender, available at www.austender.gov.au. 

In the 2023-24 Financial Year, PM&C awarded 16 contracts to Indigenous businesses with a total value of $2,527,586 (GST inclusive). The PM&C portfolio has exceeded the Indigenous Procurement Policy volume and value targets for the 2023-24 financial year. During this period, the categories of procurement contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses registered or certified with Supply Nation and/or the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations include:

• Computer accessories
• Computer hardware maintenance and support services
• Computer servers
• Cultural heritage preservation or promotion services
• Education and training services
• Graphic design
• Notebook computers
• Personnel recruitment
• Phone and video conference equipment and hardware and controllers
• Promotional merchandising service
• Temporary personnel services

Use of Consultants

In the 2023-24 financial year, 8 new reportable consultancy contracts were entered into with total actual expenditure of $441,985 (GST inclusive). In addition, 9 ongoing reportable consultancy contracts had expenditure during the period, with total actual expenditure of $1,667,823 
(GST inclusive). 

During this period, the categories of consultancy contracts included: 

• Audit services
• Information technology consultation services
• Legal services
• Management advisory services
• Research programs
• Strategic planning consultation services

Details about PM&C’s consultancy contracts with a maximum contract value of $10,000 (GST inclusive) and above are reported on AusTender, available at www.austender.gov.au.