Annual report guidelines for 2023-24

• The guidelines continue the streamlined approach for simplified disclosures without reducing reader understanding of agency performance.
• Focus is on compliance with sections 61 (annual reports, contents, etc) and 62 (financial statements) of the Financial Management Act 2006 and any other legislation.
• Treasurer’s Instruction 104C: Annual Reporting 2022-23 Exemption is extended for the 2023-24 reporting period, permitting agencies to exclude the following requirements of Treasurer’s Instruction 903: Agency Annual Reports:
  • Overview
  • Significant issues impacting the agency
  • Other financial disclosures
  • Governance disclosures.

An annual report is not a promotional or commercial document, so production costs should be kept to a minimum.

Occupational safety, health and injury management

Further information on compliance, including calculation and reporting of performance measures, is online.

W: public sector health, safety and injury management
E:  Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety

Board and committee remuneration

Report individual and aggregate costs of remunerating members of government boards and committees defined in Premier's Circular 2023/02: State Government Boards and Committees.

Include names of all board and committee members and all remuneration. Remuneration reported excludes travel expenses incurred as per Public Sector Commission guidelines for reimbursement of travel expenses and Premier’s Circular 2014/02: Guidelines for Official Air Travel by Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and Government Officers.

Include members of government boards and committees who are government employees. If they are ineligible for remuneration, as defined in Premier's Circular 2023/02: State Government Boards and Committees, list remuneration as zero.

Consult with ministers’ offices if board or committee member names should be withheld because of security, sensitivity or legislative restrictions.

Consider including separate information relating to member payments such as other benefits and allowances.

Example table:

^{* If applicable include sessional payment per meeting, half day or annual.}

^{** Refers to board member membership during reporting period not entire tenure on board or committee. Period of membership should correlate with respective remuneration received in the financial year.}

^{*** Refers to term of appointment/tenure (if relevant) or appointment type, for example sessional or full time.}

WA Multicultural Policy Framework

Report on actions in the agency multicultural plan including achievement of outcomes and key performance indicators. 

Report on submission (if applicable) and implementation of the multicultural plan for 2023–24 which may include brief details of key achievements against the 3 policy priority areas.

In addition, and to monitor implementation of the framework, use the reporting template for commentary on progress in 2023-24 against the current multicultural plan and submit this to the Office of Multicultural Interests by 31 August 2024.

E: Office of Multicultural Interests

Substantive equality

Report on progress and achievements in implementing the Policy Framework for Substantive Equality is optional.

E: Equal Opportunity Commission.

Credit cards

Include information on personal expenditure under Treasurer’s Instruction 321: Credit Cards – Authorised Use in accordance with Treasurer’s Instruction 903(15).

Act of grace payments

Disclose information in accordance with Treasurer’s Instruction 319 on act of grace payments made under section 80 of the Financial Management Act 2006.

Advertising, market research, polling and direct mail

Agencies required to publish annual reports under the Financial Management Act 2006 or other written laws are to include a statement of certain expenditure incurred by, or on behalf of, them during reporting period (section 175ZE of the Electoral Act 1907).

Public agencies under the Electoral Act 1907 include departments of the public service and organisations in Schedule 2 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 as well as:

• bodies or offices established for public purposes under written laws
• bodies or offices established by the Governor or a minister
• any corporations or associations over which control can be exercised by the state, minister or previously stated bodies.

Include in the expenditure statement:

• statement or total amount of all expenditure
• amount of expenditure in relation to each class of expenditure
• name of each person, agency or organisation to which an amount was paid.

Provide a total for each class of expenditure (for example, advertising, market research and polling) or a more detailed breakdown (for example, separating advertising expenditure between campaign and non-campaign advertising).

Details of a class of expenditure do not need to be structured as above if expenditure for the class is less than $2,500. If no expenditure was incurred, include a nil statement.

If an agency is reporting through a larger agency either the:

• main agency reports expenditure under section 175ZE of the Electoral Act 1907 for each subsidiary agency separately or
• agency reports expenditure under section 175ZE of the Electoral Act 1907 in its own annual report.

Annual reports are reviewed to assess compliance with the legislation. Information is collated into a summary by the Western Australian Electoral Commission and included in the Political Finance Annual Report each year. Non-compliance is evident in this reporting. The report is tabled in both houses of Parliament and available on the Western Australian Electoral Commission website in accordance with section 175G of the Electoral Act 1907.

Example 1

In accordance with section 175ZE of the Electoral Act 1907, the agency incurred the following expenditure in advertising, market research, polling, direct mail and media advertising. Total expenditure for 2021-22 was $76,000.

Example 2

Section 175ZE of the Electoral Act 1907 requires public agencies to report details of expenditure to organisations providing services in relation to advertising, market research, polling, direct mail and media advertising. The agency did not incur expenditure of this nature.

E: Western Australian Electoral Commission

Disability access and inclusion plan outcomes

Public authorities required to have disability access and inclusion plans under the Disability Services Act 1993 report on their implementation by briefly outlining current initiatives to address desired outcomes of their plans.

Include information that meets the requirements of Schedule 3 of the Disability Services Regulations 2004. Include reference to services to the public delivered by agents and contractors as well as strategies to inform agents and contractors of the plan.

E: Department of Communities
T: 1800 176 888

Compliance with public sector standards and ethical codes

Chief executive officers and some chief employees need to meet obligations under section 31(1) of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 and:

• show the extent of compliance with public sector standards, codes of ethics and relevant code of conduct including:
  • number of breach of standard claims upheld by Public Sector Commission
  • number of breaches found by the agency of the Public Sector Code of Ethics or agency codes of conduct
• include significant actions taken to promote compliance with public sector standards in human resource management, Commissioner’s Instructions and ethical codes (for example, updating or revising policies/guidelines and agency codes of conduct; and undertaking integrity awareness raising activities and training)
• ensure consistency between annual reports and information provided to Public Sector Commission through annual reporting data obligations.

For agencies subject to section 31(2) of the Public Sector Management Act 1994, compliance reporting obligations are met by completing the relevant returns requested by the Public Sector Commission.

E: integrity matters (for example, code of ethics)
E: compliance with public sector standards
E: data reporting obligations

Recordkeeping plans

Agencies are required to have recordkeeping plans under section 19 of the State Records Act 2000. Include in the annual report a statement that meets the requirements of the State Records Commission Standard 2, Principle 6.

W: State Records Office
E: State Records Office

Agency capability review requirements

Public sector agencies reviewed through the Agency Capability Review Program are to include progress against their commitments and actions based on publicly available executive summaries. Agencies should:

• specify their commitments against the lines of inquiry and/or key observations
• detail actions taken to address the identified capability gaps
• comment on progress to date in relation to achievements and outcomes.

Workforce inclusiveness requirements

Public sector agencies are to include a statement in their annual reports on activities undertaken to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace, including specific reference to staff views of workplace inclusivity.

Tabling

• Unless an Act provides otherwise, the financial year ends on 30 June. Annual reports, including audit opinions, are to be tabled by relevant ministera in Parliament within 90 days of the end of the financial year (section 64 Financial Management Act 2006).
• Refer to the Parliamentary sitting dates to identify the last sitting date before the end of the 90 day period. Dates may vary according to an agency’s legislation so check the period for the date of submission.
• Ministers’ offices should have enough time to consider draft annual reports and meet tabling deadline.
• If an annual report cannot be tabled on time, the minister must report to Parliament the reason/s why and advise of a revised tabling date (section 65 Financial Management Act 2006).
• The version of the annual report tabled by the minister in Parliament must be the only one in circulation. All other versions, electronic and print, must be identical to the tabled version.
• Any corrections needed to an annual report must be made in the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. In the Legislative Assembly the agency must comply with Legislative Assembly Standing Order 156 ‘Alteration of papers’. There is no applicable standing order in the Legislative Council so corrections must be tabled by the relevant minister and follow the same process as tabling the original annual report.
• There is a Parliamentary Procedures Guide for both houses of Parliament.

E: Manager, Parliamentary and Executive Government Services or Parliamentary Liaison Officer at Department of the Premier and Cabinet.

Publishing and distribution

• Minimise unnecessary work associated with sophisticated infographics and interactive web versions to support minimum reporting requirements.
• The main means of distribution is the agency website, with a minimum number of printed copies. The report should be online as soon as possible after tabling.
• Print the report in-house ahead of tabling for Parliament. Subsequent external printing is a decision for the agency.
• Provide 12 printed and one PDF copy of the final annual report to the minister’s office for tabling in Parliament. The minister’s office forwards these copies to the Department of the Premier and Cabinet and they are made available in the tabled papers database on the Parliament website.
• Deposit a copy of the final annual report with the State Library of Western Australia as required by the Legal Deposit Act 2012 and Premier’s Circular 2021/14: Requirements for Western Australian Government Publications and Library Collections. Digital copies are deposited in PDF format using the National edeposit (NED) portal. Annual reports are deposited as serial publications. Depositing printed copies is not required. For enquiries, email the State Library of Western Australia.
• Maintain details of the cost of the annual report (including payments to external consultants involved in development and production; payments to companies involved in design and/or printing; and cost of staff working on the report) so these can be provided if requested, for example through media queries and Parliamentary Question

• Refer to the Western Australian Government’s Accessibility and Inclusivity Guidelines.
• Electronic reports must comply with the Digital Services Policy. Further guidance is in the Digital Services Policy Framework.

E: Office of Digital Government

• The Institute of Public Administration Australia WA presents the W. S. Lonnie Awards, acknowledging excellence in annual reporting. Agency reports are automatically considered.
• The Australasian Reporting Awards is a non-profit organisation promoting excellence in annual reporting. Agencies can submit reports for these awards.