Governance statement - AHPRA Annual Report 2015/16

AHPRA Annual Report 2015/16

Governance statement

Introduction

This governance statement sets out in broad terms:

Governance structure

The Agency Management Committee has control of AHPRA’s affairs and has the power under the National Law to decide AHPRA’s policies. The Agency Management Committee’s functions under the National Law also include ensuring AHPRA performs its functions in a proper, effective and efficient way. It discharges this function through oversight, scrutiny and strategic challenge of AHPRA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the National Executive.

The Agency Management Committee consists of a non-executive Chair and seven non-executive members, appointed by the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council (the Ministerial Council), which comprises all state, territory and Commonwealth health ministers.

The Chief Executive Officer

The CEO of AHPRA is responsible for maintaining an effective system of internal control that supports the achievement of AHPRA’s policies, aims and objectives. The CEO is also responsible for overseeing the financial management and assets of AHPRA and on behalf of the National Boards. A structure has been put in place to support the CEO in this important role and this includes three executive directors who manage AHPRA’s operations in the following areas: regulatory operations, strategy and policy, and business services. The CEO and three executive directors form the National Executive of AHPRA.

AHPRA’s functions are set out in section 25 of the National Law and its financial management responsibilities are set out in Part 9 of the National Law.

Agency Management Committee – membership tenure

The Agency Management Committee met 11 times during the 2015/16 financial year. Agency Management Committee members’ attendance at these meetings is shown below.

Subcommittees of the Agency Management Committee

The Agency Management Committee has created three subcommittees, which make recommendations to the Agency Management Committee about their areas of responsibility.

The attendance of members of these subcommittees in the 2015/16 financial year is shown in the composite table below.

Attendance at meetings of the Agency Management Committee and its subcommittees

The table to right sets out how many meetings of the Agency Management Committee and its subcommittees each member attended during the 2015/16 financial year, compared with the total number of meetings those members were eligible to attend. Agency Management Committee/committee members who left or joined during the financial year therefore have a smaller number of meetings they were eligible to attend. Not all Agency Management Committee members are members of each subcommittee. The Agency Management Committee has also appointed non-Agency Management Committee members to its subcommittees, including National Board Chairs and members.

Agency Management Committee attendance

  1. Professor Michael retired from the Agency Management Committee in August 2015 to accept an appointment to the Medical Board of Australia from 31 August 2015.

Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee attendance

Performance Committee attendance

Remuneration Committee attendance

How AHPRA manages its activities and risks

Corporate Assurance Framework

AHPRA has an agreed business plan that assigns responsibility to each of the three Executive Directors for managing risks on a day-to-day operational level for their directorates. Each directorate has an assurance plan that records the risks relevant to that directorate.

Risks are identified, assessed, monitored and managed at a directorate level, but escalated in accordance with the requirements of the Corporate Assurance Framework and recorded in the Corporate assurance plan for review and monitoring by the CEO.

The Corporate assurance plan reports the escalated risks and risk ratings, along with the key controls and assurances put in place to mitigate the risks. The plan is reviewed by the FARMC to monitor the effective management of risks reported to the Agency Management Committee and the National Boards.

The FARMC assures that systems are in place so that AHPRA effectively and appropriately manages risk, and oversees the operation of those systems. AHPRA’s internal audit function forms part of the review process, provides assurance on the risk management process, and advises the committee accordingly. The internal audit work undertaken during the year provided an independent assessment of this to the committee.

Data handling

AHPRA handles significant volumes of sensitive and personal information relating to registered health practitioners, students and notifiers. AHPRA recognises its obligations to protect this information, and established a program of work to strengthen its current practices in minimising the risk of data loss, and to ensure data are collected, held and used in accordance with law and best practice. The Information Governance and Assurance Group (IGAG), under the chairmanship of the Executive Director Business Services, coordinates the Information Governance (IGAG) work program.

IGAG’s work program for 2015/16 included development and maintenance of an IGAG risk assurance plan, delivery of an annual information awareness program aligned with external activities such as Privacy Week, and an information asset ownership program. The information asset ownership program is multifaceted, with a pilot being completed this year and a whole-of-organisation program of work to be planned for next year.

The system of internal control

The CEO is responsible for reviewing the effectiveness of the system of internal control, which has been in place in AHPRA from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016, and up to the date of approval of the annual report and accounts, in accordance with guidance from the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO).

The review is informed by the work of internal auditors and the senior managers within AHPRA who are responsible for the development and maintenance of the internal control framework, and comments made by external auditors in their management letter and other reports. We have been advised of the implications of the result of the review of the effectiveness of the system of internal control by the FARMC. Plans are in place to address identified weaknesses and ensure continuous improvements are in place.

The managers responsible for the system of internal control provided the CEO, through the Executive Director Business Services, with assurance that AHPRA’s system of internal control is subject to consistent monitoring, review and improvement, and that AHPRA’s key risks are being identified, assessed and managed appropriately to ensure the goals and objectives of the National Scheme are achieved.

The Corporate Assurance Framework itself provides us with evidence that we have reviewed the effectiveness of controls that manage the risks to AHPRA to allow the organisation to effectively and efficiently perform its functions. Particular aspects of AHPRA’s activities are, from time to time, the subject of independent external review by entities such as VAGO.

The effectiveness of the system of internal control has been subject to review by AHPRA’s internal financial and risk management staff, who, in liaison with the internal auditors, plan and carry out a FARMC-approved program of work to review the design and operation of the systems of internal control. Where weaknesses have been identified these are reported to the FARMC and an action plan is agreed with management to implement the recommendations agreed as part of this process.

We are not aware of any significant internal control issues affecting AHPRA that do not have an effective management plan in place. We are satisfied the system of internal control has operated effectively and has identified risks that AHPRA is managing. We are also satisfied that significant work is continuing to better identify, assess and appropriately manage AHPRA’s risks in the future. Importantly, AHPRA is committed to constant improvement in the way it manages risk to ensure the goals and objectives of the National Scheme are delivered.

Our risk mitigation strategy includes the appropriate and proportional placement of insurances. Throughout the financial year our insurance portfolio was up to date and has been reviewed and renewed for a further 12-month period on 30 June 2016. The insurance program is overseen by the FARMC.

Capacity to handle risk

The Executive Director Business Services is the designated director with operational responsibility for maintaining and developing the organisation-wide system of internal control. The CEO is the designated executive with operational responsibility for the system of risk management and risk reporting.

The Agency Management Committee takes an active role in risk management, receiving periodic reports and reviewing the Corporate Assurance Framework.

The FARMC has the role of overseeing AHPRA’s governance processes and has reviewed the Corporate Assurance Framework at its meetings, together with movements in the risks identified through that framework and the management of them.

We are not aware of any significant risk management issues that would prevent AHPRA from delivering the National Scheme’s goals and objectives that have not been identified, assessed and which do not have an appropriate plan. We are satisfied that work is underway that is designed to ensure AHPRA identifies, assesses, monitors and manages risks appropriately.

Michael Gorton
Chair
Agency Management Committee
30 June 2016

Martin Fletcher
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Health Practitioner Agency
30 June 2016