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Corporate governance

The organisational structure chart lists senior executive staff and indicates their area of responsibility. Figure 2 also lists which member of the SES is specifically responsible for each of the five outputs. Thirteen SES staff were reassigned duties during 2000-01, consistent with the Customs career movement policy.

Customs operates under a matrix management system. Central office senior executive staff are primarily responsible for setting policy and standards for Customs and for coordinating national operations. Regional senior executive staff are responsible for administering these policies and standards within their region and for managing regional operations.

Senior management committees and roles

Further information on senior management committees and external consultative mechanisms is available under the Overview of Customs.

Corporate planning

Customs remains committed to an effective planning framework, with strong links between the corporate plan and lower level plans including individual staff performance assessment and feedback agreements. This is achieved through a three-year corporate plan, an annual working corporate plan (for internal use only) that focuses in detail on activities for a given year and annual divisional, branch and work area plans. The work area plans outline key tasks and activities for each work area and these tasks and activities translate directly into individual performance assessment and feedback agreements.

These plans rely on the corporate strategic risk profile, which outlines the strategic risks facing Customs. This allows coordinated risk assessment and planning for all levels of planning documents.

Risk management practices

A new corporate strategic risk profile was developed in 2001 and provided the basis for risk management plans at operational and tactical levels. Customs continued to integrate risk management with the planning and resource allocation processes. This provided a structured process for determining priorities for the year.

Two major plans formed part of the risk-management planning cycle: the Fraud Control Plan and the Security Plan. These provided treatments for all work areas to ensure that fraud is minimised and security is maximised.

Specific risk-management exercises were also conducted to ensure that major projects and initiatives were fully analysed to minimise risk. Areas covered included the cargo management re-engineering project, implementing the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 and the operations of the Customs Staffing Branch.

Security

A Customs-wide security awareness campaign to launch the revised Commonwealth Protective Security Manual started in February 2001. This included presentations to Customs staff and contracted service providers about mandatory Commonwealth requirements, emphasising responsibility and accountability. Security information on the Customs Intranet site was also updated.

Customs developed a security plan that identifies key security risks and treatments for these risks. Managers completed security risk reviews of their work areas against the plan and listed specific actions to address security risks. The Customs Security Committee will use these reports during 2001-02 to review the plan.

Internal audit

The internal audit function of Customs is outsourced. Further information on this contract is available under Competitive tendering and contracting.

Internal audits are conducted to improve organisational performance by focussing on areas that have higher risk profiles or concern management. Internal audits provide assurance to senior management about the quality of internal controls and procedures. They also provide recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of business practices.

There were 38 audits and reviews completed during 2000-01, with another six in progress. Most recommendations were accepted by Customs and their implementation was monitored by the Audit and Evaluation Committee at its quarterly meetings.

The internal audit area also provided advice and assistance to other areas within Customs, based on emerging risks and requests by management for assistance. Major projects included implementing tax reform, the Tourist Refund Scheme, the National Intelligence System and cargo management re-engineering.

Ethical standards

Customs revised its ethics and conduct booklet that outlines the behaviour required of employees under the Australian Public Service values and code of conduct. The booklet places the APS standards into a Customs perspective and sets out directions on a range of ethical issues.

Customs is also undertaking an integrity self assessment based on the World Customs Organization self-assessment guide. This aims to identify any potential weaknesses in procedures, policies and systems that might be susceptible to corruption.

Investigation of ethical concerns

The Internal Affairs unit impartially investigates serious misconduct and complaints of criminality against staff. Internal Affairs staff maintain high visibility throughout Customs, encourage employees to report matters of concern and provide lectures on integrity to staff.

The unit investigated 78 complaints of serious misconduct and/or criminality and 106 miscellaneous inquiries. Of the 78 matters received, 19 were substantiated and 34 were not substantiated. The remaining 25 are either still under investigation or are awaiting the outcome of action for breaching the code of conduct. Nineteen matters were carried over from 1999-2000 and 18 of these were finalised.

Action taken when matters were substantiated included staff counselling, resignation and procedural and policy change. When cases about suspected criminality were substantiated, they were referred to the Australian Federal Police or other appropriate law-enforcement agencies.

Senior management remuneration

Further information on senior management remuneration is available under Appendix D.

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