| Recommendation: 36 | Provide robust and responsive advice to support governments deliver priorities through improved budget prioritisation | Overall status: Underway |
| Thodey guidance | Status | Delivery on Thodey |
|---|---|---|
| Finance to support regular APS reviews of government expenditure, including use of performance information to ensure robust advice to government on effectiveness of spending during budget processes. | Underway | Finance, in consultation with PM&C and the Treasury, undertook a review and work is currently underway to embed regular and consistent reviews of government programs in the Budget process. For large digital investments, the DTA plays a formal role to ensure Government is provided with advice on the alignment of digital and ICT spending proposals with the Government’s digital policies and standards. It also plays a key assurance and reporting role to track delivery of investments. |
| Finance to support agencies consider and use mechanisms to fund cross-portfolio priorities, move funding to respond to shifts in needs or demands, and foster innovation and agile project delivery. | Continuing | Finance continues to support use of funding mechanisms that address cross-portfolio agencies. These mechanisms are enabled by the current Budget process. In addition, new funding mechanisms have been established to support cross-portfolio innovation and transformation projects, such as the establishment of the Capability Reinvestment Fund. |
| Finance to enhance support to agencies to manage investments that leverage the budget balance sheet, including regularly stocktaking and reporting on these investments and risks. | Underway | Earlier this year, Finance released an updated Commonwealth Investment Framework in response to the growing value of investments on the Commonwealth balance sheet that support policy objectives. The framework supports Government to realise the benefit of proposals that utilise financing and create opportunities for partnership with the private sector, where it is the most appropriate mechanism to achieve the desired policy objectives. The framework also includes an expanded set of capability-building toolkit items, providing officials with additional how-to guidance to assist in using the framework. Specialist investment vehicles (SIVs) make investments in projects, businesses and joint ventures to directly address Australian Government policy objectives. The Government is providing $10.4 million over 4 years from 2023–24 to the Department of Finance to enhance accountability and effectiveness in the Australian Government’s use of specialist investment vehicles, by establishing a comprehensive oversight and governance function of the specialist investment vehicle portfolio. |
| Government to commission a review of the content and application of the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998, including the: role of the charter in improving fiscal policy outcomes appropriateness of the principles that underpin the charter, and role of the Intergenerational Report as a key source of national data to inform government deliberations. | Under consideration | This has not been progressed to date. |