General disclosures
General disclosures
- Contents
- Ministerial directives
- Compliance with public sector standards and ethical codes
- Freedom of information
- Recordkeeping plans
- Disability access and inclusion plan outcomes
- Expenditure on advertising and market research
- Unauthorised use of credit cards
- Pricing policies of services provided
- Annual estimates
- Board and committee remuneration
Ministerial directives
No directions were issued by the Minister for Education and Training in 2019–20 relevant to the setting or achievement of desired outcomes or operational objectives, investment activities, and financing activities.
Compliance with public sector standards and ethical codes
Our commitment to promoting high standards of professional conduct, ethical behaviour and integrity continued through ensuring policies and procedures complied with Public Sector Standards and the Code of Ethics.
In 2019–20, we engaged in a number of initiatives to support the assurance, integrity and governance of the Department’s operations. These included:
- establishing a new independent Audit and Risk Committee with four external members (including the Chair, Mr Colin Murphy PSM) that met four times in the year to reinforce confidence in the integrity and effectiveness of management practices and identify opportunities to enhance those practices
- commencing work on a Department-wide integrity framework, aligned to the Integrity Strategy for WA Public Authorities 2020–2023
- strengthening corporate fraud and corruption assessments and investigations
- reviewing corporate integrity policies and functions, such as our staff code of conduct, and conflicts of interest.
We conducted selection panel training to ensure all our recruitment processes and employment decisions were conducted in accordance with the Public Sector Commissioner’s Instructions: Employment Standard and Filling a Public Sector Vacancy.
We managed Breach of Standard claims as required by the Public Sector Management (Breaches of Public Sector Standards) Regulations 2005. No breaches were found in 2019–20.
Freedom of information
Through the Freedom of Information Act 1992, the public has the right to access government information (subject to exemptions), including information we hold or control.
Our Information Statement can be found on our website. It provides details about how the public can amend their personal information held by the Department, the range of information we hold and how information can be accessed.
Recordkeeping plans
In 2019–20, 15,122 staff completed the mandatory online recordkeeping awareness training including 14,212 school staff; 253 new TRIM users were trained; and 36 staff participated in advanced TRIM training. We reviewed all recordkeeping training guides to ensure their currency and relevance for staff who worked from home as a result of COVID-19.
In 2019–20, 1,410 school administrators and teachers received online or face-to-face training on recordkeeping practices and 248 visits (including follow-up visits) were made to schools to provide on-site advice and support on their recordkeeping programs.
We implemented TRIM Web Client at Bob Hawke College to enable compliant recordkeeping from the school’s opening in Term 1, 2020. This was the first school to have TRIM fully implemented.
We submitted our revised Retention and Disposal Schedule to the State Records Office as required.
An internal audit into the Department’s recordkeeping was completed in December 2019. The audit made 17 recommendations to improve recordkeeping and the delivery of corporate information services.
We developed records management guidelines and a checklist to assist non‑government schools with their recordkeeping requirements as per the recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Disability access and inclusion plan outcomes
We continued to implement our Disability Access and Inclusion Plan 2018–2023, which identifies strategies to enhance equitable inclusion of people with disability in our schools, services and employment. It covers outcomes required under the Disability Services Regulations 2004 and the additional outcome of improving learning outcomes for students with disability.
For example, over 21,600 school leaders, teachers and allied professionals received targeted professional learning in 2019 to enhance their capacity to:
- meet the individual needs of students through teaching and learning adjustments
- facilitate access to the curriculum
- improve learning outcomes for students with disability and diverse learning needs.
Our Schools of Special Educational Needs also provided specialised support for students with specific educational and engagement needs.
Expenditure on advertising and market research
In 2019–20, we incurred expenditure centrally of $1.82 million ($0.95 million in 2018–19 and $0.64 million in 2017–18) with media advertising organisations, advertising agencies and market research organisations (see Table 5). There was no expenditure with polling and direct mail organisations.
Table 5: Central expenditure on advertising and market research 2019–20| Category and providers | $ |
|---|---|
| Media advertising organisations Carat Australia Media Initiative Media | 932,521 |
| Advertising agencies(a) Ad Capital Gatecrasher Rare Creativethinking | 788,314 |
| Market research organisations Advantage Communications and Marketing Kantar TNS Perth Market Research Thinkfield | 95,235 |
(a) Provided full range of creative services.
Unauthorised use of credit cards
During 2019–20, staff reported 533 unauthorised uses of corporate credit cards with no cases referred for investigation. Forty-four of these were reported by staff in central and regional offices and 489 by staff in schools. Generally, unauthorised transactions were as a result of cards being used in error. If repayment was not received within five working days, strategies were employed to recover the amount owing including reminder notices and cancellation of cards.
The number of instances reported in 2019–20 increased by approximately 16% (72 instances) in comparison to the 2018–19 results (461 instances). Further information is in Table 6.
Table 6: Unauthorised use of credit cards 2019–20| Category | $ |
|---|---|
| Aggregate amount of personal use expenditure for 2019–20 | 28,832.38 |
| Aggregate amount of personal use expenditure settled by the due date (payment due within five working days) | 25,197.06 |
| Aggregate amount of personal use expenditure settled after the due date (after five working days) | 3,635.42 |
| Aggregate amount of personal use expenditure outstanding at 30 June 2020(a) | -0.10 |
(a) All personal credit card use reported in 2019–20 have been settled. The repayments for personal use included rounding of $0.10.
Pricing policies of services provided
We charge for goods and services rendered on a full or partial cost recovery basis. We determined these fees in accordance with Costing and Pricing Government Services: Guidelines for Use by Agencies in the Western Australian Public Sector.
The School Education Act 1999 and School Education Regulations 2000 govern the setting of fees, charges and contributions for students in public schools.
The Education Service Providers (Full Fee Overseas Students) Registration Regulations 1992 prescribes fees for registration and re-registration of international education service providers in Western Australia.
Fees and charges associated with teacher registration were governed by the Teacher Registration (General) Regulations 2012 and the Teacher Registration (Accreditation of Initial Teacher Education Programmes) Regulations 2012. The Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia Schedule of Fees is available on the Board’s website.
The School Curriculum and Standards Authority charged for its regulatory functions relevant to certification, assessment and examinations as prescribed by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority Regulations 2005.
Fees for residential colleges were prescribed in regulation 14 (7) of the School Education (Student Residential Colleges) Regulations 2017.
Annual estimates
In the 2020–21 Budget Statement, the estimates for the Department of Education and the School Curriculum and Standards Authority are consolidated within a single Division of the Consolidated Account Expenditure Estimates. The annual estimates representing the budget for the Department of Education excluding the School Curriculum and Standards Authority are in Appendix 5.
Board and committee remuneration
Members of boards and committees, as defined in Premier’s Circular 2019/07 – State Government Boards and Committees, were remunerated as determined by the Minister for Education and Training, on the recommendation of the Public Sector Commissioner. Details of these remunerations are in tables 7 to 11.
Table 7: Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia remuneration 2019–20| Position Member name | Term of appointment | Membership length (2019–20) | Remuneration | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Base salary/ sitting fee | Actual (2019–20) | |||
| Chair | |||||
| Margaret Collins | 5 years | 12 months | Annual | $23,433 | $23,433 |
| Deputy Chair | |||||
| Ron Dullard | 5 years | 12 months | Meeting | $505 | $5,050 |
| Member | |||||
| Nicole Brown | 3 years | 12 months | Meeting | $505 | $5,050 |
| Jeremy Bruse | 2 years | 12 months | – | – | – |
| Peter Collins | 2 years | 12 months | Meeting | $505 | $5,050 |
| Kate Offer | 3 years | 12 months | Meeting | $505 | $5,555 |
| Julie Woodhouse | 3 years | 12 months | – | – | – |
| Total | $44,138 | ||||
Table 8: Non-Government Schools Planning Advisory Panel remuneration 2019–20
| Position Member name | Term of appointment | Membership length (2019–20) | Remuneration | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Base salary/ sitting fee | Actual (2019–20) | |||
| Chair | |||||
| Audrey Jackson | 3 years | 12 months | Half/full day | $380/580 | $1,920 |
| Member | |||||
| Anne Coffey | 3 years | 12 months | – | – | – |
| Natalie Gulberti | 3 years | 12 months | – | – | – |
| Giselle Lau | 3 years | 3.5 months | – | – | – |
| Carmel Quin | 3 years | 12 months | – | – | – |
| Llewellyn Woodford | 3 years | 12 months | Half day | $250 | $500 |
| Total | $2,420 | ||||
Table 9: School Curriculum and Standards Authority Board remuneration 2019–20
| Position Member name | Term of appointment | Membership length (2019–20) | Remuneration | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Base salary/ sitting fee | Actual (2019–20) | |||
| Chair | |||||
| Emeritus Professor Patrick Garnett | 5 years | 12 months | Annual | $37,380 | $37,380 |
| Member | |||||
| Chapple Professor David Andrich | 2.5 years | 12 months | Annual | $23,475 | $23,475 |
| Associate Professor Lennie Barblett | 3 years | 12 months | Annual | $23,475 | $23,475 |
| Ms Pauline Coghlan | 2.5 years | 12 months | Annual | $23,475 | $23,475 |
| Dr Lynette Henderson-Yates | 3 years | 12 months | Annual | $23,475 | $23,475 |
| Ms Margaret Herley | 4 years | 9 months | Annual | $23,475 | $19,051 |
| Dr Bruce Matthews | 4 years | 12 months | Annual | $23,475 | $23,475 |
| Ms Denise O’Meara | 3.5 years | 3 months | Annual | $23,475 | $1,174 |
| Total | $174,980 | ||||
Table 10: School Curriculum and Standards Authority – Curriculum and Assessment Committee remuneration 2019–20
| Position Member name | Term of appointment | Membership length (2019–20) | Remuneration | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Base salary/ sitting fee | Actual (2019–20) | |||
| Chair | |||||
| Ms Margaret Herley | 4 years | 9 months | Meeting | $550 | $2,200 |
| Ms Denise O’Meara | 3.5 years | 3 months | Meeting | $550 | – |
| Member | |||||
| Associate Professor Caroline Barratt-Pugh | 3 years | 12 months | Meeting | $370 | $1,110 |
| Ms Elizabeth Blackwell | 3 years | 12 months | – | – | – |
| Ms Eileen Climo | 1 year | 6 months | – | – | – |
| Ms Amanda Connor | 2 years | 12 months | Meeting | $370 | $1,480 |
| Ms Fiona Forbes | 3 years | 12 months | – | – | – |
| Mr Armando Giglia | 3 years | 12 months | – | – | – |
| Mr Lindsay Hale | 3 years | 8 months | – | – | – |
| Ms Jillian Jamieson | 2 years | 12 months | Meeting | $370 | $1,110 |
| Mr Tony Misich | 3 years | 12 months | Meeting | $370 | $370 |
| Ms Kristine Stafford | 2 years | 12 months | Meeting | $370 | $1,110 |
| Ms Katherine Ward | 3 years | 12 months | – | – | – |
| Mr Roderick (Rod) Wood | 3 years | 12 months | Meeting | $370 | $1,850 |
| Total | $9,230 | ||||
Table 11: School Curriculum and Standards Authority – Standards Committee remuneration 2019–20
| Position Member name | Term of appointment | Membership length (2019–20) | Remuneration | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Base salary/ sitting fee | Actual (2019–20) | |||
| Chair | |||||
| Dr Bruce Matthews | 4 years | 12 months | Meeting | $550 | $2,200 |
| Member | |||||
| Ms Anne Ford | 3 years | 12 months | Meeting | $370 | $1,110 |
| Ms Melissa Gillett | 1 year | 12 months | – | – | – |
| Associate Professor Stephen Humphry | 3 years | 12 months | Meeting | $370 | $1,110 |
| Ms Pauline White | 2 years | 12 months | – | – | – |
| Total | $4,420 | ||||