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Thursday, 9 February 2012
Page: 706

Defence: Projects

(Question No. 1446)

Senator Humphries asked the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, upon notice, on 9 November 2011:

In regard to quarterly accountability reports:

(1) Has the list of ‘designated key projects’ been determined and the reporting mechanism instituted; if so, can a list be provided.

(2) Has the first report been provided as planned in October 2011; if so, can a copy be provided.

(3) How does the list of ‘designated key projects’ differ from those projects listed as Projects of Concern, those projects included in the Major Projects Report, and those projects that trigger Early Indicators and Warning system.

(4) How does the quarterly accountability reporting mechanism ‘improve accountability and pick up problems early’ in any way not achieved through the Early Indicators and Warnings system.

Senator Chris Evans: The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:

(1) A list of ‘designated key projects’ has yet to be finalised.

(2) The first report was provided as planned. A copy is not provided as it is a classified document.

(3) Designated key projects are high priority projects on which Defence provides regular and rigorous quarterly reporting to the Minister for Defence, the Minister for Defence Materiel, the Secretary for the Department of Defence and the Chief of the Defence Force. There is no requirement for projects to be under stress to be designated for quarterly review, only that they are a priority capability for Defence. In this way, they are different to Projects of Concern.

(a) Projects of Concern are those projects identified as having very significant technical, cost and/or schedule difficulties.

(b) The DMO Major Projects Report (DMO MPR) is an annual report presented by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) to Parliament and the Australian public about the status of selected DMO major acquisition projects.

(c) Projects that trigger the Early Indicators and Warning system are running late, over budget or not delivering the capability required.

(4) The Quarterly Accountability Report provides more rigorous reporting on select high priority projects and is individually signed off by the senior executives responsible for the project.