Departmental Overview

Role and functions

The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the department) is responsible for agriculture, fisheries, food and forestry.
The department’s mission is:

Increasing the profitability, competitiveness and sustainability of Australian agricultural, fisheries, food and forestry industries and enhancing the natural resource base to achieve greater national wealth and stronger rural and regional communities.

Through undertaking a diverse range of activities the department seeks to:

• help Australian agricultural, food, fisheries and forestry industries become more competitive, profitable and sustainable;
• enhance the natural resource base on which these industries rely;
• deliver scientific advice and economic research, policy advice, programs and services to help deal with the challenges faced by agricultural, food, fisheries and forestry industries;
• address Australia’s entire food supply chain, from producer to processor to the consumer;
• uphold quarantine, export inspection and certification, and food safety standards activities, essential for maintaining Australia’s highly favourable animal and plant health status; and
• improve trading opportunities for Australian agriculture and food industries, while protecting Australia’s plant and animal health and environment.

To deliver our mission, the department works closely with our clients, that is – Ministers and the Parliamentary Secretary, portfolio industries, non-government organisations, producers and processors, consumers, importers and exporters, natural resource managers, travellers, rural and regional communities and state and territory governments.

Values

The department adheres to the Australian Public Service Values and Code of Conduct, with a focus on particular characteristics that guide us in how we do business and treat one another. Our values are:

Professionalism 

doing the best job we can; serving our clients in a practical, diligent, rigorous and outcome-focused way

Integrity

behaving ethically; acting with honesty, loyalty and courage

Openness 

building trust; being frank, open to ideas, and accessible to staff and clients

Fairness 

ensuring people get a fair go and that all are treated equally and justly

Respect

respecting each other, our families, our clients, those with different ideas and from diverse backgrounds and other cultures.

By basing our work on these values, we provide high quality results that meet the expectations of the Australian Government, our clients and stakeholders.

You can find more information about the service we aim to provide on our Internet site and in our Client Service Charter. Further information relating to our performance against the Client Service Charter can be found in the Report on Performance Section.

Organisational structure

The portfolio comprises the department, one statutory marketing authority, three regulatory authorities and eight research and development corporations (see Figure 1).

At 30 June 2004, the department consisted of nine Business Groups, Management Services and Corporate Governance (see Figure 2), working together to deliver its Outputs.

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon Warren Truss MP, the Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation, Senator the Hon Ian Macdonald and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator the Hon Judith Troeth, oversee the portfolio.

In March 2004, the department undertook a minor review of its performance information including the Overall Effectiveness Indicators, Output Objectives and Output Performance Indicators to improve performance reporting. This is reflected in the 2004-05 Portfolio Budget Statements. The changes are also reflected to a degree in this report through the Overall Effectiveness indicators and the Output indicators where a lead (future performance) and lag (current performance) reporting approach has been initiated.

There were no changes in portfolio Ministers or structures during 2003-04.

For details of portfolio bodies performance over the financial year, please refer to their individual Annual Reports.

Figure 1: Portfolio structure

Outcome and output structure

The department has eight interlinking Outputs:

1. Natural Resources Access and Management
2. Rural Policy and Innovation
3. Industry Development
4. Market Access and Biosecurity
5. Product Integrity, Animal (including Aquatic Animal) and Plant Health
6. Quarantine and Export Services
7. Scientific Advice
8. Economic Research.

The Outputs work to achieve the department’s Outcome of:

Australian agricultural, fisheries, food and forestry industries that are based on the sustainable management of and access to natural resources, are more competitive, self-reliant and innovative, have increased access to markets, are protected from diseases and are underpinned by scientific advice and economic research.

These Outputs can be considered from a market supply-chain perspective
(as shown in Figure 3).

Figure 3
Output structure from a market supply chain perspective

Department Outputs

There were no changes to the department’s output structure during 2003-04.

Corporate and Performance Planning and Reporting

The department’s corporate and performance planning and reporting framework assist in its governance and associated reporting and review mechanisms. These include:

• Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) and Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements (PAES). These provide a statement of the portfolio’s Outcome goals, appropriations and revenue and the purpose of the portfolio budget measures.
• Corporate Plan. This aims to strengthen the department’s identity and relevance to its customers by communicating what it is, what it does and how it does it.
• Departmental Business Plan. This documents how the department will be managed to deliver the outcome and, building on the PBS, sets objectives, aligns and links efforts, and provides a basis for measuring performance.
• Business Group Plans. These document how each business group will deliver individual outputs through projects, building on the PBS and Business Plan.
• Individual Work Plans and Learning Agreements. These document the work, and work standards, that individuals agree to undertake as their contribution to the projects they are working on. Learning agreements document the skills individuals will need and how they will improve those skills.
• Performance Through People (PtP). This is an overarching strategic framework outlining key aspects of people management in the department.
• Communications Strategy. Helps the department achieve its Outcome by providing an internal guide to organisational communication.
• Risk Management Plan. The department’s Risk Management Plan identifies the key risks to the organisation and the mitigation strategies and actions. The risk management framework is intended to underpin the whole planning process at the corporate, business and project level.
• Governance Plan. This outlines the department’s operating rules, internal audit, risk management, business ethics, fraud risk management and control, and security issues. Separate risk assessments for fraud and security are undertaken, with the development of the resultant plans overseen by the Audit and Security Committees respectively.
• Business Continuity Plan (BCP). Outlines the steps the department would take in response to any breakdown in function or activity. This plan is currently under development.
• Financial Reporting. Reports on year-to-date and end of year projections against budget. This is reviewed on a monthly basis by the executive.
• Quarterly Performance Reviews. These are conducted for each business on a quarterly basis covering information on performance against PBS indicators, achievements, risks, financial and people mangement issues.
• Annual Report. Provides an overview of the department’s organisational structure, method of operation, key achievements and corporate directions; highlights the department’s progress against the performance indicators listed in the PBS; and details the department’s performance relating to its Output objectives, management and accountability requirements.
• Business Excellence Framework. Draws together the department’s internal business elements to illustrate how our internal processes and the policy and services we produce combine to provide results and outcomes for clients and customers. The framework has a strong emphasis on leadership and continuous improvement, all of which is held together by our corporate ‘glue’; that is – data, information and knowledge. Refer figure 4 below.

In addition, a number of strategic plans support the department’s operating rules including an Internal Audit Plan, Fraud Risk Management and Control Plan, Chief Executive Instructions, and Strategic Security Plan.

Figure 4 
DAFF Business Excellence Framework

Planning for the future

The department uses environmental scanning and scenario planning to identify future issues our agricultural, fisheries, food and forestry industries may face. Looking ahead provides the department with the opportunity to plan and develop strategies to help industries remain profitable, competitive and sustainable in their changing operating environment. It also helps our industries to be more prepared and better positioned to take advantage of opportunities and respond to challenges.

In its 2002-2005 Corporate Plan, the department identified the following as issues that will drive portfolio industries and the way we do business over the next 10 to 15 years.

• Nature of farming and production – structural adjustment is leading towards either larger and more capital intensive farms or smaller farms that will likely provide niche goods and services.
• Market access – international negotiations will continue to be of key strategic importance to our industries.
• Diseases, pests and animal welfare – as movement of people and goods around the world increases, new disease and pest threats will continue to have a major impact on our work.
• Natural resource access and management – the way natural resources are managed, such as water and salinity.
• Social attitudes and values – are becoming increasingly important in the ‘how and what’ is produced by our stakeholders.
• Innovation – Australia must continue to improve agricultural productivity in order to be competitive and sustainable.

Figure 5 below outlines the department’s Planning for Success framework.

Figure 5

DAFF Planning for Success Framework