Glossary

administered items: Revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities that the government controls, but which an agency or authority manages on the government's behalf.

APS employee: A person engaged under section 22, or a person who is engaged as an Australian public service employee under section 72, of the Public Service Act 1999.

average staffing level: The average number of employees receiving salary or wages over the financial year, with adjustments for casual and part time employees to show the full time equivalent (FTE). This measure allows for comparisons of employment between financial years.

Council of Australian Governments (CoAG): The peak intergovernmental forum in Australia, comprising the Prime Minister, State Premiers, Territory Chief Ministers and the President of the Australian Local Government Association.

collective agreement: An agreement between an employer and a group of employees, or between an employer and a union or unions representing employees, made under the Workplace Relations Act 1996.

Doha Round: A round of World Trade Organization multilateral trade negotiations launched in Doha in November 2001.

Outcomes: The government's objectives in each portfolio area. Outcomes are desired results, impacts or consequences for the Australian community, as influenced by the actions of the Australian Government. Actual outcomes are assessments of the end results or impacts achieved.

output groups: A logical aggregation of agency outputs, where useful, and based either on homogeneity, type of product, business line or beneficiary target group. Aggregation of outputs may also be needed for the provision of adequate information for performance monitoring, or based on a materiality test.

Outputs: The goods and services produced by agencies on behalf of government for external organisations or individuals. Outputs also include goods and services for other areas of government external to the agency.

key performance indicators: A concise list of indicators, which are used to measure agency effectiveness in achieving the government's outcomes.

performance information: Evidence about performance that is collected and used systematically. Evidence may relate to appropriateness, effectiveness and efficiency. It may be about outcomes, factors that affect outcomes and what can be done to improve them. Performance information may be quantitative (numerical) or qualitative (descriptive). Its usefulness is increased by applying standards and other types of comparison, which allow judgments to be made about the extent to which interventions are achieving desired results.

Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements: Statements prepared by portfolios to explain the additional Budget appropriations in terms of outcomes and outputs.

Portfolio Budget Statements: Statements prepared by portfolios to explain the Budget appropriations in terms of outcomes and outputs (that is, where the appropriated funds are going to be spent).

purchaser-provider arrangements: Arrangements under which the outputs of one agency are purchased by another agency to contribute to outcomes. Purchaser–provider arrangements can occur between Australian Government agencies and state or territory government agencies or private sector bodies.

Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Capacity Building Program: The SPS Capacity Building Program assists the developing Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) focal countries to expand their capability to:

• describe and manage their animal and plant health status
• implement SPS measures consistent with international standards and the expectations of trading partners.

The ASEAN focal countries are Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.