CEI 2.2 Business Continuity
1. Scope of these Instruction
These Chief Executive's Instructions (CEI) outlines the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry's (department) approach to business continuity and the responsibilities of all officials with respect to business continuity.
Information on the process and tools for business continuity management can be found in the departmental business continuity plan.
2. Policy Principles
Business continuity is about ensuring that an organisation can continue to undertake its critical functions after a serious business disruption and effectively recover and restore normal operations.
The department:
- has a business continuity management framework that is consistent with whole of government and recognised standards.
- ensures that our business continuity management framework is regularly exercised, reviewed and improved so that it keeps pace with the department's contemporary business needs.
- promotes an internal culture of both collective and individual responsibility for business continuity so that the department can better deliver its performance outcomes.
The department has an overarching departmental business continuity plan that sets out the approach to managing disruptions to deliver its critical functions. It also includes the divisional strategies to ensure the continued delivery of critical functions as well as recovery and restoration of operations to normal.
The departmental business continuity plan and subordinate divisional business continuity plans must be exercised routinely to ensure all elements of the plan are practical, effective, complete and ready for use in the event of any critical incident.
3. Target Audience
This CEI is applicable to all officials in the department.
4. Departmental instructions
4.1 Responsibilities
The secretary:
The secretary has ultimate accountability and overall responsibility for the department's performance including the accountability for business continuity and the delivery of our outcomes and priorities to government during a business continuity incident. The secretary may appoint a Critical Incident Manager to lead the department's response to a business continuity incident.
Critical incident manager:
The Critical Incident Manager is appointed by the secretary to manage the department's response to a significant business interruption.
Executive management team:
The Executive Management Team supports the secretary by determining the department's critical functions, reviewing and monitoring the business continuity framework and ensuring that the business continuity strategies are implemented.
Executive managers and Division Heads:
Executive managers and Division Heads must appoint business continuity coordinators for their division and ensure the implementation of business continuity strategies in their divisions.
Audit committee:
The Audit Committee provides advice to the secretary in regards to better practice and whether the department is meeting its obligations with regard to business continuity.
Business improvement committee:
The Business Improvement Committee oversights the business continuity framework and the implementation of the business continuity plan.
Business continuity coordinator:
Each division has a business continuity coordinator who is responsible for undertaking the development and readiness of divisional business continuity strategies and procedures, and must ensure divisional business continuity plans are regularly exercised, reviewed and updated.
The divisional business continuity coordinator must coordinate divisional responses and report to the Critical Incident Manager on divisional operational issues in the event of a significant business disruption.
Officials:
As risk impacts the outcome of all work in the department, all staff carry responsibility for the identification and management of risk that impacts on their work areas as it relates to business continuity. All staff should recognise, communicate and respond to expected, emerging or changing risks and contribute to the development and implementation of business continuity treatments in their area of responsibility.
5. Breaches
Officials are bound by section 13 of the Public Service Act 1999 (the PS Act Code of Conduct) and section 44 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) to use Commonwealth resources in an efficient, effective and ethical manner that is not inconsistent with the policies of the Commonwealth. Officials who do not comply with this CEI may be found to be in breach of these provisions and sanctions may apply.
6. References
6.1 Legislation
- None applicable.
6.2 Internal guidance/instruction
- CEI No. 2.1 - Risk Management
6.3 External guidance/instruction
- Finance Circular 2011/05 – Chief Executive's Instructions
- ANAO Better Practice Guide - Business Continuity Management: Building resilience in public sector entities
- Australian/New Zealand Standard Handbook 292:2006 A Practitioners Guide to Business Continuity Management
- Australian/New Zealand Standard 5050 2010 Business Continuity – Managing disruption related risk.
7. Definitions and Acronyms
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business continuity management framework
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the policies, tools, processes and activities that collectively assist the department to respond to a business continuity incident. |
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business continuity plan
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a plan that sets out details of the resources, actions, roles and responsibilities of staff in responding to a significant disruption to business. A business continuity plan is scalable to the disruption and may describe what will happen at a programme, division or departmental level. |
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chief executive
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unless a contrary meaning is specified (as can occur under some legislation) this term means the Secretary, Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry |
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critical function
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functions which are essential for the department to deliver its outcomes and priorities. The critical functions will be given priority of resources during any serious business interruptions. |
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critical incident
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an event that may significantly impact on departmental officers' or clients' ability to carry on their business. A critical incident may cause physical and/or emotional distress to individuals, and may be outside the normal range of experience of the people affected. A critical incident may take place either on or off the workplace. A departmental critical incident generally requires an agency-wide approach for its effective resolution. |
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official
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in this CEI the term means a person who is in or forms a part of this agency. The term is also extended to mean contractors or other Commonwealth or state or territory government officials who are performing tasks or procedures for or on behalf of the department. |
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exercise
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an activity to evaluate the effectiveness of a plan relative to its objective |
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risk
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risk management
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the processes for identifying, assessing and managing risks |
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secretary
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means the Secretary, Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry and is sometimes referred to as the chief executive. |
Change History
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Created
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December 2009 |
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Revised
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February 2011 |
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Document Owner
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Risk Management and Business Continuity |
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Approved
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09/02/2011 |
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Document due for review
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January 2013 |
10 Aug 2011