Our Organisation

2006-09 Department of Health and Ageing Corporate Plan

The Department of Health and Ageing’s 2006-09 Corporate Plan is a high level document that identifies the key strategic directions of the Department and is operationalised through planning and reporting tools such as the Portfolio Budget Statements and divisional business plans. The plan provides staff and external stakeholders with a snapshot of the Department’s vision, goals and priorities.

Secretary’s message

The 2006-09 Department of Health and Ageing Corporate Plan outlines the directions the Department will take over the next three years, to achieve our vision of better health and active ageing for all Australians.

While our culture encourages people to do their best and take pride in their work, I believe team leaders and staff can only genuinely contribute when they have direct line-of-sight from their own work through to the Department’s priorities, values and responsibilities. This corporate plan has a key role in guiding our work.

Our headline health and ageing objectives are set out in Our Key Priorities and Our Goals. We aim to realise these by leading and partnering with other departments and governments, community and other stakeholder groups in our policy, program, research and regulation activities. The Health and Ageing Portfolio Budget Statements provide information on the specific strategic directions we will take each year. Readers of the electronic version of this plan will be able to access direct links.

Our Values, Our People and Our Managers set out how team leaders and staff will work - individually and together - to help achieve our priorities. These principles are underpinned by the Australian Public Service Values, the Department’s Collective Agreement 2007-11, the Capability Map, and feedback from staff surveys, through which staff have told me what they feel is important in the workplace.

Our Performance outlines how we will plan, manage and evaluate our day-to-day business, maximise effective use of resources and achieve continuous improvement.

I hope this plan gives all staff, and other interested readers, a clear understanding of the Department, as we work together to continually improve our national health and ageing framework that focuses on better health and better care - for better lives.

Jane Halton
Secretary

The Department's 2006-09 Corporate Plan is available below.

Full version of the 2006-09 Department of Health and Ageing Corporate Plan (PDF 2662 KB)

Our vision
What we want to achieve.

Better health and active ageing for all Australians.

Our key priorities
What we will do to achieve our Vision.

We will help to achieve improved health and wellbeing through strengthening evidence-based policy advising, improving program management, research, regulation, and partnerships with other government agencies, consumers and stakeholders.

Some top priorities for 2006-09 are:

• focusing the health and aged care system more on healthy lifestyles, prevention and early intervention and a ‘best practice’ handling of chronic disease;
• improving the transparency, accessibility, accountability and quality of public and private health and aged care service provision through financing and agreements with stakeholders, industry and state and territory governments;
• consolidating and progressing reforms to ensure choice and access to quality aged care services;
• working together with the States and Territories to reduce duplication and gaps, and to deliver efficient, value-for-money health and aged care services through an adaptable and sustainable health and aged care workforce;
• working towards improved health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through whole-of-government arrangements for policy development and service delivery, and improved access to, and responsiveness of, the mainstream health system;
• improving choice for consumers through strong private sector involvement, effectively integrated with the public sector; and
• leading a whole-of-government approach to strengthening Australia’s readiness for disease threats, national emergencies and other large scale health incidents.Top of page

Our goals

The main outcomes (PDF 15 KB) we seek are:

Population Health
Improved health, reduced preventable mortality, illness and injury.
National regulatory policies and controls for therapeutic goods, chemicals and gene technology.
Population Health (PDF 91 KB)

Medicines and Medical Services
Access to affordable and effective medicines and medical services through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and Medicare.
Long-term financial sustainability of the Australian Government’s contribution to the health system.
Access to Pharmaceutical Services (PDF 43 KB)
Access to Medical Services (PDF 70 KB)

Aged Care and Population Ageing
Healthy, independent and active lives for older Australians.
Access to high quality, affordable care for frail older people.
Support for the aged care workforce.
Support for carers.
Aged Care and Population Ageing (PDF 79 KB)

Primary Care
Access to appropriate primary care services through Medicare.
Support for general practitioners and allied health workers.
Better management of chronic and complex conditions in the primary care setting.
Primary Care (PDF 74 KB)

Rural Health
Access to health and aged care services in rural areas.
Support for health professionals practising in rural areas.
Rural Health (PDF 67 KB)

Hearing Services
Access to hearing services and devices.
Hearing Services (PDF 62 KB)

Indigenous Health
Improved health status for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Indigenous Health (PDF 72 KB)

Private Health
Improved choice of private health services.
A viable and efficient private health industry.
Private Health (PDF 66 KB)

Health System Capacity and Quality
National leadership in health care, safety, quality and information management.
Supply and distribution of the health workforce, which is responsive to need.
Improved health outcomes through focusing on the national health priority areas.
Health System Capacity and Quality (PDF 76 KB)
Mental Health (PDF 68 KB)
Health Workforce Capacity (PDF 56 KB)

Acute Care
Access to public hospitals, diagnostic and acute care services.
Viability of the medical indemnity insurance industry.
Acute Care (PDF 55 KB)

Biosecurity and Health Response
Strengthened communicable disease surveillance and preparedness for health emergencies, threats and disasters, from natural or terrorist causes.
Strengthened ability to respond to health emergencies, threats and disasters, from natural or terrorist causes.
Biosecurity and Emergency Response (PDF 56 KB)

Health and Medical Research*
Health and medical research conducted to the highest ethical standards.
Health policy and practice informed by well-developed research capabilities and sound evidence - based advice.

Key strategies for achieving our objectives are set out annually in the Health and Ageing Portfolio Budget Statements.

*The National Health and Medical Research Council, which is responsible for this outcome, will become an independent statutory agency within the Health and Ageing portfolio in 2006-07.

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Our values
What is important to us.

We value:

• the commitment, achievements and development of all staff;
• accountability to our Ministers and Parliamentary Secretary, Parliament and the public;
• working with other agencies to achieve results for the Australian Government and community;
• open and constructive consultation with professionals, providers, industry and community groups;
• diversity, which is reflected in the management of our business and in the delivery of our programs;
• developing, delivering and evaluating programs effectively;
• being aware of our responsibilities and managing our own performance;
• using resources efficiently;
• working in an apolitical, fair, professional and ethical manner;
• commitment to quality, professionalism, innovation and flexibility; and
• our ability to apply our skills and training to the delivery of better health and ageing outcomes.

These principles incorporate the Australian Public Service Values in the Public Service Act 1999 (section 10) and are reflected in the Department’s Capability Map.

Our managers
How we will lead the Department to success.

As managers we will:

• show leadership and effectively manage staff performance;
• ensure staff understand their role in achieving the Department’s priorities;
• involve staff in decision-making to promote open and productive working relationships;
• promote enthusiasm by delegating interesting work where possible;
• encourage and support staff to reach their full potential;
• assist staff to maintain a healthy work and life balance; and
• acknowledge and reward the efforts and contributions of staff.

Our people
How we will approach our work.

We will:

• put Our Values into practice and add as much value as we can to our tasks;
• work in partnership with each other and with our stakeholders;
• commit to quality and administrative excellence;
• take personal responsibility; and
• respect each other and strive for a happy, safe and productive work environment.

Our performance
How we will succeed.

We will:

• plan our business around our Outcomes.
  We will set out our key strategic directions for each financial year in the Portfolio Budget Statements, which guide our business and operational plans;
• use the Capability Map and Performance Development Scheme to align individual, team and departmental goals and ensure they are met;
• provide people with the systems, tools and information needed to achieve these goals;
• promote the Australian Public Service Values and Code of Conduct;
• follow Australian Government financial management policies, and the Department’s Chief Executive Instructions and Procedural Rules;
• anticipate opportunities and what might go wrong, and manage risk;
• evaluate our progress to measure our success; and
• seek to continuously improve program performance and the way we use our resources.

The Department’s performance framework guides our planning and resource management, assists us to meet our obligations as an Australian Government agency, and promotes continuous improvement through evaluation.

Performance management framework

Text description


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Performance management framework
The following is a text description of the Department of Health and Ageing Performance Management Framework (flow chart), which outlines the department’s external and internal planning and reporting mechanisms.

The Performance Management Framework is made up of three columns.

The centre column identifies the department’s key planning tools, all of which are connected in descending order. They are: ‘Government Priorities’ (external planning tool); ‘Health and Ageing Outcomes’ (external planning tool); ‘Portfolio Budget Statements’ (external planning tool); the ‘Corporate Plan’ (external and internal planning tool); ‘Division Business Plans’ (internal planning tool); ‘Branch/State Territory Office/Section/Team Operational Plans’ (internal planning tool); and the ‘Individual Performance Development Scheme’ (internal planning tool).

The column on the right hand side identifies the following key departmental reporting mechanisms: the Department’s ‘Internally Focused Key Performance Management/Reporting’ tools, which receive input from ‘Division Business Plans’, ‘Branch/State Territory Office/Section/Team Operational Plans’ and the ‘Individual Development Scheme’; and the ‘Externally Required Key Performance Measurement Reporting’ tools which provide input to Government priorities and may input to the ‘Portfolio Budget Statements’ and ‘Division Business Plans’.

The column on the left hand side identifies key planning mechanisms that contribute to some of the planning tools in the centre column: the ‘Public Service Act 1999', APS Values/Code of Conduct and Financial Management Framework’ which receive input from ‘Government Priorities’ and feed into the ‘Corporate Plan’; and a suite of ‘Departmental Management Plans and Tools’ which input to ‘Division Business Plans’. These plans and tools include ‘Governance Committees’, ‘Chief Executive Instructions’, ‘Procedural Rules’, the ‘Finance Strategy’, the ‘Fraud Control Plan’, the ‘Control Self, Assessment’ tool, the ‘Enterprise Risk Management Plan’, the ‘Business Continuity Plan’, the ‘Program Management, Improvement Strategic Plan 2004-07’, the ‘IT Strategy and Roadmap’, the ‘Technology Plan’, the ‘People Strategy 2004-07’, the ‘Collective Agreement 2007-11’, the ‘Workplace Diversity Plan’, the ‘Capability Map’ and ‘Environmental Management Systems’.


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