A performance audit of the Department of Social Services’ (DSS) success in implementing a national plan to reduce violence against women and children has found it to be held back by poor planning and performance measurement.
In his report, Coordination and Targeting of Domestic Violence Funding and Actions, Auditor-General, Grant Hehir found that while DSS had established effective governance arrangements to support implementation of the p lan, its effectiveness was “reduced by a lack of attention to implementation planning and performance measurement”.
Mr Hehir said the national plan was agreed in partnership with all States and Territories and set out six outcomes for all to deliver during the 12 years from 2010-2022.
These were to ensure communities were safe and free from violence; that relationships were respectful; Indigenous communities strengthened; services met the needs of women and their children; there were effective justice responses; and perpetrators were being held to account.
“The national plan identifies that outcomes will be delivered through four three-yearly action plans,” Mr Hehir said.
“The third action plan was launched in October 2016, and the fourth is due to be launched in July.”
He said his audit found the DSS’s effectiveness in implementing the plan was reduced by a lack of attention to planning implementation and measuring performance.
Mr Hehir said the evidence suggested the Department’s funding and actions taken were aligned with the plan’s key priorities and that the Department had established the two mechanisms required to improve the evidence base.
However, the Department could not demonstrate that the actions taken were prioritised based on available evidence, or that they were collectively contributing to the outcomes of the national plan.
“Subsequently, there is scope to better target research activities towards projects that identify what works for whom and in what contexts,” he said.
The audit made five recommendations all of which were agreed by the DSS.
The Auditor-General’s 71-page report can be accessed at this PS News link and the audit team was Tracy Cussen, Christine Preston, Michael Fitzgerald, Hannah Climas and David Brunoro.
