Government Services
Government Services provides policy and operational advice and support to the Premier in relation to constitutional, executive government and machinery-of-government matters.
Government Services ensures a strong, accountable system of government and supports the business before Executive Council, providing high-level constitutional and administration support to the Premier and Cabinet as well as supporting Ministerial Offices and the Office of the Leader of the Opposition. It also managed and coordinated the Anzac Centenary commemoration program that concluded in June 2019.
Key achievements for 2018–19
- Facilitated a two-year extension of the appointment of His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland, including obtaining agreement from Her Majesty the Queen.
- Supported the Governor and Executive Councillors to perform their constitutional duties, including facilitating 47 Executive Council meetings.
- Collaborated with the Australian Electoral Commission for the successful delivery of the writ for the election of Queensland Senators.
- Supported the Queensland Government gender equity targets, in achieving 49 per cent of positions on Queensland Government boards being occupied by women.
- Delivered the final year of the state's Anzac Centenary program including a statewide public art project, choral concerts, other community events, an awareness campaign, illuminations and digital projections.
- Delivered the final rounds of the Queensland Anzac Centenary grants program that highlighted the important role played by Queenslanders in the First World War.
- Worked with Queensland Museum to open the new and permanent Anzac Legacy Gallery at the Queensland Museum following completion of curatorial and exhibition works.
- Finalised the fourth and final stage of the Anzac Square restoration and enhancement project, and delivered event and engagement activities culminating in a commemoration of the centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 2019.
- Commenced implementation of the $1.5 million in grant funding over three years from 2018–19 to 2020–21 to veterans' groups and other organisations for the creation, upkeep and renovation of monuments, memorials and other public sites recognising veterans' achievements and to provide support services to veterans.
- Coordinated and implemented policies to support the government's commitment to veterans.
Our performance
The following service standards in DPC's Service Delivery Statements were used by the department and the government to assess overall performance of the Government Services service area.
| Department of the Premier and Cabinet Service area: Government Services |
Notes | 2018–19 Target/Est. |
2018–19 Actual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service standards | |||
| Effectiveness measure Client satisfaction with support and advice provided by Government Services |
1,2 | 85% | 80% |
| Efficiency measure Cost of Government Services as a percentage of departmental cost |
3 | 8% | 6% |
Notes:
- This service standard informs on overall satisfaction of the service and is derived from an annual client survey. Clients are ministers, chiefs of staff, directors-general and their departments' cabinet legislation and liaison officers and senior policy officers.
- DPC is committed to strong customer satisfaction and sets targets to reflect this commitment. Results may fluctuate due to the contestable nature of much of DPC's work. DPC is committed to continuously improving service delivery and continues to implement strategies to achieve these targets.
- This service standard informs on the overall cost of Government Services as a percentage of the total departmental budget.
Future directions for 2019–20
- Continue to support the government in achieving gender parity on Queensland Government boards by 2020.
- Deliver enhancements to the Queensland Register of Nominees to Government Bodies to provide an online tool for the advertisement of board vacancies and allow members of the public to apply for board positions directly online.
- Establish the Office for Veterans to provide more targeted and coordinated policy making, planning and service provision for veterans.
- Continue to deliver the $1.5 million program over three years from 2018–19 to 2020–21 to provide support services to veterans and to preserve and create memorials, monuments and other public sites that acknowledge veteran achievements.
- Develop, coordinate and implement policies, programs and initiatives that support the government's commitment to veterans.
Case study
Armistice Centenary
On 11 November 2018, Queenslanders paused to remember the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, the historic agreement that led to the end of the First World War.
Through the Queensland Anzac Centenary Program administered by the Anzac Centenary Coordination Unit within DPC, the Queensland Government established a comprehensive commemorative program to mark this historical anniversary.
The suite of Queensland Armistice Centenary Commemorations included illuminations and digital projections, an awareness campaign, choral concerts and other community events, and a public art project, with activities running across October and November 2018.
One of these unique commemorations was the creation of an Armistice Centenary art installation.
Standing at over three metres tall and 16 metres in length, the completed artwork comprised of acrylic letters which spelled 'Remember' filled with thousands of handmade paper poppies.
Each of the paper poppies was handmade by people from across the state in recognition of the 57,705 Queensland soldiers who enlisted in the First World War.
Queenslanders rallied behind the project, which engaged with a vast range of community groups, businesses, clubs and associations and individuals — from Returned and Services League of Australia Sub-Branches, schools, kindergartens and community groups to corrective services, hospitals and convents.
Personalised poppy tributes could also be created online and these beautiful animated poppies were displayed in a digital reflection pool on the Anzac Centenary Queensland website. A selection of digital poppies were displayed alongside the final art installation in Brisbane together with digitalised soldier portraits curated by the State Library of Queensland as part of Q ANZAC 100.
The finished artwork toured to Townsville, Mackay, Longreach and Bundaberg in October 2018, before making its way to Brisbane ahead of Remembrance Day.
Thousands of people visited the completed artwork to honour our Queensland soldiers. It was a fitting tribute to our servicemen who enlisted in the First World War.
Queensland Anzac Centenary
The Queensland Anzac Centenary program officially ended on 28 June 2019, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles: the peace treaty that formally brought an end to the First World War. Over the course of the five-year program, hundreds of initiatives and events were created or held across Queensland to mark the centenary, with a collective investment from the Queensland Government of $49.3 million.
Significant legacies include the opening of the permanent Anzac Legacy Gallery at the Queensland Museum, the final stage of restoration and enhancement works at Anzac Square (including the enhancement of the undercroft galleries with interactive technology) and the completion of the Q ANZAC 100 project.
Case study
Women on government boards
The Toward Gender Parity: Women on Boards Initiative was established as part of a suite of initiatives under the Queensland Women's Strategy 2016–2021 and is led by the Office for Women, Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women.
DPC supports the Office for Women in delivering on the initiative by providing expertise in event delivery, support on appointments to Queensland Government boards and registering interest to serve on a Queensland Government board via the Queensland Register of Nominees.
The intent of the Women on Boards initiative is to achieve greater diversity and representation of women on boards, by expanding the pool of potential female candidates, providing mentoring and support for potential candidates, and facilitating more opportunities for women to be appointed.
The initiative has set gender equity targets for Queensland Government boards to be achieved by 2020:
- 50 per cent of all new appointees to Queensland Government boards to be women
- 50 per cent representation of women on all Queensland Government boards.
As at 30 June 2019, the Queensland Government has made strong progress with 49 per cent of board positions occupied by women. This is an increase from 31 per cent when the gender equity targets were established in 2015. Further, in 2018–19 women represented 52 per cent of all new Queensland Government board appointments.
DPC plays a vital role in the Women on Boards initiative by delivering Inspire and Inform: The Premier's Women on Boards events. The events have been designed to provide a platform for robust discussion on gender equity on boards and aim to encourage non-government boards to set their own targets for gender parity and focus on increasing the representation of women on their own boards.
Three events were delivered in 2018–19, hosting over 950 guests across Brisbane, Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast. At each of these events, a panel of Queensland leaders, including Professor Margaret Sheil AO, Renita Garard OAM, Ms Claire Braund and Associate Professor Eve Fesl OAM, discussed wide-ranging topics including the role for women on boards, the benefits of diversity on boards, how to position yourself to be successful at securing a position on a board, and the steps required to ensure our target is reached.
The events have been a great success by demonstrating a collective commitment to board gender parity, giving board-ready women and decision-makers a unique opportunity to connect, and giving board-ready women the resources they need to pursue upcoming board appointments in Queensland.
The Brisbane and Toowoomba events were also live streamed to audiences across the state who were unable to attend, to further communicate the important messages of gender parity and ensure women in regional areas are empowered with the same information and opportunities.
The Premier's Women on Boards events have been supported by various non-government organisations, tertiary institutions and corporations, demonstrating the support and dedication to unite with government to reach these important targets.