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The Honourable Peter Katsambanis MLC, Member for North Metropolitan Region kicked off the celebrations for the Institute of Public Administration Australia WA’s (IPAA WA) 31st Annual W.S. Lonnie Awards for excellence and accountability in annual reporting, at the Hyatt Regency Perth on Friday 1st of April 2016.

The Awards attracted CEOs, Directors General and Commissioners from across State government agencies and statutory bodies, all hoping to take out the prestigious W.S. Lonnie Memorial Trophy – awarded to the best annual report for the year.

The primary vehicle for accountability in the Public Sector has been and always will be the way agencies report their performance. The W.S. Lonnie Awards recognise the importance of Annual Reports being accountable and transparent in a succinct and independent way. All State agencies are eligible and are automatically considered as part of the judging process.

The WS Lonnie Memorial Trophy

Awarded to the best annual report for the year.

WINNER: State Heritage Office

Judges Comments:
The State Heritage Office’s annual report earned the W.S. Lonnie Memorial Trophy this year. Once more the judges have had regard to a number of areas which are not used as criteria for the Gold, Silver and Bronze awards but which add to the effectiveness of good reporting and benefit the reader of the report. The judges commended the dynamic interaction between form and substance in the report. It demonstrated a clear appreciation of how layout, style and graphics can serve to communicate critical information about performance management and achievement of KPIs. It was an outstanding report.

Margaret McAleer Special Commendation

The award is presented at the discretion of the panel for an outstanding report that, in some respect, establishes a benchmark to which others should aspire.

WINNER: State Heritage Office

Judges Comments: 
The reduction of text volume in favour of excellent infographics and illustrations made light the readers’ task of assimilating and analysing the information presented.

The Allan Skinner Trophy

Awarded to the best annual report in the General Government Sector.

WINNER: Office of the Auditor General

Judges Comments: 
Once more OAG delivered its hallmark evenness across all the judging criteria to produce a high quality report.

The Margaret Nadebaum Trophy

Awarded to the best annual report in the Government Enterprise Sector.

WINNER: Fremantle Port Authority

Judges Comments: 
The Authority’s annual report has become the benchmark in the Government Enterprise Sector for effectiveness of communication with a wide range of stakeholders in addition to the Parliament.

Category 1 – Agencies with < 100 FTEs

Gold: State Heritage Office

Judges Comments:
This report featured excellent layout and was easy to navigate. Intelligent use of infographics conveyed essential information, removing the need for additional text. It contained very good sections dealing with the performance management framework and reporting against KPIs. Careful selection of examples gave a clear indication of the nature of activities and where money was spent.

Silver: Ombudsman Western Australia

Bronze: Commissioner for Children and Young People

Category 2 – Agencies with 101 – 1,000 FTEs

Gold: Office of the Auditor General

Judges Comments:
Considerable thought had been applied to the readability of this report. It read very well on a tablet and was easy to move around. The sections on corporate governance and performance reporting were excellent, the presentation being supported by good use of infographics.

Silver: Landgate

Bronze: Zoological Parks Authority

Category 3 – Agencies with > 1,000 FTEs

Gold: Department of Agriculture and Food

Judges Comments:
This report featured excellent overall presentation with good use of hyperlinks making it easy to navigate. It was consistently excellent across all the judging criteria and the corporate governance section was notable for its fullness and clarity.

Silver: Department of Finance

Bronze: Department of Fire and Emergency Services

Bronze: Main Roads WA

Category 4 – Government Trading Enterprises

Gold: Fremantle Port Authority

Judges Comments:
The report managed to achieve an effective balance between graphics and text, allowing the year to be reported upon in a clear and succinct manner. The report is also to be commended for the depth of analysis applied to the graphic presentation of data. It assumed an intelligent readership. This was an exemplary report.

Silver: Western Australian Treasury Corporation

Bronze: Water Corporation

There are eight additional Specialist Awards for 2016 that are presented on the day, including a new specialist award which was launched this year – The Department of Agriculture and Food AE Gaby VC Memorial Award for Achievement of Objectives Reporting.

Office of the  Auditor General Award for Transparency and Accountability

WINNER: Main Roads WA

Joint Award led by the Department of Commerce for Occupational Safety, Health and Injury Management

WINNER: Department of Transport

Judges Comments:  
The Department Transport’s (Transport) reporting displays commendable work in its approach to safety, health and injury management within its diverse array of workplaces. The agency’s reporting conveys a laudable level of information that goes well beyond the minimum reporting requirements and is well-presented and easy to interpret.

Transport’s reporting demonstrates a strong commitment to workplace safety, health and injury management which is evident in the agencies acknowledgement that the success of OSH and IM activities is reliant upon the active participation of all staff, including those at the executive level. The establishment of an OHS Management Committee that meets regularly, comprised of all of the department’s Executive Directors and General Managers, in addition to the fact that 88 per cent of its management team are now trained in their OSH and IM responsibilities is further evidence of the senior level commitment needed to improve safety, health and injury management practices and outcomes.

Also praiseworthy is Transport’s detailed and transparent reporting of the results of the external audit of its safety management system which detailed not only the positive findings of the audit but also the areas where the Department needs to improve. This open reporting, and its commitment to addressing the areas for improvement, provides a template for other agencies to aspire to when meeting their safety, health and injury management reporting obligations.

SPECIAL COMMENDATIONS: Fremantle Ports Authority and the Department of Mines and Petroleum

State Records Commission Award for Excellence in Compliance Reporting

WINNER: Main Roads WA

Judges Comments:
Main Roads’ annual report statement demonstrates a commitment to maintaining a solid culture of best practice information management. A detailed diagram of the agency’s regulatory environment places the information management program in the context of relevant legislation, Public Sector requirements, and international and Australian standards.

The work undertaken to review recordkeeping programs in the reporting period includes a “health check” of the corporate recordkeeping system and a subsequent upgrade; investigation of future implications in regard to issues such as cloud computing; review of the Retention and Disposal Schedule and Business Classification Scheme; and regular knowledge sharing forums with regional offices and Transport Portfolio partners. These initiatives align with Main Roads’ information technology and strategic plans.

The judging panel was particularly impressed by Main Roads’ description of its training and induction program, which provides relevant information to employees, contractors and consultants alike. Training is available in a range of formats, including online courses, face to face presentations, intranet reference materials and an Annual Records Seminar attended by staff throughout the State.  The report’s statistical overview of training participation illustrates the comprehensive range of training available.

Main Roads Western Australia’s 2014-15 annual report presents an excellent account of the agency’s work to maintain its information management infrastructure and ensure employees have the relevant skills to capture and manage business information.

SPECIAL COMMENDATION: Pilbara Ports Authority

Ombudsman Western Australia Award for Complaints Handling

WINNER: Main Roads WA

CPA Australia Award for Performance Reporting

WINNER: WorkCover WA

Judges Comments:
The WorkCover annual report showcased an example of exceptionally well structured financial reporting. The report was comprehensive in detail, clearly linking government goals to agency outcomes and service delivery. Using a wide range of appropriate efficiency and effectiveness KPIs, the report articulately demonstrated the linkages between rationale, target setting, results and analysis. Finally, a feature of the report was the extensive use of year on year metrics to highlight change.

Public Sector Commission Award for Good Governance

WINNER: State Heritage Office

Judges Comments:
The Department of State Heritage Office’s report demonstrated excellence in reporting of governance processes and activities, combined with high performance in a range of governance activities. The report provided clear overviews of management and operational structures, relationship to Government, their activities in monitoring performance and understanding key risks.

SPECIAL COMMENDATION: Ombudsman Western Australia

Department of Agriculture and Food AE Gaby VC Memorial Award for Achievement of Objectives Reporting

WINNER: Mental Health Commission

Judges Comments:
The Mental Health Commission’s report made it easy for the reader to quickly ascertain, without delving deeply into the report to extract, the organisation’s stated objectives and reason for being. The report was clear in how they achieved these objectives.

SPECIAL COMMENDATION: Office of the Auditor General

Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia Award for Chief Financial Officer of the Year

WINNER: Damon DeNooyer, Insurance Commission of WA

Judges Comments:
Despite operating in a very complex environment, Damon has personally identified and pursued a number of key strategic, innovation and leadership initiatives.

Thank you to the Sponsors of the Specialist Awards. 

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