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Members of the Institute of Public Administration Australia WA (IPAA WA) welcomed their Patron, Her Excellency the Honourable Kerry Sanderson AC, Governor of Western Australia to the Hyatt Regency Perth on Thursday 2 March 2017, for the 32nd annual W.S. Lonnie Awards presentation.

Her Excellency provided the introductory remarks, before the Premier’s representative, Mr Tony Krsticevic MLA, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Commerce and Member for Carine opened proceedings. Representatives from agencies and statutory bodies across the WA public sector filled the room to acknowledge excellence and accountability in annual reporting.

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.

Thank you to the Sponsors of the Specialist Awards.

The WS Lonnie Memorial Trophy

Awarded to the best annual report for the year.

WINNER: Main Roads Western Australia

Judges’ Comments:
Main Roads WA aspired to excellence and achieved it across all the judging criteria. The agency’s commitment to the production of a superior annual report is evident in the judges’ selection of it for other awards this year, recognising its innovative use of technology and openness in performance reporting.

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: Main Roads Western Australia

Judges’ Comments:
The judges considered that way in which Main Roads presented its annual report in HTML was innovative and class-leading. It made the report more accessible at low cost to the general public and enabled superior navigation features and infographics to be incorporated.

The Allan Skinner Trophy

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

WINNER: Office of the Auditor General

Judges Comments: 
The OAG consistently demonstrates how an annual report should be prepared to achieve an overall standard of excellence. Some might say that this is to be expected, but repeated excellent performance deserves recognition of the OAG’s commitment, informed by the clarity of understanding of its mission to promote accountability in government agencies and enterprises.

The Margaret Nadebaum Trophy

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

WINNER: Fremantle Port Authority

Judges Comments: 
The Fremantle Port Authority has once again shown that an interesting and accountable report of the activities of a government enterprise can be produced with the combination of succinct reporting and excellent presentation.

Category 1 – Agencies with < 100 FTEs

Gold: State Heritage Office

Judges’ Comments:
The State Heritage Office produced an extremely well-balanced report that rated exceptionally well across all the judging criteria. It featured excellent structure and lay out, and good use of images adapted to a landscape format. In particular, the report presented a very accessible section devoted to the agency’s performance.

Silver: Commissioner for Children and Young People

Judges’ Comments:
This was an excellent report that presented the reader with a clear ‘line-of-sight’ leading from the agency’s goals to its outputs. The lay out was very good and the language was brief yet informative. There was also intelligent use of colours, images and charts and graphs.

Bronze: Office of the Information Commissioner

Judges’ Comments:
This was a very competent report that presented excellent use of electronic aids to enhance readability. Its tables, graphs and illustrations were clear and fit for purpose.

Category 2 – Agencies with 101 – 1,000 FTEs

Gold: Office of the Auditor General

Judges’ Comments: 
The first choice of every judge in Category 2, the OAG’s report was well-rounded in all areas. It featured very good structure and formatting, along with a balanced use of graphs and charts. Its descriptions of the agency’s corporate governance and KPIs were detailed and informative.

Silver: Forest Products Commission

Judges’ Comments: 
This was very good report that offered excellent performance reporting and used electronic aids effectively to assist the reader’s navigation. Its structure, format, and use of images and colour were also excellent.

Bronze: Landgate

Judges’ Comments: 
This was a very good report, being informative and well presented to permit interactive engagement by the reader. It also featured excellent layout and good use of images, colours and graphs.

Bronze: WorkCover WA

Judges’ Comments:
A good report all round, featuring ease of navigation in electronic format and being quite interactive for the reader. The report presented detailed but readable information on governance, risks and complaint handling.

Category 3 – Agencies with > 1,000 FTEs

Gold: Main Roads Western Australia

Judges’ Comments:
The first choice of every judge in Category 3, this report featured excellent performance reporting. The judges were particularly impressed by the report’s candour in presenting aspects of performance that did not meet the agency’s stated expectations. The report’s general lay out and presentation of information were excellent.

Silver: Department of Education

Judges’ Comments:
This report was well structured and clear, presenting a large quantity of interactive content for the user. The report also featured detailed and effective use of graphs and charts.

Bronze: Department of Finance

Judges’ Comments:
A good all round report that presented clear lay out, limited but effective use of graphs and charts, and a detailed and helpful performance report.

Bronze: Department of Fire and Emergency Services

Judges’ Comments:
A well laid out and structured report that was clear and easy to follow. The report demonstrated effective use of the electronic medium.

Category 4 Government Trading Enterprises

Gold: Fremantle Port Authority

Judges’ Comments:
This was a well presented and informative report that fared well under all the judging criteria. It was visually appealing, featuring good use of colour, images, and charts and graphs.

Silver: Western Australian Treasury Corporation

Judges’ Comments:
A well-presented report that featured a high degree of proficiency in its compilation compared to reports of many larger agencies in the other judging categories.

Bronze: Water Corporation

Judges’ Comments:
The Water Corporation delivered a sound and informative 2015-16 annual report.

There are eight Specialist Awards for 2017 that are presented on the day.

Office of the Auditor General Award for Transparency and Accountability

WINNER: Main Roads Western Australia

Judges’ Comments: 
Main Roads WA presented a balanced picture of its performance, identifying areas in which it considered it needed to improve. The judges found this to be refreshing and informative.

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

WINNER: Quadriplegic Centre Board of Management

Judges’ Comments:
The Quadriplegic Centre (the Centre) is a rehabilitative and care facility for people with quadriplegia and paraplegia and is an integral part of the Western Australian health system. In providing its services in one of the heaviest nursing care environments within the State health system the potential and risk of injury for its staff is significant. The Centre’s commitment to ensuring the highest standard of occupational safety and health for all its personnel is borne out by its excellent lost time injury record of only three injuries over the last five years .

The Centre’s safety, health and injury management reporting, while not as extensive as several of the other shortlisted agencies , conveys compelling evidence of its strong commitment to ensuring the safety, health and excellent injury management of its employees.

An example of its commitment to pursuing the highest standards of occupational safety and health for its staff is the regular undertaking of an external audit of its safety, health and injury management systems and processes by the Industrial Foundation of Accident Prevention (IFAP) – a leading workplace safety, health and injury management trainer and auditor. In 2015, in recognition of its excellent safety, health and injury management practices and outcomes, IFAP awarded the Centre with Gold Standard recognition.

The Centre’s strong results and safety and health practices are well supported by an extensive and relevant workplace safety training program provided to all its staff, in addition to a Workplace
Health and Safety Management plan produced yearly which details new and ongoing strategies and objectives to assist the Centre maintain its high standards.

SPECIAL COMMENDATIONS: Department of Transport; Disability Service Commission; Fremantle Port Authority

State Records Commission Award for Excellence in Compliance Reporting

WINNER: Department of Education

Judges’ Comments:
The Department’s annual report statement describes a comprehensive program to monitor and improve organisational compliance with its Recordkeeping Plan: comprising audits across the Department including regional offices; appropriate risk assessments for cloud computing services; training and support for staff; with both mandatory records awareness courses and workshops held throughout the State, involving 700 school administrators and teachers.The judging panel was particularly impressed by the Department’s upgrade of the Recordkeeping System; dedicated training and support programs not only for metropolitan based staff but also those throughout the State; along with advisory services and visits when required.  The training program to encompass school administrators and teachers with a view to increase awareness of best practice recordkeeping and ensure the capture and return of School Archives to the protection of the Department is highly commendable.  This program has so far resulted in 286 schools transferring their permanent value records (archives) for safe custody and preservation.

The Department of Education’s 2015-16 annual report presents an excellent account of the agency’s work to monitor and improve its recordkeeping practices throughout the State.

SPECIAL COMMENDATION: Western Australian Treasury Corporation

The State Records Commission also wishes to extend a high commendation to the Western Australian Treasury Corporation (WATC). Whilst a relatively small agency employing 66 staff, the WATC’s annual report describes an impressive framework of internal compliance audits for reviewing recordkeeping systems and practices; staff surveys; mandatory training; and routine monitoring of the efficiency and effectiveness of systems and practices. Further enhancements involving targeted training for business units and improved components of the induction programs are anticipated as part of the WATC’s commitment to continuous improvement.

Ombudsman Western Australia Award for Complaints Handling

WINNER: WorkCover WA

Judges’ Comments:
In its treatment of complaints handling, Workcover WA serves as an example of best practice that other agencies are encouraged to study and emulate. The judges were impressed by the quality of the agency’s reporting in this area.

CPA Australia Award for Performance Reporting

WINNER: Office of the Auditor General

Judges’ Comments:
The OAG’s annual report presents performance information in a very clear and concise format, covering all key performance areas. Indicators used are relevant to the entity’s stakeholders. Inclusion of important contextual information, benchmarking/comparative data and historical data allows transparency of performance trends and enhanced accountability for performance.

Summary of key outputs (reports) and their impact is useful to the reader and significant issues for the next financial year provides good context around the operating environment as relevant to future performance. The report is very visual. Good for a non-technical type reader. It is user friendly. Trends of various performance outcomes are provided involving five years of performance. Performance and outcome information are provided very systematically. A reader could find these information with less trouble and quickly.

Public Sector Commission Award for Good Governance

WINNER: WorkCover WA

Judges Comments:
WorkCover WA’s report demonstrated excellence in reporting of governance processes, showing clear links between operations and governance activities, also highlighting the entity’s connection to legislation and strong client focus. The report provided relevant information in a straightforward and engaging manner.

SPECIAL COMMENDATION: Department of Transport

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

WINNER: Western Australian Electoral Commission

Judges’ Comments:
The WA electoral commission annual report was a document that clearly outlined, and made it easy for the reader, to understand the organisations mission or reason for being. The report spoke about areas where performance was not up to the desired standard in a forthright manner. It then went on to demonstrate that they have understood and gain knowledge from those performances and have developed a plan to rectify and improve their business.

Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand Award for Chief Financial Officer of the Year

WINNER: Caroline Preuss, The Perth Mint

Judges’ Comments:
The judges commented that Caroline was an “Excellent business performer with numerous achievements across all the assessment criteria.”

They noted her influence in “Redefining strategy with Executive team to expand value chain” and her leardership skills which “Lifted performance of finance team”.

Thank you to the Sponsors of the Specialist Awards.

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