Implementation Over future years the public sector will From 2015-17, Commonwealth entities will reduce in size and the Government will apply contestability and competition in a increasingly expect the public sector to phased programme of Portfolio Stocktakes, source the best alternative approaches from Contestability Reviews and Functional and external providers. Accordingly, the public Efficiency Reviews. sector is in the process of transitioning from assess government its traditional role as the ‘provider’ and Portfolio Stocktakes – functions across a portfolio at a high level ‘owner’ of government functions to more of and seek to identify the functions with the a ‘co-designer’ and ‘enabler/funder’ of greatest potential to be delivered through alternative provider models. The goal is to alternative means. ensure that the public sector is as big as it needs to be, but as small as it can be. are initiated by Contestability Reviews – the Finance Minister and responsible Transforming the public sector Minister to consider in detail how identified Currently In future functions could best be delivered through Government Increasingly users alternative means. chooses solutions will co-design Functional and Efficiency Reviews – are solutions commissioned by the Government to consider Provider Enabling funder the role of the entity and its alignment with Government priorities, its programmes, Siloed delivery Collaborative/ functions, outcomes, purpose and expenditure networked delivery to identify operational improvements and Contract manager Relationship other efficiencies. manager Over the next two years, the results of the Programme Outcome Portfolio Stocktakes and Contestability and managers focused managers Functional and Efficiency Reviews will on outputs provide the public sector and government with a robust evidence-base to inform and This transition enables the Government and guide its decision making. public sector to be more nimble in the way Outcomes public resources are allocated and aligned to meet the current and future needs of the Introducing contestability (and competition) Australian community. as a core operational principle in the Commonwealth public sector is a means of For more information about the pursuing three worthwhile benefits: Contestability Programme Contestability requires each public sector entity to identify, assess and W: provide a clear definition of the functions E: it provides to government T: 02 6215 2991 Competition creates opportunities for other suppliers to have greater influence and involvement in the design and delivery of government functions Combined, contestability and competition provides a strong incentive to public sector entities to pursue performance improvements through streamlining their operations and adopting productive innovations in the way they work and the role they perform.
Implementation From 2015-17, Commonwealth entities will apply contestability and competition in a phased programme of Portfolio Stocktakes, Contestability Reviews and Functional and Efficiency Reviews. Portfolio Stocktakes – assess government functions across a portfolio at a high level and seek to identify the functions with the greatest potential to be delivered through alternative means. Contestability Reviews – are initiated by the Finance Minister and responsible Minister to consider in detail how identified functions could best be delivered through alternative means. Functional and Efficiency Reviews – are commissioned by the Government to consider the role of the entity and its alignment with Government priorities, its programmes, functions, outcomes, purpose and expenditure to identify operational improvements and other efficiencies. Over the next two years, the results of the Portfolio Stocktakes and Contestability and Functional and Efficiency Reviews will provide the public sector and government with a robust evidence-base to inform and guide its decision making. Outcomes Introducing contestability (and competition) as a core operational principle in the Commonwealth public sector is a means of pursuing three worthwhile benefits: Contestability requires each public sector entity to identify, assess and provide a clear definition of the functions it provides to government Competition creates opportunities for other suppliers to have greater influence and involvement in the design and delivery of government functions Combined, contestability and competition provides a strong incentive to public sector entities to pursue performance improvements through streamlining their operations and adopting productive innovations in the way they work and the role they perform. Over future years the public sector will reduce in size and the Government will increasingly expect the public sector to source the best alternative approaches from external providers. Accordingly, the public sector is in the process of transitioning from its traditional role as the ‘provider’ and ‘owner’ of government functions to more of a ‘co-designer’ and ‘enabler/funder’ of alternative provider models. The goal is to ensure that the public sector is as big as it needs to be, but as small as it can be. Transforming the public sector Currently In future Government chooses solutions Increasingly users will co-design solutions Provider Enabling funder Siloed delivery Collaborative/ networked delivery Contract manager Relationship manager Programme managers focused on outputs Outcome managers This transition enables the Government and public sector to be more nimble in the way public resources are allocated and aligned to meet the current and future needs of the Australian community. For more information about the Contestability Programme W: E: T: 02 6215 2991
fact-sheet-smaller-government.docx