Performance Reporting

In this section:

Outcome 1 An integrated social support system
Outcome 2 Greater self-reliance and engagement for those in need through shared responsibility, practical support and help with housing
Outcome 3 Seniors, people with disabilities, carers, youth and women are supported, recognised and encouraged to participate in the community
Outcome 4 Families and children have choices and opportunities
Outcome 5 Strong and resilient communities
Outcome 6 Innovative whole-of-government policy on Indigenous affairs

Outcome 1: An integrated social support system

Services and assistance that promote a forward-looking social support system based on sound policy, effective social coalitions and partnerships, and help to build the capacity and well-being of individuals, families and communities.

Description

Outcome 1 reflects the lead role FaCSIA plays within government to oversee and maintain an integrated social support system. The system acknowledges and supports the importance of income support and services in providing for the well-being of Australians, their families and their communities. The department:

oversees the Social Security Act and ensures its integrity across agencies
undertakes and funds significant research that contributes to our understanding of the social policy environment and provides support for policy development
manages and maintains social policy data and data products required to monitor and evaluate programs and to support policy development for an integrated social support system
supports ongoing liaison with national and international agencies such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Social Security Association
funds and supports national peak bodies.

Figure 2.1 | Outputs contributing to Outcome 1

Table 2.1 | Financial and staffing resources summary
Outcome 1: An integrated social support system	(A) Budget a 2005–06 $’000	(B) Actual 2005–06 $’000	Variation (column B minus column A) $’000	Budget b 2006–07 $’000
Administered expenses (including third party outputs) Items applicable across Outcome 1
National Secretariats	2,118	2,097	- 21	2,129
Payments to universities and other organisations for special studies and research	1,173	1,084	- 89	2,716
Payments under s.33 of the FMA Act 1997	400	277	- 123	170
Total administered expenses	3,691	3,458	- 233	5,015
Output Group 1.1 Support for today	17,476	17,919	443	20,728
Output Group 1.2 Preparing for the future	22,072	22,632	560	26,179
Appropriations applicable across Outcome 1
Policy services & program management	-	-	-	-
Service delivery (FaCSIA)	-	-	-	-
Service delivery (Centrelink)	-	-	-	-
Service delivery (Other)	1,268	1,297	29	1,296
Revenue from other sources	121	136	15	514
Total price of departmental outputs	40,937	41,984	1,047	48,717
TOTAL FOR OuTCOME 1 (Administered expenses and price of departmental outputs)	44,628	45,442	814	53,732
Staffing Years (Number)			2005–06	2006–07
FaCSIA (including the Social Security Appeals Tribunal)			274	287

a Final estimates have been used for administered annual appropriations, administered special appropriations and departmental annual appropriations, restated in the six outcome structure used for Financial Statement reporting in 2005–06.

b 2006–07 Budget prior to additional estimates–figures have been restated from the four outcome reporting structure used in the 2006–07 PBS to the six-outcome structure used for Financial Statement reporting 2005–06.

Key strategies

The key strategies for strengthening social support capabilities are:

managing longitudinal surveys to produce high quality data to support future policy and program needs
managing FaCSIA research, relationships and activities to deliver timely, high quality research to support policy development and advice
promoting the use of FaCSIA research and evaluation by internal and external stakeholders
promoting research that informs whole-of-government responsibilities for Indigenous affairs, women and youth
building program evaluation capability to produce high quality and useful evaluation information to improve policy and program development.

Performance highlights and policy outlook

Key achievements included:

coordinating the Australian Government's response to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee Report – Poverty and Financial Hardship. The Australian Government lodged this response on 7 March 2006.
progressing and advancing various stages and phases of longitudinal studies – for details of specific progress refer to Output Group 1.2.

Work is required to:

continue strong partnership relationships with research institutions and ensure their understanding of FaCSIA policies, programs and priorities
support the use of quantitative methodologies for research and evaluation proposals, especially in relation to the use of longitudinal surveys
continue to promote the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) to the social research community to use new waves of data as they become available.

Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements

Stronger Families and Communities Strategy – additional funding for the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC)

LSAC was originally funded $20.2 million over 12 years for four waves of data collection based on telephone interviews followed by a face-to-face interview.

At the 2005–06 Additional Estimates, the government provided an additional $10.6 million to LSAC from 2005–06 to 2010–11.

LSAC is funded for a total of $30.8 million to complete four waves of data collection until 2010–11. Additional funding for LSAC in 2005–06 has been used to implement the collection of second wave data using the Australian Bureau of Statistics as a data collector for the first time.

Evaluation

Research activities undertaken in Outcome 1 contributed to evaluations under other outcomes.

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