Corporate governance
On 1 July 2006, AIFS became an agency operating under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) agency. Consistent with the Strategic Plan 2009-12, the focus will continue to be on effective implementation and maintenance of high standards of corporate governance and accountability, including FMA Act compliance.
A “Statement of Expectations” and “Statement of Intent” between the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and the AIFS Director were developed and signed in June 2009 for the following three years.
In addition, in June 2009 the AIFS Director and Secretary of PM&C renewed the MoU that enables the Institute to undertake a range of projects for the Department for a further three years.
A communication protocol is also in place that facilitates the communication of information between AIFS and PM&C. This enables the timely communication of high-quality advice to the Prime Minister from and regarding AIFS.
Parliamentary Secretary
Parliamentary Secretary, the Hon Anthony Byrne MP, takes ministerial responsibility for the Institute of behalf of the Prime Minister and the Australian Government.
Director and Head of Agency
Alan Hayes is the Institute’s Director, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Agency for the purposes of the Public Service Act 1999.
Advisory Council
The AIFS Advisory Council is appointed by the portfolio Minister to provide advice to the Director about the Institute’s strategic research directions.
Role
To provide specialist advice to the Director in relation to:
- strategic directions for Institute research;
- any significant proposed changes to the research program;
- key performance indicators for the Institute's research activities; and
- the development of future strategic and research plans.
Members of the Advisory Council are appointed for three-year terms by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.
Council members as at 1 July 2010
Reverend the Honourable Professor Brian Howe AO (Chair)
Centre for Public Policy, School of Social and Political Sciences, The University of Melbourne
Ms Muriel Bamblett AM
Chief Executive Officer
Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency
Ms Liza Carroll
Deputy Secretary
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Professor Bruce Chapman
Professor, Public Policy, Crawford School of Economics and Government, ANU
Professor John Dewar
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Global Relations), The University of Melbourne
Ms Marie Leech
Principal, Sancta Sophia College
Professor Paul Smyth
General Manager for Social Action and Research, Brotherhood of St Laurence
Mr Ben Rimmer
Deputy Secretary, Strategic Policy and Implementation Group, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Ethics Committee
The committee is registered with the Australian Health Ethics Committee, a subcommittee of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Role
- To ensure that the ethical standards outlined in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans, and elaborated in the Institute's ethics statement, Ethical Issues in the Research Process (1996), are met in all research projects undertaken by the Institute.
- To ensure that projects meet the three key principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice, as set down in the National Statement.
The committee meets to consider:
- new project proposals;
- receive brief oral and written reports on ongoing projects;
- consider any complaints or problems that may have arisen regarding ethical issues in Institute research; and
- review the complaints procedures.
Members are appointed for three-year terms by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.
Committee members
Dr Duncan Ironmonger (Chair)
BCom, MCom (Melb); PhD (Cambridge); Department of Economics, University
of Melbourne
Dr Trevor Batrouney
BA, BEd (Melb); MEd, PhD (Monash); Adjunct Professor RMIT University
Sr Dr Carol Hogan
BA (Melb); BTheol, PhD (Melbourne College of Divinity)
Professor Richard Ingleby
MA, DPhil (Oxford); LLM (Cambridge); Latham Chambers, Faculty of Business
and Law, Deakin University
Ms Helen Glezer
BA (Hons) (Melb); MA (La Trobe)
Ms Rosalie Pattenden
BSc (Hons Psych) (Monash); Accredited Marriage Counsellor, Relationships
Australia, Victoria Inc.; LACST; Centacare Melbourne
Dr Kerreen Reiger
BA Hons (Melb); PhD (La Trobe); Department of Sociology, La Trobe University
Dr Sarah Wise
BA(Hons) (Melb); MA (Melb); PhD (Melb)
Risk Assessment and Audit Committee (RAAC)
The Risk Assessment and Audit Committee (RAAC) ensures effective and efficient use of public resources by reviewing the performance and operation of the Institute’s internal controls and performance management systems.
The RAAC reports directly to the Director and is chaired by an external member.
The committee met four times during 2008–09, addressing a range of issues including approval of budgets, Portfolio Budget Statements, mid-year budget reviews, internal and external audit processes, FMA Act compliance reviews, and end-of-year financial audits.
Role
The committee:
- plays a key role in the Institute’s Corporate governance;
- helps ensure effective and efficient use of resources by reviewing the performance and operations of internal controls and performance management systems;
- approves the Institute’s internal audit program and advises the executive on risk, fraud, compliance and performance; and
- provides assurance to the Director on preparing and reviewing financial statements.
Membership
Includes the two Deputy Directors and two independent members external to the Institute.
Committee members
Ms Denise Swift PSM (Chair)
Mr Dennis Mihelyi (Member)
Director, Corporate Services, Australian Industrial Registry
Ms Sue Tait (Member)
Deputy Director (Corporate and Strategy), AIFS
Dr Matthew Gray (Member)
Deputy Director (Research), AIFS
Alan Hayes (Observer)
Director, AIFS
Ms Susan Leong (Observer)
Chief Finance Officer, AIFS
Internal Auditors, PKF (Observers)