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Corporate
Management Issues
People
management
Workforce
planning
During
the year the Library established a Workforce Planning Committee,
comprising senior representatives from all divisions, to oversee
future workforce planning initiatives. The following initiatives
were commenced:
- development
of a new performance management framework
- participation
in a graduate recruitment program
- participation
in staff development programs in association with other
Commonwealth agencies, and
- revised
recruitment strategies
Industrial
democracy: Certified and Workplace Agreements
The
Library's Consultative Committee met five times during the
year. The Consultative Committee is a forum for consultation
and discussion between management, staff and unions.
The
Library completed preliminary negotiations with relevant employee
associations under section 170LJ of the Workplace
Relations Act 1996 for a new Certified Agreement for
2002-04. The Agreement will make a significant contribution
to:
- increasing
organisational efficiency and effectiveness
- improving
services to customers
- enhancing
the quality of the working lives of employees, and
- achieving
the objectives and key priorities set out in the Library's
strategic directions statement
Proposed
productivity improvements relate to:
- a
new performance management framework with strengthened links
between individual performance and remuneration
- better
use of office and public space, and
- implementation
of cost efficiencies and operational improvements arising
from an internal benchmarking review

Remuneration
including non-salary benefits
In
accordance with the Principle Executive Office arrangements,
the National Library Council
determines the Director-General's remuneration.
At
30 June, all eight Senior Executive Service (SES) and 44 of
the non-SES staff were covered by Australian Workplace Agreements,
and the remaining 445 staff were covered by the 2000-02 Certified
Agreement.
The
remuneration for SES and non-SES staff covered by an Australian
Workplace Agreement is determined by the Director-General
after consultation between the employee and the respective
Division Head. The salary ranges for classifications below
the SES level are set out below.
| Classification |
Salary
range
|
No.
of employees
|
| APS1 |
00$9303
- $27 204
|
06
|
| APS2 |
$30
787 - $34 141
|
95
|
| APS3 |
$35
067 - $40 461
|
71
|
| APS4 |
$39
083 - $44 500
|
55
|
| APS5 |
$43
592 - $47 055
|
83
|
| APS6 |
$47
082 - $58 000
|
84
|
| Exec.
Level 1 |
$60
216 - $73 000
|
61
|
| Exec.
Level 2 |
$69
401 - $88 846
|
34
|
Staff
also have access to a range of non-salary benefits, including
flexible working hours, uncapped personal leave for caring
purposes, and additional recreation leave for staff required
to work Tuesday to Saturday. In addition, SES staff have an
entitlement to a vehicle and mobile phone.
Fraud
risk assessment and fraud control plan
The
Library has a current Fraud Risk Assessment and Fraud Control
Plan. These were prepared by the internal audit contractor
and endorsed by the Audit Committee
in December. The Library also has in place appropriate fraud
prevention, detection, investigation, reporting and data collection
procedures and processes which, together with the Fraud Risk
Assessment and Fraud Control Plan, meet the specific needs
of the Library and comply with the Commonwealth
Fraud Control Guidelines.

Establishment
and maintenance of appropriate ethical standards
A
new program of fraud awareness training was conducted this
year. The program was based on the Library's Fraud Management
Policy, the Australian
Public Service Code of Conduct, the Australian
Public Service Values, and the Library's Fraud Control
Plan. Arrangements have been made for fraud awareness training
to be continued, with specialised courses being developed
where required.
Disability
Action Plan
The
Library continued its commitment to achieving improved access
to its building and services by people with disabilities as
set out in its Disability
Action Plan, which assists the Library in meeting its
obligations under the Disability
Discrimination Act (Commonwealth) 1992. The plan aims
to ensure that people with a disability are not unfairly disadvantaged
as clients of the Library, or in any aspect of the Library's
employment or working environment.
In
particular, the Library:
- responded
to customer requests to improve the ways it meets the needs
of people with disabilities
- participated
in the Roundtable on Information Access for People with
Print Disabilities
- convened
a Forum on Library Services for People with Disabilities,
to develop a national agenda to improve access to library
services
- held
training sessions for staff, run by the ACT Deafness Resource
Centre, to raise awareness of the needs of people with disabilities
- released
a Web access policy and principles document, which outlines
the Library's commitment to provide access to visually impaired
users
- ensured
the Library's web site allows visually impaired people to
use special software to access the Library's online resources
- reviewed
the Certified Agreement, Staff Selection Guidelines and
Staff Training Program to ensure compliance with the requirements
of the Disability
Discrimination Act (Commonwealth) 1992.
The
Library's Disability
Action Plan 2002-04 is currently under review, and a revised
document will be released during the first quarter of 2002-03.

Workplace
diversity program
At
30 June, 70 per cent of Library staff were female and at least
20 per cent were from a culturally and linguistically diverse
background. The Library contracted seven Indigenous staff
for the Bringing
Them Home Project.
Occupational
Health and Safety
The
Occupational Health and Safety Committee met four times and
discussed a range of issues relating to health and safety
principles and practices. Training in Occupational Health
and Safety was provided to over 100 employees, and individual
workplace assessments were provided for 115 employees by occupational
therapists. The Library also completed an organisation-wide
Occupational Health and Safety hazard identification and risk
assessment.
Asset
management
Asset
Management Committee
In
recognition of the need to achieve ongoing improvement in
the planning and management of assets, the Library established
an Asset Management Committee with the role of monitoring
progress against the Asset Management Strategic Plan 2002-05
and the annual Asset Acquisition and Asset Disposal Plans.
Collection
asset
The
Library's
Collection, valued at $1.520 billion, is the major asset
on which many of the Library's services are based. The high-value
items within the Collection are valued individually, and the
remainder of the collections are valued using sampling techniques.
The Library revalues the Collection every three years.

Land
and buildings
The
Library's land and buildings are valued at $133.22m. The major
components of these assets are managed through the Long-Term
Strategic Management Plan for the Building Asset. The Plan
provides a full condition appraisal and life-cycle cost analysis
of the total building asset and includes a 15-year forward
maintenance program. This Plan is reviewed and updated every
three years.
Plant
and equipment
The
remaining material assets are controlled using an Asset Register.
Total value of plant, equipment and intangible assets is $14.06m.
The Library has adopted an integrated life-cycle management
policy for these assets.
Energy
consumption and environment protection
The
Library continued its efforts in energy consumption and environment
protection, and in keeping with Government policy is currently
implementing an Environmental Management System.
Competitive
tendering and contracting
The
Library continued its program of utilising outsourcing options
in cases where this is demonstrated to be cost-beneficial.
No changes to the functions outsourced occurred during the
year.
Purchasing
policies
The
Library re-examined its procurement policies and practices
in light of the release in February of the Commonwealth Procurement
Guidelines, and has subsequently updated and expanded its
Procurement Guidelines. A series of workshops and briefing
sessions has been conducted on use of the revised Procurement
Guidelines.
All
new contracts for outsourced functions provide the opportunity
for the Auditor-General to have access to the contractor's
premises.
There
were no contracts recorded as exempt from the Purchasing
and Disposal Gazette.

Discretionary
grants
The
Library operates two discretionary grant programs:
The
Library, in cooperation with the Commonwealth Department of
Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, and the
National Archives of Australia, offers Community Heritage
Grants to assist Australian community organisations to preserve
significant documentary heritage collections.
The
Library awards a limited number of fellowships to enable established
scholars and writers to work for periods of three to six months
on material in the Library's collections.
Cooperation
on corporate management issues within the Communications,
Information Technology and the Arts portfolio
The
Library continued to chair the Corporate Management Forum,
comprising senior executives with corporate management responsibilities
from 10 agencies within the Communications, Information Technology
and Arts portfolio, and two other agencies. The forum considers
common issues in the areas of personnel management, financial
management, infrastructure management, corporate planning,
information technology and public programs with a view to
achieving economies-of-scale and best practice.
Some
key outcomes of the Forum include:
- consideration
of options for the provision of shared services
- continuation
of joint management training programs, and
- a
joint approach to fraud control policy and fraud awareness
training
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