More than 30 diverse community groups attended a roundtable at NSW Parliament House to help develop new measurements on the performance of NSW Government services against key quality of life and wellbeing indicators.
The consultation is running in parallel with a parliamentary inquiry chaired by chair of the Public Accounts Committee Jason Li MP.
The roundtable was focused on listening to key stakeholders to understand their agenda and priorities. Topics discussed included:
- How the NSW Wellbeing Themes, Outcomes and indicators reflect the current priorities of the community and the NSW Government,
- Ensuring that meaningful data is available to Government and the community
- Balancing comprehensive coverage of wellbeing with a clear set of priorities within the Framework.
Released for consultation in the 2024-25 NSW Budget, the Performance & Wellbeing Framework comprises eight wellbeing themes and 28 outcomes.
The themes are Healthy, Skilled, Prosperous, Housed, Secure, Community, Connected and Sustainable. Each theme is matched by outcomes, which cover key government activities and services.
Once implemented, the Framework will strengthen performance reporting in the Budget, better articulate how government policy choices influence outcomes and encourage cross-agency collaboration to deliver improved services.
Input gathered from the workshop will help to refine and improve the Framework, ensuring that it is relevant, robust, and responsive to the changing needs and expectations of the community.
The Framework is based on the principle that what gets measured, gets done.
As the Minns Labor Government works hard to build better services for families, households and businesses across the state, having access to relevant and timely data is important, ensuring the Government is better able to address the big challenges facing the state.
The NSW Government will look to other jurisdictions in the development of the Framework, and collaborate with the Australian Government’s ‘Measuring What Matters’ framework.
The Performance & Wellbeing Framework will replace the previous Liberal-National Government’s Outcomes Statement. With more than 250 outcomes and 700 different performance measures it was only a ‘polite fiction’ which was a nod towards accountability without actually providing it.
The community is also able to provide a submission on the Performance & Wellbeing Framework on the NSW Government’s ‘Have Your Say’ website before Friday 18 October https://www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/performance-and-wellbeing.
Quotes attributable to Treasurer Daniel Mookhey:
“The Performance and Wellbeing Framework is an important tool to drive public accountability and improve efficiency across government.
“We take very seriously the emerging and developing thinking about how governments can make better decisions.
"The public should have a decent appreciation as to why we’re measuring what we’re measuring, and what we consider to be wellbeing.
“We want to be sure that what we say yes to is delivering the change it is intended to deliver.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Finance Courtney Houssos:
“We know that what gets measured, gets done. This is another step forward in the development of our Performance & Wellbeing Framework which will do just that.
“Engaging with the community will be crucial as we finalise the Framework’s measures to help track government investments as we address the major challenges that NSW faces.
“In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, and coming after a particularly disruptive period of the Covid-19 pandemic, bushfires and floods, we need to be sharply focused on measuring the impact of our programs for families and households.
“We want the Framework to be a tool for government, built on a shared vision for a more resilient and inclusive economy that delivers for all.”
List of stakeholders in attendance:
- Advocate for Children and Young People
- AIDS Council of NSW
- Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies
- Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA)
- Australian Hotels Association NSW
- Australian Medical Association (NSW)
- Business NSW
- Clubs NSW
- Committee for Sydney
- Council of Small Business Organisations Australia
- Country Women’s Association of NSW
- Disability Council NSW
- Equality Project
- Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW
- Faith Council NSW
- Homelessness NSW
- Housing Industry Association Limited
- Local Government NSW
- Master Builders Association
- National Council of Women of NSW
- NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations
- NSW Council of the Ageing
- NSW Farmers
- Shelter NSW
- Sport NSW
- Total Environment Centre
- Unions NSW
- Urban Taskforce
- Western Sydney Community Forum
- Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue
- Youth Action NSW
- Youth off the Streets
