Victorian Public Sector Reform 1992 -1999: The Impetus Behind the Transformation
Presented at Accountability Symposium, Accounting Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ) Conference, July 2000, Cairns, Australia.
29 Pages Posted: 5 Apr 2009
Date Written: July 2, 2000
Abstract
With the introduction in the 1998-99 state budget of accrual output-based management (AOM), the state of Victoria in Australia is now at the cutting edge of a global public sector management transformation movement. The fundamental elements of financial management change are a full accrual approach to planning, budgeting, resource allocation decisions and reporting; fully-costed service provision; a focus on the outputs departments provide; and a change in incentives underlying management of total resources available to departments. It is claimed that the 'new' approach will provide competitive pressure on all aspects of government activity; clear choices for government about what it wishes to 'buy' from departments; that price, quality and quantity will 'drive' budget decision-making and result in opportunities for alternate sources of outputs, including private sector provision (DTF, 199'8a).
This paper outlines the comprehensive transformation of the Victorian public sector between 1992 and 1999. The government's public management policies (PMP) were consistently grounded, developed and applied from theories derived from classical economics, and inspired by rhetoric of rationalising public sector performance. The reform program subsequently pursued was based on recommendations of the Victorian Commission of Audit (yCA, 1993a), including (1) the separation of the contracting for services from service delivery and funding for results (outputs and outcomes) as opposed to funding inputs; (2) the replication of competitive and contestable markets in the public sector; and (3) proposals for transforming public sector accounting and accountability technologies. These PMP significantly altered the Victorian public sector.
Keywords: Victorian Public sector, Australia, Financial management, public sector performance, accounting, accountability
JEL Classification: M40, M41, M49, E6
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation