Overview
The Report on Government Services (RoGS) provides regular updates on the equity, effectiveness and efficiency of government services in Australia. RoGS contributes to the wellbeing of all Australians by encouraging improvements on the reported government services.
The Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision, which produces the RoGS, was established by the (then) Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 1993 and operates under terms of reference endorsed by COAG in 2010. It comprises representatives from the Commonwealth, state and territory governments. The steering committee, and its working groups, are supported by a secretariat located within the Productivity Commission (PC) as a neutral body that does not represent any jurisdiction.
RoGS includes performance indicators on childcare, education and training, health, justice, emergency management, community services, housing, and homelessness. The report is released annually on the PC website, with a mid‑year data update.
The Performance Reporting Dashboard (the dashboard) was established in June 2017 to provide a single, streamlined source of information on progress towards the (then) COAG’s key commitments. Developed by PM&C and maintained by the PC since July 2017, the dashboard provides a high‑level overview of the performance in achieving key commitments of all Australian governments in priority areas, including performance benchmarks and indicators from national agreements that cover health, school education, housing and homelessness, skills and workforce development, disability and Indigenous reform. It also includes an assessment of progress under a small number of the most significant Commonwealth‑state funding agreements. Data is sourced from a variety of surveys, administrative collections and censuses, with much of the data also published in RoGS.
RoGS was last reviewed in 2009, while the dashboard has not been reviewed since its inception. Over recent years, technological advancements, changes to the federation architecture, updated government priorities (including via new agreements) and developments in the economy and society, including lower productivity growth in recent years as well as the recovery from the impacts of COVID‑19, mean a review to ensure reporting products remain fit for purpose is timely.
As such, National Cabinet has tasked the Council on Federal Financial Relations (CFFR), as part of its existing productivity enhancing agenda, to consider opportunities to streamline and improve these performance reporting arrangements to drive productivity enhancing reform, and provide recommendations to National Cabinet.
Review scope
1. The Review will consider and make recommendations in relation to:
1. 1 the objective and purpose of the performance monitoring;
1. 2 the appropriate areas being covered by the reporting products, with this analysis being informed by recent developments in performance reporting in Australia and overseas;
1. 3 the effectiveness of existing performance measures, as well as investigating the potential for new performance measures and data sources, in supporting analysis of outcomes and efficiency in government services;
1. 4 the extent to which performance monitoring and reporting could be streamlined (including with other performance frameworks) to reduce administrative burden where appropriate, whilst also maximising accountability and transparency;
1. 5 the use, accessibility and timeliness of the reporting products and what actions could be taken to increase their utilisation;
1.6 whether the existing governance arrangements, including the current Terms of Reference remain fit for purpose, given changes to the federation (including National Cabinet replacing COAG and the role of developing and agreeing Commonwealth-State funding agreements being delegated to CFFR); and
1.7 the effectiveness of the current model of engagement with government and use of data in advancing reform.
Process
2. These Terms of Reference for the Review have been agreed by CFFR.
2.1 The Review will be undertaken by a Commonwealth Treasury-based team and include secondees from the PC and/or state and territory governments.
2.2 The review team will consult relevant providers and users of reporting products including Commonwealth agencies, state and territory governments, non‑government and community stakeholders and the Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision and its secretariat.
2.3 The review will commence in early 2024. the review team will report to CFFR, providing CFFR a mid-year update and a final report in December 2024, to enable CFFR to provide an agreed report to National Cabinet in the first quarter of 2025.
2.4 The final report will include separate recommendations in relation to RoGS and dashboards in addition to any overarching findings and recommendations.