The Minns Labor Government has moved closer to including the Performance & Wellbeing Framework in the NSW Budget.

This progress follows a consultation with key stakeholders.

More than 30 diverse community groups attended a roundtable at NSW Parliament House to help develop new measurements for the performance of NSW government services against key quality of life and wellbeing indicators.

Jason Li MP, the chair of the Public Accounts Committee, is chairing a parliamentary inquiry concurrently with the consultation.

The roundtable was focused on listening to key stakeholders to understand their agenda and priorities. Topics discussed included:

• 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 the government and the community
• The framework strikes a balance between providing comprehensive coverage of wellbeing and establishing a clear set of priorities.

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. The outcomes, covering key government activities and services, match each theme.

“The Performance and Wellbeing Framework is an important tool to drive public accountability and improve efficiency across government,” commented Treasurer Daniel Mookhey. “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,” added Mookhey.

“We want to be sure that what we say yes to is delivering the change it is intended to deliver.”

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 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.

“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,” said Minister for Finance Courtney Houssos.

“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 programmes 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,” she concluded.

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’ that was a nod towards accountability without actually providing it.

Justin Lance Marcel Lavadia

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Justin Lavadia is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum with a diverse writing background spanning various niches and formats. With a wealth of experience, he brings clarity and concise communication to digital content. His expertise lies in crafting engaging content and delivering impactful narratives that resonate with readers.

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