Accountability and reporting

We're committed to ensuring accountability and transparency in the way we operate and in our procurement activities. We report details on our annual budget, corporate planning and procurement.  

Strategic corporate plan

We develop a strategic plan each year to establish:

  • our strategic objectives
  • key activities we'll undertake to meet them
  • performance measures.

Our plan also includes an analysis of:

  • our operating environment
  • our capability to deliver what we promise
  • a forecast of demand for our services
  • how we'll monitor and manage risk.
Our corporate plan

 

Annual report

Our annual report includes information about financial outcomes and how we performed against our objectives. We produce our annual report at the end of each financial year as part of the Australian Government's Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources portfolio. Past copies of the report appear in the portfolio's annual reports page.

Annual budget statement 

We publish our budget and direction statement in May each year. It outlines what we aim to achieve and the expected performance results for our programs. Our budget statements appear in the Australian Government's Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources portfolio.

Portfolio budget statements

Audit committee and charter

As our accountable authority, the Director General has established our Audit Committee in accordance with section 45 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and section 17 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule).

The Audit Committee Charter lays out our Audit Committee's:

  • objectives
  • authority
  • composition and tenure
  • roles and responsibilities
  • reporting and administrative arrangements.

Annual legal services expenditure

Our total legal services expenditure in the 2022-23 financial year was:

Legal services expenditure

Amount
(AUD) (excl GST)

External services $988,658
Internal services $968,323
Total $1,956,981

Other governance frameworks

Our activities throughout the year are also guided by the following frameworks:

Our customer service charter outlines our commitment to our customers.

Our customer promise

Our cost recovery implementation statement shows how we cover some of the costs of administering IP rights.

The regulator performance framework aims to reduce unnecessary or inefficient regulation. We complete a self assessment against this framework each year.

We publish details of current contracts and expected contract opportunities in the year ahead.

Our procurement contracts

Each financial and calendar year, we compile a list of all active procurement contracts valued at $100,000 or more, in accordance with the Senate Order on listing entity contracts guidelines.

You can find our reports by searching for us on AusTender.

Expected contract opportunities for the next year are set out in our Annual Procurement Plan.

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (the PID Act) encourages and enables public officials to raise suspected wrongdoing within the Commonwealth public sector. It also details how authorities should respond.

Under the PID Act:

  • disclosers are afforded protection from reprisal and some immunity from liability
  • all Australian government agencies, Commonwealth companies and public authorities must investigate suspected wrongdoing and take appropriate action.

If a PID is made, we follow the portfolio procedures under the PID Act.

How do I make a PID?

You can make a report of suspected wrong doing to an authorised officer. Our authorised officers are the Director General and the Deputy Director Generals.

You can do this:

  • in person
  • over the phone
  • in writing, including by email
  • through your supervisor, if you're an IP Australia staff member.

You can also make a public interest disclosure anonymously.

Contact us

If you're considering reporting suspected wrongdoing, you should:

As per section 13 of the Public Service Act 1999, everyone who works at IP Australia Is required to adhere to the APS (Australian public service) Code of Conduct. Suspected breaches will be dealt with as per our procedures for determining breaches of the Code of Conduct and for determining sanction.

Related content

Freedom of information

You can request copies of information held by our agency at anytime. Here's how to make a freedom of information (FOI) request, and the other ways of accessing our documents and historical data.

Our customer promise

As part of our commitment to creating a world-leading IP system, customers are the core of everything we do. Our customer service charter outlines our customer commitment.

Gift register

Our agency heads and staff occasionally accept gifts and benefits while undertaking official duties. To ensure transparency, we document them in a gift register.