Since 1994, Commonwealth departments and agencies have reported on their performance as policy advisor, purchaser, employer, regulator and provider under the Commonwealth Disability Strategy. In 2007–08, reporting on the employer role was transferred to the Australian Public Service Commission’s State of the Service Report and the APS Statistical Bulletin. These reports are available at www.apsc.gov.au. From 2010–11, departments and agencies were no longer required to report on these functions.
The Commonwealth Disability Strategy has been overtaken by a new National Disability Strategy which sets out a ten year national policy framework for improving life for Australians with disability, their families and carers. A high level report to track progress for people with disability at a national level will be produced by the Standing Council on Community, Housing and Disability Services to the Council of Australian Governments and will be available at www.fahcsia.gov.au . The Social Inclusion Measurement and Reporting Strategy agreed by the Government in December 2009 will also include some reporting on disability matters in its regular How Australia is faring report and, if appropriate, in strategic change indicators in agency annual reports. More detail on social inclusion matters can be found at www.socialinclusion.gov.au.
The ability of the NBA to promote ecologically sustainable principles outlined in Section 3A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 are limited but we remain mindful of the potential to ensure that:
These principles are most relevant to our purchasing activities. In 2011–12, further improvements were made within our blood product supply contracts with suppliers’ commitments including:
During 2011–12, the NBA continued to focus on activities aimed at maintaining and improving our environmental performance outcomes, as reflected in the following examples:
While the initiative to move key NBA committees from paper to electronic agenda papers was not implemented in 2011–12, it is anticipated to occur in 2012–13 and is expected to lead to increased efficiencies in meeting and secretariat functions, a substantial decrease in paper usage and an increase in the security of the agenda papers.
We continue to look at further opportunities in our internal operations and in our premises to further minimise our impact on the environment.
In summary, Table A9.1 provides information on the impact our activities have on the natural environment and measures taken and planned to further reduce these impacts.
| Theme | Performance measure | Indicator(s) | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011–12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy efficiency | Total consumption of energy—this includes all energy consumed when undertaking the functions of the agency, such as energy consumed for office buildings and transportation | Amount of electricity purchased/consumed ($/kWh) | 139,701 kWh |
140,900 kWh |
154,160 kWh |
| Amount of gas purchased/consumed ($/MJ) | 0 MJ | 0 MJ | 0 MJ | ||
| Amount of other fuels purchased/consumed ($/kWh/MJ/L) | 2,356 L | 032 | 0 | ||
| Air travel distances (km) | 543,492 km | 825,716 km | 743,949 km | ||
| Total consumption of green energy—this includes the purchase of energy from sustainable resources | Amount of green energy purchased/consumed ($/kWh) during the reporting period | 139,701 kWh | 140,900 kWh | 154,160 kWh | |
| Greenhouse gas emissions | Amount of greenhouse gases produced (tonnes) | 169.3 tonnes | 20.22 tonnes | 0 tonnes | |
| Relative energy uses—this includes the green energy use relative to non-renewable energy use and energy use per employee | Amount of green energy purchased/consumed divided by the amount of electricity/gas/other fuels purchased/consumed |
100% |
100% |
100% |
|
| Amount of total energy purchased/consumed ($/kWh) per employee | 2,910 kWh | 2,818 kWh | 2,964 kWh | ||
| Waste | Total waste production—this includes the green energy waste (i.e.unwanted byproducts) produced undertaking the functions of the agency | Amount of waste produced (tonnes) | Monitoring will be introduced for all waste | 7.64 tonnes | 7.09 tonnes |
| Un-recyclable waste production—this includes all wastes that are not re-used or recycled | Amount of waste going to landfills (tonnes) | 3.69 tonnes | 3.69 tonnes | ||
| Recyclable waste production (excluding office paper) | Amount of waste going to recycling facilities (tonnes) | 1.335 tonnes | 0.486 tonnes | ||
| Paper waste production | Amount of waste paper going to recycling facilities (tonnes) |
2.615 tonnes |
2.918 tonnes |
||
| Amount of paper sourced from recyclable sources (tonnes) | 1.99 tonnes | 2.075 tonnes | |||
| Percentage of paper sourced from recyclable sources (per cent) | 76% | 96% | |||
| Use of renewable/recyclable products | Amount of products sourced from renewable/recyclable sources (tonnes) | 1.99 tonnes | 2.075 tonnes | ||
| Relative waste production | Amount of total waste (tonnes) per employee | 0.15 tonnes | 0.136 tonnes | ||
| Water | Total consumption of water—this includes all water consumed when undertaking the functions of the agency | Amount of water purchased/consumed ($/L) | 680,000 L | 493,000 L | 369,999 L |
| Grey water capture and use—this includes all waste water capture and re-use/recycling | Amount of grey water captured (L) | 0 L | 0 L | 0 L | |
| Amount of grey water recycled (L) | 0 L | 0 L | 0 L | ||
| Amount of grey water re-used(L) | 0 L | 0 L | 0 L | ||
| Rainwater capture and use—this includes all rain water captured and used onsite | Amount of rainwater captured (L) Amount of captured rainwater used (L) | 0 L 0 L |
0 L 0 L |
0 L 0 L |
|
| Relative consumption/use of water—this includes the use of water per employee | Amount of total water use (L) per employee | 14,000 L | 9,680 L | 7,115 L |
Agencies subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) are required to publish information to the public as part of the Information Publication Scheme (IPS). This requirement is in Part II of the FOI Act and has replaced the former requirement to publish a section8 statement in an annual report. Each agency must display on its website a plan showing what information it publishes in accordance with the IPS requirements.
The NBA’s IPS is available at: http://www.nba.gov.au/foi-ips/nba-ips.pdf.
The NBA’s IPS includes: information about the NBA (including the NBA’s organisational structure and statutory appointments); information on what the NBA does (including the NBA’s functions and powers and operational information); details of the NBA’s reports and responses to Parliament; and a disclosure log listing information that can be published resulting from freedom of information requests and any routinely released information arising from such requests. Together with this suite of information, the NBA’s IPS also includes details about the NBA’s consultation arrangements and who to contact in relation to an FOI request or in relation to a query regarding the IPS.
In 2011–2012 the NBA received one request for access to documents and no requests for internal review, under the FOI Act. The NBA was not involved in any Administrative Appeals Tribunal matters in respect of the FOI Act.
The NBA commissioned a work health and safety review in December 2011 in preparation for compliance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 ((the Act) effective January 2012). The positive outcome of this review made recommendations on reporting compliance to meet the obligations under the new Act, which were duly implemented. Following a desktop audit, the NBA’s Health and Safety Management Arrangements (HSMA) were determined to be compliant with section 16(2) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991. Comcare undertook this audit as part of its national proactive campaign on HSMA for Commonwealth agencies.
The NBA’s elected health and safety representative fulfilled the requirements of the Health and Safety Representative Refresher Training course during the year.
The NBA executive reviewed regular monthly work health and safety reports. One reportable incident was logged with Comcare during the year.
Other initiatives that the NBA undertook during the year to maintain our ongoing commitment to a safe and secure workplace included:
The NBA continued its health program to assist staff in maintaining and improving their health (see page 111). The NBA also continued to offer employees allowances for screen-based spectacles, software for assistance in managing keyboard requirements, the provision of hand sanitiser equipment upon entry to our premises, as well as influenza vaccinations to employees and their immediate families.
29 Note that all measures are best estimates only, and are likely to change substantially as measurement capacities improve.
30 Increases mainly due to the number of contractors engaged throughout the year to develop national ICT systems who are not included in employee calculations. Calculations for per employee figures have been based on 52 FTE.
31 There was no amount associated with other fuels purchased/consumed in 2010-11 due to the NBA no longer having a leased car.
32 Increase was due to deployment of national ICT systems throughout Australia requiring travel for trainers, and the intensive consultation phase for clinical guideline development.
33 Electricity fully off-set through 100% green energy purchased and during the year, the NBA off-set 767,757 kms in air travel through the GreenFleet program.
34 Electricity fully off-set through 100% green energy purchased and the NBA off-set 743,949 kms in air travel through the GreenFleet program.
35 The decrease in reported water consumption reflects more accurate measurement of allocation of water of our
joint tenancy.