Protecting the public interest

Public interest element

Standard

Assessment

Effectiveness

Is the project effective in meeting government objectives?

List government's output/service delivery requirements for the project:

• consider government's output/service delivery requirements in similar projects delivered previously, either under public procurement or another public/private partnership; and

• identify any minimum government standards (in quality or quantity etc.) to be met for each output/service delivery requirement identified above, whether a legislative or policy requirement.

• Which of the output/service delivery requirements identified in the previous column are met by the project?

• How effectively are the requirements met, i.e. what are the mechanisms used to achieve the requirements? Are they fully met, or only partly met?

• What are the deficiencies, i.e. which of the identified requirements, or what part of a particular requirement, does the project not meet and what are the consequences? Can this be addressed?

Accountability and transparency

Do the partnership arrangements ensure that:

• the community can be well-informed about the obligations of government and the private sector partner; and

• that these can be oversighted by the Auditor-General?

• Identify government's current policy on disclosure and transparency during both the bidding and negotiation stages and after contract signing.

• Identify legal disclosure requirements and government obligations, e.g. Freedom of Information Act.

• If there is no policy or there are no legal requirements, identify the disclosure requirements under previous, similar projects.

• Identify Auditor-General's obligations to oversee government/private party obligations. Consider any legal duties the Auditor-General may have (e.g. under specific legislation).

• Consider government's policy on the Auditor-General's role: are there specific compliance requirements/standards under this policy?

• Which of the transparency/disclosure requirements (of a legal or policy nature) identified in the previous column are met by the project?

• How is each requirement met (i.e. what are the mechanisms used to achieve the requirements)? Are they fully met, or only partly met?

• What are the deficiencies? That is, which of the identified requirements - or what part of a particular requirement - may not be met for the length of the project and what are the consequences? Can they be addressed, e.g. through contractual or regulatory means?

Affected individuals and communities

Have those affected been able to contribute effectively at the planning stages, and are their rights protected through fair appeals processes and other conflict resolution mechanisms?

• Identify:

Those individuals/sectors of the community who will be affected by the project; and

how they will be affected.

(The analysis referred to below will assist in this identification process.)

• Conduct:

an appropriate public consultation process;

as appropriate, an environmental impact analysis (consisting of an environmental effects statement. Identify all other requirements under environmental and planning laws and regulations); and

social and regional impact analysis.

• Identify relevant rights of affected individuals and communities:

any legal requirements;

current government policy requirements; and

minimum requirements from previous similar projects.

• Which of the identified individuals/sectors have had some form of involvement in the process? What was their level of involvement? Does it meet the identified legal and policy standards?

• Where the planning stages have not been concluded by government, how does the contract/regulatory regime protect the rights identified in the previous column and/or how does it accommodate the required redress avenues? What are the mechanisms?

• What are the deficiencies? That is, which of the identified requirements (or what part of a particular requirement) does the project not meet and what are the consequences? Can this be addressed, e.g. through contractual or regulatory means?

Equity

Are there adequate arrangements to ensure that disadvantaged groups can effectively use the infrastructure or access the related service?

• Identify disadvantaged groups who will use the infrastructure or access the related service and how they will be using it. (It may be useful to refer to the consultations/analysis conducted previously.)

• Identify any specific rights of the groups identified:

at law (e.g. anti-discrimination laws);

under government policies; and/or

from standards agreed to in previous projects.

• Which of the 'usage' rights (of a legal or policy nature) identified in the previous column are met by the project?

• How is each identified right satisfied, i.e. what are the mechanisms used to provide and protect these rights? Are these rights fully or only partly met?

• What are the deficiencies? That is, which of the identified rights are not provided for or protected for the duration of the project and what are the consequences? Can this be addressed (e.g. through contractual or regulatory means)?

Public access

Are there safeguards that ensure ongoing public access to essential infrastructure?

• Identify what kind of public access is required, i.e. when the public needs access to the infrastructure and to which parts.

• Are there any legal or policy access requirements?

• Which of the identified access requirements are met by the project, (i.e. those of a legal or policy nature, or otherwise identified as being required by the public under the relevant project)?

• How is each identified access requirement satisfied? That is, what are the mechanisms used to provide and protect these access requirements? Are these rights fully or only partly met?

• What are the deficiencies? That is, which identified access requirements are not provided or protected throughout the project and what are the consequences? Can they be addressed (e.g. through contractual or regulatory means)?

Consumer rights

Does the project provide sufficient safeguards for service recipients, particularly those for whom government has a high level of duty of care, and/or the most vulnerable?

• Identify:

those recipients to whom government owes a high level of duty of care (either at law, under government policy or simply on an 'as appropriate' basis); and

those who are most vulnerable. (The consultations/analysis conducted previously will assist in this process.)

• Do any rights or needs of these recipients need to be provided for or protected by government:

at law (consider statutory/regulatory bodies); or

under government policy?

• Identify how previous similar projects protected the recipients identified above.

• Which of the special needs and rights identified in the previous column are met by the project?

• How are each of the identified needs and rights satisfied (i.e. what are the mechanisms used to provide for/protect these requirements)? Are these rights fully met, or are they only partly met?

• What are the deficiencies? i.e. which of the identified needs or rights are not provided for or protected throughout the project and what are the consequences? Can they be addressed (e.g. through contractual or regulatory means)?

Security

Does the project provide assurance that community health and safety will be secured?

• Identify all public health and safety standards that government is required to meet:

at law (e.g. health and safety legislation);

under government policy; or

from government's political accountability to the public.

• Which of the health and safety standards identified does the project meet?

• How is each identified standard satisfied? That is, what are the mechanisms used to protect the public's health and safety to the identified standards? Are these standards fully or only partly met?

• What are the deficiencies? That is, which of the identified standards are not provided for or protected throughout the project and what are the consequences? Can they be addressed, e.g. through contractual or regulatory means?

Privacy

Does the project provide adequate protection of users' rights to privacy?

• Identify the users' rights to privacy (whether at law or otherwise).

• Identify government's obligations to the public:

under law;

under government policy;

from government's political accountability to the public; or

from any other undertaking by government to the public, to protect the rights to privacy identified above.

• Which of the rights identified in the previous column are protected under the project?

• How is each identified right protected? That is, what are the mechanisms used to protect the public's privacy rights and hold government accountable for its obligations?

• What are the deficiencies? That is, which of the identified rights are not provided for or protected throughout the project and what are the consequences? Can they be addressed, e.g. through contractual or regulatory means?