A workshop for Treasury's and DET's Post Implementation Review found that the payment deductions in the first contract were complex and could be limited in a number of ways, potentially proving ineffective in the case of repeated poor performance. Despite this, we found that the payment mechanism in the first contract appeared to be working effectively - although the contract is in its early stages.
We found that the second contract had adopted a simpler scheme, taking into account the lessons learnt from the first contract. The payment deductions in the second contract had also been strengthened, particularly in terms of discouraging continued failures.
We found that DET had learnt from their experience with the payment system and made improvements, but that both systems were workable and suited to their purpose.