Depending on the nature of the project, the contract director may receive a number of reports from the private party, and produce considerable additional information through other monitoring mechanisms. The contract director therefore needs to carefully consider how information should be communicated to senior management of the government party. Best practice entails that internal reports are produced in an 'exceptions' format, identifying any issues of significance. They should be signed-off by the contract director regardless of whether a reportable event has taken place or is emerging. Internal reporting is important to maintain ongoing accountability and focus on scanning the contract management environment.
The suggested structure and contents of these reports is detailed in Templates G and H.
These reports can be:
• regular reports - ideally these reports are aligned with the project's performance reporting and monthly/quarterly payment cycle, and focus on the short-term performance of the private sector service provider (including elements such as key performance indicators (KPIs), recent performance trends and payments); and
• annual reports - these reports should focus on the broader contractual matters, including strategic performance and benefit realisation of the project, the health of the private sector party and the status of its ongoing relationship with the State.
Additional guidance on reporting is provided in the contract management templates and appendixes on the DTF website <http://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/Infrastructure-Delivery/Public-private-partnerships/Policy-guidelines-and-templates>. A range of issues to consider in developing a reporting regime is provided in (Annexure C), and templates are provided for reporting during the construction phase (Template G) and the service delivery phase (Template H).