Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities

Appendix 5: Freedom of Information

From 1 May 2011 all agencies subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) are required to publish similar information to the public as part of the Information Publication Scheme (IPS). This requirement may be found in Part II of the FOI Act and replaces the former requirement to publish freedom of information in an annual report (previously a section 8 statement).

Procedures for gaining access to information

The department’s agency plan, which shows what information is published in accordance with the IPS requirements, is accessible from the department’s website at: www.environment.gov.au/foi/ips.html.

Information that would previously have been found in the department’s section 8 statement is now found on the department’s website at: www.environment.gov.au/foi/index.html.

Freedom of information matters within the department are handled by the Legal section in the Policy and Communications Division. Contact details for the Freedom of Information Coordinator are:

Phone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Written requests for access to documents should be addressed to:

Freedom of Information Contact Officer
Legal Section
Policy and Communications Division
Department of the Environment
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601

Appendix 6: Corrections to material errors in 2011–12 and 2010–11 annual reports

Table 1 (Consultancy services) of Appendix 5 of the 2010–11 annual report contains an error in the contract price amount (inclusive of GST) of one of the consultants listed:

The company, MA Habermehl Pty Ltd, is listed for: Provision of expert advice on water issues relating to Coal Seam Gas Projects. (Direct selection process; justification—need for independent research or assessment). Payment is shown

as $77 000. The correct amount is $49 500 (GST inclusive).

Table A3 on page 279 of Appendix A: Statistics within the Operation of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 section of the 2011–12 annual report contains an error in the table title:

The table title shown as ‘referrals received in 2010–11’ is incorrect. The correct table title is ‘referrals received in 2011–12’.

Table A4 on page 280 of Appendix A: Statistics within the Operation of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 section of the 2011–12 annual report contains errors:

The table title shown as ‘referrals received in 2010–11’ is incorrect. The correct table title is ‘referrals received in 2011–12’.

The first line of the table in relation to agriculture and forestry is shown as blank for CA and 2 for PM, which is incorrect. The correct number for CA is 2 and the correct number for PM is 0.

Table A8 on page 284 of Appendix A: Statistics within the Operation of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 section of the 2011–12 annual report contains errors in the totals given:

The total in relation to a not controlled action—particular manner is shown as 199. The correct total for a not controlled action—particular manner is 221. The total in relation to a controlled action is shown as 221. The correct total for a controlled action is 291.

Table 6 (Summary of environmental indicators – Darwin/Jabiru (continued)) on page 324 of the 2011–12 annual report contains an error in the water consumption section for total metered potable water use (office, lab and irrigation) under Darwin’s 2011–12 result. The total metered potable water use for Darwin is stated as 3065kL but should be 10 745kL due to inaccurate meter readings that have since been corrected.

Appendix 7: Global Reporting Initiative

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was founded in 1997 and aims to fulfil the need for open, transparent communication about sustainability issues by providing a consistent and credible framework for organisations to report on their economic, environmental and social impacts.

The department is participating in a pilot of sustainability reporting using the GRI framework as a base for reporting. For the purposes of the pilot, GRI indicators have been selected for reporting based on their relevance and applicability in the context of the operations of Australian Government entities. As this is a pilot of sustainability reporting using selected GRI indicators, specific, independent assurance of reporting has not been undertaken. Further information on the GRI indicators is available at: www.globalreporting.org.

Table 6: Departmental reporting on Global Reporting Initiative indicators

(G4) GRI indicator	GRI indicator description	Level of disclosure	Page reference
Strategy and analysis
G4-1	Statement from the most senior decision maker of the organisation about the relevance of sustainability to the organisation and its strategy.	Full	4
Organisational profile
G4-3	Name of organisation.	Full	Front cover
G4-4	Primary brands, products and services.	Full	10
G4-5	Location of organisation’s headquarters.	Full	Inside cover title page
G4-6	Locations of operations.	Full	163
G4-9	Scale of organisation.	Full	11, 186 and 291
G4-10	Total workforce by employment type, employment contract and region, broken down by gender.	Full	163, 186 and 291
G4-11	Percentage of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.	Partial	187
G4-13	Significant changes during the reporting period regarding size, and structure.	Partial	199 and 202
Report profile
G4-28	Reporting period of information provided.	Full	9
G4-30	Reporting cycle.	Full	9
G4-31	Contact point for questions regarding the report or its contents.	Full	3
Identified material aspects and boundaries
G4-18	Process for defining report content.	Partial	465
G4-20	Boundary of the report.	Partial*	2 and 9
G4-21	State any specific limitations on the scope or boundary of the report.	Partial*	2 and 9
Report profile: GRI content index
G4-32	Table identifying the location of the standard disclosures in report.	Full	303
Governance
G4-34 and G4-38	Governance structure of the organisation, including committees under the highest governance body.	Partial	11 and 150
G4-35	Process for delegating authority for economic, environmental and social topics from the highest governance body to senior executives and other employees.	Partial	11 and 150
G4-36	Executive level positions with responsibility for economic, environmental and social topics.	Full	11 and 150
G4-40	Process for determining composition, qualifications and expertise of highest governance body.	Partial	149–151
G4-42	Report the highest governance body’s and senior executives’ roles in the development, approval, and updating of the organisation’s purpose, value or mission statements, strategies, policies, and goals related to economic, environmental and social impacts.	Full	149–151
G4-44	The processes for evaluation of the highest governance body’s performance with respect to governance of economic, environmental and social topics, evaluation type, frequency of performance review, and any actions taken in response to evaluation results.	Partial	149–151
G4-45 and G4-47	The highest governance body’s role in the identification and management of economic, environmental and social impacts, risks and opportunities, whether consultation was used, and the frequency of the highest governance body’s review.	Partial	149–151
G4-46	Report the highest governance body’s role in reviewing the effectiveness of the organisation’s risk management processes for economic, environmental and social topics.	Full	149–153
G4-48	Highest position that formally reviews and approves the organisation’s sustainability report and ensures that all material aspects are covered.	Partial*	11 and 150
Ethics and integrity
G4-56	Organisation’s values, principles, standards and behaviour such as codes of conduct and codes of ethics.	Full	188
G4-57	Internal and external mechanisms for seeking advice on ethical and lawful behaviour, and matters related to organisational integrity, such as help lines or advice lines.	Full	192 and 193
G4-58	Internal and external mechanisms for reporting concerns about unethical or unlawful behaviour, and matters related to organisational integrity.	Full	192 and 193
Economic
G4-EC1	Direct economic value generated and distributed, including revenues, operating costs, employee compensation, donations and other community investments, retained earnings and payments to capital providers and governments.	Full	319–452
G4-EC3	Coverage of an organisations’ defined benefit plan obligations.	Not reported
Human rights
G4-HR2	Total hours of employees training on policies and procedures concerning aspects of human rights that are relevant to operations, including percentage of employees trained.	Not reported
Social—practices and work
G4-LA1	Total number and rates of new employee hires and turnover by age group, gender and region.	Partial	186, 187 and 291–294
G4-LA5	Percentage of total workforce represented in formal joint management–worker health and safety committees that help monitor and advise on work, health and safety programs.	Partial	150 and 295–297
G4-LA6	Type of injury and rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days and absenteeism and total number of work-related fatalities by region and gender.	Partial	295–297
G4-LA10	Programs for skills management and lifelong learning that support the continued employability of employees and assist them in managing career endings.	Partial	185–191
G4-LA11	Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews by gender and by employee category.	Partial	185–191
G4-LA12	Composition of governance bodies and breakdown of employees per employee category according to gender, age group, minority group membership and other indicators of diversity.	Partial	150, 151, 186 and 291–294
Society
G4-SO3	Total number and percentage of operations assessed for risks related to corruption and the significant risks identified.	Not reported
G4-SO4	Communication and training on nti-corruption policies and procedures.	Not reported
Environmental
G4-EN1	Materials used by weight or volume.	Partial	162–184
G4-EN2	Percentage of materials used that are recycled input materials.	Partial	162–184
G4-EN3	Energy consumption within the organisation.	Full	162–184
G4-EN5	Organisation’s energy intensity.	Full	162–184
G4-EN6	Reductions in energy consumption due to conservation and efficiency initiatives.	Partial	162–184
G4-EN8	Total water withdrawal by source.	Full	162–184
G4-EN11	Operational sites owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas.	Partial	84–110
G4-EN12	Description of significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity in protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas.	Partial	84–110
G4-EN13	Habitats protected or restored.	Full	84–110
G4-EN15 and G4-EN16	Direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions.	Full	159–184
G4-EN17	Other indirect greenhouse gas emissions.	Not reported
G4-EN18	Greenhouse gas emissions intensity.	Full	159–184
G4-EN19	Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.	Full	159–184
G4-EN23	Total weight of waste by type and disposal method.	Partial	159–184
G4-EN30	Significant environmental impacts of transporting products and other goods, and transporting members of the workforce.	Partial	159–184

* Indicator is partial because material aspects are not reported on.