Theagencies of theGovernment of Victoria in Australia are collectively described as the Victorianpublic sector. By convention, and similarly to other jurisdictions withWestminster systems of government, the public sector is organised into thepublic service andpublic entities. The public sector is also collectively known as themachinery of government. In Victoria, the public sector is defined by thePublic Administration Act 2004.
The Victorian public service is composed of tendepartments, the head of each being asecretary. Each department can consist of a number of portfolios, each of which is the direct responsibility of aminister, who collectively form theministry. A number of other bodies perform specific roles within the public service. For example, the Victorian Public Sector Commission oversees and reports on the public sector as a whole; Administrative Offices established in relation to departments and undertake clearly defined tasks while reporting directly to the secretary and the responsible Minister; and various other bodies which are described inlegislation as public service employers.
Public entities are formed in various ways: they may bestatutory authorities, formed by legislative instruments which define their role and purpose;state-owned enterprises with a commercial purpose; or other advisory bodies performing a public function. Public entities are granted varying degrees of autonomy but are ultimately responsible to the relevant minister. For that purpose, each is assigned to the portfolio of the department supporting the minister. Departments, therefore, are responsible for both the public service bodies and public entities which fall within their purview.
Transfers of responsibility between public sector bodies, and the creation or abolition of these bodies, are known as machinery of government changes. ThePublic Administration Act provides the mechanisms by which such changes are made.
All public hospitals in Victoria are operated by boards responsible to the Department of Health. For a list of hospitals, seeList of hospitals in Australia § Victoria
A small number of agencies are constitutionally or statutorily independent of the government and are directly responsible to theParliament of Victoria and its officers.
Parliamentary Budget Office of Victoria
This article incorporatestext by the State of Victoria (Victorian Public Sector Commission) available under theCC BY 4.0 license.
