DEPARTMENT FOR ENERGY AND MINING
11 Waymouth Street, Adelaide
GPO Box 320, Adelaide SA 5000
http://www.energymining.sa.gov.au
Contact phone number:08 8463 3000
Contact email:DEM.OCE@sa.gov.au
ISSN:2652 7553
Date presented to Minister: 30 September 2020
To:
Honourable Dan van Holst Pellekaan MP
Minister for Energy and Mining
This annual report will be presented to Parliament to meet the statutory reporting requirements of Public Sector Act 2009 (Part 3, s 12) and the Public Sector Regulations 2010 (Part 2, reg 7) and the requirements of Premier and Cabinet Circular PC013 Annual Reporting Requirements.
This report is verified to be accurate for the purposes of annual reporting to the Parliament of South Australia.
Submitted on behalf of the Department for Energy and Mining by:
Dr Paul Heithersay PSM
Chief Executive
30 September 2020
From the Chief Executive
The second year of the new Department for Energy and Mining has been challenging as our sectors faced local bushfires, a worldwide pandemic, an oil price slump and a global economic slowdown. The past 12 months have been rewarding too, not just in the resilience displayed to address these challenges but also the agency's capacity to continue to develop and implement innovative policies and initiatives across the energy and resources sector. Throughout the year, the agency has risen to the occasion to deliver important projects for the people of South Australia.
The agency has led the roll out of the Accelerated Discovery Initiative to support collaborative exploration programs, partnered with Unearthed for ExploreSA: The Gawler Challenge, an international open source competition to analyse the state’s vast store of geoscientific data, and attracted a Core Innovation Hub to establish a presence at Lot Fourteen and Tonsley Innovation Precinct. The agency has progressed South Australia’s Hydrogen Action Plan and continued to manage the Home Battery Scheme, South Australia’s Virtual Power Plant and Grid Scale Storage Fund.
Both the Olympic Dam and Carrapateena copper–gold mine expansions are making their way through assessment or evaluation phases and the Jacinth-Ambrosia heavy mineral sands mine has expanded within the Eucla Basin. PACE Gas has also unlocked new supplies of natural gas and has supported a renaissance in the Otway Basin. South Australia’s Energy Solution tackles the challenges created by the state having almost four gigawatts of power generated by renewable sources including broad penetration of distributed energy resources such as solar photovoltaics. The past year has also set a foundation for developing South Australia’s Electric Vehicle Action Plan. The continued success of all of these programs and initiatives will be fundamental in contributing to the sought after post-COVID-19 economic recovery in the year ahead.
The agency has sought to create a culture that can enable us to achieve the strategic vision of becoming the best government department in Australia. Through workshops and toolkits, the agency has embedded high performance behaviours into our day-to-day activities.
This culture helped the agency to respond rapidly to the pandemic containment requirements, developing a strategy for working from home that allowed the agency to transfer much of its workload to an online environment. The agency has now put into operation a return to the office strategy to allow staff to return to a safe and healthy workplace that embraces the new norms for social distancing, good hygiene practices and contact tracing.
Similarly, the agency continues to adapt to the new online business environment by shifting some of its application assessment processes to web-based applications. The agency has also expanded its social media platforms to improve its ability to inform the public and industry stakeholders in a timely and responsive manner. This included the introduction of a Chief Executive Update to industry to provide timely information about COVID-19 directions that affected both energy and mining businesses, their employees and suppliers. The agency has also updated its complaints handling and feedback and disclosure policies to ensure we remain responsive to the South Australian community’s expectations of high levels of transparency.
Dr Paul Heithersay
Chief Executive
Department for Energy and Mining
Contents
- Performance at a glance
- Agency contribution to whole of government objectives
- Agency-specific objectives and performance
- Corporate performance summary
- Employment opportunity programs
- Agency performance management and development systems
- Work health, safety and return to work programs
- Executive employment in the agency
- Financial performance at a glance
- Consultants disclosure
- Contractors disclosure
- Contractors with a contract value below $10,000
- Contractors with a contract value above $10,000
- Risk and audit at a glance
- Fraud detected in the agency
- Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud
- Public interest disclosure
Reporting required under any other Act or regulation
Appendix: Audited financial statements 2019-20 - refer to page 40 onwards in the PDF version of the Annual Report (PDF 1.9 MB)
Overview: about the agency
Our strategic focus
| Our purpose | We exist to deliver affordable, reliable and secure energy supplies in a transitioning national energy market, and to unlock responsibly the value and opportunities offered by South Australia’s mineral and energy resources. |
| Our vision | Our vision is to be the best government agency in Australia. |
| Our values | Our culture is diverse, professional, accountable, respectful and committed to safety. We demonstrate personal and professional leadership and value recognition as leaders in our field. We engage meaningfully so our work builds a successful, sustainable future for all South Australians. We deliver the best outcomes for all South Australians. |
| Our functions, objectives and deliverables |
|
Our organisational structure
Changes to the agency
During 2019–20 there were no changes to the agency's structure and objectives as a result of internal reviews or machinery of government changes.
Our Minister
The Honourable Dan van Holst Pellekaan MP is the South Australian Minister for Energy and Mining.
Minister van Holst Pellekaan was elected to Parliament as the Member for Stuart in 2010. He was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet in 2011 and has held the Energy and Mining portfolio since June 2014. After his re-election at the 2018 State Election, he was sworn in as Minister for Energy and Mining in the Marshall Liberal Government.
Minister van Holst Pellekaan was educated at the Maret School in Washington DC and the University of Toronto in Canada. He began his working life as a labourer and construction worker before playing four seasons in the National Basketball League and at the same time gaining a Bachelor of Economics. He then spent 10 years with BP Australia before becoming a shareholder and operator of Outback roadhouses in South Australia for seven years. Immediately before entering Parliament, he spent three years developing cycle tourism in the southern Flinders Ranges.
Minister van Holst Pellekaan’s electorate of Stuart extends from Kapunda at its southern end, north to the Northern Territory border and east to the Queensland and New South Wales borders. It encompasses the Mid North agricultural region, all of the Flinders Ranges, the vast pastoral region of the Far North and the Cooper Basin oil and gas fields. The regional city of Port Augusta within the Upper Spencer Gulf is the electorate’s main population centre.
During his second year as Minister for Energy and Mining, he has shaped South Australia into a global leader in energy storage and encouraged the orderly expansion of renewable energy generation as part of an objective to transition the state into a net exporter of renewable energy. This transition will enable the state to progress toward the aim of being a 100 per cent net generator of renewable energy by the 2030s and providing consumers with more choice and control over their energy use. Energy and mining have been identified as one of nine priority sectors to support Growth State – our plan for prosperity with South Australia expanding its production of key commodities such as copper to supply growing global demand.
Our Executive team
Dr Paul Heithersay, Chief Executive of the Department for Energy and Mining, joined the South Australian public service in 2002 where he has held several senior executive roles. He was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2012 for his outstanding public service to the growth and development of the mineral resources sector. Before joining the public service, Dr Heithersay spent more than 20 years in the resources industry in Australia, Southeast Asia and China. In 2013, Dr Heithersay was awarded the prestigious Legend in Mining award for his role in guiding South Australia’s transformation into a major destination for investment in mineral resources and energy.
Natalie Atkinson, Acting Executive Director, Clean Energy Transition, is responsible for major clean energy project delivery and the development of low carbon industries, providing opportunities to new and existing suppliers and supporting the creation of new and sustainable jobs in the state. Key initiatives include the Home Battery Scheme, Grid Scale Storage Fund, South Australia’s Virtual Power Plant, Renewable Technology Fund and development of Hydrogen and Electric Vehicle Action Plans.
Alexandra Blood, Executive Director, Mineral Resources, is responsible for the provision of geoscientific data and information to support investment
in mineral exploration, and for the administration and regulation of mining and mineral exploration.
Alex's team develops policies to build on the state’s reputation for innovation in exploration, epitomised by the Accelerated Discovery Initiative, the South Australian Resources Information Gateway (SARIG), the South Australia Drill Core Reference Library, Stronger Partners, Stronger Futures, ExploreSA: The Gawler Challenge and Core Innovation Hub.
Peter Bradshaw, Director Resources Infrastructure and Investment Task Force, which is responsible for facilitating some of the state’s most significant transformation projects. These include Nyrstar’s Port Pirie Transformation, the Steel Task Force and longer-term strategic and transformative projects such as the transition of the Mintabie and Leight Creek townships.
Julianne Cirson, Director Corporate Services, has led the smooth transition to the new agency. As we continue to establish key priorities including implementing organisational governance, managing Service Level Agreements for Corporate Services, modernising service delivery in response to budget savings tasks, developing and embedding the High Performing Behaviours Framework, and reviewing and implementing systems and processes to improve efficiencies.
Vince Duffy, Executive Director, Energy and Technical Regulation, is at the forefront of leading and developing responses to the many challenges faced by the state during the ongoing transition in the national energy market. Vince's team is also home to the Office of the Technical Regulator, which plays an essential role in maitaining safety in the electrical plumbing and gas industries.
Barry Goldstein, Executive Director, Energy Resources, is focused on the development of leading practice regulation, the direction of research and investment attraction for petroleum, geothermal energy and greenhouse gas storage. Before joining the SA Public Service, Barry had more than 30 years international experience in the energy business.
He is a recipient of a Public Service Medal and a Lewis G Weeks medal for outstanding contribution to petroleum exploration.
Legislation administered by the agency
Australian Energy Market Commission Establishment Act 2004
Broken Hill Proprietary Company’s Indenture Act 1937
Cooper Basin (Ratification) Act 1975 Electricity Act 1996
Electricity Trust of South Australia (Torrens Island Power Station) Act 1962
Energy Products (Safety and Efficiency) Act 2000
Gas Act 1997
Mines and Works Inspection Act 1920
Mining Act 1971
National Electricity (South Australia) Act 1996
National Energy Retail Law (South Australia) Act 2011
National Gas (South Australia) Act 2008
Natural Gas Authority Act 1967 Offshore Minerals Act 2000
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006
Opal Mining Act 1995
Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982 Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000
Port Pirie Smelting Facility (Lead-In-Air Concentrations) Act 2013
Roxby Downs Indenture Ratification Act 1982
Stony Point (Liquids Project) Ratification Act 1981
Whyalla Steelworks Act 1958
The agency’s performance
Performance at a glance
In 2019–20, the Department for Energy and Mining designed and implemented the Accelerated Discovery Initiative, partnered with Unearthed to create ExploreSA: The Gawler Challenge, released South Australia’s Hydrogen Action Plan and facilitated the rollout of funding support from the Grid Scale Storage Fund and Demand Management Trials.
The agency continued to implement and expand the Home Battery Scheme to support the installation of battery storage systems on thousands of South Australian households as well as facilitating early works on Project EnergyConnect, the proposed New South Wales – South Australian interconnector.
The agency supported South Australia’s engagement in the former COAG (Council of Australian Governments) Energy Council, and contributed to the development and implementation of Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy. The state remains the lead legislator for reforms to the National Electricity Law.
Electricity prices in South Australia fell in the 12 months to 30 June 2020. The Essential Services Commission of South Australia reported a fall in market offer prices equivalent to an average annual bill reduction of $96 for a residential customer and $153 for a small business customer.
The Steel Task Force continued to facilitate the Whyalla Steelwork’s transformation, and the Resources Investment and Infrastructure Task Force led the government’s industry interaction on the Port Pirie Transformation and Olympic Dam Expansion project.
PACE Gas contributed to a 272-petajoule increase in supplies of natural gas that companies must first offer to South Australian customers, and supported the renaissance of the Otway Basin through new production and processing facilities.
The agency continues to establish practices to drive efficiencies within its divisions that improve engagement and responsiveness to our stakeholders.
Agency contribution to whole of government objectives
| Key objective | Agency's contribution |
|---|---|
| More jobs | Grow future industries and jobs by fostering the expansion of value chain industries and professions that support the mineral, extractive materials, petroleum, energy and renewable resources sectors. |
| Lower costs | Enable access to lower energy costs for businesses and households by facilitating clean, secure, reliable, safe and a more competitive energy network. |
| Better services | Deliver effective, efficient and transparent regulation of the mineral resources, extractive materials, energy resources, energy market sector and the electrical, plumbing and gas-fitting professions. |
Agency-specific objectives and performance
Responsibly increase South Australian exports by growing mineral, energy and renewable resources production
| Agency objective: Deliver effective, efficient and transparent regulation of the mineral resources, energy resources, energy market sectors and the electrical, plumbing and gas-fitting professions. | |
| Indicators | Performance |
| Continue to transition to digital online regulation and compliance to support business through streamlined government processes. | Implemented an online program for environment protection and rehabilitation (PEPR) and mining operation plan (MOP) fee calculator and online submissions process using the iPay platform. Successful passage of Mining Act Amendment Bill through Parliament and preparations for the development of subsequent regulations and commencement of next phase of delivery of improvements. Commenced development and implementation of LEAN training program to reduce red tape across the agency including implementing of recommendations from the Mineral Tenements Renewal Process LEAN review by 30 June 2020. |
| Oversee effective regulation and compliance of the electrical, plumbing and gas-fitting professions. | Developed industry training and support tools with the release of online detailed Electronic Certificate of Compliance user guides. |
| Provide proactive, responsive and leading resources and energy policy. | Ongoing support is being provided to deliver the former COAG strategic reform agenda for resources including leading the development of a South Australian Government submission to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into resource sector regulation, contributing to the South Australian Government’s submission to the review of the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 as well as the South Australia Productivity Commission Review into the Extractives Industry Supply Chain. |
| Ensure effective royalty collection to support the Royalties for the Regions program. | Audited 98 per cent of the state’s royalty revenue, comprehensively auditing the returns of 25 royalty payers and recovered $2.6 million in unpaid royalty revenue. |
| Provide one window to government co-regulation. |
Maintained relationships with state and commonwealth co-regulators by effectively engaging with the Commonwealth (Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources), through six monthly environmental consultative committee meetings,
where the state’s uranium miners (including the Olympic Dam, Beverley-Four Mile and Honeymoon operations) present on their compliance performance and future plans. Continued to collaborate with other state co-regulators, Environment Protection Authority, Department for Environment and Water and SafeWork SA in the assessment of new project applications. |
| Agency objective: Enable access to lower energy costs for businesses and households by facilitating a clean, secure, reliable, safe and more competitive energy network | |
| Indicators | Performance |
| Continue to support the early delivery of projects to enable high-voltage interconnection between South Australia and New South Wales as part of the National Electricity Market. | Continued to support ElectraNet and TransGrid to progress Project EnergyConnect through South Australia’s major project and New South Wale’s state significant infrastructure assessment processes after the Australian Energy Regulator approved the Regulatory Investment Test for Transmission in January 2020. |
| Empower consumers through expanded demand management options and better integration of distributed energy resources. | Funded nine private sector projects aimed at advancing the use of demand response and distributed energy resources through the Demand Management Trials Program. |
| Support National Electricity Market reforms to aid in an orderly and cost- effective transition to a low emissions future. | Developed South Australia’s Energy Solution to secure the state’s transition to affordable renewable energy in response to power system modelling commissioned from the Australian Energy Market Operator into emerging trends in the grid. Demand Response Mechanism Rule change initiated by South Australia implemented by Australian Energy Market Commission. |
| Develop and implement initiatives to accelerate grid- scale and residential energy storage. | Continued to roll out the Home Battery Scheme, supporting the installation of home battery systems on thousands of South Australian households through state government subsidies and a Clean Energy Finance Corporation investment to provide low interest loans. Supported Tesla to continue to deliver the trial phases of South Australia’s Virtual Power Plant involving installation of home energy systems – each comprising a solar photovoltaic, Tesla Powerwall battery and a smart meter – now on 1,100 South Australian public housing homes. Allocated funding support from the Grid Scale Storage Fund, including $15 million to expand the Hornsdale Power Reserve known as ‘the big battery’ in the state’s Mid North for provision of grid services. |
| Facilitate the development of the emerging clean hydrogen industry in South Australia. | Launched South Australia’s Hydrogen Action Plan that sets out 20 key actions across five areas to help scale-up renewable hydrogen production for export and domestic consumption, and engaged consultants to develop a hydrogen export study, modelling tool and prospectus for South Australia. Contributed to the development of a National Hydrogen Strategy released by the former COAG Energy Council in November 2019. |
| Aid in the transition in to a low emissions economy. | Continued to work with stakeholders on the development of an Electric Vehicle Action Plan for release in late 2020, which aims to position South Australia as a national leader in electric vehicle uptake and smart charging capacity. Continued to support the Future Fuels Cooperative Research Centre to enable the decarbonisation of Australia’s energy networks. Continued to oversee contracts, grants and loans through the Renewable Technology Fund which has supported a raft of innovative energy storage, renewable hydrogen and bioenergy projects being developed in South Australia. |
| Facilitate a stable, reliable transition to sustainable energy options. | Continued to implement the Remote Areas Energy Supply scheme. Recent events and restricted access to Aboriginal communities due to COVID have slowed implementation. |
| Agency objective: Responsibly increase South Australian exports by growing mineral, energy and renewable resources production | |
| Indicators | Performance |
| Deliver and promote exploration and precompetitive geoscience initiatives to attract new mineral exploration investment. | Launched the Accelerated Discovery Initiative that awarded grants to 14 successful applicants in the first of three years of funding. Partnered with open innovation platform Unearthed to design and launch ExploreSA: The Gawler Challenge, a crowdsourced open data competition (2,277 global entrants) to uncover new exploration targets in the Gawler Craton using the state’s world-class geoscience datasets. Continued to support the MinEx Cooperative Research Centre through the Geological Survey of South Australia to carry out research to assist greenfield discoveries of minerals. |
| Develop and market Cooper–Eromanga and Otway Basin acreage releases to attract new petroleum exploration investment. | Announced high-bid parties for five new petroleum exploration licences with guaranteed five-year work programs valued at $58.85 million in the Cooper and Otway basins. |
| Support the continued development of the copper, magnetite and critical minerals sector. | Continued cross-agency management of BHP’s Olympic Dam mining and processing operations and facilitated the assessment process for a proposed further expansion of copper production. Continued work with the Commonwealth Critical Minerals Facilitation Office to align the state’s efforts to expand supply and create demand for critical minerals such as copper, graphite, cobalt and zinc. |
| Agency objective: Grow future industries and jobs by fostering the expansion of value chain industries and professions that support the mineral, energy and renewable resources sectors. | |
| Indicators | Performance |
| Support state significant economic transformations. | Collaborated with the Department of Treasury and Finance to finalise the state government guarantee for the Port Pirie Transformation financing arrangement after payment in full ahead of schedule. Continued to work with GFG on its $2 billion plan to transform the Whyalla Steelworks into a state of the art green steel manufacturing facility, including facilitation of approvals for its first step rolling mill worth $600 million. Achieved the transition of the former Mintabie township in South Australia’s Far North from government control to the landowners, the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara. Endorsed the Crown sponsorship for the proposed Port Augusta Operations multi-user export facility at the former Flinders Power Station site. |
| Connect South Australian innovators with the resources and energy sector to support the growth of the mining equipment, technology and services (METS) sector and small businesses. | Partnered with CORE Innovation Hub to set up offices at Lot Fourteen and Tonsley Innovation Precinct to bring together innovators, METS companies, start-ups, scale-ups and researchers to support innovation and new data and technology skills acquisition with the energy and resources industries. |
| Attract South Australia’s most talented minds towards careers in mining and petroleum through support for skills development. | Partnered with the Playford Trust to offer annually 10 scholarships to the value of $10,000 over two years for students enrolling in mining and petroleum engineering degrees at the |
| Enhance opportunities for local and Aboriginal participation within industry and engagement activities. |
Launched the agency's Reconciliation Action Plan as a framework to deliver practical support for social change and economic opportunities for Aboriginal peoples in South Australia. |
Corporate performance summary
The vision of the Department for Energy and Mining is to become the best government department in Australia and the focus for the second year was to build on the foundation established through the adoption of an Enablers and High Performing Behaviours Framework.
COVID-19 challenged the operations of the agency but the culture and behaviours embedded within the first year enabled adaption. With a focus on creating a safe working environment, a Working from Home Strategy was implemented in March 2020, leveraging online tools to maintain business continuity and service delivery.
Following South Australia’s success in containing the spread of COVID-19, a Returning to the Office Strategy was implemented in June enabling staff to continue working flexibly between home and office. The work underway on digital transformation provided a framework to transfer to web-based programs to ensure stakeholders could safely access the same level of service standards. Stakeholder engagement was transitioned to virtual forums and existing systems and processes were reformed to make better use of innovative tools for online processing.
A robust governance framework was implemented incorporating strategic, legal and ethical obligations to maintain effective governance, monitor performance, provide transparency and support decision-making.
From an operational perspective, key achievements included the creation of a Reconciliation Action Plan, adopting revised business processes for handling correspondence and freedom of information requests, and implementing improved records management and complaints management systems. Also, the agency's social media presence was expanded to provide more timely information to the community and industry stakeholders.
Employment opportunity programs
| Program name | Performance |
|---|---|
| Aboriginal Traineeship Program | The agency participates in the whole-of-government Aboriginal Traineeship Program facilitated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment. The agency also hosted an Aboriginal trainee in the Energy and Technical Regulation Division. |
| University placements and undergraduate students | The agency hosts students (school and university) for their placement component of their course – primarily in the fields of engineering, geology and economics. |
Agency performance management and development systems
| Performance development and management system | Performance |
|---|---|
| A performance management and development framework exists within the agency to support employees and leaders to create performance development plans (PDP) and have regular performance conversations. All PDP discussions are recorded in this system and at appropriate periods reporting is undertaken on completion rates. | Staff participate in two formal performance management and development plan conversations each year. An improved performance management and development framework was launched in November 2019 to streamline the process and increase engagement. Adoption rates for the new online system were initially slow, with a 15.08 per cent completion rate of formal performance management and development review conversations between 1 July 2019 and 31 December 2019. A focus on education and communication resulted in a significantly improved result of 76.2 per cent for the six months between 1 January 2020 and 30 |
Work health, safety and return to work programs
| Program name | Performance |
|---|---|
| WHS Audit (AVS) | Deloitte Pty Ltd conducted an external audit of the Work Health and Injury Management System to evaluate the implementation of work health and safety (WHS) controls and to provide insight into the operation and effectiveness of the agency's WHS management system. The aim for public sector agencies is to achieve a rating of ‘Proactive’ for all domains with ‘Safety Leader’ being the highest level of maturity. The agency achieved the ‘Proactive’ level of maturity rating for three out of four domains – Safety and Leadership, Wellbeing and Engagement, and Risk Management. The Performance Measurement domain evaluated at the ‘Reactive’ level of maturity. The finalisation of a WHS Injury Management Strategic Plan will support the agency achieving ‘Proactive’ level of maturity for all four domains. |
| Mental Health First Aid | Thirteen staff participated in accredited two-day mental health first aid training. The aim is to increase mental health awareness and support a mentally healthy culture and meet the requirements under the South Australian Modern Public Sector Enterprise Agreement (MHFA): Salaried 2017. |
| Flu Vaccination Program | The Flu Vaccination Program, part of the agency's Wellbeing Program, was offered through a voucher system due to COVID-19. The uptake of flu vaccination has progressively increased over the last two years, with 185 staff participating this year. |
| Workplace injury claims | 2019–20 | 2018–2019 | % change (+/−) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total new workplace injury claims | 1 | 2 | −50 |
| Fatalities | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seriously injured workers* | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Significant injuries (where lost time exceeds a working week, expressed as frequency rate per 1,000 FTE) | 3.30 | 6.60 | −50 |
* Number of claimants assessed during the reporting period as having a whole person impairment of 30% or more under the Return to Work Act 2014 (Part 2, Division 5). | |||
| Work health and safety regulations | 2019–20 | 2018–2019 | % change (+/−) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of notifiable incidents (Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (Part 3)) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Number of provisional improvement, improvement and prohibition notices (Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (ss 90, 191 and 195)) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Return to work costs* | 2019–20 | 2018–2019 | % change (+/−) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total gross workers compensation expenditure ($) | 68,430 | 135,051 | −49 |
| Income support payments – gross ($) | 58,240 | 73,394 | −21 |
| * Before third party recovery. | |||
Executive employment in the agency
| Executive classification | Number of executives |
|---|---|
| SAES119 | 19 |
| SAES23 | 3 |
| EXEC1 | 1 |
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/department-for-energy-and-mining-annual-report- statistics
The Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment has a Workforce Information page that provides further information on the breakdown of executive gender, salary and tenure by agency.
Financial performance
Financial performance at a glance
The following is a brief summary of the overall financial position of the agency. The information is unaudited. Full audited financial statements for 2019-20 are available in the Appendix (page 40 onwards) in the PDF version of the Annual Report (PDF 1.9 MB)
| Statement of comprehensive income | 2019-20 Budget $000s | 2019-20 Actual $000s | Variation $000s | 2018-19 Actual $000s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Income | 178,977 | 179,239 | 262 | 168,482 |
| Total Expenses | (179,547) | (179,271) | 276 | (235,835) |
| Net Result | (570) | (32) | 538 | (67,353) |
| Total Comprehensive Result | (570) | (32) | 538 | (67,353) |
The agency reported a $0.5 million favourable result when compared with the 2019–20 original budget. The reduction in expenditure in 2019–20 when compared to the previous financial year primarily relates to the return of funds to Treasury and Finance in the previous year for program funding no longer required.
The major expenditure items for 2019-20 primarily relate to the State’s temporary generators, energy initiative grant programs, and the Remote Areas Energy Supply Scheme. Further details on agency expenditure are disclosed in the full audited financial statements that are available in the Appendix (page 40 onwards) in the PDF version of the Annual Report (PDF 1.9 MB)
| Statement of financial position | 2019-20 Budget $000s | 2019-20 Actual $000s | Variation $000s | 2018-19 Actual $000s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Assets | 6,288 | 36,968 | 30,680 | 21,531 |
| Non-current Assets | 349,925 | 48,993 | (294,932) | 270,697 |
| Total Assets | 350,213 | 85,961 | (264,252) | 292,228 |
| Current Liabilities | (28,178) | (35,823) | (7,645) | 27,197 |
| Non-current Liabilities | (81,612) | (14,552) | 67,060 | 15,008 |
| Total Liabilities | (109,790) | (50,375) | 59,415 | 42,205 |
| Net Assets | 240,423 | 35,586 | (204,837) | 250,023 |
| Equity | 240,423 | 35,586 | (204,837) | 250,023 |
Consultants disclosure
The following is a summary of external consultants that have been engaged by the agency, the nature of work undertaken, and the actual payments made for the work undertaken during the financial year.
Consultancies with a contract value below $10,000 each
| Consultancies | Purpose | Actual payment ($) |
|---|---|---|
| All consultancies below $10,000 each – combined | Various | 27,291 |
Consultancies with a contract value above $10,000 each
| Consultancies | Purpose | Actual payment ($) |
|---|---|---|
| ACIL Allen Consulting | Energy peak demand modelling | 30,000 |
| ACIL Allen Consulting | Review of reforms to the South Australian Impact Assessment Process under the Mining Act | 28,200 |
| ACIL Allen Consulting |
Provision of independent financial modelling to support a new policy proposal to assist energy concession holders with their energy bills (cost shared with Department of Human Services) | 20,628 |
| AECOM Australia Pty Ltd | Advice, strategies and recommendations to the Leigh Creek Task Force on the framework to transition Leigh Creek to a sustainable, open and self-sufficient town | 294,817 |
| BDO EconSearch | Provision of probity advice and services to support procurement and grant funding initiatives | 18,783 |
| Brubrior Investments Pty Ltd | Assistance in the ongoing development of Olympic Dam, the Steel Task Force and Nyrstar Port Pirie Smelter Transformation projects | 140,000 |
| Catherine Norton | Identification of improvements in the Energy Resources Division well log verification systems | 22,050 |
| CQ Partners Pty Ltd | Energy market advisory panel to provide modelling and market analysis services across the agency | 95,156 |
| Energeia Pty Ltd | Identification of benefits of electric vehicles for South Australian consumers | 30,000 |
| Energy Efficient Strategies | Development of activity specifications and metrics for delivery under the proposed Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme | 79,172 |
| Energy Efficient Strategies | Review of SA Water heater requirements | 27,964 |
| ESCIENT Pty Ltd | Identification of current and future engagement requirements regarding legislation and regulation - Determine practices to support requirements and streamline future engagement activities | 24,600 |
| Evenergi Pty Ltd | Advice on state-wide electric vehicle charging infrastructure | 29,000 |
| Fenix Performance Solutions Pty Ltd | Financing and commercial advice relating to the Nyrstar Port Pirie Smelter Transformation | 21,202 |
| George Wilkenfeld & Associates | Development of the Smart Appliances Decision Regulatory Impact Statement and evaluation of mandatory smart demand response capabilities | 58,391 |
| George Wilkenfeld & Associates | Analysis of costs and benefits of implementation in South Australia of the Smart Appliances Decision Regulatory Impact Statement and demand response requirements | 25,655 |
| GPA Engineering Pty Ltd | Study of the technical standards and regulations to enable the changes required to allow the injection of hydrogen into the gas network | 75,000 |
| Gus Commercial Consulting (SA) Pty Ltd | Commercial consultancy services including strategic advice, drafting of commercial documents and probity and procurement advice | 12,684 |
| Hughes Public Relations | Market and technical research on South Australia’s position and potential in responsible mining and the ethical mineral supply chain, and opportunities for the state | 33,825 |
| KPMG | Support for the establishment of the Accelerated Discovery Initiative, including development of governance arrangements and a decision framework | 49,240 |
| KPMG | Review of the governance arrangements, processes and frameworks following Round One of the Accelerated Discovery Initiative | 19,939 |
| Metalzoic Geological Consulting | Detailed definition of gold domains within South Australia and the development of associated geospatial products and datasets | 42,400 |
| Paul Case | Advise the Minister on the future of the Leigh Creek Township and Mintabie review, acting as chair for subsequent committees | 61,423 |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers | Advice relating to standards for assessment of the contribution and impacts of prospective Generators | 332,698 |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers | Financial advisory, due diligence and economic assessment services for the Steel Taskforce and Nyrstar Port Pirie projects | 52,710 |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers | Provision of financial, commercial and accounting advisory service for the Whyalla Steelworks | 48,243 |
| Robert I Thomas | Strategic advice for projects including the Targeted Lead Abatement Program in Port Pirie and the Dry Creek Salt Field Closure and Redevelopment Project | 166,833 |
| University of Adelaide | Economic impact assessment of the potential contribution from South Australia’s energy and mining sector to targets in the government’s Growth State strategy | 37,413 |
| Total | 1,878,026 |
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/department-for-energy-and-mining-annual-report- statistics
See also the Consolidated Financial Report of the Department of Treasury and Finance for total value of consultancy contracts across the South Australian Public Sector.
Contractors disclosure
The following is a summary of external contractors that have been engaged by the agency, the nature of work undertaken, and the actual payments made for work undertaken during the financial year.
Contractors with a contract value below $10,000
| Contractors | Purpose | Actual payment ($) |
|---|---|---|
| All contractors below $10,000 each – combined | Various | 117,113 |
Contractors with a contract value above $10,000 each
| Contractors | Purpose | Actual payment ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Accipitrine Pty Ltd | Commercial advisory services to the South Australian Energy Solution | 44,400 |
| Airborne Data Acquisition Pty Ltd | Video production, including oblique imagery and 3D interpretation over Mintabie | 23,695 |
| AMC Consultants Pty Ltd | Review of documents for the Bird in Hand mining lease application, including assessment on grouting and geotechnical aspects of the proposal that all requirements have been addressed | 28,676 |
| Artis Group Pty Ltd | Maintenance and enhancements to the Petroleum Exploration and Production System (PEPS) | 149,294 |
| AssetVal | Provision of a commercial valuation of the agency’s properties assets | 23,950 |
| Aurecon Australasia Pty Ltd | Provision of specialist and technical engineering support on projects including emergency generation and the battery value chain | 74,844 |
| AusGeos Pty Ltd | Consolidation of geophysical data for the Far North Water Allocation Plan, Transient Groundwater Model | 98,430 |
| BDO EconSearch | Preparation of a SA 2018-19 energy and mining economic data report | 15,000 |
| Converge International Pty Ltd | On-site employee counselling services | 48,484 |
| Cowell Electric Supply Pty Ltd | Remote Area Energy Supply scheme – provision of electricity generation, distribution and retail services | 4,518,677 |
| Ennovative Pty Ltd | Configuration and implementation of the Virtual Power Plant Customer Relationship Management system | 24,875 |
| FYFE Pty Ltd | Geotechnical survey at the Central Power House | 29,400 |
| GBS Consulting | Undertake the environmental assessment of mining lease applications and mining programs | 12,195 |
| Hannan Duck & Partners Pty Ltd | Information security risk assessment in support of specific projects and security advice to assist with maintaining a secure information environment | 12,687 |
| Hannan Duck & Partners Pty Ltd | Development of a Business Resilience Framework in line with the South Australian Cyber Security Framework, Business Continuity Management requirements and State Emergency Planning Arrangements | 24,980 |
| Hannan Duck & Partners Pty Ltd | Assistance with the establishment of an Enterprise Architecture practice and staff upskilling in the use of the tool | 25,080 |
| Honjo Pty Ltd | Assistance with the Hydrogen Modelling Tool and Prospectus Project | 19,665 |
| Honjo Pty Ltd | Project management to support the emergency generators project | 71,381 |
| Human Capital International Partnership | Facilitation of workshops delivering a vision for South Australia’s minerals and energy sector in 2035 | 19,850 |
| HyLogging Systems Pty Ltd | Maintenance services for three HyLogger machines | 44,880 |
| JBS&G Australia Pty Ltd | Preparation of a regulatory guideline including design principles for environmental outcomes to assist tenement holders, exploration, quarrying and mining projects on government regulatory processes | 26,950 |
| KPMG | Support for the development of options for departmental change, including structural change workshop | 72,941 |
| KPMG | Hydrogen Export Study, Modelling Tool and Prospectus | 22,455 |
| Oak Valley (Maralinga) Aboriginal Corporation | Provision of electricity generation, distribution and retail services for the Remote Area Energy Supply scheme | 86,830 |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers | Provision of financial advice services to support the Demand Management Trials program | 45,213 |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers | Analysis of the Virtual Power Plant financial model | 55,309 |
| Samantha Wilkinson Human Resource Consulting | Development of high level organisational structure to deliver on DEM Strategy | 19,600 |
| Secure Meters (Australia) Pty Ltd | Smart Meter Services for the Remote Area Energy Supply scheme | 24,300 |
| SRA Information Technology | Development of petroleum retention and exploration licences internet summary page | 16,100 |
| SRA Information Technology | Implementation of an online portal for the submission of information under the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2020 | 20,400 |
| SRA Information Technology | Development of a system to track and audit royalty revenue recovery | 25,003 |
| SRA Information Technology | Undertaking a feasibility study on current legacy database | 30,000 |
| SRK Consulting (Australasia) Pty Ltd | Review of the Mining Lease Application for the Bird in Hand Gold Mine, including geotechnical and environmental expertise | 17,000 |
| The Energy Project Pty Ltd | Collection and analysis of data from stakeholders and research into electric vehicle recharging needs | 27,600 |
| Thompson Organisations | Discovery, analysis and recommendations for improvement of the Minerals Division administration functions | 24,000 |
| Yalata Anangu Aboriginal Corporation | Provision of electricity generation, distribution and retail services for the Remote Area Energy Supply scheme | 88,931 |
| Total | 5,913,075 |
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/department-for-energy-and-mining-annual-report- statistics
The details of goods, services, and works are displayed on the SA Tenders and Contracts website. View the agency list of contracts
The website also provides details of Across Government Contracts
Risk management
Risk and audit at a glance
The agency’s Risk and Performance Committee (joint with the Department for Innovation and Skills, and the Department for Trade and Investment) has oversight of strategic risks. Membership consists of both internal and external members and the committee is independently chaired.
Strategic risks are those where the effect of an event or change in circumstances affects the ability to achieve its strategic direction. As part of good governance, the agency finalised the Risk Appetite Statement and reviewed and updated the Risk Assessment Matrix and Strategic Risk register.
Fraud detected in the agency
| Category/nature of fraud | Number of instances |
|---|---|
| Nil | Nil |
Note: Fraud reported includes actual and reasonably suspected incidents of fraud.
Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud
The agency employs a range of risk-based strategies to control and prevent fraud. These strategies form the agency’s Fraud Control Plan and include, but are not limited to, a related policy and procedure, segregation of duties, pre-employment screening and declarations of interest.
The agency undertakes regular reviews of financial and human resource delegation instruments and access controls to operating systems. Appropriate business practices are also reinforced through the Financial Management Compliance Program. The plan and related activities are overseen by the Risk and Performance Committee.
The induction process ensures that all new employees are made aware of the Code of Ethics for the South Australian Public Sector through mandatory online training.
During the COVID-19 period the agency remained cognisant of the potential for increased risk for some activities and considered this in establishing working from home protocols and arrangements.
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/department-for-energy-and-mining-annual-report- statistics
Public interest disclosure
Number of occasions on which public interest information has been disclosed to a responsible officer of the agency under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018: Nil
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/department-for-energy-and-mining-annual-report- statistics
Note: Disclosure of public interest information was previously reported under the Whistleblowers Protection Act 1993 and repealed by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018 on 1/7/2019.
Reporting required under any other Act or regulation
| Act | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Energy Products (Safety and Efficiency) Act 2000 |
Section 25—Annual report (1) The Technical Regulator must, within three months after the end of each financial year, deliver to the Minister a report on the Technical Regulator's administration of this Act during that financial year. |
| Electricity Act 1996 |
Section 14—Annual report (1) The Technical Regulator must, within three months after the end of each financial year, deliver to the Minister a report on the Technical Regulator's operations under this Act during that financial year. |
| Gas Act 1997 | Section 14—Annual report |
| The Water Industry Act 2012 |
Section 13—Annual report (1) The Technical Regulator, within three months after the end of each financial year, must deliver to the Minister, a report on the Technical Regulator's operations during that financial year. |
| Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000 | Section 123—Annual compliance report |
Reporting required under the Carers’ Recognition Act 2005
Nil.
Public complaints
Number of public complaints reported
| Complaint categories | Subcategories | Example | Number of complaints 2019–20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional behaviour | Staff attitude | Failure to demonstrate values such as empathy, respect, fairness, courtesy, extra mile; cultural competency | 1 |
| Professional behaviour | Staff competency | Failure to action-service request; poorly informed decisions; incorrect or incomplete service provided | 0 |
| Professional behaviour | Staff knowledge | Lack of service specific knowledge; incomplete or out-of-date knowledge | 0 |
| Communication | Communication quality | Inadequate, delayed or absent communication with customer | 2 |
| Communication | Confidentiality | Customer’s confidentiality or privacy not respected; information shared incorrectly | 0 |
| Service delivery | Systems/ technology | System offline; inaccessible to customer; incorrect result/information provided; poor system design | 0 |
| Service delivery | Access to services | Service difficult to find; location poor; facilities/ environment poor standard; not accessible to customers with disabilities | 0 |
| Service delivery | Process | Processing error; incorrect process used; delay in processing application; process not customer responsive | 0 |
| Policy | Policy application | Incorrect policy interpretation; incorrect policy applied; conflicting policy advice given | 7 |
| Policy | Policy content | Policy content difficult to understand; policy unreasonable or disadvantages customer | 3 |
| Service quality | Information | Incorrect, incomplete, outdated or inadequate information; not fit for purpose | 10 |
| Service quality | Access to information | Information difficult to understand, hard to find or difficult to use; not plain English | 12 |
| Service quality | Timeliness | Lack of staff punctuality; excessive waiting times (outside of service standard); timelines not met | 15 |
| Service quality | Safety | Maintenance; personal or family safety; duty of care not shown; poor security service/premises; poor cleanliness | 1 |
| Service quality | Service responsiveness | Service design doesn’t meet customer needs; poor service fit with customer expectations | 0 |
| No case to answer | No case to answer | Third party; customer misunderstanding; redirected to another agency; insufficient information to investigate | 0 |
| Total | 38 |
| Additional metrics | Total |
|---|---|
| Number of positive feedback comments | 1 |
| Number of negative feedback comments | 53 |
| Total number of feedback comments | 54 |
| % complaints resolved within policy timeframes | 100% |
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/department-for-energy-and-mining-annual-report- statistics
Service improvements
| Service improvements resulting from complaints or consumer suggestions over 2019–2020 |
|---|
| 2 |
Appendix: Audited financial statements 2019-20
For the Audited financial statements 2019-20 refer to page 40 onwards in the PDF version of the Annual Report (PDF 1.9 MB)="higher_value">
