Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia
Wakefield House
Level 4, 277 Wakefield Street, Adelaide SA 5000
www.ohpsa.sa.gov.au
Contact phone number: (08) 7085 1750
Contact email: ohpsa.enquiries@sa.gov.au
ISSN: 2653-5432
Date presented to Minister: 30 September 2022
To: Honourable Tom Koutsantonis MP
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
Minister for Energy and Mining
Leader of Government Business
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.
This report is verified to be accurate for the purposes of annual reporting to the Parliament of South Australia.
Submitted on behalf of the OFFICE OF HYDROGEN POWER SOUTH AUSTRALIA by:
Sam Crafter
Chief Executive
Date: 29/09/2022
From the Chief Executive
The Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia (OHPSA) was established on 19 May 2022 to oversee the delivery of the Hydrogen Jobs Plan (the Plan), which is a priority commitment for the new South Australian Government.
A capital budget of $593 million has been committed to build a 250 megawatt electric green hydrogen production facility, a 200 megawatt hydrogen-fuelled power plant, and a hydrogen storage facility in the Whyalla local government area by December 2025.
The Plan is world-leading initiative, which has the potential to accelerate the growth of a green hydrogen industry in South Australia and to deliver huge benefits for our state including the creation of jobs and the development of a new local skills base.
As well as supporting industry development, the construction of the hydrogen production, generation and storage facilities will ‘prove’ hydrogen technology at scale, helping to catalyse other private sector hydrogen projects at various stages of development.
The facilities will enhance South Australia’s grid security and stability. Once built, the operation of the electrolysers will provide additional stability by 'soaking up' the state's abundant renewable energy generated from large-scale wind and solar farms, in turn helping to unlock South Australia’s significant pipeline of renewable energy projects.
The hydrogen-fuelled generator will provide a source of dispatchable energy, providing electricity to the South Australian grid when it is most needed.
The implementation of the Plan will play an important role in supporting South Australia’s continued clean energy transition and decarbonisation.
The Plan is deliberately ambitious, and delivery will not be without its challenges. Building a dedicated, flexible team with a high-performing and people-centric culture was a key focus for OHPSA to ensure the right resources are in place to executive the Plan effectively.
I recognise and acknowledge the efforts of the Department for Energy and Mining for the work undertaken to lay the foundations for the delivery of the Plan prior to my commencement.
I look forward to continuing to implement this important government commitment, with a strong focus on ensuring the Plan delivers the greatest outcomes and opportunities for South Australia.
Sam Crafter
Chief Executive
Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia
Contents
- Our strategic focus
- Our organisational structure
- Our Minister
- Our Executive team
- Legislation administered by the agency
- Other related agencies (within the Minister’s area/s of responsibility)
- Performance at a glance
- 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
- Fraud detected in the agency
- Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud
- Public interest disclosure
Reporting required under any other act or regulation
Overview: about the agency
Our strategic focus
| Our Purpose | Ensure the Hydrogen Jobs Plan delivers the greatest outcomes and opportunities for South Australia. |
| Our Vision | A thriving and globally competitive hydrogen industry in South Australia. |
| Our Values | Service; professionalism; trust; respect; collaboration and engagement; honesty and integrity; courage and tenacity; sustainability. |
| Our functions, objectives and deliverables | The objectives of the Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia (OHPSA) are to implement the Hydrogen Jobs Plan to:
OHPSA’s deliverables are to oversee the construction of a:
OHPSA will also work with the Department for Energy and Mining to jointly deliver a hydrogen export strategy for South Australia. |
Our organisational structure
The Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia was proclaimed as an attached office to the Department for Energy and Mining under section 27 of the Public Sector Act 2009 on 19 May 2022. OHPSA is an administrative unit and a public sector agency.
The Public Sector (Establishment of Attached Office) Proclamation 2022 designates the Minister for Energy and Mining as the Minister with responsibility for OHPSA.
The OHPSA organisational structure, as at 30 June 2022, is presented below.
Changes to the agency
During 2021-22 there were no changes to the agency’s structure and objectives as a result of internal reviews or machinery of government changes.
Our Minister
Hon Tom Koutsantonis MP was elected to the South Australian Parliament at the age of 26 making him one of the youngest MPs ever elected in South Australia’s history.
He is currently the longest serving MP in the State Parliament having been re- elected by his community for over 24 years in the seat of West Torrens.
Tom is currently Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining and the Leader of Government Business in the House of Assembly. He has also previously held the portfolios of Correctional Services, Youth and Volunteers, Gambling, Small Business, State Development and as Treasurer.
Tom was raised in the western suburbs by Greek migrant parents, Tony and Toula. He attended Cowandilla and Netley Primary Schools before attending Adelaide High School and going on to study at the University of Adelaide.
Tom joined the Australian Labor Party at a young age with the encouragement of Labor stalwart and former South Australia Deputy Premier, the late Jack Wright.
He worked as a union advocate at the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association, then went on to work for the then Shadow Attorney General Michael Atkinson.
Tom entered Parliament to make a difference for working people, people who need the voice and advocacy of a Labor Government. Jobs, green energy and manufacturing are his passions.
Our Executive team
Sam Crafter
Chief Executive
Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia
Sam was appointed to the role of Chief Executive, Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia, in May 2022. Sam has had an extensive career in project implementation, commercial advisory, public affairs, communications and reputation management in both the public and private sector, with a focus on the energy and resources industries.
Legislation administered by the agency
OHPSA does not administer any legislation.
Other related agencies (within the Minister’s area/s of responsibility)
OHPSA is an attached office to the Department for Energy and Mining.
The agency’s performance
Performance at a glance
For the duration of the reporting period, OHPSA was small, consisting of few employees. A significant focus in May and June 2022 was to carry out recruitment and procurement processes to engage employees and contractors to start to build a team.
With support of resources from the Department for Energy and Mining, several key activities were underway to support the delivery of the Hydrogen Jobs Plan.
Stakeholder engagement was a priority from the outset, and OHPSA met with a large number of diverse stakeholders, including industry representatives, peak bodies, state and local government agencies and other parties with an interest in South Australia’s hydrogen industry.
This engagement occurred as OHPSA launched an international market sounding process, which commenced in late May 2022 and remained open for over six weeks.
The aim of the process, which attracted international attention, was to gather input from industry and stakeholders on technical, system and commercial project approaches, designs and delivery concepts, to help shape the delivery of the Plan.
Throughout May and June 2022, site selection work was underway to identity state or local government owned land in the Whyalla City Council region with the potential to house the hydrogen facilities.
An expert panel, made up of over 30 government, industry and community stakeholder groups, was established to provide advice in relation to site selection. As well as the basic project requirements, the panel’s assessment also factored in social, economic, environmental, technical, regulatory and heritage considerations.
The preliminary site selection report, finalised in June 2022, identified several locations with potential to host the hydrogen infrastructure associated with the Plan. Assessment will continue in conjunction with the design and configuration of the project infrastructure, which will influence the final site selection decision.
Agency contribution to whole of Government objectives
The Hydrogen Jobs Plan is a major economic and energy policy commitment for the incoming government. OHPSA was established to deliver this initiative, which will accelerate the growth of a hydrogen industry in South Australia, unlock economic opportunities and support job creation and regional development.
Agency specific objectives and performance
OHPSA was operational for a short time during the reporting period. Agency specific indicators, performance measures and achievements will be developed during the 2022-23 reporting period.
Corporate performance summary
The majority of the corporate services for OHPSA are provided by the Department for Energy and Mining. The agencies worked together in May and June 2022 to draft the service level agreements that formalise this arrangement.
Employment opportunity programs
Program name | Performance |
University placements and undergraduate students | The agency plans to host a student or students (school and university) for their placement component of their course – primarily in the fields of engineering and economics. |
Agency performance management and development systems
Performance management and development system | Performance |
A performance management and development framework exists within the agency to support employees and leaders to create performance development plans and have regular performance conversations. All discussions are recorded in this system and at appropriate periods reporting is undertaken on completion rates. | Staff will participate in two formal performance management and development plan conversations each year. The agency’s performance management and development framework is supported by an online program called iGROW. No statistics are available yet on staff participation. |
Work health, safety and return to work programs
Program name | Performance |
Wellbeing Initiatives | OHPSA, through the Department for Energy and Mining, provides initiatives to support employee wellbeing in the six areas of career, social, financial, physical, community and mental. One of these initiatives is a monthly webinar series, with staff able to select those most relevant to them. Topics have included ‘Introduction to Mental Fitness’, ‘Work-Life Integration’, ‘Dealing with Uncertainty’ and ‘Building Resilience’. |
Employee Assistance Program | OHPSA, through the Department for Energy and Mining, offers staff access to free, confidential, counselling and support services. These are offered through an offsite Employee Assistance Program. |
Gov SAfety System | OHPSA uses the new Hazard and Incident Reporting System (Gov SAfety). |
Workplace injury claims | 2021-22 | 2020-21 | % Change (+ / -) |
|---|---|---|---|
Total new workplace injury claims | 0 | n/a | n/a |
Fatalities | 0 | n/a | n/a |
Seriously injured workers* | 0 | n/a | n/a |
Significant injuries (where lost time exceeds a working week, expressed as frequency rate per 1000 FTE) | 0 | n/a | n/a |
*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 | 2021-22 | 2020-21 | % Change (+ / -) |
|---|---|---|---|
Number of notifiable incidents (Work Health and Safety Act 2012, Part 3) | 0 | n/a | n/a |
Number of provisional improvement, improvement and prohibition notices (Work Health and Safety Act 2012 Sections 90, 191 and 195) | 0 | n/a | n/a |
Return to work costs** | 2021-22 | 2020-21 | % Change (+ / -) |
|---|---|---|---|
Total gross workers compensation expenditure ($) | 0 | n/a | n/a |
Income support payments – gross ($) | 0 | n/a | n/a |
**before third party recovery
Executive employment in the agency
Executive classification | Number of executives |
|---|---|
EXF | 1 |
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 2021-22 are attached to this report.
Statement of Comprehensive Income | 2021-22 Actual $000s |
|---|---|
Total Income | 113 |
Total Expenses | 118 |
Net Result | (5) |
Total Comprehensive Result | (5) |
Statement of Financial Position | 2021-22 Actual $000s |
|---|---|
Current assets | - |
Non-current assets | - |
Total assets | - |
Current liabilities | 5 |
Non-current liabilities | - |
Total liabilities | 5 |
Net assets | (5) |
Equity | (5) |
OHPSA was funded for the reporting period by the South Australian Government via intra-government transfer of appropriation through the Department for Energy and Mining.
In the short period of operation between establishment (19 May 2022) and reporting date (30 June 2022), the transfer of cash between the department and OHPSA has been matched to the cash outgoings of OHPSA.
The net result and net equity for the reporting period ($5,000) wholly relate to the value of employee benefit liabilities as at 30 June 2022.
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 | $6,513* |
*Includes costs associated with the establishment of OHPSA.
Consultancies with a contract value above $10,000 each
Nil payments for consultancies above $10,000.
Data for previous years is available at: n/a OHPSA not established in previous years.
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 | $9,780* |
* Includes contractor payments for services delivered on behalf of the Upper Spencer Gulf Steering Committee (OHPSA, Department of Treasury and Finance, Infrastructure SA, Department for Energy and Mining).
Contractors with a contract value above $10,000 each
Nil payments for contractors above $10,000.
Data for previous years is available at: n/a OHPSA not established in previous years.
The details of South Australian Government-awarded contracts for goods, services, and works are displayed on the SA Tenders and Contracts website: n/a OHPSA not established in previous years.
The website also provides details of across government contracts.
Risk management
Fraud detected in the agency
Category/nature of fraud | Number of instances |
|---|---|
Nil | Nil |
NB: Fraud reported includes actual and reasonably suspected incidents of fraud.
Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud
The agency, through the Department for Energy and Mining, takes a risk-based approach to control and prevent instances of fraud. The control framework includes a policy, procedure and Fraud Control Plan to assist with the prevention and detection of fraud, corruption, misconduct and maladministration.
Strategies and activities undertaken by the department included the annual review of financial and human resource delegations, a detailed review of purchase cards, continued segregation of duties for approvals and payments, an internal audit of employees and leave reporting, and improved reporting for finance and projects with the introduction of dashboards.
Data for previous years is available at: n/a OHPSA not established in previous years.
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: n/a OHPSA not established in previous years.
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 or Regulation | Requirement |
|---|---|
Nil | Nil |
Public complaints
Number of public complaints reported
Complaints to OHPSA are managed by the Department for Energy and Mining.
Complaint categories | Sub-categories | Example | Number of Complaints 2021-22 |
|---|---|---|---|
Professional behaviour | Staff attitude | Failure to demonstrate values such as empathy, respect, fairness, courtesy, extra mile; cultural competency | 0 |
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 | 0 |
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 | 0 |
Policy | Policy content | Policy content difficult to understand; policy unreasonable or disadvantages customer | 0 |
Service quality | Information | Incorrect, incomplete, out dated or inadequate information; not fit for purpose | 0 |
Service quality | Access to information | Information difficult to understand, hard to find or difficult to use; not plain English | 0 |
Service quality | Timeliness | Lack of staff punctuality; excessive waiting times (outside of service standard); timelines not met | 0 |
Service quality | Safety | Maintenance; personal or family safety; duty of care not shown; poor security service/ premises; poor cleanliness | 0 |
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 | 0 |
Additional Metrics
Additional Metrics | Total |
|---|---|
Number of positive feedback comments | 0 |
Number of negative feedback comments | 0 |
Total number of feedback comments | 0 |
% complaints resolved within policy timeframes | n/a |
Data for previous years is available at: n/a OHPSA not established in previous years.
Service Improvements
Complaints and Feedback submitted to OHPSA are being managed by the Department for Energy and Mining under a draft service level agreement in line with its Complaint Management System. The management of the Complaint Management System was improved and streamlined by the department for the allocation and review of complaint responses to help support a positive customer experience. In the event a complaint cannot be resolved because there is ‘No case to answer’, alternative external sources of assistance will be suggested where appropriate, to help support a positive customer service experience. The complaints and feedback policy and procedure are being reviewed by the department to consider further opportunities for service improvements. |
Compliance Statement
The Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia is compliant with Premier and Cabinet Circular 039 – complaint management in the South Australian public sector | Y |
The Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia has communicated the content of PC 039 and the agency’s related complaints policies and procedures to employees. | Y |
