Update on ABS 2020-21 Corporate Plan
The Australian Government has amended the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule (2014) to give Commonwealth entities until 31 January 2021 to publish their 2020-21 corporate plan if the impact of COVD-19 on the entity was such that it is not reasonably practicable for the entity to publish their corporate plan by 31 August 2020.
COVID-19 has impacted on the work of the ABS and as such the ABS has delayed publishing its 2020-21 Corporate Plan until 11 December 2020.
In response to COVID-19, the ABS created 19 new statistical products, conducted over 9 000 additional household and business interviews, and started publishing near real-time information about how individuals and businesses are responding to the pandemic. To do this the ABS delayed some activities and redeployed 127 staff internally to deliver the new statistical products, support staff working from home, and provide additional contingency resources to critical ABS functions.
Until the ABS publishes its 2020-21 Corporate Plan, the 2019-20 Corporate Plan will remain on this page for information.
This Corporate Plan provides a high-level description of the work of the ABS for the 2019-20 financial year in line with our Strategic Directions for the next four years, to give our staff, stakeholders, partners, business, and the Australian community an understanding of how we intend to continue to deliver high quality, relevant and trusted official statistics.
The purpose and role of the ABS remain constant. We will continue to produce statistics and insights critical for important decisions. We are collaborating with our key partners to remain attuned to their needs and ensure that ABS statistics are used to best effect. Through data integration and ongoing enhancements, we are developing new statistics to meet emerging needs.
We are mindful of our overriding interest in maintaining community trust so that our broader work program can continue to best serve the needs of the nation.
Census 2021 will be a major focus of our work during the life of this Plan. Extensive community consultation is being undertaken by the ABS on possible topics to be included in the next Census, and in addition, the ABS has commenced working on the technology dimensions of the Census for a smooth and secure process.
This Corporate Plan introduces a strategic directions statement for the ABS. The ABS Strategic Directions identify opportunities to leverage our statistical and data capabilities within the Australian data landscape.
As the Accountable Authority of the ABS, I am pleased to present the ABS Corporate Plan which covers the period 2019-20 to 2022-23, in accordance with the requirements of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
David W. Kalisch
Australian Statistician
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