Not everything done inside NWMPHN is visible, or even, sometimes, obvious. These less public-facing activities are, however, critically important.
It is work that strengthens the foundations that support everything we do. It helps us make better decisions, manage risk more effectively, support our people and ultimately deliver better outcomes for our communities.
At a time when the financial environment is becoming increasingly challenging, a lot of this work has been about improving efficiency, reducing duplication, making better use of our resources and ensuring we're getting the greatest possible value from our investments.
of budget committed by December.
accreditations.
staff members.
Pictured:
Commissioning Planning Working Group (CPWG) Seated left to right, Deependra Sharma, Craig Walker, Ariana Mancarella, Bianca Bell, Jessica Holman, Shae Eddy, Jag Dhaliwal. On screen, Naomi Paine, Ashish Mahendra, Han Dao, and Anita Lazari. Absent – Emma McKeown, Brendan Park. Photo Leigh Henningham
This year our activities focused on building organisational excellence. They fall into five categories:
Performance, reporting and evidence-informed decision making
The Commonwealth’s Performance Measurement and Reporting Framework and our own strategic plan indicators are formal reporting requirements, but they also have real qualitative value because of the conversations they enable across the organisation. They've helped create greater clarity about what we're trying to achieve, what good looks like, how we measure progress and how we use evidence and insights to inform decisions and improve performance.
People, capability and accountability
Over the past 18 months, strengthening NWMPHN’s people and performance practices has been a particular focus area. The senior leadership team along with human resources, is working to build a culture of ownership, continuous improvement and accountability for outcomes. The organisation is supporting clearer expectations, stronger accountability and more meaningful development conversations as well as broader process improvement work across the organisation.
Commissioning, planning and continuous improvement
Our Commissioning Planning Working Group (CPWG) has been a key element in our operations this year, creating a forum where we can look across organisational priorities instead of within individual programs. This has improved visibility of risks, dependencies, opportunities and emerging priorities, helping us identify and respond to issues earlier. We have also refined our commissioning processes, approaches and systems. This has improved consistency, coordination and organisational learning, creating stronger alignment between strategy, planning, commissioning and delivery.
Governance, risk and assurance
NWMPHN has redeveloped its Risk Management Framework and strengthened its focus on enterprise-wide thinking. Risk management is increasingly becoming part of day-to-day conversations rather than being viewed as a standalone compliance activity. This means clearer links between strategy, delivery, performance, risk and decision making.
Digital, quality and organisational capability
This year we have invested in upgrading our systems and digital capabilities and released NWMPHN's first ICT and Digital Strategy. We also advanced major cyber security initiatives including data loss prevention, strengthened information governance arrangements, upgraded our commissioning management system and continued to mature our reporting and information management capabilities.
We also tested the use of Microsoft Copilot, taking a planned and controlled approach to understanding how AI can be used safely, responsibly and effectively across the organisation.
“NWMPHN is at heart an evidence-based organisation,” said Emma McKeown, NWMPHN’s Executive Director, Insight, Performance and Digital Services.
“Evidence of the strength of our approach was found in the fact that we successfully maintained both our ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certifications, providing independent assurance that our information security, quality and governance systems remain effective.
“Our delivery of the Australian Government’s Medicare Mental Health (MMH) phone service was successfully verified under the National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards - a significant milestone that recognised the quality, safety, and integrity of our digital mental health service.”
Craig Walker, Executive Director, Systems, added: “This year has been less about launching new programs and more about strengthening the things that sit behind them.
“Nevertheless, our focus remains on ensuring NWMPHN is well-positioned to respond to both current and future health sector challenges. This includes maintaining strong financial stewardship, investing in our people and systems, and ensuring we continue to deliver value for our communities and funding partners.”
Ariana Mancarella, Director, Strategic Implementation and Engagement, saw the Commissioning Planning Working Group as particularly important.
“Over time, CPWG has evolved from an information-sharing forum into an important organisational coordination group,” she said.
“It has created a regular opportunity for teams to come together to discuss commissioning priorities, understand upcoming activity, and consider how commissioning, finance, legal, procurement and performance work needs to be sequenced and supported.”
