1.5 Role of the Program and Service Advisor (PASA)

A Program and Service Adviser (PASA) is responsible for developing collaborative relationships with organisations, to facilitate local service planning, monitor performance and adherence to departmental policy and program guidelines and requirements. This includes managing the service agreement process.

A PASA may also be responsible for managing resources such as the budget, to support the service sector and networks to respond to the community in a planned and efficient manner.

Core functions of the PASA include:

• service agreement process
• policy implementation and funds allocation
• service monitoring
• relationship management
• service development and planning
• portfolio/project management
• leadership and management

Service agreement process

For the service agreement process, each organisation is assigned a PASA as primary contact, who is responsible for overseeing negotiations for the service agreement and all variation processes with an organisation.

Additional PASAs with service plan responsibility also liaise with the organisation on specific program issues, service development initiatives, and carry a responsibility within the service agreement process.

Monitoring framework for the health, housing and community service sectors

The purpose of the Monitoring Framework is to build a sustainable funded human services sector, by strengthening and monitoring accountability arrangements. The Monitoring Framework has been developed to address Ministerial and Auditor General concerns about the performance and viability of funded organisations and incorporates the philosophy of the partnership agreement.

In summary, the Monitoring Framework:

• specifies basic compliance and accountability for funded organisations
• uses risk management to determine the intensity of monitoring
• assesses agency governance and additional financial issues only if warranted
• includes action plans, if needed.

The three key elements of the Monitoring Framework are:

• core monitoring of organisations: maintaining legal status, collecting service agreement performance data, financial accountability reporting, incident reporting, complaints management, asset register, fire risk management
• a desktop review that provides for a preliminary assessment of an organisation’s performance, against a series of key risk factors
• a service review to be conducted only where the desktop review has identified high level of risk or issues of concern.

Guidelines have been developed to assist staff responsible for monitoring funded organisations. These guidelines provide background information, guiding principles, roles and responsibilities and details of how the Monitoring Framework will operate.

A booklet for organisations about the Monitoring Framework can be obtained from the Funded Agency Channel