SCC AA charter

Delivery mechanisms

Resources

The Tax Office will provide appropriate resources to ensure the chair and secretariat are able to meet commitments made to the forum's operations, in line with agreed budgets.

Frequency and timing of meetings

Meetings of this working group will be scheduled twice a year, with additional workshops or phone hook-ups as required.

In addition, members may be contacted by phone or email between meetings for feedback and suggestions on matters as they arise. Phone meetings will be limited, wherever possible, to one hour duration.

Members may contact the secretariat in writing between meetings to raise issues of a systemic administrative nature. These issues will be recorded as action items raised by members. A response will be provided to the member and the issue will be included in the agenda for the next meeting. The issue and response will be documented in the minutes of the meeting which are published on the Tax Office website once they have been endorsed.

The secretariat of this working group will advise members in advance of meeting dates, venues and times.

Consultation with members between meetings will be coordinated by the secretariat. The extent of additional consultations will be monitored by the chair and secretariat, in collaboration with members of this working group, to ensure that involvement of members is maintained at a mutually satisfactory level.

Records management

The secretariat will provide ongoing coordination and record keeping. Members will be given the opportunity to comment on the draft minutes of each meeting and to request changes. Final versions of the meeting minutes will be published on the Tax Office website.

Risks and issues management

The chair of this working group will identify risks and significant issues. The chair will ensure that:

• records associated with risks and issues are appropriately maintained, in accordance with Tax Office procedures
• corporate risks and systemic issues are communicated to relevant key stakeholders in the Tax Office
• risks are appropriately assessed and mitigation strategies implemented as deemed necessary, and
• issues are appropriately escalated, recorded and reported back to members on a regular basis.

Communication procedures

The chair is responsible for communicating decisions to members and other key stakeholders, such as Tax Office staff.

The chair will ensure that this working group provides reports to the SCC prior to each meeting of the SCC.

Liaison with members of this working group and the SCC will be coordinated by the secretariat of this working group.

Members will ensure that the secretariat has current contact details and will advise the secretariat of any specific communication requirements.

Payment

To reflect the collaborative nature of this working group and the partnership between the Tax Office and the superannuation industry, members will not be paid or reimbursed by the Tax Office for the cost of their time spent attending meetings or attending to issues of this working group.

Members of this working group will not be paid consultancy or sitting fees by the Tax Office.

The Tax Office will arrange and cover the cost of reasonable catering and venue hire for each meeting of the working group. Morning tea and lunch will generally be provided on the day of a meeting.

Escalation of issues

Where the chair and the majority of members of the working group conclude that a matter cannot be satisfactorily resolved, the chair is responsible for escalating the issue to the parent forum and/or relevant approver. Particularly important intelligence or sensitive issues are also to be escalated.

Conflicts of interest and roles procedures

Conflicts of interest and/or conflicts of roles are to be declared by all members as soon as they arise.

According to the Tax Office's Corporate Management Practice Statement - Committee Management, conflicts of interest arise when an individual's personal, financial or other interests compromise, influence or affect their role as a member of this working group. A conflict of interest can be real or apparent. It can also be both financial and non-financial in nature.

Conflicts of roles arise when members represent two different roles, the performance of which may raise perceived or actual conflicts.

The chair is responsible for determining the appropriate course of action for dealing with specific conflicts of interest. Depending on the conflict involved, the chair may excuse the member from the meeting for the relevant agenda item, or may take other appropriate action.