The Victorian Public Sector Commission (the Commission) was established on 1 April 2014 through an amendment to the Public Administration Act 2004 (the Act) and replaced the State Services Authority which was abolished pursuant to clause 3 of Schedule 3 of the Act.

The Commission’s principal address is:

3 Treasury Place
East Melbourne Victoria 3002

A description of the nature of the principal services is included in the “Report of operations” of the Annual Report which does not form part of these financial statements.

Basis of preparation

These financial statements are prepared in Australian dollars and the historical cost convention is used unless a different measurement basis is specifically disclosed in the note associated with the item.

The accrual basis of accounting has been applied in the preparation of these financial statements whereby assets, liabilities, equity, income, and expenses are recognised in the reporting period to which they relate, regardless of when cash is received or paid.

Consistent with the requirements of AASB 1004 Contributions, contributions by owners (that is, contributed capital and its repayment) are treated as equity transactions and, therefore, do not form part of the income and expenses of the Commission.

Judgements, estimates, and assumptions are required to be made about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on professional judgements derived from historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

These judgements and assumptions made by management in applying Australian Accounting Standards (AASs) that have significant effects on the financial statements and estimates are disclosed in the notes to which they relate. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised and in future periods that are affected by the revision.

These financial statements cover the Commission as an individual reporting entity and include all the controlled activities of the Commission.

Compliance

These general-purpose financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis in accordance with the Financial Management Act 1994 and applicable Australian Accounting Standards (AASs) including Interpretations, issued by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). In particular, they are presented in a manner consistent with the requirements of AASB 1049 Whole of Government and General Government Sector Financial Reporting.

Where appropriate, those AASs paragraphs applicable to not-for-profit entities have been applied. Accounting policies selected and applied in these financial statements ensure that the resulting financial information satisfies the concepts of relevance and reliability, thereby ensuring that the substance of the underlying transactions or other events are reported.

Other accounting policies

Significant and other accounting policies that summarise the recognition and measurement basis used and are relevant to an understanding of the financial statements are provided throughout the notes to the financial statements.