CAQA Department of Community Programs
The Department of Community Programs is a state government department that funds, regulates and supports community services across Victoria. It administers community grants programs worth about ninety million dollars a year, contracts not-for-profit organisations to deliver youth, seniors, multicultural and neighbourhood house services, and regulates the standards those funded providers must meet. The department advises the Minister for Community Programs, answers to Parliament through the annual report and budget estimates, and serves the public through its front counters, phone line and online portal. Its work touches thousands of volunteers, community organisations and local councils every year.
The department is led by a Deputy Secretary and organised into six branches: Grants and Programs, Policy and Strategy, Procurement and Contract Management, Regulation and Compliance, Community Engagement and Client Services, and Corporate Services. Head office in Melbourne holds the executive, policy, procurement and corporate functions. The Ballarat and Shepparton regional offices run the grants assessment teams, the front counters and the compliance officers who visit funded providers in western and northern Victoria. Standard hours are 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on business days, with the front counters open from 9:00 am and the after-hours line for provider incidents staffed by a rostered duty officer.
The department operates under the Public Administration Act 2004 and the Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees, with financial delegations, procurement and contracting governed by the Financial Management Act 1994 and the Victorian Government Purchasing Board policies. Personal information is handled under the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 and the Health Records Act 2001, records are kept under the Public Records Act 1973, and documents are released under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. An audit and risk committee oversees the fraud and corruption control plan, the risk register and internal audit, and the department reports to the Victorian Ombudsman, the Auditor-General and the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission when required.