February 2020 Board meeting minutes

Dams Safety NSW Board Meeting No 4 - 25 February 2020

Location: Kookaburra Room, Level 48, MLC Centre, Sydney

Time 9.30am to 4.00pm

Invitees - Ross Carter (Chair), Alex Fisher (Deputy Chair), Eric de Rooy (via teleconference), Shane McGrath, Rob O'Neill, John Stacpoole, Chris Salkovic, Peter Skehan (Secretariat), Margaret Hynes (Capability Manager), Peter Boyd (Governance & Assurance Manager), Jason Porter (A/Operations Manager)

Guests - Jim Bentley (Deputy Secretary Water, DPIE), Director Business Advisory, DPIE, Hayden Fisher & Laura Cassar (CIE), Engin Hizbas (Engineer, Dams Safety NSW), Heather Middleton (A/Senior Audit Officer)

Minutes: Peter Skehan

Approved: 24 March 2020

Item	Decision and Action
1	Welcome - Ross Carter, Chair DSNSW The Chair acknowledged the traditional owners and welcomed all in attendance
2	Conflicts of Interest - Ross Carter, Chair, DSNSW Nil
3	Minutes and actions from previous meeting - Ross Carter Minutes and actions from the previous meeting were accepted.
4	Dams Safety NSW Finances - Signing of financial delegations - Director Business Advisory DPIE The Director of Business Advisory DPIE presented an overview of financial governance for the Members. Specifically outlining: Business advisory aims Budgetary management The role of the Expenditure Review Committee (ERC) The mechanisms by which to access ERC approved funding The function of the special funds account for DSNSW The Director informed the members that he would attend another meeting to answer further questions. Financial delegations were signed by the Members noting that more detailed controls would be incorporated in the delegation assurance framework.
5	Presentation by Centre of International Economics (CIE) - Hayden Fisher Hayden Fisher from the CIE presented fund recovery options to the Members. Members noted the presentation and the need to ensure operational data was captured to support development of potential fund recovery methods. Members decided that, in the absence of detailed costing data, the most significant cost-driver is the consequence category of the dam.
6	CEO update - Chris Salkovic Chris Salkovic presented his CEO update. Key issues covered were: Guideline development Dams safety training Funding for the current financial year CEO accountabilities The specific risks around submitting a work plan for budget approval was discussed. Stakeholder engagement People resourcing and recruitment.
7	Charter, code of conduct and operating manual - Ross Carter Edits made to Operating Manual were accepted. Further work required on Charter and Code of Conduct.
8	Timeline for visiting High Risk Dams - Engin Hizbas, Senior Dams Engineer. DSNSW Engin Hizbas presented the timeline for visiting dams above the Safety Threshold. Members discussed societal risk posed by these dams. Members agreed that DSNSW staff should develop a dashboard for the dams whose risk is above the Safety Threshold, with traffic lights to show compliance history of the relevant dam owner and the trajectory of each dam in reducing its risk below the Safety Threshold.
9	Deep dive – two High Risk Dams a. Floraville Detention Basin b. Palm Tree Grove Detention Basin - Heather Middleton Heather Middleton presented an overview of Floraville Detention Basin and Palm Tree Grove Detention Basin.
10	Guideline Process - Peter Boyd Carried over until next meeting.
11	Regulatory Policy (transition) - Peter Boyd Policy accepted by the members.
12	Deputy Secretary Water - Jim Bentley Discussion of strategic water management context, DSNSW funding and governance issues.
13	Strategic Plan on a page - Ross Carter A discussion on the strategic plan was undertaken. General changes in content and language were discussed and edits recommended. Focus to be through a customer lens. Values were accepted however further work required on the behaviours.
14	Strategic Risks - Ross Carter Ross Carter presented the strategic risks confronting DSNSW. The importance of emphasising ‘Capacity, Capabilities and Relationships’ was recommended by the members. Two additional strategic risks were discussed, risk of stakeholder rejection of mission and the risk that DSNSW’s approach to regulating dams safety does not achieve the required outcomes.
15	IT system - Margaret Hynes Carried over until next meeting
16	General business The Risk Appetite was discussed with some minor suggestions on grammatical changes. Submissions related to the Guideline process were discussed. Next meeting: 24 March 2020