Data reliance
We have relied on the accuracy and completeness of the data submissions from each department and agency. If departments or agencies become aware of errors in their submission, we should be notified of those errors to enable corrections to this report.
We have performed some checks for reasonableness on the data supplied by departments. Our checks included:
- Duplication - review for duplication within submissions, e.g. due to machinery of government restructuring.
- Expenditure validation – identifying and querying any unusual or unexpected trends in expenditure. For example, we compared forecast FY22/23 against prior year actual expenditure.
- Review of targeted nature of program – using publicly available information we reviewed large programs to verify their classification as First Peoples-specific expenditure.
Data quality
First Peoples-specific expenditure data has not historically been collected and reported centrally within Victorian Government, and therefore no consistent reporting frameworks have been established. During this exercise, it was not unusual for departments to report that collecting the data for the first time was difficult, requiring input from a range of stakeholders.
Therefore, it is likely that the data will include some level of inaccuracy. This would be consistent with the experience in other jurisdictions that have reported on First Peoples-specific expenditure.
Missing data
The Department of Government Services was excluded from this report as it was formed on 1 January 2023 and did not have a full financial year of data to report on.
Updated