HFA Accountability Arrangements

HFA Accountability Arrangements
Date of publication: July 1998

One of the core functions of the Ministry of Health is to monitor the performance of the Health Funding Authority against the objectives agreed with the Government, and to monitor how effectively and efficiently the HFA is managing itself.

The Minister of Health issues a Crown's Statement of Objectives for the HFA. This sets out performance expectations for the HFA based on Government's broader strategic direction for health. At the same time the HFA is also informed of funding levels, and areas where the Crown gives the HFA little or no leeway, namely the financial operating environment, eligibility criteria, user-part charges and information requirements. The CSO must be gazetted so that there is public transparency on what is expected of the HFA.

This information guides the Health Funding Authority in developing its strategic business plan. The HFA and Minister then enter into a Funding Agreement which covers the HFA's funding levels and performance expectations and measures on:

the health and disability service coverage the HFA will contract for, in terms of a range of services, access times, user charges, and quality measures, to be delivered to the population.
the outputs to be delivered by the HFA (such as needs assessment, rationing, contracting and contract-monitoring)
the management of the HFA itself (ownership expectations).

The Funding Agreement is the key accountability document against which the HFA will be monitored by the Ministry of Health as the agent for the Minister of Health. The substance of the Funding Agreement is also summarised into a Statement of Intent to be tabled in Parliament for scrutiny and public accountability.