• Section 1 - Glossary
• Section 2 - Policy
• Section 3 - Procedures
• Section 4 - Guidelines

Purpose

(1) This Procedure defines the process for the preparation and communication of management reports to the Charles Sturt University Council and its committees.

Section 1 - Glossary

(2) In this Procedure:

1. University - means Charles Sturt University.
2. Council - means Charles Sturt University Council and its committees.
3. Management report - means any report, submission, briefing, paper, business case, presentation or other form of communication that is prepared by senior staff for submission to the Council through the Vice-Chancellor.
4. Vice-Chancellor's Leadership Team - means the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students), Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Engagement), Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director, People and Culture.

Section 2 - Policy

(3) Nil.

Section 3 - Procedures

(4) The Vice-Chancellor is the principal executive officer of Charles Sturt University (the University) and is solely responsible for communicating the achievements, strategies and challenges of the University to the Council from a whole-of-institution perspective.

(5) Under Council Rules, only members of the Council (or the University Secretary in limited circumstances) may submit reports, motions or proposals for consideration of the Council. The Vice-Chancellor is the sole management member of the University Council.

(6) It is essential that each management report is submitted to the Vice-Chancellor (at vc@csu.edu.au) prior to the close of agenda, and that submissions are clear, accurate and informed by a whole-of-institution perspective.

(7) To ensure ease of reading, and to allow for electronic distribution of business papers, the University Secretary has developed standard submission templates that have been approved by the Council for all management reports and presentations to Council. These submission templates are available on the University Council website under the Governance navigation tab. The relevant submission template must be used in all cases and must be submitted in MS Word format with all relevant tables and graphics incorporated into the Word document (separate excel, PDF and image files will not be accepted). Style sheets may not be used as this interferes with the compilation of submissions into the Agenda pack. A standard template for PowerPoint presentations to Council is also available and must be used by management in making presentations to the Council.

(8) As the principal executive officer of the University, and sole management member of the Council, the Vice-Chancellor has responsibility for reviewing and submitting all management reports and presentations to the Council.

(9) Audit and related reports prepared by the Internal Auditor, or an external auditor on request of the Internal Auditor or Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, will be referred to the relevant Faculty or Division for a 'management response' prior to finalisation of the report. Once completed, draft management responses must be submitted to the Vice-Chancellor by the relevant manager or executive with a copy of the relevant audit report. The Vice-Chancellor will review and amend (where necessary) the management response and then submit the approved management response to the Internal Auditor or relevant auditor. Once the approved management response has been submitted by the Vice-Chancellor, the Internal Auditor may submit the final report to the University Secretary for inclusion in the Agenda of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee (or Council or other committee). In submitting the report, the Internal Auditor or relevant auditor must confirm that management responses have been approved by the Vice-Chancellor before the University Secretary will accept the item for inclusion on the Agenda.

(10) In some cases, the Vice-Chancellor may approve an individual senior executive to submit a routine management report or presentation on a specific topic to the Council on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor for the inclusion in the Agenda of a meeting of the Council. These documents are submitted on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor in all cases. The approved documents are listed under clause 15.

(11) Management reports and presentations must be submitted to the Vice-Chancellor electronically using the relevant submission template.

(12) Management reports and presentations must be submitted to the Vice-Chancellor no later than three working days prior to the close of agenda (the close of agenda dates for each meeting are listed in the University Council and Committees - Meeting and Agenda Schedule available on the University Council web site). The Council may not consider late papers submitted after the close of agenda unless a written explanation is provided for the lateness of the paper.

(13) The Vice-Chancellor will review the management report and either:

1. submit it unamended to the University Secretary for inclusion in the Agenda;
2. amend the document and submit it to the University Secretary for inclusion in the Agenda;
3. refer the management report to the Vice-Chancellor's Leadership Team for consultation prior to submission to the University Secretary for inclusion in the Agenda; or
4. refer the management report back to the officer who prepared the report and seek amendments.

(14) Management reports (except those listed below) should not be submitted to the University Secretary directly for inclusion in the Agenda. The University Secretary will only accept management reports (except as listed below) from the Vice-Chancellor or the Vice-Chancellor's Executive Officer on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor.

(15) The following management reports and presentations may be submitted directly to the University Secretary through the Manager, Council Business for the Committee on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor:

(16) The University Secretary will generally refer reports, presentations or proposals from other members of the Council to the Vice-Chancellor (unless precluded by the subject matter of the submission) to enable the Vice-Chancellor to prepare a response if required.

(17) Nothing in this Procedure is intended to interfere with or alter the process for submission of reports to the Council, or an officer of the Council, in accordance with relevant University policies or procedures on whistle-blowing. The University Secretary (or relevant officer) shall not disclose reports or allegations in accordance with his or her obligations or as required to preserve the integrity of confidential reporting processes.

Section 4 - Guidelines

(18) Nil.