Data, Modelling and Analysis
The Data, Modelling and Analysis (DMA) section develop and operate models that determine the Commonwealth funding contribution to LHNs for delivering public hospital services (over $30 billion in 2024-25).
The section also reconciles estimated and actual service volumes through a range of data submissions (over 46 million records each year) related to public hospital funding. DMA are also responsible for linking hospital activity data with Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) claims data to identify if the Commonwealth has potentially paid for the same hospital service more than once (reviewing over 610 million MBS records per annum).
The team also engages with States and Territories on data quality and timeliness, sharing best-practice approaches across jurisdictions. This includes working with colleagues, jurisdictions and portfolio agencies to maintain the Administrator’s policies; Administrator’s Three Year Data Plan, Data Compliance Policy, Calculation and Reconciliation Framework and Data Matching Business Rules.
Finance
The Finance section provide financial support to the NHFB CEO and the Administrator, including maintaining the integrity of the Payments System. This includes working with colleagues, jurisdictions, industry partners and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on further enhancements to the Payments System, improving user experience and providing training and support.
The section monitors payments of Commonwealth, State and Territory public hospital funding into the Pool and improves funding transparency through their engagement with stakeholders and publication of monthly funding and activity data on publichospitalfunding.gov.au.
The section assists the Administrator in the preparation of the annual financial statements for each State and Territory Pool account which are audited by each State and Territory Auditors-General as well as preparation of the NHFB’s financial statements which are audited by the Commonwealth Auditor-General.
The section also manages the NHFB’s financial resources through sound budgeting and appropriate financial management practices.
Policy, Planning and Performance
The Policy, Planning and Performance section is responsible for developing the NHFB’s Strategic Direction, Corporate Plan, Organisational Performance Reporting and Annual Reports.
The section is also responsible for setting the strategic HR direction of the agency through the development and implementation of our Workforce Capability Plan, Workforce Diversity Plan and Learning and Development Strategy. Key to this is leading the NHFB’s positive workplace culture, through our United Leadership behaviours, where ‘how’ we do things is just as important as ‘what’ we do.
The section provides essential business support services to the NHFB, CEO and Administrator across corporate and operational functions, including risk management, assurance, governance, communications, security, management of Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) and Secretariat for the Administrator’s JAC and NHFB’s Independent Audit and Risk Committee (ARC).