Government Departments, Public Authorities & Agencies — Governance Five™ © Public-Value Governance Guide

In government settings, Governance Five™ © is used as a repeatable non-operational decision-to-delivery flow. It focuses on questions such as:

• How objectives, constraints and public-value principles are clarified before major initiatives proceed.
• How participation and voice are organised between departments, agencies, partners and communities.
• How evidence, risk and implementation realities are aggregated before decisions and announcements.
• How program designs, regulations and communications align with agreed governance decisions.
• How inquiries, audits, reviews and complaints are converted into governance learning.

The Governance Five™ Flow is:

• Govern – Clarify public-interest mandate, objectives, principles and constraints for the initiative or program (for example equity, integrity, transparency, efficiency, resilience, public value).
• Engage – Identify who must be heard before major non-operational decisions – other departments, agencies, regulators, communities, industry, local government, independent bodies – and record how they are engaged.
• Aggregate – Bring together data, evidence, modelling, risk assessments, lived experience and operational input into a clear, documented basis for decisions.
• Deliver – Align program rules, regulations, contracts, guidance, communications and reporting with what was agreed in the Govern / Engage / Aggregate stages.
• Evolve – Use audits, reviews, evaluations, complaints, feedback and external scrutiny to adjust governance settings and document what changed and why.

This flow can be applied at the level of a central ministry, line department, regulator, local government, statutory authority, cross-agency taskforce or intergovernmental program. Constitutional roles, democratic processes, statutory powers and professional standards remain unchanged.

Governance Five™ © is concerned with how non-operational public-interest decisions are structured, documented and traced – particularly when they affect:

• Policy and program design – how options, trade-offs and impacts are considered before commitments are made.
• Multi-agency and intergovernmental initiatives – how roles, responsibilities and participation are organised across jurisdictions and sectors.
• Public-value and impact claims – how statements about outcomes, fairness, equity or ESG are grounded in evidence and documented reasoning.
• Service and funding arrangements – how decisions about who delivers what, where and on what terms are governed beyond procurement mechanics.
• Risk, integrity and trust – how governance structures recognise risk, avoid conflicts and maintain public confidence.

It is especially relevant where government work involves:

• Complex, cross-cutting issues – such as health, climate, housing, infrastructure, justice, social services, digital transformation or sovereign capability.
• High public visibility and scrutiny – including media attention, inquiries, integrity bodies and parliamentary oversight.
• Blended delivery – where public, private, community and international actors share responsibility for outcomes.

In these settings, the Governance Five™ Flow – Govern → Engage → Aggregate → Deliver → Evolve™ © – provides a single authored non-operational governance structure that can be licensed and applied without altering constitutional or statutory arrangements.

Central agencies (for example finance, treasury, premier/cabinet, whole-of-government strategy units) can use Governance Five™ to structure non-operational governance around:

• how cross-government priorities and principles are articulated and applied across portfolios,
• how agencies and jurisdictions are engaged before major whole-of-government decisions,
• how fiscal, risk and impact information is aggregated before announcements,
• how commitments in budgets, strategies and public statements are supported by traceable governance evidence.

Parliamentary processes, cabinet conventions and statutory powers remain governed by existing constitutional and legal frameworks. Governance Five™ focuses on the non-operational decision structure and documentation that sit around those formal processes.

Departments and agencies in areas such as health, education, transport, justice, environment, social services and industry can apply Governance Five™ to non-operational governance of:

• how policy options and program designs are framed, consulted and recorded,
• how service models and delivery partnerships are chosen and justified,
• how regional or population impacts are considered and tracked,
• how statements about outcomes, fairness and access link back to governance decisions.

Professional practice standards (clinical, legal, educational, technical) and statutory duties remain in place. Governance Five™ provides a method-origin framework for the non-operational decision structure that shapes programs and public narratives.

Regulators and supervisory bodies can use Governance Five™ for non-operational governance of how they:

• develop guidance, expectations and thematic priorities,
• engage with regulated entities, professional bodies and community stakeholders,
• aggregate intelligence, risk, data and feedback into supervisory strategies,
• express public claims about system resilience, conduct, integrity or consumer protection.

Enforcement powers, investigations, individual case decisions and statutory discretions remain governed by the relevant laws and professional frameworks. Governance Five™ is concerned with the non-operational, system-level governance that surrounds and shapes regulatory approaches.

Councils and local authorities can apply Governance Five™ to structure local, non-operational governance around:

• community planning, infrastructure and amenity decisions,
• engagement processes, advisory groups and local partnerships,
• allocation of grants, facilities and local services,
• public claims about liveability, inclusion, resilience and community wellbeing.

Elected representation, local laws and statutory planning frameworks remain intact. Governance Five™ provides a method to make non-operational local decision pathways, participation and reasoning more consistent and traceable.

Statutory bodies and state-owned or public corporations often operate in hybrid spaces, combining commercial, regulatory, infrastructure or service roles. Governance Five™ supports non-operational governance over:

• how public-interest objectives and commercial considerations are balanced and documented,
• how boards, ministers, regulators, customers and communities are engaged on strategic choices,
• how risk, resilience and ESG narratives are grounded in governance evidence,
• how independence and accountability arrangements are made visible and understood.

Corporate law, enabling legislation and regulatory instruments remain the source of authority. Governance Five™ offers a transparent, repeatable method for structuring non-operational decisions and public-value narratives within those boundaries.

Government policies, grant programs, commissioning arrangements and procurement processes are governed by legislation and rules. Governance Five™ does not replace those; instead it helps structure the non-operational governance that sits above and around them, including:

• how objectives, constraints and fairness principles are set before design begins,
• how stakeholders, sectors and communities are engaged in shaping options,
• how evidence, risk, integrity and deliverability considerations are aggregated before final decisions,
• how public statements and documentation connect to the governance path taken.

Probity, procurement law, grant rules and contract management remain governed by the relevant frameworks. Governance Five™ shows how those tools sit inside a broader, auditable governance method from mandate to implementation and learning.

Governments increasingly publish statements about sustainability, ESG, social value, equity, digital inclusion, resilience and “public value”. Governance Five™ focuses on how these non-operational claims are governed and evidenced:

• how commitments are linked to specific governance decisions, participation records and evidence sets,
• how cross-agency contributions are recognised and coordinated,
• how trade-offs and constraints are acknowledged and documented,
• how changes over time are explained with reference to governance adjustments.

Governance Five™ does not define ESG standards or reporting obligations. It provides a method-origin framework that helps governments show that public-value narratives are anchored in a repeatable, auditable non-operational governance process.

Integrity bodies, audit offices, internal audit functions and risk teams often seek clear pathways from decisions and participation to outcomes and public claims. Governance Five™ can complement (not replace) existing standards by helping:

• make non-operational governance pathways visible and documented before scrutiny occurs,
• trace public statements and commitments back to specific governance decisions and evidence,
• show who was engaged, what information was aggregated and how trade-offs were considered,
• turn findings, recommendations and lessons into adjustments across the five stages.

Governance Five™ does not substitute for auditing standards, independence requirements, integrity legislation or professional judgement. It offers a structured, licensed governance method that can be referenced where appropriate in discussions about traceability, lawful origin and public-value claims.

About its role

• “We use Governance Five™ © as a non-operational governance framework to organise how decisions, participation and documentation are structured around our existing legal, policy, regulatory and financial obligations.”
• “Governance Five™ helps us show the path from mandate to engagement, aggregation, delivery and learning for programs that involve multiple agencies, stakeholders and communities.”
• “It is a licensed governance system, not legal, policy or financial advice. It complements, but does not replace, our jurisdiction’s constitutional, statutory and professional frameworks.”

About potential non-operational benefits

• “Using Governance Five™ may improve visibility and traceability across multi-agency and intergovernmental initiatives.”
• “It can reduce ambiguity about who is involved, when and under what rules in non-operational decisions that affect public value and community outcomes.”
• “It helps align engagement, evidence and implementation so that non-operational decisions are easier to explain to parliaments, auditors, integrity bodies and the public.”

About boundaries

• “Governance Five™ does not provide legal, policy, regulatory, financial or audit advice and does not alter statutory powers, obligations or professional standards.”
• “Decisions of ministers, parliaments, courts, regulators and auditors remain the responsibility of the appropriate authorities under their governing legislation.”

These examples are for informational purposes and are not prescriptions. They should always be reviewed by your own legal, policy, regulatory, risk, finance, audit and communications advisors before internal or external use.