Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00854:body:0:p29
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00854
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 83573–86737

officials and the grantee working collaboratively;
          * the best way to resolve issues that may arise; and
          * legal advice, where appropriate.
    14.10.   Officials should ensure that the grant agreement supports proper use and management of relevant money. The grant agreement should, at a minimum: define grant activity deliverables; outline schedule payments (according to progress); specify reporting requirements and acquittal procedures (if required)
          * A grantee's own policies and procedures should support the grant agreement and ensure the effective and efficient governance and accountability for the grant.
    14.11.   Where legislation, regulation, rules, government policy or ministerial direction imposes specific requirements such as how, to whom and in what form a grant is made or specifies particular terms and conditions, officials should meet those requirements.
    14.12.   A well-drafted grant agreement alone is not sufficient to ensure the objectives of the grant activity are met. Officials should ensure that grant agreements are supported by ongoing communication, active grants management and performance monitoring requirements, which are proportional to the risks involved.
          * Performance and financial monitoring provide useful information on which to assess the extent that objectives have been achieved.
          * Monitoring payments and progress are integral to good governance and risk management and provides a measure of assurance that relevant money allocated to grantees has been spent for its intended purposes.
          * Adequate and well-documented arrangements to ensure financial accountability are the basis of effective grant acquittal. Reliable, timely and adequate evidence is required to demonstrate that the grant has been expended in accordance with the terms and conditions of the grant agreement. Officials should balance the stringency and complexity of acquittal against the level of risk and take into account the cost of compliance. Active risk engagement and management strategies will help achieve this balance.
    14.13.   Value with relevant money should be considered in recommending and approving a variation to a grant agreement. Variations should not be used as an alternative to appropriately planning a new grant opportunity.
    14.14.   As a general rule, grant agreements should:
         * only be varied where necessary and for the length of time that will allow for the project or activities to be completed as originally agreed; and
         * not significantly change the scope of the initial agreement.
    14.15.   Extending an agreement via a variation for continued grant activities, or new activities/projects, may not achieve a value with relevant money outcome. This could be because:
         * changes may have occurred in the sector that impact on the existing grantee's willingness to continue to deliver grant activities;
         * input costs may have changed; or
         * new potential grantees could potentially offer better solutions to achieve the policy outcome.
    14.16.   Where there is a pattern of variations, officials