Assurance alignment

The role of assurance is to provide information to those that sponsor, govern, and manage a project or program to help them make informed decisions to promote the conditions for success, reduce the causes of failure, and deliver improved outcomes.

All digital projects and programs are required to undertake assurance in accordance with the Queensland Government Enterprise Architecture (QGEA) gated assurance policies and frameworks (e.g., Program and project assurance framework).

The projects and programs that fall within the Digital Investment Governance Framework (DIGF) are required to follow the DIGF Steps. The DIGF Steps are aligned to the QGEA gated assurance policies and frameworks, and the Department of Customer Services, Open Data, and Small and Family Business (CDSB) will use and leverage the reviews undertaken to provide digital investment guidance.

Assurance is important as it assists in maintaining the delivery confidence in the implementation of a proposal. The alignment of the DIGF Steps with the QGEA gated assurance policies and frameworks assists with minimising the governance burden for projects and programs.

The agency will work closely with the CDSB to meet the requirements for assurance planning and ongoing implementation set out in the QGEA gated assurance policies and frameworks. The agency will be required to complete the assurance profiling tool, develop an assurance plan and submit these documents to CDSB for review. Relevant gated assurance reviews will also be submitted at each DIGF Step, including supporting documents/evidence against the gate criteria, and an action plan addressing recommendations that have arisen from the report.

The agency should consider undertaking a health check, or Gate 0 review if a program, if the time span between reviews is material or the impact and complexity of the project or program characteristics warrant it. The agency will also review, update and resubmit (if updated) the assurance plan at each DIGF step.

For projects and programs that are not required to be monitored or tracked in accordance with the DIGF Steps, the agency is required to provide an approved copy of their assurance profiling tool to the CDSB. Gated assurance reviews required under the QGEA gated assurance policies and frameworks are not required to be submitted to the CDSB but are welcome. The agency may request a review or guidance from the CDSB concerning the investment at any time.

The reviews undertaken by CDSB in the DIGF Steps complement the QGEA gated assurance policies and frameworks. CDSB will use the Gate Review documentation submitted by the agency, or agreed alternate assurance processes, to inform its review at each DIGF step, taking into consideration prior Gate Review reports, recommendations, and action plans, and provide guidance and advice as required.