Assessing compliance with the HSV Purchasing Policies

The framework is a set of structured guidelines and practices that:

• encourages low level intervention for compliance issues
• considers a health service’s capacity to comply
• considers a health service’s behaviour and compliance history
• promotes actions in proportion with the assessed level of risk
• provides flexibility to escalate or de-escalate issues as required
• promotes evidence-based decision making.

The framework has three pillars, including:

1. Support and prevention
2. Compliance monitoring
3. Compliance priorities

Support and prevention

The support and prevention pillar of the framework involves:

• providing ongoing support for health services through procurement tools and templates, and training to assist them with their procurement activity
• providing guidance to health services through selective intervention for high risk/high value procurement activities
• requesting health service feedback on the HSV Procurement Activity Plan to inform our annual sourcing program.

Compliance monitoring

The compliance monitoring pillar of the framework involves HSV monitoring health service compliance reports, including:

• triennial reports on compliance with the HSV PPs
• spot audits when requested
• annual self-assessment of compliance with the HSV PPs and HSV collective agreement contracts
• annual attestation of compliance with the HSV PPs published in health service reports of operations
• real-time reporting of high-risk non-compliance
• submitting product and service on-selling agreement registers.

Compliance priorities

The compliance priorities pillar of the framework involves HSV addressing patterns of non-compliance in health services with targeted initiatives using regulatory methods, tools and approaches outlined in our graduated compliance model.

See the reporting on the HSV Purchasing Policies page for more information on the reports health services must prepare and submit.

Image caption: A graphical representation of HSV's compliance framework

The HSV compliance framework is underpinned by a progressive approach to addressing situations where health services have not complied with the HSV PPs.

The approach is called the graduated compliance model (the model).

The model is transparent and promotes tailored, measured and consistent responses to compliance issues faced by health services.

If a health service fails to comply with the HSV PPs, we will assess the circumstances against a set of criteria and then use the graduated model to decide on an appropriate course of action.

The model provides a range of scenarios and responses and encourages lower levels of intervention where appropriate.

The model outlines a clear path of action for HSV to take based on:

• the level of risk assigned to the situation (risk rating)
• the health service’s history of compliance with the HSV PPs
• the frequency of a health services failure to comply.

For more information, see the graduated compliance guidelines.

Levels of intervention

Under the model, there are four levels of intervention we can take. They include:

Level 1: education and support

We will work with health services to help them achieve compliance. This includes offering tailored advice and support, educational tools, templates and access to online training.

Level 2: administrative action

Responses under level 2 require more consideration and will be tailored to the circumstances. Depending on the severity of the issue, we may choose to escalate the issue within the health service or ask the health service to provide more information. In more serious cases, we may require health services to undergo a spot audit.

Level 3: HSV direction

Under the Health Services Act 1988 (Vic), HSV has the power to give written directions to health services to direct them to maintain probity in their procurement activities.

Health services must follow directions from HSV, provided they are not inconsistent with an existing HSV collective agreement contract.

Level 4: report to the minister

Under the Health Services Act 1988 (Vic), HSV has a responsibility to monitor health service compliance with the HSV PPs. This includes reporting irregularities to the Victorian Minister for Health. However, we will only do this in the most serious cases.

Our response to serious situations may include referring a health service for investigation by a government body such as the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.

In most cases, we will give health services the opportunity to respond before we take further action.

Image caption: A graphical representation of the graduated compliance model

Download an accessible version of our graduated compliance model.