What is: Delegations

Managing within your legal authority

As a manager, you’re given the legal authority or delegation to make certain financial and human resource decisions. It’s important you know the scope of your delegations and always act within them.

Why is this important and what’s my role?

The purpose of workplace delegations is to devolve legislated decision-making powers to the appropriate staff, in order to:

give staff authority to do their job
improve efficiency by giving authority to those responsible for a particular area of the business
enable senior management and staff to do their work in a timely manner
promote a consistent and standardised approach to delegating functions across the organisation
ensure a strong internal control framework.

When making administrative and operational decisions, it’s important that staff know the scope of their decision-making powers for each type of delegation.

Types of delegations and their purpose

There are two main types of delegations—HR delegations and financial delegations.

Only Metro North Health staff who have a payroll ID can hold a delegation. You can’t delegate to a contractor or consultant. You also can’t sub-delegate your delegation.

HR delegations

A wide range of human resource functions and activities require the approval of a line manager or HR delegate. Examples include:

workforce resourcing
employee benefits and entitlements
learning, development and performance
health management
employment separation

The Metro North Health HR Sub-Delegations Manual specifies nine levels of decision-making powers. Make sure you know the scope of your decision-making authority and don’t act outside this scope.

In some situations, an HR delegate will be asked to approve transactions which have a financial impact which is above the standard staff establishment costs, such as travel claims, overtime or training. An HR delegate should only approve requests if they also have financial delegation sufficient to cover the expense.

Financial delegations

Financial delegation is held by a position not an individual. You can check your financial delegation by clicking the ‘Delegations’ tile in myHR.

All financial delegates must complete mandatory training before exercising their delegation.
Financial delegation can be exercised either in-system e.g. purchase requisitions or invoices that have work-flowed to you for approval or off-system by using your physical signature.
When assessing whether you can approve a transaction, remember that delegation limits apply to GST exclusive amounts and must be sufficient to cover the whole-of-contract or purchase order amount.
Your financial delegation is limited to the cost centre or centres that you’re responsible for. Make sure you understand what you’re being asked to approve and whether it comes within those cost centres.
Some types of financial delegation are restricted. Check that you understand what you can and can’t approve.

Principles for exercising delegations

Being a delegate is a significant responsibility. All your decisions must be defensible. They must be made in an ethical and professional manner, in accordance with human rights obligations, and in compliance with relevant legislation and other authorities.

Delegates must:

operate within the constraints of the Metro North Health HR Sub-Delegations Manual and the Metro North Health Financial Delegation Framework
understand their individual delegation authority
exercise care and due diligence
accept responsibility for their decisions
observe all Metro North Health policies and procedures
ensure separation of duties.

All delegates must declare or avoid conflicts of interest and must not exercise delegations if it could be perceived that they will receive a direct or indirect benefit from their decision.

When exercising financial delegations, you’re responsible for making sure Metro North Health’s money is spent: