Figure 2.2 shows the key elements of the Library’s corporate governance structure.

The National Library Act 1960 provides that a council shall conduct the affairs of the Library. The Council has 12 members, including the Director-General, one senator elected by the Senate and one member of the House of Representatives elected by the House.
At 30 June 2012, there was one vacancy on Council. Appendix A lists Council members and their attendance at Council meetings.
In 2011–12, in addition to general administrative compliance and financial matters, Council considered a range of matters, including:
The Council has two advisory committees: the Audit Committee and the Corporate Governance Committee .
The role of the Audit Committee is to:
The Audit Committee comprises a minimum of three non-executive Council members. If required, Council may appoint external members to the Audit Committee. The Council Chair and Director-General also attend meetings. Details of Audit Committee members and meeting attendance can be found at Appendix A.
In 2011–12, the Audit Committee considered a range of matters, including:
The role of the Corporate Governance Committee is to:
The Corporate Governance Committee comprises three non-executive Council members—the Chair, the Deputy Chair and the Chair of the Audit Committee—and has the authority to coopt non-executive Council members.
Appendix A lists the Corporate Governance Committee members. In February 2012, the Corporate Governance Committee met to consider a Council evaluation and, in June 2012,
it met to discuss the Director-General’s performance .
The Corporate Management Group (CMG), consisting of the Director-General and the six senior executive service (SES) staff, provides strategic and operational leadership for the Library.In particular, it monitors the achievement of objectives and strategies, oversees budget matters, develops policy, coordinates activities across the organisation and oversees a range of operational issues. CMG meets weekly.
A number of cross-organisational committees advise CMG in key areas, such as workforce planning, asset management, building works, collection development and management, events and education, exhibitions and publications.
The Balanced Scorecard continues to be the Library’s principal planning support system, facilitating the integration of strategic, operational and budget planning. Since its introduction in 2000–01, the Balanced Scorecard has proven to be a successful performance management tool accepted by staff and other stakeholders. All scorecard achievements, initiatives and targets are reviewed regularly as part of strategic management planning and monitoring processes.
The Library’s Risk Management Framework continues to provide effective tools for the identification and evaluation of and response to risks that may affect the collection, core business functions and resources and/or strategic decision making. The Library’s Risk Management Register, which is subject to annual review, is central to this framework. The register lists risks to the Library, as well as risk-reduction strategies. These strategies are managed through established procedures and plans, such as the Collection Disaster Plan, the IT Disaster Recovery Plan, the Business Contingency Plan for Critical Building Systems and the Business Continuity Plan.
Risk management within the Library is overseen by the Library’s Emergency Planning Committee, which is chaired by the Assistant Director-General, Corporate Services, and includes SES staff representing all business areas. The committee provides a clear control structure to identify, monitor, respond to and mitigate risks that may affect the Library.
Following completion of Strategic Directions 2012–14, the Library undertook a legal risk-management review to help safeguard the organisation against high-level risks associated with reputation, litigation and professional exposure. Although no major residual risks were discerned, the review was useful for both Trove and the Digital Library Infrastructure Replacement project.