Project Assessment Framework (PAF) is a requirement under the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2019 (the FPMS). PAF is used across government to ensure a common, rigorous approach to assessing projects at critical stages in their lifecycle, from the initial assessment of the service required, through to delivery.

The PAF’s application is not limited to infrastructure projects or public private partnership (PPP) projects. At each stage, the project is assessed in terms of progress and quality to ensure alignment with strategic objectives and that the associated investment achieves value for money.

NB: general updates to the PAF were made in August 2024 and include:

• a new modern design;
• references to the new value creation and capture guidance material; and
• outdated content (e.g. superseded agency names or policy documents) has been removed.

The alignment between the PAF and BCDF Stages are depicted below. An accessible description of the diagram is also provided.

Accessible description of image above:

The top row of the diagram records four headings related to infrastructure planning and delivery stages which the PAF and BCDF stages are grouped under. These headings are: Project Conceptualisation, Project Options, Reference Project, and Procure and/or Deliver (if Directed).

The second row of the diagram is labelled ‘PAF – required under the FPMS’. From left to right it records each of the eight stages of the PAF: Strategic Assessment of Service Required, Preliminary Evaluation, Business Case Development, Supply Strategy Development, Source Supplier/s, Service Delivery Capability, Deliver Services, and Benefits Realisation.

The final row of the diagram is labelled ‘BCDF – guidance material under IPDP’. Also, from left to right, it illustrates the three stages of the BCDF: Stage 1: Strategic Assessment, Stage 2: Options Analysis, and Stage 3: Detailed Business Case.

The vertical alignment of these two frameworks is described below:

• The PAF Strategic Assessment of Service Requirement and BCDF Stage 1: Strategic Assessment align and are included under the Project Conceptualisation heading.
• The PAF Preliminary Evaluation and BCDF Stage 2: Options Analysis align and are included under the Project Options heading.
• The PAF Business Case and BCDF Stage 3: Detailed Business Case align and are included under the Reference Project heading.
• Finally, the PAF Supply Strategy Development, Source Supplier/s, Service Delivery Capability, Deliver Services, and Benefits Realisation stages align with the Procure and/or Deliver (if Directed) heading. The BCDF does not have any related stages as the BCDF supports proposal development only, and not delivery of the project.

The Infrastructure Proposal Development Policy outlines the Queensland Government’s approach to the assessment and assurance of infrastructure proposals and supports agencies in their infrastructure proposal development. This approach ensures that government can have confidence in the analysis and evidence used to support investment decisions, and that the investments will deliver positive outcomes.

When leading the development of major infrastructure proposals, agencies are required to use the Business Case Development Framework (BCDF) unless otherwise directed by the Queensland Minister for Infrastructure.

The BCDF supports proposal development through three key stages:

• Stage 1: Strategic Assessment – conception of the project.
• Stage 2: Options Analysis – assessment of options to identify the preferred option.
• Stage 3: Detailed Business Case – analysis of the preferred option/s.

The three stages are supported by a number of supplementary guides, including:

• Investment Logic Map
• Benefits Management
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Cost Benefit Analysis
• Social Impact Evaluation

Tools and templates have also been developed for the three stages and are included in the resources and toolkit pages of the IPD Hub.

The BCDF complements the guidance provided by the Project Assessment Framework by providing the detailed ‘how’ to the PAF’s ‘what’ for infrastructure proposal development.

The BCDF is designed to be scaled and adjusted to suit the stage of the proposal, the type of project, and the scope of the project. The Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning and Queensland Treasury are responsible for endorsing adjustments to the BCDF scope.

The Infrastructure Proposal Development Policy is also supported by the Infrastructure Proposal Assurance Framework (IPAF) which provides a risk-focused approach to supporting robust analysis in infrastructure proposals.

Assurance activities aim to:

• maximise business case quality by ensuring risks related to process and content are addressed during business case development
• maximise cost and time savings by focusing assurance activities on important aspects of the proposal relevant to the specific project
• minimise time and cost risks associated with the development of the business case
• ensure business case development benefits from previous projects’ learnings and minimises risks to government for project delivery and operations that can be addressed during business case development.

The IPAF is used for:

• identifying assurance activities to be applied during the development of a proposal
• determining the level of support and advice an agency needs to develop an infrastructure proposal.

A Gateway Review is a short, independent review of a program or project undertaken at key decision points in the program or project’s lifecycle.

Reviews are undertaken to identify opportunities that improve program or project delivery to ensure the best possible outcome. The benefits lie in the review team bringing a fresh perspective to identify risks and issues facing the program or project, thereby avoiding unnecessary costs and/or delays.

Reviews may occur at up to six points, known as 'Gates', during the lifecycle of the program or project, corresponding with the stages of the PAF.

Additional resources to support Gateway Reviews for infrastructure proposals can be found in the assurance section of the IPD Hub Toolkit.

Queensland Treasury’s Gateway unit can be contacted via: gatewayreviews@treasury.qld.gov.au.

The Gateway Review process’ Gate 0 – Strategic Assessment stage does not appear on the diagram as it is most commonly intended for Programs (rather than projects). In most cases, at the project level, minimal material has progressed at the PAF Strategic Assessment of Service Required stage, and thus there is insufficient content for a Gateway team to review.

The diagram illustrates how the stages of the Project Assessment Framework (PAF), Business Case Development Framework (BCDF), Infrastructure Proposal Assurance Framework (IPAF) and Gateway Review process align with each other. The PAF, BCDF, IPAF and Gateway Review processes are illustrated horizontally flowing from left to right. How each of the elements within the PAF, BCDF, IPAF and Gateway Review align with each other is illustrated vertically.

The top row of the diagram is labelled ‘PAF – required under the FPMS’. Flowing from left to right, it separately records each of the eight stages of the PAF: Strategic Assessment of Service Required, Preliminary Evaluation, Business Case Development, Supply Strategy Development, Source Supplier/s, Service Delivery Capability, Deliver Services, and Benefits Realisation.

The second row of the diagram is labelled ‘BCDF – guidance material under IPDP’. Also flowing from left to right, it illustrates the three stages of the BCDF: Stage 1: Strategic Assessment, Stage 2: Options Analysis, and Stage 3: Detailed Business Case.

The third row of the diagram is labelled ‘IPAF – guidance material for BCDF stages under IPDP’. It describes the IPAF as “Planning for risk-focused assurance activities related to proposal development to support the quality of the proposal and effective risk management for the project”.

The final row of the flowchart is labelled ‘Gateway Review’. It depicts five of the six stages of the Gateway Review process: Gate 1 – Preliminary Evaluation, Gate 2 – Business Case, Gate 3 – Contract Award, Gate 4 – Readiness for Service, and Gate 5 – Benefits Realisation. NB: Please see the above ‘drop down’ tab for explanation as to why the Gateway Review process’ Gate 0 – Strategic Assessment does not appear on the diagram.

The vertical alignment of the key frameworks is described below:

• The PAF Strategic Assessment of Service Required stage aligns with the BCDF’s Stage 1: Strategic Assessment.
• The PAF Preliminary Evaluation stage aligns with BCDF’s Stage 2: Options Analysis and the start of the IPAF’s guidance. The Gateway Review process’ Gate 1 – Preliminary Evaluation occurs directly after.
• The PAF Business Case Development stage aligns with the BCDF’s Stage 3: Detailed Business Case. At their conclusion, the IPAF’s guidance also ends. The Gateway Review process’ Gate 2 – Business Case occurs directly after.
• The PAF Supply Strategy Development stage and the PAF Source Supplier/s stage do not align to any Gateway Review processes.
• After the PAF Source Supplier/s stage, the Gateway Review process’ Gate 3 – Contact Award occurs.
• After the PAF Establish Service Capability stage, the Gateway Review process’ Gate 4 – Readiness for Service occurs.
• The PAF Deliver Service stage does not align to any Gateway Review processes.
• Finally, the PAF Benefits Realisation stage aligns with the Gateway Review process’ Gate 5 – Benefits Realisation.