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Process for Actioning Changes

Date Published

Regular monthly updates

Regular updates are made as follows:

  1. The Sub-Editors or the author of any major changes will email the changes to the Manual Editor, or other authorised person, for approval together with the ‘Request for Approval of Changes to the Manual of Practice and Procedure’ form (Attachment B).

  2. The Manual Editor, or other authorised person, emails the approved changes to the Technical Communications team (email address MDB-Technical-Communicators) who will generate a draft for checking. This should normally be done by the start of the third week of the month.

  3. The Technical Communicators will update the on-line version in a test environment and forward this back to the Manual Editor, or other authorised person, for checking.

  4. The Manual Editor, or other authorised person, will ensure that the Manual is checked.  The Sub-Editors or the author of any major changes will be involved in this checking.  Feedback from the Sub-Editors or author should be sent back to the Manual Editor or other authorised person.  This should normally be done by the end of the third week of the month.

  5. The Manual Editor, or other authorised person, will email any corrections or further changes, such as formatting or presentation, to the Technical Communicators.

  6. Once the Manual Editor is satisfied that the version of the Manual in the test environment is ready for publication, they will send an email to the Technical Communicators advising them that the Manual is approved for publication.

  7. If the update involves a PERP code change, the Volume 6 Sub-Editor or the Manual Editor will arrange for the PERP code database administrator to update the PERP code database to reflect the new PERP code.  The Volume 6 Sub-Editor or Manual Editor will also liaise with the database administrator to ensure that, after the PERP code database has been updated, a check of DocGen confirms the correct functionality of the new PERP code.

  8. Having received approval from the Manual Editor to publish the Manual, the Technical Communicators will, on the date agreed for publication, update the final version of the Manual on the intranet, and organise for the final version to be updated on the internet. This is normally done on the first working day of each month.


Note:  All changes to the Manual, their communication and review (evaluation)are to be made in accordance with the principles and guidance laid out in the IP Australia Change Management Framework.

Emergency updates

Emergency updates are those that cannot wait until the regular updates.  Examples of emergency updates may include:

  • Broken links;
  • Changes to Volumes 4 or 5 due to a production release in DocGen or PAMS;

  • PERP code changes; and

  • The correction of serious errors.

Emergency updates are made as follows:

  1. The Sub-Editors or the author of any major changes will email the changes to the Manual Editor, or other authorised person, for approval together with the ‘Request for Approval of Changes to the Manual of Practice and Procedure’ form’ (Attachment B).

  2. The Manual Editor, or other authorised person, emails the approved changes to the Technical Communications team (email address MDB-Technical-Communicators) who will generate a draft for checking.

  3. The Technical Communicators will liaise with the Manual Editor regarding the publication date of the Manual.

  4. The Technical Communicators will update the on-line version in a test environment and forward this back to the Manual Editor, or other authorised person, for checking.

  5. The Manual Editor, or other authorised person, will ensure that the Manual is checked.  The Sub-Editors or the author of any major changes will be involved in this checking.  Feedback from the Sub-Editors or author should be sent back to the Manual Editor or other authorised person.

  6. The Manual Editor, or other authorised person, will email any further changes, such as formatting or presentation, to the Technical Communicators.

  7. If the emergency update involves a PERP code change, the Volume 6 Sub-Editor or Manual Editor will arrange for the PERP code database administrator to update the PERP code database to reflect the new PERP code.  The Volume 6 Sub-Editor or Manual Editor will also liaise with the database administrator to ensure that, after the PERP code database has been updated, a check of DocGen confirms the correct functionality of the new PERP code.

  8. The Technical Communicators update the final version of the Manual on the intranet, and organise for the final version to be updated on the internet.  This may also include regular updates that have already been actioned.

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