• Outcome indicators provide information on the overall impact of a service on the status of individuals and the community, and on the success of the service area in achieving its objectives. • Output indicators report on the characteristics of service delivery. • Outcomes may be short term (intermediate) or longer term (final). A short term police random breath testing ‘blitz’, for example, may achieve the intermediate outcome of fewer drunk drivers and lead to a short term reduction in road deaths. A longer term outcome of a permanent reduction in road deaths is likely to reflect external factors such as the design quality of cars and capital investment in improved roads. In school education, for example, learning outcomes at years 3, 5, 7 and 9 may be considered intermediate outcomes, while completion of year 12 or school leaver destinations may be considered final outcomes.