110th Anniversary

When the first Commonwealth Parliament assembled in Melbourne in May 1901, its immediate task was to begin building the necessary institutions of national government. The fourth Act passed by this Parliament was the Audit Act 1901, which created the office of the Auditor-General. John William Israel was appointed Auditor-General on 1 December 1901 and he held the position for 25 years.

The mandate of the ANAO has expanded over time to encompass the audits of the financial statements of all Australian Government entities and performance audits of public sector programs and agencies. Today, the Auditor-General Act 1997 recognises the Auditor-General as an independent officer of the Parliament. In addition to its audit services, the ANAO plays an important part in the improvement of public administration through the publication of better practice guides, client newsletters and the sharing of knowledge and expertise.

In 2011 the ANAO celebrated 110 years as a Commonwealth institution. To celebrate, a commemorative video was created. The video has been divided into 5 chapters to minimise file dowload size.