Secondment/exchange program
The secondment and exchange program provides an opportunity for staff to work in other organisations to enhance their skills and knowledge by sharing experiences, information and knowledge. This arrangement is also a reward for sustained high performance and forms part of our retention strategy.
Placement in APS agencies
A total of eleven staff members were seconded to the agencies, on a cost-recovery basis, over the reporting year. Seven staff members from Assurance Audit Services gained experience in finance areas and four performance audit services staff applied their skills in non audit areas of selected agencies. Table 5 lists those involved in this initiative.
Placement in parliamentary committees/departments
A short term placement was arranged with the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) to improve a staff members understanding of the Parliamentary process and foster stronger relationships between the ANAO and the JCPAA.
Exchange placement – Canada and Ireland
The exchange placements program with the Office of the Auditor-General of Canada and the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of Ireland continued this year. The placements involved mainly assurance audit staff members working overseas for a four to eight week period, with reciprocal arrangements as set out in Table 5. These placements provide participants with a range of valuable work experiences and are viewed as an important development opportunity. In addition, we have benefited from some placements which have enabled us to reduce the use of contractors at peak periods. One performance audit staff member was placed with the Office of the Auditor-General in Canada from August to November 2006.
Table 5: Summary of staff secondments and exchanges during 2006–07
