This audit would assess the effectiveness of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT’s) design and inception planning of the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP). This audit would include an examination of frameworks under which the AIFFP Board has been established and will operate, and the efficacy of DFAT’s management of arrangements with Export Finance Australia.

The AIFFP was established in July 2019. The facility uses aid grant funding of up to $500 million, combined with long-term loans of up to $1.5 billion, to support infrastructure development in Pacific countries and Timor-Leste (over seven years). In 2020–21, Australia finalised financing for approximately $110 million in AIFFP investments in energy, information communication technology, and transport projects across three Pacific Island countries.

This audit would assess whether the award of funding under the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund was effective and consistent with the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines.

The RISE Fund was announced in June 2020 as a $75 million component of the COVID-19 Creative Economy JobMaker Package. It was expanded in March 2021 to be a $200 million program, as part of the COVID response package to support the arts and entertainment sector to reactivate. The program is intended to provide finance to assist in the presentation of cultural and creative projects, activities and events, and to rebuild confidence amongst investors, producers and consumers. This is to support employment of artists and workers in the arts and entertainment sector, as well as in connected industries such as hospitality, accommodation, transport, and freight. Grants are awarded via an open competitive process, with applications assessed and considered in batches until all funds are allocated.

This audit would examine the effectiveness of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s activities to support the recovery of threatened species and ecological communities following the 2019–20 bushfire season. It would include an examination of whether appropriate governance and prioritisation arrangements were in place to ensure funding was directed to the areas that need it most.

The 2019–2020 bushfire season severely impacted many threatened species and ecological communities. As part of the response, the Australian Government committed $200 million to help native wildlife and their habitats recover from the impacts of the bushfires. This includes an initial $50 million investment that was made available from January 2020 for urgent interventions and initial recovery actions, $110 million for strategic on-ground support for the most impacted native species across seven bushfire-affected regions, and funding to support scientific assessment and planning coordination.