Browse our range of publications including performance and financial statement audit reports, assurance review reports, information reports and annual reports.
This page lists completed performance audit reports. View all performance audits in-progress.
The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the administration of the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC).
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The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Energy Regulator’s regulation of energy markets.
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The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the management of cyber security risks by three government business enterprises or corporate Commonwealth entities. The entities selected for audit are ASC Pty Ltd, the Australian Postal Corporation and the Reserve Bank of Australia.
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The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Australian Taxation Office and the Department of Agriculture have effectively administered the Farm Management Deposits (FMD) Scheme.
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The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation’s (ARPC) management of the Terrorism Reinsurance Scheme.
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The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO’s) management of small business tax debt arising from compliance activities.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Phoenix Taskforce to combat illegal phoenix activities.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of arrangements for monitoring, evaluating and reporting progress towards Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage.
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The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Royal Australian Mint’s strategies for addressing the impacts of declining demand for Australian circulating coins are appropriate and effective.
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The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has established effective risk management arrangements to support the implementation of the Statistical Business Transformation Program.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the management of cyber risks by the Department of the Treasury, National Archives of Australia and Geoscience Australia.
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The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) and Treasury’s management of compliance with foreign investment obligations for residential real estate.
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The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of monitoring and payment arrangements under National Partnership Agreements.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Government’s personnel security arrangements for mitigating insider threats.
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The audit objective was to assess entities’ progress in implementing the corporate planning requirement under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and related PGPA Rule 2014.
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The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s use of settlements to resolve taxpayer disputes.
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The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office's processes for estimating and monitoring the costs, savings and benefits associated with the Reinventing the ATO program.
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The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the management of underperformance in the Australian Public Service (APS) and identify opportunities for improvement.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the child support collection arrangements between the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's processes for the prudential regulation of superannuation entities.
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The objectives of the audit were to:
- assess the effectiveness of the ongoing administration of the Australian Government’s campaign advertising framework; and
- assess the effectiveness of the selected entities’ administration in developing advertising campaigns and implementing key processes against the requirements of the campaign advertising framework applying at the time, and relevant legal and government policy requirements.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office in achieving revenue commitments established under specific Budget-funded compliance measures.
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The objective of the audit was to assess progress in implementing the corporate plan requirement under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
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The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) strategies and activities to address the cash and hidden economy.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in managing compliance with fair trading obligations.
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The objective of the audit was to assess whether appropriate steps were taken to protect the Commonwealth’s interests and obtain value for money in respect to the:
- approval of $1.5 billion in Commonwealth funding for stage one of the East West Link project, and the June 2014 payment of $500 million of this funding; and
- approval of $1.5 billion in Commonwealth funding for stage two of the East West Link project, and the June 2014 payment of $1 billion of this funding.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the administration of procurement initiatives to support opportunities for Indigenous Australians.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s administration of capital gains tax for individual and small business taxpayers.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office's activities to promote employer compliance with Superannuation Guarantee obligations.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s administration of enforceable undertakings.
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The objective of the audit was to assess how effectively and efficiently the Australian Taxation Office managed contact centres as part of its overall service delivery.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s administration of annual compliance arrangements with large corporate taxpayers.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the appropriateness of the use and reporting of confidentiality provisions in a sample of Australian Government contracts.
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The audit objective was to determine whether Australian Government agencies were implementing appropriate policies and processes to identify and manage conflicts of interest.
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The objective of this audit was to determine whether Australian Government entities were implementing effective strategies to support increased Indigenous employment.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the administration of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) financial industry levies.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s administration of debt relief arrangements.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s management of its property portfolio.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) management and reporting of selected information relating to the goods and services tax and the fringe benefits tax.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Tax Practitioners Board's implementation and administration of the regulatory arrangements for tax practitioners under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.
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The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the ATO’s administration of external debt collection arrangements.
The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the implementation and administration of the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House.
The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the ATO's management of its interpretative assistance activities for SMSFs.
The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Project Wickenby taskforce in making Australia unattractive for international tax fraud and evasion by detecting, deterring and dealing with the abusive use of secrecy havens by Australian taxpayers.
The audit objectives were:
- to assess the effectiveness of the revised certification process in promoting compliance of government advertising campaigns (campaigns) with the March 2010 Guidelines on Information and Advertising Campaigns by Australian Government Departments and Agencies (2010 Guidelines);
- to assess the effectiveness of agency administration in developing campaigns and implementing key processes against the requirements of the campaign advertising framework;
- to assess the effectiveness of Finance’s administration of the campaign advertising framework; and
- to assess the effect on campaigns of an exemption from the 2010 Guidelines.
The objective of the audit was to assess the implementation and effectiveness of the enhanced grants administration requirements for:
- reporting to the Finance Minister on the awarding of grants within their own electorate by Ministers who are Members of the House of Representatives;
- reporting to the Finance Minister on instances where Ministers have decided to approve a particular grant which the relevant agency has recommended be rejected; and
- the website reporting of grants awarded.
The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Australian Government agencies' management and implementation of measures to protect and secure their electronic information, in accordance with Australian Government protective security requirements.
The objective of the audit was to examine the Tax Office's administration of the Lost Members Register. In particular, the audit examined the Tax Office's governance arrangements for the LMR; its strategies for managing data quality; and its provision of access to LMR data. The audit also considered how the Tax Office's administration of the LMR has responded to recommendations made in the ANAO's earlier review (Audit Report No.17, 2005–06 Administration of the Superannuation Lost Members Register), relevant changes in funding and legislation supporting the LMR, as well as the Change Program.
The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Tax Office's administration of the wine tax.
Four key areas were examined in the audit: governance arrangements; interpretative assistance and advice; compliance approaches for Australian entities; and administering the rebate for New Zealand wine producers.
The ANAO conducted fieldwork in the Tax Office's Adelaide office between May and September 2010 and also held discussions with representatives from Customs, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and New Zealand Inland Revenue. The ANAO also consulted with representatives of wine producers, wholesalers, retailers, tax agents and key industry associations, seeking their views on elements of the Tax Office's administration of the wine tax.
The objective of the audit was to assess whether entities properly accounted for software assets, and adopted an integrated planning approach to inform software asset investment decisions.
The main focus of the audit was on whether entities accounted for software costs in accordance with relevant accounting standards and the FMOs, paying particular attention to the standard elements of an internal control framework and accounting practices. In addition, in the context of software asset planning, the audit considered whether entities assessed the risks associated with software assets, used life-cycle costing approaches, and aligned ICT and capital management plans, to inform decision-making on software asset investments.
The objective of the audit was to assess the implementation of the Australian Taxation Office's Client Contact – Work Management – Case Management system (CWC). The audit examined four key areas that included:
- progress of the CWC against the endorsed Change Program business case;
- improvements to the productivity and efficiency of tax administration as a result of the implementation of the CWC;
- improvements to client experiences when dealing with the Tax Office as a result of the implementation of the CWC; and
- effects of the CWC implementation, including additional benefits achievable beyond its current capacity to further improve tax administration.
The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the management of community intelligence by the Tax Office.
The audit objective was to assess the Tax Office's effectiveness in administering the tax obligations of non-residents.
The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Tax Office's administration of the Superannuation Co-contribution Scheme.
The audit reviewed five key areas: governance arrangements; information technology systems and controls; co-contribution processing; compliance approaches; and communication with clients.
The objective of the audit was to review and assess the use, and management of, automatic exchanges of information under Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) by the Tax Office.
The objective of this audit was to provide a strategic review on the progress of the Tax Office's implementation of the Change Program.
To achieve this, the ANAO examined:
- the planning for, and governance of, the Change Program, particularly in relation to the management of risk and the assurance framework established by the Tax Office, and its management of contractual arrangements for the project;
- implementation issues associated with Releases 1 and 2 of the Change Program, and more specifically in relation to Release 3, the first use of the new ICP system to process FBT returns; and
- the funding of the Change Program, including measurement and attribution of the costs of the project and consideration of any benefits realisation to date.
The Senate Order for Departmental and Agency Contracts (the Senate Order/the Order) was introduced in June 2001. The Order is one of several measures that the Senate introduced in recent years, to improve public knowledge of information on procurement and the expenditure of public funds. The main principle that underpins the Senate Order is that the Parliament's and public's access to this information should not be restricted by the inclusion of confidential information in contracts unless there is a sound basis for doing so. Public knowledge of information on contracted goods and services delivered to the government, can lead to better results for the Australian Government and the public. The Senate Order requirements have been amended over time to improve agency reporting, for example, on grants.
The objective of this audit was to determine whether selected Australian Government organisations had effective processes for managing the annual leave entitlements of their staff, and whether systems and controls over the processing of annual leave were working as intended. In addressing this objective, the audit also assessed progress being made by the audited organisations in implementing the recommendations in ANAO Audit Report No.16 2005-06.
In two letters dated 19 and 22 June 2009, the Prime Minister requested a performance audit of a range of matters relating to representations to the Treasury regarding automotive finance arrangements for car dealers. In response to these requests, the Auditor-General decided that ANAO would undertake a performance audit under section 18 of the Auditor-General Act 1997 (Auditor-General Act). The audit objective, based on the matters raised in the Prime Minister's correspondence and in the Parliament, was to examine and report on:
- any representations to the Treasury since October 2008 from all sources regarding automotive finance arrangements for car dealers, including any made in relation to John Grant Motors;
- the nature of these representations;
- the manner in which the representations were responded to by officials, having regard to any relevant standards and procedures; and
- any related administrative matters that came to attention.
The objective of this audit was to assess whether selected organisations had effective security risk management programs, including whether a selection of protective security risk treatment controls was working as designed.