Parliamentary departments | Australian National Audit Office (ANAO)

Portfolio overview

The parliamentary departments support the operation of the Parliament of Australia, its committees and members. There are four parliamentary entities: the Department of Parliamentary Services; the Department of the Senate; the Department of the House of Representatives; and the Parliamentary Budget Office.

The Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) is responsible for supporting the operation of the Parliament through the provision of a range of services, including library, research, Hansard, broadcasting, Information, Communication & Technology (ICT) services, physical and cyber security services, visitor services, catering, and building and landscape management. The departments of the House of Representatives and Senate support and provide advice to their respective chambers and parliamentary committees. The Parliamentary Budget Office is responsible for providing independent analysis of the budget cycle, fiscal policy and the financial implications of proposals. Further information about the parliamentary entities is available from the Parliament of Australia’s website.

In the 2026–27 Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) for the parliamentary departments, the aggregated budgeted expenses for 2026–27 total $380.7 million. The PBS contain budgets for those entities in the general government sector (GGS) that receive appropriations directly or indirectly through annual appropriation Acts.

The level of budgeted departmental and administered expenses, and the average staffing levels for entities in the GGS within the parliamentary departments are shown in Figure 1. DPS represents the largest proportion of the parliamentary departments’ expenses, and departmental expenses of the parliamentary departments are the most material component, representing 85 per cent of the entire parliamentary departments’ expenses.

Figure 1: Parliamentary Departments – total expenses and average staffing level by entity

Source: ANAO analysis of 2026–27 Portfolio Budget Statements.

Audit focus

In determining the 2026–27 annual audit work program (AAWP), the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) considers prior-year audit and other review findings to indicate the portfolio risks and areas for improvement. The ANAO also considers emerging risks from new investments and/or changes in the operating environment.

For the parliamentary departments, the primary risks identified relate to the appropriate asset management arrangements and workplace health and safety to support effective delivery of services at Parliament House.

In addition, specific risks also relate to information systems and data quality, service delivery, procurement, and asset management and sustainment.

Service delivery

A range of advisory and support services to the Australian Parliament and parliamentarians are provided by parliamentary departments, including administrative services, building and grounds services, ICT products and services, physical and cyber security services, budget and costing services, library and research services and visitor services. There is a risk that service delivery arrangements are not fit for purpose or appropriately designed to achieve the intended outcomes. This includes risks associated with governance arrangements, the quality and consistency of advice, adherence to established procedures, and the fit for purpose assurance and evaluation frameworks.

Procurement

Effective procurement activities are critical to support the operation of the Australian Parliament, including maintaining property and delivering services to parliamentarians. A key risk is achieving value for money in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, while ensuring procurement activities comply with relevant finance law requirements.

Asset management and sustainment

Effective management of assets at Australian Parliament House is essential to maintaining a safe, secure and accessible environment for parliamentarians, building occupants and visitors. This requires strong risk management across physical, information and personnel security, as well as contract management and workforce planning. The key risks arise from ageing infrastructure, complex capital works, fiscal pressures, limitations in asset condition data, and the need to balance heritage design integrity with contemporary safety, accessibility and operational requirements.

Information systems and data quality

Protecting the information systems and its data for Parliament is critical. There is a risk that DPS’s information systems may not be fit for purpose in providing transparent, complete, timely or accurate information and advice, particularly if vulnerabilities exist in ICT system resilience, reliability and user support. Weaknesses in data governance, cybersecurity, and the integrity of parliamentary information systems further increase the likelihood of system failure or misinformation. In addition, any shortcomings in the performance and effectiveness of digital services that underpin parliamentary operations and public access could compromise the quality and reliability of information provided.

Previous performance audit coverage

The ANAO’s performance audit activities involve the independent and objective assessment of all or part of an entity’s operations and administrative support systems. Performance audits may involve multiple entities and examine common aspects of administration or the joint administration of a program or service.

During the performance audit process, the ANAO gathers and analyses the evidence necessary to draw a conclusion on the audit objective. Audit conclusions can be grouped into four categories:

unqualified;
qualified (largely positive);
qualified (partly positive); and
adverse.

In the period between 2021–22 to 2025–26 the Parliamentary Departments were included in one performance audit. The conclusion for this audit was partly positive.

Figure 2 shows the number of audit conclusions for the parliamentary departments that were included in ANAO performance audits between 2020–21 and 2024–25 compared with all audits tabled in this period.

Figure 2: Audit conclusions 2021–22 and 2025–26: Parliamentary Departments compared with all audits tabled

Source: ANAO data

The ANAO’s annual audit work program is intended to deliver a mix of performance audits across seven audit activities: governance; service delivery; grants administration; procurement; policy development; regulation; and asset management and sustainment. These activities are intended to cover the scope of activities undertaken by the public sector. Each performance audit considers a primary audit activity.

From the ANAO performance audits between 2021-22 and 2025-26 one governance activity was tabled with the conclusion that it was qualified (partly positive).

Performance statements audit

The audit of the 2025–26 Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) annual performance statements is being conducted following a request from the Minister for Finance dated 29 September 2025, made under section 40 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. The audit is undertaken in accordance with section 15 of the Auditor General Act 1997.

DPS is in its second year of inclusion in the annual performance statements audit program. During the planning and interim phases of the audit, the ANAO assessed the overall audit risk associated with DPS’s performance statements as low.

The key risks identified in the Audit Strategy Document were:

the adequacy of processes and procedures to identify purposes and key activities;
the completeness of reported performance information;
the use of information sources and methodologies that are reliable, verifiable, and free from bias; and
the absence of an appropriate mix of qualitative and quantitative measures to assess performance.

Financial statement audits

Overview

Entities within the parliamentary departments, and the risk profile of each entity, are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Parliamentary Departments entities and risk profile

	Type of entity	Engagement risk	Number of higher risks	Number of moderate risks
Material entities
Department of Parliamentary Services	Non-corporate	Low	1	0
Non-material entities
Department of the House of Representatives	Non-corporate	Moderate
Department of the Senate	Non-corporate	Low
Parliamentary Budget Office	Non-corporate	Low

Material entities

Department of Parliamentary Services

DPS is responsible for supporting the Parliament through the provision of a range of services, including library, research, Hansard, broadcasting, Information, Communication & Technology, physical and cyber security services, visitor services, catering, and building and landscape management.

DPS’s total budgeted assets for 2026–27 are $3.4 billion, with land and buildings representing 89 per cent of the department’s total budgeted assets, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Department of Parliamentary Services’ total budgeted financial statements by category ($’000)

Source: ANAO analysis of 2026–27 Portfolio Budget Statements.

The key risk for DPS’s 2025–26 financial statements that the ANAO has highlighted for specific audit coverage, and that the ANAO considers a potential key audit matter (KAM), is the valuation of Parliament House. The significant value and the unique nature of Parliament House increase the judgement required and associated risk of accurately estimating the fair value. (KAM – Valuation of Parliament House)