The ANAO could assess whether the strategic refocus of the Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) scheme has achieved its objective of delivering more impactful grants to high-quality exporters, with a greater focus on key diversification markets. Since 1974, the EMDG has been the Australian Government’s flagship program for supporting Australian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) aiming to expand into international markets. In 2021–22, the EMDG shifted from a reimbursement scheme to an eligibility-based, demand-driven program and this resulted in higher demand but lower grant amounts. The most recent funding round included a number of significant changes intended to improve program outcomes.

The ANAO could assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia’s (FCFCOA) client services arrangements, including court transcription services, complaint handling arrangements and/or timeliness of case management. The FCFCOA deals with family law applications, general law applications including fair work, bankruptcy, consumer law, human rights, administrative law and intellectual property and migration law. In September 2021, the FCFCOA commenced. The court replaced two federal courts: The Federal Circuit Court of Australia and the Family Court of Australia. The stated purpose of this merger was to ‘create greater efficiencies in the federal family law court system and, in turn, assist families navigating the court system during what can be some of the most difficult and distressing times of their lives.’

The North-South Corridor – Torrens to Darlington (T2D) project forms the final link in the North–South Corridor, a continuous 78 km motorway through metropolitan Adelaide, with expected completion in 2031. The ANAO could examine whether the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts effectively managed the approval and administration of the Australian Government’s funding commitment towards the T2D project.

Government entities continue to commission and deploy major ICT systems to improve service delivery, financial management, regulatory capability, or operational efficiency. Effective design, implementation, and management of residual risks and issues is important in ensuring investment in new systems is effective and achieves outcomes. The ANAO could examine whether selected entities have effectively planned and implemented new ICT systems, including ensuring risks are identified and managed, data governance arrangements are adequate, and appropriate assurance is obtained regarding the effective operation of the system prior to commissioning.

The ANAO could examine selected entities’ administration of government advertising campaigns and compliance with the requirements of the Australian Government’s campaign advertising framework. Between July 2021 and June 2024, the Australian Government advertising expenditure was $769.1 million.

The ANAO could examine the assessment and decision-making in relation to the provision of financial support from the Critical Minerals Facility (Facility). It could also examine how Export Finance Australia satisfies itself that the Facility is growing Australia’s critical minerals sector and expanding downstream processing. The $4 billion Critical Minerals Facility was established in 2021 to provide financing to projects that are aligned with the Australian Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy 2023–30. The purpose of the Facility is to help projects suffering from gaps in private finance to overcome these gaps and get off the ground. The funding can come in the form of loans, loan guarantees, bonds and working capital support and is intended as a complement to commercial financing. Funding is intended to support Australian businesses to move further up the value chain to downstream processing, as well as businesses that are part of the critical minerals supply chain. When assessing whether it can support a critical minerals project, Export Finance Australia must consider: Australian benefit; whether the mineral is identified in the Strategy; whether a comprehensive feasibility study has been completed; buyer commitment to purchase the product; use of proven processing technology; and the proponent’s financial, technical and commercial capacity.

The ANAO could conduct a follow-up to Auditor General Report No. 15 of 2023-24 Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) Management and Oversight of Fraud Control Arrangements for the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The previous audit found the ATO implemented partly effective strategies to prevent GST fraud, but the framework for assessing and managing GST fraud risk was not fit for purpose. The ATO had implemented largely effective strategies to detect and deal with GST fraud but did not have a strategy for large-scale fraud events. The audit included five recommendations for the ATO to improve arrangements for assessing and managing GST fraud risks, develop and implement a response for large-scale fraud events, and update its fraud indicator benchmark. The ATO agreed to all recommendations.

This follow-up audit could examine the ATO’s implementation of the five recommendations, having regard to any changed circumstances, or emerging risks.

The ANAO could assess reporting on Closing the Gap in Australian Government entities’ annual performance statements. The objective of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (Closing the Gap Agreement) is to overcome the entrenched inequality faced by too many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people so that their life outcomes are equal to all Australians. The Closing the Gap Agreement includes four priority reforms and 17 socio-economic outcome areas with 19 targets.

Australian Government departments of state are responsible for leading the Commonwealth’s actions to progress achievement of priority reforms, outcomes and targets relevant to their respective portfolios. Section 5 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 sets out the objects of the Act, which include requiring Commonwealth entities to provide meaningful performance information to the Parliament and the public. Annual performance statements are an important way of showing the Parliament and the public how effectively Commonwealth entities have used public resources to achieve desired outcomes.

The ANAO could assess the implementation and delivery of the aged care single assessment system. Aged care needs assessments for home and residential care are delivered through contracted organisations. In December 2024, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing awarded $1.5 billion in five-year contracts to organisations to conduct aged care assessments. The 2025–26 Federal Budget provided $53.2 million to support the staged digital implementation of the Aged Care Act 2024 to ensure continuity of assessment services, including through a single assessment system. As of October 2025, approximately 113,150 people were waiting for an aged care assessment, with an average wait time of 53.5 days (excluding assessments in the hospital setting). The single assessment system commenced in December 2025, consolidating three previous assessment arrangements, with the aim of simplifying and improving a person’s experience as they enter and progress through the aged care system. An integrated assessment tool uses a rules-based algorithm to classify older people into different funding levels.

The ANAO could assess the Department of Defence’s development and delivery of selected autonomous maritime capabilities (uncrewed). The 2024 National Defence Strategy (NDS) identified the investment in uncrewed and autonomous systems as one of the government’s key priorities. The 2026 NDS emphasised government’s continued investment in the development of autonomous underwater and surface vessels and the role of the autonomous capabilities such as Ghost Shark, Bluebottle and Speartooth in providing ‘opportunities to strengthen the long-term commercial viability of Australian production lines’ as well as the potential for ‘significant export opportunities.’ The 2026 Integrated Investment Program (IIP) documents a planned investment of between $4.8 to $5.8 billion over the decade in the development of autonomous and uncrewed undersea warfare capabilities. An audit could provide independent assurance to the Parliament on Defence’s acquisition processes for these uncrewed maritime capabilities to determine if the desired effect is being delivered.