The objective of the audit was to report to Parliament on the ATO's management of its performance reporting within the outcomes and outputs framework and to identify potential areas for improvement in specifying, measuring, administering and reporting under that framework.

The Australian Diplomatic Communications Network was developed to provide a secure communication and automation capability for domestic offices and overseas posts. The audit focussed on project management of the ADCNET project, and in particular:

• how effectively the ADCNET project was managed;
• how effectively project risks were managed; and
• the extent to which project management processes have established whether ADCNET meets the specifications set by, and the expectations held by, DFAT, as well as any lessons to be learnt for this and other future projects.

Mr Ian McPhee, PSM - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the CPA Australia, International Public Sector Convention, Melbourne

Mr P.J. Barrett (AO) - Auditor-General for Australia, Opening Address to the inaugural conference of the Risk Management Institution of Australasia - Bringing Risk Management Together - What the Future Holds

The overall objective of this audit was to assess the management of the physical protection of Australian missions and staff overseas. The high-level criteria for the audit are set out at Appendix 1 of the report.

The audit process involved an assessment of the payroll arrangements in Commonwealth organisations. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether organisations have established internal control frameworks for the management of payroll operations, assess whether payment of salaries and related expenditures is made in accordance with the relevant terms and conditions of employment, and identify better practices in the management and operations of payroll systems.

The audit reviewed the Amphibious Transport Ship Project, involving the acquisition and modification of two second-hand US Navy ships . The objective of the audit was to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of Defence's management of the project, focusing on the capability development process, costs and schedule issues, contract issues, the management of project risks and project review processes.

The audit reviewed six budget-funded agencies (Australian Customs Service, Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink, Department of Defence, Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, and Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) and two off-budget entities (Airservices Australia and Reserve Bank of Australia). The ANAO also examined the Office for Government Online's (OGO, formerly the Office of Government Information Technology, or OGIT) whole-of-government coordination of the Commonwealth's Year 2000 efforts.

Allegations were made to the Senate Economics References Committee that the Australian Taxation Office and Australian Customs Service (Customs) had failed to pursue several cases of detected sales tax fraud. The Committee believed that this alleged failure may have stemmed from coordination problems between the two agencies. The Committee requested the Auditor-General to investigate this matter and report his findings to the Parliament.

The audit reviewed fraud control arrangements in the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs. The objective of this audit was to establish whether the Department had developed a sound fraud control framework by examining the arrangements for: · policy and planning; · performance assessment; · quality assurance; and · training and awareness raising.