The Audit Activity Report: January to June 2003 summarises the activity and outputs of the Australian National Audit Office for the second half of the 2002-03 reporting year. The Report outlines the key findings of performance and financial control audits, and summarises audits tabled and better practice guides published during January to June 2003.

The audit surveyed a wide range of Commonwealth agencies' Year 2000 preparedness, their management of the problem and their application of core corporate governance principles, including risk management disciplines. The scope of the audit reflected the wide ranging ramifications of the Year 2000 problem for agencies' overall functions (whole-of-business) internally as well as in terms of external interactions. The audit objectives were to:

• assess the adequacy of agencies' planning in relation to achieving Year 2000 compliance;
• review and assess agencies' implementation, management and monitoring of Year 2000 compliance strategies;
• review agencies' strategic risk assessments in relation to the Year 2000 changeover; and
• raise surveyed agencies' and other Commonwealth agencies' awareness of the various aspects of the Year 2000 problem.

The objectives of the audit were to examine the benefits of diversity management in the APS and review the progress made towards equity in employment in the APS, including the EEO Program. It included:

• an assessment of the progress towards achieving equity across the APS and by individual agencies;
• an assessment of the quality of agency EEO programs;
• an assessment of the role of the PSMPC in approving agency EEO programs and monitoring trends across the service;
• a consideration of legal obligations and agencies compliance with these; and
• the possible risks to, and opportunities for, equity under the WRA.

The audit concentrated on evidence of overall progress, the relative performance of individual agencies, and the examination of observed and underlying trends.

The objective of the audit was to assess the Child Support Agency's effectiveness in managing the implementation of the Building a Better Child Support Agency program.

In a military context, individual readiness refers to the ability of an individual member to be deployed, within a specified notice period, on operations, potentially in a combat environment, to perform the specific skills in which he or she has been trained. Individual readiness is the foundation on which military preparedness is built. Maintenance of a specified level of individual readiness in peacetime (along with other factors such as equipment readiness and collective training) influences the speed with which personnel can deploy on operations. The objective of this audit is to ensure that members can be deployed on operations, potentially in a combat environment, to perform their specific skills within a notice period of 30 days.

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2004. It includes highlights and areas of focus for the year; an introduction by the Auditor-General; an overview of the report; a report on performance; details about management and accountability, and the financial statement for the year.

The audit reviewed the Australian Customs Service (Customs) fraud control arrangements. The audit objective was to assess whether Customs has implemented appropriate fraud control arrangements consistent with the Commonwealth's Fraud Control Guidelines and the administrative effectiveness of these arrangements.

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.

Robust internal budgeting processes are an essential part of effective financial management and are critical in the successful implementation of the accrual-based, outputs and outcomes framework. Effective internal budgeting should be closely intergrated with business planning processes and require a comprehensive and collaborative approach, involving input from throughout the organisation.

The audit reviewed the implementation of the purchaser/provider arrangements between the Department of Health and Aged Care and Centrelink. The objective of the audit was to determine the administrative effectiveness of the implementation of the service delivery arrangements between Centrelink and the Department by examining project planning for, and management of, the implementation, and the establishment of on-going purchaser/provider arrangements.