New transactional banking arrangements for FMA agencies came into effect on 1 July 1999. The audit reviewed selected agencies' implementation and ongoing management of contractual banking arrangements; agencies' tendering for the procurement of banking services; and identified practises that have improved administrative arrangements. The audit examined Finance's role in planning and implementing the new arrangements as well as implementation in the Australian Customs Service (Customs) the Department of Transport and Regional Services (DTRS), the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST), and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA).

The objective was to assess the extent to which staff reductions have been managed in a sound strategic and cost-effective manner consistent with the Government's guidelines and the ANAO's 1996 better practice guide Managing APS Staff Reductions. The audit focussed on 3 agencies - the Australian Taxation Office, the former Department of Primary Industry and Energy, and the former Department of Transport and Regional Development. The ANAO found that the majority of staff reductions were achieved through retrenchment rather than natural attrition; and that decisions on the number of retrenchments were not always supported by an assessment of the impact of the reductions on the agencies' abilities to conduct their business.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Customs and Border Protection’s arrangements for managing the safe and secure storage and disposal of detained goods.

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2014. It addresses the Requirements for Annual Reports for Departments, Executive Agencies and FMA Act Bodies approved by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit in May 2014; the performance measures set out in the outcome and programs framework in the 2013–14 Portfolio Budget Statements; section 28 of the Auditor-General Act 1997; and other annual reporting requirements provided for in legislation.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether the strengthened two–pass approval process for major capital equipment projects is being implemented effectively.

This is the third audit report undertaken by the ANAO in response to a request made by the Senate in the Senate Order for Departmental and Agency Contracts, which requires all Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) agencies to place on the Internet, lists of contracts of $100 000 and more by the tenth day of the Spring and Autumn sittings of Parliament. It relates to the audit of the contract information to be listed on the Internet by the tenth day of the Autumn 2002 sitting. The audit involved a desktop review of all FMA Act agencies' Internet listings; and a detailed review in six selected agencies, of the process for making the Internet listings, and the policies and practices for determining and identifying whether contracts contained either confidential provisions and other requirements of confidentiality.

The audit reviewed the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's administration of consular services. It focussed on DFAT's travel advice to alert Australians to potential travel risks; case management systems to record and monitor action on more complex consular cases; performance information for the management of consular services; and contingency planning for major consular incidents. The audit also reviewed action taken by DFAT and other agencies to implement the recommendations of a 1997 Senate Committee report on consular services.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Tax Office's administration of the PRRT. The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) identified four key areas for review: general administration; compliance; promoting certainty in administering the PRRT; and governance arrangements.

The audit objectives were to assess the effectiveness of:

• selected agencies’ administration in developing advertising campaigns and implementing key processes against the requirements of the Australian Government’s campaign advertising framework, and other key legal and administrative requirements; and
• the ongoing administration of the campaign advertising framework.

The objective of the audit was to assess DIMIA's management of offshore measures to prevent and detect unlawful entry, and to identify opportunities for improvement. The audit did not cover the processing arrangements, referred to as the Pacific Strategy, introduced as part of the legislative changes in September 2001. Nor did it cover the range of measures use for prevention and detection at the border and on shore. As DIMIA is the lead agency responsible for the development of immigration policy, the audit focussed in the administrative effectiveness of the governance framework used by the department to implement and to support the achievement of Government strategies to prevent unlawful entry to Australian Territory.