The ANAO could assess the regulatory, safety and policy advice which is being provided to support Australia’s acquisition of a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability (AUKUS).

The ANAO could examine the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s (DCCEEW’s) delivery of the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS). DCCEEW describes the CIS as an Australian Government ‘revenue underwriting scheme’ to accelerate investment in: renewable energy generation (generation), such as wind and solar; and clean dispatchable capacity (dispatchable), such as battery storage. DCCEEW states that the ‘scheme provides a long-term revenue safety net that decreases financial risk for investors’ and that ‘this ensures more renewable energy projects get built’. An expanded CIS is being rolled out from 2024 to 2027. Auctions for both generation and dispatchable capacity are planned to be held regularly from 2024 to 2027 and to support about $73 billion in investment in the electricity sector.

The ANAO could examine Services Australia’s administration of payments and related services on behalf of other Australian Government entities. Services Australia provides a range of programs, services and payments for, and on behalf of, nine Australian Government entities. Payments are made to customers in relation to Centrelink (Social Security such as income support and the age pension), health (such as aged care, Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme payments) and child support. In 2024–25, Services Australia made $263 billion in payments. A further $777.8 million was made in emergency payments. A series of audits would examine the management of one or more payment type (such as disability support pension and/or the paid parental leave scheme).

The ANAO could assess the design and delivery of the cheaper home batteries program. The program commenced in July 2025 with a budget of $2.3 billion. In December 2025 the government increased the program budget to $7.2 billion due to higher than expected demand. The audit could consider the advice used during policy development, including any assessment of likely demand.

The ANAO could assess the administration of the Choice and Affordability Fund (CAF), including whether the fund is administered in line with the CAF Guidelines, whether reporting by funded entities supports the administration of the program, and whether the funding is achieving the intended outcomes, in accordance with funding agreements and the CAF Guidelines. The CAF is a $1.2 billion fund established in 2020 to support Catholic and independent schools to ‘deliver choice and affordability and achieve government priorities.’ The department allocates funding to non-government representative bodies, who allocate funding to schools, in accordance with funding agreements and work plans, which are approved by the department.

The ANAO could provide independent assurance to Parliament on the merit reviews performed by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). The ART provides independent merits review of a wide range of administrative decisions made by the Australian Government. The ART received $854.3 million in the 2024–25 Federal Budget over the forward estimates ($208.8 million ongoing) to support its establishment and ‘enabling it to finalise 100 per cent of case lodgements each year’. The ART replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in October 2024.

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 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 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 the National Blood Authority’s administration of BloodNet. BloodNet is Australia’s national online blood ordering and inventory management system. It aims to provide hospitals, laboratories, and health service organisations with a secure, standardised way to order blood and blood products; manage inventory; monitor and report wastage; and support emergency planning. As an essential component of Australia’s blood and blood product logistical network, system failures or deficiencies can jeopardise timely access to blood and blood products for those that need them.