The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Defence’s arrangements for the management of contractors.

The major projects report (MPR) is an annual review of the Department of Defence’s major defence equipment acquisitions, undertaken at the request of the Parliament’s Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA).

The purpose of the MPR is to provide information and assurance to the Parliament on the performance of selected acquisitions as at 30 June 2021. This is the 14th MPR since its commencement in 2007–08.

The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Australian Federal Police in managing employee mental health.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s delivery of services to Australians travelling or residing abroad.

This report is the first of two reports each year and focuses on the results of the interim audits, including an assessment of entities’ key internal controls, supporting the 2022–23 financial statements audits. This report examines 27 entities, including all departments of state and a number of major Australian government entities. The majority of entities included in the report are selected on the basis of their contribution to the income, expenses, assets and liabilities of the 2021–22 Consolidated Financial Statements.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness to date of the Department of Defence’s procurement and contract management of the Offshore Patrol Vessel program.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness and equity of the award of funding under the Clean Technology Program in the context of the program objectives and the Commonwealth’s grants administration framework.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness and value for money of Defence’s acquisition of a Battle Management System and a Tactical Communications Network through Land 200 Tranche 2 Work Packages B–D.

The objective of this information report is to provide transparency and insights on the governing boards of Commonwealth entities and companies and the membership of these boards.

The ANAO prepares two reports annually that provide insights at a point in time to the financial statements risks, governance arrangements and internal control frameworks of Commonwealth entities, drawing on information collected during our audits.

This report is the first of the two reports and focuses on the results of the interim financial statements audits, including an assessment of entities’ key internal controls, supporting the 2023–24 financial statements audits. This report examines 27 entities, including all: departments of state; the Department of Parliamentary Services; and other Commonwealth entities that significantly contribute to the revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities within the 2022–23 Australian Government Consolidated Financial Statements (CFS). The National Indigenous Australians Agency is also included in this report given the role it plays working across government with indigenous communities and stakeholders.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian National University’s governance and control framework.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Attorney-General’s Department’s administration of the Indigenous Legal Assistance Programme.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the development and administration of the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement (5CPA), and the extent to which the 5CPA has met its objectives.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the design and conduct of the third and fourth funding rounds of the Regional Development Australia Fund.

The audit Administration of ABSTUDY and the audit Administration of Youth Allowance have been combined to table as one report titled Administration of ABSTUDY and Administration of Youth Allowance.

The objective of both audits was to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department of Social Services’ and the Department of Human Services’ program administration.

This report complements the Interim Report on Key Financial Controls of Major Entities financial statement audit report published in May 2020. It provides a summary of the final results of the audits of the Consolidated Financial Statements for the Australian Government and the financial statements of Australian Government entities for the period ended 30 June 2020.

The objective of this report is to provide the Auditor-General’s independent assurance over the status of the selected Major Projects. The status of the selected Major Projects is reported in the Statement by the Secretary of Defence and the Project Data Summary Sheets (PDSSs) prepared by Defence. Assurance from the ANAO’s review is conveyed in the Independent Assurance Report by the Auditor-General.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the administration of the commuter car park projects within the Urban Congestion Fund.

This report complements the Interim Report on Key Financial Controls of Major Entities financial statement audit report published in June 2021. It provides a summary of the final results of the audits of the Consolidated Financial Statements for the Australian Government and the financial statements of Australian Government entities for the period ended 30 June 2021. 

This report complements the interim phase report published in August 2016, and provides a summary of the final results of the audits of the Consolidated Financial Statements for the Australian Government and the financial statements of Australian Government entities.

The ANAO gifts and benefits policy recommends that ANAO employees do not accept any gifts or benefits in their role as an employee of the ANAO. Employees are required to report any offered gift or benefit (whether accepted or refused) within 10 business days of the offer being made, through an internal gifts and benefits register. The data collected through the internal register is reported to the ANAO’s Executive Board of Management, and a subset of the data is reported publicly here.

This report complements the Interim Report on Key Financial Controls of Major Entities financial statement audit report published in May 2023. It provides a summary of the final results of the audits of the Consolidated Financial Statements for the Australian Government and the financial statements of 243 Australian Government entities for the period ended 30 June 2023.

This report complements the interim phase report published in June 2014 (Audit Report No.44 2013–14), and provides a summary of the final audit results of the audits of the financial statements of 251 Australian Government entities, including the Consolidated Financial Statements for the Australian Government.

This report complements the Interim Report on Key Financial Controls of Major Entities financial statement audit report published in June 2022. It provides a summary of the final results of the audits of the Consolidated Financial Statements for the Australian Government and the financial statements of Australian Government entities for the period ended 30 June 2022. 

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of FWO’s administration of education and compliance services in relation to the Fair Work Act 2009.

The audit objective was to examine whether the Department of Defence has effective and efficient sustainment arrangements for the Royal Australian Navy’s fleet of eight ANZAC class frigates.

The objective of the audit was to provide an independent assurance on the effectiveness of Defence and DMO's management of the acquisition of the ASLAV capability to Army. The audit examined the initial capability requirements and approval process, the contract negotiation process, and the management of the Project and Contracts by DMO.

The audit objective was to assess the progress of the AIR 6000—New Air Combat Capability project in delivering the required combat aircraft within approved cost, schedule and performance parameters.

The objective of the audit was to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the BCM practices and procedures within the Tax Office in preparing for, or responding to, disruptions to ‘business as usual' operations.

The objective of the audit was to assess the adequacy of Defence’s processes, including compliance with the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act), the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1997 (FMA Regulations), and relevant Commonwealth and Defence procurement requirements, to select the capability solution recommended to the Government to satisfy the requirements of AIR 8000 Phase 2.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism’s administration of the Renewable Energy Demonstration Program (REDP), including progress towards achieving the programʹs objectives.

The audit examined whether the department had established effective arrangements to:

• implement REDP, including governance arrangements;
• assess applications for REDP funding assistance and recommend projects to the Minister for funding approval;
• negotiate funding agreements for approved projects; and
• monitor progress towards the achievement of the REDP objective.

Increased transparency and accountability on progress with major Defence equipment acquisitions has been a focus of parliamentary interest for some time. Beginning in 2007–08, an annual program has been established in conjunction with the Department of Defence to enable the ANAO to review and report to the Parliament on the status of major Defence acquisition projects, as set out in the Major Projects Report. The review includes information relating to the cost, schedule and progress towards delivery of required capability of individual projects as at 30 June each year. The Report is undertaken at the request of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.

The audit objective was to assess the Department of Defence’s progress in delivering Multi-Role Helicopters (MRH90 aircraft) to the ADF through AIR 9000 Phases 2, 4 and 6, within approved cost, schedule and performance parameters.

The objective of the audit was to provide an independent assurance of the effectiveness of Defence's management of the acquisition, and future provision of the Armidale Class Patrol Boats capability, relating to the in-service support contract, provision of infrastructure, and crewing sustainability.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs management of complaints and other feedback to support service delivery. The audit criteria were that DVA has:

• a well-designed framework for managing complaints and other feedback;
• effective processes and practices to manage complaints; and
• appropriately analysed complaints to inform service delivery.

The audit reviewed the Defence Materiel Organisation's management of the $3.43 billion Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) project. The Wedgetail project is to provide the Australian Defence Force with an AEW&C capability based on four Boeing 737 AEW&C aircraft and associated supplies and logistic support. At the time of the audit the AEW&C systems were still in their early development phase, and by November 2003, Defence had spent $1.107 billion on the project.

The Australian National Audit Office has undertaken a pilot project to assess the status of the Australian Government performance measurement and reporting framework as a basis for implementation of a future program of audits of entities’ key performance indicators, and to develop a suitable audit methodology. This report presents a summary of the work completed to date.

The fleet oiler HMAS WESTRALIA was a key element of the Royal Australian Navy (hereafter referred to as ‘Navy') Maritime Operations Support Capability (MOSC) from 1989 until September 2006. WESTRALIA provided logistic support to naval operations and exercises and contributed to Defence international engagement through these activities. The new vessel to replace WESTRALIA is called HMAS SIRIUS and was commissioned by Defence in mid September 2006, which was concurrent with the formal decommissioning of WESTRALIA. This approach was adopted by Defence to ensure that Navy maintained a continuous afloat support capability.

The objective of the current audit was to assess the effectiveness of remediation arrangements put in place by Defence and the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) to resolve issues impacting on the achievement of the desired lightweight torpedo capability. It focuses on project management and contractual arrangements, and the progress made with platform integration and test and evaluation.

The audit focuses on DMO's equipment acquisition and support, at the system program management level. The objective of the audit was to assess the adequacy of Defence's capital equipment project definition, approval, acquisition and logistics support management. The SPOs subject to audit are:Aerospace Systems Division's Tactical Fighter Systems Program Office (TFSPO), which is responsible for acquisition and logistics support management of the Air Force's F/A-18 and Hawk 127 fleets and associated equipment. TFSPO is located at Williamtown, NSW; Land Systems Division's Track Manoeuvre Systems Program Office (TMSPO), which is responsible for the acquisition and logistics support management of Army's Leopard Tanks and M113 Armed Personnel Carrier fleets. TMSPO is located in Melbourne;Electronic and Weapon Systems Division's Over-the-Horizon Radar Systems Program Office (OTHRSPO), which is responsible for acquisition and logistics support management of the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) and Jindalee OTHR systems. OTHRSPO is located within the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) precinct at Edinburgh, South Australia; and Maritime Systems Division's Fast Frigate Guided System Program Office (FFGSPO), which is responsible for the support and upgrade of the Navy's FFG fleet. FFGSPO is located at Garden Island, Sydney.In view of the significant role that DMO's SPOs play in managing major capital equipment acquisition projects, the audit includes a case study of the $1.448 billion Fast Frigate Guided (FFG) Upgrade Project. A high level of audit assurance is not able to be provided on the FFG Upgrade Project given deficiencies in the FFGSPO information management systems and deficiencies in the level of design and development disclosure provided to SPO personnel by the FFG Upgrade Prime Contractor. The ANAO was unable to access appropriate audit evidence on the financial expenditure associated with the FFG Upgrade Project, and the Project's approved Equipment Acquisition Strategy.

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 the effectiveness of the Project Wickenby taskforce in making Australia unattractive for international tax fraud and evasion by detecting, deterring and dealing with the abusive use of secrecy havens by Australian taxpayers.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the services delivered through ATO shopfronts to individual and micro enterprise tax clients. Particular emphasis was given to the delivery of services to clients and planning and reporting processes for shopfront services.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the award of funding under the Building Better Regions Fund was effective as well as being consistent with the Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Australian Government agencies' management and implementation of measures to protect and secure their electronic information, in accordance with Australian Government protective security requirements.

The objective of this audit was to assess key aspects of the establishment and administration of HIP by DEWHA as well as the transition of the program to DCCEE. All phases of the program were examined with particular emphasis for Phase 2 being given to:

• program design and implementation;
• registration and training of installers;
• payment of rebates; and
• the compliance strategy underpinning the program.

To assess the upgrade and sustainment of the F/A-18A/B Hornet fleet, and the sustainment of the newly acquired F/A-18F Super Hornet fleet.

The objective of this audit is to examine the effectiveness of the TGA’s administration of complementary medicines regulation in Australia. The primary focus is on listed complementary medicines, which comprise about 98 per cent of these medicines.

The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of Defence and the DMO's management of procurement and through life support arrangements to meet the explosive ordnance requirements of the ADF, particularly the non-guided munitions requirements of Army. This included a review of the progress of Defence and the DMO in implementing the recommendations of ANAO Audit Report No.40 2005–06.

The objective of the audit was to assess how well agencies had implemented the CPGs and relevant FMA legislation when undertaking Direct Source procurement.

The audit examined whether selected agencies had developed a sound procurement framework; appropriately classified procurement methods when meeting external reporting requirements; implemented the CPGs and relevant legislation when Direct Sourcing; and established effective procurement monitoring and review arrangements.

The ANAO selected four FMA Act agencies to provide a cross-section of the 104 agencies that reported procurement activity in AusTender in
2008–09. The agencies selected for audit were:

• the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA);
• the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (Innovation);
• the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA); and
• the Australian Crime Commission (ACC).

The ANAO examined a stratified random sample of 645 procurements valued at $10 000 and over, across the four agencies. More detailed testing was undertaken for the 285 Direct Source procurements in the sample.

This audit focuses on the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) Air Combat fleet's logistics support, regular maintenance and structural refurbishment. These activities are collectively referred to as fleet in-service support. The current Defence White Paper states that Air Combat is the most important single capability for the defence of Australia.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Air Combat fleet's in-service support arrangements to provide capability for air combat operations. Capital equipment acquisition projects covered by this report are limited to the Hornet and F-111 structural refurbishment projects, which aim to ensure these aircraft remain serviceable until their withdrawal from service.

To examine the effectiveness of the Department of Health and Ageing’s administration of the Access to Allied Psychological Services Program.

The objective of the audit was to assess the implementation and effectiveness of the enhanced grants administration requirements relating to the development and approval of new grant guidelines and revision of existing grant guidelines.

The objective of the audit was to report on the effectiveness of Defence’s approach to the acceptance into service of Navy capability, and to identify where better practice may be used by CDG, DMO and Navy.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of annual Certificate of Compliance processes for FMA Act agencies. To form a conclusion against the audit objective, the audit considered: Finance’s administration of the Certificate process at a whole-of-government level; selected agencies’ annual Certificate processes; and, the design and impact of the Certificate.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health’s and Australian Hearing’s administration of the Community Service Obligations program for hearing services.

The objective of the audit is to assess the effectiveness of the ADF’s mechanisms for learning from its military operations and exercises. In particular, the audit focused on the systems and processes the ADF uses for identifying and acting on lessons, and for evaluating performance. The ANAO also examined the manner in which information on lessons is shared within the ADF, with other relevant government agencies, and with international organisations. Reporting to Parliament was also considered.

The focus of this audit was on those entitlements administered by Finance. Similar to the 2001-02 Audit Report, the audit scope did not include entitlements provided to persons employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 (MOP(S) Act). It also did not examine the administration of entitlements provided through other agencies (such as Parliamentarians' salary and electorate allowance, which are paid by the Chamber Departments, and entitlements provided to Ministers by their home department).

The objective of the audit was to assess the Tax Office's strategies to address tax haven compliance risks. Particular emphasis was given to the Tax Office's:

• management arrangements relating to the administration of tax haven compliance risks;
• risk management framework for the identification and evaluation of compliance risks, specifically the activities of the Offshore Compliance Program (OCP); and
• risk mitigation strategies.

The audit did not include an examination of cases related to the promoters of tax haven related schemes nor the criminal use of tax havens.

The objective of this report is to provide information, prepared by both the ANAO and DMO, on the performance of major projects as well as providing the Auditor-General’s formal conclusion on the review of the Project Data Summary Sheets (PDSSs) prepared by DMO and contained in this report.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the management by Defence and the DMO of the procurement of the modernised High Frequency communication capability for the ADF. The audit focussed on Phase 3A of the Project which commenced in the mid 1990's and involved the selection of the Prime Contractor; negotiation of the Prime Contract and the Network Operation and Support Contract; and the development and implementation of the Communication System.

The objective of the audit was to examine processes used by Defence and the DMO to procure explosive ordnance for the ADF, with an emphasis on Army requirements. The audit reviewed the extent to which the DMO effectively translated the explosive ordnance requirements of the ADF, and particularly of Army, into procurement and through life support arrangements.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the department's administration of general recurrent grants for non-government schools. The audit examined key processes in the department's administration ofgeneral recurrent grants for non-government schools for 2005–08 in accordance with the Schools Assistance (Learning Together—Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004.

The audit follows on from Audit Report No. 45 2004-2005, Management of Selected Defence Systems Program Offices, May 2005. That report is being considered by the JCPAA, as part of its current inquiry into Defence Financial Management and Equipment Acquisition at the Department of Defence and DMO.

The objective of this report is to provide the Auditor-General’s independent assurance over the status of selected Major Projects, as reflected in the Project Data Summary Sheets (PDSSs) prepared by the DMO, and the Statement by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) DMO. Assurance from the ANAO’s review of the preparation of the PDSSs by the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) is conveyed in the Auditor-General’s Independent Review Report, prepared pursuant to the endorsed Guidelines, contained in Part 3.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the design and conduct of the funding round for the Building Better Regional Cities Program.