The objective of this performance audit was to assess whether DIMIA's information systems and business processes are effective in supporting APP to meet its border security and streamlined clearance objectives. In particular, the audit focused on the following: Mandatory APP - Stage 1 (MAPP1) project management; MAPP1 IT development and system performance; APP performance reporting; contract management; and financial management.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Senate Occasional Lecture Series

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Social Services' administration of the Cashless Debit Card program, including implementation of the recommendations made in Auditor-General Report No.1 2018–19, The Implementation and Performance of the Cashless Debit Card Trial.

The audit objective was to assess whether the administration of the LPG Vehicle Scheme is effective. To address this objective, the audit considered whether:

• there is a sound framework for the operation of the Scheme;
• grants are promoted, assessed and approved in accordance with relevant guidance and regulations; and
• the Scheme's performance is monitored and reported.

The shared content volume of the ANAO Audit Manual applies to all assurance activity performed by the ANAO, including financial statements and performance auditing. The shared volume addresses key matters affecting compliance with the Auditor-General Act 1997 and other aspects of the ANAO’s legislative framework. It sets out the main requirements of the ANAO’s overall system of quality control in accordance with ASQC1 Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Reports and Other Financial Information, Other Assurance Engagements and Related Services Engagements.

The objective of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) was to examine how the ATO manages its responsibilities under the Taxpayers' Charter as an important element of its performance. This involved an examination of the ATO's: systems and processes used to develop, maintain and update the Charter; strategic commitment to implementing the principles of the Charter; integration of Charter principles with its business processes; and monitoring and reporting of its performance against commitments in the Charter.

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.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Chartered Secretaries Australia, Discussion Luncheon, Canberra

The Auditor-General undertook a limited assurance review of the Department of Finance’s reporting and administration of the Advances to the Finance Minister (AFM) for the Period 27 June 2020 to 31 July 2020.

The overall objective of the preliminary study was to determine whether a performance audit of the management of corporate sponsorship was warranted. Specifically, the areas canvassed during the preliminary study were:

• policies and guidelines for the management of corporate sponsorship;
• integration of corporate sponsorship into agency planning;
• contractual arrangements;
• evaluation of corporate sponsorship within the agency;
• valuation and reporting of corporate sponsorship; and
• costs and benefits associated with corporate sponsorship.

The preliminary study findings did not warrant proceeding to a full performance audit. However, because corporate sponsorship is likely to be a growing area of importance for the Commonwealth, the ANAO concluded that there was value in producing a better practice guide in addition to the audit report.

The Auditor-General undertook a limited assurance review of the Department of Finance’s reporting and administration of the Advances to the Finance Minister (AFM) for the Period 26 September 2020 to 30 October 2020.

Mr Mr Ian McPhee, AO PSM - Auditor-General for Australia, presented an Australian Country Paper at the 6th ASOSAI Symposium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The objective of the audit is to examine and report on the efficiency and effectiveness of AFP's administration and management of its overseas deployments. The audit specifically examines two deployments and focuses on strategic and operational planning and logistics. The audit examines a planned, long-term overseas deployment (as part of the Participating Police Force (PPF) within the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI)) and a crisis-driven deployment in response to a specific event (Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) assistance to Thailand following the Indian Ocean Tsunamis of 26 December 2004).

The Auditor-General undertook a limited assurance review of the Department of Finance’s reporting and administration of the Advances to the Finance Minister (AFM) for the Period 29 August 2020 to 25 September 2020.

The Auditor-General undertook a limited assurance review of the Department of Finance’s reporting and administration of the Advances to the Finance Minister (AFM) for the period 25 April 2020 to 29 May 2020.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of selected departments’ implementation of deregulation initiatives.

The audit objective was to examine the effectiveness of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s regulation of permits and approvals, including its implementation of recommendations from Auditor-General Report No.3 of 2015–16 Regulation of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals.

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.

The objective of the audit was to ascertain and report to the Parliament on the ATO's administration of PPS and to identify opportunities for improvement. Four key compliance issues were identified: reporting PPS income, claiming PPS credits, remitting PPS income, claiming PPS credits, remitting PPS deductions, and managing PPS exemptions and variations. In addition, the following key aspects were considered: PPS risk assessments, coordination of PPS administration between the Small Business Income and Withholding & Indirect Taxes business lines, and PPS compliance project performance information.

The objective of this audit was to assess and report on the progress being made by Government agencies in achieving better practice in green office procurement and sustainable office management. The scope of the audit included agencies incorporated under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 as well as a sample of bodies incorporated under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997. Sixty-three agencies were included in an audit survey. Detailed validation was carried out in nine of these agencies.

This audit focused on the implementation of the Revised Government Foreign Exchange Risk Management Policy. Overall, the audit found the implementation of the Revised Policy with all CAC Act entities was not complete and important elements of the Revised Policy have not been adequately implemented. ANAO made five recommendations aimed at improving the compliance of GGS entities with the revised Policy, central agency consideration of entities' requests for exemption and enhancing the reporting made to Government. Finance and other entities agreed with all the recommendations.

The ANAO regards integrity as a core value of the organisation — critical in sustaining the confidence of Parliament, strengthening public trust in government and delivering quality audit products. Maintaining strong institutional integrity is critical to the operations and reputation of the ANAO.

The ANAO Integrity Framework provides an overarching structure to the integrity control system, supporting our institution’s integrity. The framework serves to assist in ethical decision-making and risk, fraud and misconduct management.

Beyond its control system, the ANAO maintains an enduring focus on promoting integrity as a value that is embedded in our work and culture. The ANAO recognises that integrity demands quality not only in our products but also in the behaviours of our people.

The ANAO Integrity Advisor supports the effective and ongoing application of the Integrity Framework by providing advice to staff regarding integrity matters. The Integrity Advisor is responsible for increasing integrity awareness across the organisation and for reporting annually to the ANAO Executive Board of Management on actions taken under the Framework. The Auditor-General publishes the ANAO Integrity Framework and annual Integrity Report to provide increased transparency of the measures we undertake to maintain a high-integrity culture in the ANAO.

The ANAO conducted separate audits of the Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS) Children and Schooling program and the Safety and Wellbeing program, the findings and conclusions of which are presented in this report. The objective of the audits was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s and the National Indigenous Australians Agency’s administration of the IAS Children and Schooling and the Safety and Wellbeing programs.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the House of Representatives Occasional Seminar Series

The Auditor-General responded on 29 April 2019 to correspondence from the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, the Hon David Littleproud MP, dated 23 April 2019, requesting that the audit of purchases of environmental water by the Commonwealth, and on behalf of the Commonwealth, currently listed as a potential audit be brought forward and expanded. 

The second audit, which is the subject of this report, is a broader and more in-depth cross-portfolio audit. Its objective was to assess:

• the planning and delivery of capital works projects by proponent agencies;
• the extent to which projects have delivered on what was intended; and
• the extent to which proponent agencies have complied with the requirements of the Public Works Committee Act 1969 and approved procedures.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AO) - Auditor-General for Australia, an Occasional Paper

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of Defence's management of the procurement of Minor capital equipment for Army capability. In particular, the audit focussed on the identification and approval of capability requirements; the management of Army Minors Program funding and expenditure; and DMO management of procurement processes for Army Minor projects. The audit focused on projects included in the Program as at 1 July 2005. As at that date, 85 projects were listed. Case studies illustrating particular issues in the management of the Program are profiled throughout the report in the relevant section.

The audit reviewed the High Wealth Individuals Taskforce, a comprehensive compliance program with the Australian Taxation Office. The objective of the audit was to examine and report on the management and operations of the taskforce. In doing so, the audit reviewed the Australian Taxation Office's own evaluation of the taskforce and assessed whether, and to what extent, the taskforce delivered the outcomes specified by the Government.

The purpose of the report was to report to the Parliament on how effectively and efficiently the Australian Taxation Office administers the Tax File Number System, and to identify opportunities for improvement of that system. The ANAO developed a methodological framework for the evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the ATO's administration of the TFN system. The framework examined the TFN system; individuals and their TFNs; TFN withholding tax arrangements; and TFN information matching.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Third ACAG Conference, Canberra

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, Address to University of Canberra students participating in the Graduate Certificate in Performance Auditing

The Auditor-General undertook a limited assurance review of the Department of Finance’s reporting and administration of the Advances to the Finance Minister (AFM) for the Period 30 May 2020 to 26 June 2020.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presentation to Macquarie University

The objective of this follow-up audit was to assess Austrade's implementation of the recommendations contained in ANAO Report No. 4 of 1998-99 (Client Service Initiatives - Australian Trade Commission (Austrade)), and whether the implementation of the recommendations or appropriate alternative measures has improved the management and delivery of Austrade's client service.

The objective of this follow-up audit was to assess whether Defence had taken appropriate action on recommendations made in the ANAO's 1995 audit report on Management Audit Branch (MAB), which is responsible for internal audit in Defence, and to assess whether the internal audit function in Defence could be improved.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Sydney, 30 Sept

The Auditor-General responded on 13 May 2021 to correspondence from Senator Janet Rice dated 16 April 2021, requesting that the Auditor-General conduct an investigation to examine the Commonwealth’s responsibilities in relation to Regional Forest Agreements, including monitoring implementation, coordinating annual reports and conducting reviews. 

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management - Washington

The Auditor-General wrote to the Minister for Finance on 25 October 2022 to advise of the outcomes of the 2021–22 annual performance statements audit program, and a proposal for expanding the program of audits in 2022–23 and the following two financial years. The Minister for Finance responded on 16 January 2023 supporting the proposal. The Minister for Finance's full response is provided below.

The audit objectives were to examine the extent to which selected TSB2 and TSI Response programs: are achieving or had achieved their objectives; and had been administered effectively by DCITA according to better practice principles. To evaluate this aspect, the audit assessed DCITA's compliance with the better practice principles outlined in the Administration of Grants Better Practice Guide (May 2002) produced by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO). There are 19 separate principles covered under the broad areas of: Planning for effective grant programs; Selecting projects; Managing and monitoring funding deeds; and Evaluating and reporting grant program performance.

The Auditor-General wrote to the Minister for Finance on 21 June 2024 to advise of the outcomes of the 2023–24 annual performance statements audit program, and a proposal for expanding the program of audits in 2024–25 and the following two financial years. The Minister for Finance responded on 2 July 2024 supporting the proposal. The Minister for Finance's full response is provided below.

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.

As part of its 2001 inquiry into the recruitment and retention of Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel, the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee reviewed Defence's contract with Manpower Services (Australia) Pty Ltd for trialling the outsourcing of recruiting services to the ADF. In its subsequent report, the Committee commented that the original contractual arrangements deserved further scrutiny by the ANAO. The objective of the audit was to examine Defence's management of the contractual arrangements for the provision of recruiting services to the ADF. In examining the management of the contract, the ANAO looked at the evaluations conducted at the end of each contractual phase, roles and responsibilities associated with ADF recruiting, and Defence's monitoring of contractual performance and management of risks associated with ADF recruiting.

The Auditor-General has responded to correspondence received from Senator Griff dated 11 April 2019, requesting that the Auditor-General provide as much detail as possible regarding the negotiation and awarding of contracts in the audit of the procurement of garrison support and welfare services.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Conference on 'Surviving the Year 2000 Computer Crisis' Canberra

The audit addressed administration of migrant settlement services by DIMA, in particular:

• strategic management, including corporate planning, performance measurement and reporting arrangements; and
• operational management of some of the individual schemes operated by DIMA (the Adult English Migrant Program and Translating Interpreting Services were not covered as part of this audit).

The objectives of this audit were to assess, with respect to guarantees, indemnities and letters of comfort:

• changes in the size and nature of the Commonwealth's reported exposure since 30 June 1995;
• the extent of improvement in agencies' management and monitoring of the Commonwealth's exposure to these instruments;
• the approach of agencies to effective risk management and control of Commonwealth exposures to these instruments; and
• whether current reporting practices provide a sufficiently comprehensive coverage for public accountability purposes, at both the agency and whole of government levels.

Given the importance of customer feedback to Centrelink's business, the ANAO considered it timely to conduct a series of performance audits relating to Centrelink's customer feedback systems, particularly in relation to its delivery of the services then provided on behalf of FaCS. The overarching objective of this series of ANAO performance audits of Centrelink's customer feedback systems was to assess whether Centrelink has effective processes and systems for gathering, measuring, reporting and responding effectively to customer feedback, including in relation to customer satisfaction with Centrelink services and processes.

The audit reviewed the ATO's collection and management of activity statement information. The audit paid particular regard to:

• the environment into which activity statements were introduced;
• taxpayer concerns with activity statement administration;
• the mechanisms the ATO uses to capture and process activity statements;
• the change processes the ATO uses to change and test activity statement IT systems; and
• the management methodology used to report on, and assess the performance of, activity statement related systems and processes.

This audit was a follow-on to Audit Report No.21 1997-98 Protective Security, which reviewed, among other things, information security other than computer and communications security, against the policy and procedures outlined in the 1991 PSM. That audit found inconsistencies in the identification and marking of classified information and weaknesses in the handling and storage of classified information, as well as other breakdowns impacting on information security.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented an Occasional Paper

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) - Australia SOPAC ?98 The IIA - Australia, South Pacific and Asia Conference

Grant Hehir, Auditor-General for Australia, attended the Institute of Internal Auditors-Australia ‘Public Sector Internal Audit Conference’ on 31 July 2018, and presented an opening keynote session titled Strategic governance of risk: Lessons learnt from public sector audit. The accompanying paper to the speech, which was delivered against a conference theme of ‘internal auditor as a trusted advisor’, is available here.

Given the importance of customer feedback to Centrelink's business, the ANAO considered it timely to conduct a series of performance audits relating to Centrelink's customer feedback systems, particularly in relation to its delivery of the services then provided on behalf of FaCS. The overarching objective of this series of ANAO performance audits of Centrelink's customer feedback systems was to assess whether Centrelink has effective processes and systems for gathering, measuring, reporting and responding effectively to customer feedback, including in relation to customer satisfaction with Centrelink services and processes.

The audit reviewed Commonwealth National Parks involving total assets of $105 million with net operating costs of $41.77 million. Nineteen Commonwealth reserves are declared comprising six terrestrial national parks, one botanic garden and twelve marine parks and reserves totalling some 23 million hectares across Australia, its external territories and Commonwealth marine areas. The objective of the audit was to examine and report on the adequacy of the planning, management and reporting systems which support the Director of National Parks in the achievement of required functions under relevant legislation and agreed outputs and outcomes.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Australian Society of CPAs, Canberra

The objective of this audit was to determine whether Health adequately assessed the State and Territory Governments' compliance with their obligations under the terms of the AHCAs. In conducting the audit, ANAO addressed the following criteria:

• if Health assessed whether the States and Territories were adhering to the AHCAs clause 6 principles that all eligible persons had equitable access to free public health and emergency services on the basis of clinical need within an appropriate period;
• if Health assessed whether the States and Territories were increasing their own source funding at the rate specified in the AHCAs; and
• if Health assessed whether the States and Territories were meeting the performance reporting requirements set out in the AHCAs.

The audit reviewed the Australian Taxation Office's use of audit of individual taxpayers as part of its approach to encouraging taxpayer compliance. The objective of the audit was to examine the use of audit as an element of the compliance management function within the Individuals Non-Business line of the ATO.

The objective of the audit was to assess the administrative effectiveness of the ATO's management of GST compliance in the large business market segment. In conducting the audit the ANAO examined three key areas: governance - ILEC's corporate planning and reporting arrangements relevant to the management of GST compliance in the large business market segment; assessing and identifying compliance risks- how ILEC collects information relating to the large business market segment and how it uses this information to support risk identification and assessment; and managing compliance- compliance planning and the products and processes used by ILEC to manage GST compliance in the large business market segment and evaluating compliance outcomes to support future compliance planning and the targeting of GST compliance risks. In undertaking the audit, the ANAO took account of the findings of previous reviews, in particular the LCCP Review.

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Canberra Evaluation Forum

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Security in Government 95 Conference, Canberra

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the selection, implementation, operation and monitoring of FRCs by AGD and FaHCSIA. The three main criteria for this audit assessed whether AGD and FaHCSIA had effectively:

• planned and implemented the FRC initiative, including the FRC selection and funding processes;
• undertaken administration activities to guide the operation and progress of the FRC initiative towards meeting its objectives; and
• monitored, evaluated and reported on the performance of FRCs.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of monitoring arrangements (by the Accreditation Agency) and compliance activities (by DoHA) put in place to achieve residential aged care homes’ compliance with the Accreditation Standards and their other, related, responsibilities under the Act and its associated instruments.

The ANAO’s assessment considered whether:

— a sector-wide compliance strategy was in place and aligned with effective monitoring and compliance activities at the operational level;
— there was a clear articulation of the separat but complementary roles and responsibilities of DoHA and the Accreditation Agency; and
— performance information gathered by both agencies to support public reporting and business improvements was useful and enabled comparison of performance over time.

To assess the extent to which agencies create, manage and dispose of records in accordance with key business, legal and policy requirements.

The agencies included in the audit were the: Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (Customs); Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC); and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury). The audit also considered the Archives' response to Recommendation No. 1 from ANAO Audit Report No.6 2006, 07 Recordkeeping including the Management of Electronic Records, including whether they had clarified Australian Government records management requirements for agencies.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of procedures and processes used by DEST and the ATO to record HECS–HELP student loans. To achieve this, the ANAO assessed the performance of DEST and the ATO against three criteria as follows:

• DEST monitored student contributions set by higher education providers for consistency with Australian Government policy;
• DEST paid HECS–HELP advance payments to higher education providers based on sound estimates, and recorded, reconciled and reported these payments; and
• the ATO has established procedures and processes to correctly record HECS–HELP loans against student tax records.

Given the importance of customer feedback to Centrelink's business, the ANAO considered it timely to conduct a series of performance audits relating to Centrelink's customer feedback systems, particularly in relation to its delivery of the services then provided on behalf of FaCS. The overarching objective of this series of ANAO performance audits of Centrelink's customer feedback systems was to assess whether Centrelink has effective processes and systems for gathering, measuring, reporting and responding effectively to customer feedback, including in relation to customer satisfaction with Centrelink services and processes.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Security in Government 2001 SES Seminar

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Social Services' administration of Early Intervention Services for Children with Disability.

Given the importance of customer feedback to Centrelink's business, the ANAO considered it timely to conduct a series of performance audits relating to Centrelink's customer feedback systems, particularly in relation to its delivery of the services then provided on behalf of FaCS. The overarching objective of this series of ANAO performance audits of Centrelink's customer feedback systems was to assess whether Centrelink has effective processes and systems for gathering, measuring, reporting and responding effectively to customer feedback, including in relation to customer satisfaction with Centrelink services and processes.

The Senate Order for Departmental and Agency Contracts (the Senate Order/the Order) was introduced in June 2001. The Order is one of several measures that the Senate introduced in recent years, to improve public knowledge of information on procurement and the expenditure of public funds. The main principle that underpins the Senate Order is that the Parliament's and public's access to this information should not be restricted by the inclusion of confidential information in contracts unless there is a sound basis for doing so. Public knowledge of information on contracted goods and services delivered to the government, can lead to better results for the Australian Government and the public. The Senate Order requirements have been amended over time to improve agency reporting, for example, on grants.

The follow-up audit, Drug Evaluation by the Therapeutic Goods Administration [TGA], reviewed the extent to which TGA had implemented recommendations made by the ANAO in 1996 on the efficiency, effectiveness and accountability of TGA's evaluation and approval of prescription drugs for public use. This follow-up audit was conducted because of the importance of effective drug evaluation processes to public health.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the ASCPA Annual Public Sector Accounting Convention, Canberra

The objectives of the audit were to:

• examine Customs' management of the CMR project; and
• determine whether the ICS and CCF met:
  • project and operational objectives; and
  • user capability and functionality requirements.

Particular emphasis was given to the following areas:

• the project management framework that supported the CMR project;
• implementation arrangements for the ICS; and
• ongoing operational arrangements.

After this audit commenced, Customs engaged Booz Allen Hamilton to undertake a separate review of the ICS. The purpose of that review was to provide Customs with a forward looking report on the lessons to be learned from the implementation of the ICS, its current status and the opportunities to enhance benefits for both Government and industry. The ANAO consulted closely with the Booz Allen Hamilton team and is supportive of the recommendations in their report, which was released in May 2006. The review made thirteen recommendations relating to the ongoing management and governance of the Cargo Management Re-engineering Program at both strategic and tactical levels.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Customs and Border Protection's performance in managing and coordinating enforcement operations against illegal foreign fishing in Australia's northern waters. The audit focused on Customs and Border Protection's role within the whole of government policy coordination framework; the effectiveness of its intelligence support for operational planning and policy and strategy development; its performance in planning, prioritising and administering effective enforcement operations; and its performance in measuring and reporting on the effectiveness of the program.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Senior Staff of the Board of Audit - Tokyo, Japan

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 current audit has focussed on Stage 2 of the Scheme. Its objective was to assess whether ACIS is being administered effectively by DIISR and, as relevant, by Customs. In particular, the audit examined the department's arrangements for:

• assessing the eligibility of participants to receive duty credits;
• calculating duty credits accurately and adhering to the funding limits for the Scheme;
• checking the integrity of participants' claims, which are self-assessed;
• accounting for the duty credits transferred to and used at Customs; and
• measuring and reporting on the performance of ACIS.

The audit also followed up on whether the ANAO's previous recommendations have been addressed.

The objective of the audit was to continue to examine the progress of the implementation of the annual performance statements requirements under the PGPA Act and the PGPA Rule by the selected entities. The audit was also designed to:

• provide insights to entities more broadly, to encourage improved performance; and
• continue the development of the ANAO’s methodology to support the possible future implementation of annual audits of performance statements.

The Auditor-General responded on 17 January 2017 to correspondence from the Hon. Linda Burney MP on 5 January 2017 requesting that the Auditor-General conduct an audit of the Centrelink debt recovery and welfare integrity programs.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of DIMIA's management of its detention agreements with ACM to operate Australia's mainland immigration detention centres. In particular, the ANAO examined: DIMIA's strategic approach to the management and coordination of the contract; how DIMIA defined the services to be delivered by ACM; the systems in place to monitor and report against contract performance; the effectiveness of controls over contract payment arrangements; and DIMIA's management of infrastructure through the detention agreements.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether the WSA program has been administered effectively by the NWC/DEWHA, as relevant, and is achieving its stated program objective. Specifically, the ANAO examined whether:

• funding proposals have been assessed and approved in a fair, consistent manner and in accordance with applicable criteria, program guidelines and better practice;
• appropriate funding arrangements have been established with proponents, having regard to the size of the grant, the type of entity involved and the nature of the project; and
• DEWHA (and previously the NWC) is actively monitoring whether proponents are complying with their obligations, and grant payments are made only in accordance with funding agreements.

More broadly, the audit examined DEWHA's strategy for evaluating and reporting on the long-term benefits of the program.

The objectives for the audit were to examine Commonwealth guarantees, indemnities and letters of comfort in relation to:

• the potential size of the Commonwealth's exposure to these instruments;
• the extent to which the overall exposures of the Commonwealth are managed and monitored;
• the adequacy of administrative reporting arrangements;
• areas of better administrative practice relating to their management; and
• to raise agencies' awareness of appropriate risk management and accountability practices in relation to these instruments.

The audit set out to quantify the Commonwealth's exposure to guarantees, indemnities and letters of comfort.

The objective of the audit was to examine the implementation of the annual performance statements requirements under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and the enhanced Commonwealth performance framework.

The objectives of this audit were to:

• examine whether the appointment of CMAX Communications Pty Ltd as a provider of communications support and advice for the 2020 Summit was consistent with the Commonwealth procurement framework and sound principles of public administration; and
• assess the effectiveness of the administration of the CMAX Communications contract by PM&C.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the procurement and contracting associated with:

• the design, development and delivery of government advertising campaigns by Commonwealth departments; and
• the operation of the Central Advertising System (CAS).

The audit examined the effectiveness of DEEWR's: administrative framework for the program; management of the application, assessment and funding processes; and monitoring of and reporting on the program's performance.

In order to form an opinion against the audit objective, the ANAO primarily conducted fieldwork and documentation reviews at DEEWR's central office. A stratified random sample (in order to provide for representation from states, territories and school sectors) of 74 applications from Rounds 1 and 2 was also selected for detailed examination. Through this sample, the ANAO sought to determine whether funding applications had been assessed in accordance with the established assessment criteria and that quality assurance mechanisms for the assessment process were effective.

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.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Public Seminar Series, Graduate Program in Public Policy, 'Democratic Governance: Improving the Institutions of Accountability', The Australian National University

Taxation rulings are a key mechanism used by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to disseminate the Commissioner of Taxation's interpretative advice on Australian taxation law. The objective of the audit was to:

report to Parliament on the operation of the ATO's administration of taxation rulings (public, private and oral rulings); and where appropriate, make recommendations for improvements, having regard to considerations of: efficiency and effectiveness of the ATO's administration of the rulings system, particularly in relation to the achievement of the objectives set by Parliament for the rulings system; the ATO's systems' capacity to deliver consistency and fairness for taxpayers; and good corporate governance, including the control framework.

The Auditor-General (A/g) responded on 23 September 2015 to correspondence from Alannah MacTiernan MP on 7 September 2015 regarding the Perth Freight Link Project in Western Australia.

The audit objectives were:

• to assess the effectiveness of the revised certification process in promoting compliance of government advertising campaigns (campaigns) with the March 2010 Guidelines on Information and Advertising Campaigns by Australian Government Departments and Agencies (2010 Guidelines);
• to assess the effectiveness of agency administration in developing campaigns and implementing key processes against the requirements of the campaign advertising framework;
• to assess the effectiveness of Finance’s administration of the campaign advertising framework; and
• to assess the effect on campaigns of an exemption from the 2010 Guidelines.

The objective of the audit was to ascertain and report to Parliament on the Australian Taxation Office's administration of the Fringe Benefits Tax and to identify opportunities for improvement. The ANAO identified five key issues relevant to the effective administration of FBT:

• knowledge of the taxpayer base;
• education of taxpayers;
• client service - advice handling;
• other enforcement activities - audits and reviews; and
• the systems required to support the administration of FBT, including staff skills and training information systems.

The Auditor-General responded on 6 April 2023 to correspondence from Senator Andrew Bragg dated 8 March 2023, requesting that the Auditor-General conduct an investigation into the costs of the ongoing legal dispute concerning the Commonwealth and Dr Monique Ryan MP. The Auditor-General responded on 11 May 2023 to follow-up correspondence from Senator Bragg dated 18 April 2023, requesting a timeline for finalisation of the 2022–23 financial statements audit of the Department of Finance.

The Auditor-General responded on 15 December 2023 regarding the ANAO enquiries and that the results are published in the Auditor-General Report No.9 (2023-24) Audits of the Financial Statements of Australian Government Entities ended 30 June 2023 that tabled in the Parliament on 14 December 2023.

The audit reviewed the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's management of the navigation aids network, which is an important factor in shipping safety. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether AMSA's management of the network provides for the strategic needs of marine navigation in Australian waters, and whether AMSA's management was efficient and effective. The audit focused on AMSA's strategic planning, the management of revenue and expenditure to support the network, its contract management practices, and its accountability and performance reporting arrangements.

The objectives of the audit were to examine the Australian Bureau of Statistics' management of the procedures and processes associated with the planning and operational aspects of the 1996 Census to ascertain: whether the results of the 1991 Census evaluations were used to improve the 1996 Census; whether the Census could be undertaken more efficiently while still yielding data of the required quality; and how privacy concerns were being satisfied by the processes employed. The scope of the audit was limited to reporting on the efficiency and effectiveness of the management by the ABS of the development, collection and initiation of the processing phases of the 1996 Census. The ANAO conducted an assessment of the procedures and processes used in the 1996 Census against the ABS performance indicators and by an examination of ABS documentation. The audit did not seek to review the ABS statistical methodology.

The audit examined the effectiveness of DEEWR's administrative arrangements supporting the delivery of Indigenous childcare services through MACS and crèches, including the approaches DEEWR uses to monitor the achievement of the BBF sub-program objective.

In conducting the audit, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) reviewed three key areas:

• program administration—DEEWR's administrative systems and processes supporting the delivery of Indigenous childcare services through MACS and crèches and the broader BBF sub-program;
• management of service provider funding agreements—DEEWR's systems and processes for managing MACS and crèche service providers' funding agreements; and
• monitoring and reporting performance—the effectiveness of DEEWR's processes for monitoring the performance of service providers, and the achievement of the outputs and outcomes of the BBF sub-program.

The ANAO sought not to duplicate the work of DEEWR's Internal Audit function, and in doing so referred to the findings of the recent internal audit review of the CCSSP, where these were relevant and appropriate.

The audit reviewed the application by the Department of Finance and the portfolio departments of the 1993 Accountability and Ministerial Oversight Arrangements for Government Business Enterprises and any statutory monitoring and reporting requirements applying to the selected GBEs provided under their own establishing legislation. The objectives of the audit were to examine:

• the effectiveness of the GBE monitoring arrangements in providing appropriate performance information to the Government;
• the extent to which agencies and the selected GBEs comply with the monitoring arrangements and legislative requirements; and
• whether the GBE monitoring system provides an effective level of accountability to Ministers and to the Parliament.

The Auditor-General responded on 22 April 2022 to correspondence from Senator the Hon Eric Abetz dated 28 March 2022, requesting that the ABC’s defamation case payment be included as a topic in the ANAO’s Annual Audit Work Program 2022–23. 

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Council Allocation component of the RLCIP has been effectively designed, implemented and administered. The audit examined each of the three funding rounds, albeit with a focus on the first round (as it was due to be completed by 30 September 2009), with the second round not due to be completed until late in the audit timetable (31 December 2010) and third round funding agreements being signed and payments being made at the time audit work was completed.

The audit was structured to provide an overview of the administration of Commonwealth assistance to the agrifood industry. In particular, the ANAO sought to form a view on the extent to which four key agencies (Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry-Australia, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Department of Transport and Regional Services and Austrade) are able to demonstrate their success in achieving the Government's objectives for the Australian agrifood industry by assessing agencies' agrifood-related: planned outcomes; performance information; and reporting.

The audit reviewed the effectiveness and probity of the policy development processes and implementation of improved access to Magnetic Resonance Imaging services. The objective of the audit was to examine and report on the effectiveness and probity of the processes involved in:

(a) the development and announcement of the proposal to improve access to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) services announced in the 1998 Budget, including negotiation with the diagnostic imaging profession; and

(b) the registration of 'eligible providers' and 'eligible equipment' to enable the payment of claims for MRI services on the Medicare Benefits Schedule

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of Defence’s implementation of reforms to capability development since the introduction of the two-pass process for government approval of capability projects and government’s acceptance of the reforms recommended by the Mortimer Review. The scope of this audit included the requirements phase and, to a limited extent, the acquisition phase of major capability development projects, focusing upon changes flowing from the major reforms.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the administration, by DoHA and the Commonwealth partners, of the 2008 and 2011 Heads of Agreement for the management, operation and funding of the Mersey Community Hospital (The Commonwealth partners for this audit were the Tasmanian Government Department of Health and Human Services and the Tasmanian Health Organisation – North West).

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the FINEST User Network Annual Conference 1996, Leura, NSW

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health and Ageing and the Australian National Preventive Health Agency in fulfilling the Commonwealth’s role in implementing the Council of Australian Government’s National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health, to achieve the Agreement’s objectives, outcomes and outputs, including supporting all Australians to reduce their risk of chronic disease.

The objective of this audit was to form an opinion on the Australian Research Council's (ARC's) management of research grants. To achieve this, ANAO centred the audit around the following aspects of ARC's grants administration: governance and structure, particularly the roles and responsibilities of those parties involved in administering ARC's grants (Chapter 2); the processes for assessing and selecting ARC grants (Chapter 3);post-award management of grants under the Funding Agreements (Agreements) between ARC and those universities that receive and administer the ARC grants to researchers (Chapter 4); and ARC's monitoring of its grant programs for management, performance improvement and reporting (Chapter 5). In its assessment, ANAO considered ARC's compliance with relevant sections of the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (ARC Act) and the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act). The assessment also took account of the ANAO's Better Practice Guides, particularly the Better Practice Guide—Administration of Grants. The audit focused mainly on ARC's administration of Discovery Projects, the largest scheme in ARC's National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP).

This is the second e-newsletter of the Commonwealth Auditors General Group. These e-newsletters are a genuine effort to share experiences, challenges and engage in thought-provoking discussions on topics which are common to the fifty-three member countries of the Commonwealth.

The audit objective was to report on the administration of the Australia Network tender process and to identify lessons learned from the conduct of the process to inform future procurement activities.

The audit reviewed Commonwealth debt management procedures. The audit objectives were to:

• review, and consider opportunities to improve, the reporting and disclosure of the Commonwealth's public debt;
• assess the effectiveness of the raising, management and retirement of Commonwealth debt, consistent with an acceptable degree of risk exposure; and
• determine whether there are opportunities to improve the Commonwealth's approach to the raising, management and retirement of Commonwealth debt.

During the preparation of the ANAO's Planned Audit Work Program 2006–07, JSCEM suggested that the ANAO consider a possible performance audit into the efficiency and effectiveness of the AEC's management of elections. JSCEM's suggestion was considered in the planning and preparation for this performance audit, which focuses primarily on the AEC's administration of the CEA in the lead-up to and conduct of the 2007 general election.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the CPA Australia's Government Business Symposium, Melbourne

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of FaHCSIA's management of the Fixing Houses for Better Health program since 2005.

The audit reviewed the two elements of the program for which FaHCSIA is responsible: management of the service delivery arrangements and overall performance monitoring and reporting. Following the development of the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing, which introduced new approaches to the delivery of Indigenous programs, FaHCSIA made changes to FHBH for the 2009–11 phase. The audit has focused on both the 2005–09 and the 2009–11 phases. This provided coverage of the program's normal operations as well enabling the audit to consider the modifications made to the program for the
2009–11 phase.

Against this background, the audit considered whether:

• program management arrangements had been established that were suitable for the size, nature and objectives of the FHBH program;
• service delivery arrangements were designed to support the achievement of the program's objectives and FaHCSIA's management of the program; and
• FaHCSIA used robust systems to monitor achievement of the program objectives.

The ANAO also considered whether there was any experience from the department's management of FHBH that could be broadly applied to FaHCSIA's management of the National Partnership Agreement.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of DHS' management of the tender process for a replacement BasicsCard to support the delivery of the income management scheme.

In conducting the audit, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) assessed the following five key areas of the replacement BasicsCard procurement process, which are described in the Department of Finance and Deregulation's (Finance) Guidance on the Mandatory Procurement Procedures :

• planning for the procurement;
• preparing to approach the market;
• approaching the market;
• evaluating tender submissions; and
• concluding the procurement, including contract negotiation.

The audit examined the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' implementation and subsequent management of the Indigenous Employment Policy. The audit sought to determine whether, in relation to the Indigenous Employment Policy, the department had:

• developed appropriate planning processes and performance measures;
• monitored and reported performance results;
• implemented appropriate evaluation and review mechanisms;
• conducted effective marketing and promotion; and
• identified enhancements and addressed performance issues.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether Centrelink's Balanced Scorecard (BSC) was based on key elements of better practice principles and its use assisted Centrelink to understand and communicate its performance against its strategic goals. The audit examined:

• the use of the BSC in setting Centrelink's vision and goals;
• the role of the BSC in planning;
• alignment of the BSC from the top down through the organisation and the interdependencies of scoreboards used by various support units, the definition and use of measures, including target setting and links to goals within the BSC framework; and
• its use in monitoring, reporting and feedback.

The audit's objective was to assess, and report to Parliament on, the ATO's administration of petroleum excise collections. The audit examined whether the ATO had implemented effectively administrative arrangements for the collection of petroleum excise since the transfer of the function from Customs in 1999. Areas that were examined relating to administration of petroleum excise were:

• governance arrangements;
• licensing arrangements;
• compliance management;
• investigations; and
• revenue management.

The audit also reviewed the role of Customs in performing functions directly related to petroleum excise collections and key elements of the management relationship between the ATO and Customs in this area.

This is the second audit report under the Senate Order, 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 at six selected agencies, of the process for making the Internet listings, and the policies and practices for determining confidentiality provisions in contracts.

The objective of the audit was to assess the efficiency and the effectiveness of DEWR's administrative oversight for the WfD programme. The components of administration examined included whether:

• the operation of the WfD programme was guided by sound business planning including risk assessment;
• DEWR effectively and efficiently managed, monitored and reported the performance of CWCs in meeting contractual obligations;
• adequate support was provided to DEWR contract managers and account managers to assist in the delivery of WfD outcomes;
• there was evaluation of the performance of CWCs in delivering WfD objectives on behalf of the department;
• DEWR measures the effectiveness of WfD against programme objectives; and
• DEWR had implemented agreed recommendations from the previous WfD audit, where current and relevant.

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.