The audit reviewed the operations of the Bureau of Meteorology. The Bureau's functions include the taking and recording of meteorological observations and other observations required for the purposes of meteorology; the forecasting of weather and of the state of the atmosphere; the issue of warnings of weather conditions likely to endanger life or property; the supply, publication and promotion of meteorological information; and cooperation with international meteorological agencies in relation to the functions just listed. The objectives of the audit were to:

• use national and international benchmarks to evaluate the Bureau's performance in terms of timeliness, cost and quality of weather services to meet the needs of clients; and
• assess how well the Bureau is placed in measuring its outputs/outcomes within the context of the Accrual Budgeting Framework.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the administration of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

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 this audit was to assess whether the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) designed and is implementing its property investment strategy in a way that is delivering the intended benefits, and how any lessons learned are being reflected in a new strategy that is being developed.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the administration of specific climate change programs by the departments of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts and Resources, Energy and Tourism. In undertaking this audit, particular emphasis was given to the implementation of good administrative practice and the extent to which the program objectives were being met. The audit followed four lines of inquiry:

• development of program objectives and assessment of program risks;
• assessment and approval of competitive grant applications;
• assessment and approval of rebate applications; and
• measurement and reporting of program outcomes.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the IIR Conference 'Risks in Outsourcing in the Public Sector'

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.

The audit reviewed the extent to which the Department of Health and Ageing (Health) had implemented the recommendations of Audit Report No. 13 of 1998-1999, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Program, taking account of any changed circumstances or new administrative issues identified as impacting the implementation of these recommendations.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the transition of the Remote Jobs and Communities Programme to the Community Development Programme, including whether the Community Development Programme is well designed and administered effectively and efficiently.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the management of conflicts of interest by Aboriginal Hostels Limited (AHL), Aboriginal Investment NT and Outback Stores.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Department of Education and Training established the Apprenticeship Training – alternative delivery pilots program in accordance with the Commonwealth Grants and Rules Guidelines.

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 objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Defence's administration of contractual obligations relating to the Defence Industry Security Program.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the 'Ensuring Accountability and Ethics with Corporate Governance in the Public Sector' - IIR Conference, Canberra

The audit objective was to determine whether selected grant programs are being administered efficiently by the Australia Council in relation to suitable comparators. The selected grant programs are collectively known as the Australia Council Grants Program.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of Defence’s administration of industry support and skill development programs.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection in delivering high quality interpreting services to its clients.

The audit objective was to assess whether Tourism Australia’s procurement and contract management activities are complying with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and demonstrating the achievement of value for money.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the My Health Record system under the opt-out model.

The audit assessed whether the Streamlining Government Grants Administration Program improved the effective and efficient delivery of grants administration.

The objective of the audit was to examine whether the procurements that Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade conducts through its Australian Passport Office are complying with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and demonstrating the achievement of value for money.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether Customs has implemented effective measures to control IUU fishing in the Southern Ocean. The audit examined Customs' management and coordination of enforcement operations in the Southern Ocean, with particular emphasis on:

• the approach to assessing and reporting SOMPR program performance, and whether outcomes are being met;
• coordination with other stakeholder agencies to meet program outcomes;
• the operational planning framework, management of human and physical resources and contract management; and
• the management of the deployment and operation of program maritime assets.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Defence’s preparations for the introduction of the Joint Strike Fighter into Australian service and its subsequent sustainment. 

The objective of the audit was to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the National Registration Authority's strategic and operational management, particularly the assessment and registration activities. The audit criteria took into account the scope for the application of risk management principles which are integral to strategic and operational management.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Employment and the Department of Education and Training's administration of the Shared Services Centre to achieve efficiencies and deliver value to its customers.

The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of the design and implementation of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s (PM&C’s) evaluation framework for the Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS), in achieving its purpose to ensure that evaluation is high quality, ethical, inclusive and focused on improving outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

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 objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Social Services’ 2020 to 2022 procurement of counselling and support services provided through 1800RESPECT.

The audit objective was to review the effectiveness of the Department of Defence’s (Defence) arrangements for delivering selected non-platform sustainment.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of DEEWR's administration of Job Network service fees. The ANAO examined DEEWR's arrangements to:

• specify the nature and level of services to be supplied by JNMs and to communicate this to the JNMS;
• calculate and pay service fees in accordance with the Employment Services Contract (ESC) 2006–2009 it has with JNMs; and
• obtain assurance that JNMs have delivered services in accordance with the contract.

The objective of the audit was to assess the progress of the M113 Upgrade Project (Defence Project: Land 106), including progress in the development of operational capability resulting from the introduction of the upgraded vehicles into service. The high-level audit criteria used to assess the project’s progress and Defence’s effectiveness in administering the M113 Upgrade Project were:

• the degree to which the schedule for the production and delivery of upgraded M113 vehicles to Defence had been recovered in accordance with Defence’s response to the 2008–09 audit report and contractual requirements, as negotiated over the life of the contract;
• Defence’s measurement and allocation of the total cost of the upgrade project; and
• the development of capability arising from the upgrade project.

The audit objective was to assess whether the Department of Health is effectively managing financial assistance under the Medical Research Future Fund.

The objective of the audit was to assess FSANZ's administration of its food standard functions, as specified in the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act, 1991 (last amended 2007).
Particular emphasis was given to whether:

• FSANZ's performance management and reporting provided effective support and ensures accountability;
• FSANZ effectively administered its food standard development and variation function, including its stakeholder management; and
• FSANZ effectively monitored the implementation of its standards and coordinates relevant jurisdictions to address market failures.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the administration of the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts and repayments.

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

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, address presented at the Australian National University

The audit objective was to examine the appropriateness of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts’ approach to acquiring, managing, and leasing Australian contemporary art in the Artbank collection.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (Efic).

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) established a task force in 1996 to develop a greater understanding of the factors involved and to devise a coordinated approach in dealing with the cash economy. The objective of the performance audit was to report to Parliament on the ATO's progress in addressing the cash economy, including its monitoring and reporting of outcomes. The audit focused on the ATO's implementation of its Cash Economy Task Force recommendations in the light of the tax reform that has taken place over the last two years.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Federal Police’s framework to ensure the lawful exercise of powers in accordance with applicable legislation.

The audit objective was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Human Services’ administration of the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register.

The objective of the audit was to form an opinion about DVA's management of the current and future demand for VHC services. To form an opinion, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) examined whether DVA:effectively planned the distribution of VHC resources; distributed VHC resources according to its planning; and monitored and evaluated how effectively it managed the demand for VHC services. To form an opinion against the audit objective, the ANAO interviewed DVA personnel, examined DVA documents, interviewed personnel at a selection of Agencies, Service Providers and stakeholders, and reviewed relevant literature.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether appropriate steps were taken to protect the Commonwealth's interests and obtain value for money in respect to the $3.5 billion in Commonwealth funding committed to the NSW Government for the WestConnex project.

The Auditor-General responded on 29 October 2019 to correspondence from the Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP dated 1 October 2019, requesting that the Auditor-General conduct an examination of Federal Government drought funding measures. The Auditor-General provided a follow-up response to the Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP on 24 July 2020.

The audit objective was to assess whether Services Australia appropriately managed risks to operating the current welfare payment system and appropriately prepared to transition to the future system.

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.

The objectives of the audit were to:

• assess the effectiveness of the ongoing administration of the Australian Government’s campaign advertising framework; and
• assess the effectiveness of the selected entities’ administration in developing advertising campaigns and implementing key processes against the requirements of the campaign advertising framework applying at the time, and relevant legal and government policy requirements.

The audit objective was to assess whether the Australian Government has established an appropriate framework for responding to crises.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of Geoscience Australia’s 2020 to 2022 procurement of the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network (SouthPAN).

The objective of the audit was to report on the progress of the current phase of the Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) Program, which is known as SEA 4000 Phase 3–Build. This phase commenced in June 2007, and covers the finalisation of the detailed design, the signing of the Alliance and Platform System Design contracts, and the construction and delivery of the ships by the Industry Participants to the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO).

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office's administration of the JobKeeper scheme.

The Auditor-General responded on 18 November 2019 to correspondence from Mr Andrew Giles MP, requesting that the Auditor-General conduct an investigation to examine the effectiveness of the procurement to deliver a new global visa processing system.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the child support collection arrangements between the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the design process for the Energy Price Relief Plan.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the establishment, implementation and operation of the Early Years Quality Fund against the requirements of the Early Years Quality Fund Special Account Act 2013 and the Commonwealth grants administration framework.

The audit objective was to examine whether the Department of Defence provides an efficient and effective security vetting service for Australian Government entities through the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness and value for money of Defence’s acquisition of light protected vehicles, under Defence project Land 121 Phase 4.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the contract for the acquisition of the Civil Military Air Traffic Management System demonstrably represents value for money.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Finance and selected entities’ implementation of the Australian Government’s campaign advertising framework.

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.

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.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether DEWR's management and oversight of Job Placement and matching services is effective, in particular, whether: DEWR effectively manages, monitors and reports the performance of JPOs in providing Job Placement services; DEWR effectively manages the provision of matching services (including completion of vocational profiles and provision of vacancy information through auto-matching) to job seekers; Job seeker and vacancy data in DEWR's JobSearch system is high quality and is managed effectively; and DEWR effectively measures, monitors and reports Job Placement service outcomes.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Home Affairs’ administration and regulation of critical infrastructure protection policy.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the governance board in Old Parliament House.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the planning and implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Australian Government-funded aged care services delivered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Please note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images of deceased people.

This is the first of two audit reports concerning the Tax Office's administration of SMSFs pursuant to the provisions of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.
This audit report examines the efficiency and effectiveness of the Tax Office's approach to regulating and registering self managed superannuation funds. Specifically the ANAO examined the:

• Environment in which SMSFs operate, including the Tax Office's regulatory roles and responsibilities;
• Tax Office's governance of its SMSF regulatory role; and
• Systems, processes and controls the Tax Office uses to register SMSFs, and enforce the lodgement of fund income tax and regulatory returns.

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 audit was to assess the effectiveness of the governance board in the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

This is a follow-up audit to Audit Report No. 16, 1995-1996, Assessable Government Industry Assistance. This audit examined whether the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) had implemented the appropriate balance of compliance strategies to ensure that Australian Government Industry Assistance (AGIA) is adequately identified, disclosed to the ATO, and the revenue collected in an efficient and administratively effective manner. The objective of this audit was to report on the action taken by the Australian Taxation Office in addressing the recommendations of the 1996 Audit Report.

The objective of this audit was to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of Australian Human Rights Commission’s handling of complaints.

Pursuant to a request from the Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee and the Auditor - General's response to the Committee, the objective of this performance audit was to examine and report on the selection of the preferred tenderer in the Health Group IT outsourcing process. In particular, the audit examined the circumstances surrounding OASITO's administration of the: - disclosure to a tenderer of information provided by other tenderers; - subsequent acceptance of a late re-pricing offer from a tenderer: and - advice to the decision- maker leading to the selection of the preferred tenderer. The audit focused particularly on assessing the administrative processes undertaken in the selection of the preferred tenderer for the Health Group. Audit emphasis was placed on the management of the probity aspects of the tender process, particularly in regard to events that occurred between June 1999, when the tenderers provided their penultimate pricing, and the selection of the preferred tenderer in September 1999.

The objective of the audit was to assess the development of Defence’s oversight and management of its portfolio of ICT investments and projects. In particular, the audit examined Defence’s:

• governance, strategic processes and decision-making structures that set out, prioritise and coordinate the integrated ICT reform portfolio and programs;
• ICT risk management and capacity to identify and plan to achieve the benefits of its SRP ICT stream reforms (including methodologies to measure the realisation of savings and non-savings benefits);
• level of portfolio and program management maturity; and
• the impact of improvement efforts on Defence’s ability to deliver the ICT services capacity required to support the SRP.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s engagement with tax practitioners in achieving efficient and effective taxation and superannuation systems.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of Centrelink's approach to investigating and responding to external fraud. The ANAO's assessment was based on four key criteria. In particular, the ANAO assessed whether Centrelink:

• had established a management framework, business systems and guidelines, that support the investigation, prosecution and reporting of fraud;
• had implemented appropriate case selection strategies and controls to ensure resources are targeted to the cases of highest priority;
• complied with relevant external and internal requirements when investigating fraud and referring cases for consideration of prosecution; and
• had implemented an effective training program that supports high quality investigations and prosecution referrals.

The audit objective was to assess the departments of Health and Human Services’ administration, including oversight and monitoring arrangements, for the Indemnity Insurance Fund.

The objective was to examine whether the award of funding under the Supporting Reliable Energy Infrastructure Program was informed by an appropriate assessment process and sound advice that complied with the Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of CSP’s feedback management system. CSP’s performance was assessed against the following criteria:

• CSP has appropriate channels to collect customer feedback;
• CSP effectively manages and resolves complaints; and
• CSP accurately reports on customer feedback, and analyses the information to improve aspects of child support administration.

The audit reviewed management of the Commonwealth's role in preparing for, and managing, pest and disease emergencies requiring a rapid response. The audit focused on the role of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry -Australia (AFFA), which is the Commonwealth Department with primary portfolio responsibility for coordinating the national and international response to an emergency. The audit did not address preventative measures such as quarantine and border controls; controlled release of exotic diseases or pests; or emergencies associated with previously known endemic diseases, food safety or chemical residue issues.

The ANAO's audit aims were to: examine the efficiency and effectiveness of DFAT's human resource management; and identify good practice, which could position the Department, and other APS agencies, to maximise opportunities afforded by the Government's emerging public sector reform agenda. The audit addressed a range of issues including the effectiveness of HR planning and forecasting, staff selection and deployment, performance management, and the fostering of relevant skills and knowledge.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of the Environment’s and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service’s management of compliance with the wildlife trade regulations under Part 13A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of procurement complaints handling by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the Department of Finance, the Department of Industry, Science and Resources and the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The objective of the audit was to evaluate the Tax Office's corporate management of data matching, including analytics.

The ANAO examined the Tax Office's strategic goals and governance arrangements for data matching and analytics, its compliance with privacy requirements and whether the Tax Office is achieving intended results, which include revenue collection, optimised compliance and provision of improved services to taxpayers.

Tax Office executives have been increasingly drawing on the interrelationships and conceptual commonalities of Tax Office data matching and analytics activity. Accordingly, the audit included these relationships and conceptual commonalities within the scope of the audit. The audit was guided, therefore, by a broader definition of ‘data matching': meaning ‘finding relationships and patterns in large volumes of data'. This includes the more traditional idea of data matching as ‘bringing together data from different sources and comparing it'.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office's External Compliance Assurance Process pilot conducted with large business taxpayers.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether the Department of Defence (Defence) is managing its Australian Defence Force health services contract to achieve efficient and effective delivery of the contracted 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 objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of AGD's administration of grants provided under the Respondents Scheme. The audit considered the context within which the Respondents Scheme operates and focused on assessing the administration of the scheme including its financial management within AGD.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the design and administration of the VET FEE-HELP scheme.

The objective of the audit was to assess the management practices undertaken by APS agencies to achieve value for money and transparency in dealing with contracts for non-APS workers. The focus of the audit was on circumstances where agencies had a significant reliance on a non-APS workforce to assist in achieving their core functions. Regular reporting by agencies of expenditure on non-APS workers was outside the scope of this audit.

The audit objective was to assess how four key departments: Education, Science and Training (DEST); Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR); Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA); and Health and Ageing (DoHA) are implementing the Government's policy objective for Indigenous service delivery.

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 scope covered the management of the AusLink R2R Standard Program and the AusLink R2R Supplementary Program. The scope did not include management of the Nation Building Roads to Recovery Program, which has only recently commenced. The audit objectives were to:

• assess the effectiveness of the management of the AusLink Roads to Recovery Program;
• assess the delivery of the program and management of the funding, including the extent to which the program has provided additional (rather than substitute) funding for land transport infrastructure; and
• identify opportunities for improvements to the management of the program.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of DEST's administration of its role in Australian Apprenticeships. To achieve this, the ANAO assessed DEST's performance to determine if DEST:

• monitored whether Australian Apprenticeships was achieving its objectives;
• effectively managed the Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Programme; and
• effectively managed its contracts with Australian Apprenticeships Centres.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether DEWR had implemented ESC3 and its computer system EA3000, efficiently and effectively. The primary focus is on the period of change from the previous employment services contract to ESC3 and the first full year of its operation, 2003-04. The scope of the audit was limited to the implementation of Job Network services under ESC3, the introduction of the supporting computer application, EA3000, and DEWR's use of modelling to estimate the effects of the APM. The audit did not test the effectiveness of the APM. DEWR has a plan to evaluate the new model. A separate, concurrent ANAO audit assessed DEWR's oversight of Job Network services to job seekers.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) management of transfer pricing for related party debt.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Defence’s implementation of the First Principles Review.

The objective of this audit was to establish whether Defence has developed sound fraud control arrangements that are consistent with better practice and fulfil its responsibilities for the protection of public property, revenue, expenditure, and rights and privileges from fraudulent exploitation.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether the Scheme is being administered effectively by the department. The ANAO focussed on Program Year 1 of the Scheme, 2005–06, and examined DIISR's arrangements for:

• assessing the eligibility of entities to receive grants;
• assessing entities' claims for eligible expenditure;
• adhering to the funding limits for the Scheme when calculating and paying claims, and managing any debts that arise;
• and evaluating and reporting on whether the statutory objective of the Scheme is being met.

The audit did not examine the other components of the 2005–2015 industry assistance package; nor did it examine any of the programs delivered under the previous assistance package (2000–2005).

All persons, other than Australian nationals, are required to hold a visa to enter and stay in Australia. This audit's focus is on the entry component of the visa process and specifically the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). The ETA is an electronically-stored authority for travel, which facilitates the entry of tourists and short-term business travellers from countries where the risk of non-compliance with visa conditions is low, that is, in countries classified as ‘low risk'. The objective of the performance audit was to assess the administrative effectiveness of the ETA.

The audit objective was to assess whether the early stages of DIAC's preparations for the re-tendering of the detention and health services contracts were consistent with sound practice. The audit focused on governance arrangements, in particular the recordkeeping arrangements, roles and responsibilities of personnel, expert advisors and the probity auditor—matters raised in the previous audit report. The audit did not examine the RFT, which is not due to be issued until April 2007.

The audit objective was to examine how effectively the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) manages the importation of live animals into Australia.

The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of Medicare Australia's administration of the PBS. In assessing the objective, the audit considered three key areas:

• Medicare Australia's relationship with the PBS policy agency (DoHA) and service delivery policy agency (Department of Human Services (DHS));
• the management arrangements and processes underpinning Medicare Australia's delivery of the PBS (including the means by which Medicare Australia gains assurance over the integrity of the PBS); and
• how Medicare Australia undertakes its three main responsibilities relating to the delivery of the PBS, namely: approving pharmacies; approving authority prescriptions; and processing PBS claims.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) had appropriately managed the procurement of garrison support and welfare services at offshore processing centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea (Manus Island); and whether the processes adopted met the requirements of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) including consideration and achievement of value for money.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Efficiency through Contestability Programme in supporting entities to improve the efficient delivery of government functions.

The audit objective was to assess whether the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science has effectively and efficiently administered the collection of North West Shelf royalty revenues.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation’s (ARPC) management of the Terrorism Reinsurance Scheme.

The audit reviewed the effectiveness of HIC's approach to customer service delivery to the Australian public as customers of Medicare. The primary issues examined were whether: . HIC manages its customer service delivery performance effectively;

• HIC's approach to people management adequately supports customer service delivery;
• HIC obtains adequate information from customers on their needs, expectations, and perceptions of HIC's service delivery; and
• HIC provides adequate information to customers on its services and on the service standards that customers should expect.

The objective of the audit was to form an opinion on ATSIS' management of the Law and Justice Program, having particular regard to the relative needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The audit focused primarily on how effectively ATSIS manages and delivers the provision of legal services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The audit was desgined to compelement but not to reproduce previous audit and other evaluation activity relevant to the Program.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of DoHA's management of CACPs in fulfilling the legislated objectives of the program.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the ATO’s compliance management approach in the SME market.

The objective of the audit was to determine whether the POI information recorded by Centrelink accords with relevant policy and thereby effectively supports informed decision-making regarding eligibility for the payment of various benefits to Centrelink customers

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 ANAO's purpose was to report on:

• the HIC's management of approaches to minimise medifraud and inappropriate practice;
• HIC's reporting of its performance on these matters to stakeholders;
• the methodology used by the HIC to estimate the extent of fraud and inappropriate practice, including comment on the reliability of the estimates; and
• the HIC's implementation of the major recommendations from Medifraud and Excessive Servicing - Audit Report No.17 1992-93.

The sale raised gross proceeds of $95.4 million, which was at the upper end of the Business Advisor's estimate for the mid-1997 sale. In addition, it should be noted that the principal financial effect for the Commonwealth was not in the proceeds of the sale but in the termination of ongoing revenue supplements and financial losses. The Commonwealth's direct costs of selling the businesses are estimated to be $9.3 million, or 9.7% of gross proceeds. In addition, the Australian National's financial liabilities totalling $1393 million have been or are being repaid or assumed by the Commonwealth.

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 the audit was to examine and report on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of the courts' client service arrangements for family law clients. The audit also assessed the effectiveness of the coordination between the two courts, and of their administration of Primary Dispute Resolution (PDR) services.

The objectives of the audit were to:

• determine the extent to which government entities complied with the requirement to publish and maintain documents online that were presented to the Parliament;
• evaluate selected government entities' policies and practices regarding online publishing; and
• assess AGIMO's policy and guidance in support of online publishing.

To address this objective the audit was conducted in three parts. Firstly, we reviewed a sample of papers tabled between 2000 and 2008 in order to assess their availability online. Next, we examined the online publishing practices of five government entities. These were the: Australian Federal Police (AFP); Department of the House of Representatives (DHR); Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (Infrastructure); Department of the Treasury (Treasury); and National Archives of Australia (NAA). Finally, we reviewed AGIMO's role in supporting government entities in their online publishing practices.

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.

The objective of this audit was to examine whether the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications exercised appropriate due diligence in its acquisition of the ‘Leppington Triangle’ land for the future development of the Western Sydney Airport.

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.