The Procedures for Determining Breaches of the (APS) Code of Conduct must be complied with in determining whether an Australian Public Service (APS) employee has breached the Code of Conduct (the Code) set out in section 13 of the Public Service Act 1999 (PS Act), and in determining what, if any, sanction is to be imposed on an APS employee who has breached the Code of Conduct.

Grant Hehir, Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Australian National Centre for Audit & Assurance Research (ANCAAR) 15th ANCAAR Audit Research Forum on 1 December 2017.

The Auditor-General, Grant Hehir, delivered a presentation to the 15th Biennial Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees (ACPAC) Conference held at Parliament House, Canberra, on 7 November 2019. The presentation was titled Maintaining Trust in the Parliamentary Process — PACs and Officers of the Parliament.

The fifteenth Commonwealth Auditor-General of Australia, Grant Hehir, has prepared a mid-term report reflecting on his first five years in the role. The report presents a description and analysis of the role and impact of audit, as well as analysis of the financial audit and performance audit work of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO). The report concludes with coverage of ANAO continuous improvement activities across audit quality, better communication, transparency, efficiency and workforce capability.

The ANAO’s performance audit program is one of the main assurance functions of the Auditor-General. The purpose of this information report was to provide analysis of 2023–24 performance audits.

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held on Friday 8 December 2023. The text on this page is the communique from the forum.

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the ANAO’s quarterly Audit Matters newsletter. The purpose of Audit Matters is to inform external audiences — primarily those working in Commonwealth entities — of updates on the ANAO’s work and provide insights on what we are seeing in the Australian Government sector.

Audit Matters complements the range of reports we table in the Parliament as well as our Insights products and events and seminars. I hope you find it useful and please forward it on to your colleagues, and encourage them to sign-up for future editions.

Carla Jago, Acting Deputy Auditor-General

The ANAO was invited to prepare a paper for an international conference on the role of supreme audit Institutions in combatting corruption for the advancement of transparency, public integrity, and good governance. The international conference formed part of the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the State Audit Office of Viet Nam and was held from 8-12 July 2024,

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Public Service Commission's (APSC) administration of statutory functions relating to upholding high standards of integrity and ethical conduct in the Australian Public Service (APS).

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.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the governance board in Hearing Australia.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the design and implementation of the clear read principle under the Commonwealth Resource Management Framework.

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held on Friday 12 July 2024. The text on this page is the communique from the forum.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) had complied with gifts, benefits and hospitality requirements.

This edition of audit insights outlines key messages from a series of recent audits examining the effectiveness of governance boards in four corporate Commonwealth entities. The audit observations from this series of audits relate primarily to the ‘soft’ attributes of effective governance such as relationships, behaviours and culture, while also recognising the important interplay with the ‘hard’ attributes of governance such as board composition, appointment processes and independence. The key messages may be relevant for the operations of other Commonwealth boards as well as broader governance arrangements in Commonwealth entities.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the governance board in the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation.

The Auditor-General is an independent officer of the Australian Parliament and has discretion in the performance or exercise of Auditor-General functions or powers. In exercising the mandated and discretionary functions and powers, the Auditor-General is not subject to direction from anyone in relation to: whether or not a particular audit is to be conducted; the way in which a particular audit is to be conducted; or the priority to be given to any particular matter. The Auditor-General must, however, have regard to the audit priorities of the Parliament, as determined by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA).

The objective of this audit was to examine whether the Department of Finance (Finance) has implemented a selection of agreed parliamentary committee and Auditor-General recommendations.

The Audit Committee Chairs Forum is a joint initiative of the Department of Finance and the ANAO and includes the general government and non-general government sector Audit Committee Chairs. This communique covers the outcomes of the discussion at the forum on 14 December 2017 including updates from the Auditor-General and the ANAO, and from the Department of Finance.

The audit objective was to assess entities’ progress in implementing the corporate planning requirement under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and related PGPA Rule 2014.

The ANAO Corporate Plan 2024–25 updates the previous corporate plan and outlines how we intend to deliver against our purpose over the next four years (2024–25 to 2027–28). The corporate plan is the ANAO’s primary planning document — it outlines our purpose; the dynamic environment in which we operate; our commitment to building capability; and the priorities, activities and performance measures by which we will be held to account.

The audit objective was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Defence’s administration of the Integrated Investment Program since 2016.

This edition of Audit Insights summarises key messages for all Australian Government entities from a series of recent Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) performance audits assessing the delivery of key components of the Australian Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It discusses the importance of planning, good governance and sound risk management in managing an emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ANAO Corporate Plan 2023–24 outlines how we intend to deliver against our purpose over the next four years (2023–24 to 2026–27). The corporate plan is the ANAO’s primary planning document – it outlines our purpose; the dynamic environment in which we operate; our commitment to building capability; and the priorities, activities and performance measures by which we will be held to account. The corporate plan is complemented by the annual audit work program, which reflects the ANAO’s audit strategy for the coming year.

This corporate plan was updated on 26 March 2024:

• organisational structure changes — ‘Professional Services and Relationships Group’ to ‘Professional Services Group’
• Measure 3 — change type from ‘Efficiency / Qualitative’ to ‘Efficiency / Quantitative’
• Measure 15, reporting mechanism 4 — replaced text to reflect updated JCPAA feedback process
• Measure 16, reporting mechanism 3 — replaced references to ‘insights’ with ‘lessons’

The Australian National Audit Office provided a submission on 10 November 2017 to the statutory review of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule).

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held on Friday 6 December 2024. The text on this page is the communique from the forum.

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

The ANAO 2017–18 Corporate Plan is the ANAO's key strategic planning document. It guides our operating environment and sets out how we will deliver on our purpose. The corporate plan is complemented by the annual audit work program which reflects the ANAO's strategy and deliverables for the coming year.

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

The objective of the audit was to assess the appropriateness of the use and reporting of confidentiality provisions in a sample of Australian Government contracts.

The objective of the audit was to assess progress in implementing the corporate plan requirement under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

Welcome to the second edition of the ANAO’s quarterly Audit Matters newsletter. The purpose of Audit Matters is to provide updates on the ANAO’s work and provide insights on what we are seeing in the Australian Government sector.

Audit Matters complements the range of reports we table in the Parliament as well as our insights products and events and seminars. I hope you find it useful and please forward it on to your colleagues, and encourage them to sign-up for future editions.

It’s no secret that a federal election is due to happen. No doubt your minds will turn to your entities’ preparedness for this event now or in the near future. At the time the election is called, I’ll write out to entities to help people understand how the ANAO operates during an election period.

Rona Mellor PSM, Deputy Auditor-General

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

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 objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's probity management.

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

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's probity management.

This edition of Audit Insights summarises key messages from Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) performance audits about the management of conflicts of interest by Australian Government entities in relation to procurement activity and grants programs.

The objective of the audit was to examine whether selected entities implemented agreed ANAO performance audit, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, and other parliamentary committee recommendations.

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 the audit was to continue to examine the progress of the implementation of the annual performance statements requirements under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule) by selected entities.

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

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's probity management.

The objective of this audit was to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority’s administration of parliamentary expenses.

The Auditor-General is assisted by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in delivering against the mandate established by the Auditor-General Act 1997. Under the Act, the ANAO consists of the Auditor-General and staff.

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held on Friday 14 July 2023. The communique from the forum is now available here.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the governance board in the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.

The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Home Affairs’ management of its public communications and media activities.

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 audit objective was to examine whether the Department of Defence implemented a selection of agreed parliamentary committee recommendations and ANAO performance audit recommendations.

The corporate plan is the ANAO’s primary planning document. Our strategic planning process allows us to continually improve practices and capabilities to demonstrate value in the delivery of services to the Parliament. The corporate plan is complemented by the annual audit work program, which reflects the ANAO’s audit strategy for the coming year.

The corporate plan is the ANAO’s primary planning document. Our strategic planning process allows us to continually improve practices and capabilities to demonstrate value in the delivery of services to the Parliament. The corporate plan is complemented by the annual audit work program, which reflects the ANAO’s audit strategy for the coming year.

This edition of Audit Insights summarises key messages from a series of ANAO performance audits assessing performance evaluation frameworks and success measures. It discusses the importance of both in keeping entities accountable and their performance transparent.

The ANAO’s governance structure and practices support the Auditor-General in the oversight of the organisation, management of its resources and the delivery of quality audit products. The corporate governance framework, processes and related organisational capability supports the delivery of the ANAO’s purpose, and meets public and community expectations of probity, accountability and transparency.

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

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) had complied with gifts, benefits and hospitality requirements.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Australian Taxation Office has effective arrangements in place to support the adoption of Artificial Intelligence.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's fraud control arrangements.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Office of Financial Management’s (AOFM) management of the Australian Government’s debt.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health’s monitoring and implementation of both ANAO performance audit and internal audit recommendations.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the governance board in the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.

The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Attorney-General’s Department’s implementation of the recommendations from Auditor-General Report No.27 of 2017–18, Management of the Australian Government’s Register of Lobbyists.

The objective of the audit was to assess the department’s: effectiveness in administering school funding; and implementation of recommendations made in Auditor-General Report No.18 2017–18 Monitoring the Impact of Australian Government School Funding and JCPAA Report 476: Australian Government Funding.

The objective of this audit was to examine whether the selected entities within the Attorney-General’s portfolio have implemented all agreed recommendations from parliamentary committee and Auditor-General reports within the scoped timeframe.

The Audit Committee Chairs Forum is a joint initiative of the Department of Finance and the ANAO and includes the general government and non-general government sector Audit Committee Chairs. This communique covers the outcomes of the discussion at the forum on 7 June 2017 including updates from the Auditor-General and the ANAO, and from the Department of Finance.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of Finance’s administration of travel entitlements provided to Parliamentarians.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of NBN Co Limited’s (NBN Co’s) strategies to manage its transition from building to operating the national broadband network.

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 ANAO is responsible for the audits of the financial statements of all Australian Government entities. This report provides a summary of the final audit results of these entities, including the Consolidated Financial Statements for the Australian Government.

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 objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of governance and integrity arrangements for the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF). 

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) had complied with gifts, benefits and hospitality requirements.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Home Affairs' fraud control arrangements.

Information on legislation that governs the work of the Auditor-General and the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO).

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s use of settlements to resolve taxpayer disputes.

The corporate plan is the ANAO’s primary planning document. Our strategic planning process allows us to continually improve practices and capabilities to demonstrate value in the delivery of services to the Parliament. The corporate plan is complemented by the annual audit work program, which reflects the ANAO’s audit strategy for the coming year.

The ANAO Corporate Plan 2018–19 is the ANAO's key strategic planning document. It guides our operating environment and sets out how we will deliver on our purpose. The corporate plan is complemented by the annual audit work program which reflects the ANAO's audit strategy and deliverables for the coming year.

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

This report complements the interim phase report released in June 2013 (Audit Report No.49 2012–13), and provides a summary of the final audit results of the audits of the financial statements of all Australian Government entities, including the Consolidated Financial Statements for the Australian Government.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Social Services' fraud control arrangements.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness and appropriateness of the Department of Defence's management of its public communications and media activities.

This report outlines the ANAO’s assessment of the internal controls of major agencies, including governance arrangements, information systems and control procedures. The findings summarised in this report are the results of the interim phase of the financial statement audits of 24 major General Government Sector agencies that represent some 95 per cent of total General Government Sector revenues and expenses.

The ANAO’s primary relationship is with the Australian Parliament, particularly the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA).

The ANAO also has an important relationship with the accountable authorities of Commonwealth entities, who have primary responsibility for and control over public sector entities’ operations. This relationship is supported by the ongoing engagement undertaken with officials of audited entities and audit committees.

Further, the ANAO invests in a number of relationships to support its ability to be a learning organisation through the two-way exchange and sharing of information and practices, and to support other nations through peer-to-peer institutional capacity development. These relationships include the Australasian auditing community as a member of the Australasian Council of Auditors-General (ACAG). The ANAO also has close links with the international and regional auditing community through the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and its regional working groups, and contributes to the delivery of the Australian Government’s aid program in the Indo-Pacific region. The ANAO values its relationships with the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB), in their roles of setting and maintaining professional and ethical standards for the accounting and auditing professions, which underpin the delivery of quality audit services.

This edition of Audit Insights summarises key messages for all Australian government entities from a series of Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) performance audits that have examined service delivery through other entities. It discusses the importance of establishing appropriate service delivery governance arrangements between entities, understanding risk tolerances and managing service delivery risks, and establishing performance monitoring and measurement arrangements.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Defence's (Defence) management of advertising campaigns for Australian Defence Force recruitment.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the governance of the Northern Land Council under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, the Native Title Act 1993 and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

The objective of the audit was to assess the appropriateness of the use and reporting of confidentiality provisions in a sample of Australian Government contracts.

The objective of the audit was to report the results of the interim phase of the audit of the 2011-12 financial statements of major General Government Sector agencies.

The purpose of Insights: Audit Opinion is to provide the Auditor-General's views on key issues facing the Australian public sector. This inaugural edition is on the topic of the Commonwealth Performance Framework and how it can be better used to drive effectiveness in the Australian public sector. This includes the need to prioritise the improvement of performance frameworks, embed a performance culture and use performance information to drive business improvement.

The ANAO Quality Assurance Framework is the system of quality control that the ANAO has established to provide the Auditor-General with reasonable assurance that the ANAO complies with the ANAO standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements and reports issued by the ANAO are appropriate in the circumstances.

The Audit Quality Report demonstrates the ANAO assessment of the implementation and operating effectiveness of the elements of the ANAO Quality Assurance Framework. The report provides transparency in respect of the processes, policies, and procedures that support each element of the ANAO Quality Assurance Framework, and reports audit quality indicators measuring ANAO performance against target benchmarks.

This report also includes the achievement of the quality assurance strategy and deliverables set out in the ANAO Quality Assurance Framework and Plan 2019–20.

The audit objective was to examine the selected entities’ effectiveness in implementing entity-wide fraud control arrangements, including compliance with the requirements of the 2011 Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines (2011 Guidelines), and the overall administration of the fraud control framework by the Attorney-General’s Department.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether select Australian Government entities are effectively managing and controlling the use of Commonwealth credit and other transaction cards for official purposes in accordance with legislative and policy requirements.

Grant Hehir, Auditor-General for Australia, attended the 18th Meeting of INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing in Bundung Indonesia in July 2018, and presented a keynote address titled Sharing experience on auditing urban environmental management. The accompanying paper to the speech is available here.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the management of Machinery of Government (MoG) changes by the selected Australian Government entities.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s management of the Australian Government’s Register of Lobbyists.

This report complements the interim phase report, and provides a summary of the final audit results of the audits of the financial statements of all Australian Government entities, including the Consolidated Financial Statements for the Australian Government.

The audit objective was to assess how effectively the selected public sector entities manage risk.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Attorney-General’s Department’s administration of the terms of the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements Ministerial determination.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the governance of the Northern Land Council under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, Native Title Act 1993 and Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

The audit objective was to examine whether the selected entities have implemented a selection of agreed parliamentary committee and Auditor-General recommendations.

The Performance Audit Services Group (PASG) volume of the ANAO Audit Manual applies to the performance audit activity performed by PASG in collaboration with the Systems Assurance and Data Analytics (SADA) group. Relevant policies and guidance from the PASG volume are also applied to assurance reviews performed by PASG. Policies and guidance in the PASG volume address the planning, execution and reporting stages of the performance audit process.

The objective of this audit was to examine if Social Services and Human Services drive improvements in the Disability Support Pension program using data and information from multiple sources, including agreed Auditor-General and parliamentary committee recommendations. 

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the operations of the boards of four corporate Commonwealth entities in managing conflicts of interest.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Australian Financial Security Authority’s (AFSA) management of conflicts of interest.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the evaluation of selected Australian Government pilot programs.

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 this audit was to assess the Australian Public Service Commission’s and selected entities’ implementation of the Australian Government’s Workplace Bargaining Framework.

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has zero tolerance for fraud and corruption. This means the ANAO will take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent, detect and respond to fraud and corruption. This strategy defines the ANAO’s principles of effective fraud and corruption control, key roles and responsibilities and how the ANAO expects to mitigate and manage risks. The strategy informs staff how they can report fraud and corruption.

The audit objective was to examine the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office's monitoring and implementation of recommendations about its administration made by the ANAO and parliamentary committees

The objective of this audit was to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the Australian Electoral Commission’s implementation of those recommendations relating to improving the accuracy and completeness of the electoral roll and other matters from Audit Report No.28 2009–10 that have not previously been followed-up by the ANAO.

The speech delivered by the Acting Deputy Auditor-General and the presentations by ANAO speakers at the Financial and Performance Reporting Forum held on Friday 5 July 2024 are now available.

If you would like a copy of the video recording please contact External.Relations@anao.gov.au

The objective of this audit was to assess whether Human Services has an effective high-level compliance strategy for administered payments made under the Centrelink and Medicare programs. 

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Parliamentary Services’ arrangements for managing contracts and retail licences, including the extent to which the department has implemented recommendations from the previous ANAO audit.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC’s) management of complaints.

The audit’s objective was to determine if the Bureau of Meteorology’s processes support the delivery of effective extreme weather services.

The audit objective was to examine entity compliance with regulatory requirements for the establishment and ongoing management of special appropriations.

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.

This audit examined the effectiveness of the National Archives of Australia’s implementation of the Building Trust policy and selected entities’ management of information assets (records, information and data).

The objective of the audit was to assess the appropriateness of the use and reporting of confidentiality provisions in a sample of Australian Government contracts.

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held on Wednesday, 14 June 2019 from 10am until 12:30pm. The venue was the Galambany Centre, Department of Finance, One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT. The agenda, slides and communique from the forum are available on this events page.