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 objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Defence’s development and implementation of Australia’s approach to providing military assistance to the Government of Ukraine.

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.

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 audit objectives were to review the extent to which the Government's sale objectives have been achieved; the effectiveness of the management of the share offer and share buy-back processes; the management and reporting arrangements associated with on-going Commonwealth exposures; and the consideration of improved administrative practices for future asset sales. The audit criteria addressed the performance of the Task Force in managing the sale in relation to the results of the sale against the stated objectives; the management of the preparation for the sale including the selection of the selling syndicate, its fees and selling commissions; the offer structure including the nature of the sale, the bids and allocation procedures; post sale financial management; and the exposures of the Commonwealth as a result of sale by instalment, contracts, guarantees and indemnities.

The audit objective was to assess whether the Department of Homes Affairs has appropriately managed the procurement of garrison support and welfare services for offshore processing centres in Nauru and PNG (Manus Island).

The audit examined a range of issues in relation to the development of certified agreements in the APS with particular emphasis on the link between improved pay and conditions and increased productivity, and the funding of agreements. The objectives of the audit were to:

• provide an overview of the range of wage outcomes included in the first round of APS certified agreements;
• identify the administrative arrangements agencies have in place to measure any improvements in productivity that were linked to pay increases;
• determine how agencies funded their certified agreements;
• review the reporting and accountability arrangements agencies have in place to monitor progress and to evaluate the outcomes of their certified agreements;
• determine the extent to which agencies complied with the employment terms and conditions outlined in their certified agreements that contributed to paying for their agreement or measuring and/or assessing improvements in productivity; and
• examine the role of central coordinating agencies in reviewing agencies' certified agreements.

Quarantine policies and operations are the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Australia (AFFA). The objective of this audit was to assess AFFA's management of plant and animal quarantine services, and the implementation and impact of the Government Response (1997) to the Quarantine Review Committee Report. The audit in particular assessed the setting of quarantine priorities through assessing and managing risk; management of the continuum of quarantine operations; and management of Import Risk Analyses to deliver and review quarantine policies. Stakeholder consultation and advisory processes were also assessed in addressing these issues. A key issue examined was the effectiveness of AFFA quarantine operations in international mail and airports preventing the entry of quarantinable material. The ANAO made eight recommendations aimed at improving operational risk based resource allocation; pre-border management of quarantine risk; the effectiveness of quarantine operations at the Australian border; and priority setting and transparency of the IRA process. AFFA agreed to all eight ANAO recommendations.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health and Aged Care’s (DHAC) performance management of the Primary Health Network program.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the department’s delivery of the Wildlife and Habitat Bushfire Recovery Program.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs' (DVA's) planning and management of the Veteran Centric Reform (VCR) program.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of the Environment and Energy’s design of the Threatened Species Prospectus.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Medicare electronic claiming arrangements, including an assessment of the extent to which claiming and processing efficiencies for the Government, health professionals and Medicare customers have been achieved.

The objective of the audit was to assess the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources' establishment and administration of the Farm Finance and Drought Concessional Loans programs.

The ANAO Corporate Plan 2020–21 is the ANAO's key strategic planning document. It guides our operating environment and sets out how we will deliver on our purpose. This Quality Assurance Framework and Plan complements the Corporate Plan. It describes the ANAO Quality Assurance Framework and reflects the ANAO's quality assurance strategy and deliverables for the coming year.

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 Quality Assurance Plan component of this document identifies the key activities that the ANAO conducts to provide the Auditor-General with comfort that the controls established within the Quality Assurance Framework are implemented and operating effectively.

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

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Employment’s administration of the Fair Entitlements Guarantee.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Human Services’ administration of the Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme.

The audit objective was to examine the effectiveness of Snowy Hydro Limited’s governance arrangements for early implementation of Snowy 2.0, the expansion to the Snowy Hydro Scheme.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Education, Skills and Employment’s arrangements in administering wage subsidies linked to employment programs.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the selected entities:

• management of the delivery of projects awarded funding under four programmes where ANAO has previously audited the application assessment and selection processes; and
• development and implementation of evaluation strategies for each of those programmes.

The ANAO concluded that DHAC's administration of the National Cervical Screening Program is generally sound. The ANAO found that the department has a key role in the Program by providing secretariat services and other support to the NAC, which provides policy advice to AHMAC, and by supporting initiatives to further develop the Program. Some areas of DHAC's administration of the Program provide examples of good practice. Related examples are the early identification of the need to monitor the Program, the early identification of possible data sources for monitoring, and the use of an independent body to provide advice, through the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, on performance indicators and data sources. A further example is DHAC's administration of the provision of cervical screening funding assistance to the States and Territories through Public Health Outcome Funding Agreements, which complies with the principles for sound Specific Purpose Payments program administration advocated by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit in their Report 362. On the other hand, the ANAO has identified areas for improvement in quality assurance for the analysis of Pap smears by pathology laboratories.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's implementation of the National Waste Policy Action Plan 2019.

The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of DAFF’s administration of the Digital Services to Take Farmers to Markets (TFTM) program.

The Auditor-General Act establishes the position of the Independent Auditor, who may conduct a performance audit of the ANAO at any time. The ANAO is also committed to increasing external oversight and scrutiny over the ANAO Quality Framework, including external reviews of the quality framework and completed audits, as considered appropriate.

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.

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

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Research Council’s (ARC’s) administration of the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP).

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health's design, implementation and administration of primary healthcare under the Indigenous Australians' Health Program (IAHP).

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of the Environment and Energy's design and implementation of the Reef Trust.