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

This edition of Audit Lessons is targeted at those responsible for administering or overseeing grants programs. The aim of Audit Lessons is to communicate lessons from our audit work and to make it easier for people working within the Australian public sector to apply those lessons.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the coordination arrangements of key Australian Government entities operating in Torres Strait.

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

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 the examine action taken by the ATO to improve TFN integrity, particularly through the implementation of the recommendations made in:Report No.37, taking into account any changed circumstances, or new administrative issues, affecting the implementation of those recommendations; and Numbers on the Run, taking into account that the Government has not formally responded to the report at this time.The audit also aimed to identify further opportunities for the ATO to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the TFN system. The report of this audit is necessarily detailed as it considers each of the recommendations and the extent to which they have been implemented.

Although the audit examined broader aspects of the ATO's administration (such as, tobacco excise governance arrangements, intelligence capability and compliance and investigations activities), we placed particular emphasis on the strategies used by the ATO to address the proliferation of chop-chop (Australian grown tobacco sold illicitly in a chopped up form for $80 to $100 per kilogram. In comparison, 50 grams of legal roll-you-own tobacco costs around $16 i.e. $320 per kilogram) in the Australian markets, as it is an area of major risk to tobacco excise revenue.

The objective of the audit was to assess the Australian Agency for International Development's (AusAid) planning for, and management of, the delivery of aid to East Timor. The audit examined Australia's emergency and humanitarian response following the crisis in East Timor in 1999; AusAID's post-crisis strategy for assisting East Timor; coordination with overseas donors; and financial contributions to multilateral reconstruction assistance. Australia's bilateral assistance, comprising shorter-term transitional assistance and medium-term development assistance, was also examined.

The aim of Insights: Audit Lessons (formerly Audit Insights) is to communicate lessons from our audit work and to make it easier for people working within the Australian public sector to apply those lessons.

This edition of Insights: Audit Lessons is targeted at Australian Government officials who are working in governance roles or who have responsibility for ensuring effective oversight and management of probity. Although it is based on audits of financial regulators, the lessons for managing probity risks can be applied across the public sector.

The objectives of the audit were to form an opinion on the management of Commonwealth agencies' compliance with the Commonwealth's energy efficiency requirements and to identify areas for better practice in energy management. The audit focussed on:

• the implementation of the Energy Policy by Commonwealth Agencies; promulgation and coordination of energy use targets;
• energy and associated reporting by Commonwealth agencies;
• identification, examination and analysis of systemic and procedural impediments to achieving the Energy Policy; and
• development and discussion of ways to address these impediments.

The objective of the audit was to determine whether DEST has effective governance practices for its IT and e- Business; has adequate systems in place to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of its IT and e-Business; implements and maintains appropriate quality standards within its IT and e-Business systems; and implements proper controls, including risk management, to achieve maximum benefits from its IT and e- Business. The audit examined education and training services provided, or managed, by DEST via IT or the Internet.

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 Commonwealth has significant involvement in national emergency management arrangements through its roles in planning, coordination between agencies, operational response, financial support, education and training, public awareness and research activities. The objectives of this performance audit were to identify the Commonwealth's current emergency management arrangements; to provide assurance to Parliament concerning the adequacy of the arrangements; and to highlight areas for improvement.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of agencies' contract management by determining if they had sound practices and systematic approaches to this activity. Particular attention was given to each agency's:

• day-to-day management of individual contracts; and
• approach to managing its contract population.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether Defence effectively managed the procurement process for services related to the recruitment of personnel to the ADF and the introduction of a new service provider.

The objective of the audit was to assess the Department of Health and Ageing’s (DoHA’s) implementation and ongoing management of the Aged Care Complaints Scheme and the effectiveness of DoHA’s complaint management systems in supporting service delivery and regulatory outcomes.

The audit objective was to examine the effectiveness of the department's establishment of the P21 element of the BER program. The focus of the audit was on: the establishment of administrative arrangements for BER P21 in accordance with government policy; the assessment and approval of funding allocations; and the arrangements to monitor and report BER P21 progress and achievement of broader program outcomes. An examination of individual BER P21 projects was outside the scope of the audit.

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.

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

The objective of this audit was to assess the extent to which the disaster recovery work plans for Queensland and Victoria were prepared, and appropriate monitoring reports provided, in accordance with the relevant National Partnership Agreement (NPA).

The objective of the audit was to assess if DBCDE had effectively managed the ABG program, and the extent to which the program was achieving its stated objectives. The audit examined DBCDE's activities supporting the planning, implementation, monitoring and performance reporting for the ABG program from its commencement in April 2007 to June 2010.

The audit objective was to assess whether Department of Health and Aged Care effectively developed and monitored suicide prevention measures.

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

The audit 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 report is to provide a formal conclusion on the review of the Project Data Summary Sheets by the Auditor-General, including comprehensive information on the status of projects as reflected in the PDSSs prepared by the DMO.

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 effectiveness of the Tribunals' management of their operations. To this end, the audit examined whether the MRT and the RRT:

• have achieved intended operational efficiencies from the introduction of common facilities, services and resourcing;
• have established appropriate arrangements for governance, business planning and guidance of Members and staff, and for performance monitoring and reporting of Tribunal operations;
• finalise cases within Tribunal time and productivity standards; and
• provide applicants with services in accordance with service standards.

The audit covered Tribunal operations for review of visa decisions. The correctness of individual decisions was not assessed as part of the audit.

The audit focused particularly on developments in the Tribunals' management performance in the four year period from 2001–02 to 2004–05.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the establishment of the Workforce Australia Services panel.

The overall objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Refresh and, in particular:

• the extent to which Centrelink has used the funds invested by the Government to develop its IT capability and realise the anticipated service delivery, financial and other benefits; and
• how Centrelink's programme management approach and Refresh's oversight arrangements have contributed to the achievement of the outcomes of the programme.