Welcome to the third edition of the ANAO’s 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.

Rona Mellor PSM, Deputy Auditor-General

The Auditor-General responded on 29 March 2019 to the follow-up correspondence from the Hon. Mark Dreyfus QC MP dated 26 March 2019. Mr Dreyfus requested that the Auditor-General extend his investigation to look at the conduct of a range of parties in relation to the announcement of grants. This is in addition to the request to investigate the conduct of a range of parties in relation to the announcement of the grant to the Yankalilla Bowling Club, which was the subject of the original correspondence dated 24 February 2019. 

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the National Indigenous Australians Agency’s administration of funding for remote housing in the Northern Territory.

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

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) publishes two reports annually addressing the outcomes of the financial statement audits of Commonwealth entities, and the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Australian Government, to provide Parliament an independent examination of the financial accounting and reporting of public sector entities. This report focuses on the results of the interim audit phase, including an assessment of entities’ key internal controls, of the 2015–16 financial statements audits of 21 departments and other major General Government Sector (GGS) entities. These entities contribute 95 per cent of GGS revenues and expenses.

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

The objective of this audit was to assess whether the Australian War Memorial is effectively managing the development project.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether the design and administration of the Adult Migrant English Program was effective.

This edition of Audit Insights is targeted at Australian Government officials who have responsibility for the implementation of cyber security controls or strategy for government systems. The aim is to communicate lessons from our audit work to make it easier for people working within the Australian public sector to apply those lessons. It is drawn from audit reports tabled in 2019–20, 2020–21 and 2022–23 into management of cyber security risks.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Home Affairs’ regulation of migration agents.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency’s (TEQSA’s) regulation of higher education.

The objective of this information report is to provide transparency and insights on the governing boards of Commonwealth entities and companies and the membership of these boards.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Social Services' (DSS) administration of the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS), with a focus on the assessment of applications, and management of reserved allocations.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of entities’ implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of Defence’s quarterly performance report as a mechanism to inform senior stakeholders about risks and issues in the delivery of capability to the Australian Defence Force.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of Navy’s strategy for recruiting and retaining personnel with specialist skills. The effective delivery of Navy capability depends on Navy having available sufficient numbers of skilled personnel to operate and maintain its fleet of sea vessels and aircraft, and conduct wide‑ranging operations in dispersed locations. Without the right personnel, Navy capability is reduced. Navy’s budget for 2014–15 included $1.86 billion in employee expenses.

The audit concluded that, in its strategic planning, Navy had identified its key workforce risks and their implications for Navy capability. To address these risks Navy had continued to adhere to its traditional ‘raise, train and sustain’ workforce strategy; developed a broad range of workforce initiatives that complemented its core approach; and sought to establish contemporary workforce management practices. However, long‑standing personnel shortfalls in a number of ‘critical’ employment categories had persisted, and Navy had largely relied on retention bonuses as a short‑ to medium‑term retention strategy.

Navy had developed a broad range of workforce initiatives, some designed specifically to address workforce shortages in its critical employment categories. To date, Navy had primarily relied on paying retention bonuses and other financial incentives; recruiting personnel with prior military experience to work in employment categories with significant workforce shortfalls; and using Navy Reserves in continuous full time roles. Ongoing work was required for Navy to firmly establish a range of promising workforce management practices, including providing the right training at the right time; more flexible approaches to managing individuals’ careers; and improving workplace culture, leadership and relationships. More flexible and tailored workforce management practices could help address the underlying causes of workforce shortfalls, particularly when the traditional approaches were not gaining sufficient traction.

The ANAO made two recommendations aimed at Navy: drawing on external human resource expertise to inform the development and implementation of its revised workforce plan; and evaluating the impact of retention bonuses on the Navy workforce to determine their future role within its overall workforce strategy.

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 whether the Department of Home Affairs’ procurement process for the Permissions Capability employed open and effective competition and achieved value for money, consistent with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO’s) management of small business tax debt arising from compliance activities.

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held at the Hotel Realm on Friday, 9 December 2022. The communique from the forum is now available here.

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 objective of the audit was to assess whether the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has established effective risk management arrangements to support the implementation of the Statistical Business Transformation Program.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment’s administration of referrals, assessments and approvals of controlled actions under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

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.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Defence’s arrangements to manage the security authorisation of its ICT systems.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has effectively responded to recent unscheduled information technology (IT) system outages.

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 whether the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) had complied with gifts, benefits and hospitality requirements.

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 appropriateness of the use and reporting of confidentiality provisions in a sample of Australian Government contracts.