The objective of this audit is to assess the effectiveness of Snowy Hydro Limited's (SHL) management of the delivery of Snowy 2.0 in support of achieving value for money.

The objective of this audit is to assess whether the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts’ (Infrastructure) management of the service delivery agreements for the Australian external territories is effective.

The objective of this audit is to assess whether the management of funding under the Settlement Engagement and Transition Support services program was effective in achieving the program objectives and consistent with the Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines.

The objective of this audit is to examine the effectiveness of the procurement and contract management of onshore-manufactured antivenoms and vaccines.

The objective of this audit is to assess the effectiveness of the Commonwealth Home Support Programme.

The objective of this audit is to assess whether procurements conducted by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the Security Enhancement Program achieved value for money and complied with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.

The objective of this audit is to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s (ACIC) and Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s (CASA) compliance with domestic and international travel requirements.

The ANAO will conduct a series of audits of entities’ compliance with legislative and Australian Government policy requirements, such as:

• requirements of the Protective Security Policy Framework;
• requirements of the Commonwealth Risk Management Framework;
• requirements of the Commonwealth Fraud and Corruption Control Framework;
• information management requirements;
• management of conflicts of interest for SES level staff in entities;
• gifts, benefits and hospitality requirements; and
• domestic and international travel requirements.

The audits would examine the effectiveness of entities’ design, implementation and governance of arrangements to ensure compliance with relevant requirements. This would include assessment of whether audited entities have complied with requirements.

This audit would assess the effectiveness of measures taken to strengthen the protection of Australia’s diplomatic posts and staff overseas.

Auditor-General Report No. 5 2017–18 Protecting Australia’s Missions and Staff Overseas and the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) Report 471: Security of Overseas Missions reported on the security of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT’s) network of overseas missions. The ANAO made seven recommendations in its report and the JCPAA made eight recommendations. In 2018–19, DFAT received $339 million over five years to strengthen management of its security assets and infrastructure, modernise processes and the use of security personnel (Security Enhancements Program). A follow-on audit is proposed to review DFAT’s implementation of recommendations, including in relation to 10 new missions established in recent years, and to review progress in implementing new measures.

The objective of this audit is to assess the effectiveness to date of the Department of Defence’s (Defence) procurement of Infantry Fighting Vehicles (LAND 400 Phase 3).

This report will focus on key selected major Defence acquisition projects in accordance with the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) MPR Guidelines.

Increased transparency and accountability on progress with major Defence equipment acquisitions has been a focus of parliamentary interest for some time. Beginning in 2007–08, an annual program has been established in conjunction with the Department of Defence to enable the ANAO to review and report to the Parliament on the status of major Defence acquisition projects, as set out in the major projects report. The review includes information relating to the cost, schedule and progress towards delivery of required capability of individual projects at 30 June each year, and is undertaken at the request of JCPAA.

The objective of this audit is to examine whether the Office of Parliamentary Counsel’s procurement and contract management of the new Federal Register of Legislation project complied with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and demonstrated the achievement of value for money.

This audit would continue the ANAO’s series of audits on cybersecurity.

The scope would include comparing the entities’ cybersecurity frameworks and controls against the controls required under the Protective Security Policy Framework (Policy 2 — Management structures and responsibilities, Policy 4 — Security maturity monitoring, and Policy 10 — Safeguarding information from cyber threats) and the Australian Signals Directorate’s Essential Eight Maturity Model.

The next Audit Committee Chairs Forum is scheduled for Friday, 4 July 2025. Further information about the forum will be announced closer to the event date. If you have any questions regarding the upcoming forum, please contact External.Relations@anao.gov.au.

Grants are widely used to achieve Government policy outcomes. This audit would assess the effectiveness of the Department of Education's administration of a selection of grant programs, including those delivered with third parties. The audit would consider the design of the grants programs and whether the administration and management of the grant programs are consistent with the Australian Government Grants Framework.

This audit would examine the effectiveness of arrangements to establish Environment Protection Australia.

Environment Protection Australia (EPA) is an element of the Australian Government’s response to the Independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) (Samuel Review). The EPA will be the national environmental protection agency, responsible for issuing permits and licenses; project assessments, decisions and post-approvals; compliance and enforcement; and assurance of the application of National Environmental Standards under accredited arrangements with the states and territories. The 2023–24 Federal Budget provided $121 million over four years (from 2023–24) to establish the EPA.

This audit would assess the effectiveness of the Department of Social Services’ administration of grants awarded under the Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program (Safe Places), including compliance with the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines, and management of the grants across the Safe Places program life cycle.

Safe Places is a capital works program funding the building, renovation or purchase of emergency accommodation for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence. There have been two rounds of funding. Under successive National Plans to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, the Australian Government has committed over $170 million over seven years to Safe Places ($72.6 million for round 1 from 2020–21 to 2024–25, and $100 million for round 2 from 2022–23 to 2026–2027). The first round of grants, awarded in 2020, was intended to deliver new emergency and crisis accommodation for women and children experiencing domestic and family violence. The second round of grants, expected to be awarded in mid 2024, was designed to focus on improving access to appropriate emergency accommodation for First Nations women and children, women and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and women and children with disability.

This information report would cover Australian Government grants reporting following on from Auditor-General Report No. 7 2021–22 Australian Government Grants Reporting. The report would provide transparency of, and insights on government grants expenses and Commonwealth entities’ self-reporting of grants on GrantConnect.

This information report would provide transparency and insights on SES attrition from and movement within the Australian Public Service (APS). The potential data sources include the APS Employment Database, and information published on Gazette. This information report would be neither an audit nor an assurance review and would not present conclusions or opinions.

This audit would assess the effectiveness of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s administration of the Support Plantation Establishment Program.

$73.76 million was allocated to the program over four years in the October 2022–23 Federal Budget. Successful applicants receive funding, to be matched by a co-contribution by the applicant, to establish new long-rotation softwood and hardwood plantation forests.

The VET Student Loans (VSL) program commenced on 1 January 2017 and provides income contingent loans to eligible students studying approved courses. In 2022, the program provided $222.7 million towards the cost of tuition (out of total of $235 million in total fees charged) for around 30,000 students. The design and implementation of the VSL was audited in 2018–19. This audit would assess the effectiveness of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relation’s management of the VSL program.

This audit would examine the approach to assisting long-term unemployed job seekers through the Workforce Australia program. The audit would assess the effectiveness of the more intensive supports provided by Workforce Australia with a focus on oversight of performance and compliance by employment services providers, and whether the program is meeting its intended objectives. The audit may also assess the effectiveness of contract management by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR).

This audit would assess the effectiveness of the Australian Industry Participation Authority.

The Australian Industry Participation Authority administers the Australian Industry Participation requirements under the Australian Jobs Act 2013. A 2018 review investigated the transparency of processes to ensure compliance under the legislation.

This audit would assess whether the award of funding under the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program was effective and consistent with the Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines.

The Urban Rivers and Catchments Program is a $200 million grants program that comprises two rounds. The 2022–23 October Federal Budget provided $91 million (from 2022–23) for the first round of the program, and the 2023–24 May Federal Budget provided $109 million (from 2024–25) for the second round of the program. The second round closed on 13 February 2024.

This audit would examine the effectiveness of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s (DCCEEW) administration of the Climate Risk and Opportunity Management Program (CROMP) across government entities. DCCEEW is responsible for providing support to government entities to manage and report climate risk. CROMP is intended to enable the public sector to identify and manage climate risks and opportunities with the program rolling out in stages from 2023–24.

This audit would assess the effectiveness and efficiency of cost recovery activities conducted by IP Australia. Areas to be examined would be cost recovery implementation models used by IP Australia, business processes used in cost recovery, and calculation of fee structures. The current cost recovery model was revised following a Productivity Commission recommendation (No. 78, 23 September 2016) that suggested patent fees should be set to promote IP policy objectives rather than cost recovery.

This audit would examine the effectiveness of the Department of Defence’s (Defence’s) procurement of ICT-related services.

Defence relies on contracted services for the management and delivery of its ICT-related projects. In April 2023, the Defence Strategic Review highlighted this reliance as an important risk. Auditor-General Report No. 1 2021–22 Defence’s Administration of Enabling Services — Enterprise Resource Planning Program: Tranche 1 identified shortcomings in, and made one recommendation to improve, Defence’s management of probity for that program.

This audit would examine the effectiveness of Defence’s procurement and contract management for its ICT-related services to achieve value for money and the successful delivery of intended outcomes. It also provides an opportunity to update the Parliament on Defence’s progress in improving its management of probity risks in ICT procurements.

This audit would assess the effectiveness of the Department of Education’s administration of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). NCRIS provides funding for national research infrastructure including physical assets (such as the National Computational Infrastructure that supports Australia’s weather and climate modelling capability) and intangible assets (such as the Australian Research Data Commons, a portal that supports researchers to access and reuse existing data). It would examine areas relating to the department’s allocation of funding and ongoing engagement with NCRIS projects.

The Australian Government has committed to provide $4 billion NCRIS funding between 2018 and 2029. The program will receive an estimated $503 million in 2024–25. Funding is allocated on the basis of roadmaps, which provide a pathway to addressing Australia’s future research infrastructure needs. As at April 2024 NCRIS supports 26 funded projects and an international membership. The projects are led by organisations including universities, publicly funded research organisations and private companies. They form a network involving over 400 delivery partnerships, and employ over 1900 technical experts, researchers and facility managers. Users relying on NCRIS range from early career researchers and small businesses, who would otherwise struggle to access world class national research infrastructure, to global research leaders tapping into the unique facilities that NCRIS provides.

This audit would assess the effectiveness of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) in the design and implementation of its new customer relationship management (CRM) system named ‘PACE’, including the broader supporting program known as ‘3P’ (Participant, Platform and Process).

PACE will replace existing business and payments systems and portals with a new embedded CRM system. PACE is intended to improve system controls, including controls to validate payments for services. Following a pilot of PACE that started in November 2022 for Tasmanian participants and providers, PACE implementation began across all remaining NDIA locations on 30 October 2023. Full implementation is expected to take 18 months with NDIA’s existing systems continuing to be used alongside PACE during that period.

This audit would review the progress of the Digital Identity System implementation, design and functionality, including the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders and the allocation and expenditure of funding, including contract management.

The Digital Identity program is delivered by Services Australia, Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Department of Home Affairs and Department of Finance. Components of the program include the Trusted Digital Identity Framework, the Identity Exchanges (delivered by Services Australia), myGovID (the Commonwealth’s Identity Provider, delivered by ATO) and connected services to the system.

The Digital ID Act 2024 and the Digital ID (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act will commence on 1 December 2024 and support the expansion of the Australian Government Digital ID System and introduce a voluntary accreditation scheme for digital ID services providers.