The objective of the audit was to assess whether selected regulatory agencies have cost recovery procedures and practices which comply with the Government's guidelines. To address this objective, the audit assessed the management of cost recovery against the following criteria:

• regulatory agencies have clear and consistent cost recovery procedures to identify their activities and costs, and set fees and levies;
• regulatory agencies have effectively implemented their cost recovery procedures;
• regulatory agencies regularly monitor and review their cost recovery activities; and
• regulatory agencies regularly report on their cost recovery.

The objectives of the audit were to provide assurance that Artbank was effectively meeting its charter of: acquiring art by contemporary artists; expanding the number of public places that Artbank's collection is rented and displayed; and managing its collection and rental scheme. The audit also examined Artbank's governance arrangements, and its programmes for marketing, client development, performance management, budgeting, debt management and also sought client feedback on Artbank's operations via a survey.

This audit was designed to identify the methods used by selected agencies to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of their delivery of services through the Internet, and to evaluate the adequacy of these methods. ANAO also identified better practices, lessons learned and opportunities for improvements.

The audit assessed FaHCSIA's management of AACAP and how the department monitors the contribution the program is making to the improvement of primary and environmental health, and living conditions, in remote Indigenous communities.

The audit examined program delivery under the 2006–2009 MoU, as well as the planning for the 2010 project under the variation to the 2006–2009 MoU. As part of the audit the ANAO considered:

• program strategy and implementation including the roles and responsibilities of the major stakeholders, community selection and scope of works (Chapter 2);
• the financial management of the program and the changing role of the Contracted Program Manager (Chapter 3); and
• performance measures, including FaHCSIA's performance reporting framework, and approach to monitoring and reporting performance against the stated program objectives (Chapter 4).

The audit focused on AACAP in so far as it relates to Indigenous community outcomes. It did not consider the program from the perspective of the Australian Defence Force capability building.

The audit objective was to assess whether the early stages of DIAC's preparations for the re-tendering of the detention and health services contracts were consistent with sound practice. The audit focused on governance arrangements, in particular the recordkeeping arrangements, roles and responsibilities of personnel, expert advisors and the probity auditor—matters raised in the previous audit report. The audit did not examine the RFT, which is not due to be issued until April 2007.

This is the first of two audit reports concerning the Tax Office's administration of SMSFs pursuant to the provisions of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.
This audit report examines the efficiency and effectiveness of the Tax Office's approach to regulating and registering self managed superannuation funds. Specifically the ANAO examined the:

• Environment in which SMSFs operate, including the Tax Office's regulatory roles and responsibilities;
• Tax Office's governance of its SMSF regulatory role; and
• Systems, processes and controls the Tax Office uses to register SMSFs, and enforce the lodgement of fund income tax and regulatory returns.

The objective of the audit is to examine and report on the efficiency and effectiveness of AFP's administration and management of its overseas deployments. The audit specifically examines two deployments and focuses on strategic and operational planning and logistics. The audit examines a planned, long-term overseas deployment (as part of the Participating Police Force (PPF) within the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI)) and a crisis-driven deployment in response to a specific event (Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) assistance to Thailand following the Indian Ocean Tsunamis of 26 December 2004).

Directly after the collapse of Ansett in September 2001, most of its estimated 15 000 employees faced the possibility of retrenchment The Government immediately announced the introduction of the Special Employee Entitlements Scheme for Ansett group employees (SEESA) to address two risks facing the employees:

• the risk-to a certain limit - of a shortfall in their payments of accrued employee entitlements from Ansett and,
• the risk of delay in their being paid.

The objective of the audit was to determine how efficiently and effectively the two key elements of SEESA were managed: DEWR's management of the mechanism for making SEESA payments and DOTARS' management of the associated Air Passenger Ticket Levy.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether purchases of goods and services are conducted in accordance with relevant legislation, Government policies and guidelines, and sound purchasing principles and practices. The audit at each entity covered the internal control framework for purchasing and purchase transactions during 2002-03 and 2003-04 and, where applicable, was based on the CPGs current at that time. The audit examined all aspects of the purchasing process from the initial requirement for purchase through to the delivery of the supply and payment. It included an examination of aselection of individual purchases at each audited entity.

This audit is the first time that the ANAO has looked at superannuation payments to independent contractors. The audit examined whether Commonwealth organisations were identifying contracts that were wholly or principally for the labour of the contractor and meeting statutory superannuation obligations under the Superannuation (Productivity Benefit) Act 1988.

The objective of the audit was to assess the administrative effectiveness of the Tax Office's strategies to address serious non-compliance. In conducting the audit, the ANAO examined the Tax Office's management framework and arrangements to deter, detect and deal with fraud and serious evasion.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether:

a) the AGD effectively manages the operation of the NSH; and
b) the AFP and ASIO have effective procedures in place to deal with incoming referrals from the NSH.

The objectives of this audit were to assess, with respect to guarantees, indemnities and letters of comfort:

• changes in the size and nature of the Commonwealth's reported exposure since 30 June 1995;
• the extent of improvement in agencies' management and monitoring of the Commonwealth's exposure to these instruments;
• the approach of agencies to effective risk management and control of Commonwealth exposures to these instruments; and
• whether current reporting practices provide a sufficiently comprehensive coverage for public accountability purposes, at both the agency and whole of government levels.

The objective of the audit was to report to Parliament on the progress Defence has made since June 2001 in implementing appropriate strategies for recruiting, developing and retaining skilled IT personnel. The audit focused on management of specialist information system skills and did not examine skills needed by users of information systems, although the latter is of obvious importance for overall performance. In June 2001, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA), after reviewing the ANAO's Audit Report No. 11 Knowledge System Equipment Acquisition Projects in Defence, commented that its major concern about Defence's ability to develop a knowledge edge with adequate coherence, centred on Defence's ability to recruit, develop and retain skilled individuals needed in all parts of the DIE. The JCPAA recommended that the ANAO conduct an audit of Defence's strategies for recruiting, developing and retaining skilled IT personnel.

The objectives of this performance audit were to: - review the governance and accountability framework for the Scheme, and - assess the efficiency and effectiveness of Treasury's implementation and management of that framework.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the implementation and administration of the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether DEWR had implemented ESC3 and its computer system EA3000, efficiently and effectively. The primary focus is on the period of change from the previous employment services contract to ESC3 and the first full year of its operation, 2003-04. The scope of the audit was limited to the implementation of Job Network services under ESC3, the introduction of the supporting computer application, EA3000, and DEWR's use of modelling to estimate the effects of the APM. The audit did not test the effectiveness of the APM. DEWR has a plan to evaluate the new model. A separate, concurrent ANAO audit assessed DEWR's oversight of Job Network services to job seekers.

The objective of this performance audit was to assess agencies' financial management of, and accountability for, the use of net appropriation agreements to increase available appropriations.

The objective of the audit was to assess the coordination of Australian Government assistance to Solomon Islands through RAMSI, including the establishment of objectives and an outcomes monitoring framework. In particular, the audit examined arrangements for: coordination between Australian Government agencies; strategic planning and risk management; measuring the effectiveness of RAMSI; and reporting to RAMSI's Australian stakeholders.

The objective of the audit was to examine the quality and integrity of DVA's income support records and to report on the effectiveness of the department's management of the data and how it impacts on service delivery.

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 Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is responsible for regulating aviation safety in Australia, the safety of Australian aircraft operating overseas as well as for regulating and administering Australia's airspace. In September 2008, the Senate Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport presented a report on the Administration of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and related matters. That report made three recommendations, one of which requested an Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) audit of CASA's implementation and administration of the regulation of aircraft operators' Safety Management Systems (SMS'). ANAO agreed to this request with the objective of the audit being to assess CASA's implementation and administration of an SMS approach to regulating aircraft operators.

An SMS is a systematic approach to managing safety, which encompasses organisational structures, accountabilities, policies and procedures. Amendments to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (commonly referred to as the Chicago Convention) made in 2006 require that contracting states regulate the SMS' of aircraft operators. As a contracting state to the Chicago Convention, Australia is required to mandate that aircraft operators implement an SMS.

The audit reviewed Commonwealth debt management procedures. The audit objectives were to:

• review, and consider opportunities to improve, the reporting and disclosure of the Commonwealth's public debt;
• assess the effectiveness of the raising, management and retirement of Commonwealth debt, consistent with an acceptable degree of risk exposure; and
• determine whether there are opportunities to improve the Commonwealth's approach to the raising, management and retirement of Commonwealth debt.

This second audit report relating to SMSFs examines the effectiveness of the Tax Office's approach to managing SMSF compliance risks. Specifically the ANAO examined the processes the Tax Office uses to:

• identify the risks relevant to SMSFs not complying with their obligations under the SISA, including members accessing their superannuation early;
• mitigate SMSF compliance risks; and
• administer fund wind-ups.

The audit assessed the Commonwealth's administration of the two major elements of the Dairy Industry Adjustment Package; the Dairy Structural Adjustment Program (DSAP) and the supplementary Dairy Assitance Program (SDA). The audit addressed the implementation and delivery of the programs, governance arrangements and the management of the Dairy Structural Adjustment Fund.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of DFAT's management of the overseas leased estate. In particular, the audit examined whether DFAT:

• has effective governance, reporting and funding arrangements in place to support the sound management and oversight of the overseas leased estate;
• effectively manages overseas leased chancery and residential property on a day-to-day basis; and
• manages relationships with landlords and attached agencies effectively and adequately consults with stakeholders.

The objective of the audit was to assess the appropriateness of the use and reporting of confidentiality provisions in Australian Government contracts for 2011.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of DEEWR's administration of Job Network service fees. The ANAO examined DEEWR's arrangements to:

• specify the nature and level of services to be supplied by JNMs and to communicate this to the JNMS;
• calculate and pay service fees in accordance with the Employment Services Contract (ESC) 2006–2009 it has with JNMs; and
• obtain assurance that JNMs have delivered services in accordance with the contract.

The audit objective was to determine whether DIAC's biometrics program had appropriate:

• business review processes (including a business case);
• authorisation;
• business and IT governance arrangements; and
• IT project management and systems development arrangements.

The objective of this performance audit was to assess the effectiveness of the administration of grants made to the ARTC. The audit involved an examination of DOTARS' administration of the grant funding approved for, and paid to, the ARTC (in respect of both the grants paid for projects approved under legislation and the three special grants). It also involved consideration of the role of Finance and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) in advising on the special grant funding and (in respect of Finance) the payment and reporting arrangements for the grants. The audit was conducted under Section 18 of the Auditor-General Act 1997.