The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of DMO’s implementation of its Gate Review process for major Defence capital acquisition projects.

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.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the NDIA’s management of claimant compliance with NDIS claim requirements.

The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of bilateral agreement arrangements between Services Australia and other entities.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s management of the biosecurity workforce.

Governance of Data is targeted at Australian Government officials in information governance roles and those who use data to achieve organisational objectives.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Employment and the Department of Education and Training's administration of the Shared Services Centre to achieve efficiencies and deliver value to its customers.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation's workforce planning to support key activities.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether Human Services has an effective high-level compliance strategy for administered payments made under the Centrelink and Medicare programs. 

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

Welcome to the last edition of Audit Matters for 2025. I’ve provided some insights in this edition which may help you to focus on a few areas of audit interest in the new year.

Audit work, as you know, is ongoing. We’ll start tabling reports again in mid-late January 2026. Next year you’ll also see some shorter performance audit reports, as part of a trial we’re undertaking to bring reports to the Parliament more quickly. Thanks to those agencies who have worked with us as we trial this new approach. We’re also doing some important work on how we approach performance statements audits in the 21 entities subject to this process. Watch out for our summary report on performance statements early in 2026 — you can subscribe to be notified of release on our website.

I wish you and your teams a restful break over the holiday season after a big year in the public sector. I look forward to seeing you in 2026.

Rona Mellor PSM, Deputy Auditor-General

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's governance arrangements supporting the implementation of the Australian Government’s climate change commitments.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Home Affairs' management of family-related visas.

The Australian Public Service Employee Census is an annual survey administered by the Australian Public Service Commission. The survey is used to collect confidential attitude and opinion information from APS employees on issues in the workplace. The survey provides an opportunity for ANAO employees to share their experiences of working within our organisation and the public service. This census action plan outlines the key focus areas for the ANAO in responding to the feedback.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of Services Australia’s arrangements for the management of contractors.

The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Australian Federal Police in managing employee mental health.

The objective of this audit was to examine whether procurements of office furniture have been consistent with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and are achieved value for money.

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held on Friday, 3 December 2021. It was both an in-person and virtual event.

The text on this page is the communique from the forum.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the MinterEllison Seminar Series

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ arrangements for the management of contractors.

The objective of this audit was to examine whether the Australian Postal Corporation (Australia Post) is meetings its Community Service and International obligations efficiently and the effectiveness of Commonwealth shareholders in monitoring value for money.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the selected entities’ implementation of arrangements for managing cyber security incidents in accordance with the Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) and relevant ASD Cyber Security Guidelines.

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held on Friday 6 December 2024. The text on this page is the communique from the forum.

The audit objective was 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.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority’s (APVMA’s) implementation of reforms to agvet regulation and the extent to which the authority has achieved operational efficiencies and reduced the cost burden on regulated entities.

The objective of this audit is to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's (DCCEEW) corporate plan as its primary planning document in accordance with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Risk Management in the Public Sector Seminar

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 speech delivered by the Acting Deputy Auditor-General and the presentations by ANAO speakers at the Financial and Performance Reporting Forum held on Friday 29 November 2024 are now available.

If you would like a copy of the video recording please contact External.Relations@anao.gov.au

The audit objective was to examine the effectiveness to date of the Department of Defence’s administration of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) program, with a focus on ERP Tranche 1 activities.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Public Sector Risk Management Conference

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the management of the Australian Public Service (APS) workforce in implementing the Australian Government’s COVID-19 priorities.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the integration of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.

Mr Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the 2014 National Conference of the Risk Management Institution of Australasia, Brisbane

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Energy Regulator’s regulation of energy markets.

The objective of this audit was to assess how effectively the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) administers the science and technology work it undertakes for the Australian Defence Organisation.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman’s exercise of its regulatory functions.

The objective of the audit was to examine the Department of Defence’s (Defence's) implementation of agreed recommendations made in Auditor-General Report No. 38 of 2017–18 Mitigating Insider Threats through Personnel Security and the related report provided to ministers under section 37(5) of the Auditor-General Act 1997, and by the Parliament’s Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) in Report 479 of 2019 Australian Government Security Arrangements.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the NDIA’s management of assistance with daily life supports.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has implemented effective arrangements for the planning and conduct of surveillance activities.

The audit examined whether the Department of Home Affairs implemented all agreed recommendations from parliamentary committee and Auditor-General reports within the scoped timeframe.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s administration of the Future Fit Program.

Records Management is targeted at all Australian Government officials. It also benefits those in information management roles.

The audit was undertaken following advice from the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) to the Auditor-General that assurance that ABC programming adequately reflects the ABC's Charter was an audit priority of Parliament. The objective of the audit is to provide Parliament with this assurance. The focus of the audit was on the governance arrangements of the ABC Board and management that enable the ABC to demonstrate the extent to which it is achieving its' Charter obligations, and other related statutory requirements, efficiently and effectively. The scope of the audit was as follows:

• Review the ABC's corporate governance framework against better practice models. The ANAO had regard to the ABC's unique role as a national public broadcaster established as a budget funded Commonwealth statutory authority subject to the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997.
• Examine the ABC Board's approach to the interpretation of the Charter requirements of the ABC and the setting of strategic directions, and management's administrative arrangements for implementing the strategic directions established by the Board.
• Examine the ABC's performance information framework, the development, documentation and use of performance measures in relation to targets and/or objectives, the monitoring and reporting of performance and its' inter-relationship with the corporate planning and budgetary processes, particularly in relation to the strategic directions set by the Board.

The audit did not examine the overall management of the ABC. In keeping with the audit scope, the audit examined ways in which the ABC aligns its' strategic directions with its' Charter requirements for programs broadcast on radio, television and on-line and assures itself, and Parliament, about the achievement of its' Charter obligations. Further, the audit did not examine the operations of ABC Enterprises or symphony orchestras that operate as ABC-owned subsidiary companies.

This audit examined the effectiveness of the National Archives of Australia’s implementation of the Building Trust policy and selected entities’ management of information assets (records, information and data).

The ANAO Workforce Plan 2022-25 outlines how we will attract, develop and retain the capability of our workforce, to ensure we are suitably skilled to deliver on our purpose to the Parliament – now and into the future. This is a summary of the full plan.

The objectives of the audit were to:

• determine the extent to which government entities complied with the requirement to publish and maintain documents online that were presented to the Parliament;
• evaluate selected government entities' policies and practices regarding online publishing; and
• assess AGIMO's policy and guidance in support of online publishing.

To address this objective the audit was conducted in three parts. Firstly, we reviewed a sample of papers tabled between 2000 and 2008 in order to assess their availability online. Next, we examined the online publishing practices of five government entities. These were the: Australian Federal Police (AFP); Department of the House of Representatives (DHR); Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (Infrastructure); Department of the Treasury (Treasury); and National Archives of Australia (NAA). Finally, we reviewed AGIMO's role in supporting government entities in their online publishing practices.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the NDIS Commission in exercising its regulatory functions.

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 assess the effectiveness of the Australian Research Council’s (ARC’s) administration of the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP).

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of Services Australia's management of social security and welfare debt. 

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s administration of the Biometric Identification Service project.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the My Health Record system under the opt-out model.

The objective of this audit was to assess Army's progress in addressing the issues previously identified in Defence reviews and ANAO audits as affecting the Army Reserve's capability; and Identify the extent that the Army Reserve is capable of contributing to contemporary Australian Defence Force capability requirements through fulfilling its assigned roles and tasks.

The audit objective was to examine the efficiency of the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions' (CDPP's) case management.

Meaningful performance information and reporting is essential to good management and the effective stewardship of public resources. Appropriate and meaningful performance information can show that the entity is committed to long-term proper use and management of public resources, which would include effectively achieving results to create long lasting positive impacts for Australians (and other people who interact with the Australian Government).

The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of Defence and the DMO's management of procurement and through life support arrangements to meet the explosive ordnance requirements of the ADF, particularly the non-guided munitions requirements of Army. This included a review of the progress of Defence and the DMO in implementing the recommendations of ANAO Audit Report No.40 2005–06.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Finance’s and selected entities’ implementation of the Australian Government’s campaign advertising framework.

The objective of this audit was to assess the efficiency of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s delivery of passport services through the Australian Passport Office.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian National University’s governance and control framework.