This report has been prepared in response to a resolution of the Senate on 8 December 1994 which referred certain matters relating to the possible sale of ANL Ltd to the Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee. The resolution directed the Committee to consider a report from the Auditor-General and drew the Auditor-General's attention to a range of specific issues and questions.

The objectives of the audit were to: assess the extent to which the Government's sale objectives were achieved; assess the effectiveness of the management of the public share offer; and identify principles of sound administrative practice to facilitate improved administrative arrangements for future Commonwealth public share offers.

The objective of this audit was to examine whether the selected entities within the Attorney-General’s portfolio have 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 Human Services' administration of the Financial Information Service.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Director of National Parks’ management of Australia’s six Commonwealth national parks.

The audit objective was to examine the effectiveness of Defence’s sustainment arrangements for Navy’s Canberra class fleet of amphibious assault ships (or LHDs).

The audit reviewed the application by the Department of Finance and the portfolio departments of the 1993 Accountability and Ministerial Oversight Arrangements for Government Business Enterprises and any statutory monitoring and reporting requirements applying to the selected GBEs provided under their own establishing legislation. The objectives of the audit were to examine:

• the effectiveness of the GBE monitoring arrangements in providing appropriate performance information to the Government;
• the extent to which agencies and the selected GBEs comply with the monitoring arrangements and legislative requirements; and
• whether the GBE monitoring system provides an effective level of accountability to Ministers and to the Parliament.

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 Acting Auditor-General responded on 23 February 2023 to correspondence from Hon Mark Dreyfus KC, MP dated 3 February 2023, requesting that the Auditor-General undertake a performance audit of the Expensive Commonwealth Criminal Cases Fund. 

The audit objective was to assess whether selected entities effectively implemented agreed recommendations from Auditor-General Report No. 25 2019–20 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Participation Targets in Major Procurements.

The audit’s objective was to assess the effectiveness of the selection, contracting and ongoing management of investments by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and the extent to which the CEFC is meeting its legislated objective.

The audit’s objective was to determine if the Bureau of Meteorology’s processes support the delivery of effective extreme weather services.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities had designed and implemented appropriate governance and administration arrangements for the transition and delivery of sustainable reforms to services on Norfolk Island.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the National Recovery and Resilience Agency's administration of the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) supports good governance in Indigenous corporations consistent with the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI).

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of Comcare’s administration of claims for Australian Government entities under its workers’ compensation scheme.

The audit objective was to examine the effectiveness of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s regulation of permits and approvals, including its implementation of recommendations from Auditor-General Report No.3 of 2015–16 Regulation of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals.

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.

This edition is targeted at security, information communications technology (ICT) and human resources officials responsible for managing ICT system access and the offboarding process for employees and contractors separating from an entity.

The audit's objective was to assess, and report to Parliament on, the ATO's administration of petroleum excise collections. The audit examined whether the ATO had implemented effectively administrative arrangements for the collection of petroleum excise since the transfer of the function from Customs in 1999. Areas that were examined relating to administration of petroleum excise were:

• governance arrangements;
• licensing arrangements;
• compliance management;
• investigations; and
• revenue management.

The audit also reviewed the role of Customs in performing functions directly related to petroleum excise collections and key elements of the management relationship between the ATO and Customs in this area.

The Auditor-General responded on 10 March 2021 to correspondence from Senator the Hon Kristina Keneally dated 11 February 2021, requesting that the Auditor-General consider conducting a performance audit of the Safer Communities Fund and the awarding of discretionary grants from the proceeds of crime. 

The Auditor-General provided a follow-up response to Senator Keneally on 14 April 2021. 

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the selected entities:

• management of the delivery of projects awarded funding under four programmes where ANAO has previously audited the application assessment and selection processes; and
• development and implementation of evaluation strategies for each of those programmes.

The objective of the audit was to examine the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment’s effectiveness in implementing the Regional Land Partnerships program.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether Centrelink's Balanced Scorecard (BSC) was based on key elements of better practice principles and its use assisted Centrelink to understand and communicate its performance against its strategic goals. The audit examined:

• the use of the BSC in setting Centrelink's vision and goals;
• the role of the BSC in planning;
• alignment of the BSC from the top down through the organisation and the interdependencies of scoreboards used by various support units, the definition and use of measures, including target setting and links to goals within the BSC framework; and
• its use in monitoring, reporting and feedback.

The Auditor-General undertook a limited assurance review of the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources’ assessment of the performance of New South Wales under the National Partnership Agreement on Implementing Water Reform in the Murray-Darling Basin relevant to the protection and use of environmental water for the 2014–15 and 2015–16 financial years.

The Auditor-General responded on 1 July 2021 to correspondence from the Hon Brendan O'Connor MP and Mr Tim Watts MP dated 5 June 2021, requesting that the Auditor-General consider initiating a performance audit into the use of provisional ICT accreditation within Defence. 

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the revised export control legislative framework by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

The audit objective was to examine whether the Department of Defence has effective and efficient sustainment arrangements for the Royal Australian Navy’s fleet of eight ANZAC class frigates.

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

The audit objective was to assess whether the Department of Homes Affairs has appropriately managed the procurement of garrison support and welfare services for offshore processing centres in Nauru and PNG (Manus Island).

The audit Administration of ABSTUDY and the audit Administration of Youth Allowance have been combined to table as one report titled Administration of ABSTUDY and Administration of Youth Allowance.

The objective of both audits was to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department of Social Services’ and the Department of Human Services’ program administration.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of selected departments’ implementation of deregulation initiatives.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs administration of the Repatriation Transport Scheme.

The objective of this audit was to provide an independent assurance on the effectiveness of Defence's management of the acqusition of armoured infantry mobility vehicles (IMV) for the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The audit sought to identify the initial capability requirements; analyse the tendering and evaluation process; and examine the management of the project by Defence. As such, this was not an audit of contractor performance, but of the formation and contract management of the aquisition project by Defence.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Industry Innovation and Science Australia's, the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources', and the Australian Taxation Office's administration of the Research and Development Tax Incentive program.

The audit examined the process of identifying the ADC Weston Creek property for sale and leaseback and the management of the sale process. The objective of the performance audit was to examine the efficiency and effectiveness of the management of the sale process by Defence, including assessing whether the sale and long term leaseback arrangements adequately protect the Commonwealth's interests.

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

Audit Lessons — Management of Corporate Credit Cards is intended for officials working in financial management or governance roles with responsibility for the management of corporate credit cards.

The objective of the follow-up audit was to review the effectiveness of the DETYA International Services (DIS) cost recovery operational model. The initial audit of DIS was undertaken in 1997-98 (Audit Report No.35).

The objectives of the audit were to examine the Australian Bureau of Statistics' management of the procedures and processes associated with the planning and operational aspects of the 1996 Census to ascertain: whether the results of the 1991 Census evaluations were used to improve the 1996 Census; whether the Census could be undertaken more efficiently while still yielding data of the required quality; and how privacy concerns were being satisfied by the processes employed. The scope of the audit was limited to reporting on the efficiency and effectiveness of the management by the ABS of the development, collection and initiation of the processing phases of the 1996 Census. The ANAO conducted an assessment of the procedures and processes used in the 1996 Census against the ABS performance indicators and by an examination of ABS documentation. The audit did not seek to review the ABS statistical methodology.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the child support collection arrangements between the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

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

The Auditor-General responded on 17 January 2017 to correspondence from the Hon. Linda Burney MP on 5 January 2017 requesting that the Auditor-General conduct an audit of the Centrelink debt recovery and welfare integrity programs.

The Auditor-General undertook a limited assurance review of the Department of Finance’s reporting and administration of the Advances to the Finance Minister (AFM) for the Period 26 September 2020 to 30 October 2020.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Institute of Public Administration Australia

The audit objective was to assess whether the Department of Employment effectively designed and monitors the progress of the jobactive program.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether Defence is effectively managing the EO Services Contract.

The audit focused mainly on Defence's contract management framework, including the arrangements to monitor the contractor’s performance in delivering services under the contract. The audit also examined the processes used by Defence to develop the current version of the contract and the extent to which the revised contract, as negotiated in 2006, provides an assurance of better value for money when compared to the original contract signed in 2001.

This is the second e-newsletter of the Commonwealth Auditors General Group. These e-newsletters are a genuine effort to share experiences, challenges and engage in thought-provoking discussions on topics which are common to the fifty-three member countries of the Commonwealth.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet effectively manages the Regional Network.

The audit reviewed the operations of the Civil Aviation Authority (CASA), which has prime responsibility for regulating aviation safety in Australia. The audit objectives were to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the management systems and procedures used by CASA to ensure compliance with regulatory controls by Air Operator's Certificate holders operating passenger-carrying aircraft within High Capacity Regular Public Transport; Low Capacity Regular Public Transport and charter industry sectors; and Certificate of Approval holders. Aviation safety compliance includes entry control, surveillance and enforcement.

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

The objective of this audit was to assess whether the Department of Defence (Defence) is managing its Australian Defence Force health services contract to achieve efficient and effective delivery of the contracted services.

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Insititue of Public Administration (ACT Division)

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Attorney-General’s Department’s administration of the Indigenous Legal Assistance Programme.

The audit was conducted as a joint financial statement and performance audit of HIC's IT systems. The objective of the financial statement component of the audit was to express an opinion on whether HIC could rely on its IT systems to support production of a reliable set of balances for the financial statements. The objective of the performance audit component was to determine whether HIC's IT systems' outputs met quality and service delivery targets.

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the CPA Public Sector Convention 2005, Melbourne

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.

Mr Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Institute of Public Administration Australia, ACT Division

The objective of the audit was to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of Austrade's management of customer services to Australian exporters, with particular reference to:

• performance as a customer-focused organisation;
• achievement of quality customer service through its client service initiatives; and
• measurement and evaluation of its customer service performance.

The audit was conducted as a joint financial statement and performance audit of DVA's Information Technology (IT) systems. The objective of the financial statement component of the audit was to express an opinion on whether DVA could rely on its IT systems to support production of a reliable set of financial information for the financial statements. The objective of the performance audit component was to determine whether DVA's IT systems outputs adequately met quality and service delivery targets.

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) 2016-20 Corporate Plan is the primary strategic planning document, and outlines how the ANAO intends to deliver against the purpose over the coming four years.