The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) had complied with gifts, benefits and hospitality requirements.

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 fifteenth Commonwealth Auditor-General of Australia, Grant Hehir, has prepared a mid-term report reflecting on his first five years in the role. The report presents a description and analysis of the role and impact of audit, as well as analysis of the financial audit and performance audit work of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO). The report concludes with coverage of ANAO continuous improvement activities across audit quality, better communication, transparency, efficiency and workforce capability.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the design and implementation of the clear read principle under the Commonwealth Resource Management Framework.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of the Treasury’s design and implementation of the Measuring What Matters framework.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health's strategies for managing a communicable disease emergency.

The ANAO’s primary relationship is with the Australian Parliament, particularly the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA).

The ANAO also has an important relationship with the accountable authorities of Commonwealth entities, who have primary responsibility for and control over public sector entities’ operations. This relationship is supported by the ongoing engagement undertaken with officials of audited entities and audit committees.

Further, the ANAO invests in a number of relationships to support its ability to be a learning organisation through the two-way exchange and sharing of information and practices, and to support other nations through peer-to-peer institutional capacity development. These relationships include the Australasian auditing community as a member of the Australasian Council of Auditors-General (ACAG). The ANAO also has close links with the international and regional auditing community through the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and its regional working groups, and contributes to the delivery of the Australian Government’s aid program in the Indo-Pacific region. The ANAO values its relationships with the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB), in their roles of setting and maintaining professional and ethical standards for the accounting and auditing professions, which underpin the delivery of quality audit services.

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

The ANAO’s performance audit program is one of the main assurance functions of the Auditor-General. The purpose of this information report was to provide analysis of 2023–24 performance audits.

The ANAO 2017–18 Corporate Plan is the ANAO's key strategic planning document. It guides our operating environment and sets out how we will deliver on our purpose. The corporate plan is complemented by the annual audit work program which reflects the ANAO's strategy and deliverables for the coming year.

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the ANAO’s quarterly Audit Matters newsletter. The purpose of Audit Matters is to inform external audiences — primarily those working in Commonwealth entities — of 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.

Carla Jago, Acting Deputy Auditor-General

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) had complied with gifts, benefits and hospitality requirements.

The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Attorney-General’s Department’s implementation of the recommendations from Auditor-General Report No.27 of 2017–18, Management of the Australian Government’s Register of Lobbyists.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of governance and integrity arrangements for the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF). 

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Office of Financial Management’s (AOFM) management of the Australian Government’s debt.

The ANAO Corporate Plan 2024–25 updates the previous corporate plan and outlines how we intend to deliver against our purpose over the next four years (2024–25 to 2027–28). The corporate plan is the ANAO’s primary planning document — it outlines our purpose; the dynamic environment in which we operate; our commitment to building capability; and the priorities, activities and performance measures by which we will be held to account.

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

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Australian Taxation Office has effective arrangements in place to support the adoption of Artificial Intelligence.

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 the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the operations of the boards of four corporate Commonwealth entities in managing conflicts of interest.

This edition of Audit Insights summarises key messages from Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) performance audits about the management of conflicts of interest by Australian Government entities in relation to procurement activity and grants programs.

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

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission’s (ACNC’s) regulation of charities.

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

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of selected Commonwealth entities’ management of Senior Executive Service conflict of interest requirements.

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has zero tolerance for fraud and corruption. This means the ANAO will take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent, detect and respond to fraud and corruption. This strategy defines the ANAO’s principles of effective fraud and corruption control, key roles and responsibilities and how the ANAO expects to mitigate and manage risks. The strategy informs staff how they can report fraud and corruption.

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 objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's probity management.

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 the effectiveness of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's probity management.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Australian Financial Security Authority’s (AFSA) management of conflicts of interest.

The ANAO Corporate Plan 2023–24 outlines how we intend to deliver against our purpose over the next four years (2023–24 to 2026–27). The corporate plan is the ANAO’s primary planning document – it outlines our purpose; the dynamic environment in which we operate; our commitment to building capability; and the priorities, activities and performance measures by which we will be held to account. The corporate plan is complemented by the annual audit work program, which reflects the ANAO’s audit strategy for the coming year.

This corporate plan was updated on 26 March 2024:

• organisational structure changes — ‘Professional Services and Relationships Group’ to ‘Professional Services Group’
• Measure 3 — change type from ‘Efficiency / Qualitative’ to ‘Efficiency / Quantitative’
• Measure 15, reporting mechanism 4 — replaced text to reflect updated JCPAA feedback process
• Measure 16, reporting mechanism 3 — replaced references to ‘insights’ with ‘lessons’

The Auditor-General is assisted by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in delivering against the mandate established by the Auditor-General Act 1997. Under the Act, the ANAO consists of the Auditor-General and staff.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's probity management.

The Auditor-General responded on 11 December 2020 to correspondence from the Hon Richard Marles MP dated 16 November 2020, requesting that the Auditor-General conduct an investigation to examine the Future Submarine and Future Frigate programs. 

The Auditor-General provided a follow-up response to Mr Marles on 19 March 2021. 

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held on Friday 12 July 2024. The text on this page is the communique from the forum.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of procurement complaints handling by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the Department of Finance, the Department of Industry, Science and Resources and the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s administration of the IA framework to enable well-informed and transparent Australian Government decision-making.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether select Australian Government entities are effectively managing and controlling the use of Commonwealth credit and other transaction cards for official purposes in accordance with legislative and policy requirements.

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held on Friday 14 July 2023. The communique from the forum is now available here.

Welcome to the second edition of the ANAO’s quarterly 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.

It’s no secret that a federal election is due to happen. No doubt your minds will turn to your entities’ preparedness for this event now or in the near future. At the time the election is called, I’ll write out to entities to help people understand how the ANAO operates during an election period.

Rona Mellor PSM, Deputy Auditor-General

The Auditor-General is an independent officer of the Australian Parliament and has discretion in the performance or exercise of Auditor-General functions or powers. In exercising the mandated and discretionary functions and powers, the Auditor-General is not subject to direction from anyone in relation to: whether or not a particular audit is to be conducted; the way in which a particular audit is to be conducted; or the priority to be given to any particular matter. The Auditor-General must, however, have regard to the audit priorities of the Parliament, as determined by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA).

The objective of this audit was to examine whether the Department of Finance (Finance) has implemented a selection of agreed parliamentary committee and Auditor-General recommendations.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the management of Machinery of Government (MoG) changes by the selected Australian Government entities.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's fraud control arrangements.

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.

This edition of audit insights outlines key messages from a series of recent audits examining the effectiveness of governance boards in four corporate Commonwealth entities. The audit observations from this series of audits relate primarily to the ‘soft’ attributes of effective governance such as relationships, behaviours and culture, while also recognising the important interplay with the ‘hard’ attributes of governance such as board composition, appointment processes and independence. The key messages may be relevant for the operations of other Commonwealth boards as well as broader governance arrangements in Commonwealth entities.

This edition of Audit Insights summarises key messages for all Australian Government entities from a series of recent Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) performance audits assessing the delivery of key components of the Australian Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It discusses the importance of planning, good governance and sound risk management in managing an emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ANAO Corporate Plan 2025–26 updates the previous corporate plan and outlines how we intend to deliver against our purpose over the next four years (2025–26 to 2028–29). The corporate plan is the ANAO’s primary planning document — it outlines our purpose; our strategic priorities; our operating context; and the priorities, activities and performance measures by which we will be held to account.

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

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the governance board in Old Parliament House.

The objective of the audit was to continue to examine the progress of the implementation of the annual performance statements requirements under the PGPA Act and the PGPA Rule by the selected entities. The audit was also designed to:

• provide insights to entities more broadly, to encourage improved performance; and
• continue the development of the ANAO’s methodology to support the possible future implementation of annual audits of performance statements.

The objective of the audit was to assess the department’s: effectiveness in administering school funding; and implementation of recommendations made in Auditor-General Report No.18 2017–18 Monitoring the Impact of Australian Government School Funding and JCPAA Report 476: Australian Government Funding.

The audit objective was to examine the appropriateness of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts’ approach to acquiring, managing, and leasing Australian contemporary art in the Artbank collection.

The corporate plan is the ANAO’s primary planning document. Our strategic planning process allows us to continually improve practices and capabilities to demonstrate value in the delivery of services to the Parliament. The corporate plan is complemented by the annual audit work program, which reflects the ANAO’s audit strategy for the coming year.

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

The corporate plan is the ANAO’s primary planning document. Our strategic planning process allows us to continually improve practices and capabilities to demonstrate value in the delivery of services to the Parliament. The corporate plan is complemented by the annual audit work program, which reflects the ANAO’s audit strategy for the coming year.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the planning and implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the management of conflicts of interest by Aboriginal Hostels Limited (AHL), Aboriginal Investment NT and Outback Stores.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Defence's (Defence) management of advertising campaigns for Australian Defence Force recruitment.