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.

Welcome to the fourth edition of the ANAO’s 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.

Rona Mellor PSM, Deputy Auditor-General

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.

Fraud and Corruption Control Arrangements is targeted at Australian Government officials responsible for fraud and corruption control arrangements, and those engaged in program and policy delivery, including in grants administration and regulatory contexts.

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.

The objective of this audit was to examine the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT’s) achievement of value for money objectives in the delivery of Official Development Assistance (aid) through facility arrangements.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the evaluation of selected Australian Government pilot programs.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of Finance’s administration of travel entitlements provided to Parliamentarians.

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held on Friday 5 December 2025. The text on this page is the communique from the forum.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the governance board in the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health's and the Department of Human Services' administration of the Radiation Oncology Health Program Grants Scheme.

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

The objectives of the audit were to:

• assess the effectiveness of the ongoing administration of the Australian Government’s campaign advertising framework; and
• assess the effectiveness of the selected entities’ administration in developing advertising campaigns and implementing key processes against the requirements of the campaign advertising framework applying at the time, and relevant legal and government policy requirements.

The objective was to assess the effectiveness of Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s regulation of registered company auditors.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s management of the Australian Government’s Register of Lobbyists.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Home Affairs' fraud control arrangements.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Social Services' fraud control arrangements.

The shared content volume of the ANAO Audit Manual applies to all assurance activity performed by the ANAO, including financial statements and performance auditing. The shared volume addresses key matters affecting compliance with the Auditor-General Act 1997 and other aspects of the ANAO’s legislative framework. It sets out the main requirements of the ANAO’s overall system of quality control in accordance with ASQC1 Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Reports and Other Financial Information, Other Assurance Engagements and Related Services Engagements.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s administration of enforceable undertakings.

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 governance board in the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held on Friday 4 July 2025. The text on this page is the communique from the forum.

The objective of this audit was to examine whether the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications exercised appropriate due diligence in its acquisition of the ‘Leppington Triangle’ land for the future development of the Western Sydney Airport.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health’s administration of the Medical Specialist Training Program.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Services Australia’s management of the privacy of client information.

The ANAO Corporate Plan 2018–19 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 audit strategy and deliverables for the coming year.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC’s) management of complaints.

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 audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the administration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation targets in intergovernmental funding agreements in achieving policy objectives.

The Auditor-General responded on 22 October 2021 to correspondence from Senator Mehreen Faruqi dated 27 September 2021, requesting that the Auditor-General conduct an investigation to examine the administration of the Australian Research Council's funding application processes. 

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of NBN Co Limited’s (NBN Co’s) strategies to manage its transition from building to operating the national broadband network.

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 examine entity compliance with regulatory requirements for the establishment and ongoing management of special appropriations.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Attorney-General’s Department’s administration of the terms of the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements Ministerial determination.

The ANAO, provided a country paper to the 8th ASOSAI Symposium held virtually on 8 September 2021. The paper was titled Responding to disaster and pandemic issues.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of spectrum reallocation to support the deployment of 5G services.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) management of transfer pricing for related party debt.