Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the House of Representatives Occasional Seminar Series

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented an Occasional Paper

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, address presented at the Australian National University

This report summarises audit and other related activities of the Australian National Audit Office in the period July to December 1999.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the 18th Commonwealth Auditors-General Conference, Malaysia

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association and the Australian Institute of Administrative Law Conference on Outsourcing

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Chartered Secretaries Australia, Discussion Luncheon, Canberra

Mr Ian McPhee, PSM - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Senate Occasional Lecture, Parliament House Canberra

The examined the $1 billion Federation Fund program, which was established by the Government to mark the Centenary of Federation. The objectives of the examination were to assess the:

• extent to which the administration of the FCHP program complied with better practice in the assessment of applications, especially in relation to the transparency and rigour of the decision-making process;
• equity of the geographic spread of grants to States and electorates; and
• process for the announcement of the results of grant applications.

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Canberra Evaluation Forum

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the CPA Australia's Government Business Symposium, Melbourne

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Government in Excellence Summit 2000 - Reinventing Government - A Manifesto for Achieving Excellence and Managing for Results; Singapore

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the INTOSAI Working Group

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the ASCPA Annual Public Sector Accounting Convention, Canberra

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management - Washington

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at a Seminar on 'Financial Management and Electronic Government' Kuala Lumpur

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Forum of Commonwealth Agencies Seminar, Sydney, NSW

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the IPAA ACT Division, Half day seminar

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Public Service and Merit Protection Commission Senior Executive Service (SES) Breakfast Seminar Series

The audit was conducted in response to a November 2000 resolution of the Senate that the Auditor-General examine all expenditures and entitlements accruing to Parliamentarians in 1999-2000. The objectives of the audit were to:

• provide assurance to the Parliament regarding the administration by Finance, the chamber departments and the portfolio departments of all expenditures and entitlements accruing to Parliamentarians, including Ministers, in 1999-2000;
• assess the administrative and control structures governing expenditures and entitlements accruing to Parliamentarians and Ministers in 1999-2000; and
• identify opportunities to improve the current framework.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Third ACAG Conference, Canberra

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the IIR Conference 'Risks in Outsourcing in the Public Sector'

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Sydney, 30 Sept

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is the Commonwealth's principal revenue collection agency. In 1998-99, the ATO accounted for total tax revenue of $135.3 billion. The objective of this audit was to review the ATO's administration of penalties, with particular emphasis on its corporate governance framework and issues relating to consistency, effectiveness and accountability of penalty administration. In particular, the audit examined the administration of two penalty types, Late Lodgement and Tax Shortfall, as case studies.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Medibank Private Executive Seminar Breakfast, Perth

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the PA Congress 1997:'CPAs for Today and Tomorrow', Adelaide

While recognising the diversity of administrative requirements for different special payments, the audit provides a basis for comparison of performance across 14 different agencies in 1997-98 and progress made since the then Joint Committee of Public Accounts report 342 The administration of specific purpose payments. The objectives of the audit were to:

• identify and benchmark current practices in the management of performance information within SPP agreements;
• document the lessons learned including better practice from different agencies;
• provide a longitudinal analysis of progress since 1995; and
• provide practical guidance for the development and implementation of appropriate performance information systems and accountability.

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

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

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the 20th Commonwealth Auditors-General Conference

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Defence and Strategic Studies Course, Australian Defence College, Canberra

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Central Agency Broker Seminar - Towards a Best Practice Australian Public Service - Hobart

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association, Old Parliament House, Canberra

Mr Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Leadership Development Network Breakfast Seminar

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Queensland Regional Heads Forum

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (Canberra Chapter) in conjunction with the Institute of Internal Auditors (Canberra Branch)

The audit reviewed the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's administration of consular services. It focussed on DFAT's travel advice to alert Australians to potential travel risks; case management systems to record and monitor action on more complex consular cases; performance information for the management of consular services; and contingency planning for major consular incidents. The audit also reviewed action taken by DFAT and other agencies to implement the recommendations of a 1997 Senate Committee report on consular services.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the CPA Congress '96 - Profit from our Experience - Melbourne

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Global Working Group Meeting, Washington

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, Address to the Challenge of Change : Driving Governance and Accountability CPA Forum 2004

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

Mr P.J. Barrett (AO) - Auditor-General for Australia, an Occasional Paper

The objective of the audit was to report to Parliament on the ATO's management of its performance reporting within the outcomes and outputs framework and to identify potential areas for improvement in specifying, measuring, administering and reporting under that framework.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Attorney-General's Luncheon

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

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the 1999 ACPAC Biennial Conference Commercial Confidentiality - Striking the Balance

The objective of this follow-up audit was to provide assurance to the Parliament on the cost-effectiveness of public sector travel by:

• ascertaining the degree of acceptance, and the extent of implementation, of the previous audit recommendations and better practice principles; and
• establishing whether organisations were managing travel effectively, taking into consideration recommendations and findings detailed in the above Audit Reports and the Better Practice Guide Public Sector Travel.

This is a follow-up audit to Audit Report No. 16, 1995-1996, Assessable Government Industry Assistance. This audit examined whether the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) had implemented the appropriate balance of compliance strategies to ensure that Australian Government Industry Assistance (AGIA) is adequately identified, disclosed to the ATO, and the revenue collected in an efficient and administratively effective manner. The objective of this audit was to report on the action taken by the Australian Taxation Office in addressing the recommendations of the 1996 Audit Report.

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.

In May 1997, the $1 billion Federation Fund was announced as part of the 1997-98 Budget to mark the Centenary of Federation. One component, the Federation Fund Major Projects ($906.8m), was to provide financial assistance to a number of major projects of national significance; by generating jobs in the construction industry and by making a significant and ongoing contribution to Australia and the Australian economy. Projects were expected to be geographically spread around Australia and well advanced, but not necessarily complete, by 2001. Commonwealth monies were intended to fully fund projects; augment existing funding; or match funding from other sources. The objective of the audit was to determine the extent to which the administration of the Federation Fund programme met identified better practice in relation to policy development and programme planning; the process of calling for, assessing, approving and announcing proposals; and ongoing programme and project management.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AO) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the UN Results Based Management Seminar

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Canberra Evaluation Forum, The Lobby, Canberra

As part of the Government's Taxation Reform Initiatives, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) was given responsibility for implementing the Australian Business Number (ABN) and Australian Business Register (ABR) initiatives. The objective of the audit was to assess the administrative effectiveness of the ABN registration process and the ATO's implementation and management of the ABR.

The objectives for the audit were to assess the:

• economy, administrative effectiveness, and accountability of DVA's management of the purchase of hospital services from State and Territory governments; and
• strategies adopted by DVA to manage change associated with its purchase of hospital care services from State and Territory governments.

The twin aims were to provide assurance to stakeholders and to identify any area in which improvements could be made to achieve better results.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the CPA Australia National Public Sector Convention, Perth

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Australian Society of CPAs, Canberra

A Business Support Process audit of the administration of grants in small to medium organisations was undertaken across six Commonwealth organisations to assess whether agencies had implemented appropriate risk management strategies for grant programs; evaluate whether grants had been administered in accordance with the appropriate legislation, Commonwealth guidance, and other accepted internal controls; and to recommend improvements in the controls and practices relating to grants administration.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AO) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the National Institute for Governance Seminar, Canberra

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Australian Communications Authority's Business Planning Workshop