This audit was a follow-on to Audit Report No.21 1997-98 Protective Security, which reviewed, among other things, information security other than computer and communications security, against the policy and procedures outlined in the 1991 PSM. That audit found inconsistencies in the identification and marking of classified information and weaknesses in the handling and storage of classified information, as well as other breakdowns impacting on information security.

The audit examined the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission's (ATSIC's) grant management practices. The audit sought to determine if ATSIC provides fair and equal access to funding, what the risks to the grants program are, if decision-makers receive the key information they need to make informed funding decisions, and if ATSIC staff complying with grants procedures. The ANAO did not examine the appropriateness of the funding decisions made by regional councils.

The audit reviewed the Australian Taxation Office's use of audit of individual taxpayers as part of its approach to encouraging taxpayer compliance. The objective of the audit was to examine the use of audit as an element of the compliance management function within the Individuals Non-Business line of the ATO.

The report summarises the audit and other related activities of the ANAO in the period January to June 2002. Key issues arising from performance audits tabled in this period are summarised. Appendix 1 of the Activity Report provides a short summary of each of the audits tabled between 1 January 2002 and 30 June 2002.

The objectives of the audit were to provide assurance to Parliament concerning the adequacy of Commonwealth security planning and preparations for the Games and to identify areas for improvement early enough for any corrective action to be taken.

The audit reviewed collection management practices and management information systems of the National Library of Australia, National Gallery of Australia, National Museum of Australia and the Australian War Memorial. The objective of the audit was to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the management processes employed in safeguarding national collections.

The objectives of the audit were to: examine the efficiency and administrative effectiveness of grant programs administered in the APS; and identify any specific problem areas and evidence of better practice in both program administration and agency guidelines not already included in the ANAO's 1994 Better Practice Guide on the Administration of Grants. The ANAO also sought to incorporate in the revision of the better practice guide the lessons learned through the audit to help ensure its continued relevance in public sector administration at all levels of government.

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

The audit reviewed the Australian Customs Service (Customs) fraud control arrangements. The audit objective was to assess whether Customs has implemented appropriate fraud control arrangements consistent with the Commonwealth's Fraud Control Guidelines and the administrative effectiveness of these arrangements.

The objective of the audit was to assess the extent to which agencies have arrangements to establish and use multi-use lists to support value for money, efficiency and effectiveness in procurement.

The objective of the audit was to examine and report on the key management factors that assist in ensuring value for money in learning and development.

Allegations were made to the Senate Economics References Committee that the Australian Taxation Office and Australian Customs Service (Customs) had failed to pursue several cases of detected sales tax fraud. The Committee believed that this alleged failure may have stemmed from coordination problems between the two agencies. The Committee requested the Auditor-General to investigate this matter and report his findings to the Parliament.

The audit addressed administration of migrant settlement services by DIMA, in particular:

• strategic management, including corporate planning, performance measurement and reporting arrangements; and
• operational management of some of the individual schemes operated by DIMA (the Adult English Migrant Program and Translating Interpreting Services were not covered as part of this audit).

The audit examined the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency Ltd's management of the residential aged care accreditation process. The audit focused on the Agency's implementation of a process to meet its legislative responsibilities, its business operations, people management, budgeting practices, use of information, and its quality assurance processes.

The objective of the audit was to assess the efficiency, effectiveness and accountability of data management by government agencies. The audit focused mainly on data collected by departments and agencies from non-departmental organisations and institutions.

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2014. It addresses the Requirements for Annual Reports for Departments, Executive Agencies and FMA Act Bodies approved by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit in May 2014; the performance measures set out in the outcome and programs framework in the 2013–14 Portfolio Budget Statements; section 28 of the Auditor-General Act 1997; and other annual reporting requirements provided for in legislation.

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2011. It includes a foreword by the Auditor-General, an overview including the role and vision of the Office, a report on performance, details about management and accountability, and the financial results.

The objective of the audit was to examine the operations of DEETYA International Services with a view to identifying the administrative issues and difficulties experienced by DEETYA in establishing a commercial entity and its subsequent operation within the framework of the Australian Public Service.

The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Commonwealth's interests were adequately protected in terms of both the contractor selection process that led to Australian Construction Services being awarded the contract for the overall management of the project and the actual commercial arrangements between the Department of Primary Industries and Energy and ACS. As part of the audit, criteria were developed which considered whether the Commonwealth procurement guidelines were adhered to, as well as whether the commercial arrangements clearly detailed the goods and services to be provided, their cost and timing of delivery.

The objective of this audit was to assess the systems put in place by Centrelink to protect data privacy. The audit reviewed the adequacy of the policies, procedures and the administrative framework associated with data privacy, and the computer systems that are used to store and disseminate data. The ANAO also examined compliance with legislative requirements.

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.

The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA), administers the Commonwealth's settlement programs, which seek to assist migrants and refugees to participate in Australian society. Provision of English language training to newly arrived migrants and refugees has been a long standing and significant part of this settlement support, with some 1.5 million new arrivals assisted in this way since 1948. The objective of the audit was to examine DIMA's management of the Adult Migrant English Program Contracts, focusing on performance outcomes; strategic contract management and coordination; program expenditure, with emphasis on contract funding arrangements; and whether contract monitoring and performance information adequately support effective program management. The ANAO made six audit recommendations aimed at improving program performance management and reporting; strategic management and coordination; management of financial risks; and monitoring of contractor performance, which were all accepted by DIMA.

The report summarises the audit and other related activities of the ANAO in the period June to December 2000. It provides a consolidated report of the ANAO's integrated audit products tabled during the period. Key issues examined in the ANAO's performance audit activity in the period were:

• risk management in a corporate governance framework;
• outsourcing and asset sales;
• contract management;
• service delivery;
• data management/management information systems; and
• legislative implementation.

The report also summarised the results of a report summarising the final results of the audits of the financial statements of Commonwealth entities; and dealt with issues regarding financial management issues, controls and processes arising from the financial audit activities conducted during the period.

The Audit Activity Report: January to June 2003 summarises the activity and outputs of the Australian National Audit Office for the second half of the 2002-03 reporting year. The Report outlines the key findings of performance and financial control audits, and summarises audits tabled and better practice guides published during January to June 2003.

The audit reviewed the implementation of the purchaser/provider arrangements between the Department of Health and Aged Care and Centrelink. The objective of the audit was to determine the administrative effectiveness of the implementation of the service delivery arrangements between Centrelink and the Department by examining project planning for, and management of, the implementation, and the establishment of on-going purchaser/provider arrangements.

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

Robust internal budgeting processes are an essential part of effective financial management and are critical in the successful implementation of the accrual-based, outputs and outcomes framework. Effective internal budgeting should be closely intergrated with business planning processes and require a comprehensive and collaborative approach, involving input from throughout the organisation.

The Superannuation Guarantee, which came into effect on 1 July 1992, was introduced to reduce reliance on the age pension as a means of funding retirement for individuals. The objective of the performance audit was to review the ATO's administration of the Superannuation Guarantee and to identify appropriate opportunities for improvement.

In late 1996, the Government announced its commitment to establish new facilities for the National Museum of Australia and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies on Acton Peninsula in Canberra. The objectives of the audit were to examine the project's compliance with the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines for the procurement of public works and effectiveness of the project's management.

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2015. It addresses the Requirements for Annual Reports for Departments, Executive Agencies and Other Non‑corporate Commonwealth Entities approved by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit in June 2015; the performance measures set out in the outcome and programs framework in the 2014–15 Portfolio Budget Statements; section 28 of the Auditor‑General Act 1997; and other annual reporting requirements set out in legislation.

Networking the Nation was established with effect from 1 July 1997 to support activities and projects designed to meet a range of telecommunications needs in regional, rural and remote Australia. Funding is provided by the Regional Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund. The program provides total support of $250 million, of which $50 million was to be allocated annually for the five year period from 1997-98. Funding decisions for grants are the responsibility of an independent Board appointed by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. The objectives of the audit were to examine the administration of the program with a view to ascertaining the scope for improving administration and to provide assurance on the equity, efficiency and effectiveness of the management and administrative processes applied in the administration of grants under the program.

The objective of the audit was to review the efficiency, economy and administrative effectiveness of departmental activities leading to the letting of the contract with SPCL and its subsequent administration. This included, among other things, an examination of action taken to protect the Commonwealth's interests and the adequacy of relevant departmental guidelines and processes. A primary aim of the audit was to identify the facts of the particular case, including any administrative inadequacies that led to unnecessary financial exposure for the Commonwealth and less than satisfactory outcomes. In particular, the audit aimed to identify elements of better practice that could be followed under similar circumstances or programs in the future.

The ANAO examined the performance information in the 2000-01 Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) for a mix of ten small and large agencies. The objective of the audit was to assess the appropriateness of the performance information in the selected PBS, the reporting of performance information in annual reports and agency arrangements to identify and collect this information.

The objectives of the audit were to:

• review the implementation arrangements in relation to the transfer of the delivery of AUSTUDY to Centrelink and its subsequent inclusion as part of the Youth Allowance; and
• to form an opinion on the efficiency and effectiveness of the front-end processing aspects of AUSTUDY applications.

The objective of the audit was to ascertain how efficiently and effectively the ATO administers sales tax collections. The audit excluded an examination of the Australian Customs Service's sales tax administration, although it did examine coordination and liaison arrangements between the ATO and ACS. The audit approach involved analysing the ATO's performance against the five elements of the ATO's established compliance improvement process, namely:

• interpreting and clarifying sales tax law;
• identifying and understanding clients and markets (enabling tax officers to identify and analyse risks of non-compliance);
• providing education and information to clients regarding sales tax obligations, based on identified compliance risks;
• implementing administrative arrangements which ensure and/or assist taxpayers to meet their obligations; and
• detecting non-compliance and taking action to remedy instances of non-compliance.

The objectives of the audit was to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of DIMIA's decision-making processes and management systems for delivering the parent and partner aspects of the family stream of the Migration Program.

The family stream of Australia's Migration Program enables the reunion of immediate family members of Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens. It consists of four main categories;

• Partner;
• Child;
• Parent; and
• Other family.

The audit reviewed the National Aboriginal Health Strategy (NAHS) component of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission's (ATSIC) Community Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP). A major NAHS objective is to improve environmental health in indigenous communities through the construction and housing and the provision of water, sewerage and related systems. The objective of the performance audit was to form an opinion on ATSIC's management of the National Aboriginal Health Strategy program in providing housing and related infrastructure to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and to identify areas where program administration could be improved.

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.

The objective of the audit was to determine the extent to which the new Commonwealth services delivery arrangements were implemented efficiently and effectively. The audit focussed on the establishment of Centrelink to deliver services on behalf of purchaser departments and the development of associated purchaser/provider arrangements.

This is the second audit report under the Senate Order, which requires all Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) agencies to place on the Internet, lists of contracts of $100 000 and more by the tenth day of the Spring and Autumn sittings of Parliament. It relates to the audit of the contract information to be listed on the Internet by the tenth day of the Autumn 2002 sitting. The audit involved a desktop review of all FMA Act agencies' Internet listings; and a detailed review at six selected agencies, of the process for making the Internet listings, and the policies and practices for determining confidentiality provisions in contracts.

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 audit reviewed the effectiveness of HIC's approach to customer service delivery to the Australian public as customers of Medicare. The primary issues examined were whether: . HIC manages its customer service delivery performance effectively;

• HIC's approach to people management adequately supports customer service delivery;
• HIC obtains adequate information from customers on their needs, expectations, and perceptions of HIC's service delivery; and
• HIC provides adequate information to customers on its services and on the service standards that customers should expect.

The objective of the audit was to examine Coastwatch's administration of the Australian civil coastal and offshore surveillance and response service. In particular, the audit focused on Coastwatch's:

• coordination with its clients and external service providers;
• surveillance and response operations; and
• aspects of its corporate governance arrangements bearing on performance and associated accountability.

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2003. It includes a comment by the Auditor-General; an overview of the report; a report on performance; details about management and accountability, and the financial statement for the year.

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2007. It includes highlights and areas of focus for the coming year; a forward by the Auditor-General; an overview of the report; a report on performance; details about management and accountability, and the financial statement for the year.

The purpose of the audit was to examine how efficiently and effectively the ATO managed its collection of outstanding tax debt. A framework for analysing the ATO's approach to collecting outstanding debt was established by the ANAO. This framework reflected five key criteria in the collection process as they apply to managing outstanding debt, namely:

• initiatives to promote timely payment;
• identification of outstanding debt;
• setting priorities for collecting outstanding debt;
• management of collection practices; and
• collection results.

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2009. It includes a foreword by the Auditor-General, an overview of the Office, a report on performance, details about management and accountability, and the financial results.

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2002. It includes a comment by the Auditor-General on Audit independence and effectiveness; an overview of the Auditor-General’s role and responsibilities; a report on performance; details about management and accountability, and the financial statement for the year.

The audit is a follow-up to Audit Report 12, 1995-96 Risk Management by Commonwealth Consumer Product Safety Regulators. The objectives of this follow-up audit were to determine the extent to which ANZFA had implemented the agreed recommendations contained in the 1995 Audit Report, and to determine the effectiveness of the implemented recommendations in improving food safety regulation.

This report summarises audit and other related activities of the Australian National Audit Office in the period January to June 2000.

HMAS Cerberus is a Navy base situated south-east of Melbourne, Victoria. As a major Navy training establishment, it conducts initial recruit training, and specialist category training in areas such as communications and engineering. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) Schools of Catering and Physical Training are situated there, as is a major health centre for operational and training needs. The health centre and other facilities at HMAS Cerberus were re-developed several years ago. In August 2001, the then Minister for Defence announced that, in response to continuing concern over facilities management at HMAS Cerberus, he had asked the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) to conduct an independent investigation. The ANAO agreed to review these matters. The objective of the audit was to examine facilities management issues at HMAS Cerberus with a view to clarifying those of concern and ensuring that lessons would be learned from them to assist Defence facilities management generally.

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2006. It includes highlights and areas of focus for the coming year; a forward by the Auditor-General; an overview of the report; a report on performance; details about management and accountability, and the financial statement for the year.

This is the third audit report undertaken by the ANAO in response to a request made by the Senate in the Senate Order for Departmental and Agency Contracts, which requires all Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) agencies to place on the Internet, lists of contracts of $100 000 and more by the tenth day of the Spring and Autumn sittings of Parliament. It relates to the audit of the contract information to be listed on the Internet by the tenth day of the Autumn 2002 sitting. The audit involved a desktop review of all FMA Act agencies' Internet listings; and a detailed review in six selected agencies, of the process for making the Internet listings, and the policies and practices for determining and identifying whether contracts contained either confidential provisions and other requirements of confidentiality.

The audit reviewed the use of taxis in six Commonwealth agencies. The objective of the audit was to provide assurance that organisations were effectively managing associated risks and complying with legislation and guidelines in relation to the use of, and payment for taxi services.

The objectives of this audit were to improve: the accountability of the Australian Taxation Office to Parliament and the Government by the provision of advice that follows up on the ATO's implementation of the previous ANAO Report; and on the recommendations of the then Joint Committee of Public Accounts arising from its consideration of that Report and the efficiency, effectiveness and equity of debt collection by the ATO.

The Audit Activity Report: July-December 2002 summarises performance audit, financial audit and other related activities for the ANAO for the period. The key issues arising from the performance audits are summarised against the ANAO themes. The appendices in the report provide a short summary of each of the audits tabled for this period, the audits in progress as at 1 January 2003 and a list of the presentations and papers given by the Auditor-General and ANAO staff.

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2010. It includes a foreword by the Auditor-General, an overview including the role and responsibilities and vision of the Office, a report on performance, details about management and accountability, and the financial results.

The report summarises performance audit, financial statement audit and other related activities for the ANAO for the period July to December 2003. The key issues arising from performance audits tabled in this period are summarised against the ANAO themes. The report also summarises financial audits and other financial audit activities conducted by the ANAO during the period July to December 2003. It discusses significant issues such as the: consolidated financial statements and the final budget outcome; harmonisation of Australian Generally accepted accounting practices and Government Finance Statistics; adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards; timing for Financial Statements Preparation; and the audit of the CFS 2002-03.

Although the audit examined broader aspects of the ATO's administration (such as, tobacco excise governance arrangements, intelligence capability and compliance and investigations activities), we placed particular emphasis on the strategies used by the ATO to address the proliferation of chop-chop (Australian grown tobacco sold illicitly in a chopped up form for $80 to $100 per kilogram. In comparison, 50 grams of legal roll-you-own tobacco costs around $16 i.e. $320 per kilogram) in the Australian markets, as it is an area of major risk to tobacco excise revenue.

This report is the second in a series of reports to be tabled at six-monthly intervals. It summarises the audit and other activities of the ANAO in the period July to December 1997.