The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the framework in place to have a regulatory Ministerial Statement of Expectations and a responding Statement of Intent in place.

Taxation rulings are a key mechanism used by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to disseminate the Commissioner of Taxation's interpretative advice on Australian taxation law. The objective of the audit was to:

report to Parliament on the operation of the ATO's administration of taxation rulings (public, private and oral rulings); and where appropriate, make recommendations for improvements, having regard to considerations of: efficiency and effectiveness of the ATO's administration of the rulings system, particularly in relation to the achievement of the objectives set by Parliament for the rulings system; the ATO's systems' capacity to deliver consistency and fairness for taxpayers; and good corporate governance, including the control framework.

The objectives of the audit were to:

• evaluate the extent to which the Government's sale objectives were achieved, with a focus on those objectives relating to the optimisation of sale proceeds and minimisation of risk to the Commonwealth;
• examine the effectiveness of the management of the sale process to ensure the Commonwealth received fair value; and
• within the context of broader Commonwealth debt management considerations, assess the application of the sale proceeds to repaying Commonwealth debt and the extent to which public debt interest payments may be reduced.

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

This report focuses on the results of the interim financial statements audits, including an assessment of entities’ key internal controls, supporting the 2019–20 financial statements audits. This report examines 24 entities, including all departments of state and a number of major Australian government entities. The entities included in the report are selected on the basis of their contribution to the income, expenses, assets and liabilities of the 2018–19 Consolidated Financial Statements (CFS). Significant and moderate findings arising from the interim audits are reported to the responsible Minister(s), and all findings are reported to those charged with governance of each entity.

The objective of the report is to review the effectiveness of remediation activities put in place by Defence and the DMO to improve the performance of SDSS following the delivery in July 2003 of the SDSS Upgrade Project, with specific attention to the SDSS Get Well Programme. The audit reviewed the outcomes of the Get Well Programme, and assessed how effectively a segment of the Defence supply chain (of which SDSS is one key component) was meeting selected maritime end user capability and reporting requirements. In order to achieve this, the audit reviewed three key maritime combatant forces: COLLINS Class submarines; Adelaide Class Guided Missile Frigates (FFGs); and ANZAC Class Frigates. The ANAO notes that these three capabilities account for some 50 per cent of the Navy's total forecast expenditure for 2006–07.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Social Services’ 2020 to 2022 procurement of counselling and support services provided through 1800RESPECT.

The objective of this audit was to examine whether value for money is being delivered by the Australian Rail Track Corporation’s (ARTC’s) management of the Inland Rail pre‑construction program.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of Health's implementation of the Diagnostic Imaging Review Reform Package, some three years into the five year reform period.

The audit objective was to assess the departments of Health and Human Services’ administration, including oversight and monitoring arrangements, for the Indemnity Insurance Fund.

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

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) conducted 44 performance audits across the 2024–25 financial year to provide independent and objective assessments of all or part of an entity’s operations. This report presents themes and insights from the 2024–25 performance audit program, as well as analysis of the outcomes of performance audits between 2020–21 and 2024–25.

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 Australian Securities and Investments Commission's probity management.

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

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Energy Regulator’s regulation of energy markets.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness to date of the Department of Defence's (Defence) planning for the mobilisation of its continuous shipbuilding programs in Australia.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Phoenix Taskforce to combat illegal phoenix activities.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Senate Occasional Lecture Series

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Australian Government Reconstruction Inspectorate, supported by the National Disaster Recovery Taskforce, in providing assurance that value for money is being achieved in respect to Queensland reconstruction projects.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether the Department of Health and Aged Care has effectively managed the expansion of telehealth services during and post the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Clean Energy Regulator’s administration of the Renewable Energy Target scheme. 

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Department of Finance and Administration's Learning Centre Lecture Series

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority's administration of community awareness, professional education and donor family support activities intended to increase organ an

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 the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the arrangements established by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), a division of the Department of the Environment, to support Australia’s Antarctic Program.

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 this audit was to assess the coordination of Australian, State and Territory Government climate change programs and the integrity of measuring and reporting of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions and abatement. Particular emphasis was given to the:

• coordination of Australian Government and State/Territory climate change programs;
• integrity of the national inventory to measure Australia's greenhouse gas emissions; and
• integrity of measuring and reporting government abatement measures.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the My Health Record system under the opt-out model.

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

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

The audit objective was to assess whether Department of Health and Aged Care effectively developed and monitored suicide prevention measures.

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 assess the effectiveness of the management of international travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the National Archives of Australia Seminar, Parliament House, Canberra

The audit objective was to assess the design and implementation of the Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program (SLRIP).

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 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 objective of this audit was to assess whether the National Disability Insurance Agency has appropriate controls to ensure supports in participant plans are ‘reasonable and necessary’.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether the Australian War Memorial is effectively managing the development project.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health’s approach to health provider compliance.

The objective of the audit was to assess whether effective arrangements have been established by Finance to achieve value for money outcomes for Commonwealth leased office property.

This report covers a number of the discretionary compensation and debt relief mechanisms that are available to Commonwealth agencies, where individuals or entities have been disadvantaged by legislation, or actions by agencies or staff, or some other negative circumstances. It deals mainly with two legislative mechanisms, namely, act of grace payments and waivers of debt, and one administrative mechanism, the Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration (CDDA) scheme. This report also briefly covers two other mechanisms, namely ex gratia payments and payments in special circumstances relating to Australian Public Service (APS) employment. The main objective of the audit was to assess whether the management of claims for compensation and debt relief in special circumstances was in accordance with relevant legislative requirements and Commonwealth guidelines, and whether the current administrative policies and procedures were adequate.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of Defence’s implementation of reforms to capability development since the introduction of the two-pass process for government approval of capability projects and government’s acceptance of the reforms recommended by the Mortimer Review. The scope of this audit included the requirements phase and, to a limited extent, the acquisition phase of major capability development projects, focusing upon changes flowing from the major reforms.

The objective of this audit was to examine whether the Australian Postal Corporation (Australia Post) is meetings its Community Service and International obligations efficiently and the effectiveness of Commonwealth shareholders in monitoring value for money.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the design and establishment of the Regional Investment Corporation.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Parliamentary Services’ arrangements for managing contracts and retail licences, including the extent to which the department has implemented recommendations from the previous ANAO audit.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health’s implementation of the National Ice Action Strategy (NIAS).

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the (former) Department of Industry’s administration of the Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Program.

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

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the Department of Human Services’ management of Smart Centres’ Centrelink telephone services.

The objective of the audit was to assess how effectively Geoscience Australia provides geoscientific and geospatial information and services to assist the Australian Government and key stakeholders. Particular emphasis was given to:

• the collection and management of geoscientific and geospatial data and information, including accessibility;
• the provision of products and services; and
• governance arrangements.

The ANAO examined a number of datasets and product and service projects to assess Geoscience Australia's performance in providing geoscientific and geospatial information and services.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of Industry’s administration of the Ethanol Production Grants Program, including relevant advice on policy development.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Social Services’ arrangements for managing Disability Employment Services provider agreements.

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

This report is the first of two reports each year and focuses on the results of the interim audits, including an assessment of entities’ key internal controls, supporting the 2022–23 financial statements audits. This report examines 27 entities, including all departments of state and a number of major Australian government entities. The majority of entities included in the report are selected on the basis of their contribution to the income, expenses, assets and liabilities of the 2021–22 Consolidated Financial Statements.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of Geoscience Australia’s 2020 to 2022 procurement of the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network (SouthPAN).

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection in delivering high quality interpreting services to its clients.