Browse our range of reports and publications including performance and financial statement audit reports, assurance review reports, information reports and annual reports.
Performance audit (Auditor-General Report No. 32 of 2001–02)
Published: Thursday 14 February 2002
Published
This follow-up Audit reviewed the Department of Health and Ageing's implementation of the recommendations of Audit Report No. 36, 1999-2000, Home and Community Care. The objective of the follow-up audit was to assess the extent to which the Department had implemented the nine recommendations of Audit Report No. 36, 1999-2000. The audit examined areas relating to funding, guidance, fees, coordination with other aged and disability care programs, acquittals, accountability and data requirements, and records management.
Entity
Department of Health and Ageing
- Entities should fully document any decisions and processes adopted to adjust contractors’ tendered prices to support transparency and enable a consistent, ‘like for like’ comparison of competing offers.
- In a sector where senior officers and key personnel change, well established lessons processes that include sound records are important to communicate reasons behind changes. This is to ensure that their importance is clear to future decision-makers and prior mistakes are not repeated.
- Key program or funding decisions should be supported by briefs to ministers. Discussions on funding decisions should be documented and, along with email correspondence, should be filed in official systems. Discussions and emails should not replace the practice of providing advice through the ministerial briefing process. For guidance on providing ministerial advice, entities can refer to Australian Public Service Commission’s Working with Ministers.
- Good record keeping is required by law and supports effective corporate governance, accountability and performance.
- Entities must maintain complete and accurate records of key contractual arrangements with suppliers, including shared services arrangements provided by the Australian Government.
- Documenting established practices supports entities to apply consistent processes and decision-making across business areas, reduce duplication, and improve business continuity.
- Entity human resource management information systems (HRMIS) should be configured to demonstrate compliance with legislative, award, enterprise agreement and policy requirements that documentary evidence has been sighted by the approver or recorded in the system.
- ATO has implemented automated HRMIS controls to prevent employees using personal (and carer’s) leave without evidence in excess of annual entitlements. Entity human resource management information systems should optimise preventative controls in applying employee conditions, and management monitoring and reporting of compliance with employee conditions.
- Entities with crisis management responsibilities should ensure key operational decisions and the basis of these are documented to support transparency and accountability in the management of critical events which impact on citizen lives.
