Browse our range of reports and publications including performance and financial statement audit reports, assurance review reports, information reports and annual reports.
Speeches and papers
Published: Friday 20 September 2002
Published
Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the CPA Australia's Government Business Symposium, Melbourne
Speeches and papers
Published: Monday 19 May 2003
Published
Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the 2nd Annual New Directions in Australian Auditing Accounting Standards Conference
- Program reviews involve the investment of public resources. Adequate and timely implementation of agreed recommendations helps realise the full benefit of review activity and demonstrates commitment to improved public administration and accountability for performance.
- High quality administration of a mandatory policy framework, such as the Building trust in the public record policy, requires a policy owner to use available evidence to measure the success of implementation and to report to government and the public on implementation progress. Where the progress of entity implementation is based on self-assessed or self-reported information, a diligent policy owner implements assurance arrangements to provide confidence in this information.
- Supporting government to meet its responsibilities to the Parliament is an important element of public sector integrity.
- For parliamentary committee recommendations, Australian Government entities can support government by: advising ministers on requirements and better practice for the form and timing of responses to parliamentary committee reports; and monitoring compliance with required timeframes.
- For parliamentary committee and Auditor-General recommendations, Australian Government entities can support accountability and integrity by: establishing fit-for-purpose and proportionate implementation planning for agreed recommendations; monitoring implementation; and closing recommendations on the basis of robust evidence that the intent of the recommendation has been met.
- Entities should seek appropriate advice prior to making public announcements about procurements.
- The termination of lengthy procurement processes can undermine public confidence in Government procurement processes. Care should be taken to ensure that the market is engaged in future related procurement processes, through market engagement and consultation processes.
Speeches and papers
Published: Wednesday 9 May 2012
Published
Mr Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Global Working Group of Auditors-General, Stockholm, Sweden
- Commonwealth officials are required to act in a manner that is consistent with the Public Service Act 1999, the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and finance law. Commonwealth officials do not have discretion regarding the application of the mandatory provisions of the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines.
Performance audit (Auditor-General Report No. 6 of 2009–10)
Published: Monday 28 September 2009
Published
The Senate Order for Departmental and Agency Contracts (the Senate Order/the Order) was introduced in June 2001. The Order is one of several measures that the Senate introduced in recent years, to improve public knowledge of information on procurement and the expenditure of public funds. The main principle that underpins the Senate Order is that the Parliament's and public's access to this information should not be restricted by the inclusion of confidential information in contracts unless there is a sound basis for doing so. Public knowledge of information on contracted goods and services delivered to the government, can lead to better results for the Australian Government and the public. The Senate Order requirements have been amended over time to improve agency reporting, for example, on grants.
Entity
Across Agencies