The audit reviewed the Australian Taxation Office's administration of the payment of tax by non-residents. The audit objectives were to:

• provide Parliament with assurance about how efficiently and effectively the ATO administers the payment of tax in respect of non-residents;
• identify any scope for more effective and efficient administration of the function; and
• identify any opportunities for the cost-effective collection of additional revenue.

Defence has long provided housing assistance for members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and their families. In 1988, this function passed to the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), which was established to provide suitable housing to meet Defence's operational needs. In 2000, Defence and DHA signed a Services Agreement valued at $3.5 billion over 10 years. The objective of the audit was to assess whether Defence's management of its housing and relocation services provided for ADF members meets specified requirements; and to make practical recommendations for more efficient, effective and economical use of public resources provided for this purpose.

The objective of this audit was to examine Australia's preparedness to respond to a human influenza pandemic and an outbreak of avian influenza in domestic poultry. The audit assessed:

• the whole of government arrangements for an influenza pandemic;
• action taken by DAFF to implement the recommendations from Exercise Eleusis, which tested the response arrangements for avian influenza;
• DoHA's planning for, and execution of, Exercise Cumpston, which tested the preparedness and response to an influenza pandemic; and
• the establishment, management and deployment arrangements of the National Medical Stockpile.

The audit objectives were to report on the efficiency and effectiveness of selected agencies' management of telecommunications services. The specific purpose was to:

• identify the potential for more effective management of telecommunications services;
• consider the appropriateness of Commonwealth agencies' management of telecommunications services to take advantage of technological opportunities; and
• identify the elements of sound administration in the management of telecommunications services.

The audit criteria addressed agencies' performance against benchmarks of sound administrative practice in relation to procurement; planning; business process re-engineering; financial management; and performance management. The audit focussed primarily on telecommunications services, as distinct from capital items and equipment.

The audit reviewed the accountability framework and performance information of the Australian Sports Commission (ASC). The objective of the audit was to form an opinion on the efficiency and effectiveness of the ASC: accountability arrangements, focussing on key stakeholders such as the Minister and the Parliament; and management information systems, focussing on performance information, in particular key performance indicators; and its use in resource allocation decision-making.

This benchmarking study was a follow on from ANAO Report No. 14 of 2000-01, Benchmarking the Internal Audit Function, which was published in October 2000. The objective of the study was to obtain and report qualitative and quantitative data on aspects of the internal audit function and compare the public sector internal audit results with equivalent international data to identify better practices and highlight areas for improvement.

The objective of this audit was to assess and report on the administration of the regional delivery of NHT 2 and the NAP.

The scope of the audit encompassed both Environment and DAFF, including the Joint Team of staff from both departments working together under a common management structure for the delivery of both programs. The audit focused on:

• the implementation of the regional delivery arrangements;
• governance and financial management for regional delivery; and
• monitoring, evaluation and reporting on the programs' performance.

Since 2000, there has been a requirement under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) for Commonwealth agencies to report annually on their environmental performance as well as their contribution to Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD). The audit objective was to examine and report on the quality of Commonwealth agencies' annual reports on ESD and environment performance. The audit reviewed current practice in light of legal requirements, and provided examples of better practice.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of OPO's management of the overseas owned estate. In particular, the audit examined whether:

• sound arrangements are in place to effectively plan and oversight the management of the overseas estate;
• OPO effectively manages owned property on a day-to-day basis;
• the condition of the overseas owned estate is adequately maintained by structured and systematic repair and maintenance arrangements; and
• OPO has appropriate information to facilitate the effective management of the owned estate, and appropriately consults with stakeholders.

The objective of this audit was to determine whether Health adequately assessed the State and Territory Governments' compliance with their obligations under the terms of the AHCAs. In conducting the audit, ANAO addressed the following criteria:

• if Health assessed whether the States and Territories were adhering to the AHCAs clause 6 principles that all eligible persons had equitable access to free public health and emergency services on the basis of clinical need within an appropriate period;
• if Health assessed whether the States and Territories were increasing their own source funding at the rate specified in the AHCAs; and
• if Health assessed whether the States and Territories were meeting the performance reporting requirements set out in the AHCAs.