The Pharmaceutical Industry Investment Program (PIIP) is a scheme that was introduced to compensate the pharmaceutical industry, in part, for the impact of the Government exercising its monopsony power under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The ANAO undertook an audit of the probity of the methodology and procedures applied by the Department in assessment of applicants for PIIP funding. The objectives of the audit were to assist the Department, at its request, in the timely identification of deficiencies in assessing responses from applicants and options for addressing any such deficiencies.

The objective of the audit was to examine program management in the Training and Youth Division of the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs. In broad terms, the audit focused on the management frameworks at both Divisional and program level. Three of the Division's programs were selected for more detailed review as follows:

• Workplace English Language and Literacy;
• Literacy and Numeracy; and
• Support for New Apprentices.

The audit reviewed the management of trust monies in five Commonwealth organisations. The objectives of the audit were to:

• assess whether selected Commonwealth organisations were managing trust monies in accordance with legal and administrative requirements and better practice principles;
• identify better practices in the management of trust monies; and
• recommend improvements in the controls and practices relating to the management of trust monies.

The audit reviewed the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) management of the provision of employment services information to job seekers up to the point where job seekers are referred to Job Network. The objective of the audit was to examine the administrative effectiveness of DEWR's management of the provision of information to job seekers, focusing on determining what information should be provided, developing an effective means of providing information, and assuring that information is being delivered effectively.

The audit reviewed the management of the first round of Job Network contracts, which focused on Job Matching, Job Search Training and Intensive Assistance. The objective of the audit was to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business's management of the first round of employment services contracts. A key part of this examination was to assess the Department's level of confidence that the program was meeting government objectives based on performance and management information.

The purpose of the audit was to assess whether management of parliamentary workflow by the agencies reviewed was efficient and effective and to identify elements of good practice. In assessing agency effectiveness and efficiency, the audit focussed on issues of client service such as timeliness, quality and cost. It considered also the governance framework and accountability arrangements relevant to parliamentary workflow, as well as more operational considerations including the use of information technology, development of relevant management information and suitable benchmarking processes.

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 objectives of the audit were to examine the Australian Bureau of Statistics' management of the procedures and processes associated with the planning and operational aspects of the 1996 Census to ascertain: whether the results of the 1991 Census evaluations were used to improve the 1996 Census; whether the Census could be undertaken more efficiently while still yielding data of the required quality; and how privacy concerns were being satisfied by the processes employed. The scope of the audit was limited to reporting on the efficiency and effectiveness of the management by the ABS of the development, collection and initiation of the processing phases of the 1996 Census. The ANAO conducted an assessment of the procedures and processes used in the 1996 Census against the ABS performance indicators and by an examination of ABS documentation. The audit did not seek to review the ABS statistical methodology.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the National Health and Medical Research Council's governance and administrative systems. In order to achieve this objective, the audit addressed three criteria to determine whether the Council had: identified its legislated responsibilities and monitored its legislative compliance; a sound corporate governance framework to support the performance of its legislated functions; and established robust administrative systems to support the performance of its legislated functions.

The audit reviewed Commonwealth debt management procedures. The audit objectives were to:

• review, and consider opportunities to improve, the reporting and disclosure of the Commonwealth's public debt;
• assess the effectiveness of the raising, management and retirement of Commonwealth debt, consistent with an acceptable degree of risk exposure; and
• determine whether there are opportunities to improve the Commonwealth's approach to the raising, management and retirement of Commonwealth debt.