The audit reviewed the operations of the Civil Aviation Authority (CASA), which has prime responsibility for regulating aviation safety in Australia. The audit objectives were to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the management systems and procedures used by CASA to ensure compliance with regulatory controls by Air Operator's Certificate holders operating passenger-carrying aircraft within High Capacity Regular Public Transport; Low Capacity Regular Public Transport and charter industry sectors; and Certificate of Approval holders. Aviation safety compliance includes entry control, surveillance and enforcement.

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2012. It presents an overview including the role and vision of the Office, a report on performance, details about management and accountability, and the financial results.

The audit examined the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission's (ATSIC's) grant management practices. The audit sought to determine if ATSIC provides fair and equal access to funding, what the risks to the grants program are, if decision-makers receive the key information they need to make informed funding decisions, and if ATSIC staff complying with grants procedures. The ANAO did not examine the appropriateness of the funding decisions made by regional councils.

The audit reviewed the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's administration of consular services. It focussed on DFAT's travel advice to alert Australians to potential travel risks; case management systems to record and monitor action on more complex consular cases; performance information for the management of consular services; and contingency planning for major consular incidents. The audit also reviewed action taken by DFAT and other agencies to implement the recommendations of a 1997 Senate Committee report on consular services.

The objective of this audit was to form an opinion on the adequacy of, and to identify best practice in, Commonwealth agencies' electricity procurement systems and procedures. In doing so, the ANAO also formed an opinion on the level and results of participation by Commonwealth agencies in the National Electricity Market. The audit concentrated on adherence by agencies to the principles of the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines: Core Policies and Principles (March 1998), emphasising the importance of Commonwealth agencies achieving value-for-money (VFM) in their purchasing. VFM is one of the six principles on which the Guidelines are based.

The objective of the audit was to determine whether the controls and measures employed by FaCS and Centrelink to deliver Parenting Payment Single (PPS) payments were effective and efficient. To achieve this, the audit focused on four key areas. These were:

• the quality of performance measures used by FaCS and Centrelink;
• the effectiveness of FaCS' methodology for estimating the levels of risk of incorrect payment to PPS customers and the impact of these incorrect payments on the integrity of program outlays;
• the correctness of Centrelink's processing of reassessments; and
• the improvements to preventive controls such as training, guidance material, and the Quality On-Line system.

The objective of the audit was to assess the extent to which the Department of the Treasury and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have improved the management of tax expenditure estimates by implementing the six recommendations in the 2008 ANAO audit and the three recommendations made by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) following its inquiry.

The overall objective of the audit was to assess AusAID's management of commercial contracts to deliver Australia's overseas aid program. To this end, the audit examined whether:

• there are sound supporting structures for contract management;
• AusAid effectively manages risks;
• contracts clearly define deliverables;
• services are delivered and payments are made in accordance with the contract;
• there are appropriate arrangements to manage contractor performance;
• strategies appropriately assess and allocate risk between AusAid and contractors; and
• contracts deliver the desired aid outcomes.

The objectives of the audit were to examine the benefits of diversity management in the APS and review the progress made towards equity in employment in the APS, including the EEO Program. It included:

• an assessment of the progress towards achieving equity across the APS and by individual agencies;
• an assessment of the quality of agency EEO programs;
• an assessment of the role of the PSMPC in approving agency EEO programs and monitoring trends across the service;
• a consideration of legal obligations and agencies compliance with these; and
• the possible risks to, and opportunities for, equity under the WRA.

The audit concentrated on evidence of overall progress, the relative performance of individual agencies, and the examination of observed and underlying trends.

The audit examined the Commonwealth's management of the Building Better Cities Program to identify areas where improvement was needed and where lessons learned from BCP could be useful in other programs.