The audit objective was to determine whether DIAC's biometrics program had appropriate:

• business review processes (including a business case);
• authorisation;
• business and IT governance arrangements; and
• IT project management and systems development arrangements.

The Australian Customs Service (Customs) is responsible for managing the integrity of Australia's border. The Australian maritime border is the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around Australia's 37 000 kilometre coastline. The National Marine Unit (NMU) contributes to customs' Civil Maritime Surveillance and Response program. It has eight 35 - metre Bay Class vessels (known as Australian Customs Vessels or ACVs) that are capable of maintaining a strategic presence around the Australian coast. The audit examined the administrative effectiveness of the NMU's surveillance and response operations. Particular emphasis was given to the following areas:

• strategic and tactical taskings;
• crew operations;
• crew training;
• asset management; and
• governance arrangements.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of Defence’s implementation of reforms to capability development since the introduction of the two-pass process for government approval of capability projects and government’s acceptance of the reforms recommended by the Mortimer Review. The scope of this audit included the requirements phase and, to a limited extent, the acquisition phase of major capability development projects, focusing upon changes flowing from the major reforms.

The audit examined the effectiveness of DEEWR's: administrative framework for the program; management of the application, assessment and funding processes; and monitoring of and reporting on the program's performance.

In order to form an opinion against the audit objective, the ANAO primarily conducted fieldwork and documentation reviews at DEEWR's central office. A stratified random sample (in order to provide for representation from states, territories and school sectors) of 74 applications from Rounds 1 and 2 was also selected for detailed examination. Through this sample, the ANAO sought to determine whether funding applications had been assessed in accordance with the established assessment criteria and that quality assurance mechanisms for the assessment process were effective.

The audit reviewed the Defence Materiel Organisation's management of the $3.43 billion Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) project. The Wedgetail project is to provide the Australian Defence Force with an AEW&C capability based on four Boeing 737 AEW&C aircraft and associated supplies and logistic support. At the time of the audit the AEW&C systems were still in their early development phase, and by November 2003, Defence had spent $1.107 billion on the project.

The objective of this benchmarking study of the finance function was to obtain and report on over time, quantitative and qualitative data, relating to finance function activities as they operate in Commonwealth organisations. Over the three year period of the study, the majority of participating Commonwealth organisations have shown an improvement in their quantitative and/or qualitative benchmark results across the range of finance function activities. The Report does not provide specific reasons for differences in performance. However, it does provide guidance as to some of the better practices that participating organisations, and the wider public sector, may wish to adopt, or adapt in order to achieve improved performance in the activities of the finance function.

The audit reviewed the administrative effectiveness of ComSuper in providing benefits to members of the CSS and PSS. The objectives of the audit were to assess the effectiveness of ComSuper's performance in regard to the establishment of new purchaser/provider arrangements; the integrity of the ComSuper databases for the payment of CSS and PSS benefits; and the accuracy and effectiveness of benefit processing and payment for resignation, retirement and retrenchment.

The objective of this follow-up audit was to review Centrelink's progress in implementing the findings and recommendation relating to Centrelink's Customer Charter from Audit Report No.32
2004–05, Centrelink's Customer Charter and Community Consultation Program. This audit covers Centrelink's Customer Charter only and does not follow-up on the findings and recommendation on the Community Consultation Program aspect of the 2004–05 audit report.

The overall objective of the audit was to assess CrimTrac's progress in achieving the key deliverables it was established to provide, given that the agency had been in operation for some three years. The Australian Government provided $50 million for the implementation of CrimTrac, with an expectation that significant progress would be made within the first three years. The audit further examined whether CrimTrac had progressed the key deliverables efficiently and effectively, and whether the data either held by CrimTrac, or accessed through CrimTrac, for matching purposes is secure.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office’s administration of environmental water holdings.