The purpose of this audit was to assess the Department of Social Security's approach to customer service against a recognised good practice methodology, and to identify opportunities for DSS to improve the quality of its customer service, its administrative effectiveness and its overall performance. The ANAO's intention was to identify opportunities to improve customer focus, particularly for those aspects of DSS's administration impacting on customer service. The audit criteria included: customer service environment; human resource management practices; communication with customers; customer-friendly approaches; and systematic approaches to continuous improvement.

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Australian Government Procurement Conference

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees (ACPAC)

The sale raised gross proceeds of $95.4 million, which was at the upper end of the Business Advisor's estimate for the mid-1997 sale. In addition, it should be noted that the principal financial effect for the Commonwealth was not in the proceeds of the sale but in the termination of ongoing revenue supplements and financial losses. The Commonwealth's direct costs of selling the businesses are estimated to be $9.3 million, or 9.7% of gross proceeds. In addition, the Australian National's financial liabilities totalling $1393 million have been or are being repaid or assumed by the Commonwealth.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the 18th Commonwealth Auditors-General Conference, Malaysia

The audit examined how well performance information for programs administered by the (now) Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) facilitates good decision-making and provides a suitable framework for control and accountability for performance.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Global Working Group Meeting, Wellington, New Zealand

The ANAO's purpose was to ascertain:

• whether the enhanced investigatory powers had improved the Commission's ability to investigate and prosecute fraud and other offences against Health Legislation; and
• whether the Commission had used the powers with integrity, in a professional manner and in accordance with the legislation.

The objectives of the audit were to assess how well agencies are managing their assets to produce better outcomes and to identify or develop better practice in asset management.

This benchmarking study across 14 agencies examined how line managers plan for and manage their staff and how the human resource (HR) function supports them to do that. People management was categorised into nine, practice areas, to enable comparisons between the participating agencies. The study also assessed each people management practice area against four criteria: quality, HR integration, effectiveness & efficiency and business contribution.