The ANAO's objectives in auditing the sale were to:

• review the extent to which the Government's objectives for the sale were achieved;
• review the management of the sale process; and
• to assess ongoing Commonwealth exposures and responsibilities.

Mr Ian McPhee, PSM - Auditor?General for Australia, Speaking Notes for the IPAA (ACT) Forum, Canberra

The ANAO's objective in auditing the sale was to assess:

• the extent to which the Commonwealth's objectives were achieved; and
• the efficiency, administrative effectiveness and accountability of the sale process.

The audit examined how well the Commonwealth's regulators of consumer product safety have used a 'whole of agency' approach to risk management to protect consumers. The audit also looked at the health costs associated with consumer product related injuries and deaths and the extent to which the legal remedies available under the Trade Practices Act are used.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, Closing Address for the Institute of Chartered Accountants

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness to date of the management of the approach to transition the disability services market to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) market arrangements.

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the CPA Australia

The objective of this performance audit was to assess the effectiveness and consistency of risk management processes undertaken by the Australian Taxation Office in administering individual taxpayer refunds.

Although the audit examined broader aspects of the ATO's administration (such as, tobacco excise governance arrangements, intelligence capability and compliance and investigations activities), we placed particular emphasis on the strategies used by the ATO to address the proliferation of chop-chop (Australian grown tobacco sold illicitly in a chopped up form for $80 to $100 per kilogram. In comparison, 50 grams of legal roll-you-own tobacco costs around $16 i.e. $320 per kilogram) in the Australian markets, as it is an area of major risk to tobacco excise revenue.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Public Service and Merit Protection Commission Senior Executive Service (SES) Breakfast Seminar Series