Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the National Public Sector Convention, Perth WA

The audit examined ATSIS' implementation of recommendations from Audit Report No.39, 1998-1999 National Aboriginal Health Strategy - Delivery of Housing and Infrastructure to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities (the previous audit). In addition to assessing ATSIS' progress in implementing the recommendations of the previous audit, this follow-up audit examined ATSIS' performance reporting of the NAHS program, and concluded that the current level of aggregation of performance reporting makes it difficult to identify the particular contribution that the NAHS Program makes in improving services to Indigenous communities.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the FINEST User Network Annual Conference 1996, Leura, NSW

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the CPA Australia's Government Business Symposium, Melbourne

The objective of the follow-up audit was to review the effectiveness of the DETYA International Services (DIS) cost recovery operational model. The initial audit of DIS was undertaken in 1997-98 (Audit Report No.35).

This audit would assess the effectiveness of the administration of grants awarded under the Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program (Safe Places), including compliance with the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Principles, and management of the grants across the Safe Places program life cycle.

Safe Places is a capital works program funding the building, renovation or purchase of emergency accommodation for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence. There have been two rounds of funding. Under successive National Plans to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, the Australian Government has committed over $170 million over seven years to Safe Places ($72.6 million for round 1 from 2020–21 to 2024–25, and $100 million for round 2 from 2022–23 to 2026–2027). The first round of grants, awarded in 2020, was intended to deliver new emergency and crisis accommodation for women and children experiencing domestic and family violence. The second round of grants, was awarded in 2024 and was designed to focus on improving access to appropriate emergency accommodation for First Nations women and children, women and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and women and children with disability.

This edition of audit insights outlines key messages from a series of recent audits examining the effectiveness of governance boards in four corporate Commonwealth entities. The audit observations from this series of audits relate primarily to the ‘soft’ attributes of effective governance such as relationships, behaviours and culture, while also recognising the important interplay with the ‘hard’ attributes of governance such as board composition, appointment processes and independence. The key messages may be relevant for the operations of other Commonwealth boards as well as broader governance arrangements in Commonwealth entities.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the National Indigenous Australians Agency’s administration of funding for remote housing in the Northern Territory.

Grant Hehir, Auditor-General for Australia, delivered a presentation titled A reflection of how far performance auditing has come from its roots in the 1970s to where we are today and where we are heading, at the IMPACT Conference in Brisbane on 15 March 2016.

IMPACT brings together Auditors-General, leaders, practitioners, industry experts and academics from across the globe to discuss the future of performance auditing in the public sector, share experiences and question current practices.

The objective of this audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Australian Federal Police in managing employee mental health.