The audit objective was to examine whether the Department of Defence provides an efficient and effective security vetting service for Australian Government entities through the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency.

This report outlines the ANAO’s assessment of the internal controls of major entities, including governance arrangements, information systems and control procedures. The findings summarised in this report are the results of the interim phase  of the financial statement audits of 23 major General Government Sector entities that represent some 95 per cent of total General Government Sector revenues and expenses.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s management of Australian aid to Vanuatu.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of Finance’s administration of travel entitlements provided to Parliamentarians.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the award of funding under the first round of the Safer Streets programme.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs administration of the Repatriation Transport Scheme.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office's activities to promote employer compliance with Superannuation Guarantee obligations.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s administration of enforceable undertakings.

This document outlines the role of the Auditor-General in resolving matters referred to in a Parliamentary Committee¹ report when a Government response, or explanatory statement, has not been presented within six months, or questions on the explanatory statement have not been answered to the satisfaction of the committee.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the Department of Human Services’ management of Smart Centres’ Centrelink telephone services.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Human Services’ administration of the Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s management of initiatives to supply low aromatic fuel to Indigenous communities.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Attorney-General’s Department’s administration of the terms of the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements Ministerial determination.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority's administration of community awareness, professional education and donor family support activities intended to increase organ an

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Employment’s administration of the Fair Entitlements Guarantee.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the (former) Department of Industry’s administration of the Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Program.

The audit objective was to examine Defence’s administration of Materiel Sustainment Agreements (MSAs) and the contribution made by MSAs to the effective sustainment of specialist military equipment.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the arrangements established by the Department of the Environment for the funding and management of the Nimmie-Caira System Enhanced Environmental Water Delivery Project.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection in delivering high quality interpreting services to its clients.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Defence’s planning, budgeting and implementation of an electronic health records solution for Defence personnel.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health’s administration of the Medical Specialist Training Program.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the development and administration of the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement (5CPA), and the extent to which the 5CPA has met its objectives.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Parliamentary Services’ management of assets and contracts to support the operations of Parliament House.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the establishment, implementation and operation of the Early Years Quality Fund against the requirements of the Early Years Quality Fund Special Account Act 2013 and the Commonwealth grants administration framework.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Attorney-General’s Department’s administration of the Indigenous Legal Assistance Programme.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s delivery of services to Australians travelling or residing abroad.

The objective of the audit was to assess the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service's administration of the Tariff Concession System.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Defence's management of the disposal of specialist military equipment.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of Industry’s administration of the Ethanol Production Grants Program, including relevant advice on policy development.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of Navy’s strategy for recruiting and retaining personnel with specialist skills. The effective delivery of Navy capability depends on Navy having available sufficient numbers of skilled personnel to operate and maintain its fleet of sea vessels and aircraft, and conduct wide‑ranging operations in dispersed locations. Without the right personnel, Navy capability is reduced. Navy’s budget for 2014–15 included $1.86 billion in employee expenses.

The audit concluded that, in its strategic planning, Navy had identified its key workforce risks and their implications for Navy capability. To address these risks Navy had continued to adhere to its traditional ‘raise, train and sustain’ workforce strategy; developed a broad range of workforce initiatives that complemented its core approach; and sought to establish contemporary workforce management practices. However, long‑standing personnel shortfalls in a number of ‘critical’ employment categories had persisted, and Navy had largely relied on retention bonuses as a short‑ to medium‑term retention strategy.

Navy had developed a broad range of workforce initiatives, some designed specifically to address workforce shortages in its critical employment categories. To date, Navy had primarily relied on paying retention bonuses and other financial incentives; recruiting personnel with prior military experience to work in employment categories with significant workforce shortfalls; and using Navy Reserves in continuous full time roles. Ongoing work was required for Navy to firmly establish a range of promising workforce management practices, including providing the right training at the right time; more flexible approaches to managing individuals’ careers; and improving workplace culture, leadership and relationships. More flexible and tailored workforce management practices could help address the underlying causes of workforce shortfalls, particularly when the traditional approaches were not gaining sufficient traction.

The ANAO made two recommendations aimed at Navy: drawing on external human resource expertise to inform the development and implementation of its revised workforce plan; and evaluating the impact of retention bonuses on the Navy workforce to determine their future role within its overall workforce strategy.

This report complements the interim phase report published in June 2014 (Audit Report No.44 2013–14), and provides a summary of the final audit results of the audits of the financial statements of 251 Australian Government entities, including the Consolidated Financial Statements for the Australian Government.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Trade Commission’s administration of the Export Market Development Grants scheme, in providing incentives to small and medium Australian enterprises for the development of export markets.

The report objective is to provide the Auditor-General’s independent assurance over the status of 30 selected Major Projects, as reflected in the Statement by the Chief Executive Officer Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), and the Project Data Summary Sheets prepared by the DMO, in accordance with the Guidelines endorsed by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service's management of the Cape Class patrol boat program.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of Health's implementation of the Diagnostic Imaging Review Reform Package, some three years into the five year reform period.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness and equity of the award of funding under the Clean Technology Program in the context of the program objectives and the Commonwealth’s grants administration framework.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of the Environment’s administration of the Biodiversity Fund program.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the design and conduct of the third and fourth funding rounds of the Regional Development Australia Fund.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health’s monitoring and implementation of both ANAO performance audit and internal audit recommendations.

The objective of the audit was to assess how effectively and efficiently the Australian Taxation Office managed contact centres as part of its overall service delivery.

The objective of the audit was to assess the adequacy of selected Australian Government entities’ practices and procedures to manage business continuity. To conclude against this objective, the ANAO adopted high-level criteria relating to the entities’ establishment, implementation and review of business continuity arrangements.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s administration of annual compliance arrangements with large corporate taxpayers.

The objective of the audit was to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the Australian Electoral Commission’s implementation of those recommendations made in Report No. 28 2009–10 relating to:

• a more strategic approach to election workforce planning;
• the suitability and accessibility of polling booths and fresh scrutiny premises; and
• the transport and storage of completed ballot papers, in respect to matters not fully addressed in ANAO Audit Report No.31 2013–14.

The audit objective was to examine the selected entities’ effectiveness in implementing entity-wide fraud control arrangements, including compliance with the requirements of the 2011 Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines (2011 Guidelines), and the overall administration of the fraud control framework by the Attorney-General’s Department.

This annual report documents the performance of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in the financial year ending on 30 June 2014. It addresses the Requirements for Annual Reports for Departments, Executive Agencies and FMA Act Bodies approved by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit in May 2014; the performance measures set out in the outcome and programs framework in the 2013–14 Portfolio Budget Statements; section 28 of the Auditor-General Act 1997; and other annual reporting requirements provided for in legislation.

The objective of the audit is to assess the effectiveness of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s implementation of food security initiatives for remote Indigenous communities.

The objective of the audit was to assess the appropriateness of the use and reporting of confidentiality provisions in a sample of Australian Government contracts.

The objective of the audit was to assess the extent to which agencies have arrangements to establish and use multi-use lists to support value for money, efficiency and effectiveness in procurement.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health’s management of the National Medical Stockpile.

The audit objective was to assess the Department of Defence’s progress in delivering Multi-Role Helicopters (MRH90 aircraft) to the ADF through AIR 9000 Phases 2, 4 and 6, within approved cost, schedule and performance parameters.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the administration of the Improving School Enrolment and Attendance through Welfare Reform Measure.

The audit objective was to assess selected agencies’ compliance with the four mandatory ICT security strategies and related controls in the Australian Government Information Security Manual.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of physical security arrangements in selected Australian Government agencies, including whether applicable Australian Government requirements are being met.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the administration of the Australian Business Register.

The audit objective was to determine whether Australian Government agencies were implementing appropriate policies and processes to identify and manage conflicts of interest.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ administration of residential care payments.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of DHS’ implementation of initiatives to support the delivery of services to Indigenous Australians.

This report outlines the ANAO’s assessment of the internal controls of major agencies, including governance arrangements, information systems and control procedures. The findings summarised in this report are the results of the interim phase of the financial statement audits of 23 major General Government Sector agencies that represent some 95 per cent of total General Government Sector revenues and expenses.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of the Environment’s regulation of proponents’ compliance with Part 9 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Agriculture’s and Customs’ arrangements for the targeting and screening of incoming international mail to identify prohibited and restricted goods.