The audit would assess whether the Office of Parliamentary Counsel’s (OPC) procurement and contract management of the new Federal Register of Legislation project (new Register project) complied with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and demonstrate the achievement of value for money.

Under the Legislation Act 2003, the First Parliamentary Counsel must establish and maintain the Federal Register of Legislation, and ensure that all registered Acts, legislative instruments and notifiable instruments are ‘available to the public on a website … prescribed by the rules’. Following some delays, the new Register launched on 1 January 2024. The Office of Parliamentary Counsel reported various contracts on AusTender relating to the new Register project.