This report complements the Interim Report on Key Financial Controls of Major Entities financial statement audit report published in June 2018. It provides a summary of the final results of the audits of the Consolidated Financial Statements for the Australian Government and the financial statements of Australian Government entities for the period ended 30 June 2018.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether the OneSKY tender was conducted so as to provide value with public resources and achieve required timeframes for the effective replacement of the existing air traffic management platforms.

The objectives of this audit were to improve: the accountability of the Australian Taxation Office to Parliament and the Government by the provision of advice that follows up on the ATO's implementation of the previous ANAO Report; and on the recommendations of the then Joint Committee of Public Accounts arising from its consideration of that Report and the efficiency, effectiveness and equity of debt collection by the ATO.

The objective of this report is to provide comprehensive information on the status of projects as reflected in the Project Data Summary Sheets (PDSSs) prepared by DMO, and a review by the ANAO.

The objectives of the audit were to assess agency performance in relation to compiling their Internet listings as required by the Senate Order and the appropriateness of the use of confidentiality provisions in Commonwealth contracts. The audit involved a detailed examination in seven agencies of the processes used to compile their Internet listings and the use of confidentiality provisions in contracts.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s overseas crisis management and response arrangements in meeting the government’s objectives for returning Australians from overseas in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The objective of this report is to provide information, prepared by both the ANAO and DMO, on the performance of major projects as well as providing the Auditor-General’s formal conclusion on the review of the Project Data Summary Sheets (PDSSs) prepared by DMO and contained in this report.

The objective of the audit was to assess the management practices undertaken by APS agencies to achieve value for money and transparency in dealing with contracts for non-APS workers. The focus of the audit was on circumstances where agencies had a significant reliance on a non-APS workforce to assist in achieving their core functions. Regular reporting by agencies of expenditure on non-APS workers was outside the scope of this audit.

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.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's probity management.

The objective of the audit was to assess the development of Defence’s oversight and management of its portfolio of ICT investments and projects. In particular, the audit examined Defence’s:

• governance, strategic processes and decision-making structures that set out, prioritise and coordinate the integrated ICT reform portfolio and programs;
• ICT risk management and capacity to identify and plan to achieve the benefits of its SRP ICT stream reforms (including methodologies to measure the realisation of savings and non-savings benefits);
• level of portfolio and program management maturity; and
• the impact of improvement efforts on Defence’s ability to deliver the ICT services capacity required to support the SRP.

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held on Friday, 4 December 2020. The venue was the Australian National Audit Office, 38 Sydney Avenue, Forrest ACT.

The text on this page is the communique from the forum. 

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Health Insurance Commission Senior Management Group

The objective of the audit was to assess how effectively DHS (including CSA), FaHCSIA and Centrelink managed the implementation of stage one of the CSSR and the Improving Compliance program.

The objective of the audit was to assess the department’s: effectiveness in administering school funding; and implementation of recommendations made in Auditor-General Report No.18 2017–18 Monitoring the Impact of Australian Government School Funding and JCPAA Report 476: Australian Government Funding.

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.

Mr Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the 5th Symposium of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), Jaipur, India

Section 41 of the Auditor-General Act 1997 establishes the position of the Independent Auditor. The Independent Auditor report, Review of Cyber Security, was tabled in Parliament on 4 December 2017.

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.

The objective of this audit is to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's (DCCEEW) corporate plan as its primary planning document in accordance with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

The Age Pension is a social security income support payment available to Australian residents and eligible Australians residing overseas who have reached Age Pension age and whose income and assets are under certain limits. In 1999-2000, approximately $14 billion was paid to approximately 1.7 million Age Pension recipients. Payment of Age Pension is made under the Social Security Law and in accordance with the Guide to the Social Security Law prepared by the Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS). FaCS has contracted Centrelink under a Business Partnership Agreement (BPA) to administer the payment of Age Pension to eligible customers. The objective of the audit was to assess the extent to which new claims for Age Pension had been assessed in compliance with the legislation and other relevant guidelines developed by Centrelink, and whether Centrelink employed appropriate mechanisms to help ensure such compliance. In particular, the ANAO sought evidence with respect to: payment at the right rate, from the right date, to the right person with the right product, for new claims assessed during the audit sample period (that is, in accordance with the working definition of accuracy within Centrelink); the accuracy of Centrelink?s own reporting on compliance, as reported to FaCS under the BPA; and the application of appropriate mechanisms to help ensure such compliance.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AO) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Commonwealth Auditors-General Conference, Wellington, New Zealand

The audit objective was to assess the appropriateness of the use and reporting of confidentiality provisions in Australian Government contracts for the 2012 calendar year reporting period.

This was a follow-up of Audit Report No. 29 2000-01, Review of Veterans' Appeals Against Disability Compensation Entitlement Decisions. That audit examined the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA's) and the Veterans' Review Board's (VRB's) management of the review of decisions for disability compensation. The objective of this audit was to assess the extent to which DVA and the VRB had implemented the four recommendations of Report No.29 2000-01, taking into account any changed circumstances, or new administrative issues, affecting implementation of these recommendations.

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 this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's probity management.

This was a follow-up of Audit Report No. 40 of 1997-98, Purchase of Hospital Services from State Governments. That audit examined the administration by the Department of Veterans' Affairs of the Purchase of Hospital Services from State Governments. The objective of this audit was to assess the extent to which the Department had implemented the nine recommendations of Report No. 40, taking account of any changed circumstances or administrative issues that the Department identified as affecting their implementation; and to offer continued assurance to the Parliament on the management of the purchase of hospital services.

The objectives of the follow-up audit were to assess DFAT's implementation of the six recommendations made by the ANAO in the previous audit. It also sought to determine whether implementation of these recommendations, or alternative action, had improved DFAT's administration of consular services. The audit focused on management processes and supporting systems for the delivery of consular services. It also reviewed DFAT's implementation of recommendations of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee that were outstanding from the previous audit.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of Industry Innovation and Science Australia's, the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources', and the Australian Taxation Office's administration of the Research and Development Tax Incentive program.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of arrangements for implementing and monitoring the implementation of ANAO performance audit recommendations in the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Human Services.

An Audit Committee Chairs Forum was held virtually on Friday, 15 July 2022. The text on this page is the communique from the forum.

Mr P.J. Barrett (AO) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the National Institute for Governance Seminar, Canberra

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Australian Communications Authority's Business Planning Workshop

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the MinterEllison Seminar Series

The objective of this follow-up audit was to examine Centrelink's progress in implementing the recommendations of the 2004–05 audit and the subsequent JCPAA inquiry.

The audit objective was to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of ASIC's implementation of Australian financial services licences. In particular, the audit examined ASIC's planning for the introduction of financial services licences; the roles of the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and ASIC in defining the effective scope of licensing; ASIC's assessment and processing of licence applications; and ASIC's supervision of licensees.

The objective of this follow-up audit is to examine DEEWR's implementation of the six recommendations made in the ANAO's 2003 report. This audit has had regard to the issues underlying the recommendations, and new administrative issues affecting their implementation.

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Australian Institute of Company Directors, in conjunction with the Institute of Internal Auditors Australia

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, Audit Conference, Melbourne

The audit reviewed the management of unscheduled absence in 74 APS agencies. The objective of the audit was to assess the extent and cost of unscheduled absence in the APS; to examine whether unscheduled absence in the APS was being managed efficiently and effectively; and to identify opportunities for improvement.

The audit objectives were:

• to assess the effectiveness of the revised certification process in promoting compliance of government advertising campaigns (campaigns) with the March 2010 Guidelines on Information and Advertising Campaigns by Australian Government Departments and Agencies (2010 Guidelines);
• to assess the effectiveness of agency administration in developing campaigns and implementing key processes against the requirements of the campaign advertising framework;
• to assess the effectiveness of Finance’s administration of the campaign advertising framework; and
• to assess the effect on campaigns of an exemption from the 2010 Guidelines.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), a division of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, is responsible for the regulation of the manufacture and supply of therapeutic goods. The objective of the audit was to assess the TGA's regulation of non-prescription medicinal products. In particular, it reviewed the TGA's systems, procedures and resource management processes used to approve new manufacturers, monitor ongoing manufacturer and product compliance with mandated requirements, and manage non-compliance. The audit made 26 recommendations designed to improve the transparency, quality and reliability of regulatory decisions taken by the TGA and improve its accountability mechanisms by enhancing its management information systems.

The objective of this audit is to assess the effectiveness of the governance of the Anindilyakwa Land Council under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

The objective of the audit was to ascertain how efficiently and effectively the ATO administers sales tax collections. The audit excluded an examination of the Australian Customs Service's sales tax administration, although it did examine coordination and liaison arrangements between the ATO and ACS. The audit approach involved analysing the ATO's performance against the five elements of the ATO's established compliance improvement process, namely:

• interpreting and clarifying sales tax law;
• identifying and understanding clients and markets (enabling tax officers to identify and analyse risks of non-compliance);
• providing education and information to clients regarding sales tax obligations, based on identified compliance risks;
• implementing administrative arrangements which ensure and/or assist taxpayers to meet their obligations; and
• detecting non-compliance and taking action to remedy instances of non-compliance.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's probity management.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of arrangements for monitoring, evaluating and reporting progress towards Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage.

This audit followed up the ANAO's 1999 performance audit report on the Commonwealth's planning and response mechanisms to deal with exotic and new endemic pest and emergencies in the animal and plant sectors (Audit Report No 9 1999-2000 Managing Pest and Disease Emergencies). The previous audit made nine recommendations to improve planning and response strategies for emergencies; better coordination; diagnostic support; and appropriate monitoring and surveillance. The objective of the follow-up audit was to assess AFFA's implementation of the recommendations, and whether implementation of these recommendations, or appropriate alternative measures, has improved the Commonwealth's planning and response strategies for pest and disease emergencies. The ANAO also observed and assessed relevant parts of the September 2002 foot and mouth disease simulation, Exercise Minotaur.

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Canberra Evaluation Forum

The audit reviewed the High Wealth Individuals Taskforce, a comprehensive compliance program with the Australian Taxation Office. The objective of the audit was to examine and report on the management and operations of the taskforce. In doing so, the audit reviewed the Australian Taxation Office's own evaluation of the taskforce and assessed whether, and to what extent, the taskforce delivered the outcomes specified by the Government.

The objective of this audit was to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the establishment, implementation and administration of the quarantined heritage component of the Local Jobs stream of the Jobs Fund. A particular focus was on the establishment of program objectives and the extent to which approved grants have demonstrably contributed to the cost-effective achievement of those objectives. The audit approach has been influenced by recent audits of grants administration which have emphasised the importance of transparent and accountable grant decision-making processes to the cost effective achievement of stated program objectives, and having regard for recent government decisions to enhance the framework applying to the administration of grants.

The objective of the audit was to report on the progress of the current phase of the Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) Program, which is known as SEA 4000 Phase 3–Build. This phase commenced in June 2007, and covers the finalisation of the detailed design, the signing of the Alliance and Platform System Design contracts, and the construction and delivery of the ships by the Industry Participants to the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO).

The objectives of the audit were to assess the Commonwealth's management of contractual rights and obligations under the Sale Agreements. In particular the audit sought to: assess the Commonwealth's management of contractual warranties and indemnities; assess DoTARS' management of each purchaser's compliance with contractual commitments to capital expenditure; and examine the effectiveness of the development and management of contractual arrangements for concessional rail passenger travel provided by the Commonwealth.

The objective of this audit was to assess whether the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has implemented effective arrangements for the planning and conduct of surveillance activities.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of Comcare’s administration of claims for Australian Government entities under its workers’ compensation scheme.

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Social Services' administration of the Cashless Debit Card program, including implementation of the recommendations made in Auditor-General Report No.1 2018–19, The Implementation and Performance of the Cashless Debit Card Trial.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s arrangements for identifying and reducing the income tax gap for individuals not in business.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the governance of the Northern Land Council under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, the Native Title Act 1993 and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

The Auditor-General wrote to the Minister for Finance on 25 October 2022 to advise of the outcomes of the 2021–22 annual performance statements audit program, and a proposal for expanding the program of audits in 2022–23 and the following two financial years. The Minister for Finance responded on 16 January 2023 supporting the proposal. The Minister for Finance's full response is provided below.

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of selected departments’ implementation of deregulation initiatives.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of DIT’s and Centrelink’s¹ administration of TFES.

^[1] From 1 July 2011, Centrelink became a master program within DHS.