Terms of reference
1. The committee is responsible for examining annual
reports of departments and agencies within two portfolios: Defence (including
the Department of Veterans' Affairs), and Foreign Affairs and Trade.
2. Under Standing Order 25(20), the committee is
required to report on annual reports tabled by 31 October each year by the
tenth sitting day of the following year, and on reports tabled by 30 April each
year by the tenth sitting day after 30 June of that year. This report also
examines annual reports that were tabled after 31 October 2014.
3. The standing order states:
Annual reports of departments and agencies shall stand
referred to the committees in accordance with an allocation of departments and
agencies in a resolution of the Senate. Each committee shall:
a)
Examine each annual report referred to it and report to the Senate
whether the report is apparently satisfactory;
b)
Consider in more detail, and report to the Senate on, each annual report
which is not apparently satisfactory, and on the other annual reports which it
selects for more detailed consideration;
c)
Investigate and report to the Senate on any lateness in the presentation
of annual reports;
d)
In considering an annual report, take into account any relevant remarks
about the report made in debate in the Senate;
e)
If the committee so determines, consider annual reports of departments
and budget-related agencies in conjunction with examination of estimates;
f)
Report on annual reports tabled by 31 October each year by the tenth
sitting day of the following year, and on annual reports tabled by 30 April
each year by the tenth sitting day after 30 June of that year;
g)
Draw to the attention of the Senate any significant matters relating to
the operations and performance of the bodies furnishing the annual reports; and
h)
Report to the Senate each year whether there are any bodies which do not
present annual reports to the Senate and which should present such reports.
Role of annual reports
4. Annual reports place a great deal of information
about government departments and agencies on the public record. Accordingly,
the tabling of annual reports continues to be an important element of
accountability to Parliament and more broadly to the Australian people. The
information provided in annual reports assists Parliament in the effective
examination of the performance of departments and agencies and the
administration of government programs. Indeed, as noted in the Requirements
for annual reports:
Annual reports serve to inform the Parliament (through the
responsible Minister), other stakeholders, educational and research
institutions, the media and the general public about the performance of
departments in relation to services provided. Annual reports are a key
reference document and a document for internal management. They form part of
the historical record...Annual reports and Portfolio
Budget Statements (PB Statements)
are the principal formal accountability mechanisms
between Government and departments and from departments through (or on behalf
of) Government to the Parliament.[1]
Assessment of annual reports
5. The committee examines annual
reports to determine whether they are timely and 'apparently satisfactory' and whether
they comply with the relevant requirements for the preparation of annual
reports of departments and authorities.[2]
To this end, the committee stresses that its current report focuses on
departmental and agency compliance with the process of preparing and tabling
annual reports rather than the administration and performance of specific
programs.
The requirements are set down in the
following instruments:
-
for portfolio departments and bodies prescribed under the FMA Act:
Public Service Act 1999, subsections 63(2) and 70(2), and the
Requirements for annual reports for departments, executive agencies and FMA Act
bodies, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, 29 May 2014;
-
for Commonwealth authorities and companies: the Commonwealth
Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (CAC Act); Commonwealth authorities
and companies reporting under the CAC Act are required to comply with the Commonwealth
Authorities (Annual Reporting) Orders 2011 and the Commonwealth
Companies (Annual Reporting) Orders 2011, respectively;
-
and for non–statutory bodies: the guidelines are contained in the
government response to the report of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance
and Government Operations on Non–statutory Bodies, Senate Hansard,
8 December 1987, vol s124, pp. 2643–45 (requirements were
modified in 1987).
6. For FMA Act bodies, significant amendments in the
Requirements for Annual Reports for the 2013–14 period relate to:
- Spatial reporting—a new requirement has been added for
selected portfolio agencies to report on expenditure in relation to the Spatial
Reporting Framework.[3]
7. For Commonwealth authorities and companies, the
annual reports for the 2011–12 financial year were the first annual reports to
be prepared under the new orders with the exception of clauses dealing with related
entity transactions, which apply to annual reports for each financial year
ending on or after 30 June 2013.
Annual reports considered
8. The annual reports of
the following organisations have been examined by the committee:
Defence portfolio
Department of Defence and Defence Materiel
Organisation
AAF Company
ASC Pty Ltd
Army and Air Force Canteen Service (AAFCANS)
Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Defence Housing Australia
Royal Australian Air Force Welfare Recreational Company
Royal Australian Air Force Veterans' Residences Trust Fund
Royal Australian Navy Central Canteens Board
Services Trust Funds
Foreign Affairs portfolio
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Australian Centre for International Agricultural
Research
Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office
Trade portfolio
Australian Trade Commission
Export Finance and Insurance Corporation
Tourism Australia
Veterans' Affairs
Department of Veterans' Affairs, Repatriation Commission
and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission
Australian War Memorial
Repatriation Medical Authority
Veterans' Review Board
General comments on the annual reports
Timeliness in tabling reports
9. Under Senate
Standing Order 25(20)(c), the committee must report to the Senate any lateness
in the presentation of annual reports.
10. In accordance with the Requirements for Annual
Reports published in
May 2014, agencies are required to present:
A copy of the annual report...to each House of Parliament on
or before 31 October in the year in which the report is given. If Senate Supplementary
Budget Estimates hearings are scheduled to occur prior to 31 October, it is
best practice for annual reports to be tabled prior to those hearings.[4]
11. A number of annual reports were tabled late. On 23
October 2014, the Chair of AAF Company wrote to the Assistant Minister for
Defence seeking an extension for the tabling of AAF Company's 2013–2014 Annual
Report to 30 November 2014 due to the delayed receipt of the ANAO's audit
report.[5]
The report was tabled in the House of Representatives and in the Senate on 1
December 2014.
12. The Chairman of the RAAF Welfare Recreational
Company (RAAFWRC) also wrote to the Assistant Minister for Defence, seeking an
extension of the tabling date to 30 November 2014 due to the late
completion of the ANAO's audit report.[6]
The report was tabled in the House of Representatives and in the Senate on 1
December 2014.
13. Likewise, the Chairman of the Royal Australian
Navy Central Canteens Board (RANCCB) wrote to the Assistant Minister for
Defence, seeking an extension of the tabling date to 28 November 2014 due
to the late completion of the ANAO's audit report.[7]
The report was tabled in the House of Representatives and in the Senate on 26
November 2014.
14. A table detailing the dates relating to the
timeliness of presentation is at Appendix 1. It should be noted that, apart
from those referred to above, the following annual reports were also tabled
after 31 October 2014:
-
ASC Pty Ltd—report presented out of sitting on 31 October 2014
and tabled in the Senate on 17 November 2014;
-
Army and Air Force Canteen Service—report tabled in the Senate on
17 November 2014;
-
Australian Strategic Policy Institute Limited—report tabled in
the Senate on 17 November 2014;
-
Defence Housing Australia—report tabled in the Senate on 17 November
2014;
-
Department of Defence—report presented out of sitting on 31
October 2014 and tabled in the Senate on 17 November 2014;
-
Services Trust Funds—report tabled in the Senate on 17 November
2014.
Matters of significance
15. In accordance with Senate Standing Order 25, the
committee is to note any significant matters relating to the operations and
performance of the bodies presenting their annual reports. The committee notes
that on 18 September 2013, the Prime Minister, the Hon Tony Abbott MP,
announced Machinery of Government changes and released revised Administrative
Arrangement Orders. The changes included the integration of AusAID into the Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the inclusion of tourism in the Trade
portfolio.[8]
Comments made in the Senate
16. The committee is obliged, under Senate Standing
Order 25(20)(d), to consider any remarks made about these reports in the
Senate. There were no comments in the Senate on any of these reports.
Bodies not presenting annual reports to the Senate
17. The committee is required to report to the Senate
each year on whether there are any bodies that do not present annual reports to
the Senate and which should present such reports. The committee is satisfied
that there are no bodies within these portfolios that do not meet their
reporting requirements to the Senate.
Standard of reports
18. The committee found all reports to be generally of
a high standard. They effectively described the function, activities and
financial positions of the various departments and agencies. The committee
therefore found all of the annual reports to be 'apparently satisfactory'.
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