House of Representatives Committees

| Parliamentary Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Audit

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Preliminary pages

Foreword

The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, as prescribed by the Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951 examines all of the reports of the Auditor-General tabled in the Parliament. This report details the findings of the Committee’s examination of the audit reports tabled between September 2009 and May 2010, during the 42nd Parliament. This report is presented on behalf of the Committee of the previous Parliament, which undertook all of the public hearings.

The Committee examined nine reports covering a range of agencies and identified a number of areas of ongoing concern, including grants administration, the implementation of new technology, risk management and data integrity.

The Committee reviewed the administration of grants by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). The Committee acknowledged the benefits to Australian health flowing from research supported by the NHMRC grants system and noted the upheaval caused by the NHMRC’s recent separation from the Department of Health and its move to a statutory agency. The Committee recognised that NHMRC is still consolidating its new status but was pleased to see evidence of a tightening in administrative practices, processes and procedure.

The Committee examined the implementation of the Change Program by the Australian Taxation Office. While the Committee noted the significant productivity gains within the Tax Office, it expressed concern about the extent of ongoing client dissatisfaction with the system and the subsequent undermining of confidence in the integrity of Australia’s taxation system. The incoming Committee will continue to monitor this situation at the next Biannual Hearing with the Taxation Commissioner.

The Committee also expressed concern over the long term issue of staff churn at AusAID, particularly in light of the growing demands placed on the agency by Australia’s expanding aid program. The Committee acknowledged that AusAID is taking positive steps to combat the effects of staff churn on the agency and recommended that AusAID report back to the JCPAA within twelve months of the tabling of this report on the effectiveness of the draft workplace plan in alleviating this issue.

The Committee reviewed audit reports on a number of controversial topics including the National Broadband Network request for proposal process, the coordination and reporting of Australia’s climate change measures and the Building the Education Revolution program. The Committee identified issues with risk management, data integrity and reporting processes and the effect these issues have had on implementation and delivery.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the previous Committee, chaired by Sharon Grierson MP, for their work. The incoming Committee recognises the important role that the process of scrutinising the reports of the Auditor-General plays in holding the executive and its agencies to account, and looks forward to continuing that process. The Committee will continue to work with the Auditor-General to strengthen accountability and transparency and public administration across the Australian government.

Robert Oakeshott MP

Chair


Membership of the Committee

42nd Parliament

Chair

Ms Sharon Grierson MP

 

Deputy Chair

Mr Petro Georgiou MP

 

Members

Hon Dick Adams MP (from 17/08/09)

Senator Guy Barnett

 

Hon Arch Bevis MP

Senator Mark Bishop

 

Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP

Senator David Bushby (until 02/02/10)

 

Mr David Bradbury

Senator David Feeney

 

Mr Jamie Briggs MP

Senator Helen Kroger (from 02/02/10)

 

Mr Mark Butler MP (until 15/06/09)

Senator Kate Lundy

 

Ms Catherine King MP

 

 

Hon Sussan Ley MP (from 03/02/10)

 

 

Mr Shayne Neumann MP

 

 

Mr Stuart Robert MP (until 03/02/10)

 

 

 

 

43rd Parliament

Chair

Mr Rob Oakeshott MP

 

Deputy Chair

Mrs Yvette D’Ath MP

 

Members

Hon Dick Adams MP

Senator Guy Barnett

 

Mr Jamie Briggs MP

Senator Mark Bishop

 

Ms Gai Brodtmann MP

Senator Annette Hurley

  Mr Darren Cheeseman MP Senator Helen Kroger
  Mr Josh Frydenberg MP Senator Glenn Sterle
  Ms Deb O’Neill MP  
  Ms Laura Smyth MP  
  Hon Alexander Somlyay MP  


Committee Secretariat


Secretary

Mr Russell Chafer

Research Officers

Dr Narelle McGlusky

 

List of abbreviations

AGO

Australian Greenhouse Office

ANAO

Australian National Audit Office

APS

Australian Public Service

AQIS

Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service

ATO

Australian Taxation Office

AusAID

The Australian Agency for International Development

AusLink Act

AusLink (National Land Transport) Act 2005

BER

Building the Education Revolution

BGA

Block Grant Authority

BOM

Bureau of Meteorology

CEO

Chief Executive Officer

COAG

Council of Australian Governments

CPE

Change Program Executive

CPGs

Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines

CPRS

Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme

CPSC

Change Program Steering Committee

CRM

client relationship management system

Customs

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service

DBCDE

Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

DCC

Department of Climate Change

DCCEE

Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

DEEWR

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

DEWHA

Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts

DIAC

Department of Immigration and Citizenship

DITRDLG

Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

DoHA

Department of Health and Ageing

DRET

Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism

ECP

Entry Control Point

FAGs

Financial Assistance Grants

FBT

Fringe Benefits Tax

FHSA

First Home Savers Account

FMA

Financial Management and Accountability Act (1997)

FTTN

fibre-to-the-node

FTTP

fibre-to-the-premises

G20

Group of Twenty

GGAP

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Program

GHG

Greenhouse Gas

GIC

General Interest Charge

GNI

gross national income

GRP

Grant Review Panel

HR

Human Resources

ICP

Integrated Core Processing

ICT

Information and Communications Technology

IMS

Infrastructure Management System

IT

Information Technology

JCPAA

Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit

KPI

Key Performance Indicator

Labor

Australian Labor Party

LETDF

Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund

LGA

Local Government Authority

LULUCF

land use, land use change and forestry

MDGs

Millennium Development Goals

MoU

Memorandum of Understanding

Mpbs

megabits per second

MREA

Medical Research Endowment Account

Mt CO2e

Millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents

NBN

National Broadband Network

NGER Act

National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007

NHMRC

National Health and Medical Research Council

NHMRC Act

National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992

NPA

National Partnership Agreement

NSSP

National Solar Schools Program

ODA

official development assistance

ODE

Office of Development Effectiveness

OECD

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

P21

Primary Schools for the 21st Century

PACE

Passenger Analysis, Clearance and Evaluation system

Panel

Panel of Experts

PBS

Portfolio Budget Statement

PFS

Practice Statement Framework

R2R

Roads to Recovery

R2R Act

Roads to Recovery Act 2000

RFP

Request for Proposal

RGMS

Research Grant Management System

RRPGP

Renewable Remote Power Generation Program

SHCP

Solar Homes and Communities Plan

SHWR

Solar Hot Water Rebate

SME

Small and Medium Enterprise

SOPs

Standard Operating Procedures

SPBC

Strategic Priorities and Budget Committee of Cabinet

TAS

Tax Administration System

Tax Office

Australian Taxation Office

The Deed

Deed of Agreement

UNFCCC

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

List of recommendations

3 The Australian Taxation Office’s Implementation of the Change Program: a strategic overview

Recommendation 1

The Committee recommends that the Australian Taxation Office provide a report on customer satisfaction with the new system, including detailed examination of complaints received, at the next Biannual Hearing with the Committee.

5 AusAID’s Management of the Expanding Australian Aid Program

Recommendation 2

The Committee recommends that the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) report back to the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit within twelve months of the tabling of this report on the effectiveness of the draft workforce plan in alleviating staff churn, quantifying any changes.

Recommendation 3

The Committee recommends that the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) report back to the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit within twelve months of the tabling of this report on the development and implementation of guidelines on the classification of administered and departmental expenses.

8 Coordination and Reporting of Australia’s Climate Change Measures

Recommendation 4

The Committee recommends that the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency provide the Committee with a progress report within 12 months of the tabling of this report on the concrete measures that have been implemented to improve the effectiveness of Australian government abatement programs.

The report should include:


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