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 42^nd 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

42^nd Parliament

43^rd Parliament

Committee Secretariat

List of abbreviations

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:

• a copy of the finalised abatement measurement guidelines;

• examples of how ‘business as usual’ factors and other economic drivers have been taken into account when measuring individual estimates; and

• a copy of the annual report showing the consolidated abatement figures across responsible agencies.