Public hearings by the JCPAA include an appearance by the CEO of BAE Systems Australia, the first public hearings for JCPAA's inquiry into probity and ethics in the Australian public sector, and Services Australia’s CEO regarding Infosys’ Entitlement Calculator Engine project.

Media release issue date: Wednesday, 6 September 2023

Public hearings this Friday 8 September by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) include: an appearance by the CEO of BAE Systems Australia regarding the $46 billion Hunter Class Frigates project, as part of the inquiry into Defence Major Projects Reports and Procurement of Hunter Class Frigates the first public hearings for its Inquiry into probity and ethics in the Australian public sector, examining potential systemic factors contributing to poor ethical behaviour Services Australia’s CEO regarding Infosys’ Entitlement Calculator Engine project as part of the Procurement at Services Australia and the National Disability Insurance Agency Inquiry. The first public hearing in the probity and ethics inquiry will include: a roundtable with Australia’s financial regulators—the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, and Australian Securities and Investments Commission the Department of Health and Aged Care (Health) on the Community Health and Hospitals Program the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA) on ‘Artbank’. Committee Chair Mr Julian Hill MP said “while the three financial regulators received generally positive reviews following audits by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), the reports regarding the Community Health and Hospitals and Artbank programs were very concerning”. “Serious shortcomings were found by the ANAO in Health’s administration of the Community Health and Hospitals Program, and in DITRDCA’s administration of the Artbank program. Light must be shone on failings such as these so we can strengthen government integrity and accountability. “The Committee is very keen to hear directly from BAE Systems Australia regarding the procurement and progress of the $46 billion Hunter Class Frigate program. “Services Australia will have an opportunity to respond to evidence provided by Infosys and explain why the $191 million Entitlement Calculator Engine commissioned in 2019 was written off”. Public hearing details Date: Friday 8 September 2023 Time: 9.00am – 4.00pm Venue: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra Media inquiries Mr Julian Hill MP, Chair of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit Electorate office: (03) 9791 7770 For background information Committee Secretariat 02 6277 4615 jcpaa@aph.gov.au For more information about this Committee, you can visit its website. On the site, you can make a submission to an inquiry, read other submissions, and get details for upcoming public hearings. You can also track the Committee and receive email updates by clicking on the blue ‘Track this Committee’ button in the bottom right hand corner of the page.

The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) has tabled an interim report for its inquiry into the Defence Major Projects Report (MPR) and the procurement of the Hunter Class Frigates. The Committee’s report examines issues relating to the cost, progress, technical attributes and governance of major Defence acquisitions raised in the 2020–21 and 2021–22 MPRs.

Media release issue date: Thursday, 29 June 2023

The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) has tabled an interim report for its inquiry into the Defence Major Projects Report (MPR) and the procurement of the Hunter Class Frigates. The Committee’s report examines issues relating to the cost, progress, technical attributes and governance of major Defence acquisitions raised in the 2020–21 and 2021–22 MPRs. The Chair of the JCPAA, Mr Julian Hill MP said that “the report makes recommendations to address ongoing issues such as Defence not clearly reporting on capability milestones and its inconsistent approach to capturing lessons learned from past projects.” “The Committee was also concerned about Defence’s 13 month delay in escalating the Civil Military Air Traffic Management System to the Projects of Concern list. There’s no point in having the ‘Projects of Concern’ system if there are delays of over a year in adding projects to the list which the Minister has decided are clearly off track. Doing so limits transparency to the Parliament and the public on the performance of major projects.” Mr Hill said that “this inquiry’s next phase is to consider Defence’s procurement of the Hunter Class Frigates, as well as the scope and guidelines for Defence Major Project Reports to ensure that they are fit for purpose into the future.” The Committee’s interim report and further information on the inquiry is available on the Committee website. Media inquiries Mr Julian Hill MP, Chair of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit on (03) 9791 7770 (Electorate Office). For background information Committee Secretariat 02 6277 4615 jcpaa@aph.gov.au For more information about this Committee, you can visit its website. On the site, you can make a submission to an inquiry, read other submissions, and get details for upcoming public hearings. You can also track the Committee and receive email updates by clicking on the blue ‘Track Committee’ button in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.

The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) will hold public hearings on Friday 19 May for its inquiries into the Major Projects Reports and Hunter Class Frigates, and the Commonwealth Financial Statements 2021-22.

Media release issue date: Thursday, 18 May 2023

The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) will hold public hearings on Friday 19 May for its inquiries into the Major Projects Reports and Hunter Class Frigates, and the Commonwealth Financial Statements 2021-22.  The JCPAA will welcome representatives from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), the Department of Defence and the Department of Finance to discuss issues arising from and related to the 2020-21 and 2021-22 Major Projects Report and Defence’s procurement of the Hunter Class Frigates. The Committee will also be considering the scope and guidelines of the Major Projects Report to ensure that it continues to support transparency in reporting Defence acquisitions. “The Auditor-General’s report on Defence’s procurement of the Hunter Class Frigates is deeply concerning. Given the seriousness of the concerns the Committee initiated this inquiry less than 24 hours after the tabling of the report and has scheduled initial public hearings for Friday 19 May.” said Committee Chair, Mr Julian Hill MP. The JCPAA will also continue its program of public hearings for its inquiry into Commonwealth Financial Statements with evidence from the Attorney-General’s Department, the Australian Signal Directorate and the ANAO on cyber security arrangements and controls. Mr Hill noted that safeguarding Australian Government information from cyber threats is a continuing and critical issue of concern across the public sector and was an area of interest to the ANAO during its recent financial statements audit. “The Committee is keen to explore ANAO’s findings relating to the implementation of the Protective Security Policy Framework to support cyber resilience in Commonwealth entities” Mr Hill stated. Public hearing details Date: Friday 19 May 2023 Time: 9.30am – 3.00pm Venue: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra (9.30am-12.45pm) Committee Room 1S5, Parliament House, Canberra (1.30pm-3.00pm) Further information about the inquiries is available on the Committee website. Media inquiries Mr Julian Hill MP, Chair of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit on (03) 9791 7770 (Electorate Office). For background information Committee Secretariat 02 6277 4615 jcpaa@aph.gov.au For more information about this Committee, you can visit its website. On the site, you can make a submission to an inquiry, read other submissions, and get details for upcoming public hearings. You can also track the Committee and receive email updates by clicking on the blue ‘Track this Committee’ button in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.

In response to the significant findings in a recent Auditor-General report, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) has expanded the scope of its existing inquiry into the Defence Major Projects Report (MPR) to include a detailed examination of Defence’s procurement of Hunter Class Frigates.

Media release issue date: Tuesday, 16 May 2023

In response to the significant findings in a recent Auditor-General report, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) has expanded the scope of its existing inquiry into the Defence Major Projects Report (MPR) to include a detailed examination of Defence's procurement of Hunter Class Frigates, one of the projects included in the MPR. The Chair of the JCPAA, Mr Julian Hill MP, said that “This is a deeply concerning report by the Auditor-General into a critically important Defence project. Given the seriousness of the concerns the Committee initiated this inquiry less than 24 hours after the tabling of the report, and has scheduled initial public hearings for Friday 19 May.” The Committee has also invited written submissions by Friday 15 June 2023 and has requested submissions from the contractor, BAE Systems, as well as the British High Commission. Further information about the inquiry, including the updated terms of reference, is available on the Committee website. Media inquiries Mr Julian Hill MP, Chair of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (03) 9791 7770 (Electorate Office) For background information Committee Secretariat 02 6277 4615 jcpaa@aph.gov.au For more information about this Committee, you can visit its website. On the site, you can make a submission to an inquiry, read other submissions, and get details for upcoming public hearings. You can also track the Committee and receive email updates by clicking on the blue ‘Track this Committee’ button in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.