Chapter 1Introduction
1.1The Senate Economics Legislation Committee (the committee) is responsible for examining the annual reports of the Treasury Portfolio and the Industry, Science and Resources Portfolio (Industry Portfolio).
1.2This report on annual reports (No. 1 of 2024) provides an overview of the committee’s examination of selected annual reports and, on this occasion, the committee has chosen to also include reports tabled after 31 October 2023 that were available at the time of preparing this report. The committee is required to report to the Senate by 20 March 2024, being the tenth sitting day of the following year.
Terms of reference
1.3Senate Standing Order 25(20) – in accordance with a resolution of the Senate – refers to annual reports of departments and agencies to committees and sets out the committee’s requirements.The committee’s requirements – (a) to (h) – are outlined and reported against below. The full text of Senate Standing Order 25(20) can be found at Appendix 1.
Role of annual reports
1.4The tabling of annual reports is an important element of executive accountability to the legislature. According to the Department of Finance, effective reporting is critical in ensuring transparency and accountability of the government to the Parliament and the public. Together with Portfolio Budget Statements, Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements and the estimates process, annual reports are a primary mechanism by which the Senate can scrutinise the operations of executive government.
Annual reporting requirements
1.5Section 38 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) requires all Commonwealth entities to measure and assess their performance against its purpose and according to the requirements prescribed by the rules.
1.6The PGPA Act establishes a performance reporting framework for all Commonwealth entities and companies. The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule) contains the minimum requirements that must be included. The performance framework includes the requirement for Commonwealth entities and companies to prepare a corporate plan and annual performance statements.
1.7The legislative authority and requirements for the different types of bodies that prepare annual reports are as follows:
Non-corporate Commonwealth entities: section 46 PGPA Act, division
3A(A) PGPA Rule and relevant enabling legislation;
Corporate Commonwealth entities: section 46 PGPA Act, division 3S(B)
PGPA Rule and relevant enabling legislation;
Commonwealth companies: section 97 PGPA Act, which also refers to requirements under the Corporations Act 2001 and Part 3-3 PGPA Rule and
relevant enabling legislation; and
Non-statutory bodies: the annual reporting requirements are contained in the government response to the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and
Public Administration’s report on non-statutory bodies.
Reports referred to and examined by the committee
1.8All 2022–23 annual reports of Commonwealth entities and companies in the Treasury Portfolio and the Industry Portfolio have been presented to the Parliament and referred to the committee.
1.9The reports examined by the committee are listed at Appendix 2.
1.10It should be noted that the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services is required by section 243 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 to report on select annual reports for agencies within the Treasury Portfolio. These reports are identified in Appendix 2.
Additional reports referred to the committee
1.11The committee is not obliged to report on acts, statements of corporate intent, surveys, policy papers, budget documents, corporate plans, or errata. The committee notes the following documents were referred for information:
Effectiveness and Capability Review of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission – Financial Regulator Assessment Authority – July 2022 – Section 17 of the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority Act 2021 – presented to the Senate out of session 25 August 2022.
Correction to the Commonwealth Grants Commission 2020–2021 Annual Report – Section 46 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 – tabled in the Senate 6 September 2022.
Takeovers Panel Annual Report 2021–2022 – Section 183 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 – tabled in the Senate 26 September 2022.
Companies Auditors Disciplinary Board Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2022 – Section 214 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Act 2001 – tabled in the Senate 26 October 2022.
Australian Statistics Advisory Council Annual Report 2021-22 – Subsection 24(1) of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975 – tabled in the Senate 21 November 2022.
Venture Capital Tax Concession Review – Section 118-455 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 – tabled in the Senate 21 November 2022.
Small Business Natural Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Inquiry: March 2022 – Section 56 of the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Act 2015 – tabled in the Senate 21 November 2022.
Government Co-contributions Quarterly Report: 1 July 2022 to 30 September 2022 – Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003 – tabled in the Senate 21 November 2022.
Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Quarterly Report: 1 July 2022 to 30 September 2022 – Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003 – tabled in the Senate 21 November 2022.
Industry Innovation and Science Australia Annual report 2021-22. Section 46 of the Industry Research and Development Act 1986 – tabled in the Senate 29 November 2022.
Audit Report of the 2021-22 Annual Performance Statement Department of Social Services – Section 40(3) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 – presented to the Senate out of session 16 December 2022.
Audit Report of the 2021-22 Annual Performance Statement Department of the Treasury – Section 40(3) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 – presented to the Senate out of session 16 December 2022.
Audit Report of the 2021-22 Annual Performance Statement Department of Education, Skills and Employment – Section 40(3) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 – presented to the Senate out of session 16 December 2022.
Audit Report of the 2021-22 Annual Performance Statement Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment – Section 40(3) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 – presented to the Senate out of session 16 December 2022.
Audit Report of the 2021-22 Annual Performance Statement Attorney-General’s Department – Section 40(3) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 – presented to the Senate out of session 16 December 2022.
Audit Report of the 2021-22 Annual Performance Statement Department of Veterans’ Affairs – Section 40(3) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 – presented to the Senate out of session 16 December 2022.
Lifting productivity at Australia’s container ports: between water, wharf and warehouse (Productivity Commission Inquiry Report No. 99) – Section 12 of the Productivity Commission Act 1998 – presented to the Senate out of session 9 January 2023.
2022-23 Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement — Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1988 – presented to the Senate out of session 28 February 2023.
National Interest Statement: 2022 Loan Agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea — Section 8D of the International Monetary Agreements Act 1947 – tabled in the Senate 7 March 2023.
Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Quarterly Report: 1 October 2022 to 31 December 2022 — Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003 – tabled in the Senate 7 March 2023.
Government Co-contributions Quarterly Report: 1 October 2022 to 31 December 2022 — Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003 – tabled in the Senate 7 March 2023.
Statutory review of the operation of Schedule 1 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Black Economy Taskforce Measures No. 1) Act 2018 — Section 4 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Black Economy Taskforce Measures No. 1) Act 2018 – presented to the Senate out of session 9 March 2023.
5-Year Productivity Inquiry: Advancing Prosperity (Inquiry Report no. 100) – Volumes 1 – 9. Section 12 of the Productivity Commission Act 1998 – presented to the Senate out of session 17 March 2023.
Legislative Impact Assessment: Review of the impacts on defined benefit scheme from amendments to the SGAA. Section 4 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Your Superannuation, Your Choice) Act 2020 – tabled in the Senate 9 May 2023.
Royal Australian Mint 2021-22 Annual Report Corrections. Section 46 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (PGPA) Act 2013 – tabled in the Senate 9 May 2023.
Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Quarterly Report – 1 January 2023 to 31 March 2023. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003 – tabled in the Senate 19 June 2023.
Government Co-contributions Quarterly Report – 1 January 2023 to 31 March 2023. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003 – tabled in the Senate 19 June 2023.
Timelines
1.12Standing Order 25(20)(c) requires the committee to report to the Senate on the late presentation of annual reports. To assess the timeliness of the presentation of annual reports, the committee considers the presentation against the requirements of the PGPA Act, the PGPA Rule and other legislative requirements:
Presentation to ministers—on the 15th day of October, the annual report is to be given to the responsible Minister.
Tabling in Parliament—the Department of Finance’s Resource Management Guides for non-corporate and corporate Commonwealth entities advise that ‘[n]ormally annual reports are tabled prior to the October Estimates hearings’.
1.13Agencies reporting in accordance with their own legislation are often required to prepare their annual report for the relevant Minister ‘as soon as is practicable’ after the end of the period to which the report relates. The committee draws attention to subsection 34C(2) and 34C(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, which stipulate that, where no date for providing a report to a Minister is specified, the report should be presented no more than six months after the reporting period, and the report must be provided to the Parliament within15 days after receipt by the Minister.
Timeliness of reports examined
1.14The committee considers the timely presentation of annual reports to be an important element of accountability to the Parliament and continues to encourage departments and agencies to endeavour to meet the relevant reporting timeframes.
1.15As outlined earlier, this report will be reporting on all reports of the Treasury Portfolio and Industry Portfolio, including those presented after 31 October 2023.
1.16The committee notes that all but one annual report was presented in a timely manner. The Australian Taxation Office – Commissioner of Taxation Annual Report 2022-23 was tabled in the House of Representatives on 28 November 2023, missing the reporting deadline by 28 days.
Senate debate
1.17The committee is required to ‘take into account any relevant remarks about the report[s] made in debate in the Senate’. The committee notes that none of the annual reports examined in this report have been the subject of comment or debate in the Senate.
Non-reporting bodies
1.18The committee is required to ‘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’.
1.19The committee makes no recommendations for any bodies not presenting an annual report to do so.
Apparently satisfactory
1.20Standing Order 25(20)(a) requires that the committee report to the Senate on whether the annual reports of the departments and agencies in its portfolios are ‘apparently satisfactory’. In making this assessment, the committee considers such aspects as timeliness of presentation and compliance with relevant reporting requirements.
1.21The committee has examined all annual reports referred during the reporting period and considers that, with some minor omissions in the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the National Competition Council (NCC), all reports are ‘apparently satisfactory’. More detail on general reporting observations is presented in Chapter 2.
Report structure
1.22This report is structured as follows:
Chapter 1 – provides background to the committee’s examination of annual reports;
Chapter 2 – reports on a select few annual reports and general reporting observations;
Appendix 1 – Standing Order 25(20); and
Appendix 2 – table of departments’ and agencies’ presentation dates for annual reports.