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Australian National Audit Office

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Australian National Audit Office
Agency overview
Formed1901
Jurisdiction Australia
HeadquartersCanberra, Australian Capital Territory
Employees398 (estimate for 2023–24)
Annual budgetA$125.984 million (estimate for 2023–24)
Agency executive
Websitewww.anao.gov.au
Footnotes
[1]

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) is the supreme audit institution of Australia, functioning as the national auditor for the Parliament of Australia and Government of Australia. It reports directly to the Australian Parliament via the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate. Administratively, the ANAO is located in the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio.

The current Auditor-General for Australia is Dr Caralee McLiesh PSM, who was appointed in August 2024 to commence in November 2024.[2] Dr McLiesh's appointment follows the resignation of the fifteenth Auditor-General Grant Hehir in February 2024.[3]

Role

The Australian National Audit Office is a specialist public sector agency that supports the Auditor-General of Australia, who is an independent officer of the Parliament of Australia. The main functions and powers of the Auditor-General under the Auditor-General Act 1997 (Cth) include auditing financial statements of Commonwealth agencies, authorities, companies and their subsidiaries in accordance with the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (Cth) and conducting performance audits which are tabled in Parliament. The Auditor-General may report their findings directly to Parliament or to a minister, on any important matter.[1]

In addition, the ANAO plays a leadership role in improving public administration and audit capability in Australia and overseas by publishing information such as Insights and deploying experienced staff to audit institutions in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.[1]

Auditor-General

The Auditor-General is appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, for a term of ten years.

The current acting Auditor-General is Ms Rona Mellor PSM, who was appointed to act in the role commencing 16 February 2024.

Below is a full list of Commonwealth auditors-general dating from 1902.[4]

Name Dates
John William Israel ISO 1902–1926
Charles Cerutty CMG 1926–1935
Herbert Charles Brown CBE 1935–1938
Ralph Abercrombie OBE 1938–1946
Albert Charles Joyce CBE 1946–1951
James Brophy ISO 1951–1955
Harold Clive Newman CBE 1955–1961
Victor John William Skermer CBE 1961–1973
Duncan Robert Steele Craik CB OBE 1973–1981
Keith Frederick Brigden AO 1981–1985
John Vincent Monaghan AO 1985–1987
John Casey Taylor AO 1988–1995
Patrick Joseph Barrett AO 1995–2005
Ian McPhee AO PSM 2005–2015
Grant Hehir[5] 2015–2024
Dr Caralee McLiesh PSM[6] 2024–2034

History

The Audit Act 1901[7] was the fourth piece of legislation passed by the Parliament. The Audit Act provided a legislative basis for the financial management of Commonwealth finances and the audit of related accounts, it also provided a legal foundation for the appointment of an Auditor-General.[8] The first Auditor-General, John William Israel,[9] began establishing the Federal Audit Office in 1902 in Melbourne.[10] The office moved to Canberra in 1935, in line with Government policy at that time.

The Audit Act 1901 was amended in 1979 to allow the Audit Office to undertake performance audits ("efficiency reviews").[11] Efficiency reviews, or performance audit, concerns the efficiency and effectiveness of a particular government activity.

The Audit Act 1901 was replaced with the Auditor-General Act 1997,[12] which came into effect on 1 January 1998. The main features of the new act included:

  • provisions that strengthened the independence of the Auditor-General and the Australian National Audit Office;
  • the strengthening of the Auditor-General's role as an external auditor of Commonwealth agencies, authorities, companies and their subsidiaries, including a comprehensive mandate to conduct, with some limited exceptions, financial statement and performance audits of all government entities; and
  • clarification of the Auditor-General's mandate and powers.[13]

In 1986 the ANAO hosted XII INCOSAI, the twelfth triennial convention of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions.

The Australian National Audit Office also reviews Commonwealth Government agencies pursuant to the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (Cth) for the proper use and management of public money, public property and other Commonwealth resources; the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (Cth) that provides reporting, accountability and other rules for Commonwealth authorities and Commonwealth companies; and the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) for general corporate law.

References

  1. ^ a b c The Auditor-General Annual Report 2011−2012 (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. 2012. ISBN 978-0-642-81266-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 April 2013. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Appointment of new Auditor-General for Australia | Prime Minister of Australia". www.pm.gov.au. 1 August 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Statement on the resignation of the Auditor-General for Australia, Mr Grant Hehir". www.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  4. ^ History of the ANAO, Australian National Audit Office, 2014, archived from the original on 28 March 2014
  5. ^ "The Auditor-General". Parliament of Australia. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Appointment of new Auditor-General for Australia | Prime Minister of Australia". www.pm.gov.au. 1 August 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  7. ^ Audit Act 1901 (Cth)
  8. ^ "Report 419: Inquiry into the Auditor-General Act 1997" (PDF). Canberra: Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit. 2010. p. 1.
  9. ^ "History of the ANAO". Canberra: Australian National Audit Office. 2011. p. 1. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  10. ^ Wanna, John; Ryan, Christine (2003). "A Reactive Administrative Culture? The Legacy of Australia's first Auditor-General on the Australian Audit Office" (PDF). Canberra: Australian Journal of Politics and History. p. 5.
  11. ^ McPhee, Ian (14 October 2011), Senate Occasional Lecture: The Evolving Role and Mandate of the ANAO Since Federation (PDF), p. 6, archived from the original (PDF) on 11 February 2014
  12. ^ Auditor-General Act 1997 (Cth)
  13. ^ "Report 386: Review of the Auditor-General Act 1997" (PDF). Canberra: Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit. 2001. p. 3.
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