Agency overview | |
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Formed | 1901 |
Jurisdiction | Australia |
Headquarters | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory |
Employees | 398 (estimate for 2023–24) |
Annual budget | A$125.984 million (estimate for 2023–24) |
Agency executive |
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Website | www |
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]
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]
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 |
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:
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.
The governor-general of Australia is the federal representative of the monarch of Australia, currently Charles III. The governor-general has many constitutional and ceremonial roles in the Australian political system, in which they have independent agency. However, they are generally bound by convention to act on the advice of the prime minister and the Federal Executive Council. They also have a significant community role, through recognising meritorious individuals and groups, and representing the nation as a whole. The current governor-general is Sam Mostyn.
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the federal executive government. Under the principles of responsible government, the prime minister is both responsible to and a member of the Commonwealth Parliament. The current prime minister is Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party, who assumed the office on 23 May 2022.
The Auditor General of Canada is a Supreme audit institution which acts as an officer to the Parliament of Canada tasked with highlighting accountability and oversight by conducting independent financial audits of federal government's operations. These performance audits, known as the Auditor-General's Report provide members of parliament with objective evidence to help them examine the government's activities and hold it to account and improve good governance among public officers included.
The National Audit Office (NAO) is an independent Parliamentary body in the United Kingdom which is responsible for auditing central government departments, government agencies and non-departmental public bodies. The NAO also carries out value for money (VFM) audits into the administration of public policy.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory authority and agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management of federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums.
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the Federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the prime minister and other cabinet ministers that currently have the support of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives and also includes the departments and other executive bodies that ministers oversee. The current executive government consists of Anthony Albanese and other ministers of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), in office since the 2022 federal election.
The solicitor-general of Australia is the country's second highest-ranking law officer, after the Attorney-General for Australia. The current officeholder is Stephen Donaghue, who took office on 16 January 2017 following the resignation of Justin Gleeson.
The monarchy of Australia is a key component of Australia's form of government, by which a hereditary monarch serves as the country's sovereign and head of state. It is a constitutional monarchy, modelled on the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, while incorporating features unique to the constitution of Australia.
Defence Australia is a department of the Australian Government that is responsible for administering the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and its related entities, and is charged with the defence of Australia and its national interests. Along with the ADF, it forms part of the larger Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) and is accountable to the Parliament of Australia, on behalf of the Australian people, for the efficiency and effectiveness with which it carries out government policy.
The Department of Finance is a department of the Government of Australia that is charged with the responsibility of assisting the government across a wide range of policy areas to ensure its outcomes are met, particularly with regard to expenditure, financial management, and the operations of government.
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999(Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and culturally significant places. Enacted on 17 July 2000, it established a range of processes to help protect and promote the recovery of threatened species and ecological communities, and preserve significant places from decline. The Act is as of September 2024 administered by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Lists of threatened species are drawn up under the Act, and these lists, the primary reference to threatened species in Australia, are available online through the Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT).
The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the Government of Australia. The Australian Public Service was established at the Federation of Australia in 1901 as the Commonwealth Public Service and modelled on the Westminster system and United Kingdom's Civil Service. The establishment and operation of the Australian Public Service is governed by the Public Service Act 1999 of the Parliament of Australia as an "apolitical public service that is efficient and effective in serving the Government, the Parliament and the Australian public". The conduct of Australian public servants is also governed by a Code of Conduct and guided by the APS Values set by the Australian Public Service Commission.
State auditors are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, program evaluators, financial controllers, bookkeepers, or inspectors general of public funds. The office of state auditor may be a creature of the state constitution or one created by statutory law.
The Constitution of Australia is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution, that establishes the country as a federation under a constitutional monarchy governed with a parliamentary system. Its eight chapters sets down the structure and powers of the three constituent parts of the federal level of government: the Parliament, the Executive Government and the Judicature.
In Australia, a departmental secretary is the most senior public servant of an Australian Government or state government department. They are typically responsible for the day-to-day actions of a department.
The auditor-general of New South Wales helps the Parliament of New South Wales hold government accountable for its use of public resources.
The Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or, informally, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is an independent prosecuting service and government agency within the portfolio of the Attorney-General of Australia, as a part of the Attorney-General's Department. It was established by the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983 (Cth) and began its operations in 1984.
Office of the Auditor General (OAGN) is a constitutional body and the supreme audit institution of Nepal. It derives its mandate from Article 241 of the Constitution of Nepal and Audit Act, 2075. The Auditor General is empowered to undertake audits of Office of the President and Vice-President, Supreme Court, Federal Parliament, Provincial Assemblies, Provincial Governments, Constitutional bodies or their offices, courts, the Attorney General and the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police as well as of all other government offices and courts with due consideration given to the regularity, economy, efficiency, effectiveness and the propriety of government expenditures.
Dr. Caralee McLiesh PSM is the attorney-general for the Commonwealth of Australia. The office of Auditor-General is a ten-year statutory appointment made by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Caralee's appointment comes after her five-year statutory contract as Chief Executive and Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury.
Stephanie Foster, is an Australian senior public servant. She assumed the role of Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs in November 2023, replacing long-serving secretary Mike Pezullo after his dismissal for breaching the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct. Some commentators described her appointment as one focused on 'cleaning up' after her predecessor's maladministration.
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