The Commonwealth governance framework is established under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act). Public sector governance encompasses important matters such as organisational culture; regulatory compliance; performance reporting; procurement and value for money; risk management; ethical use of resources; and board governance.
The Committee’s report is based on five Auditor-General’s reports. Some of these audits examine the operations of a single Commonwealth entity, while others range across entities. Matters under review include digital policy, defence housing, property investment strategies, strategic water entitlement procurement and land purchasing.
In our report, we make a series of recommendations to relevant entities focused on improving accountability to the Parliament and the Australian people regarding the governance of public resources. These recommendations include continued improvements to administration of digital policy; implementation of required key performance indicators in the Defence service agreement; and more effective land purchasing procedures and practices.
I would like to thank the ANAO and audited entities for their participation in the inquiry. I also thank my colleagues on the Committee for their deliberation on these matters.