Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit
Background Information on the Committee
Duties of the Committee
The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit is a committee of the Commonwealth
Parliament. The Committee is established pursuant to the Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951 (PDF Format) the
PAAC Act) and is empowered to scrutinise the moneys spent by Commonwealth
agencies from funds appropriated to them.
Specifically, section 8 (1) of the PAAC Act describes the Committee's
duties as being to:
- examine the accounts of the receipts and expenditure of the
Commonwealth including the financial statements transmitted to
the Auditor-General under sub-section (4) of section 50 of the
Audit Act 1901;
- examine the financial affairs of authorities of the Commonwealth
to which the Act applies and of inter-governmental bodies to which
the Act applies;
- examine all reports of the Auditor-General (including reports
of the results of efficiency audits) copies of which have been
laid before the Houses of the Parliament;
- report to both Houses of the Parliament, with such comment
as it thinks fit, any items or matters in those accounts, statements
and reports, or any circumstances connected with them, to which
the Committee is of the opinion that the attention of the Parliament
should be directed;
- report to both Houses of the Parliament, any alteration which
the Committee thinks desirable in the form of the public accounts
or in the method of keeping them, or in the mode of receipt, control,
issue or payment of public moneys; and
- inquire into any question in connexion with the public accounts
which is referred to it by either House of the Parliament, and
to report to the house upon that question.
The PAAC also empowers the Committee to undertake such other duties
as are assigned to it by Joint Standing Orders approved by both
Houses of the Parliament.
In addition to these details, the Committee is responsible for
approving annual report guidelines for Commonwealth departments.
This responsibility is conferred by section 25 of the Public Service Act 1922.
Membership of the Committee
The PAAC Act provides that a Joint Committee of Public Accounts
will be appointed at the beginning of each Parliament, and that
the Committee shall have 16 members, six of whom shall be appointed
by the Senate and ten of whom shall be appointed by the House
of Representatives. The Committee has a majority of Government
members, and, by convention, the Committee is chaired by a Government
member. The Vice-Chairman is always a member of the Opposition.
A list of the current membership of the JCPAA is at Joint Committee
of Public Accounts - Members of the Committee, which can be
accessed through the JCPAA home page.
How the Committee Works
Sources of Inquiries
The Committee has the capacity to determine its own work program
and priorities. This power is derived principally from section
8(1)(b) of the PAAC Act, which enables the Committee to report
to Parliament on any items or matters in the Commonwealth's Accounts
and financial statements or in reports of the Commonwealth Auditor-General,
or any circumstances connected with them, to which the
Committee thinks the attention of the Parliament should be directed.
The other main sources of the Committee's work are described in
sections 8(1)(abb) and 8(1)(d) of the PAAC Act, which provide that
the Committee is to examine reports of the Auditor-General and
to inquire into any question referred to it by the Parliament.
Conduct of Inquiries
Although the Committee holds regular private meetings, it generally
conducts its inquiries in public.
At the outset of an inquiry, once the terms of reference are settled,
the Committee usually advertises its inquiry in the national press.
The advertisements call for written submissions from interested
individuals and organisations. The Committee also seeks information
and comment from people with an expert knowledge of the issues
under review.
Further evidence is gathered from inspections, public hearings
or as a result of questionnaires prepared by the Committee.
The Committee is assisted by a full time secretariat, by observers
from the Department of Finance and by observers and secondees
from the Australian National Audit Office. The Committee also
frequently employs consultants to provide advice on particular
issues. A paper explaining the role of Finance and Audit observers
at Committee hearings can be accessed through the JCPAA home page.
The Committee's reports are tabled in both House of Parliament
and copies are distributed to all Ministers and Commonwealth agencies
with an interest in the subject of the report.
Copies of the report are also sent to witnesses, those who have
made submissions and others with an interest in the work of the
Committee.
Responses to Reports
Government responses to reports of the Committee can be transmitted
in two ways; either by means of an Executive Minute (in those cases
where the Committee's recommendations address administrative matters)
or by means of a Government response (where the Committee has
had policy recommendations).
The Executive Minute process(formerly Finance Minute) has been in place since 1952. The process
involves the preparation of a minute to the Committee by the Secretary
of the Department of Finance. The minute contains a response from
each relevant Commonwealth agency to each of the Committee's recommendations.
An Executive Minute is usually received by the Committee within six
months of the tabling of a report. It is the Committee's practice
to table Executive Minutes in the Parliament as soon as practicable
after they are received. The Committee also publishes a compilation of all Executive Minutes tabled on its website.
The receipt and tabling of Executive Minutes gives the Committee
an opportunity to comment on the departmental responses. Ultimately, if the Committee is dissatisfied with the contents
of a particular Executive Minute, it may decide to re-open its inquiry.
Where the Committee makes recommendations of a policy nature,
a separate Government response is prepared by the responsible
Minister. The Government has given a commitment to the Parliament
that responses to parliamentary committee reports will be provided
within three months of the report being tabled.
It is usual practice for the relevant Minister to table a Government response in the Parliament.