Report 506: Inquiry into Commonwealth Financial Statements 2022-23

REPORT - November 2024

List of recommendations

2.26The Committee requires an update within six months of the tabling of this report from the Northern Land Council, Tiwi Land Council, and the Department of Health and Aged Care on their respective progress in addressing the significant legislative breaches identified by the Australian National Audit Office.

2.27The Committee recommends that the Department of Finance amends the current guidelines to require that it be notified immediately of any breach of the executive remuneration rules and then engage with the entity in question to discuss remediation steps. The Committee is requesting an anonymised update from the Department of Finance within 12 months of the tabling of this report on the number of reported breaches it has received, the amounts involved, and whether they have been adequately resolved.

2.70The Committee recommends that the following entities provide a response within six months on why their annual report has not been tabled in time to be scrutinised at supplementary budget estimates for the past three years

High Court of Australia

Australian Strategy Policy Institute Ltd

Royal Australian Air Force Veterans’ Residences Trust Fund

RAAF Welfare Recreational Company

Royal Australian Navy Central Canteens Board

Bundanon Trust

Anindilyakwa Land Council

Central Land Council

Northern Land Council

Outback Stores Pty Ltd

Tiwi Land Council

Workplace Gender Equality Agency

Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council

2.88The Committee recommends that, as part of its ongoing consultation process, the Department of Finance now develops a mandatory framework with detailed guidelines for internal auditing for all Commonwealth entities within 12 months of the tabling of this report.

2.115The Committee recommends that the Australian Taxation Office, Department of Defence, National Archives of Australia and Services Australia each report to the Committee within six months of this report on their progress in closing the significant breaches relating to their governance and control of IT systems.

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