The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) will hold public hearings on Friday 19 May for its inquiries into the Major Projects Reports and Hunter Class Frigates, and the Commonwealth Financial Statements 2021-22.

Media release issue date: Thursday, 18 May 2023

The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) will hold public hearings on Friday 19 May for its inquiries into the Major Projects Reports and Hunter Class Frigates, and the Commonwealth Financial Statements 2021-22.  The JCPAA will welcome representatives from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), the Department of Defence and the Department of Finance to discuss issues arising from and related to the 2020-21 and 2021-22 Major Projects Report and Defence’s procurement of the Hunter Class Frigates. The Committee will also be considering the scope and guidelines of the Major Projects Report to ensure that it continues to support transparency in reporting Defence acquisitions. “The Auditor-General’s report on Defence’s procurement of the Hunter Class Frigates is deeply concerning. Given the seriousness of the concerns the Committee initiated this inquiry less than 24 hours after the tabling of the report and has scheduled initial public hearings for Friday 19 May.” said Committee Chair, Mr Julian Hill MP. The JCPAA will also continue its program of public hearings for its inquiry into Commonwealth Financial Statements with evidence from the Attorney-General’s Department, the Australian Signal Directorate and the ANAO on cyber security arrangements and controls. Mr Hill noted that safeguarding Australian Government information from cyber threats is a continuing and critical issue of concern across the public sector and was an area of interest to the ANAO during its recent financial statements audit. “The Committee is keen to explore ANAO’s findings relating to the implementation of the Protective Security Policy Framework to support cyber resilience in Commonwealth entities” Mr Hill stated. Public hearing details Date: Friday 19 May 2023 Time: 9.30am – 3.00pm Venue: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra (9.30am-12.45pm) Committee Room 1S5, Parliament House, Canberra (1.30pm-3.00pm) Further information about the inquiries is available on the Committee website. Media inquiries Mr Julian Hill MP, Chair of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit on (03) 9791 7770 (Electorate Office). For background information Committee Secretariat 02 6277 4615 jcpaa@aph.gov.au For more information about this Committee, you can visit its website. On the site, you can make a submission to an inquiry, read other submissions, and get details for upcoming public hearings. You can also track the Committee and receive email updates by clicking on the blue ‘Track this Committee’ button in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.

In response to the significant findings in a recent Auditor-General report, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) has expanded the scope of its existing inquiry into the Defence Major Projects Report (MPR) to include a detailed examination of Defence’s procurement of Hunter Class Frigates.

Media release issue date: Tuesday, 16 May 2023

In response to the significant findings in a recent Auditor-General report, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) has expanded the scope of its existing inquiry into the Defence Major Projects Report (MPR) to include a detailed examination of Defence's procurement of Hunter Class Frigates, one of the projects included in the MPR. The Chair of the JCPAA, Mr Julian Hill MP, said that “This is a deeply concerning report by the Auditor-General into a critically important Defence project. Given the seriousness of the concerns the Committee initiated this inquiry less than 24 hours after the tabling of the report, and has scheduled initial public hearings for Friday 19 May.” The Committee has also invited written submissions by Friday 15 June 2023 and has requested submissions from the contractor, BAE Systems, as well as the British High Commission. Further information about the inquiry, including the updated terms of reference, is available on the Committee website. Media inquiries Mr Julian Hill MP, Chair of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (03) 9791 7770 (Electorate Office) For background information Committee Secretariat 02 6277 4615 jcpaa@aph.gov.au For more information about this Committee, you can visit its website. On the site, you can make a submission to an inquiry, read other submissions, and get details for upcoming public hearings. You can also track the Committee and receive email updates by clicking on the blue ‘Track this Committee’ button in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.