Chapter 1Introduction
1.1The Senate Economics Legislation Committee (committee) is responsible for examining the annual reports of the Treasury Portfolio and the Industry, Science and Resources Portfolio (Industry Portfolio).
1.2This report on annual reports (No. 1 of 2025) provides an overview of the committee’s examination of selected annual reports. The committee is required to report to the Senate on annual reports tabled by 31 October each year by the tenth sitting day of the following year (Standing Order 25(20)(f)).
Terms of reference
1.3Senate Standing Order 25(20) refers annual reports of departments and agencies–in accordance with a resolution of the Senate—to committees and sets out the committee’s requirements.The committee’s requirements—(a) to (h)—are outlined and reported against below. The full text of Senate Standing Order 25(20) can be found at Appendix 1.
Role of annual reports
1.4The tabling of annual reports is an important element of executive accountability to the legislature. According to the Department of Finance, effective reporting is critical in ensuring transparency and accountability of the government to the Parliament and the public.Together with portfolio budget statements, portfolio additional estimates statements and the estimates process, annual reports are a primary mechanism by which the Senate can scrutinise the operations of executive government.
Annual reporting requirements
1.5Section 38 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) requires all Commonwealth entities to measure and assess their performance against its purpose and according to the requirements prescribed by the rules.
1.6The PGPA Act establishes a performance reporting framework for all Commonwealth entities and companies. The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule) contains the minimum requirements that must be included. The performance framework includes the requirement for Commonwealth entities and companies to prepare a corporate plan and annual performance statements.
1.7The legislative authority and requirements for the different types of bodies that prepare annual reports are as follows:
Non-corporate Commonwealth entities—section 46 PGPA Act, division;
3A(A) PGPA Rule and relevant enabling legislation;
Corporate Commonwealth entities—section 46 PGPA Act, division 3S(B)
PGPA Rule and relevant enabling legislation;
Commonwealth companies—section 97 PGPA Act, which also refers to requirements under the Corporations Act 2001 and Part 3-3 PGPA Rule and
relevant enabling legislation; and
Non-statutory bodies—the annual reporting requirements are contained in the government response to the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and
Public Administration’s report on non-statutory bodies.
Reports referred to and examined by the committee
1.8All 2023–24 annual reports of Commonwealth entities and companies in the Treasury Portfolio and the Industry Portfolio have been presented to the Parliament and referred to the committee.
1.9The reports examined by the committee are listed at Appendix 2.
1.10It should be noted that the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services is required by section 243 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 to report on select annual reports for agencies within the Treasury Portfolio. These reports are identified in Appendix 2.
Additional reports referred to the committee
1.11The committee is not obliged to report on acts, statements of corporate intent, surveys, policy papers, budget documents, corporate plans, or errata. The committee notes the following documents were referred for information:
Government Co-contributions Quarterly Report—1 April 2023 to 30June2023. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 4 September 2023;
Government Co-contributions Annual Report—1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 4 September 2023;
Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Quarterly Report—1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 4September 2023;
Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Annual Report—1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 4September 2023;
2023 Intergenerational Report. Part 6—Intergenerational report of the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998—tabled in the Senate on 5September2024;
Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Quarterly Report—1 July 2023 to 30 September 2023. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate 13 November 2023;
Government Co-contributions Quarterly Report—1 July 2023 to 30 September 2023. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 13November 2023;
2023-24 Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement. Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1988—tabled in the Senate on 7 February 2024;
Correction to the CADB Annual Report 2022-23. Section 214 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Act 2001—tabled in the Senate on 27 February 2024;
National Interest Statement—2023 Loan Agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. Section 8D of the International Monetary Agreements Act 1947—tabled in the Senate on 27 February 2024;
Murray-Darling Basin Plan: Implementation Review 2023 (Inquiry Report no. 103). Section 12 of the Productivity Commission Act 1998—tabled in the Senate on 27 February 2024;
Government Co-contributions Quarterly Report—1 October 2023 to 31 December 2023. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 26March 2024;
Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Quarterly Report—1 October 2023 to 31 December 2023. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 26 March 2024;
Report of the Independent Review of the Changes to the Continuous Disclosure Laws Made By the Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No.1) Act 2021. Subsection 1683B(3) of the Corporations Act 2001—tabled in the Senate on 14 May 2024;
National Water Reform 2024 (Inquiry report no. 105). Section 12 of the Productivity Commission Act 1998 - tabled in the Senate on 1 July 2024;
Government Co-contributions Quarterly Report—1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 3 July 2024;
Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Quarterly Report—1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 3 July 2024;
Statutory Review of the Meetings and Documents Amendments Final Report. Subsection 1687J (5) of the Corporations Act 2001—tabled in the Senate on 9 September 2024;
A path to universal early childhood education and care (Inquiry report no. 106)—tabled in the Senate on 18 September 2024;
Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Annual Report—1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 8 October 2024;
Government Co-contributions Annual Report—1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003— tabled in the Senate on 8 October 2024;
Government Co-contributions Quarterly Report—1 April 2024 to 30 June 2024.Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 8 October 2024;
Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Quarterly Report—1 April 2024 to 30 June 2024. Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 8 October 2024;
Final Budget Outcome 2023-24. Section 18 of the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998—tabled in the Senate on 8 October 2024;
Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman Corporate Plan 2025-2028. 34C of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 and section 35 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (PGPA) Act 2013—tabled in the Senate on 19 November 2024;
2024-25 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) and the 2024-25 Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement (TEIS), Section 14 of the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998 (Cth)—tabled in the Senate on 23 January 2025;
Housing Australia HGS Trends and Insights Reports 2023-24, Section 57A of the Housing Australia Act 2018—tabled in the Senate on 30 January 2025;
Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Quarterly Report—1July2024 to 30 September 2024. Section 12G(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 26 March 2025;
Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Quarterly Report—1 October 2024 to 31 December 2024. Section 12G(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 26 March 2025;
Government Co-contribution Quarterly Report—1 July 2024 to 30September 2024. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 26March 2025; and
Government Co-contribution Quarterly Report—1 October 2024 to 31 December 2024. Section 54(1) of the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003—tabled in the Senate on 26March 2025.
Timelines
1.12Standing Order 25(20)(c) requires the committee to report to the Senate on the late presentation of annual reports. To assess the timeliness of the presentation of annual reports, the committee considers the presentation against the requirements of the PGPA Act, the PGPA Rule and other legislative requirements:
Presentation to ministers—on the 15th day of October, the annual report is to be given to the responsible Minister; and
Tabling in Parliament—the Department of Finance’s Resource Management Guides for non-corporate and corporate Commonwealth entities advise that ‘[n]ormally annual reports are tabled prior to the October Estimates hearings’.
1.13Agencies reporting in accordance with their own legislation are often required to prepare their annual report for the relevant Minister ‘as soon as is practicable’ after the end of the period to which the report relates. The committee draws attention to subsection 34C(2) and 34C(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, which stipulate that, where no date for providing a report to a Minister is specified, the report should be presented no more than six months after the reporting period, and the report must be provided to the Parliament within15days after receipt by the Minister.
Timeliness of reports examined
1.14The committee considers the timely presentation of annual reports to be an important element of reporting bodies’ accountability to the Parliament.
1.15The committee is pleased to note that all annual reports in the Treasury Portfolio and Industry Portfolio were presented in a timely manner.
Senate debate
1.16The committee is required to ‘take into account any relevant remarks about the report[s] made in debate in the Senate’. The committee notes that none of the annual reports examined in this report have been the subject of comment or debate in the Senate.
Non-reporting bodies
1.17The committee is required to ‘report to the Senate each year whether there are any bodies which do not present annual reports to the Senate, and which should present such reports’.
1.18The committee makes no recommendations for any bodies not presenting an annual report to do so.
Apparently satisfactory
1.19Standing Order 25(20)(a) requires that the committee report to the Senate on whether the annual reports of the departments and agencies in its portfolios are ‘apparently satisfactory’. In making this assessment, the committee considers aspects such as timeliness of presentation and compliance with relevant reporting requirements.
1.20The committee has examined all annual reports referred during the reporting period and considers that, with some minor omissions in reports from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the National Competition Council (NCC), all reports are ‘apparently satisfactory’. More detail on general reporting observations is presented in Chapter 2.
Report Structure
1.21This report is structured as follows:
Chapter 1—provides background to the committee’s examination of annual reports;
Chapter 2—reports on a select few annual reports and general reporting observations;
Appendix 1—Standing Order 25(20); and
Appendix 2—table of departments’ and agencies’ presentation dates for annual reports.