Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1
The Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee (the
committee) is responsible for examining the annual reports of the parliamentary
departments,[1]
and the departments and agencies of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Portfolio
and the Finance Portfolio.
1.2
This is the second report on annual reports for 2015 and provides an
overview of selected annual reports presented to the Parliament between 1 November 2014
and 30 April 2015. Copies of this and other committee reports can be obtained
from the Senate Table Office, the committee secretariat or online at the
committee's web page.
Terms of reference
1.3
Under Senate Standing Order 25(20) the annual reports of certain
departments and agencies stand referred to committees for examination and
assessment. Each committee is required to:
-
examine each
annual report referred to it and report to the Senate whether the report is
apparently satisfactory;
-
consider in
more detail, and report to the Senate on each annual report which is not
apparently satisfactory, and on the other annual reports which it selects for
more detailed consideration;
-
investigate
and report to the Senate on any lateness in the presentation of annual reports;
-
in
considering an annual report take into account any relevant remarks about the
report made in debate in the Senate;
-
if the
committee so determines, consider annual reports of departments and budget–related
agencies in conjunction with examination of estimates;
-
report on
annual reports tabled by 31 October each year by the tenth sitting day of the
following year, and on annual reports tabled by 30 April each year by the tenth
sitting day after 30 June of that year;
-
draw to the
attention of the Senate any significant matters relating to the operations and
performance of the bodies furnishing the annual reports; and
-
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.
Allocated portfolios
and changes to portfolios
1.4
The Senate allocated departments and agencies to committees on 13 November 2013.[2]
In accordance with that resolution, the committee has responsibility for the
oversight of the following:
- Parliament;
- Prime Minister and Cabinet Portfolio
(PM&C Portfolio); and
- Finance Portfolio.
Role of annual reports
1.5
Annual reports place a great deal of information about government departments
and agencies on the public record in relation to the performance, activities,
management and financial position of the reporting body. The Requirements
for Annual Reports for Departments, Executive Agencies and FMA Act Bodies (PM&C
Requirements for Annual Reports), note that '[t]he primary purpose of annual
reports of departments is accountability, particularly to the Parliament.'[3]
Annual reports assist the Parliament in the effective examination of the
performance of departments and agencies, and the administration of government
programs.
Reports examined
1.6
During the period of 1 November 2014 to 30 April 2015, eleven annual reports
of bodies or statutory office holders under the committee's oversight were presented
to the Parliament and referred to the committee. The reports examined are
categorised as follows:
Commonwealth authorities
-
Indigenous Business Australia – Report for 2013-14
-
Torres Strait Regional Authority – Report for 2013-14
-
Anindilyakwa Land Council – Report for 2013-14
-
Northern Land Council – Report
for 2013-14
-
Tiwi Land Council – Report for 2013-14
-
Central Land Council – Report for 2013-14
-
Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council – Report for 2013-14
-
Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation – Report for 2013-14
Commonwealth companies
-
Outback Stores Pty Ltd – Report for 2013-14
Statutory office holders
-
Executive Director of Township Leasing – Report for 2013-14
-
Aboriginal Land Commissioner – Report for 2013-14
Reports not examined
1.7
The committee is not obliged to examine reports on the operation of Acts,
statements of corporate intent, surveys, policy papers, budget documents,
corporate plans or errata. The following documents were also referred to the
committee but not examined in this report:
-
Australian Public Service Commission – State of the Service
Report 2013-14
-
Report of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and
Corruption - interim report – Volumes 1 and 2, 15 December 2014 (Also
referred to the Education and Employment Legislation Committee and the Legal
and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee)
-
Wangkangurru Land Claim No. 156 - Report of the former Aboriginal
Land Commissioner, Peter R A Gray, to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs and
to the Administrator of the Northern Territory – Report No. 72
-
Statement relating to extension of time for presentation of a
periodic report – Outback Stores Pty Ltd Report for 2013-14
-
Indigenous Australians – Closing the Gap
- Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Indigenous Affairs
- Prime Minister's report 2015 – Closing the Gap
-
Official Witnesses before parliamentary committees and related
matters – Government guidelines, dated February 2015
-
Defence Housing Australia – Report for 2013-14 and Statement of
Corporate 2014-15 (Also referred to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
Committee)[4]
-
Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 – Report for
2013-14
-
Department of Finance – Consolidated financial statements for the
year ended 30 June 2014
-
Department of the Treasury - Tax Expenditures statement 2014
-
Department of Finance – Certificate of Compliance Report for
2013-14
-
Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook – 2014-15
-
Department of Finance – Campaign Advertising by Australian
Government departments and agencies – Report for 2013-14, Replacement pages [4]
-
Personal Property Securities Act 2009 – Review of the Act
– Final report by Mr Bruce Whittaker (Also referred to the Legal and
Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee)
Method of assessment
1.8
Senate Standing Order 25(20) requires that the committee examine reports
referred to it to determine whether they are timely and 'apparently
satisfactory'. The committee must consider whether the reports comply with the
relevant legislation and guidelines for the preparation of annual reports in
forming its assessment.
1.9
The Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act)
and the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (CAC Act) were
repealed on 30 June 2014 and replaced by the Public Governance,
Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) on 1 July 2014. Major
changes to the PM&C Requirements for Annual Reports for the 2014-15 financial
year in response to the PGPA Act were expected. However, the recently released
PM&C Requirements for Annual Reports, dated 25 June 2015, note that
'[s]ignifcant revisions to the Requirements are anticipated for the 2015-16
financial year with the commencement of the performance reporting model under
the...PGPA Act'.[5]
1.10
The 2013–14 annual reports of bodies examined in this report were
prepared under the arrangements existing as at 30 June 2014 and set down in the
following instruments:
-
for portfolio departments and agencies, and the parliamentary
departments: the Public Service Act 1999, sections 63(2) and 70(2), and
the Parliamentary Service Act 1999, section 65; other relevant enabling
legislation for statutory bodies; and the PM&C Requirements for Annual
Reports (for departments and prescribed agencies under the FMA Act);
-
for Commonwealth authorities and companies: the CAC Act, in
particular, sections 9, 36 (which refers to requirements under the Corporations
Act 2001 for companies) and 48; and the Commonwealth Authorities (Annual
Reporting) Orders 2011 and the Commonwealth Companies (Annual Reporting)
Orders 2011; and
-
for non-statutory bodies: the guidelines are contained in the
government response to the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public
Administration Report on Non-Statutory bodies, Senate Hansard,
8 December 1987, pp 2632-45.
Non–reporting bodies
1.11
Standing Order 25(20)(h) requires that the committee inquire into, and
report on, any bodies which do not present annual reports to the Senate but
should present such reports.
1.12
The committee notes that the last report of the Australian Political
Exchange Council presented to the Parliament was on 12 May 2011[6]
and was prepared as a triennial report covering the financial years 2007-08,
2008-09 and 2009-10.
1.13
The Australian Political Exchange Council is a non-statutory body that
sits within the Finance Portfolio and aims to develop 'young Australian
political leaders by providing opportunities to gain insights into the
political systems and cultures of countries with which the Council has
established exchange programmes.'[7]
The Department of Finance (Finance) provides secretariat services to the
Council and its website states that it is funded through an annual
appropriation to Finance and also receives in-kind donations from organisations
and individuals.[8]
The Council's expenditure is noted in Finance's annual report under the
resource statement for Outcome 3.[9]
1.14
There is no statutory requirement for the Council to prepare an annual report
by a specified date for presentation to the Parliament. However, the Council's
operations are governed by its terms of reference which include a reporting
requirement that the Council seek to:
arrange for regular reporting on the Council's activities to
Parliament, the Principals and sponsors.[10]
1.15
The committee has previously urged the Council to take greater effort to
meet this term of reference[11]
and has encouraged the Council to adopt the practice of reporting within four
months of the end of the financial year.[12]
However, as noted above, the Council had moved to a triennial reporting period
and does not appear to have prepared any further reports after 2011.
1.16
The Council's website has the last triennial report covering the years
2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-2010 available and does not have any earlier reports.
The committee notes that the Council's website does include details of incoming
and outgoing delegations from 2011. While this is a useful inclusion in the absence
of regular reports to the Parliament, the committee nonetheless reiterates its
earlier view that the Council should endeavour to more appropriately meet its
reporting requirements under its terms of reference. The committee's view is
that the Council should reinstate a more frequent and regular reporting regime to
improve transparency and accountability of the Council's operations to the
Parliament.
Timeliness
1.17
Annual reports for departments, executive agencies and former FMA Act
bodies are required to be tabled in Parliament by 31 October each year unless
another date is specified in an agency's legislation and/or charter. The
PM&C Requirements for Annual Reports state that 'it remains the
Government's policy that all annual reports should be tabled by 31 October'
and further notes that it is best practice for annual reports to be tabled
prior to the Supplementary Budget Estimates hearings.[13]
The committee considers the timely presentation of annual reports to be an important
element in accountability and continues to encourage agencies to follow this
policy.
1.18
Commonwealth authorities reporting under the CAC Act are required to
provide an annual report to the responsible minister by the fifteenth day of
the fourth month after the end of the financial year. For the standard
financial year, this is 15 October. In accordance with section 34C(3) of
the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, the Minister is required to present
the report to the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after
the day on which the report was received.[14]
1.19
Commonwealth companies are required under section 36 of the CAC Act to
provide a report to the Minister four months after the end of the financial
year, which is usually 31 October.[15]
The Minister is required to table the report in the Parliament as soon as
practicable after receiving it, or in the case of a company required to hold an
annual general meeting, as soon as practicable after the meeting.[16]
1.20
Appendix 1 lists the annual reports tabled (or presented) in Parliament
between 1 November 2014 and 30 April 2015, and referred to the committee, with
relevant tabling dates.
1.21
As set out in Appendix 1, some bodies did not meet the required deadline
for the provision of their annual report to the Minister in accordance with the
requirements for Commonwealth authorities and companies as set out above. However,
it is noted that all reports were presented to the Parliament within the
required legislative timeframe by relevant Ministers.
1.22
It is noted that Outback Stores Pty Ltd sought an extension from the Minister
for Indigenous Affairs for tabling the 2013-14 annual report in a letter dated
12 November 2014 due to an audit issue concerning the omission of a
related party disclosure. The Minister agreed to the extension in a letter
dated 10 December 2014 which was subsequently tabled on 9 February 2015.
In agreeing to the extension, the Minister noted:
I am concerned about the withdrawal of the audit opinion by
the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) and related party disclosures being
omitted from the Outback Stores' annual reports since 2009. I ask that this
matter be clarified with the ANAO as soon as practicable. I also acknowledge
that the Board will be implementing revised practices to avoid such situations
occurring in the future.[17]
1.23
The Aboriginal Land Commissioner and the Executive Director of Township
Leasing met their reporting requirements under the relevant sections of the Aboriginal
Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (ALR Act) and the Minister
subsequently presented these reports to the Parliament within 15 sitting days
of receipt.
1.24
Although most of reports examined were presented within the required
reporting timeframes, they were, nonetheless, all presented after 31 October
2014. The committee continues to encourage the presentation of all reports to
the Parliament before this date and, if possible, before the Supplementary
Budget Estimates hearings to assist in its examination of agencies at this
time.
Senate debate
1.25
In accordance with Standing Order 25(20)(d) the committee is required to
take into account any relevant remarks about the reports made in debate in the
Senate. The committee notes that none of the annual reports examined in this
report have been the subject of comments or debate in the Senate.
Assessment of reports
1.26
Under Standing Order 25(20)(a), the committee is required to examine the
annual reports of departments and agencies and report to the Senate on whether
they are 'apparently satisfactory'. In its examination of the annual reports
referred, the committee found them to be of a satisfactory standard and adhere
to relevant guidelines. The committee considers the reports examined to be
'apparently satisfactory'.
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