Chapter 2 - Annual reports of statutory and non-statutory authorities and government companies


Chapter 2 - Annual reports of statutory and non-statutory authorities and government companies

Defence portfolio

Australian War Memorial

2.1        The Australian War Memorial Annual Report 2003–2004 was presented to the President on 28 September and tabled in the Senate on 16 November 2004. The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a statutory authority within the Veterans’ Affairs portfolio and functions in accordance with the requirements of the Australian War Memorial Act 1980 and the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies (CAC) Act 1997.[1]

2.2        ‘The purpose of the Australian War Memorial is to commemorate the sacrifice of those Australians who have died in war.’[2]

2.3        In the Chairman’s Report, Mr Adrian Clunies–Ross was pleased to report that the Australian War Memorial had another excellent year:

A major priority of the Corporate Plan 2002–2005 was realised in an outstanding fashion with the opening of the exhibition on the air war in Europe, Striking by night–Lancaster "G for George", featuring the Memorial's famous bomber. Performance against key priorities and activities exceeded expectations: prudent financial management and increased revenue from commercial operations has ensured that the Memorial remains in a sound financial position; visitation levels across all Memorial functions and programs have rebounded after a widespread downturn in tourism; and our e–Business facility is exceeding the projections that justified its introduction.[3]

2.4        The Chairman also stated that, following Council's endorsement in 2003 and subsequent Government approval, initial work has commenced on an Official history of peacekeeping and post–Cold War operations. The four–volume history will document the service of 30,000 servicemen and women involved in Australian commitments over almost sixty 60 years.[4]

2.5        The Committee is pleased to note that during 2004–05, the Government has allocated funds to enable the construction of a new building on the eastern side of the Memorial to house staff and collection items. This will free up space in the main building for redeveloped galleries dealing with post–1945 conflicts, peacekeeping and post–Cold War operations.[5]

2.6        The Committee also notes Council’s continued emphasis on the maintenance of an effective framework of processes and procedures that support good corporate governance. The Chairman’s report confirms that ‘External and internal audit reports support this emphasis. Council is satisfied that Memorial management has met corporate priorities and the requirements it has set’.[6]

2.7        The Committee finds that the War Memorial’s Annual Report provides a comprehensive coverage of the organisation’s activities during 2003–2004. It is an informative and well produced document, which allows the reader to easily access information. The Committee concludes that this report complies with all reporting requirements for statutory authorities.

Defence Housing Authority

2.8        The Defence Housing Authority Annual Report 2003–2004 was tabled in the Senate on 30 November 2004. The report is submitted in accordance with section 43 of the Defence Housing Authority Act 1987 and the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997.[7]

2.9        The Defence Housing Authority’s statutory function is ‘to provide adequate and suitable housing for members of the Australian Defence Force and their families, Defence civilians and other persons, in order to meet the operational needs of the Australian Defence Force and the requirements of the Department of Defence’. DHA also provides tenancy management and relocation services to Defence and administers the Defence HomeOwner Scheme.[8]

2.10    The Chairman, Mr Jones, and Managing Director, Mr Lyon, reported that 2003–04 financial year was very successful for DHA, with the organisation meeting its key strategic objectives and financial targets:

This meant we continued to provide quality housing, tenancy management and relocation services for Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and their families within a reasonable pricing structure.[9]

2.11    Mr Jones and Mr Lyons also reported that DHA continued to explore and implement new and innovative ways of improving services to our customers. The most significant of these was the development of its new Service Delivery Model (SDM), which was implemented in early July 2004. The customer–centric service delivery model complements and strengthens DHA's previously introduced case management model. In a number of regional Housing Management Centres (HMCs), DHA has now combined relocation and housing allocation function into one role.[10]

2.12    With regard to corporate governance, the Committee is pleased to note that during the year, the Board implemented a range of measures recommended in the previous Board review and agreed to the conduct of future reviews on an annual basis. According to the report, a review of director performance was initiated by the Board during 2003–04 and undertaken by an independent consultant. The results are expected in early 2004–05.[11]

2.13    The Committee finds this report to be well designed and comprehensive in its coverage of the Defence Housing Authority’s activities. The report complies with all reporting requirements for statutory bodies.

Other reports

2.14    Other Defence portfolio authorities, agencies and/or companies which had their annual reports examined by the Committee, but were not otherwise commented upon in this edition, include:

  • Australian Military Forces Relief Trust Fund Annual Report 2003–2004
  • Australian Strategic Policy Institute Annual Report 2003–2004
  • Australian Submarine Corporation Annual Report 2004
  • Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal Eighteenth Annual Report 2003–2004
  • Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Scheme Authority Annual Report 2003–2004
  • Military Superannuation and Benefits Scheme Board Annual Report 2003–2004
  • Repatriation Medical Authority Ninth Annual Report 2003–2004
  • Royal Australian Air Force Veterans’ Residences Trust Fund Annual Report 2003–2004
  • Royal Australian Air Force Welfare Trust Fund Annual Report 2003–2004
  • Royal Australian Navy Relief Trust Fund Annual Report 2003–2004
  • Veterans’ Review Board Annual Report 2003–2004.

2.15    The Committee considers that all the annual reports of the above–mentioned organisations fully met their respective reporting requirements.

Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio

Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)

2.16    The Australian Agency for International Development Annual Report 2003–2004 was presented to the President of the Senate on 6 October 2004 and tabled in the Senate on 16 November 2004.

2.17    AusAID administers Australia’s overseas aid program. According to the annual report, the objective of the aid program is to advance Australia’s national interest by assisting developing countries to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development.[12]

2.18    AusAID provides policy advice and support to the Minister and Parliamentary Secretary on development issues and develops and manages effective and innovative poverty reduction programs in partnership with developing countries, Australian businesses, non–government organisations and international agencies. It is an administratively autonomous agency within the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio. AusAID reports directly to the Minister for Foreign Affairs on all aspects of aid policy and operations. The agency has 64 officers posted overseas.[13]

2.19    In the Director General’s review, Mr Bruce Davis, stated that in 2003–2004 the Australian Government's overseas aid program continued to play an integral role in responding to issues fundamental to Australia's interests. He noted that:

AusAID maintained its focus on poverty reduction in our region and adapted to playing a key role in more coherent, and significantly larger, whole–of–government responses to international challenges. While these are demanding times, the agency has responded effectively to the many and varied calls upon its resources.

...

Our ability to develop innovative responses to new challenges has been assisted by the development of corporate mechanisms, such as the executive services group, to support involvement in coherent, whole–of–government responses to national interest issues, as well as mechanisms for improved measurement of aid effectiveness and quality.[14]

2.20    Under ‘Management and accountability’, the Director General stated that AusAID's corporate strategic plan, released in December 2001, remained the agency's key corporate strategic planning initiative. It has three main objectives: to improve the quality of programs, to enhance policy and analytical capacity, and to improve people management and corporate systems. A new corporate plan will be developed in the first half of 2004–05 following completion of the work outlined in the report.[15]

2.21    The Committee finds that AusAID’s annual report provides a comprehensive coverage of the organisation’s activities during 2003–2004. As usual the Committee considers this annual report to be informative and produced in a manner which allows the reader easy access to information. The Committee concludes that this report complies with all reporting requirements for non–statutory authorities.

Australian Trade Commission (Austrade)

2.22    The Australian Trade Commission Annual Report 2003–2004 was presented to the President of the Senate on 22 October 2004 and tabled in the Senate on 16 November 2004.

2.23    The annual report states that ‘The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) contributes to community wealth by helping more Australians succeed in export and international business’. It is responsible to the Minister for Trade and the Australian Government under the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985, Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997, and the Export Market Development Grants Act 1997.[16]

2.24    In his Managing Director’s report, Mr Peter O’Byrne commented on a number of highlights for the year. He stated that in 2003–2004 Austrade helped 3,315 businesses to achieve export deals worth $13.376 billion. This represented steady progress towards the Government's objective of doubling exporters over five years from a base of 25,000 in 2001.

The export success of 3,315 Australian businesses assisted by Austrade represents an increase of 65 per cent over 2002–2003. Of this number 2,122 were existing exporters, which is a 29 per cent increase over last year, and 1193 were new and irregular exporters. This is a threefold increase on the number of successful new and irregular exporters assisted by Austrade in 2002–2003.[17]

2.25    Mr O’Byrne also commented that demand remained high for grants under the Export Market Development Scheme. Austrade administered the payment of 3,699 grants under the export development marketing grant (EDMG) scheme in 2003–2004 which included an increase in the number of smaller–value grant applications. Refinements to the scheme were introduced in June 2003 to make it more accessible for small businesses and those new to the export market.[18]

2.26    The Committee finds that Austrade’s annual report provides a comprehensive coverage of the organisation’s activities during 2003–2004. In keeping with previous examinations, the Committee considers this annual report to be informative and produced in a manner that allows the reader easy access to information. The Committee concludes that this report complies with all reporting requirements for non–statutory authorities.

Other reports

2.27    Other Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio authorities and/or agencies which had their annual reports examined by the Committee but were otherwise not commented upon in this edition, include:

  • Australia–Indonesia Institute Annual Report 2003–2004
  • Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Annual Report 2003–2004
  • Australian Safeguards and Non–Proliferation Office Annual Report 2003–2004
  • Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Annual Report 2004.

2.28    The Committee considers that all the annual reports of the abovementioned organisations fully met their respective reporting requirements.

Navigation: Previous Page | Contents | Next Page