Introduction
1.1
Under Senate Standing Order 25(20), the annual reports of departments
and agencies under the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee's
(the Committee) allocated portfolios stand referred to the Committee for examination
and report.
Terms of reference
1.2
Under Standing Order 25(20) the 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 the attention of the Senate to any significant matters relating to
the operations and performance of the bodies furnishing the annual reports.
-
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.
Background
1.3
Details about the annual reporting requirements of departments, agencies
and statutory offices/holders under the Committee's allocated portfolios for
2018-19 annual reports are set out in the Committee's first report of 2020.
1.4
Copies of this and other Committee reports can be obtained from the
Senate Table Office or online at the Committee's webpage.
Report examined
1.5
Under the Standing Order, for the year's second report, the Committee is
required to examine those annual reports presented to the Parliament after
31 October 2019 and up until 30 April 2020. However, for the Committee's
first report of 2020, it chose to also examine reports that were tabled after
31 October 2019 and available at the time of preparing that report, that
is, up until 14 February 2020. Therefore,
this report examines reports tabled after that time, that is, between 15 February
and 30 April 2020.
1.6
On this occasion, one annual report was presented to the Parliament and
referred to the Committee for examination during this time period:
Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Annual Report 1 July 2018 to
30 June 2019.
Reporting requirements of the
Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force
1.7
The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) is a
statutory office holder established under Part VIIIB of the Defence Act 1903
(Defence Act). As the IGADF is not a body which is subject to the Public
Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, section 110R of the
Defence Act sets out the requirements for the IGADF to prepare an annual
report. It states that as soon as practicable after the end of each financial
year, the IGADF must prepare and give to the Minister, for presentation to the
Parliament, a report on the operations of the Inspector-General during the
financial year. This section also notes that reference should also be made to
section 34C of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, which requires the
Minister to lay a copy of the report before each House of Parliament within 15
sitting days of receipt of that report.
Timeliness
1.8
The 2018-19 report of the IGADF was submitted to the Minister on 4 December,
and received by the Minister on 20 December 2019; that is, approximately five
months after the end of the reporting period. The Committee was pleased to note
a significant improvement on the time period for the provision of the report to
the Minister in comparison to the previous report, which was approximately a
year after the financial year it reported on.
1.9
The report was tabled in the House of Representatives and the Senate on
25 February 2020, which was nine sittings days after the Minister received
it; therefore meeting the legislative requirement of being tabled within 15
sitting days of receipt.
Senate debate
1.10
The Committee notes that the 2018-19 annual report of the IGADF was not
the subject of comments or debate in the Senate.
Assessment of report
1.11
The Committee considers the IGADF's annual report for 2018-19 to be 'apparently
satisfactory', meeting the legislative requirement set out above.
1.12
The inclusion of information about the progress of the Office's inquiry
into the conduct of Special Forces members deployed in Afghanistan during the
period 2005 to 2016[1]
was appreciated by the Committee given the public interest in this inquiry.
Senator the Hon Eric Abetz
Chair
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