Reports by the Auditor-General
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) conducted a number of performance audits in the department during 2005-06:
Completed audits
Audit Report No 32 2005-2006: Management of the Tender Process for the Detention Services Contract
The objective of this audit was to assess our management, evaluation, and contract negotiation processes for the Detention Services Contract tender. Specifically, the audit considered the processes we used to determine value for money based on our:
- evaluation of the request for tender, including the announcement of the preferred tenderer
- negotiations with the successful and unsuccessful tenderers
- management of liability, indemnity, and insurance.
The audit report found that our processes and documentation of the tender evaluation did not clearly identify whether the provisions of the general agreement were considered in the management of the tender process, and how the agreement was to be taken into account during the tender, evaluation, and contract negotiation stages.
We agree with the ANAO recommendations in full and we have already introduced initiatives to address these recommendations including:
- tightening our probity controls
- monitoring by the Detention Service Steering Committee of issues relating to conflict of interest
- making record management auditable through improved systems
- securing advice from the Chief Legal Officer for the Steering Committee about procurement guidelines
- developing a framework document to guide the conduct and documentation of the procurement process, including contract negotiations.
The Auditor-General has acknowledged our planned improvements to our tender administration and our positive response to the matters raised by the audit.
Audit Report No 34 2005-2006: Advance Passenger Processing (APP)
The objective of this performance audit was to assess whether our information systems and business processes are effective in supporting APP to meet its border security and streamlined clearance objectives. In particular, the audit focused on the following:
- Mandatory APP Stage 1 (MAPP1) project management
- MAPP1 information technology development and system performance
- APP performance reporting
- contract management
- financial management.
The audit started in August 2004 and was tabled in the Parliament in March 2006.
The ANAO noted in its report that the ‘APP is the most recent technological evolutionary stage of Australia’s border processing. It is designed to prevent people from boarding who do not have authority to enter or who are adversely recorded by the department. The system also allows authorised agencies to examine passenger information before passengers arrive in Australia. The overall effect is to extend the border to the last point of embarkation - the airline check-in point overseas’.
APP has operated successfully since 1998 and now has about 99 per cent coverage of airline transactions. It operates in a real-time environment and has proven to be a robust application with an availability factor of above 99.7 per cent.
The ANAO was critical of our contract management and some aspects of financial management going back to 1997- 98. These issues are being addressed through a range of measures announced by the government in October 2005 to improve our administration as part of the government’s response to the Palmer and Comrie Reports. These measures included significant organisational changes for contract and procurement processes.
The ANAO made six recommendations, all of which we agreed to. A number of recommendations have been implemented and work on others is nearing completion. The recommendations concerning contract and financial management are being addressed as part of contract negotiations with the service provider.
Audits in progress
The following performance audits were in progress but not completed during 2005-06.
Visa Management: the working holiday maker visa
The objective of this audit is to assess whether the working holiday maker visa programme is managed effectively, and in accordance with relevant laws and policies. The audit examined our management of this visa, including the authority for the programme, performance information, and the quality of management decision-making. We commented on a related series of issues papers provided during May 2006. An exit interview was held in mid-June 2006 and we expect the Auditor-General to table the audit report during the Spring 2006 Parliamentary Sittings.
DIMA’s administration of the health provisions of the Migration Act 1958
The objective of this audit is to assess the effectiveness of our administration of the health provisions of the Migration Act 1958 and Migration Regulations 1994.
The audit is examining our administration of the ‘entry and stay’ of non-citizens under the Migration Act, and will complement the current performance audit of our management of the working holiday maker visa programme. It is reviewing whether our assessment of the health of people seeking to enter Australia reflects the public health requirement. It is also reviewing our health examination, health assessments, and health undertakings, for consistency with legislation, regulation and policy, and how it evaluates and reports on our effectiveness in administering the health provisions.
The ANAO has begun preliminary work, and we expect the ANAO will table the audit report during the Autumn 2007 Parliamentary Sittings.
Other ANAO Audit Activity
We participated in a number of ANAO cross-agency audits during the year. They were reported on in our 2004-05 Annual Report, but work continued into 2005-06.
These audits were:
- Compliance with Senate Order, audit of the Senate Order of 20 June 2001 - number 7
- Management of net appropriation agreements
- Counter-terrorism co-ordination arrangements
- Green Office procurement
- Management and reporting of expenditure on consultants
- IT security management
- Management of infrastructure, plant, and assets.
Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit
The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) is required by the Public Accounts and Audit Act 1951 to examine all reports of the Auditor-General tabled in Parliament. The JCPAA’s review procedures are built around a series of public hearings held each quarter. During 2005-06, there were no JCPAA reports related to our operations.
JCPAA Inquiries Underway
We appeared before the JCPAA on 2 June 2006 during the committee’s Review of Auditor-General’s Reports numbered 7 to 34 (in 2005-06). This was in relation to the ANAO’s Audit Reports No 32 2005-2006: Management of the Tender Process for the Detention Services Contract and No 34 2005-2006: Advance Passenger Processing.
Fraud Measures
We have a number of measures in place to prevent, detect, investigate, and report internal and external fraud. In accordance with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines, we report annually on these fraud measures. A Chief Executive Instruction on fraud control and a fraud control framework document was issued in 2005-06. Our fraud risk assessment and fraud control plan will be reviewed in 2006-07.
EXTERNAL SCRUTINY
Table 76: Statistical information
| STATISTICAL MATERIAL | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
| Ministerial correspondence, submissions, and briefs | |||
| Ministerial correspondence | 49 413 | 52 753 | 38 049 |
| Submissions | 3 412 | 3 009 | 3 150 |
| Function and meeting briefs | 1 172 | 486 | 464 |
| TOTAL | 53 997 | 56 248 | 41 663 |
| Parliamentary | |||
| Possible Minister’s questions | 501 | 744 | 988 |
| Estimates questions on notice | 390 | 651 | 722 |
| Parliamentary questions on notice | 201 | 184 | 149 |
| Cabinet documents | |||
| Exposure drafts | 63 | 60 | 90 |
| Drafts for coordination comment | 67 | 61 | 63 |
| Corrigenda to drafts | 23 | 14 | 16 |
| Final submissions/memoranda (non-DIMA) | 48 | 36 | 57 |
| Minutes | 133 | 123 | 138 |
| DIMA submissions | 13 | 12 | 11 |
| Total Cabinet documents | 347 | 306 | 375 |