3.4 - External Liaison and Scrutiny

In 2006–07, the Department, through its Audit and Fraud Control Branch, continued to work with the Australian National Audit Office, and provided responses to preliminary audit findings and recommendations prior to the Auditor-General presenting his reports in Parliament. The Department also reported to the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit and the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Office. The Department’s reports and dealings with the Australian National Audit Office, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit and the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Office are set out below.

Australian National Audit Office

The Australian National Audit Office tabled several reports in Parliament on audits involving the Department in 2006–07. Included were audits specific to the Department, audits of other individual agencies that involved consultation with the Department, cross-agency audits where the Department was involved and other audits where the Department was not directly involved but where recommendations were targeted at all agencies.

Audits Specific to the Department

• Administration of the Community Aged Care Packages Program (Audit Report No. 38 of 2006–07):

The Australian National Audit Office assessed the effectiveness of the Department’s management of Community Aged Care Packages in meeting
the program’s legislated objectives. The Department agreed to seven of the report’s eight recommendations for improvement, and agreed to the eighth with qualification.

• Administration of State and Territory Compliance with the Australian Health Care Agreements (Audit Report No. 19 of 2006–07):

The Australian National Audit Office’s objective was to determine whether the Department adequately assessed the State and Territory governments’ compliance with their obligations under the terms of the Australian Health Care Agreements. The Australian National Audit Office addressed the following criteria when conducting the audit:

• whether the Department assessed the states and territories’ adherence to the principles of clause 6 of the health care agreements, that all eligible persons had equitable access to free public health and emergency services on the basis of clinical need within an appropriate period;
• if the Department assessed whether the states and territories increased, if at all, their own source funding at the rate specified in the health care agreements; and
• if the Department assessed whether the states and territories met the performance reporting requirements set out in the health care agreements.

The Department agreed to all three Australian National Audit Office recommendations.

Audits of Other Individual Agencies that Involved Consultation with the Department

• Administration of the Health Requirements of the Migration Act 1958 (Audit Report No. 37 of 2006–07):

Cross-agency Audits where the Department was Involved

• Non-APS Workers (Audit Report No. 49 of 2006–07).

Other Audits where the Department was not Directly Involved but where Recommendations were Targeted at all Agencies

• Managing Security Issues in Procurement and Contracting (Audit Report No. 43 of 2006 07);
• Application of the Outcomes and Outputs Framework (Audit Report No. 23 of 2006–07);
• Recordkeeping including the Management of Electronic Records (Audit Report No. 6 of 2006–07); and
• The Senate Order for Departmental and Agency Contracts (Calendar Year 2005 Compliance) (Audit Report No. 5 of 2006–07).

In line with arrangements applying to all Government agencies, the Department’s Audit Committee maintained scrutiny over the implementation of any relevant recommendations from Australian National Audit Office reports.The Department provided formal reports to the Audit Committee twice yearly. The Department’s Audit Committee considered the progress of implementation of Australian National Audit Office recommendations, and then provided a summary report to the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.

Details of these reports, including responses to the recommendations where the Department was involved in the audit, can be found at the Australian National Audit Office website, accessible at <www.anao.gov.au>. Other enquiries regarding the reports should be directed to the Assistant Secretary, Audit and Fraud Control Branch, in the Department.

Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit

• Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit Report No. 407 included a review of the Auditor-General’s Audit Report No. 30 of 2004–05, Regulation of Commonwealth Radiation and Nuclear Activities. The Department has responded to nine of the committee’s recommendations.
• On 11 October 2006, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit conducted a public hearing relating to the Auditor-General’s Audit Report No. 41 of 2005–06, Administration of Primary Care Funding Agreements. The Department attended the public hearing and gave evidence. The committee has yet to release its report on the public hearing.

Judicial Decision and Decision of Administrative Tribunals

In 2006–07, the Department was involved in 18 matters before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal; two matters before the Federal Magistrates Court; and five matters before the Federal Court.

The Department had no matters before the High Court or the Full Federal Court during 2006 07.

Other Parliamentary Scrutiny

The Department appeared before the Senate Community Affairs Committee (Senate Estimates) on three occasions during 2006–07 for a total of four days. The Department also gave evidence and/or made submissions to a number of Parliamentary Committee Inquiries. These are set out in the table on the following page.

In addition, the Department had a significant workload of Parliamentary Questions with a combined total of 229 questions received on notice from the House of Representatives and the Senate, and a total of 772 from the three Senate Estimates Hearings.

Commonwealth Ombudsman

During 2006–07 the Commonwealth Ombudsman investigated 25 complaints against the Department’s administrative practices, with seven of these remaining open. This represents a 14 per cent increase of complaints investigated by the Commonwealth Ombudsman in 2005 06.

As at 30 June 2007, the Ombudsman had completed investigations into five out of six complaints carried over from 2005–06. The Ombudsman did not make any adverse findings for the Department in any investigations finalised during 2006–07.

Information on the role of the Commonwealth Ombudsman can be obtained from the Ombudsman’s website, accessible at www.ombudsman.gov.au.

Evidence and/or Submissions to Parliamentary Committee Inquiries

Committee	Report
Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs	National Health Amendment (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) Bill 2007 Aged Care Amendment (Residential Care) Bill 2007 [Provisions] Food Standards Australia New Zealand Amendment Bill 2007 Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007 Aged Care Amendment (Security and Protection) Bill 2007 Private Health Insurance Bill 2006 [Provisions] and 6 related bills Legislative Responses to Recommendations of the Lockhart Review Breaking the Silence: a National Voice for Gynaecological Cancers Aged Care Amendment (Residential Care) Bill 2006 Transparent Advertising and Notification of Pregnancy Counselling Services Bill 2005 Inquiry into the Funding and Operation of the Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement A Matter Relating to PET Review 2000 Inquiry into the Operation and Effectiveness of Patient Assisted Travel Schemes
Senate Select Committee on Mental Health	A National Approach to Mental Health: From Crisis to Community
Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration	Provisions of the Medibank Private Sale Bill 2006
House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Human Services	Inquiry into the Impact of Illicit Drug Use on Families
House Standing Committee on Health and Ageing	Inquiry into Breastfeeding Review of Audit Report No. 19, 2006–2007: Administration of State and Territory Compliance with the Australian Health Care Agreements Inquiry into Health Funding
House Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs	Inquiry into Older People and the Law
Joint Standing Committee on Treaties	Protocol Amending the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
Joint Standing Committee on Public Works	Proposed Fitout of New Office Accommodation for the Department of Health and Ageing in Woden ACT
Joint Publications Committee	Inquiry into Printing Standards for Documents Presented to Parliament
Scrutiny of Bills Committee	Aged Care Amendment (Residential Care) Bill 2006

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