On Friday, 17 August 2018, Parliament’s Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit will hold three public hearings. The public hearings are part of the Committee’s ongoing work in considering the governance and financial performance of Commonwealth agencies.
The Committee will first hear from representatives of private sector contracting businesses as it continues its inquiry into how government agencies report on their use of contractors, based on the Auditor-General’s report No. 19 (2017-18).
Following this, the Committee will hold its first hearing for its inquiry into Australian Government security arrangements. This hearing will discuss issues raised in the Auditor-General’s report No. 38 (2017-18) Mitigating Insider Threats through Personnel Security. This audit examined the effectiveness of centralised security vetting arrangements for government personnel. In addition, the audit looked at how well government agencies are complying with personnel security requirements.
The final hearing will be based on the Auditor-General’s report No. 39 (2017-18) Naval Construction Programs – Mobilisation, which considered the Government’s planning for a continuous naval shipbuilding program. The shipbuilding program was audited due to its high cost, significance to Australia’s defence, and significant implementation risks.
Committee Chair Senator Dean Smith said scrutinising Government expenditure on behalf of the Parliament was one of the Committee’s key responsibilities.
”Inquiries such as these consider not only the financial effectiveness of government programs but also how well they perform against other key criteria, for example in complying with protocols designed to ensure the safety and security of government personnel.”
Public hearings: Friday 17 August 2018, Committee Room 1R1, Parliament House, Canberra
8.30am to 10.15am: Audit Report No. 19 (2017-18) Australian Government Procurement Contract Reporting
10.45am to 11.45am :Audit Report No. 38 (2017-18) Mitigating Insider Threats through Personnel Security 12.00pm to 12.45pm: Audit Report No. 39 (2017-18) Naval Construction Programs – Mobilisation
The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live. The hearing program is available from the Committee website.
