Evolving Oversight - The Australian Joint Committee of Public Accounts

and Audit

Shane ArmstrongJoint Committee of Public Accounts and AuditShane.Armstrong.Reps@aph.gov.au

Contents

• Introduction• New oversight activities• Reports of the Committee• Other Australian jurisdictions• Conclusions

Introduction

• Committee’s centenary year• Committee role has evolved– Monitoring receipts and expenditure– Oversight of the Auditor-General

• New oversight roles have developed– Primarily driven by inquiries– Also given by Government– Varied role of Auditor-General in these hearings

New oversight activities• Annual Public Hearing with Commissioner of Taxation

– Arisen out of Committee inquiry– Purpose– Format

• Defence Materiel Organisation Major Projects Report– Arisen out of Committee inquiry– Annual item, but an evolving process

• Public sector governance and administration– Driven by Committee– Originally private– Purpose– Latest hearing involving fourth arm of government bodies

• Parliamentary Budget Office– Oversight conferred by Government through legislation– Based on oversight of Auditor-General

• Other oversight roles– Driven by Committee

Reports of the Committee• Don’t tell the full story of what a Committee does• Best publicly available indication• Categorised into:– Inquiries– Administrative– Audit Reports– Bills– Auditor-General– Oversight

• Findings

Other Australian jurisdictions

• No comparable increase in other jurisdictions• Reasons– Other oversight Committees– Use of Select Committees– Powers under the Public Accounts and Audit

Committee Act 1953 (Cth)

Conclusions

• Clear trend, accounting for a consistent amount of JCPAA output (approx. 30 per cent over the last 3 Parliaments)

• May not continue to be the case• No comparable trend in other jurisdictions• However, no loss of accountability• JCPAA’s oversight role, while remaining true to

the Act has evolved