This audit assessed the effectiveness of the Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education administration of the Research Block Grant schemes. The department's performance was assessed against the following criteria: the schemes are effectively planned and administered; the processes and systems used for calculating and distributing funds reflect the allocation criteria...

This audit assessed the effectiveness of the Australian Government Reconstruction Inspectorate, supported by the National Disaster Recovery Taskforce, in providing assurance that value for money is being achieved in flood recovery and reconstruction expenditure in Victoria. Key findings: The flooding that occurred in Victoria over the 2010–11 summer was widespread. Reconstruction was expected to be...

The ANAO is undertaking three audits of key aspects of the National Partnership Agreements (NPAs) signed with Queensland and Victoria in relation to natural disasters over the 2010–11 Australian spring and summer seasons. The objective of this audit was to assess the extent to which the disaster recovery work plans for Queensland and Victoria were...

The objective of the audit was to examine the effectiveness of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s administration of the Tasmanian Forests Intergovernmental Agreement Contractors Voluntary Exit Grants Program. The audit assessed whether the department had: effectively designed the program; appropriate processes for assessing and approving grant applications received for program funding; effectively negotiated...

Immigration detention is one of the most complex, controversial and debated areas of government policy. Over the past three years, the number of people in immigration detention has increased significantly. Around 1000 people were accommodated in immigration detention in June 2009, compared to around 7670 in ‘held’ detention and an additional 1688 in community detention...