Committee Details

OVERVIEW

Role of the Auditor-General 

The role of the Auditor-General is to provide parliament with independent assurance of public sector accountability and performance. This is achieved through reporting to parliament on the results of financial and performance audits and other insights.

About the Auditor-General Report

The Auditor-General’s report to Parliament 3: 2023-24—2023 status of Auditor-General’s recommendations (Report 3) is the third in a series of audit insights reports on the status of public sector entities’ implementation of recommendations issued by the Queensland Audit Office (QAO) in its reports to Parliament. 

The report outlines the self-assessed progress of 98 entities, including local governments, in implementing 678 recommendations from 41 QAO reports tabled in Parliament from 2015-16 to 2021-22. 

The report found that 64 percent of the recommendations were assessed as fully implemented and 27 per cent partially implemented, while 6 per cent were not implemented and 3 per cent were assessed as being no longer applicable. 

Of the 98 entities to which the recommendations were issued, 20 reported fully implementing all recommendations directed at them. 

In relation to the 18 reports tabled in 2020-21 and 2021-22, recommendations remained outstanding for 14 of those 18 reports. 

The QAO identified the following key insights from its review of entities’ self-assessment responses:

• Entities need to strengthen their regulatory and oversight practices. The QAO made 88 recommendations on regulation and oversight in 2020-21 and 2021-22 and these were the most common type of recommendations that entities failed to implement.
• Audit committees play a critical role in the governance of an entity. State government entities reported good progress in implementing recommendations from the QAO’s report on the Effectiveness of audit committees in state government entities (Report 2: 2020-21). However, while departments have largely actioned the recommendations in Report 2: 2020-21, opportunities still exist for some departments to enhance the actions they have taken to align with better practice.

The QAO also noted that Queensland Treasury is updating its Audit Committee Guidelines: Improving Accountability and Performance, which will help audit committees strengthen their independence and oversight.

Referral to Committee 

Standing Order 194B provides that the Committee of the Legislative Assembly shall, as soon as practicable after a report of the Auditor-General is tabled in the Assembly, refer that report to the relevant portfolio committee(s) for consideration. 

The committee is responsible under section 94 of the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 for assessing the integrity, economy, efficiency and effectiveness of government financial management by examining government financial documents and considering reports of the Auditor-General.

The Legislative Assembly referred this Auditor-General's report to the former Economics and Governance Committee on 30 November 2023.  On 13 February 2024, the Legislative Assembly amended Schedule 6 of the Standing Rules and Orders of the Legislative Assembly, establishing the Cost of Living and Economics Committee, and transferred the Auditor-General's report to the Cost of Living and Economics Committee for consideration.