Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit I present this statement on the draft budget estimates of the Australian National Audit Office, the ANAO, and the Parliamentary Budget Office, the PBO.

The committee is required under the Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951 and the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 to consider the draft budget estimates of the ANAO and the PBO and make recommendations to both houses of parliament regarding these estimates. For this year's budget, neither the ANAO nor the PBO has sought additional funding. The committee therefore endorses both the ANAO's and the PBO's draft budget estimates. The committee continues to consider both offices vital in supporting the work of this parliament.

The PBO's estimated expenses for 2022-23 amount to $9.253 million. Over the last year, the PBO has modernised its ICT environment, shipped into a CLOUD based platform. This will have an ongoing impact on the PBO's budget, and the JCPAA will continue to monitor this over coming years.

The ANAO sought and received, with support from this committee, substantial budget supplementation in the 2021-22 budget, along with additional funding to support the staged implementation of the auditing of performance statements in the Australian public sector. The ANAO's estimated expenses for 2022-23 are $90.462 million. In the last financial year the ANAO reported an operating loss of $1.833 million, including through contracting costs to complete such audit work, investment in cyber-resilience and investments in data analytics, technology and capability.

I thank the Auditor-General and the Parliamentary Budget Officer for their work in support of the parliament and the JCPAA, and I also take this opportunity to thank Ms Lucy Wicks MP, member for Robertson, who chaired the committee, and Mr Julian Hill MP, member for Bruce, who was the deputy chair. I table the statement.