EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
1989 NO. 238
ISSUED ON THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR FINANCE
Subject - Audit Act 1901
Audit Regulations (Amendment)
Subsection 71(1) of the Audit Act 1901 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations (not inconsistent with the provisions of the Act) for carrying out the provisions of the Act.
Section 70BA of the Act provides that the regulations may declare an authority or other body to be an authority or body to which that section applies. The effect of such a declaration is that, where the Auditor-General is authorised or required by the Act or another enactment to submit a report on an authority or body to a Minister, the Auditor-General may authorise an officer to sign that report on the Auditor-General’s behalf and, when the report is submitted to the Minister, it shall be taken to have been submitted to the Minister by the Auditor-General.
An amendment to section 70BA made by the Audit Amendment Act 1989 extended the scope of section 70BA to provide that, as well as authorities and bodies, the regulations may declare a company, in which the Commonwealth has a controlling interest, as a company to which the section applies. This means that reports on companies so declared may be signed by officers authorised to do so by the Auditor-General and when submitted to the person or body to whom submission is required under the relevant legislation, shall be taken to have been submitted by the Auditor-General.
To give effect to the above-mentioned changes to the Act amendments have been made to the Audit Regulations to declare those companies to which section 70BA should apply. In addition the current list of authorities and bodies which are subject to section 70BA has been updated.
REGULATION 1
Regulation 1 of these Statutory Rules provides that each of the companies specified in Schedule 3 is declared to be a company to which section 70BA of the Act.
The amendment brings into effect the changes made to section 70BA by the Audit Amendment Act 1989.
REGULATION 2
Regulation 2 of these Statutory Rules repeals the previous Schedule 2 to the Audit Regulations and introduces a new Schedule 2 which updates the list of authorities and bodies declared to be subject to section 70BA. The regulation also introduces a new Schedule 3 to declare those companies to which section 70BA should now apply.
The declaration of these authorities, bodies and companies will not effect the Auditor-General’s overall responsibility for the conduct of the audits undertaken or the contents of the required reports. It will merely permit the Auditor-General to authorise an officer to sign reports on his or her behalf, thus relieving the Auditor-General of some of the personal workload associated with that office. The Auditor-General would personally sign any report should circumstances arise which warrant him doing so.
Overview
The Audit Regulations (Amendment) 2004 (C2004L00687), issued under the authority of the Minister for Finance, amends the Audit Regulations to give effect to changes made by the Audit Amendment Act 1989. This Act was enacted to address the need for more efficient management of the Auditor-General's workload by allowing authorised officers to sign reports on behalf of the Auditor-General. This amendment extends the scope of section 70BA of the Audit Act 1901, enabling the declaration of companies in which the Commonwealth holds a controlling interest as entities to which the section applies, alongside authorities and bodies. The policy objective is to streamline the reporting process without compromising the Auditor-General's overall responsibility for the audits and the integrity of the reports.
Scope and Application
The Audit Regulations (Amendment) Statutory Rules issued under the authority of the Minister for Finance update the Audit Regulations to align with the changes made to section 70BA of the Audit Act 1901 by the Audit Amendment Act 1989. These amendments extend the scope of section 70BA to include companies in which the Commonwealth has a controlling interest. As a result, the Auditor-General may authorise an officer to sign reports on behalf of the Auditor-General when those reports are submitted to the relevant Minister, thereby relieving the Auditor-General of some personal workload associated with signing these reports. However, the Auditor-General retains overall responsibility for the conduct of the audits and the contents of the required reports, signing any report personally should circumstances warrant it. Regulation 1 declares specific companies in Schedule 3 as those to which section 70BA applies, while Regulation 2 updates Schedule 2 with a new list of authorities and bodies subject to section 70BA, and introduces Schedule 3 to list the companies to which section 70BA should apply. These changes do not introduce any exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds but extend the application of the regulation to include specified companies and updated authorities and bodies.
Key Provisions
The main operative sections of the Audit Regulations (Amendment) are Regulation 1 and Regulation 2. Regulation 1 declares specific companies, listed in Schedule 3, to be subject to section 70BA of the Audit Act 1901. This allows the Auditor-General to authorise an officer to sign reports on behalf of the Auditor-General. Regulation 2 updates Schedule 2 to include the current list of authorities and bodies subject to section 70BA and introduces a new Schedule 3, declaring those companies to which section 70BA applies.
The obligations imposed by these regulations are primarily administrative in nature. The Auditor-General must ensure that any officer authorised to sign reports on his or her behalf is adequately trained and qualified to do so. The Auditor-General remains ultimately responsible for the conduct of the audits and the content of the reports. The regulations do not alter the fundamental duties of the Auditor-General but provide a mechanism to delegate the signing of reports to authorised officers.
Breaches of the regulations, if any, would not be explicitly stated in the provided text. However, generally, failure to comply with the requirements of the Audit Act 1901 and its regulations could lead to administrative penalties. These penalties could include fines, administrative sanctions, or other civil consequences as prescribed by the relevant legislation. The maximum penalties would be determined by the specific provisions of the Audit Act and any related laws.
The regulations are designed to streamline the process of submitting audit reports while maintaining the Auditor-General's ultimate responsibility for the audits and their contents. The amendments do not introduce new substantive obligations but clarify the scope of the Auditor-General's authority to delegate certain administrative tasks. This change aims to improve efficiency without compromising the quality and integrity of the audits conducted.