Enron Play Has Message for Today

The play "ENRON" at the New Theatre in Newtown, Sydney has lessons for the Australian government as it considers how to deal with tax avoidance by Google and Apple. The performance Last night had strong performances from the large cast, a strong script and imaginative set. The Australian Treasury, Law Society and the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board should arrange block bookings.

The play by Lucy Prebble is the story of how Enron's downward slide started with questionable business practices which were not challenged by regulators and moved on to outright fraud. The show used metaphor to explain complex accounting schemes in an entertaining way. But one scene which had floor traders bidding for a slice of bread was a little abstract for me.

Most telling was a scene where Skilling explains how the government regulations on energy trading are written by people not as smart as him and he feels obliged to take advantage of the loopholes in the law. This might be said of the loopholes used in tax laws by Apple and Google to avoid paying tax in Australia, using the "Double Irish Dutch Sandwich".

Lax laws place honest company executives in a difficult moral dilemma: should they act ethically and pay tax, or use the loopholes as their competitors do? The Australian Treasury has issued a 28 page "Implications of the Modern Global Economy for the Taxation of Multinational Enterprises Issues Paper" (May 2013). The Australian government needs to move quickly to close the loopholes, not only to stop billions of dollars in tax avoidance, but to lessen the moral risk of future Enrons.

Audit of Learning Technologies in Government Schools

The Victorian Government conducted an audit of Learning Technologies in Government Schools. It was found that the Victorian government's policy for ICT in schools, titled the Digital Learning Statement, lacks a clear action plan and framework for investment in learning technology. As a result there is "... little guidance on how future learning technology initiatives can be appropriately planned and integrated". More positively the planning for a fibre-optic network for schools was found to have a "robust needs and options analysis". However, the software project, called "Ultranet", was "...poorly planned and implemented". The system is 80 per cent over budget, late, has a low uptake rate and limited functionality. It would seem to me that the Victorian Government should retain the network and computer hardware, but replace the software with open source, including Moodle and Mahara.

The audit report is the equivalent of 53 pages of very clear analysis of a complex social and technical issue. The report would be of value for those interested in the issues of technology for education at all levels, not just schools. The Auditor-General has published the report as a well formatted and efficient HTML web page as well as the more usual (and harder to read) PDF.

Conclusion

DEECD’s Digital Learning Statement (the Statement) does not provide a clear action plan or framework for investment in learning technologies. There is no supporting strategy or further detail to the Statement. This means that departmental staff and school leaders have little guidance on how future learning technology initiatives can be appropriately planned and integrated to build upon past and present ICT investments.
Planning for the VicSmart high-speed fibre-optic network for all government schools was underpinned by a robust needs and options analysis. Although the project was a less complex infrastructure rollout, it was well executed and is delivering its desired benefits. The high-speed connectivity that VicSmart provides is a key enabler of current and future digital learning in government schools.
In contrast, the Ultranet, the Statement’s key foundation plank and key enabler, was poorly planned and implemented. Six years after its announcement as a government priority, it is yet to achieve expected benefits for students, parents and schools. It is significantly late, more than 80 per cent over its first announced budget, has very low uptake by users, and does not have the functionality originally intended.
This audit identified a number of serious probity, procurement and financial management issues surrounding the Ultranet project. DEECD’s tender process lacked rigour and was seriously flawed. There is little confidence in the costing and financial management practices around the Ultranet project, and limited assurance that the selected outcome represented value for money.

Findings

Digital Learning Statement

The Digital Learning Statement—the government’s current policy document on the use of learning technologies—was not informed by robust and comprehensive research and does not make a clear and cogent case for government investment in learning technologies.
The Statement does not deliver on the directive in the 2008 Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development to provide a plan of action to use learning technologies in teaching and learning. A review of DEECD’s advice to the Minister for Education shows that the government was not advised that the Statement did not comply with the Blueprint’s directive to develop and deliver a strategy.
To date, there has been no accompanying detailed strategy developed to support the Statement, even though this was originally planned.

VicSmart high-speed broadband for schools

Planning for VicSmart was underpinned by a robust needs and options analysis, as demonstrated by its 2005 business case, which articulated the needs to be addressed and provided a clear rationale for the purchase of high-speed fibre-optic broadband connectivity. The business case provided confidence that the project was achievable and could be delivered as planned.
The VicSmart procurement process was streamlined by using a mandated whole-of-government single-source provider. The fibre-optic system is performing as expected and has been upgraded incrementally to meet emerging data and connectivity needs across the government school system.

Ultranet e-learning system

The Ultranet project was poorly planned and implemented. None of its three business cases had a well thought out needs analysis or gave considered options to deliver the project. The various business cases did not answer the ‘Why invest?’ question for the Ultranet, nor did they provide a sound basis for the project’s approval.
Some six years since its announcement as a government priority, the Ultranet has not delivered its main objectives:

• to improve responsiveness to individual learning needs
• to provide better information to parents, the school system and government
• to improve the efficiency of the learning environment and school administration.

Consistent with public sector practice, the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) and the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) provided advice to government at key decision points over the life of the Ultranet project.
The project continued despite advice from central agencies that it should cease or be delayed. Further, there is no trail of documentary evidence to explain whether or how DEECD addressed the many critical issues raised by DPC and DTF.
It is difficult to understand why the Ultranet procurement was able to proceed to contract execution, given the significant concerns raised by DPC and DTF, as well as the many adverse ratings that DEECD had received from various Gateway reviews since the project first commenced.
Further, this audit detected a number of serious process and probity issues in relation to tendering and procurement for the Ultranet. DEECD has advised that it has commenced a number of actions and further detailed investigations in response to these matters.
There is little confidence that the financial management practices relating to the Ultranet were sound and that full costs have been adequately recorded. VAGO estimates that actual capital and operating expenditure for the Ultranet was approximately $162 million as at June 2012, and by June 2013 it is likely to have cost approximately $180 million. DEECD has advised that it is currently investigating the financial practices in relation to this major ICT project.
Despite this significant expenditure, no cost-benefit analysis has been conducted to determine whether the Ultranet provides value for money, or whether the same functionality could have been delivered more cost effectively.
Performance indicators for the Ultranet have been revised down over time and do not provide appropriate measures of whether the Ultranet is achieving what the government expected when it funded the project.
Use of the Ultranet is low, and declining. On average, only 10 per cent of students and 27 per cent of teachers logged in on a monthly basis from July 2011 to May 2012.
An underlying factor which has limited the effective implementation of the Ultranet is the significant discrepancy between the original scope of the project and expected benefits and what has actually been implemented and delivered. This underscores the urgent need for DEECD to review whether it should continue to invest in this project.
Further, DEECD did not adequately manage the change processes required to maximise the Ultranet’s acceptance and, therefore, the state’s return on investment. Teachers and parents were not appropriately trained and supported to use the Ultranet. Ultimately, the Ultranet is only a technology tool, and cannot by itself deliver the benefits intended from it.

Recommendations

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development should:

1. develop a comprehensive and evidence‑based strategy or plan of action for use of learning technologies to underpin and guide the significant investment in ICT for government schools
2. develop performance indicators that measure both VicSmart’s ongoing operational performance and its achievement of intended benefits
3. urgently review its investment in the Ultranet, with a particular focus on:
   • assessing whether the contractor has delivered all functionality as required by the contract and what action, if any, needs to be taken to enforce the state’s rights
   • rigorously assessing its financial management practices and identifying the real, current cost of the Ultranet to determine the extent to which further investment is warranted
   • identifying and addressing the underlying causes of low take‑up rates across the school system by teachers, students and parents
   • providing advice to government on the cost-benefit of decommissioning the system now against continuing to fund and rectify the system so that it can be implemented as originally expected
4. conduct an agency-wide review of its internal tendering, probity and financial management practices in light of the serious issues identified by this audit
5. expedite the provision of guidance to schools on the current status of the Ultranet as the department’s key learning technology investment, and clarify the policy context of schools’ autonomy in purchasing non-Ultranet learning technologies. ...

From: Learning Technologies in Government Schools, Victorian Auditor-General, 12 December 2012

Audit of Australian Greenhouse Reporting

The Australian National Audit Office has released a report on the effectiveness of the "Administration of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme" (7 February 2012). The report is positive overall, suggesting some measures to improve integrity, compliance and streamline reporting. This report should be of interest to my ICT Sustainability students. Available are a brochure and the full
audit report.

Overall conclusion

14. The passing of the NGER Act in September 2007 created a new regulatory regime for Australia, with 775 constitutional corporations required to self assess and report their greenhouse gas emissions, energy use and production. This assessment and reporting was a critical prerequisite to underpin the proposed emissions trading scheme. It was also fundamental to the transparent reporting of Australia’s national and global commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. Accurate and complete datasets are also integral to the integrity of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory¹⁴ and other international reporting obligations under the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

15. The establishment of NGERS was a substantial and complex undertaking for DCCEE given the scale and broad coverage of the legislation across the Australian economy. The changing operating environment, particularly in relation to the proposed introduction of an emissions trading scheme in 2015 and the more recent carbon pricing mechanism, presented additional challenges for DCCEE that have impacted on the department’s implementation of NGERS. Nevertheless, DCCEE has established a workable greenhouse gas and energy reporting scheme that provides a more accurate measurement of greenhouse gas emissions and energy use within Australia when compared to the voluntary industry surveys and programs that were previously in place. DCCEE has established a positive relationship with the majority of registered corporations. In addition, over 50 per cent of corporations have indicated in their response to the ANAO’s survey that tangible benefits have been obtained from measuring their greenhouse gases and energy use.

16. Notwithstanding these positive findings and progress to date, key aspects of DCCEE’s administration require strengthening to improve the operation of NGERS. These include enhancing the integrity of reported greenhouse gas emission and energy use data; better managing compliance with the regulatory requirements; and streamlining reporting obligations as intended by COAG.

Data integrity

17. The quality and accuracy of reports submitted by corporations is critical for the overall integrity of the NGERS dataset. As the scheme relies on the self assessment and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and energy data by corporations, a sound quality assurance process supported by a risk-based compliance program are key elements for effective administration. Currently, DCCEE does not verify¹⁵ the data reported by corporations. Rather the department’s quality assurance relies on a desk top review of submitted data.¹⁶ It is intended that verification will be a major component of DCCEE’s compliance and audit program in 2012. In 2009–10, DCCEE identified that nearly three quarters of submitted reports contained errors, with 17 per cent of reports containing significant errors. The importance of accurate greenhouse gas emission and energy use data will increase significantly with the introduction of a carbon price in 2012. DCCEE has taken steps to improve data quality, including initiating a report re-submission process and the introduction of the recent Data Quality Improvement Strategy, to better position the department to monitor the integrity of data provided by registered corporations.

18. The integrity of the data collected under NGERS also relies on the functionality and security of the IT system (OSCAR) used by entities with NGERS obligations, to report and store data. The IT security testing undertaken as part of this audit, identified significant security vulnerabilities within the system that increased the risk of an unauthorised person gaining access to, and threatening the integrity of NGERS data. The subsequent report made forty specific recommendations to improve security. Eight of these recommendations were classified as high priority. The results of this security testing highlight the importance of managing risks through sound change and release management controls for the update and enhancement of IT systems. The ANAO’s recommendations are being progressed by DCCEE.

Compliance management

19. As the regulator, DCCEE is responsible for ensuring that regulated entities have met legislative requirements. DCCEE has put in place a number of strategies designed to educate and train representatives from corporations and to encourage compliance with NGERS registration and reporting requirements. However, the implementation of the NGERS compliance and audit program has been slower than planned. Implementation was constrained by the redistribution of resources following the deferral of the emissions trading scheme, and the lower priority afforded to this work within the first three years of NGERS. Consequently, a systematic, risk-based audit and compliance program is still in the process of being implemented. There remains substantial work to be undertaken to establish a program that is capable of providing an appropriate level of assurance that corporations are complying with their obligations. The cost of compliance for corporations is also significantly higher than the estimates in the NGERS regulatory impact statement. Striking the appropriate balance between meeting compliance obligations and the associated cost for regulated entities will be an important consideration for DCCEE in implementing the NGERS compliance and audit program.

Streamlined reporting

20. NGERS was intended to reduce the duplication of reporting requirements across related programs and create a single national reporting framework. This legislated objective was reinforced by a Protocol agreed by Australian, state and territory governments in July 2009. There was initial progress under the Protocol to streamline reporting obligations, with DCCEE ceasing a number of national programs as well as voluntary company surveys. Despite this initial streamlining activity, progress effectively stalled from April 2010 when the Government deferred the introduction of an emissions trading scheme. As a consequence, multiple reporting obligations remain.¹⁷ Reporting obligations and the associated inefficient use of resources were frequently cited as a significant problem by respondents to the ANAO survey and during discussions with stakeholders. Of the corporations surveyed, 63 out of 108 respondents (58.3 per cent) stated there had been no reduction in reporting requirements. If the objectives of the agreed Protocol are to be realised, DCCEE will need to give priority to working with jurisdictions to streamline current reporting requirements.

21. The ANAO has made three recommendations designed to: better target departmental compliance efforts; improve data sharing with Australian Government and authorised state or territory agencies; and advance efforts to further streamline greenhouse gas emission and energy use reporting requirements. ...

From: Administration of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme: Audit brochure, Australian National Audit Office, 7 February 2012

Security of Electronic Information Held by Australian Government Agencies

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) released a report on "The Protection and Security of Electronic Information Held by Australian Government Agencies" on 23 March 2011. Agencies audited were: the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM), ComSuper, Medicare Australia and The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC). The audit found measures were generally good, but suggested better administrator passwords and that public web-based email services, such as Gmail and Hotmail (and presumably Facebook) be blocked, to stop sensitive material being easily sent from agencies. The agencies agreed with the audit findings and undertook to implement the recommendations.

Overall, the audit concluded that the measures examined in the audited agencies to protect and secure electronic information were generally operating in accordance with Government protective security requirements. The agencies had established information security frameworks; had implemented controls to safeguard information, to protect network infrastructure and prevent and detect unauthorised access to information; and had controls in place to reduce loss, damage or compromise to ICT assets.

18. However, the audit did identify scope for the audited agencies to enhance their security measures in the following key areas:

• information security policies and procedures need to be complete and
  up-to-date. Some agency policies and procedures were out-of-date, and each agency needed to compile or update their Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for ICT security officers. These policies and procedures assist in the consistent implementation of key ICT security measures, controls and practices;
• third-party software applications should be regularly assessed for the availability of patches, and patches applied accordingly, to better protect their security, especially given their known vulnerability to attack. This was an issue identified in two of the four audited agencies;
• administrator accounts and service accounts, which allow a high level of access across ICT systems, should use suitably complex password configurations to reduce the potential for inappropriate access. A password test applied by the ANAO had mixed results, showing weaknesses in passwords for administrator and service accounts in several agencies; and
• emails using public web-based email services^[18] should be blocked on agency ICT systems, as these can provide an easily accessible point of entry for an external attack and subject the agency to the potential for intended or unintended information disclosure. Webmail accounts were accessible in one of the audited agencies, and logs showed that some staff were using these accounts on a regular basis.

From: The Protection and Security of Electronic Information Held by Australian Government Agencies, Australian National Audit Office, 23 March 2011.

Defence Budget Audit Needs Needs More ICT

The Minister for Defence, Senator John Faulkner, has released the "2008 Defence Budget Audit" (Pappas Review by George Pappas). Amongst other savings, the report identifies 15 to 30% of possible savings in operating costs for ICT. However, it does not detail this further nor look at the much larger savings (which would be in the billions) by the more effective use of ICT to run Defence. A reduction in ICT spending may be a false economy if it prevents an overall saving in defence, which could be as much as 15% of the total budget.

Rather than the process driven approach which has been tried in Defence many times and failed, I suggest a behaviour driven approach. This would retrain defence staff, both civilian and military with the new skills they need and provide direct incentives for them to use those skills effectively. Also they staff would be provided with the tools to work effectively, particularly ICT systems.

As an example, the audit report identifies video conferencing as a technology for savings, by replacing air travel. However, if staff are not trained in how to use video conference effectively and are not given incentives to use it, the technology will remain underused. At best video conferencing will be used to replace some unproductive face to face meetings with unproductive virtual ones.

Available are:

1. DEFENCE BUDGET AUDIT RELEASED, Media Release, John Faulkner , Minister for Defence, MIN49/09, 17 November 2009
2. Response to the Defence Budget Audit, Department of Defence, 17 November 2009
3. Executive Summary, Defence Budget Audit, Department of Defence, 17 November 2009
4. Defence Budget Audit, Department of Defence, 17 November 2009

The report recommended changes to Defence operations to reduce cost and increase effectiveness. The Government has accepted many of the recommendations, including to reduce the number of ICT contractors used. Recommendations to close smaller defence bases will be delayed until after the next election.

The executive summary states:

Capturing efficiency while reforming ICT. A holistic ICT transformation is planned to significantly improve the quality of the ICT infrastructure provided to Defence. While the current focus on the transformation effort is primarily on quality, there should be an increased focus on capturing the significant efficiencies in the process.

These reforms could save Defence 15 to 30% per year in operating costs, dependent on the future ICT strategy. These savings are estimated at $215 million per year, but have not been analysed in detail because the ICT strategy is beyond the scope of this review.

From: Executive Summary, Defence Budget Audit, Department of Defence, 17 November 2009

Several of the more general recommendations also relate to the use of ICT more effectively (excerpt appended).

Extensive documentation has been provided for the audit, with an executive summary (8 pages), full report (308 pages) and government response (4 pages). One flaw in this is that the response is a secured PDF document which cannot have text copied from it, making analysis difficult.

More seriously, the report itself is provided in the form of a bitmap images with no accompanying text. As a result it is not possible to search the document nor copy text from the document (copying has been barred for this document in any case). Where a document is only available in hard copy form it may be necessary to scan it in for online distribution. PDF has an option to provide an optical character recognition version of the document for searching, which has not been done in this case. Also this document has not been generated from a paper original, it is from a digital original. Those who produced the PDF version will have had to make a deliberate decision not to provide it in an easy to search text format and so as to limit access to the document by the public. Such action by a public servant is unethical and may be contrary to Australian law. In any case the document provided does not meet the Disability Discrimination Act Advisory Notes issued by the Australian Human Rights Commission likely placing the Department of Defence in breech of the Act.

From the Executive Summary, Defence Budget Audit, Department of Defence, 17 November 2009:

Reducing the cost of Defence inputs can be achieved in three ways:

• Reducing non-equipment procurement costs. Defence procures a wide range of commercial products and services such as building services, travel and relocation services. Clear opportunities exist to reduce these costs by:
• Procuring more competitively priced products and services. For example, unbundling routes and removing price arbitrage on removal contracts.
• Changing the specifications for what is required to obtain less costly products, where doing so will not compromise capability. For example, increasing the procurement requirement that military clothing is imported from low cost countries.
• Changing patterns of use. For example, making greater use of Defence’s extensive video-conference network rather than undertaking single day travel.
• These improvements can save Defence between $326 and $518 million per year in non-equipment expenditure.
• Reducing the cost of major equipment procurement.
  

Although a longterm task, there are significant opportunities to reduce the cost of major equipment procurement through:

• Procuring a higher proportion of MOTS equipment
• Increasing the level of competition for major equipment acquisition and sustainment contracts
• Reviewing the proportion of local sourcing which is not justified by strategic requirements.
  

Purchasing a greater proportion of MOTS (which the most recent Defence Capability Plan (DCP) plans for) and increasing the level of competition on major contracts (which partially overlaps with savings identified in the lean backbone section) could ease cost pressures by $345 to $660 million, but these are not ‘banked’ as savings.

• Reducing the cost of combat capability through the use of Reserves.
  Beyond support functions, there is also an opportunity to deliver the same military capability at a lower cost through a flexible surge model. This model makes expanded use of Reserves and deployable contractors.
  These changes could reduce the cost of combat capability by ~$50 million per year.

The total productivity dividend from all of these measures is in the range of $1.3 to $1.8 billion per year, and a one-off saving of $218 to $398 million. The extent of reform required to capture these savings will take 3 to 5 years. The operational cost savings already identified by Defence (as part of the Defence Savings Plan, also know as ‘E2’) have been integrated with or replaced by the Audit savings, which provide analytical substance, much greater detail and show where Defence can go further to realise additional savings.

Removing the long-term structural inefficiencies of a fragmented estate. This can be achieved by starting the process of consolidating estates into an efficient superbase model, laying the foundation for the next ‘S’ curve in Defence productivity. A superbase model would dramatically reduce subscale base costs,
extensive travel and relocation expenses, and the costs associated with managing a complicated supply-chain network.
The estimated yearly savings from a superbase model that would meet Australia’s strategic requirements would increase over time (assuming a staged consolidation), and could reach $700 to $1,050 million by 2035 (in 2008 dollars). ...

From: Executive Summary, Defence Budget Audit, Department of Defence, 17 November 2009

Audit of Online Government Documents in Parliament

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) issued "Online Availability of Government Entities' Documents Tabled in the Australian Parliament" 25 May 2009 (Report Number: 37). Government agencies are required to keep online, and publicly available, the documents they present to Parliament. The Audit office found that 90% of documents were online, but 95% of these were in PDF format and did not meet guidelines for accessibility to the disabled. Somewhat paradoxically, the ANAO's own report is in PDF and so appears not to conform with the guidelines which the report recommends be used. The Auditor thought AGIMO’s web publishing guidelines were not at fault.

You can download the Audit_Report_37 in PDF, or view a web summary as a
Audit Brochure. Below are the key findings:

Key Government entities’ compliance with online publishing policy (Chapter 2)

The ANAO undertook a desktop review of a sample of papers tabled from 2000 to 2008 to assess their online existence, ease of discovery online, online accessibility, and consistency between the online and printed versions.

Overall, our testing indicated that the proportion of the tabled papers examined found online has improved from 54 per cent in 2000 to 89 per cent in 2008. This improvement is due to a number of factors, including an increased focus on the delivery of online services by government entities.

However, no more than 90 per cent of the tabled papers examined in any one year were available online. The main reasons that this level has not increased is that either some individual government entities still do not have a web presence or that they are not fully aware of the requirements to publish tabled papers online. Further, MOG changes have caused restructures of entities and their websites. In essence, the merger or creation of a government entity and the subsequent new website can result in documents or links to such documents being inadvertently removed. In either case, web users are hindered or prevented from finding documents online.

The ease of discovery of an online document was quite high, having increased from 89 per cent of documents examined in 2000 to 100 per cent in 2006, although it declined slightly in each of 2007 and 2008. The tabled papers we found online were generally able to be discovered through publicly available search practices. Where discovery was difficult, the cause was usually poor website design that hindered navigation by web users.

Online accessibility was examined in two parts: providing access to web users without the need to use proprietary software and providing access to web users with a disability. In the first part, the recommended formats are HTML which any web browser can view; and plain text or RTF which any text reader or open source word processing software can view. The use of these formats to publish documents online has varied considerably since 2000. In particular, of the documents we examined in 2008, about 25 per cent were in HTML and less than five per cent were in RTF.

In contrast, over 95 per cent of the documents we examined in 2008 were in PDF, being a proprietary software format. Although PDF can have a free reader associated with it, a link to a reader was only supplied for about 65 per cent of documents.

The second part of online accessibility pertains to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 that requires government bodies to provide equitable access to people with disabilities, where it can reasonably be provided. To give effect to the requirements of the Act, the AHRC endorsed a standard¹⁵ on web accessibility. This standard recommends the use of HTML or text based formats. As mentioned, our testing has indicated that the use of HTML and text based formats is low. In addition, a number of government entities only publish documents online in PDF, which does not comply with this standard.

The authorised version of a tabled paper is the printed (hardcopy) version that is tabled in Parliament. It is important to ensure consistency between the printed and online versions. Our testing of online Parliamentary Papers for 2007 found over 90 percent of documents were consistent with the printed version. Based on our analysis, the ANAO considers that there are a number of useful practices to ensure consistency between the online and printed versions of a document. They include, but are not limited to: maintaining communication between the print and online publishing functions; ensuring that the document author verifies the online version prior to web publishing; and placing the final PDF version provided to the printer online.

Although the level of results achieved indicated an improvement in online availability of tabled papers, the ANAO considers that further improvement can be realised. Government entities should review the level and nature of their online publishing activity and assess the risks of them not complying with the online publishing requirements related to tabled papers. Specifically, entities with a high risk of not complying with the requirements, such as those having no web presence, those producing multiple documents for tabling in Parliament each year, or which have been subject to a MOG change, should address any shortcomings in a cost effective way.

Overall, increased government entity compliance in the above matters would benefit from further cooperation between the Department of Finance and Deregulation (Finance), the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) and the Departments of the Parliament to confirm respective roles and responsibilities.

Government entities’ online publishing practices (Chapter 3)

Based on the results of our desktop review, we selected entities for detailed fieldwork that exhibited a medium to high level of compliance with the Government’s online publishing requirements to allow this audit report to convey practices that would lead to better reporting by all government entities.

Each of the audited entities had sound online publishing practices. In particular, each entity had:

• a range of informative policy and guidance material to support staff performing online publishing functions;
• well-defined processes for publishing documents online, including controls to restrict access to online publishing functions to authorised staff; and
• processes and practices to help manage and provide assurance about online content, including obtaining advice as to the timing of the tabling of documents in Parliament.

In addition, each of the audited entities had controls in place to assist in managing the validity of their online content. In particular, all but one of the entities had a formal content management system (CMS). The ANAO’s audit report on Government Agencies’ Management of their Websites discusses entities use of specialist software to manage content.¹⁶

Only one of the audited entities specifically referred to the requirements for publishing tabled papers in its online publishing policy and procedural documentation. The ANAO considers that those government entities that have multiple documents tabled in Parliament would benefit from emphasising this requirement in their online publishing policy and procedural material. Further, in some entities the monitoring and reporting of web-related statistics was ad-hoc.

Overall, we considered that AGIMO’s WPG (which informs entities of the Government’s web publishing requirements) was relevant, accessible and easy to use. However, the following opportunities were identified to improve the level of guidance in the WPG about the online publishing of tabled papers and improve entities’ awareness and understanding of the requirements:

• specify the requirements relating to tabled papers with greater clarity;
• provide advice on the period of time that government entities must maintain documents online; and
• provide advice on whether an entity can archive electronically its Parliamentary documents after a number of years.

Further, the ANAO considers that stronger alignment between AGIMO’s online publishing requirements and PM&C’s guidance for presenting documents to the Parliament could improve the effectiveness of entities’ online publishing practices for tabled papers.

¹⁵ The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which is a series of documents that explains how to make web content accessible to people with disabilities.

¹⁶ ANAO Audit Report No.13 2008–09, Government Agencies’ Management of their Websites, available from <http://www.anao.gov.au/>.

Summary of entities' responses

Each of the audited entities, including AGIMO, agreed with, noted or supported the three recommendations. In addition to the audited entities, we sought comments on the draft report from four other entities mentioned in the audit, the Department of the Senate, the Department of Parliamentary Services, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Australian Human Rights Commission. Where provided, entities’ responses to a recommendation are included in the body of this report, and entities’ general comments are in Appendix 1. ...

From: "Online Availability of Government Entities' Documents Tabled in the Australian Parliament", Report Number: 37, Australian National Audit Office, 25 May 2009

Australian Government Green Office Audit

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) reported on "Green Office Procurement and Sustainable Office Management" 11 March 2009. As well as the summary Audit Brochure there is the full Audit_Report.

Information and Communications Technology

24. In an office environment, data centres, computers, printers, copiers and multi-functional devices all consume energy. Large organisations can spend up to ten per cent of their ICT budgets on energy costs.

Government agencies purchase, lease or consume a significant range of goods and services. In 2007–08, the procurement of goods and services by Australian Government agencies was valued at over $26 billion. These include office supplies, vehicles, information and communications technology, energy, waste and water services as well as office buildings and facilities. While these goods and services are procured for agencies to achieve their outcomes, they do have an environmental impact. This impact includes greenhouse gas emissions (such as from energy consumption in buildings and from vehicles), waste to landfill from paper, equipment and office refurbishments as well as the consumption of scarce resources such as fresh water and fossil fuels.

The Australian Government has indicated that it is seeking to be at the forefront of environmental purchasing practice. In May 2008, the Prime Minister also commented that ‘the Government accepts its own responsibility to provide practical leadership…with practical measures to reduce our own environmental footprint and measures to harness savings from more efficient use of energy and water’. ^...

In an office environment, data centres, computers, printers, copiers and multi-functional devices all consume energy. Large organisations can spend up to ten per cent of their ICT budgets on energy costs.

Energy use in ICT

The ANAO’s 2005 audit recommended that agencies consider energy efficiency in their ICT purchases. In the 2008 survey, 65 per cent of agencies advised that they now consider energy consumption in their ICT procurement. In addition, the vast majority of agencies indicated they had implemented at least one measure to reduce energy consumption of office and ICT equipment. Some of the 48 per cent of agencies who shut down personal computers (PCs) overnight, reported significant savings from the initiative.

Data centres are a significant area of energy use, typically accounting for 15 to 40 per cent of tenancy energy consumption. An Environment review has identified potential energy savings of up to 33 per cent for data centres through better design layout and upgrading infrastructure. An Environment pilot computer infrastructure project also identified energy savings of 83 per cent compared to the traditional model.

ICT Waste (e-waste)

Approximately 100 000 desktop computers and laptops are being replaced by the Australian Government every year. A significant proportion will end up in the waste stream. Only 16 agencies (25 per cent) reported that their contracts for the supply of ICT included product stewardship requirements in relation to the disposal of ICT equipment. There has been a lack of progress in developing national standards for ICT waste management. However, this should not preclude agencies from giving priority to this area. ...

From: Audit Brochure, "Green Office Procurement and Sustainable Office Management", ANAO Audit Report No.25 2008–09, 11 March 2009.

Energy use in ICT
Energy use in ICT

25. The ANAO’s 2005 audit recommended that agencies consider energy efficiency in their ICT purchases. In the 2008 survey, 65 per cent of agencies advised that they now consider energy consumption in their ICT procurement.

In addition, the vast majority of agencies indicated they had implemented at least one measure to reduce energy consumption of office and ICT equipment.

Some of the 48 per cent of agencies who shut down personal computers (PCs) overnight, reported significant savings from the initiative.

26. Data centres are a significant area of energy use, typically accounting for 15 to 40 per cent of tenancy energy consumption. An Environment review has identified potential energy savings of up to 33 per cent for data centres through better design layout and upgrading infrastructure. An Environment pilot computer infrastructure project also identified energy savings of 83 per cent compared to the traditional model.

ICT Waste (e-waste)

27. Approximately 100 000 desktop computers and laptops are being replaced by the Australian Government every year. A significant proportion will end up in the waste stream. Only 16 agencies (25 per cent) reported that their contracts for the supply of ICT included product stewardship requirements in relation to the disposal of ICT equipment. There has been a lack of progress in developing national standards for ICT waste management.
However, this should not preclude agencies from giving priority to this area. ...

From: "Green Office Procurement and Sustainable Office Management", ANAO Audit Report No.25 2008–09, 11 March 2009.