Auditor-general pushes for ‘critical’ changes to improve independence

Queensland’s auditor-general has raised concerns the Palaszczuk Government holds too much power over his work, as he calls for critical law changes to bolster independence.

The man responsible for marking the performance of the Palaszczuk Government is pushing for law changes to bolster his independence amid concerns the government holds too much power over his work.

Auditor-General Brendan Worrall’s push to improve independence comes amid a raft of complaints from other statutory offices that they lack proper independence from government departments that oversee them to do their jobs appropriately.

Mr Worrall has been publicly raising the issue for at least a year after a strategic review into his office in 2017 recommended legislative changes that went nowhere.

He made the push for the changes in his most recent annual report, tabled by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, and to the parliament’s Economics and Governance Committee, which oversees his office.

Auditor-General Brendan Worrall seeks law changes to offer him more independence to carry out his role.

“To provide assurance to the parliament, it is critical to preserve our independence,” Mr Worrall told the committee in March last year.

“In 2017, QAO’s strategic review concluded that the legislative framework was not appropriate for an audit office in a mature democracy.”

Queensland’s Auditor-General independently examines how the public service is working, including probing major government spending, projects and key failures.

Past work revealed Queensland Health’s botched rollout of its hospital ordering system, rebuked the government for not properly tracking $7b in Covid spending, and found the Palaszczuk Government had been awarding sports grants that favoured Labor seats.

Mr Worrall has been highlighting a proposal for his office to have greater independence to hire its own workforce – a recommendation that was made in the strategic review.

He also pointed to a 2019 law change that now “enables sharing of protected information with the Treasurer or Queensland Treasury”, which would allow information uncovered in its audits, including sensitive information, to be shared.

Mr Worrall suggested this law change, and the absence of an oath of office or independence from executive control, meant Queensland’s independence ranking fell from third to sixth out of 10 jurisdictions in a recent report by the Australasian Council of Auditors-General into auditor-general independence.

The role of the Auditor-General is to review the performance of the Palaszczuk Government but he feels there is too much power held over his work. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

His 2020-21 annual report noted only five recommendations from a 2017 strategic review were yet to be implemented – but three of them were out of the Queensland Audit Office’s control because they required law changes.

Those recommendations that required changes to the law related to his agency’s independence”, the report noted.

“The review recommended that the Auditor-General Act 2009 is amended to allow us more independence around employing staff,” it said.

“This includes allowing QAO to employ staff under its own legislation rather than the Public Service Act 2008, and to determine remuneration, and terms and conditions of employment.

“This would allow QAO to be more competitive when attracting suitably qualified staff.

“The 2017 review also recommended that the Auditor-General become an independent Officer of parliament and have more independence around the setting of client rates and fees for our services.

“It recommended that the Auditor-General Act 2009 is examined to identify any outdated provisions impacting on the efficiency and effectiveness of QAO, and that regular reviews are conducted to ensure it stays in line with developments in public sector auditing.”

Mr Worrall has also suggested it would be better if the audit office was able to provide its annual report to the Speaker, rather than the Premier, for tabling.

Auditor-General Brendan Worrall speaks at the estimates committee hearing at QLD parliament in 2021. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jono Searle

He told the committee it hampered his ability to provide it in a timely way and said his previous annual report had been held up by six weeks by the Premier’s office before it was finally released.

In his annual report, he suggested he was keen to see all of the recommendation progress ahead of the 2023 strategic review, saying he would engage with parliament and stakeholders on the matter.

“These recommendations must be actioned by the parliamentary Economics and Governance Committee,” the report said.

A government spokesman said the strategic review was referred to the Labor-controlled parliamentary committee for its consideration.

“The committee did not make recommendations in response to the review recommendations regarding the employment of staff, the Auditor-General being an independent officer of the parliament and funding arrangements,” he said.

“Given the QAO’s expertise, sharing information allows Treasury to better track and manage expenses across government.”