New inquiries to improve public outcomes of grant administration

THE Administration of the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements by Emergency Management Australia and the Award of Funding under the Safer Streets Program will be the focus of new inquiries  under the Parliament’s Joint Public Accounts Committee.

The new inquiries, which commenced last Friday, have been initiated as part of the committee’s role of examining Australian National Audit Office reports. Committee Chair, Dr Andrew Southcott MP, said that the committee had an important role in holding Commonwealth agencies to account.

“Grants administration is an important activity involving a significant amount of public funds each year. The Committee’s new inquiries are an opportunity to further inspect the framework supporting the administration of programs involving Commonwealth grants to improve transparency, accountability and, ultimately, public outcomes,” Dr Southcott said.

The committee is also inquiring into the Management of Smart Centres’ Centrelink Telephone Services.

Interested persons and organisations are invited to make submissions to the committee’s inquiries, addressing the terms of reference. 

Further information about the committee’s inquiries, including details on how to lodge a submission, are available on the committee’s website at www.aph.gov.au/jcpaa.

Public hearings will be held in the second half of the year.

The committee has selected three ANAO reports for detailed review:
• No. 34 of (2014-15) Administration of the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements by Emergency Management Australia
• No. 37 of (2014-15) Management of Smart Centres’ Centrelink Telephone Services
• No. 41 of (2014-15) The Award of Funding under the Safer Streets Programme

For information about the inquiry and public hearing: please contact the Committee Secretariat on (02) 6277 4615, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visit the committee website http://www.aph.gov.au/jcpaa.

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