A performance audit of the effectiveness of the Australian Government’s advertising campaigns has found the Department of Finance’s administration of the scheme to be effective.
In his Report Australian Government Advertising: May 2019 to October 2021, Auditor-General, Grant Hehir said the Department of Social Services (DSS) and Treasury were also effective in their implementation of the campaigning rule requirements.
“Finance has been effective in its central Agency role of supporting entities, providing secretariat support to third-party reviewers (the Independent Communications Committee, ICC), preparing the annual campaign expenditure report and advising Government on emerging risks, issues and framework changes including options for responding to previous Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) performance audit recommendations,” Mr Hehir said.
He found the Department of Infrastructure’s Building Our Future campaign was also subject to the necessary review and other requirements but strayed away in public relations (PR) activities undertaken during a campaign.
He said Infrastructure was not consistent with advice provided to the ICC that PR activities would not “be instigated by any political party or politician, or make reference to any political party or politician”.
Mr Hehir said DSS’s Help is Here campaign and Treasury’s Economic Recovery Plan campaign were both subjected to the necessary review, certification and publication requirements.
He made one recommendation to Finance, four recommendations to Infrastructure, one to each of DSS and Treasury.
The Auditor-General’s Report can be accessed online at this PS News link and the 128-page printable version at this link.
The audit team was Grace Guilfoyle, Elizabeth Wedgwood, James Sheeran, Jo Rattray-Wood and Michelle Page.
