An audit of the effectiveness of the Governance Board appointed to the Old Parliament House (OPH) has found the arrangement to be working as required.
In his report, Effectiveness of Board Governance at Old Parliament House, Auditor-General, Grant Hehir found however that the Department of Finance needed to update its guidance to accountable authorities such as OPH and the OPH Board needed to ensure its corporate plan met Department of Finance requirements.
“The governance and oversight arrangements adopted by the Old Parliament House Board are effective,” Mr Hehir said.
He said the OPH audit was one of a series of governance audits that applied a standard methodology to the governance of individual Boards.
He noted that around 60 corporate Commonwealth entities subject to the Public Governance Performance and Accountability Act (PGPA Act) had governing Boards, comprising a total of around 510 board positions.
“Members of Commonwealth governing Boards are also officials under the PGPA Act and subject to the general duties of officials,” Mr Hehir said.
“The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Governance Board in Old Parliament House.”
He made two recommendations following his audit: That the Department of Finance update its guidance to accountable authorities, and that OPH ensure its corporate plan meets all the minimum requirements. Both were agreed.
The Auditor-General’s 64-page report can be accessed at this PS News link and the audit team was Grace Guilfoyle, Kelly Williamson, Shane Armstrong and Michelle Page.
