"O, what may man within
him hide, though angel on the outward side!
Measure for Measure Act three,
Scene two.
Commonwealth statutory entities are obliged to prepare
annual reports including audited financial statements. These requirements are normally
found tin the relevant legislation establishing the entity and in the Public
Governance, Performance and Accountability Act (2013) (PGPA Act). These reports
are required to be tabled in Parliament. The Department of Prime Minister and
Cabinet prepares Tabling Guidelines which outline the processes expected to be
followed in relation to the tabling of such documents. The most recent Tabling
Guidelines were issued in July 2024 (link
here). The relevant section relating to annual reports states as follows [emphasis
added]:
Annual Reports
It is expected Annual
Reports are tabled prior to the start of the Supplementary Budget Estimates
hearings each year and immediately published on the
Transparency Portal after tabling occurs. This ensures Annual Reports are
available for scrutiny by the relevant Senate standing committee. To facilitate
this, documents can be tabled in the Senate on any business day in October
excluding any Thursday when the Senate is sitting. The Department of Finance is
responsible for establishing the requirements for annual reporting by
Commonwealth entities and companies. Enquiries about the preparation, content
and reporting timeframes should be directed to the Department of Finance:
PGPA@finance.gov.au. Relevant guidance for Commonwealth entities and companies
annual reporting requirements can be located at https://www.finance.gov.au/government/managing-commonwealth-resources/planning-and-reporting
Annual reports are periodic
reports under section 34C of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (AIA). In the
event that an appropriate deadline for a report cannot be met, an extension
must be sought in accordance with relevant legislation or subsections
34C(4) or (7) of the AIA, as appropriate. Whether a report is overdue will
depend on the particular circumstances of each Commonwealth entity or
Commonwealth company. Statements relating to extensions for overdue
reports which are required to be ‘laid before each chamber of Parliament’ will
be tabled as deemed documents in the House of Representatives and Clerk's
documents in the Senate.
The Senate Estimates hearing for the Indigenous Australians
elements of the Prime Minister’s portfolio are being held today and tomorrow (1&2
December 2025). As of this afternoon, the 2024-25 Annual Reports for two
portfolio entities (Aboriginal Investment NT (AINT) and the Anindilyakwa Land
Council (ALC)) had not been tabled and are not available on the Transparency
Portal, and as far as I can determine, no statement by the Minister approving an
extension of time for the tabling of these reports has been tabled.
While this might seem to be a comparatively trivial
oversight, both the Aboriginal Investment NT and the ALC are responsible
for the allocation and investment of scores of millions in funds appropriated
to the Aboriginals Benefit Account. Over the past three years the ALC has been
the subject of a slew of accountability concerns and there are serious doubts
related to the probity surrounding the allocation of over $100m in royalty
equivalents in recent years (link
here).
AINT in its response to the Senate Order requiring a listing
of entity contracts (link
here) revealed that it has paid CIML $19m for the management of an Investment
Trust. CIML, or Channel Investment Management Limited, is an Australian company
that acts as a responsible entity and trustee for various managed investment
schemes. CIML provides responsible
entity services to funds that invest in areas like fixed income, Australian and
global equities, and private debt. I have no reason to question this
contract arrangement but mention it to make the point that there are serious large
financial transactions in play within AINT that deserve serious oversight by
the Senate.
The similar Senate Order report
for the ALC (link
here) reports expenditures in excess of $500k related to an Independent Board
Advisor, communication services, and planning and reporting services.
Clearly both organisations
have the capability to engage external consultants if necessary to ensure that
their obligations to the Parliament for annual reporting are met.
This raises the question
then whether the delays in tabling have been the result of directions by the Minister
rather than an inability to finalise a draft.
This afternoon the ALC
appeared along with the other three NT Land Councils before a desultory hearing
of the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee. Each of
the other three land councils were asked a few questions based on their annual
reports, and they largely agreed to take them on notice. The absence of a
tabled annual report from the ALC was not raised by any of the Senators present.
Aboriginal Investment NT is scheduled to appear before the Committee tomorrow;
I am not holding my breath.
Readers can draw their own conclusions; for what it is
worth, my take is that the Parliament’s appetite for ensuring substantive
accountability by the Executive is close to zero.
1 December 2025
