The focus of this audit was to determine if agencies had suitable policies and practices in place for the management of gifts received. Gifts were defined as any item of value, including goods, services, money or hospitality offered to or received by an employee, without payment, as a consequence of their employment.
We assessed the practices at 8 agencies, including 1 agency from the 2015 audit. The audit covered a 9 month period from 1 January to 30 September 2017.
Our lines of inquiry were:
- Do agencies have appropriate policies for instructing and guiding staff in dealing with gifts?
- Do agencies maintain a suitable register to record, describe and authorise the acceptance of gifts?
- Do agencies train or make staff familiar with policy requirements and monitor compliance?
We conducted this across government benchmarking audit (AGBA) under section 18 of the Auditor General Act 2006 and in accordance with Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards. AGBAs assess and benchmark agencies against common business practices to identify good practices and control weaknesses so that agencies, including those not audited, can compare their own performance.