19Comments on proposed report

#### 19 Comments on proposed report (1) After preparing a proposed report on an audit of a Commonwealth entity under paragraph 17(1)(a), the Auditor‑General must: (a) give a copy of the proposed report to an official who is, or is a member of, the accountable authority of the entity; and (b) to the extent that the proposed report relates to the operations of a Commonwealth partner—give a person who is, or is a member of, the governing body of the Commonwealth partner: (i) a copy of the proposed report; or (ii) extracts of the parts of the proposed report that deal with the audit of the Commonwealth partner; or (iii) extracts of the proposed report that include the parts of the proposed report that deal with the audit of the Commonwealth partner. (2) After preparing a proposed report on an audit of a body under paragraph 17(1)(b) or (c), the Auditor‑General must: (a) give a copy of the proposed report to: (i) if the audit is of a Commonwealth company—to a director of the company; or (ii) if the audit is of a subsidiary of a corporate Commonwealth entity or Commonwealth company—to a person who is, or is a member of, the governing body of the subsidiary; and (b) to the extent that the proposed report relates to the operations of a Commonwealth partner—give a person who is, or is a member of, the governing body of the Commonwealth partner: (i) a copy of the proposed report; or (ii) extracts of the parts of the proposed report that deal with the audit of the Commonwealth partner; or (iii) extracts of the proposed report that include the parts of the proposed report that deal with the audit of the Commonwealth partner. (3) After preparing a proposed report under section 18A on an audit of the performance measures of a body and the body’s reporting against those measures, the Auditor‑General must give a copy of the proposed report to: (a) if the audit is of a Commonwealth entity—to an official who is, or is a member of, the accountable authority of the entity; or (b) if the audit is of a Commonwealth company—to a director of the company; or (c) if the audit is of a subsidiary of a corporate Commonwealth entity or Commonwealth company—to a person who is, or is a member of, the governing body of the subsidiary. (4) After preparing a proposed report on an audit of a Commonwealth partner under section 18B, the Auditor‑General must give a copy of the proposed report to a person who is, or is a member of, the governing body of the Commonwealth partner. (5) Subsection (4) does not apply if: (a) the proposed report is included, or is to be included, in the proposed report on an audit under section 17; or (b) the audit of the Commonwealth partner was conducted as part of an audit under section 18. (6) After preparing a proposed report on an audit under section 17, 18, 18A or 18B, the Auditor‑General may give a copy of, or an extract from, the proposed report to any person (including a Minister) who, or any body that, in the Auditor‑General’s opinion, has a special interest in the report or the content of the extract. (7) If the recipient of the proposed report, or the extract from the proposed report, gives written comments to the Auditor‑General as follows, the Auditor‑General must consider those comments before preparing a final report: (a) in the case of a proposed report on an audit under section 18A (audit of performance measures)—within 14 days after receiving the proposed report, or the extract from the proposed report; (b) otherwise—within 28 days after receiving the proposed report, or the extract from the proposed report. (8) The Auditor‑General must, in the final report, include all written comments received under subsection (7). 36 Subsections 19A(1) and (2) Repeal the subsections, substitute: (1) The Auditor‑General may at any time conduct an assurance review of: (a) a Commonwealth entity; or (b) a Commonwealth company; or (c) a subsidiary of a corporate Commonwealth entity or a Commonwealth company. (2) However, the Auditor‑General may only conduct such an assurance review on request by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit if the review is of: (a) a corporate Commonwealth entity that is a GBE, or of any of its subsidiaries; or (b) a wholly‑owned Commonwealth company that is a GBE, or of any of its subsidiaries. 37 Paragraph 21(1)(a) Omit “Commonwealth authority”, substitute “corporate Commonwealth entity”. 38 Paragraph 21(1)(c) Omit “as defined in section 34 of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997”, substitute “within the meaning of subsection 89(2) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013”. 39 Paragraph 24(a) After “1,”, insert “1A,”. 40 Paragraph 24(c) Omit “section 56 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997”, substitute “section 49 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013”. 41 Section 28 Repeal the section. 42 Subsection 29(1) Omit “an FMA official”, substitute “an official of a non‑corporate Commonwealth entity”. 43 Subsection 32(5) (definition of authorised official) Omit “an FMA official”, substitute “an official of a non‑corporate Commonwealth entity”. 44 Paragraph 33(1)(a) Omit “Commonwealth authority”, substitute “corporate Commonwealth entity”. 45 At the end of subsection 33(1) Add: > Note: Paragraph (1)(a) does not expressly refer to non‑corporate Commonwealth entities because these entities are legally part of the Commonwealth. 46 Subsection 33(4) (definition of authorised official) Omit “an FMA official”, substitute “an official of a non‑corporate Commonwealth entity”. 47 Section 44 Repeal the section, substitute: