The Australian Customs Service has received a positive report from the Auditor-General who revisited a 2003 audit to follow-up progress on implementing recommendations relating to the National Marine Unit. On his return visit, the Auditor found four of his seven main recommendations had been implemented and the remaining three were partially in place. In his report, Auditor-General Ian McPhee said the implementation of the recommendations had improved NMU’s management of marine crew, specifically in the development of the interim rostering system and management of training resources.
Follow-up reveals good progress
“Further, it enhanced the quality assurance for maintenance contractors, and encouraged the development of an asset management framework for replacing the Australian Customs Vessels,” Mr McPhee said. “The previous audit’s recommendations relating to the analysis and evaluation of staffing data, maintenance of marine crew qualifications, and financial management have
been partially implemented.” He said the audit’s objective was to assess the extent to which Customs had implemented seven of the nine recommendations made in the previous audit. Two recommendations relating to strategic and tactical taskings and dissemination of intelligence would be considered in the context of the planned performance audit of Illegal Foreign Fishing in Australia’s Northern Waters. The three recommendations found to have been partially implemented were that Customs regularly analyse and evaluate staffing data and associated crew travel costs; maintenance of a current marine crew qualifications ledger; and the development of a financial management framework.
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