Forum | Thursday 31 July 2025

9:00 am - 9:10 am

Welcome Address and Opening Remarks 

9:10 am - 9:55 am

Keynote 1

Serving the community through a resilient Public Sector

• Overview of external factors and demands that are changing the way the public sector delivers services
• The importance of culture and skills in a resilient public sector
• Impacts of digitization – The opportunities and risks ahead
• Applying dynamic operational strategies to deliver public services
• Embedding practical governance and control processes and how the assurance can provide support

Pat Hetherington, Chief Operating Officer, Department of Social Services

10:00 - 10:50 am

Concurrent session 1

1A Climate risk assurance

• Overview of the federal government’s Climate Risk and 
  Opportunity Management Program, including resources to uplift capability
• Insights from completing an inaugural public sector climate risk assessment and/or annual climate risk assessment update
• Withstanding scrutiny – Establishing assurance mechanisms to give confidence that public sector climate-related risks and opportunities are being managed

Mitchell Sandilands PMIIA CIA, Assistant Director, Enterprise Risk and Program Advisory, The Treasury

Wendy Emerton, Risk Manager, Australian Office of Financial Management

Nigel Pinto, Director Climate Risk, Department of Climate Change, Energy, The Environment and Water
Greta Bartels, A/g Assistant Director, Department of Climate Change, Energy, The Environment and Water

1B AI controls - Getting the rules of engagement right

• Defining your organisations AI footprint– Where and how AI operates
• AI guardrails – Exploring guidelines, standards and ethical principles on AI deployment in the public sector
• Approaches to identifying, assessing and mitigating risks associated with AI use – Addressing bias, privacy and 
  decision accountability
• The role of the assurance function in balance the risks and benefits of AI

Darren Menarchemson, Partner, Synergy Group

11:15 am - 12:00 pm

Concurrent sessions 2

2A Auditing for fraud in procurement – Strengthening controls and detection

• Identifying common fraud schemes in procurement and recognising behavioural and transactional red flags
• Building effective procurement controls to strengthen accountability and ongoing fraud prevention
• Designing an effective audit approach in the procurement cycle
• Using data analytics, sampling strategies and regular reporting for prevention and detection

Presenter to be confirmed 

2B Data governance – Protecting your most valuable asset

• Understanding what data your organisation holds, how it is classified and where sensitive or high-risk data resides
• Identifying responsibility over data – Ensuring governance roles are clear and embedded in daily operations
• Ensuring compliance with privacy laws, internal policies and control requirements to protect data
• Identifying the early warning signs of data leakage and develop a clear and compliant response plan for potential data breaches
• How internal audit can provide effective support in 
  monitoring data governance

Glynnis Barodien, Executive Manager (Data Governance & AI Lead), Digital Office, CSIRO

12:05 pm - 12:50 pm

Keynote 2

Public sector integrity – Ensuring ethical government

• Defining the expectations of integrity across the public sector
• Understanding the role of and obligations to regulators and watchdogs – Insights from recent cases
• Assessing the ethical performance of the public sector – Determining the key metrics and behaviours
• Applying a risk-based approached to prioritise areas for integrity improvement and remediation
• Developing a framework to improve ethical governance within public organisations

The Hon Paul Brereton AM RFD SC, Commissioner, National Anti-Corruption Commission

1:50 pm - 2:35 pm

Concurrent sessions 3

3A Compliance mapping – Aligning assurance with regulatory and organisational requirements

• Understanding how mapping compliance obligations supports a proactive compliance culture
• Defining compliance ownership – Ensuring clear accountability across the first, second and third lines of defence
• Addressing compliance risk – Assessing adequate coverage and identify potential gaps or overlaps
• Real-world implementation insights – Highlighting challenges, tools and outcomes

Dr Eliza Moule, A/g Director Audit, Risk and Assurance, Transport Canberra and City Services, ACT Government 

3B Managing risk in technology transformation projects – 
The role of assurance in keeping projects on track

• Evaluating the organisation’s technology maturity and its 
  impact on successful project execution
• Key lessons from past failures – Misaligned expectations, 
  inadequate change management, budget overruns, resistance to new technologies
• Understanding the critical role that internal audit can play in overseeing and advising on the execution of information technology projects
• Applying effective auditing techniques for assessing the 
  progress and health of information technology projects
• Driving a collaborative approach to build effective 
  controls, governance and risk management throughout 
  the project lifecycle

Panellists include:
Damien Browne AMIIA, Chief Internal Auditor, Australian Taxation Office 
David Berkelmans AMIIA, Principal, Anchoram Consulting
Jade Woodhouse AMIIA, Chief Audit Executive, Australian Electoral Commission

2:40 pm - 3:25 pm

Concurrent sessions 4

4A Indigenous engagement for audit success

• The importance of understanding traditional heritage when undertaking audits – Connection to country, community and kinship
• Enabling Increased positive engagement and improved stakeholder relationships
• How organisations today are effectively engaging traditional owner’s heritage
• Overcoming practical challenges and opportunities for the future

Darren Schaeffer PMIIA CGAP, Chief Finance Officer, Providence Consulting Group
Belinda Kendell, General Manager, Curijo
Tina McGhie, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Curijo

 4B Emergency management assurance

• Identifying the critical components of an effective emergency 
  management – Including risk assessments recovery 
  strategies and continuity of operations under pressure
• Developing audit and evaluation criteria to assess the effectiveness of your emergency management 
  procedures using realistic, risk-based scenarios to validate preparedness
• Applying practical assurance approaches such as desktop walkthroughs, live simulations and coordinated exercises with key partners or agencies
• Defining roles and responsibilities during a crisis – Establishing clear escalation paths and processes to 
  address roadblocks in critical situations
• The importance of the continual monitoring and measuring 
  the performance of your emergency management plan

Wayne Phillips, Commissioner, ACT Emergency Services

3:55 pm - 4:40 pm

Concurrent sessions 5

5A Addressing workforce management risk

• Understanding the growing complexity of workforce management risk
• Overview of emerging legislation that will impact HR, including: 
  • Diversity and inclusion
  • EBA and payroll requirements
  • Psychosocial health and well-being
• Insights on the grey areas such as employee / employers’ rights on flexible work arrangements
• Impacts of emerging capability risk
• Understanding responsibilities and liability risk in relation to human resources

Stephen Calder PMIIA GradCertIA, Director, Scyne Advisory

5B Practically applying the Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS)

• Applying the changes in practice – Challenges and benefits
• Tools and methodologies for aligning your audit activities with the revised Standards
• Managing the requirements of the Standards with other legislations and guidelines
• Building your internal audit strategy
• Leveraging the new Standards to improve audit quality,  consistency and impact

Philippa Ardlie, Manager Governance I Chief Audit Executive. NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust (NSW)
Suzette Gay PMIIA, GradCertIA, Chief Audit Executive, Department of Education (NSW)
Kylie McRae PFIIA CIA, Manager, Consulting Services, IIA-Australia

4:45 pm - 5:30 pm

Keynote 3

Decision making governance - Having the right conversations, culture and controls

• Cultivating a culture of accountability and informed risktaking – Creating a safe environment for the assurance function to challenge assumptions and escalate concerns
• Defining who is accountable for what – Ensuring clarity in roles, responsibilities and decision thresholds to avoid ambiguity and foster ownership
• Leveraging the assurance function, peer reviews and performance feedback to evaluate whether accountability is being upheld and decisions are being delivering as intended
• Implementing practical governance mechanisms – Such as decision registers, audit trails, role-based approvals that support transparency and traceability
• Insights from reality – Where has it gone wrong and how can we do it better?

Panellists Include:
Lisa Berwick AMIIA, Chief Internal Auditor, Australia Securities and Investments Commission
Elizabeth Montano, Chair / Deputy Chair / Member, Commonwealth Audit & Risk Committees 
Bruce Turner PFIIA CGAP CRMA AM, Independent Audit Committee Chair

5:30 pm - 5:35 pm

5:35 pm - 6:30 pm

Workshops | Friday, 1 August 2025

8:30 am - 12:30 pm

Workshop 1 | Auditing Programs and Projects

With increasing scrutiny on the effectiveness, efficiency, and integrity of government program and projects, it is essential that internal audit functions are well-equipped to provide assurance and insights. This workshop will explore the audit lifecycle, risk management strategies, and practical techniques for delivering high-impact audits in a dynamic, complex environment.

Key areas to be covered: 

• Identifying key objectives, risks, and controls in programs and projects
• Aligning audit focus with strategic priorities and value delivery
• Effective scoping techniques and stakeholder engagement in the planning phase
• Approaches to fieldwork, evidence collection, and documentation
• Assessing project governance, delivery performance, financial management, and benefit realisation
• Tools and techniques for auditing in agile, waterfall and hybrid environments
• Using assurance maps to identify gaps and duplication
• Structuring audit reports for clarity and impact to communicate findings and recommendations to senior leaders and audit committees

Key learning outcomes:

• Understand the unique aspects of auditing public sector programs and projects, including key governance and risk considerations
• Apply structured audit planning and execution techniques to assess program and project performance effectively
• Communicate audit findings with clarity to drive accountability and improvement
• Coordinate assurance activities to enhance oversight and reduce duplication across complex initiatives

Kumar Srinivasan, Director – Risk & Insurance, University of Technology Sydney

1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Workshop 2 | Gaining assurance overt the quality of performance statements in the Public Sector

This workshop is designed to support professionals across the public sector in gaining assurance over the quality of performance statements. With increasing emphasis on transparency, accountability, and outcomes-based reporting, it is critical that agencies meet the expectations of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (PGPA) Act and other public sector requirements to deliver high-quality, auditable performance 
information. This session will explore key audit criteria, the evolving performance reporting framework and the integral role of internal audit in driving improvement and readiness.

Key areas to be covered:

• The legislative and governance context, including the PGPA Act and associated guidance from the Department of Finance and the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) and other public sector guidelines
• Importance of performance statements in demonstrating how agencies achieve their purpose and outcomes
• Overview of the ANAO’s audit approach to performance statements
• Understanding key criteria including relevance, reliability and completeness of performance measures
• Key milestones and reporting cycles under the performance framework
• How internal audit can provide assurance and advisory support on performance reporting readiness
• Conducting performance reporting readiness reviews and controls assessment

Key learning outcomes: 

• Understand the latest legislative and policy drivers behind performance statements in the public sector
• Apply ANAO audit criteria to assess and enhance the quality of performance measures and reporting
• Identify opportunities to improve transparency, accuracy, and alignment of performance information
• Navigate the performance reporting cycle, including key milestones and compliance expectations
• Recognise the critical role of internal audit in preparing agencies for performance statement audits and fostering a culture of performance and accountability

Ben Fittler, Senior Manager, McGrathNicol
Chris Hartsuyker AMIIA, Senior Manager, McGrathNicol