The National Commission of Audit was a commission formed by the Abbott Government on 22 October 2013 as an independent body to review and report on the performance, functions and roles of the Commonwealth government. The chair of the Commission was

Tony Shepherd Anthony Shepherd (born 16 November 1966) is a Scottish former footballer. He was a midfielder coming from the Celtic Boys Club. Shepherd signed with the senior Celtic side in August 1983 and debuted at Parkhead in a 2-1 Scottish Cup victory ...

AO who is a former head of the

Business Council of Australia The Business Council of Australia (BCA) is an industry association that comprises the chief executives of more than 100 of Australia's biggest corporations. It was formed in 1983 by the merger of the Business Roundtable – a spin-off of the Comm ...

. The other Commissioners were

Peter Boxall Peter John Boxall is a former senior Australian public servant and policymaker. Background and early life Peter Boxall was brought up on a farm in Victoria. From year nine, he went to boarding school at Ballarat Grammar. He attained a Master ...

AO,

Tony Cole Anthony Stuart Cole (born 17 March 1947) is a retired senior Australian public servant. He served the Commonwealth in various capacities for over 25 years. Early life Cole was born in Macksville, New South Wales, on 17 March 1947. He attended ...

AO, Robert Fisher AM and

Amanda Vanstone Amanda Eloise Vanstone (née O'Brien; born 7 December 1952) is an Australian former politician and a former Ambassador to Italy. She was a Liberal Senator for South Australia from 1984 to 2007, and held several ministerial portfolios in the ...

. The Terms of Reference for the Commission was to make recommendations to return the budget to a sustainable surplus of 1% of GDP by 2023/24.National Commission of Audit Releases Review of the Activities of the Commonwealth Government - Media Release
/ref> The Commission was not asked to examine the revenue side of the budget, though it looked at some revenue issues. The Commission's report was the first full scale review of government expenditures for 18 years.

Recommendations

The Commission Report was titled ''Towards Responsible Government'' and published in two parts. Phase One Report, published in February 2014, dealt predominantly with improving the sustainability of finances, and Phase Two Report, published in March 2014, mostly addressed public sector performance and accountability as well as infrastructure.Report , NCOA
/ref> The Commission made 86 recommendations – 64 in its Phase One Report and 22 recommendations in its Phase Two Report. Among the recommendations, the report recommended a slowing of the increases in the age pension to 28% of the average weekly earnings, an increase in the retirement age to 70 by 2035 and the inclusion of the family home in new

means test A means test is a determination of whether an individual or family is eligible for government assistance or welfare, based upon whether the individual or family possesses the means to do without that help. Canada In Canada, means tests are use ...

ing from 2027. These Commission's recommendations were adopted in the budget. The Commission also recommended changes to the

bulk billing Bulk billing is a payment option under the Medicare system of universal health insurance in Australia. It can cover a prescribed range of health services as listed in the Medicare Benefits Schedule, at the discretion of the health service provid ...

arrangements under Medicare, by the introduction of a compulsory

copayment A copayment or copay (called a gap in Australian English) is a fixed amount for a covered service, paid by a patient to the provider of service before receiving the service. It may be defined in an insurance policy and paid by an insured person ea ...

regime. The recommendation was accepted by the Abbott Government in the

2014 Australian federal budget The 2014 Australian federal budget was the federal budget to fund government services and operations for the 2014/15 financial year. The 2014 budget was the first delivered by the Abbott Government, since the Coalition's victory in the 2013 Au ...

, though the proposed budget measure deviated from the committee's recommendation in the copayment being linked to funding for a medical research fund. The budget measure has been widely criticised. The Commission found that the vertical and horizontal

fiscal imbalance in Australia The fiscal imbalance in Australia is the disparity between the revenue generation ability of the three levels of governments in Australia relative to their spending obligations; but in Australia the term is commonly used to refer more specifically ...

is a major impediment to growth and prosperity and recommended that the States have direct access to a portion of income tax generated in their economy and this be offset by a reduction in tied grants. It also recommended a pro rata distribution of GST with top ups to the supported States. The Commission reviewed and recommended rationalisation of many of the 900 Commonwealth bodies. Similarly on grants programs, it recommended far tighter controls and monitoring and assessment of outcomes. The Commission calculates that its recommendations would generate savings estimated at $60 to $70 billion per year within ten years, as well as a significant annual saving in interest arising from a reduction of debt.

Cessation

The National Commission of Audit ceased on 31 March 2014,FAQs , NCOA
/ref> six weeks before the release of the 2014 budget. Treasurer

Joe Hockey Joseph Benedict Hockey (born 2 August 1965) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He was the Member of Parliament for North Sydney from 1996 until 2015. He was the Treasurer of Australia in the Abbott Government from 18 September 2 ...

, in response to the recommendations, quickly emphasised that the report was "not the budget", but did not rule out adopting any of the proposals.

References

{{Reflist Abbott Government Defunct Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia