Annual Report 2022–23

Foreword

Our vision is that through the work that we do, we positively impact the lives of Victorians.

This year marked the 1st year of our 2022–25 strategic plan. Building on unfinished business from our last plan, we have sharpened our focus on the ways we serve to strengthen the transparency and accountability of the public sector, so that it can deliver better public services.

It is pleasing then this year that we produced more reports to Parliament, faster and at a lower average cost, compared to the last two years, when we were significantly disrupted due to the COVID pandemic. We may not yet be back to ‘business as usual’, but we are close.

We can realise our strategic intent only with an engaged and capable workforce. Like many organisations in our profession, we continued this year to be challenged by labour market conditions that made it difficult to find and retain the skill sets we needed to deliver our mandate. This is why a central pillar of our new strategy is to deliver an enriched experience for our people. We renewed our focus on developing the capability of our front-line auditors, but this very much a work in progress.

We are also acutely aware of the reputational damage to the wider profession arising from recent well publicised and ongoing public inquiries into matters of integrity and conflicts of interest. We jealously guard our independence, and with this our reputation and standing as a reliable and authoritative source of truth for the Parliament and the public. We also place a premium on securing our information and maintaining strict confidentiality as required by the Audit Act.

I start my second 7-year term as Auditor-General with renewed energy and a strong desire to continue to ‘raise the bar’ – both for my office and for the public sector. 
In closing I acknowledge and thank all my staff for their professionalism, dedication, and commitment to upholding our core values and delivering on our mission.

Andrew Greaves
Auditor-General

About this report

This report covers the activities of VAGO for the period 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. It is prepared in accordance with the Audit Act 1994 and the Financial Management Act 1994, and complies with the requirements of relevant Australian Accounting Standards and Interpretations, Standing Directions and Financial Reporting Directions.