ACT Audit Office

What ACT Audit Office does

The ACT Audit Office is an independent statutory office established under the Auditor-General Act 1996, operating as the mandated external auditor of the Australian Capital Territory Government. The Office conducts financial audits of approximately 70 ACT public sector entities annually, providing independent opinions on annual financial statements and statements of performance for ACT Government directorates, authorities, utilities, education institutions, transport providers, and government-funded corporations. It also performs roughly seven performance audits per year, providing independent assessments of the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of public resource management, and tables these reports in the ACT Legislative Assembly. The Office is led by the Auditor-General — currently Mr Ajay Sharma PSM, appointed in 2026 — who operates independently of the executive government and reports directly to parliament.

The Office's core outputs are Financial Audits, Performance Audits, and supporting publications including Insight Publications, an Annual Report, a Performance Audit Recommendations Dashboard tracking implementation progress, and a Public Interest Disclosure service under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2012. It uses standard public sector audit methodologies and frameworks, with no proprietary technology disclosed. The Office supplements in-house capacity through contracted audit firms where additional skills or resources are required, and partners with CPA Australia, the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (as recognised training employers), and the Australasian Council of Auditors-General (ACAG).

The Office employs approximately 41-45 people and is headquartered at Level 4, Nara Centre, 3 Constitution Avenue, Canberra. Revenue is derived from audit fees charged to ACT public sector entities and government appropriations, with specific figures not publicly disclosed. The Office distributes its work via direct engagement with auditees, tabling reports in the ACT Legislative Assembly, and publishing on its website audit.act.gov.au. There is no commercial distribution model and the Office operates exclusively within the Australian Capital Territory under its statutory mandate.

Name

ACT Audit Office

Legal name

ACT Audit Office

Website

https://audit.act.gov.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The ACT Audit Office is an independent statutory body that conducts financial and performance audits of approximately 70 ACT Government entities annually, reporting directly to the ACT Legislative Assembly under the Auditor-General Act 1996.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Sector Auditing

NAICS

Public Finance Activities (921130), Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921)

akta.pro primary industry

Audit & Assurance Services (BPAHABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Financial Risk, Controls & Audit (Public Sector) (BPAIAEAH), Financial Reporting & Technical Accounting Advisory (GAAP/IFRS) (BPAHABAF)

Keywords

• Public sector auditing
• Financial audit services
• Performance audit services
• Government accountability
• Statutory audit office

Headquarters

HQ city

Canberra

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Audit Fees: The ACT Audit Office charges fees for financial audit services to ACT Government agencies and public sector entities. The Approach to Setting Audit Fees document outlines how the Auditor-General sets fees and promotes accountability for use of public resources. The Office also receives government appropriations as a public sector entity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The ACT Audit Office provides independent financial and performance audit services to ACT Government agencies and entities receiving ACT Government funding. Each year, it provides opinions on the annual financial statements and statements of performance of approximately 70 public sector entities, and finalises around seven performance audits for tabling in the ACT Legislative Assembly. It also operates a Public Interest Disclosure service under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2012.

Product overview

The ACT Audit Office is a single-entity government audit organization offering two core audit products: Financial Audits (examining financial statements and statements of performance of approximately 70 public sector entities annually) and Performance Audits (providing independent assessments of public resource management, with approximately 7 completed annually). The organization publishes multiple report types including Audit Reports, Insight Publications, Performance Audit Recommendations Dashboard, Annual Reports, and Other Publications. Supporting services include Public Interest Disclosures processing and annual Financial Audit Webinars for ACT Government agencies. The Office operates as a single unified organization under the Auditor-General, not as a platform with modular components.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Audits

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 70 public sector entities receive audit opinions annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Australasian Council of Auditors-General (ACAG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ACT Audit Office participates in ACAG, attending regular meetings and facilitating an exchange of information between Auditors-General in the states and territories of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. The objective is to promote and foster public sector auditing in the Australasian region through exchange of experiences, ideas, training and development, and cooperation.
• CPA AustraliasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ACT Audit Office is a CPA Australia's Recognised Employer Partner. This benefits staff undertaking professional programs offered by CPA Australia as they are no longer required to keep logbooks and professional development records.
• Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New ZealandsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ACT Audit Office is an Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand's Recognised Accredited Training Employer. This benefits staff undertaking professional programs offered by the Institute as they are no longer required to keep logbooks and professional development records.
• Contracted Audit FirmssupportingTechnology or IntegrationThe ACT Audit Office contracts audit firms to perform some of its audit work where additional resources or skills are required. The contracted audit firms are informed about their responsibilities when performing audits on behalf of the ACT Audit Office.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Australian National Audit Office (ANAO): Federal-level Australian audit office that conducts financial and performance audits of Commonwealth entities. Directly comparable in function, statutory independence model, and reporting to a legislative body, but at the national rather than territory level.
• NSW Audit Office: Auditor-General for New South Wales conducting financial and performance audits of NSW public sector agencies and entities. Closely comparable in mandate structure, report products, and ACAG membership, but serving a much larger jurisdiction.
• Victorian Auditor-General's Office (VAGO): Independent statutory office providing audit assurance to the Victorian Parliament on public sector performance and accountability. Directly comparable in role, statutory framework, and ACAG membership.
• Queensland Audit Office: Auditor-General for Queensland providing independent assurance to the Queensland Parliament. Directly comparable function and structure as a state-level audit office with financial and performance audit mandate.
• Western Australian Office of the Auditor General: Independent audit office reporting to the WA Parliament on financial and performance matters. Directly comparable in role and ACAG membership, serving a larger jurisdiction.
• Tasmanian Audit Office: Independent audit office for Tasmania conducting financial and performance audits of state entities. Closely comparable in size and structure to ACT Audit Office given Tasmania's small jurisdiction.
• South Australian Audit Office: Auditor-General for South Australia, providing independent audit assurance to the SA Parliament. Directly comparable in mandate and ACAG peer role.
• Northern Territory Auditor-General's Office: Independent audit office for the Northern Territory conducting audits of NT Government entities. Closely comparable in size, jurisdiction scale, and statutory function to ACT Audit Office.
• Office of the Auditor-General (New Zealand): New Zealand's central government audit office, part of the same ACAG network as ACT Audit Office. Directly comparable in function and statutory independence, with broader national scope.

Broad incumbents

• Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB): Sets Australian accounting standards used by public sector entities and audited by offices like ACT Audit Office. Adjacent rather than directly competing — provides the technical standards framework the office applies in its financial audits.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ACT Audit Office