An audit has found the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has been “partly effective” in its implementation of the Export Control Act 2020.

A new report from the ANAO has found the department’s internal arrangements were not fully in place when the legislation came into effect.

But the department was “largely appropriate” in establishing the governance framework for the new legislation.

The report also directed comments at all Australian government entities across three themes.

The ANAO said all regulators should keep support documents up to date amid legislative changes, and should implement a risk and assurance program so compliance frameworks remain effective, as well as establishing “clear measurables” to meaningfully assess progress. 

When DAFF undertook legislative changes in line with the Export Control Act 2020, the number of acts regulating export controls went down by 15.

“Project planning and governance were well documented, and stakeholder engagement in the development of the revised legislation was sound,” the ANAO report states.

“On commencement of the legislation, the department did not have a compliance framework, policies and procedures were not fully updated, and arrangements to support benefits management were not established.”

DAFF was found not to have been effective at the updating of its IT systems.

“Planning of changes to IT systems to support the legislative framework was partly appropriate with records for the implementation of IT changes not maintained, making it difficult to identify if all required IT changes were implemented,” the report says. 

The audit found recordkeeping was “poor” in some areas and nonexistent in others. 

However, the auditors commended DAFF’s engagement with stakeholders as the revised legislation was developed, calling it “transparent and consultative”.

Some of the changes following the legislation are now externally apparent, including new online step-by-step guides for various industries, from dairy to eggs to live animals.

DAFF says the new guides “demonstrate our commitment to design digital content that is modern, efficient, accessible and easy to use”.