For the purpose of this GS, the following terms have the meanings attributed below:

General Government Sector (GGS) – Defined in AASB 1049 (Appendix A) and the ABS GFS Manual.

‘Machinery of Government’ (MOG) change – A MOG change refers to a restructure of existing government arrangements in the public sector that may involve the reallocation or reorganisation of government functions, responsibilities and resources between government-controlled entities. MOG changes may be made for a range of reasons, including to support the policy and/or political objectives of government. MOG changes can vary in scope and complexity and can involve a combination of:

abolishing government departments and/or government-controlled statutory bodies;

creating new government departments and/or government-controlled statutory bodies;

merging/amalgamating one or more government departments or government-controlled statutory bodies; and/or

moving functions between government departments and/or government-controlled statutory bodies.

MOG changes may occur at any time, often with little or no notice; however, significant MOG changes usually occur immediately following an election when a new government announces its new ministry and any new administrative arrangements. Changes may also transpire as a result of a legislative change or a government policy decision, such as to privatise a government-controlled entity, transfer a function or outsource a function.

Public Corporations (and quasi-corporations) – The terms ‘Public Corporation’ and ‘quasi-corporation’ are defined in AASB 1049 (Appendix 1) and the ABS GFS Manual. Public Corporations are typically categorised into Public Financial Corporations (PFC) and Public Non-Financial Corporations (PNFC).

Public sector – The combination of the GGS and Public Corporations.

For the purpose of this GS, the following terms have the meanings attributed below:

Audit Office of the Auditor-General (Audit Office) – Public sector equivalent of ‘firm’ (as defined in 137(h) below). Auditor-General and staff employed by the Auditor-General to perform audit engagements or audit procedures for or on behalf of the Auditor-General. The Audit Office may be assisted by an Audit Service Provider (as defined in 137(c) below) engaged to perform audit engagements or audit procedures for or on behalf of the Auditor-General.

Auditor-General – The individual appointed as the Auditor-General (the appointed statutory auditor) or acting as such.

Audit Service Provider – Private sector auditor or firm who has been contracted to perform an audit engagement or audit procedures for or on behalf of the AuditorGeneral.

Engagement Leader – In the context of this GS, the term ‘Engagement Leader’ is used to refer to the individual assigned responsibility for the audit engagement and its performance in practice, and who is either the Signing Officer (as defined in 137(i) below) or who makes recommendations to the Signing Officer in respect of the audit opinion. The role of Engagement Leader may be undertaken by an individual within the Audit Office or an individual engaged either directly, or indirectly through their firm, as Audit Service Provider. Individual Audit Offices may use different titles to refer to the ‘Engagement Leader’ role.

Engagement Partner – Defined in ASQM 1/ASA 220 as “the partner or other individual, appointed by the firm, who is responsible for the audit engagement and its performance, and for the auditor’s report that is issued on behalf of the firm, and who, where required, has the appropriate authority from a professional, legal or regulatory body.” ASA 220 requires the Engagement Partner shall take overall responsibility for managing and achieving quality on the audit engagement.

In accordance with ASQM 1/ASA 220, ‘Engagement Partner’, ‘partner’, and ‘firm’ are to be read as referring to their public sector equivalents where relevant.

In the context of this GS, the term ‘Engagement Partner’, as defined in ASQM 1/ASA 220, could be:

the Auditor-General; or

an employee of the Audit Office; or

an Audit Service Provider (contracted private sector auditor or individual assigned responsibility for the engagement by a contracted firm).

The concept of ‘Engagement Partner’ in the Public Sector, is further explained in paragraphs 138-147 of this GS.

Engagement Quality Review (EQR) – Defined in ASQM 1/ASQM 2/ASA 220 as “an objective evaluation of the significant judgements made by the engagement team and the conclusions reached thereon, performed by the engagement quality reviewer and completed on or before the date of the engagement report.”

Engagement team – Defined in ASQM 1/ASA 220 as “all partners and staff [or, in the context of the public sector, the Engagement Leader and/or Signing Officer and Audit Office staff] performing the audit engagement, and any other individuals who perform audit procedures on the engagement, excluding an auditor’s external expert.” In applying ASA 220, individuals from Audit Service Providers who perform audit procedures on the audit engagement will form part of the Audit Office engagement team.

Firm – Defined in ASQM 1/ASA 220 as “a sole practitioner, partnership or corporation or other entity of assurance practitioners, or public sector equivalent.” For the public sector equivalent of ‘firm’, see ‘Audit Office’ as defined in 137(a) above).

Signing Officer – In the context of this GS, the term ‘Signing Officer’ is used to refer to the Auditor-General (the appointed statutory auditor) or individual authorised to sign and issue the auditor’s report on behalf of the Auditor-General. The Signing Officer may or may not be the Engagement Leader assigned responsibility for the audit engagement and its performance in practice.