Annual reports inform the Parliament and the public about the achievements, performance and financial position of Commonwealth entities and companies at the end of each reporting year
This page provides information and guidance on the requirements for annual reports under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule) to support officials involved in producing annual reports for a Commonwealth entity or company.
Annual report requirements and Resource Management Guides
The PGPA Act and Rule outline the main content requirements of annual reports for Commonwealth entities and companies.
Resource Management Guides (RMGs) are available to support you in meeting the requirements for your annual report:
Need more information on the classification of your entity? Refer to the Flipchart of PGPA Act Commonwealth entities and companies.
The RMGs will provide you with the following information:
- What is an Annual Report which also includes details on Annual reports principles
- Annual Report Content Requirements as specified by the PGPA Rule & other legislative requirements
- Publication & Presentation Requirements which includes details on:
- Overarching requirements
- Presentation, Timing and Production standards
- Plain English and clear design
- Publication requirements
- Appendices & Related Resources
Further guidance to be considered in developing an annual report is available under Tools and templates.
Transparency Portal
All Commonwealth entities and companies are required (sections 17ABA, 17BCA and 28CA of the PGPA Rule) to publish their annual report to the Transparency Portal after it has been tabled in the Parliament. The Digital Annual Reporting Tool facilitates the development and publication of annual reports to the Transparency Portal once tabled.
In developing your annual report, it is important you complete the data templates available in the Digital Annual Reporting Tool. Guidance on completing the templates can be found in the RMGs.
For access to the Digital Annual Reporting Tool, please see your entity/company annual report coordinators/administrators or email the Annual Reporting Team.
You can also join the Digital Annual Reports GovTEAMS community which has been established to support annual reporting teams.
- In the General channel of this community, you will be able to access additional resources that will assist you in developing your digital annual report.
- The Community of Practice channel has been created to allow you to share your experiences with the broader annual reporting community and ask questions about their processes and practices.
Tabling annual reports
Annual reports must be tabled in the Parliament (section 46 of the PGPA Act). The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet publishes Tabling Guidelines and Tabling Circulars which outline the requirements and procedures for tabling documents in the Parliament. These guidelines can be found under Tools and templates.
Additional Resource Management Guides
Further guidance is available to support you in fulfilling your other reporting obligations under the Commonwealth Performance Framework. These include:
