Quantitative model for assurance-based auditing of approved arrangements
CEBRA’s high-level statistical expertise is being used to guide approved arrangement regimes to better understand how frequently audits should be conducted to promote compliance among industry participants.
In Australia, managing the biosecurity risks that are associated with imports is a shared responsibility between the government and the importing industry. Biosecurity activities that industry participants undertake are carried out under “approved arrangements” under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (for example, storage of shipping containers or fumigation of consignments). Invasive species have potentially devastating impacts upon agriculture, the environment, or human wellbeing if introduced, so industry participants need to deal with biosecurity risks in line with the rules of the approved arrangement. The department, as a responsible regulator, audits these external activities to monitor their compliance with performance standards. While the idea that frequent auditing results in higher compliance assurance is generally accepted, in reality the relationship may not be so clear.
This project aims to build an understanding of the relationship between audit rate and compliance assurance via specialist statistical analysis; first, by determining whether establishing such a relationship is indeed possible. If data are sufficient, a model will be developed to determine the effect of audit frequency on compliance. Findings will provide a statistically valid basis to inform audit frequency regimes to strengthen the department’s risk-based regulatory approach.
CEBRA Project Leader: Andrew Robinson