The requirement, in our words
Clause 8(1)(a) designates the Defence Delivery Agency as a listed entity under the finance law. The explanatory statement explains that this makes the DDA a non-corporate Commonwealth entity in its own right, inside the Defence portfolio, from 1 July 2027. Once the finance law applies in that capacity, the planning, performance, reporting, risk, control and annual report provisions for a non-corporate entity reach the DDA.
What the provision is doing
The status is the foundation for everything else in clause 8. Without it, the accountable authority, officials and purposes would have no entity to attach to. The separate status is also the Government governance design: the explanatory statement presents the split governance and accountability arrangements as central to reforms aimed at delivering capability projects on schedule, inside scope and within budget.
What good practice looks like
Record the status and the date in the entity register.
What changed
Before commencement, the DDA is not a listed entity and is not a separate non-corporate Commonwealth entity for the finance law. The Department of Defence is the relevant non-corporate entity for the functions that will move. From commencement, the DDA has its own planning, performance, reporting and assurance obligations. A team that continues to report the DDA inside Defence after 1 July 2027 will have the wrong entity on the statements, the plan and the annual report.
Evidence an auditor or portfolio reviewer asks for
| Category | Record to keep | Retention |
|---|---|---|
| Entity register | The register entry that records the DDA as a listed entity and a non-corporate Commonwealth entity from 1 July 2027, with the instrument and clause cited. | Permanent entity record. |
| Applicability map | A map of the finance law provisions that apply to the DDA as a non-corporate Commonwealth entity, with the owner for each. | Current, reviewed each reporting period. |
| Audit committee | The written charter and membership record for the audit committee, including the four functions in Rule section 17(2) and the membership test in section 17(3) to (5). | Current, plus meeting records for seven years. |
| First plan and report plan | The first corporate plan, the performance measure register and the annual report plan for the first reporting period. | Permanent entity record. |
Common gaps
- The DDA is treated as a division of Defence in the plan and the annual report.
- The entity register says "listed entity" but does not record that it is a non-corporate Commonwealth entity.
- The audit committee is inherited from Defence without a new charter or new external members.
- No one maps the finance law provisions to owners, so the first annual report is assembled by guesswork.
What to do before 1 July 2027
- Record the status and the date in the entity register.
- Build the finance law applicability map and give each item an owner.
- Charter the audit committee and recruit external members early.
- Set the first corporate plan, performance measures and annual report plan against the new status.
Dates and cross-references
Commences: 1 July 2027, stated in section 2 of F2026L01074. Retention: Not stated in the text.
Read with: accountable-authority, financial-reporting, purposes.
Source
This page reads Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment (Defence Delivery Agency) Rules 2026 (F2026L01074) and its explanatory statement, against the PGPA Act 2013 and the PGPA Rule 2014 Compilation No. 64. Retrieved 2026-10-20. The requirement above is our own statement, not the instrument wording. Not legal advice; does not certify.