The National Commission of Audit was a commission formed by the Abbott government on 22 October 2013 as an independent body to review and report on the performance, functions and roles of the Commonwealth government.[1] The chair of the Commission was Tony Shepherd AO who is a former head of the Business Council of Australia.[2] The other Commissioners were Peter Boxall AO, Tony Cole AO, Robert Fisher AM and Amanda Vanstone.[3]
The Terms of Reference for the Commission was to make recommendations to return the budget to a sustainable surplus of 1% of GDP by 2023/24.[4] The Commission was not asked to examine the revenue side of the budget, though it looked at some revenue issues.[4] The Commission's report was the first full scale review of government expenditures for 18 years.[4]