16. In November 2008, the Infrastructure Coordinator wrote to the Auditor-General inviting an independent assessment of the integrity and robustness of the processes that had been adopted in:
• undertaking the first National Infrastructure Audit; and
• developing the first Infrastructure Priority List.
17. The Auditor‐General agreed to this request as it was consistent with the published audit strategy for the Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government portfolio. The objective for the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) performance audit was to assess the effectiveness of the conduct of the first National Infrastructure Audit and development of the Infrastructure Priority List, with particular emphasis on:
• the submissions process and the methodology used to assess submissions;
• the overall conduct of the Audit process;
• the formulation of the Interim and Final Infrastructure Priority Lists; and
• the provision of advice and recommendations to the Government.
18. Audit work originally commenced in March 2009 but was put on hold in late June 2009 in order to respond to a request from the then Prime Minister for a performance audit of a range of matters relating to representations to the Treasury regarding automotive finance arrangements for car dealers. Audit work re‐commenced in August 2009.