Governance and Structure
The AOFM is a Non-Corporate Commonwealth Entity within the Treasury portfolio. It is accountable to the Treasurer and the Secretary to the Treasury.
The AOFM issues debt under the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911 and the Loans Securities Act 1919. It makes investments under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and has established the Australian Business Securitisation Fund under the Australian Business Securitisation Fund Act 2019 and the Structured Finance Support Fund under the Structured Finance Support (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Act 2020. These Acts confer legal authority on the Treasurer, who delegates issuance and investment powers through a Direction. Directions authorise AOFM officials to undertake debt issuance and investments operations consistent with Government policy and in accordance with official fiscal forecasts, and can be found at https://www.legislation.gov.au/.
The Chief Executive of the AOFM is appointed by the Secretary to the Treasury and is the AOFM’s accountable authority under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. The Secretary to the Treasury delegates powers under the Public Service Act 1999 to the Chief Executive of the AOFM.
Organisational structure
The AOFM is structured into broad functions consistent with financial industry practice. Activities in portfolio strategy, global market research, funding execution, investment programs and investor engagement, together form the ‘front office’ (Funding, Markets and Strategy).
‘Middle office’ (Enterprise Risk and Assurance, and Performance Reporting) comprises enterprise risk management, assurance (including audit), portfolio monitoring and business systems management.
'Back office' comprises financial reporting, settlements, governance, business administration and executive support for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Communications, information management and human resources are managed by the Office of the CEO.
Funding, Markets and Strategy
The ‘front office’ is comprised of:
(1) Funding and Liquidity, which is responsible for planning and conducting tenders and syndications. This group also manages the Australian Government’s day-to-day cash requirements;
(2) Portfolio Strategy and Research, which is responsible for the debt management strategy and financial risk management policies. It conducts in-depth research and modelling to support these aims;
(3) Investor Relations, which liaises with investors and intermediaries to explain detail about planned issuance and to gather investor feedback and views with respect to market demand for AGS; and
(4) Structured Finance and Strategy, which administers the Australian Business Securitisation Fund and the Structured Finance Support Fund.
Finance, Settlements and Corporate
The Finance, Settlements and Corporate group is responsible for the AOFM’s statutory financial reporting and Budget reporting; meeting AOFM’s taxation obligations; and settling transactions plus corporate action obligations undertaken with financial market counterparties. This group also manages the outsourced retail investor debt registry provider. Other duties include accounts receivable, accounts payable, human resource administration (payroll, recruitment and cessations), executive support and general office administration.
Communications Management is responsible for the development and implementation of AOFM’s corporate communication strategy and supporting initiatives, including the delivery of key stakeholder engagement activities.
Enterprise Assurance and Performance
The ‘middle office’ is comprised of:
(1) Enterprise Risk and Assurance, which maintains complementary frameworks for enterprise risk and assurance (including audit and compliance) and coordinates compliance with the AOFM’s obligations under relevant legal, regulatory and delegated authorisations; and
(2) Business and Data Systems, which provides reporting to inform performance of the portfolios of debt and assets managed by the AOFM and engages with Treasury IT to provide a secure, functional and robust IT environment to support AOFM business operations.
