{{Short description|Australian government agency}} {{Use Australian English|date=April 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Incomplete citations|date=April 2026}} The '''Australian Office of Financial Management''' ('''AOFM''') is a part of the [[Department of the Treasury (Australia)|Australian Department of the Treasury]]. It manages the [[Australian government]]'s debt portfolio. Its reports on debt management directed at ensuring that the Commonwealth debt portfolio is managed at least cost, subject to the Government's policies and risk references.<ref name="0:0">{{cite web|title=AOFM|url=http://aofm.gov.au/|accessdate=14 December 2016}}</ref>
== History == The AOFM was established in 1999 as the sovereign debt manager of Australia, and borrows on behalf of the Australian government. This is done through Australian Government Securities (AGS), which had also been called Commonwealth Government Securities. As of June 2023, the outstanding value of the AGS issued by the AOFM was at $889.8 billion.<ref name="0:1"/>
The head of the agency in June 2021 was Rob Nicholl.<ref name="0:3">https://www.afr.com/markets/debt-markets/rating-agencies-will-drive-government-climate-disclosures-says-aofm-20210609-p57zf5</ref> According to the ''[[Australian Financial Review|AFR]]'', Nicholls was the "leading force" behind sourcing $300 billion from international investors to finance the government's stimulus program during the Covid-19 pandemic.<ref name="0:13">https://www.afr.com/markets/debt-markets/the-public-servant-who-wrangled-875b-for-australia-is-moving-on-20220726-p5b4mc</ref>
In 2023, the AOFM alleged<ref name="0:4"/> that the bank [[ANZ (bank)|ANZ]] had been misreporting bond trading data concerning bonds issued by the AOFM that it had been assigned to manage.<ref name="0:10">https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/research/articles/250311-australian-banks-to-fall-under-the-political-microscope-13432378</ref> This led to ANZ being investigated by the [[Australian Securities and Investments Commission]] (ASIC).<ref name="0:4">https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/australian-regulator-investigates-anz-over-treasury-bond-issuance-2024-05-13/</ref> In 2024, ANZ admitted "unacceptable failure" on the matter, and that its CEO had apologized to the AOFM.<ref name="0:11">https://www.investordaily.com.au/news/55545-anz-admits-unacceptable-failure-amid-aofm-bond-investigation</ref> The incident led to greater political scrutiny of Australian banks and several policy changes, according to [[S&P Global]] in 2025.<ref name="0:10"/> AOFM subsequently froze ANZ out of all government bond deals, before re-engaging the bank over possibly [[refinancing]] of $80 billion of Covid-19 debt.<ref name="0:5">https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fbusiness%2Ffinancial-services%2Faofm-opens-its-diary-to-anz-bankers-amid-asic-probe%2Fnews-story%2Fd72635ba1e43de4de63cd46880c4e609&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=GROUPA-Segment-1-NOSCORE&V21spcbehaviour=append</ref>
An audit of the AOFM by the [[Australian National Audit Office]] that was published on February 22, 2024 founded that the AOFM was "largely effective at managing costs and risks associated with [[Australian government debt|Australian Government debt]]," and was also "largely effective" at managing the debt itself. The report also found that AOFM's governance arrangements with the Australian Treasury worked well, but that "the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities amongst key stakeholders in relation to debt management oversight and decision-making under the legislative framework are not transparent."<ref name="0:1">https://apo.org.au/node/325752</ref>
==Heads of the agency== The current CEO of the AOFM is Anna Hughes.<ref name="0:2">https://www.brokernews.com.au/news/breaking-news/aofms-debut-green-bond-success-285223.aspx</ref> In January 2023, Anna Hughes succeeded Rob Nicholl as CEO of AOFM, after Nicholl spent a decade in the role.<ref name="0:6">https://www.governmentnews.com.au/first-female-ceo-appointed-at-office-of-financial-management/</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia]] [[Category:Government finances in Australia]] [[Category:Financial management organizations]]
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