Scope

The concise financial report and directors' responsibility The concise financial report comprises the statement of financial position, statement of financial performance, statement of cash flows, accompanying notes to the financial statements, and the directors' declaration for BlueScope Steel Limited, formerly known as BHP Steel Limited, and the consolidated entity, for the year ended 30 June 2003. The consolidated entity comprises both the company and the entities it controlled during that year. The directors of the company are responsible for preparing a concise financial report that complies with Accounting Standard AASB 1039 "Concise Financial Reports", in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001. This includes responsibility for the maintenance of adequate accounting records and internal controls that are designed to prevent and detect fraud and error, and for the accounting policies and accounting estimates inherent in the concise financial report.

Audit approach

We conducted an independent audit on the concise financial report in order to express an opinion on it to the members of the company. Our audit was conducted in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards in order to provide reasonable assurance as to whether the financial report is free of material misstatement. The nature of an audit is influenced by factors such as the use of professional judgment, selective testing, the inherent limitations of internal control, and the availability of persuasive rather than conclusive evidence. Therefore, an audit cannot guarantee that all material misstatements have been detected. We performed procedures to assess whether in all material respects the concise financial report is presented fairly in accordance with the Accounting Standard AASB 1039 "Concise Financial Reports". We formed our audit opinion on the basis of these procedures, which included:

• testing that the information in the concise financial report is consistent with the full financial report, and
• examining, on a test basis, information to provide evidence supporting the amounts, discussion and analysis, and other disclosures in the concise financial report that were not directly derived from the full financial report.

We have also performed an independent audit of the full financial report of the company for the year ended 30 June 2003. Our audit report on the full financial report was signed on 28 August 2003, and was not subject to any qualification. For a better understanding of our approach to the audit of the full financial report, this report should be read in conjunction with our audit report on the full financial report.

Independence

We are independent of the company, and have met the independence requirements of Australian professional ethical pronouncements and the Corporations Act 2001. In addition to our audit of the full and concise financial reports, we were engaged to undertake the services disclosed in the notes to the financial statements of the full financial report. The provision of these services has not impaired our independence.

Audit opinion

In our opinion, the concise financial report of BlueScope Steel Limited complies with Accounting Standard AASB 1039 "Concise Financial Reports".

Ernst & Young

A I Beckett
Partner

Melbourne
28 August 2003