Council reporting on service delivery

New South Wales local government councils’ could do more to demonstrate how well they are delivering services in their reports to the public, according to a report released today by the Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford.

Many councils report activity, but do not report on outcomes in a way that would help their communities assess how well they are performing. Most councils also did not report on the cost of services, making it difficult for communities to see how efficiently they are being delivered. And councils are not consistently publishing targets to demonstrate what they are striving for.

The report recommends the Office of Local Government (OLG), as the regulator of councils in New South Wales, issue additional guidance to councils. OLG should develop a performance measurement framework – with associated performance indicators – to support more transparent and informative reporting.

The report also recommends OLG work with NSW Government agencies to help streamline and consolidate local government reporting requirements.

Further information

Barry Underwood, Director, Office of the Auditor-General, on 0403 073 664 and email barry.underwood@audit.nsw.gov.au.