Justice 2017

The Auditor-General, Margaret Crawford released her report today on law and order, and emergency services agencies. The report focuses on key observations and findings from the most recent audits of agencies in the Justice cluster.

No qualified audit opinions were issued on Justice agencies' financial statements. However, agencies that used the Department of Justice as their service provider experienced difficulties finalising their accounts. This was due to issues with the department’s implementation of a new financial accounting and reporting system and the continued establishment of its Business Support Centre. The Department is working to remediate the new finance system.

The report includes a range of findings on service delivery. Law and order agencies continue to face pressures with overcrowding in the NSW prison system and backlogs in district courts which have increased every year since 2011.