The Audit Office is of the opinion that there are several features of the current Senior Executive Service (SES) model, or its application, which hinder the capacity of the SES to operate effectively in line with the Government’s stated objectives. The ultimate effect of these features is to reduce the capacity or perceived capacity of the SES to meet the Government’s objectives for the operation of the SES.

Taken overall, difficulties in the SES identified by the audit included: uncertainty caused by the way some contracts have been applied in practice, removal for reasons other than poor performance, informal strategies such as using restructuring to “terminate contracts and to move people in and out of positions regardless of their formal reported performance” (Section 5.4), inconsistently applied rules about selection/recruitment, appointment and removal of the SES, an imbalance between CES responsibility to the Minister as the employer/reviewer with their responsibility not to act in a political or partial manner, apparent lack of rigour in, value of and Ministerial accountability for CES performance review processes and failure to implement an adequate system of rewards and sanctions related to performance.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #59.1 - released 17 December 1998

This Performance Audit Report, prepared by the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) on behalf of The Audit Office of New South Wales (NSW), is a study of the NSW Senior Executive Service (SES).

It found the dissonance between where optimal executive performance might take place on a performance spectrum, encompassing the formal SES and less formal political arenas, is canvassed. The critical point here is that this arena, between the informal political actions and the application of formal SES structures, where much of the important decision making takes place, will always be difficult to manage. Transparency in decision making processes where non partisan and partisan actions are clearly defined seems a primary essential element of performance if the integrity of the NSW SES is to be maintained.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #59.2 - released 17 December 1998

The Audit Office carries out periodically a follow-up audit on previously tabled performance audit reports. These follow-up audits help to ascertain the extent to which recommendations made in those tabled reports have been considered and implemented by agencies concerned; the extent to which “across-the-board” audits benefited agencies; and the extent to which performance audit reports served and assisted Parliamentarians.

This second follow-up audit covers the period up to July 1997 during which time 24 audits were tabled. Of these 24 reports, 22 were followed up in this review. In total they contained 383 recommendations for improving public sector performance.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #55 - released 17 November 1998

Information relating to the NSW public sector wide sickness absence levels, unlike in some other states, are presently not maintained or monitored centrally. The salaries and wages paid to individuals whilst on sickness absence on a public sector wide basis in 1996-97 was estimated to be $368.3m. This estimate does not take into account any flow -on effect resulting from sickness absence, eg overtime or other replacement cost.

Improved management of sickness absence provides an opportunity for the NSW public sector to gain benefits, including the reduction of salary costs associated with people on sickness absence. The salary differential between the sickness absence level currently existing and the sickness absence level reported for the private sector, is around $123m per annum. To assist with the management of sickness absence within the NSW public sector, The Audit Office of NSW developed a Better Practice Guide. This Guide has been referred to the Premier’s Department for consultation as a prelude to its completion and release.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #52 - released 27 August 1998

This Volume, Volume Two: The Survey - Detailed Findings, is the second of a two part Performance Audit Report on Management of Sickness Absence New South Wales Public Sector. The first volume, Volume One: Executive Briefing, identifies the main issues of sickness absenteeism identified during the audit.

This Report Volume, Volume Two: The Survey - Detailed Findings, presents the more detailed findings of the audit which were gathered from:

• the review and analysis of responses received from agencies to The Audit Office’s management of sickness absence survey

• fieldwork visits to selected public and private sector organisations, during the course of the audit, which supplemented the survey. 

Parliamentary reference - Report number #52 - released 27 August 1998

Fraud control in the NSW public sector needs to be better. Some agencies have approached the issue with vigour and initiative, and improvement since 1993 is evident in the major audit clients of The Audit Office. However, the overall achievement of NSW agencies in implementing fraud control strategies leaves much room for improvement.

There is a need for stricter requirements, better monitoring and improved central support to ensure that fraud control is properly addressed. This Report makes some suggestions in this regard, and highlights some issues for further research and guidance. There is a need to change management perceptions on the issue of fraud control. To this end, The Audit Office fully supports recent initiatives by the Chief Executives Committee (in constituting an Ethics Working Party) and NSW Treasury (in seeking to introduce a risk management approach to the public sector). These initiatives place fraud control into a broader context of effective ethical management, which is where it belongs.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #48 - released 25 March 1998