Reports
Actions for Planning and Environment 2022
Planning and Environment 2022
Result of the Planning and Environment cluster agencies' financial statements audits for the year ended 30 June 2022. What we found Unmodified audit opinions were issued for all completed 30 June 2022 financial statements audits of cluster agencies. Seven audits are ongoing. Disclaimed audit opinions were issued for the 2010–11 to 2015–16 financial statements of the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC), as mana
Actions for Development applications: assessment and determination stages
Development applications: assessment and determination stages
Local councils in New South Wales are responsible for assessing local and regional development applications. Most development applications are assessed and determined by council staff under delegated authority. However, some development applications must be referred to independent local planning panels or Sydney and regional planning panels for determination. Councils provide support to local planning panels. The Department of
Actions for Regional NSW 2022
Regional NSW 2022
Result of the Regional NSW cluster agencies' financial statement audits for the year ended 30 June 2022. What we found Unmodified audit opinions were issued for Regional NSW cluster agencies. Two audits are ongoing. What the key issues were The Department of Regional NSW (the department) and Local Land Services (LLS) accepted changes to their office leasing arrangements managed by Property NSW. These changes resulted in the
Actions for Education 2022
Education 2022
Result of the Education cluster financial statement audits for the year ended 30 June 2022. What we found Unmodified audit opinions were issued for Education cluster agencies. An 'other matter' paragraph was included in the TAFE Commission's independent auditor's report as it did not have a delegation or sub-delegation from the Minister for Education and Early Learning to incur expenditure from cluster grants. What the key i
Actions for Student attendance
Student attendance
Poor attendance at school is related to poor student outcomes, particularly once patterns of non-attendance have been established. This report examined how the NSW Department of Education (the department) is managing student attendance in NSW government schools. What we found Around a third of students in Years 1–10 attended school less than 90% of the time in semester one, 2021. Missing more than 10% of school may put a stud
Actions for Effectiveness of the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme
Effectiveness of the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme
This audit examined whether the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) and the Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) have effectively designed and implemented the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme (‘the Scheme’) to compensate for the loss of biodiversity due to development. Under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, the Scheme enables landholders to establish in-perpetuity Biodiversity Stewardship Agreements on sites to gene
Actions for Audit Insights 2018-2022
Audit Insights 2018-2022
In this report, we have analysed the key findings and recommendations from our audit reports over the past four years. This analysis includes financial audits, performance audits, and compliance audits of state and local government entities that were tabled in NSW Parliament between July 2018 and February 2022. The report is framed by recognition that the past four years have seen significant challenges and emergency events.
Actions for Local Government 2021
Local Government 2021
Results of the local government sector council financial statement audits for the year ended 30 June 2021. What we found Unqualified audit opinions were issued for 126 councils, 13 joint organisation audits and nine county councils in 2020–21. A qualified audit opinion was issued for Central Coast Council who was unable to provide evidence to support the carrying value of $5.5 billion of roads, bridges, footpaths, bulk
Actions for NSW planning portal
NSW planning portal
The ePlanning program is an initiative of the Department of Planning and Environment (the department) to deliver a digital planning service for New South Wales through the NSW planning portal (the portal). Using the portal, relevant planning activities can be carried out online, including all stages of development applications. The portal has been developed under three separate business cases in 2013, 2014 and 2020. In late 2
Actions for COVID-19: response, recovery and impact
COVID-19: response, recovery and impact
This report draws together the financial impact of COVID-19 on the agencies integral to responses across the state government sector of New South Wales. What we found Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit NSW in January 2020, and until 30 June 2021, $7.5 billion was spent by state government agencies for health and economic stimulus. The response was largely funded by borrowings. The key areas of spending since the start of COVID-1