Reports
Actions for Helping older people access a residential aged care facility
Helping older people access a residential aged care facility
Assessment processes for older people needing to go to an Residential Aged Care Facility (RACF) vary depending on the processes of the Aged Care Assessement Teams (ACAT) they see and whether or not they are in hospital. The data collected on ACAT performance was significantly revised during 2004 making comparisons with subsequent years problematic. ACATs have more responsibilities than assessing older people for residential care. It is not clear whether they have sufficient resources for this additional workload.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #160 - released 5 December 2006
Actions for Educating primary school students with disabilities
Educating primary school students with disabilities
Special education programs so far have been able to support schools to accommodate these students and as a result, we have an inclusive education system. Our concern is that as the number of students with disabilities increases, pressure will be placed on both funding and the capacity of schools to provide quality services.
The Government’s special education initiative is a positive step towards addressing these problems. Nevertheless, other changes need to be made to improve services to meet the needs of individual students. For example, the department needs to develop a common assessment tool to capture the additional support needs of students with disabilities on enrolment and improve accountability for services and results after enrolment.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #158 - released 6 September 2006
Actions for Agencies working together to improve services
Agencies working together to improve services
In the cases we examined, we found that agencies working together can improve services or results. However, the changes were not always as great as anticipated or had not reached maximum potential. Establishing the right governance framework and accountability requirements between partners at the start of the project is critical to success. And joint responsibility requires new funding and reporting arrangements to be developed.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #149 - released 22 March 2006
Actions for The New Schools Privately Financed Project
The New Schools Privately Financed Project
In our view the contracts in the New Schools Privately Financed Project were established and let in a way that greatly assists their potential for delivering value for money. The contracts in the New Schools Privately Financed Project are at an early stage of their 30 year lives and the savings and other benefits are not guaranteed. The contracts will need to be carefully managed over the 30 year period to ensure that benefits are realised and that costs do not escalate beyond expectations.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #148 - released 8 March 2006
Actions for The school accountability and improvement model
The school accountability and improvement model
The Audit Office is of the view that the intention to achieve greater accountability for, and transparency in, public school performance is highly commendable. To date, these provisions have not been imposed by the Government on private schools even where public funds are provided to such schools.
The model however has fallen short of its potential because the reporting protocols allow principals and self-evaluation committees the scope to determine what, in their view, is ‘significant’ for their school and how they will report on it. Although the Department has set out a common reporting format to be used, and schools have been given specific directions on what information should be reported, in the reports reviewed by The Audit Office it was apparent that the definition of ‘significant’ and the clarity of reporting varied between schools.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #63 - released 12 May 1999