This report focuses on whether Destination NSW (DNSW) can demonstrate that its support for major events achieves value for money. The audit found that DNSW’s processes for assessing and evaluating the major events it funds are mostly effective, but its public reporting does not provide enough transparency. DNSW provides clear information to event organisers seeking funding and has a comprehensive methodology for conducting detailed event assessments. H

The Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford, released a report today examining the Department of Education’s (the department’s) support and oversight of school planning and use of needs-based funding under the Local Schools, Local Decisions reform. The report found the department has not had adequate oversight of how schools are using needs-based funding to improve student outcomes since it was introduced in 2014. The department had not

The Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford, has released a report on how the New South Wales Education and Standards Authority (NESA) and the Department of Education (the Department) ensure teaching quality in NSW public schools. Around 2,200 NSW public school principals are responsible for accrediting their teachers in line with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. The report found that NESA does not oversight principals’

The Department of Justice has relied heavily on temporary responses to accommodate growing prisoner numbers according to a report released today by the Acting Auditor-General for New South Wales, Ian Goodwin. At the time of this audit, the NSW Department of Justice (DOJ) was responsible for delivering custodial corrections services in New South Wales through its Corrective Services NSW divisi

The Department of Education has a strong focus on supporting secondary school students’ wellbeing. However, it is difficult to assess how well the Department is progressing as it is yet to measure or report on the outcomes of this work at a whole-of-state level. The Department of Education’s (the Department) purpose is to prepare young people for rewarding lives as engaged citizens in a compl

The NSW Department of Education’s plans and strategies to respond to the demand for secondary teachers in STEM-related disciplines are limited by incomplete data and underperforming scholarship and sponsorship program. The Department does not collect sufficient information to monitor what disciplines teachers actually teach nor does it predict supply and demand for teachers by discipline and location. This restricts the Department’s ability to track and

Several factors are reducing effective use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the classroom. These are primarily: ageing ICT equipment and inadequate wireless networks variable student access to devices at school variable teacher access to centrally provided devices for use outside of the classroom. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are pervasive in mode

Corrective Services NSW should ensure eligible prisoners receive timely programs to reduce the risk they will reoffend on release. This report found that in 2015−16, 75 per cent of prisoners who needed a prison-based therapeutic program did not receive one before the earliest date they could be released. Timely access to prison-based therapeutic programs can be a factor in parole refusal and can potentially exacerbate overcrowding in the prison system.

This report focuses on key observations and findings from 2016 audits and highlights key areas of focus for financial and performance audits in 2017. The quality and timeliness of financial reporting continued to improve across the NSW public sector in 2016. Only one qualified audit opinion was issued and most agencies signed their financial statements on time. We found the Government’s cluster governance arrangements were unclear and inconsistently i

The NSW Government’s ‘program evaluation initiative’, introduced to assess whether service delivery programs achieve expected outcomes and value for money, is largely ineffective according to a report released today by NSW Auditor-General, Margaret Crawford. Government services, in areas such as public order and safety, health and education, are delivered by agencies through a variety of programs. In 2016–17, the NSW Government estimates that it will sp