Reports
Actions for Supporting the District Criminal Court
Supporting the District Criminal Court
The Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford, released a report today on whether the Department of Communities and Justice (the department) effectively supports the efficient operation of the District Criminal Court system. The audit found that in the provision of data and technology services, the department is not effectively supporting the efficient operation of the District Criminal Court system. The department has insufficient controls
Actions for Stronger Communities 2019
Stronger Communities 2019
A report has been released on the NSW Stronger Communities cluster. From 1 July 2019, the functions of the former Department of Justice, the former Department of Family and Community Services and many of the cluster agencies moved to the new Stronger Communities cluster. The Department of Communities and Justice is the principal agency in the new Stronger Communities cluster. The report focuses on key observations and findings from the most recent
Actions for Internal Controls and Governance 2019
Internal Controls and Governance 2019
This report covers the findings and recommendations from the 2018–19 financial audits that relate to internal controls and governance at 40 of the largest agencies in the NSW public sector. The 40 agencies selected for this report constitute around 84 per cent of total expenditure for all NSW public sector agencies. The report provides insights into the effectiveness of controls and governance processes across the NSW public sector. It ev
Actions for State Finances 2019
State Finances 2019
The Auditor-General, Margaret Crawford, has released her report on the State Finances for the year ended 30 June 2019. ‘I am pleased to once again report that I issued an unmodified audit opinion on the State’s consolidated financial statements,’ the Auditor-General said. The report acknowledges NSW Treasury and agency efforts to reduce the number and value of errors compared with the previous year. ‘Strong financial management and transparen
Actions for Contracting non-government organisations
Contracting non-government organisations
This report found the Department of Family and Community Services (FACS) needs to do more to demonstrate it is effectively and efficiently contracting NGOs to deliver community services in the Permanency Support Program (a component of out-of-home-care services) and Specialist Homelessness Services. It notes that FACS is moving to an outcomes-based commissioning model and recommends this be escalated consistent with government policy.
Actions for Grants Administration
Grants Administration
We found no significant difference in the funding of government and opposition electorates. However, more money was given to electorates that were safely held by the major parties. These seats received $1.29 for every dollar given to marginal and independent seats with government marginals getting the least. Electorates also receive different levels of funding according to which region they are in. Such variations may reflect valid agency objectives such
Actions for The Department of Community Services Helpline
The Department of Community Services Helpline
Children have the right to be safe from abuse and neglect. Unfortunately not all children are properly cared for and some are harmed. Each week over 4,000 people contact the Department of Community Services with information about children at risk of neglect or physical, emotional or sexual abuse. The Department has a statutory duty to protect children it considers to be at risk of harm. To do this, it needs an effective system to receive, assess and re
Actions for Follow-up of Performance Audit: Maintenance of Public Housing
Follow-up of Performance Audit: Maintenance of Public Housing
Periodically we review the extent to which agencies have implemented the recommendations they accepted from our earlier audits. This gives Parliament and the public an update on the extent of progress made. Maintaining public infrastructure – whether social or economic – is a topic that is attracting significant attention. In this follow-up audit, we examine changes following our April 2001 report on how well the Department of Housing managed its publi