Reports
Actions for Justice 2016
Justice 2016
Overcrowding in the NSW prison system continues to worsen along with the backlog of cases in the District Court, according to a report released by the New South Wales Auditor-General, Margaret Crawford on the annual financial statements audits in the Justice cluster.
Actions for Fraud Survey
Fraud Survey
In a report released today, the NSW Auditor-General, Margaret Crawford provides a snapshot of reported fraud in the NSW public sector and an analysis of NSW Government agencies’ fraud controls based on a survey of 102 agencies.
Actions for Implementation of the NSW Government’s program evaluation initiative
Implementation of the NSW Government’s program evaluation initiative
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 spend over $73 billion on programs to deliver services.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #277 - released 3 November 2016
Actions for Preventing and managing worker injuries
Preventing and managing worker injuries
Police officers and firefighters in NSW are benefiting from an improved focus on preventing and managing injuries, according to a report released today by the NSW Auditor-General. However, the audit found these gains may not be enough to offset risks associated with increasing common law claims, and death and disability scheme costs.
‘Emergency service workers face dangerous situations and traumatic scenes’ said the Auditor-General ‘and are at a significant risk of injury and illness. While the NSW Police Force and Fire & Rescue NSW have made positive shifts towards more proactive injury prevention and better return to work programs and practices, both face significant cost issues.’
Parliamentary reference - Report number #275 - released 13 October 2016
Actions for Performance frameworks in custodial centre operations
Performance frameworks in custodial centre operations
The effectiveness of Corrective Services NSW’s performance framework is limited because organisational key performance indicators (KPIs) do not cascade to public correctional centres, according to a report released today by the Acting New South Wales Auditor-General, Tony Whitfield.
'As a result, individual public correctional centres could not be assessed on how well they are contributing to overall Corrective Service objectives, and it is difficult to vary performance expectations in response to changing operating environments', said Mr Whitfield. 'Its commissioning and contestability project is designed to address these issues', he added.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #267 - released 3 March 2016
Actions for Volume Seven 2011 focus on Law, Order and Emergency Services
Volume Seven 2011 focus on Law, Order and Emergency Services
The audits of these agencies’ financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2011 resulted in unmodified audit opinions within the Independent Auditor’s Reports. It is recommended that emergency services agencies continue to develop and implement comprehensive volunteer workforce management plans to ensure they have the right volunteer resources.
Actions for Responding to Domestic and Family Violence
Responding to Domestic and Family Violence
Organisations generally work together to improve the safety of victims when there is an overt and serious crisis, particularly where children are involved. There are no standard ways for victims and perpetrators to access help that might prevent ongoing violence and address underlying issues. This is particularly problematic where there are repeat victims and perpetrators, many of whom have complex mental health, drug and alcohol problems and are difficult to work with. New South Wales has trialled a number of projects to improve the way that organisations work together to support vulnerable people in particular communities.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #218 - released 8 November 2011
Actions for The effectiveness of cautioning for minor Cannabis offences
The effectiveness of cautioning for minor Cannabis offences
Over the last ten years the NSW Police Force (Police) has used cautioning to divert over 39,000 minor cannabis offenders from the courts, saving at least $20 million in court costs. People cautioned for minor cannabis offences are also less likely to reoffend than those dealt with by the courts. Adults are more likely to be cautioned for minor cannabis offences today than when cautioning was introduced ten years ago. However this is not the case for young offenders who are more likely to be charged today. Cautioning may help people think about the consequences of their cannabis use. However few people seek help to reduce it with only 1.6 per cent of offenders contacting the drug helpline under the adult cautioning scheme. And there have been no evaluations yet on whether cautioning reduces drug use in NSW.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #211 - released 7 April 2011
Actions for Distributing Legal Aid in New South Wales
Distributing Legal Aid in New South Wales
We found the Commission to be performing well in delivering legal aid services. It has maintained and expanded services despite funding pressures and increasing demand. Overall, we found the Commission’s practices of making people aware of legal issues and its services to be comprehensive. Communication is via brochures, telephone and internet. We also found its processing of applications for legal aid to be sound.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #163 - released 13 December 2006
Actions for The Police Assistance Line: Follow-up audit
The Police Assistance Line: Follow-up audit
In this 2006 follow-up audit, we found that NSW Police had addressed most of the key areas for improvement we identified in 2003. The contact centre which operates the Police Assistance Line (PAL) is well managed, and has implemented several improvements since our 2003 audit. The centre’s speed in answering and handling PAL calls is better than in 2003. Caller satisfaction with PAL services is high, and NSW Police calculate it releases 200 police for frontline duty. The centre also receives around 4,000 enquiry calls each week further reducing the load on local police.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #161 - released 6 December 2006