NSW Government agencies with large landholdings need to better manage their contaminated sites.

When contaminated sites are reported to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) there are long delays in assessing the extent of contamination. The EPA also lacks the management controls to ensure that all significantly contaminated sites are actively monitored and key milestones for remediation are met.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #245 - released 10 July 2014

The SES needs to better understand the location, availability and skills of its volunteers so it can properly plan for emergency events. It needs to improve how it selects and retains the right volunteers and provide more up-to-date and focused training.

The SES has improved volunteer safety with injury claims falling by 40 per cent to 70 in the four years to 30 June 2013. The average cost of claims has fallen by 58 per cent to $3,547. The SES attributes this reduction to better equipment and work practices. 

Parliamentary reference - Report number #240 - released 15 April 2014

Fire and Rescue NSW do not know whether all its firefighters are fit to perform their full range of operational duties. Once they are employed, there are no formal checks on firefighters’ health and fitness during their career. Also, while a health standard for firefighters has been developed it has not been agreed nor implemented.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #239 - released 1 April 2014

Native vegetation is a complex and difficult area to regulate. There is an inherent tension between economic development and conservation. In our opinion, the complexities and the lack of accountability have contributed to the present position, whereby a whole-of-government approach to the protection of native vegetation in NSW has not been developed. There are currently no objectives or targets to measure progress in conserving native vegetation. Only one, of a possible twenty-two regional management plans, has been approved since the Act commenced. There is also a lack of comprehensive information about the status of, and changes to, native vegetation across rural NSW.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #101 - released 20 August 2002

The NSW Police and Department of Corrective Services (DCS) have committed to improve performance and productivity in their organisations. Both agencies have introduced several initiatives to promote the health, safety and welfare of their personnel. In addition the DCS policy provides for acknowledgements and sanctions based on the amount of medically uncertified leave taken by the employee. There are additional steps that could be taken to improve the management of sick leave.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #100 - released 23 July 2002

SDRO deals well with very high volumes and collects substantial sums of money. However, there are a number of factors which limit the effectiveness of the fine enforcement process and affect SDRO’s capacity to recover debt. SDRO is confronted with conflicting roles as both law enforcer and debt collector. As a law enforcement agency, SDRO treats all matters the same. But as a debt collector, other approaches could be pursued which would recover more outstanding dollars.

Many of the factors which inhibit SDRO’s ability to collect unpaid fines are beyond its control and require legislative change or a coordinated inter-agency response. Until these problems are fixed, the credibility of the fine enforcement process, and people’s willingness to pay outstanding fines, will continue to be undermined.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #94 - released 17 April 2002