Volume Five 2015 covered Premier and Cabinet agencies such as the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Office of Sport, Venues NSW, Barangaroo Delivery Authority and Infrastructure NSW.

The Department’s framework for VET reform has the potential to effectively achieve the government’s immediate objectives for the reform, which are associated with meeting its commitments under the National Partnership Agreement for Skills Reform without spending more. We found that the government is addressing VET reform objectives in the following order of priority: no extra cost (budget neutrality), TAFE viability, quality VET, access to VET for regions and equity groups, more contestability, student choice. Overall, we conclude that a more balanced approach, by putting more emphasis on increased contestability and student choice, is more likely to maximise the public value for the government’s investment in VET.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #249 - released 29 January 2015

Decisions to relocate government agencies to non-metropolitan areas are not made purely for cost reasons. They can also serve government policy objectives, such as promoting regional economic development.

Regardless of the policy objectives that may exist, I would expect that decisions on individual agency relocations would be based on sound business cases. Those business cases would show how the relocation achieves any relevant government objectives, what costs (or savings) would be involved, logistical considerations such as obtaining appropriate accommodation and staff, and any impacts on levels service to the public.

In my view, the existence of government policy objectives does not remove the need for individual decisions to be made in a transparent, rational and accountable manner. Responsible public servants should provide the appropriate information to government to allow it to judge how best to implement its policies.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #147 - released 14 December 2005

Nearly 11,000 rescues are carried out each year in New South Wales, the majority involving motor vehicle accidents.

In metropolitan areas we have three emergency services providing general land rescue - NSW Police, the Ambulance Service and the NSW Fire Brigades. The two volunteer services, the State Emergency Service and the Volunteer Rescue Association, generally cover the remainder of the State.

Rescue arrangements in NSW are different to all other mainland states. Elsewhere, the trend in metropolitan areas has been towards consolidation with only one provider of rescue services.

The State Rescue Board of NSW was set up in 1989. Its primary role is to ensure efficient and effective rescue services are maintained throughout the State.

In this audit we examined how well placed the Board was to provide assurance to Parliament and the community that the organisation of rescue services in NSW best serves those in need of rescuing.

NSW deserves a clear and unequivocal answer on such an important issue. However, the issues are complex, often strongly argued, and generally there is insufficient relevant information upon which to make judgements about performance and value. This report outlines a way forward.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #140 - released 20 July 2005

About one in every twelve Sydney people travels by train each weekday.

Unplanned disruptions to services are inevitable, even on the best-run railways.

Because of the complexities of Sydney’s rail network, a single event can disrupt many services.

From a passenger’s perspective, three issues are important –

• how quickly the disruption is fixed (“When will my train arrive?”)
• the accuracy of information provided about the disruption (“Should I change my travel/meeting/other arrangements?”)
• how often the disruptions occur (“Should I give up on rail travel?”).

In this audit, we looked at how well RailCorp responds when there are routine disruptions to its CityRail passenger services. We focused on how RailCorp manages passenger journeys and informs passengers.

This report informs Parliament and the community about the limitations of the current system, and what more needs to be done in order to minimise the impact of disruptions on passengers.

It should also help passengers judge the extent to which they can rely on the information they receive, and to better understand some of the obstacles faced by staff.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #139 - released 22 June 2005

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.

In this follow-up audit, we examine changes following our May 2002 report on how well the:

• State Transit Authority maintained its buses
• Ministry of Transport administered contracts for the provision of regular passenger bus services.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #138 - released 14 June 2005

It is estimated that one in five people will be affected at some stage by a mental health problem or illness. The increasing prevalence of mental illness means that at some point in time most of us will either be affected or we will know of someone who is.

Although most people with mental illness can be treated in the community, at times some may require emergency treatment or admission to hospital for shortterm intensive therapy.

Not only are more mental health patients presenting to an emergency department for treatment than ever before, they are reportedly sicker and a greater number require admission to a hospital bed for further treatment. And, because of its very nature, those suffering from acute mental illness may not understand what is wrong or be able to communicate their problems clearly.

This makes access to emergency mental health services a significant issue for government that requires continuing attention.

The focus of this report is on the provision of 24-hour crisis services to adults. Emergency mental health services play a vital role in providing timely and appropriate care. Without proper treatment the severity of the illness may escalate, increasing the risk of self-harm or harm to others.

There have been many changes to mental health services over the last decade to deal with increasing demand. Much has been done to improve access to, and the quality of emergency services through significant increases in funding, the opening of new beds and the employment of more mental health staff.

Yet recent reviews have highlighted problems with accessing mental health beds and inadequate levels of psychiatric support in rural areas.

I believe that our report will provide valuable assistance to area health services on alternative models of emergency mental health care that better manage patient risk and further improve service quality.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #136 - released 26 May 2005

This Report, Volume Two: Corporate Governance in Practice reports upon how actual corporate governance practices by NSW public sector boards compare with “better practice”.

It found criteria and processes for appointing directors to boards are not always transparent. It also found a more systematic and rigorous approach to the range of corporate governance issues is required across the public sector if it is to approach "better practice", there is a lack of accountability for board decision making and board performance and where boards are to serve a governance role, then a basic framework needs to be created to ensure they can operate efficiently and effectively.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #39 - released 17 June 1997

A Supplement to Volume Two: Survey Findings has also been prepared, presenting The Audit Office’s survey findings in detail. This may serve as a useful benchmark for governance in the NSW public sector.

It found that, supporting/enabling legislation, governance structures and boards creation processes should facilitate better governance practice. It also found boards and management should understand their roles, responsibilities and duties and that these should be clearly articulated in legislation, board directors should possess appropriate qualifications and expertise to fulfil their responsibilities, boards need to ensure that adequate systems are in place to be able to oversight on the activity of the agency and boards must be accountable to those whose interests they represent.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #39 - released 17 June 1997

The audit identified that overall the agencies had carried out the redundancy process satisfactorily and the process, with some exceptions, complied with Government and internal policies. Government policy states that performance problems should be dealt with by managing the performance of the employee rather than restructuring/redundancy processes. In a limited number of instances certain employees, whose performance had been questioned, had been offered and accepted voluntary redundancy.

The audit also indicates that the process of redundancies has resulted in lower salary costs, in real dollar terms, without undue increase in either overtime or consultancy costs nor any detrimental effect on service quality. However, it is noted that the decrease in staffing levels occurred exclusively in the non-budget sector. Budget sector staffing levels increased by 1.4 per cent during 1989-95. There are also signs that the need for and the benefits arising out of redundancies are not well planned or measured. The need for redundancies often arises from a desire to reduce staff related costs while there is no comparison of the costs of redundancy compared to benefits.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #37 - released 17 April 1997