This audit assessed how effectively NSW government agencies procure and manage consultants. It examined the role of the NSW Procurement Board and NSW Procurement (a unit within NSW Treasury) in supporting and monitoring agency procurement and management of consultants. The audit used four sources of data that contain information about spending on consultants by NSW government agencies, including annual report disclosures and th

The Government Advertising Act 2011 requires the Auditor-General to undertake a performance audit on government advertising activities each financial year. This audit examined whether TAFE NSW's annual advertising campaign in 2021–22: was carried out effectively, economically, and efficiently complied with regulatory requirements and the Government Advertising Guidelines. What we found TAFE NSW complied with Section 6 of the 

Sydney Metro is Australia’s largest public transport project. It requires the acquisition of many private properties, including residential and business properties. This audit assessed the effectiveness of the acquisition of private properties for the Sydney Metro project. The audited agencies were Sydney Metro, the Department of Planning and Environment (Valuer General NSW) and Transport for NSW (the Centre for Property Acquis

Cyber Security NSW is part of the Department of Customer Service, and aims to provide the NSW Government with an integrated approach to preventing and responding to cyber security threats. This audit assessed the effectiveness of Cyber Security NSW's arrangements in contributing to the NSW Government's commitments under the NSW Cyber Security Strategy, in particular, increasing the NSW Government's cyber resiliency. The audit as

The Bushfire Local Economic Recovery (BLER) program was created after the 2019–20 bushfires, and commits $541.8 million to bushfire affected areas in New South Wales. It is co-funded by the Commonwealth and NSW governments. This audit assessed how effectively the Department of Regional NSW (the department) and Resilience NSW administered rounds one and two of the BLER program. These rounds were: Round one: early co-funding, spl

The Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE) is the State's custodian of rail assets. It is a state owned corporation and commenced operating on 1 July 2020. This audit assessed the effectiveness of NSW Government agencies' design and implementation of TAHE. We audited TAHE, Transport for NSW (TfNSW) and NSW Treasury. Separate and related audits on TAHE are reported in 'State Finances 2022', 'State Finances 2021' and 'Transport a

This audit assessed the effectiveness of NSW Government agencies’ coordination of the response to COVID-19, with a focus on the Delta variant outbreak in the Dubbo and Fairfield Local Government Areas (LGA) between June and November 2021. We audited five agencies - the Department of Premier and Cabinet, NSW Health, the NSW Police Force, Resilience NSW and the Department of Customer Service. The audit also considered relevant pl

Local councils in New South Wales are responsible for assessing local and regional development applications. Most development applications are assessed and determined by council staff under delegated authority. However, some development applications must be referred to independent local planning panels or Sydney and regional planning panels for determination. Councils provide support to local planning panels. The Department of

The Australian Government led and implemented the Australian COVID-19 vaccine rollout, with the support of state and territory governments. As part of the Australian Government's vaccine rollout, NSW Health launched its vaccination program on 22 February 2021, with responsibility for distributing and administering COVID-19 vaccine stock provided by the Australian Government. This audit examined the period 1 January 2021 to 31 D

Poor attendance at school is related to poor student outcomes, particularly once patterns of non-attendance have been established. This report examined how the NSW Department of Education (the department) is managing student attendance in NSW government schools. What we found Around a third of students in Years 1–10 attended school less than 90% of the time in semester one, 2021. Missing more than 10% of school may put a stud