Long-term, subsidised rental housing is provided to assist people who have extreme difficulty in accessing housing in the private housing market. The collective term for this type of housing is ‘social housing’ which in New South Wales includes: 

• ‘public housing’ managed by Homes NSW (a division of the Department of Communities and Justice) 
• ‘community housing’ managed by non-government organisations (social housing providers) 
• housing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples managed by the Aboriginal Housing Office or Aboriginal social housing providers.

In New South Wales, applications for housing assistance are managed through Housing Pathways. This is a partnership between Homes NSW, including the Aboriginal Housing Office, and participating community housing providers. Housing Pathways provides a single application process, common eligibility criteria, a standard assessment process and a single waiting list known as the NSW Housing Register. 

This audit will assess whether social housing is effectively and efficiently prioritised to meet the needs of vulnerable households, and whether social housing tenants are effectively supported to establish and sustain their tenancies. 

The audit will assess all types of social housing including public housing, community housing and housing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The Audit Office is required by section 38 of the Government Sector Audit Act 1983 to keep information gathered during the course of a performance audit confidential and the Audit Office takes its responsibilities under these sections seriously. 

Exceptions include the Auditor-General’s Report to Parliament – a public document – and where the Audit Office is permitted or required to disclose information under other legislation. 

All information that the Audit Office receives, and working papers that the Audit Office creates during an audit, are classed as excluded information in Schedule 2 of the Government Information (Public Sector) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). An access application under the GIPA Act cannot be made for excluded information. 

For more information on our confidentiality obligations, please visit Our confidentiality and reporting obligations for contributions page.

If you have questions or feedback about individual matters, you can: 

• contact the Department of Communities and Justice online or by calling 1800 422 322
• contact a community housing provider through their individual website or contact details
• contact the Registrar for Community Housing to make a complaint against a community housing provider online or by calling 1800 330 940
• contact Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services for tenancy and legal advice. Their website provides online forms and phone numbers for advice.
• make a complaint to the NSW Ombudsman online or by calling 1800 451 524
• make a complaint about corruption to the Independent Commission Against Corruption online or by calling 02 8281 5999.

According to the NSW Treasury Indigenous Expenditure Report 2023-24, in 2021-22 the NSW Government is estimated to have spent $1.4 billion on First Nations people for services related to the criminal justice system. In June 2024, there were 4,039 Aboriginal adults in custody in NSW, representing 31.3% of the adult prison population, the highest number ever recorded. Of young people in custody, 58.7% were Aboriginal as of June 2024. 

This audit will assess whether Corrective Services NSW and Youth Justice NSW effectively and efficiently provide supports, programs and opportunities for the rehabilitation of First Nations peoples in custody and post release to reduce recidivism.  In doing so, we will address the following lines of inquiry: 

1. Have agencies established effective governance and accountability arrangements to ensure First Nations people are effectively supported in custody, upon and post release?  
2. Do agencies effectively plan and design relevant supports, programs and opportunities for rehabilitation of First Nations peoples in custody, upon and post release?
3. Do Agencies effectively deliver and continuously improve relevant supports, programs and opportunities for rehabilitation of First Nations people in custody, upon and post release? 

If you have experiences or views relevant to the audit scope, you can share them with the Audit Office. This can be done anonymously if you wish. 

Please note that the audit mailbox will be open to receive submissions until close of business on Monday 30 June 2025. 

You can provide feedback on this audit either through the ‘contribute to this audit’ button in the left hand menu (or the comment icon on top right for mobile), by email, or phone on 02 9275 7100. 

We may use your feedback to identify key themes, risks or issues which may then be further investigated during the audit. In some instances, we may use extracts of contributions in our audit report as examples of feedback provided where appropriate. If we use extracts of a contribution, we will not identify the source in the report. 

However, please note: 

• We will not examine individual matters, nor can we investigate all issues or concerns raised. Please see the contact details listed below for relevant contacts. In general, the audit team will look for supporting evidence from other sources (such as documentation, data and audit interviews). 
• We will not share your feedback with any party, including the audited agencies and councils, nor do we publish feedback on our website. 
• While we will consider all feedback provided, we may not contact you to discuss. 
• We are not able to answer questions or provide information collected during the course of the audit. 
• Performance audits focus on assessing whether public money is spent efficiently, effectively, economically and in compliance with the law. The Auditor-General is not permitted to question the merits of government policy objectives. Please visit the Performance audit guide for audited entities (including non-public sector entities) for more information on how we undertake performance audits.
   

The Audit Office is required by section 38 of the Government Sector Audit Act to keep information obtained during an audit confidential and the Audit Office takes its responsibilities under these sections very seriously.   

All information that the Audit Office receives, and working papers that the Audit Office creates during an audit, are classed as excluded information in Schedule 2 of the Government Information (Public Sector) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). An access application under the GIPA Act cannot be made for excluded information. 

If you have questions or comments about individual matters, you can:

• contact Corrective Services NSW online or by calling (02) 8346 1333 
• contact Youth Justice NSW online or by calling (02) 8346 1333 
• make a complaint about a NSW government agency to the NSW Ombudsman online or by calling 1800 451 524
• make a complaint about corruption to the Independent Commission Against Corruption online or by calling 02 8281 5999.

Click here for more information on our confidentiality and reporting obligations for submissions received via our website.
 

The Local Small Commitments Allocation Program provided grants up to $400,000 in each of the 93 NSW electorates in 2023-24. The grants aimed to help fund small local projects for the purpose of enhancing community wellbeing and providing benefits to communities in NSW.

This audit will assess whether the Local Small Commitments Allocation Program was administered in compliance with the section 10.3A of the Government Sector Finance Act 2018 and the Grants Administration Guide. 

NSW Police Force IT systems and processes are built around the Computerised Operational Policing System (COPS), which has been in place since 1994. The Police Technology Program aims to replace legacy COPS infrastructure, introduce new capabilities and approaches to enhance the operational efficacy of the NSW Police Force.

In 2013 the NSW Police Force was allocated $45m to replace COPS. It developed a proof of concept in 2017 for a replacement system (NewCOPS), but did not deliver on this system.

NSW Police Force began the system development process again, under the title of the Integrated Policing Operations System (IPOS) program. An initial business case for the IPOS program was developed in 2018 and finalised in 2019. In 2020, the NSW Police Force selected a single vendor to provide an integrated solution for core policing functions. In 2022, the NSW Police Force terminated the contract with the selected vendor and is currently pursuing a multi-vendor approach. 

This audit may assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the NSW Police Force in planning and sourcing key components to upgrade core policing technology.

Under the Education Act 1990 every child has the right to receive an education. The Act provides that:

• the education of a child is primarily the responsibility of the child’s parents, and
• the state has a duty to ensure every child receives an education of the highest quality, principally through providing public education.

Children of compulsory age are required to be enrolled at, and to attend, a government school or a registered non-government school, or to be registered and receive instruction for home schooling. 

The audit aims to assess whether students who may experience difficulties in receiving an education in a mainstream classroom environment in New South Wales (NSW), or who choose to not be educated in a mainstream classroom environment, have access to a quality education, regardless of their circumstances, when in alternative educational settings.

This audit will assess the effectiveness of the NSW Department of Education and the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) in supporting students to receive a quality education when delivered in alternative education settings.

In doing so, the audit will have two criteria to examine whether: 

1. Agencies provide or support alternative education settings for students to ensure continuity of education:
   1. Alternative settings are accessible and available in a timely way to students.
   2. Transitions into and out of alternative settings support continuity of education.
2. Agencies are effectively implementing quality assurance and safeguarding mechanisms for alternative education settings:
   1. Agencies support students to receive a high quality education in alternative settings.
   2. Education programs in alternative settings are appropriate to meet the diverse learning needs of students. 
   3. Agencies ensure that child safe standards and/or child protection protocols are applied as relevant.
   4. The Department monitors outcomes for individual students in alternative settings. NESA checks that home schooled children are receiving instruction.

Included within the audit scope:

•  NSW Department of Education alternative educational settings:
  • distance education
  • schools for specific purposes catering for students with emotional disturbances or behavioural disorders (‘behaviour schools’)
  • schools in Youth Justice NSW detention centres
  • hospital schools
• Agency management of non-government alternative education setting providers, where relevant
• Home schooling in NSW (regulated by NESA).

Excluded from the audit scope:

• policies and practices at non-government schools, early childhood education and outside school hours care services, or vocational education and training services
• schools for specific purposes catering for students with disability (these were considered through a previous audit, Supporting students with disability)
• support classes located in mainstream schools (these were considered through a previous audit, Supporting students with disability)
• suspension centres and tutorial centres
• in-depth student behaviour management policies and practices (these will be the focus of a future audit on the forward work program)
• merits of government policy objectives.

The Audit Office is required by section 38 of the Government Sector Audit Act 1983 to keep information gathered during the course of a performance audit confidential and the Audit Office takes its responsibilities under these sections seriously. 

Exceptions include the Auditor-General’s Report to Parliament – a public document – and where the Audit Office is permitted or required to disclose information under other legislation.

All information that the Audit Office receives, and working papers that the Audit Office creates during an audit, are classed as excluded information in Schedule 2 of the Government Information (Public Sector) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). An access application under the GIPA Act cannot be made for excluded information. 

For more information on our confidentiality obligations, please visit Our confidentiality and reporting obligations for contributions page.

If you have questions or feedback about individual matters, you can: 

• contact the NSW Department of Education through the website 
• contact the NSW Education Standards Authority through the website 
• make a complaint to the NSW Ombudsman online or by calling 1800 451 524.

The coast is one of our greatest assets in New South Wales and is home to nearly 85% of the state’s population. The NSW Government has established a framework to manage the coastal environment in a sustainable way for the wellbeing of the people of New South Wales. 

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) and the Department of Planning, Housing, and Infrastructure (DPHI) oversee and facilitate implementation of the coastal management framework by local councils.

The key policy instruments under this framework are:

• the Coastal Management Act 2016 (the Act), under which local councils in the coastal zone prepare coastal management programs to set the long-term strategy for the coordinated management of land within the coastal zone, and
• the coastal management chapter of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021 (the SEPP), which aims to promote an integrated and coordinated approach to land use planning in the coastal zone in a manner consistent with the objects of the Coastal Management Act 2016.

This audit will assess whether DCCEEW, DPHI and select local councils are effectively implementing the coastal management framework to manage the NSW coastal environment. 

The selected local councils for this audit are City of Coffs Harbour Council, Northern Beaches Council and Shoalhaven City Council.

The audit will answer the following questions:

• Are DCCEEW and DPHI effectively overseeing and facilitating councils’ implementation of the coastal management framework?
• Have councils effectively developed plans and priorities for coastal management?

The audit will not assess:

• The merits of NSW Government policy objectives, decisions relating to coastal management program certification, coastal management actions identified or implemented by councils and/ or NSW Government agencies, and land use planning and development decisions under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
• Whether certified coastal management programs meet the requirements of the Coastal Management Act 2016 or coastal management manual.
• Implementation of policy objectives under strategies or initiatives outside of the coastal management framework (e.g., Marine Estate Management Strategy, State Disaster Mitigation Plan). 

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (the Department) is responsible for regulating mines under the Mining Act 1992. This includes ensuring that mine rehabilitation works are undertaken progressively by mining lease holders. The Department oversees this function in over 6,000 mines in a range of mining sectors.

This audit will assess the effectiveness of the Department in monitoring compliance with and enforcing mining rehabilitation requirements under the Mining Act 1992 and associated regulations. 

The audit will examine whether the Department has established a framework that enables it to effectively regulate mining rehabilitation. It will also examine whether the Department effectively monitors rehabilitation progress and ensures compliance with rehabilitation requirements at NSW mines.

Effectiveness of Transport for NSW’s procurement of new passenger rail rolling stock

The audit will assess the effectiveness of Transport for NSW in planning and sourcing new passenger rail rolling stock under two procurement projects:

• New Intercity Fleet (or ‘Mariyung’ fleet) procurement which will deliver approximately 61 intercity train fleet replacements to service the Central Coast, Newcastle, Blue Mountains and Wollongong.
• Regional Rail Fleet procurement will deliver approximately 29 regional train fleet replacements of the XPT, XPLORER and Endeavour trains, to service regional NSW, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The audit will address these questions:

• Did Transport for NSW effectively identify its business needs, including to meet government objectives, during the planning stage of the procurements and justify any variations to scope?
• Did Transport for NSW execute a procurement sourcing process that ensured probity and value for money? 

Local Health Districts in New South Wales create, collect and maintain patient data, including sensitive personal information. Cyber security incidents can harm service delivery and may include the theft of information, denial of access to critical technology, or even the hijacking of systems for profit or malicious intent.

This audit may examine the effectiveness of Local Health Districts in safeguarding patient data and ensuring data security, including how well LHDs ensure they have effective cyber security measures in place.

Following the flood events in the Northern Rivers region in March 2022, the NSW Government announced the Resilient Homes Program, a $700 million program to support homeowners in their recovery and to build resilience in the Northern Rivers community. The Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC) developed and manages the Resilient Homes Program. This program assesses eligible homes in the Northern Rivers region impacted by the flood events, and then on the basis of this assessment will recommend that properties be bought back, raised or retrofitted. This assessment is designed to take into account the level of risk to that home. Differing levels of financial support are available from the NSW Government depending on the outcome of the assessment. 

This audit may consider whether NRRC has effectively implemented the Resilient Homes Program including whether it has achieved its goals and the consistency of assessments to determine the action undertaken with each home.