Students in rural and remote (non-metropolitan) areas of NSW experience compounding social and contextual pressures that contribute to lower performance on major educational indicators when compared to students in metropolitan locations. The long-term nature of this disadvantage requires an ongoing focus on improving outcomes across a range of areas including early childhood education, external supports and services, quality school staff, modern informat

Aboriginal children are over-represented in the child protection system. According to Department of Communities and Justice data, approximately 50% of the children in out of home care are Aboriginal. The Aboriginal Case Management Policy (ACMP) and the Aboriginal Child Placement Principles (ACPP) are designed to ensure that when Aboriginal children encounter the child protection system their connections to family, kin, community, culture and country are

The NSW Premier signed the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap on behalf of New South Wales in July 2020. The objective of the Agreement is to overcome the entrenched inequality faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples so that their life outcomes are equal to those of all Australians. The NSW Government and NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations developed an implementation plan for 2021–22 which sets out five 'priority reform

Audit background  The Forestry Corporation of NSW is a state-owned corporation that supplies timber to sawmills in New South Wales, including with timber harvested from public native forests. Forestry Corporation is responsible for the management of around 1.8 million hectares of public native forest. In undertaking its operations Forestry Corporation must comply with Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals (IFOAs), which set out rules to protect speci

iCare provides workers' compensation insurance to more than 329,000 public and private sector employers in New South Wales and their 3.2 million employees. It also insures builders and homeowners, provides treatment and care to people severely injured on NSW roads, and protects more than $266.6 billion of NSW government assets, including the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, schools and hospitals. This audit will examine how effectively key

Cyber security is the practice of defending computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from malicious attacks. The increasing global interconnectivity between computer networks has dramatically increased the risk of cyber security incidents. Such incidents can harm local government operations and service delivery and may include the theft of information, denial of access to critical technology, or even the hijacking of sys

Audit background  Extreme rainfall across Eastern Australia throughout 2021 and 2022 led to a series of major flooding events that were declared emergencies in New South Wales. These events damaged houses and left many people homeless, particularly in the Northern Rivers, and the state’s Central West. In response, the government provided emergency accommodation to address the immediate housing needs of people during the flood events, and then temporary

According to Department of Communities and Justice data, the number of children and young people reported to be at ‘risk of significant harm’ of abuse and neglect in NSW has been increasing in recent years. The Department of Communities and Justice has primary responsibility to provide support and a safe living environment for children and young people who are not able to live safely in the family home. Non-government agencies are also funded by the NSW

NSW government entities are consolidated into ten ‘clusters’ reflecting ten broad policy areas of government. The NSW Public Sector Governance Framework (February 2013) articulated the anticipated benefits from the cluster model, including: better alignment of entities to deliver key policy, business and service delivery priorities and consistent accountability and reporting relationships for entities across clusters improved administrative and financi

The Digital Restart Fund was established in 2019 to accelerate whole-of-government digital transformation and enable iterative, multidisciplinary approaches to digital or information and communications technology (ICT) planning, and development and service provision. In 2020, there was $1.6 billion available in the fund. This audit will assess the governance and administration arrangements for the fund and whether it will achieve its objectives.