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.

Objective

This audit will assess the efficiency and effectiveness of ambulance services in regional New South Wales.  

Estimated tabling period

June 2024

Agencies audited

• Ministry of Health
• NSW Ambulance
• Murrumbidgee Local Health District
• Southern NSW Local Health District 

In 2020–21, Infosys, Unisys and the Department of Customer Service were co-providers of business processes and information technology services to a number of client agencies that constitute the GovConnect NSW environment. The role of the department has now transitioned to provision of GovConnect IT services.

This audit will examine how effectively government agencies managed the outsourced service contracts and whether the arrangements resulted in greater employee productivity and better value for New South Wales taxpayers.

Transport for NSW enters into contracts private companies to operate bus services.

This performance audit will assess the effectiveness of bus service contract planning, management, and enforcement. It will examine whether contracting has delivered the expected improvements in bus services for citizens, and whether Transport for NSW is effectively managing private operator performance, utilising data analytics.

NSW transport agencies have been acquiring rollingstock for the new inner-city fleet, regional fleet and for Metro rail, with individual contracts with the private sector valued more than $2 billion.

In this audit we will assess the effectiveness of agencies in planning and management the procurement of rollingstock, as well as value-for-money. We will also consider if lessons learnt from the Tangara and Millennium train acquisitions has been put into practice.

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 areas' and outlines the approach to achieving improvements in each of these. Aboriginal Affairs NSW, a unit within the Department of Premier and Cabinet, is leading this work.

This audit will focus on Aboriginal Affairs NSW’s approach to, and progress in implementing, the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. This may include its approach to partnerships and communication, governance and accountability for outcomes.

Each year approximately 200,000 patients have elective procedures/surgery in New South Wales public hospitals. Patients are placed on a waiting list and given a clinical priority depending on the seriousness of their condition. Managing elective surgery patients and waiting lists is a key priority for the NSW Government and NSW Health.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were temporary suspensions of non-urgent elective surgeries to ensure there was sufficient staffing and hospital bed capacity in New South Wales to meet COVID-19 related demand. This audit may examine how NSW Health manages the public elective surgery waitlist, and could include a focus on the impact on patient health caused by the suspension of elective surgery during COVID-19.

Behaviour support is critical to promoting engaging and effective classrooms and lifting student performance. The department is implementing a new behaviour management strategy and policy in 2022. The new policy settings aim to strengthen the engagement and participation of all students, including those with disability, complex and challenging behaviours, and additional needs.

An audit in this area could consider implementation of this strategy and policy once they have formally commenced.

Administration arrangements for the NSW public sector play an important role in how effectively agencies deliver their core responsibilities and collaborate to deliver cross-government initiatives. These arrangements are subject to change, depending on the policy and program objectives of the government of the day. Establishing and changing how departments are structured and administered can entail significant cost and disruption. Our 2021 performance audit on Machinery of government changes found that benefits and costs of such activities can be unclear unless effective planning and tracking is undertaken.

This audit will examine selected public administration and departmental arrangements to determine whether they are effectively supporting the public sector to deliver its objectives—having regard to important governance and accountability structures—while avoiding inherent conflicts between functions and unnecessary administration and cost.

Virtual health care, also known as telehealth, safely connects patients with health professionals to deliver care when and where it is needed. It complements face-to-face care. The COVID-19 Recovery Plan details a range of NSW Government recovery responses including a planned focus for NSW Health that involves a further rollout of digitization and virtual services across the state. Virtual health care services received a major boost during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Patients and clinicians embraced the service with a 700 per cent increase in February to May 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. This audit may examine the use of virtual care services, where clinically appropriate, and NSW Health’s focus on sustainably embedding the virtual care model.