On 3 April 2020, the government announced the planning system acceleration program, designed to ‘cut red-tape and fast-track planning processes to keep people in jobs and the construction industry moving throughout the COVID-19 crisis.’  Between April and October 2020, the government selected 101 projects and planning proposals in six tranches and fast-tracked assessment so that determination could be achieved in four weeks.  An audit into this area will

Business continuity and disaster recovery planning assists organisations to prepare for and ensure they can respond to an incident or crisis. This includes natural disasters and pandemic events like COVID-19. Ideally, business continuity plans would ensure organisations are prepared to respond effectively to the impact of incidents or crises on a wide range of areas including service delivery, safety and availability of staff, availability of IT and othe

In February 2019 the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation launched the NSW Cyber Security Policy to ensure all NSW Government Departments and Public Service Agencies are managing cyber security risks to their information and systems. The policy mandates a number of requirements that are a minimum that all agencies must implement. In addition agencies must assess their level of cyber maturity. This audit will examine whether agencies are complyi

New South Wales has a lot of councils providing similar services to the community, such as domestic waste and stormwater management services. However, the charges for these common services vary greatly between councils. This audit could examine selected common charges across a number of councils to understand what is driving the variability in charges.

In 2017, the NSW Government announced a Regional Development Framework which provides a scaffold for better coordination, decision making and effort on the ground. The NSW Government recognised the need to be more strategic and better coordinated if it is to make a difference, particularly in addressing some of the serious issues facing regional NSW such as pockets of youth unemployment, social disadvantage, changing economic opportunities and increased

The Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 is important legislation that recognises the rights of Aboriginal people in NSW. The legislation recognises that land in NSW was traditionally owned and occupied by Aboriginal people, and is of spiritual, social, cultural and economic importance. The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment is responsible for investigating Aboriginal land claims against statutory criteria outlined in the Act. Crown land that is

This report will bring together findings and recommendations from our 2019–20 financial audits of local councils and will comment on financial reporting and sustainability, internal controls and governance, and areas of interest that are in focus during the conduct of our audits.

In response to the 2019-20 bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, the NSW Government released significant funds for a range of grant programs aimed at providing emergency support, recovery and economic stimulus across NSW. In 2020, the $750 million dollar Small Business Support Fund was set up to support small businesses and a number of grants rounds have been implemented. This audit will assess whether grants administered under the Small Business Support

The NSW climate is changing, and extreme weather events are predicted to worsen. These trends impact our environment and communities and create risks to assets and services. The NSW Government’s Climate Change Policy Framework aims to maximise the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of NSW in the context of a changing climate. In addition to implementing emission saving measures, the Framework states that the government will manage the impact o

This audit will examine the integrity of the assessment and approval processes for the Stronger Communities Fund (tied grants round) and Regional Cultural Fund, both of which were administered in 2017 and 2018.