In February 2021, the NSW Government tabled the report of a statutory review of the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2013. The report titled 'The 11th hour solving Sydney's cemetery crisis' found that Greater Sydney is running out of burial space, posing significant financial risk to the State’s finances with unfunded liabilities of the Crown sector in excess of $300 million and required capital for new cemeteries of approximately $200–300 million. As part of a response to these risks, this report recommended the consolidation of Crown Cemetery Land Managers into a new body. The NSW Government has adopted a two-operator model and formed Metropolitan Memorial Parks on 1 July 2023 to amalgamate three Crown Cemetery Land Managers into a new body.

An audit of this topic could look at how effectively the NSW Government is planning and implementing a response to the issues set out in this report. The audit may also consider the operations of Metropolitan Memorial Parks.

Audit background

According to the Department of Regional NSW, approximately $500 million dollars has been committed to the Regional Digital Connectivity Program (RDCP) through the Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund. The RDCP aims to improve mobile, internet and digital services for rural and regional areas of NSW. Of this funding, over $300 million was allocated to improving mobile phone coverage in regional NSW through investment in shared and multi-carrier mobile infrastructure. A further $100 million in funding was allocated to internet connectivity which aims to provide fast and reliable internet connectivity for rural and regional communities, prioritising areas currently on a satellite internet service.

Audit objective

This audit will assess if the Department of Regional NSW is effectively administering the Regional Digital Connectivity Program (RDCP) to meet program objectives. The includes considering how effectively the Department of Regional NSW identifies priority areas, distributes funding in line with program objectives, and measures the performance of the RDCP.

Estimated tabling period

June 2024

Agencies audited

Department of Regional NSW

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.

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.

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. This includes the Coastal Management Act 2016, which requires certain local councils to prepare a coastal management program, and the State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021. The Department of Planning and Environment is responsible for the Act and assists local councils in the coastal zone ('coastal councils') by administering grant funding and offering technical support and coordination for their coastal management programs.

This audit could assess how effectively the Department has overseen and implemented key elements of this reform package, and how effectively coastal councils have progressed coastal management planning and delivered coastal management programs.

Australian Registry Investments (trading as NSW Land Registry Services) was granted the right to operate the titling and registry operations of New South Wales in April 2017, under a 35-year concession which commenced on 1 July 2017. The NSW Government continues to guarantee the title under the Torrens Assurance Fund. The Office of the Registrar General regulates NSW Land Registry Services (NSW LRS) as the operator of the NSW land titles registry under a regulator operator model.

This audit will determine whether the NSW Government is realising the intended benefits from the 2017 sale of the long-term concession over the NSW Land Titles Registry and whether the Regulator can demonstrate it is ensuring the private operator is performing effectively and efficiently.

Water regulation aims to achieve sustainable environmental, economic and social outcomes from the management of water resources, consistent with the Water Management Act 2000. Following recommendations from reviews into water theft, reforms were made to strengthen water regulation, compliance and enforcement – including the establishment of the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) in 2018. The Department of Planning and Environment shares responsibility for issuing water access licences and approvals with the state-owned corporation, WaterNSW.

This audit could assess how effectively the Department, WaterNSW and NRAR are undertaking relevant planning, licensing and regulatory functions to ensure secure, sustainable and transparent water sharing in New South Wales. This topic could also consider how effectively the Department has implemented reforms to enhance water metering technology and rules, and the efficacy of NRAR’s activities to support this program.