Under Section 27B(3) (c) of the Government Sector Audit Act 1983, the Special Minister of State has requested that the Audit Office perform a recurring performance audit of emergency relief grants commencing in 2024-25. 

In accordance with the Protocol for Auditing Emergency Relief grants, the Audit Office will select particular grants processes for review.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is responsible for regulating mines under the Mining Act 1992 and mine safety under the Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Act 2013. This includes approving licences, regulating licence requirements, ensuring that mine rehabilitation works are undertaken, conducting work health and safety inspections, and responding to work health and safety complaints. The department oversees these functions in over 6,000 mines in a range of mining sectors. 

This audit will consider how effectively the department is conducting its licencing and regulatory functions in line with the Mining Act 1992 and the Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Act 2013.

Around one in five New South Wales public school students have a disability (183,000 students in 2022). Eighty-six per cent of students with disability learn in mainstream classes in mainstream schools, 11% learn in support classes in mainstream schools, and 3% in schools for specific purposes (SSPs). The Department of Education’s Disability Strategy (2019) committed to build a more inclusive education system and identified actions across four key reform areas:

• Strengthen support: investing in teachers and other support staff
• Increase resources and flexibility: enabling schools to operate with more flexibility
• Improve the family experience: making experiences better and easier
• Track outcomes: building an evidence base to measure progress. 

This audit will assess whether the department is effectively supporting students with disability in NSW public schools. 

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

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

Transport for NSW (TfNSW) enters into contracts with private companies to operate bus services. In Metropolitan Sydney these contracts are worth an estimated $4.8 billion.

This performance audit will assess the effectiveness of Transport for NSW’s design and management of metropolitan Sydney bus service contracts. It will examine whether TfNSW is effectively managing the performance of contracts held by private bus companies to ensure contractual commitments are being met, with a focus on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) relating to customer experience, and whether TfNSW has designed an effective governance regime to underpin the performance management of bus contracts in metropolitan Sydney, and demonstrating that contracts are being managed to deliver value for money. 

New South Wales has over 180,000 km of roads across its network. Local councils manage over 85% of these roads.

This audit will consider how effectively three councils are managing their road assets. The audit will examine whether the selected councils have a strategic framework in place for road assets, have effective data and systems for managing road assets and whether they manage their road assets in line with planned service levels and quality outcomes.  

The councils selected for this audit are Gwydir Shire Council, Wollondilly Shire Council and Clarence Valley Council.

The audit will also consider relevant guidance and support provided to councils by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.

The mental health and wellbeing of the police workforce is essential to ensuring the proper function of the justice system and emergency responses. In 2022, the NSW Government announced reforms intended to recruit, retain and take better care of the NSW Police Force. The associated funding included $79m for the PULSE Program – designed to ensure the physical and psychological wellbeing of police officers. 

This audit will consider whether the NSW Police Force effectively monitors and addresses mental health related risks to its workforce from recruitment onwards.

The NSW Government has implemented a range of measures that aim to minimise the harm that can arise from gambling. Gaming machines, which are mostly located in clubs and pubs in NSW, are acknowledged as the form of gambling that has the highest risk of harm. 

This audit will assess the effectiveness of the NSW Government’s approach to minimising harm from gaming machines. It will focus on areas including the implementation and regulation of harm minimisation measures.

NSW Government policy allows it to consider and accept unsolicited proposals from non-public sector entities, in line with the Unsolicited Proposals Guide for Submission and Assessment (May 2022). This may include proposals to finance or build infrastructure, provide goods and services, and undertake major commercial transactions. 

This audit will assess the effectiveness, integrity and probity of the unsolicited proposals process.

Sydney Metro is currently Australia’s biggest public transport project. It is a fully automated rapid transit system serving metropolitan Sydney. 

This audit will consider the effectiveness and integrity of the government’s identification and management of risk, with a focus on the project’s initiation, planning and development, procurement and delivery stages. The quality of advice to government and probity will be key considerations.

The purpose of Service NSW is to provide the ‘single front door’ for NSW Government services such as licences, concessions and rebates. 

This audit will review the effectiveness and efficiency of delivery of digital services by Service NSW. It will consider service improvement and management of IT systems that are shared with partner agencies. It may also consider how Service NSW works with Digital NSW to deliver government services efficiently.