Transport for NSW did not effectively plan and procure the CBD and South East Light Rail (CSELR) project to achieve best value for money according to a report released today by NSW Auditor-General, Margaret Crawford.

Transport for NSW is on track to deliver the project, but it will come at a higher cost with lower benefits than in the approved business case.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #278 - released 30 November 2016

The NSW Government’s ‘program evaluation initiative’, introduced to assess whether service delivery programs achieve expected outcomes and value for money, is largely ineffective according to a report released today by NSW Auditor-General, Margaret Crawford.

Government services, in areas such as public order and safety, health and education, are delivered by agencies through a variety of programs. In 2016–17, the NSW Government estimates that it will spend over $73 billion on programs to deliver services.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #277 - released 3 November 2016

Enrolments in quality early childhood education programs in New South Wales are increasing but are below the national benchmark, according to a report released today by the NSW Auditor-General, Margaret Crawford.

Ninety-five per cent of children should be enrolled in at least 600 hours in the year before school, but according to the latest NSW figures 77 per cent of children were enrolled in quality early childhood education programs. This 2015 figure is below the benchmark, but is a significant improvement on 2013 when 59 per cent were enrolled.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #271 - released 26 May 2016

The Department of Education is doing a reasonable job in managing how well students with disability transition to a new school and supporting teachers to improve these students’ educational outcomes, according to a report released today by the NSW Auditor-General, Margaret Crawford.

The level of support provided to students with disability can vary between schools. This is partly due to cultural resistance in some schools and teachers not always having the necessary skills to support children with disability.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #270 - released 12 May 2016

Franchising services on the Sydney Ferries Network was justified, and Transport for NSW’s management of the franchise has been largely effective according to a report released today by the NSW Acting Auditor-General, Tony Whitfield.

'Franchising has resulted in cost savings, good service performance, and effective risk transfer from government to the private sector operator', said Mr Whitfield.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #265 - released 4 February 2016

Overtime is a significant cost for RailCorp and Roads and Maritime Services, adding about ten per cent to the cost of regular salaries. RailCorp’s overtime cost was $133.7 million in 2010–11, and at Roads and Maritime Services it cost $49.3 million.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #223 - released 20 June 2012

The Audit Office is of the opinion that:

• the sale was delivered with reasonable efficiency and effectiveness

• the sale yielded a satisfactory return to the NSW Government. The possibility for a higher return was limited to about 2% to 4% on gross proceeds of $936m. It would have required setting a higher share price for all investors and adopting a more flexible approach to share allocation

• the Government’s objective to promote community and investor support was achieved. The scale of the demand for script added to costs and was not fully translated into higher proceeds  

• generally satisfactory accountability frameworks were put in place for the sale and no probity concerns were identified

• the frameworks to achieve the Government’s wider reforms of the racing and wagering industries have substantially been implemented.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #61 - released 23 December 1998

Land tax has a significantly higher cost to collection ratio than other State taxes. In part this is because of its design. But there are opportunities to reduce collection costs within current policy constraints. The Office of State Revenue (OSR) has been actively pursuing better practice initiatives for some time and a substantial range of improvements has been made. OSR is continuing these efforts. However, inadequate systems and continued difficulties with the quality of land information remains as an impediment to efforts to increase efficiency and effectiveness and reduce collection costs.

Improvements canvassed in this Report (a number of which OSR had already been addressing before the audit commenced) would provide reduced collection costs (through greater efficiency) and improved collection results (through better education of taxpayers and better use of penalties and incentives). Notwithstanding these improvements, the long standing issues of land information standards and land ownership data compatibility between NSW agencies (largely outside OSR’s control) remain to be satisfactorily resolved.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #51 - released 5 August 1998

This audit examines the processes which led to the Government’s decision to demolish and sell the East Fairfield (Villawood) housing estate at a cost of nearly $32m gross ($17m net). In doing so, the audit focuses on whether the decision process demonstrates that it is an efficient and effective use of government funds.

The audit raises a number of concerns about the decision-making process. Although demolition and redevelopment may have been the most efficient and effective outcome, The Audit Office is not able to confirm this from the evidence presented. Audit found that the process used to arrive at this decision was not transparent, nor was it adequately justified by available evidence.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #46 - released 29 January 1998