Refine search Expand filter

Audit progress

- Any -

Sector

- Any -

Year

- Any -

Report type

- Any -

Topic

- Any -

Reports

Published

Sharing school and community facilities

Education
Infrastructure
Management and administration
Risk
Shared services and collaboration

Schools and the community would benefit if school facilities were shared more often. 

The Department of Education’s ‘Community Use of School Facilities Policy’ encourages but does not require schools to share facilities. Sharing depends heavily on the willingness of school principals and there are few incentives. There are many challenges in developing agreements with community users and there is only limited support available from the Department.

There are strategies and plans to support the sharing of facilities between schools and the wider community, but none are backed up with budgets, specific plans or timeframes.

Governments should strive for the best use of assets. This is particularly important in the context of a growing New South Wales population, fiscal constraints and increasing demand for services. 

Lack of available land, rising land costs and population growth highlighted in our April 2017 'Planning for school infrastructure' performance audit report mean that new and existing schools will need to share their facilities with communities more than is currently the case.

This audit assessed how effectively schools share facilities with each other, local councils and community groups. In making this assessment, the audit examined whether the Department of Education (Department):

  • has a clear policy to encourage and support facilities sharing
  • is implementing evidence-based strategies and procedures for facilities sharing
  • can show it is realising an increasing proportion of sharing opportunities.

Facilities sharing is the use of a physical asset, such as a building, rooms, or open spaces, by more than one group for a range of activities at the same time or at different times. For the purposes of this audit, we have divided sharing arrangements into two types: shared use and joint use.

Shared use refers to arrangements where existing school assets are hired out for non-school purposes, usually for a limited time. The assets remain under the control of the school. Generally, there is little alteration or enhancement to the asset required to enable shared use. Shared use can also refer to schools using external facilities, such as council pools, but these arrangements are not included within the scope of this audit. 

Joint use refers to arrangements where new or upgraded school and non-school facilities or community hubs are planned, funded, built and jointly shared between a school and other parties, usually involving significant investment. 

Both shared use and joint use agreements are governed by contractual obligations.

Conclusion
The sharing of school facilities with the community is not fully effective. The Department of Education is implementing strategies to increase shared and joint use but several barriers, some outside the Department’s direct control, must be addressed to fully realise benefits to students and the community of sharing school facilities. In addition, the Department needs to do more to encourage individual schools to share facilities with the community. 

A collaborative, multi-agency approach is needed to overcome barriers to the joint use of facilities, otherwise, the Department may need significantly more funds than planned to deliver sufficient fit-for-purpose school facilities where and when needed.
Government policies encourage, but do not mandate, shared and joint use of facilities.

Since the early 2000’s, several reviews in NSW and other jurisdictions have commented on the benefits of and need to increase the sharing of school facilities. 

Several NSW Government strategies and plans support shared and joint use of facilities between schools and the wider community, but none are backed up with financial incentives, or specific plans with implementation timeframes. In Victoria and Queensland whole-of-government processes are in place to support a more coordinated approach to planning, building and sharing community facilities. For example, Victoria has a comprehensive policy framework encompassing both existing and future use of community facilities and a $50 million program to seed the development of community facilities on school sites over the next four years.  
The Department recognises benefits from the shared use of school facilities, but provides insufficient support to Principals to ensure costs are recovered and that money raised from shared use can be spent by the school in a timely manner. 

There are examples of successful shared use, but more can be done. Information about the available facilities is not readily available to potential community users. Schools should work more closely with councils and other stakeholders to leverage shared use. 

Currently, the administrative burden, costs and risks associated with shared use can exceed the perceived benefits to schools, leading to reluctance amongst some Principals to share. In addition, a substantial backlog of school-initiated infrastructure proposals awaiting Departmental approval means that schools that raise money from sharing their facilities find it difficult to use the funds they raise on improved infrastructure. Some of these proposals have been waiting for approval for more than 12 months. 

The Department could do more to support Principals by ensuring the fees charged for facilities cover the costs incurred by schools, that Principals can access help with negotiating and managing contracts, and that infrastructure proposals initiated and funded by schools are approved in a timely manner. 

The Department is not monitoring shared use across the State, and does not evaluate different approaches as evidence to influence policies and procedures.

Recommendations
By December, 2018, the Department should:
  • increase incentives and reduce impediments for school Principals to share school facilities, including:
    • review the methodology for calculating fees charged for facilities to ensure that shared use of school facilities does not result in a financial burden to schools or the Department 
    • improve support provided to Principals by School Infrastructure NSW, including reducing the backlog of school-initiated infrastructure proposals awaiting approval
    • develop service standards, including timeframes, for assessing and approving school-initiated infrastructure proposals.
  • provide readily-accessible information about available school facilities to community groups and local councils
  • implement processes to monitor and regularly evaluate the implementation of the shared use policy and promote better practice to drive improvements.
The Department is planning a more strategic approach to increase the joint use of school facilities. However, several barriers, some outside the Department’s control, must be addressed to fully realise benefits of joint use agreements.

As discussed in our 2017 audit report on ‘Planning for school infrastructure’, joint use agreements are a key direction of the School Assets Strategic Plan. Joint use of school facilities will be necessary to ensure that there will be enough fit-for-purpose learning spaces for students when and where needed. Under the ‘Community Use of School Facilities Policy’ Principals play the leading role in identifying opportunities, and developing and managing agreements for sharing school facilities. This is impractical for joint use projects which involve substantial investment in new or refurbished assets, in particular for joint use projects in schools that are yet to be built. In addition, the policy does not address joint-use facilities built on land not owned by the Department. For these reasons, the Department is developing a new policy. 

The Department is planning to develop joint use agreements in a more systematic way as part of school community planning, previously known as cluster planning, with a special focus on local councils. Several agreements are currently being piloted, and will be evaluated to provide an evidence-based foundation for this new approach. 

To develop or refurbish school facilities for joint use, the Department, councils and other key stakeholders must work together and prioritise joint use from the earliest stages of any project. A collaborative, multi-agency approach is needed to ensure sufficient fit-for-purpose facilities are available for school students within the funding framework proposed in the School Assets Strategic Plan. 

To increase shared and joint use, the Department is recruiting specialist staff in its Asset Division to assist with the brokerage, community engagement and development of agreements, but these staff are not dedicated to joint use projects and their available time may not be sufficient to provide the necessary support in the timeframes required.

Recommendations
By December, 2018, the Department of Education should:
  • ensure that the implementation of the new ‘Joint Use of School Facilities and Land Policy’ is adequately resourced, and has the support of Principals
  • implement processes to monitor and regularly evaluate the implementation of joint use policy and promote better practice to drive improvements.  

Appendix one - Response from agency

Appendix two - About the audit

Appendix three - Victoria's 30-Year Infrastructure Strategy

Appendix four - Not-for-profit hire changes

Appendix five - Performance Auditing

 

Parliamentary reference - Report number #293 - released 1 November 2017

Published

Information and Communication Technologies in schools for teaching and learning

Education
Information technology
Infrastructure
Management and administration
Service delivery
Workforce and capability

Several factors are reducing effective use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the classroom.

These are primarily:

  • ageing ICT equipment and inadequate wireless networks
  • variable student access to devices at school
  • variable teacher access to centrally provided devices for use outside of the classroom.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are pervasive in modern life. Australian research has identified that the workforce demand for digital literacy and advanced digital skills is growing across most areas of work. There is broad agreement internationally and in Australian school systems that digital literacy is a core skill for the workforce and students will need to be confident with ICT. Education systems around the world are using ICT in classrooms to support learning and employment goals.  

The New South Wales Department of Education’s (the Department’s) overall strategic directions for teaching and learning with ICT are set in the 'Strategic Information Technology Plan 2016–19'. The Department centrally provides a base level of resources to schools for ICT and schools supplement funding from their existing school budget and Parents and Citizens Associations. Each school decides how to allocate these funds to meet local needs. Schools also set expectations for how teachers and students will use technology to help deliver outcomes.

This audit assessed how well New South Wales public schools are using ICT to improve teaching and learning. It focussed on planning and teacher and student use of ICT. We examined whether:

  • the Department identifies key strategic opportunities to enhance the use of ICT platforms and technologies in schools
  • teachers are integrating ICT into classroom practice
  • the Department monitors the impact of ICT on student learning.
Conclusion 

Several factors are reducing the effective use of ICT in the classroom. These are primarily:

  • ageing ICT equipment and inadequate wireless networks
  • variable student access to devices at school
  • variable teacher access to centrally provided devices to use outside of the classroom.

Many schools are struggling to keep up with growing ICT needs within available funding. The Department needs to review whether its current technology programs provide schools with sufficient resources and support to meet the Department’s strategic goals for 21st Century classrooms. The Department should also target additional support to schools to improve planning for ICT resources.  

Most teachers are using ICT in the classroom, however, teacher access to devices outside the classroom varies between schools. In practice, teacher working days extend outside classroom hours. Teachers need access to devices for activities such as lesson preparation and student assessment. With limited access to devices outside of the classroom, teachers may not be able to effectively integrate ICT into lessons. Teachers also require further professional learning to support them to develop their skills in using ICT.  

The Department is not sufficiently monitoring the digital literacy of New South Wales students, which has declined in national tests. Teachers could benefit from support to assess these skills at a school level. The Department also needs to investigate links between student use of ICT and learning outcomes, so they can better support teachers with evidence-based approaches to enhancing learning through ICT.

Old equipment and wireless networks are not keeping pace with modern demands

The Department’s vision for ICT is to enable ‘any learning opportunity, anywhere, anytime’. This vision is at risk due to an ageing stock of devices and wireless networks. The average age of devices in New South Wales schools is over four years. Older devices are less reliable, require greater maintenance and support, and cannot run demanding applications. Further, many school wireless networks are beyond the end of their useful life. This limits the number of teachers and students who can access online content on wireless networks at the same time.

The central funding model for ICT in schools is not meeting current needs

Funding for the Technology for Learning program to deliver ICT in schools has not increased since 2004, despite an increase in the number of students and emphasis placed on ICT in teaching and learning during this time. Schools supplement funding for ICT from their existing school budget and Parents and Citizens Associations.  

The Department’s current funding model for ICT is not adequately addressing a growing gap in the provision of contemporary ICT in classrooms between schools able to access funding from other sources and those which cannot. The Department needs to review whether the Technology for Learning program is equitable in equipping all schools with the modern technology needed to achieve its vision.

Many teachers are not provided with devices for use outside of the classroom

School Principals we interviewed reported that technology is an essential part of a modern classroom and teacher access to devices outside of the classroom can impact how they use ICT. This is because, in practice, teacher working days extend outside classroom hours and teachers need access to devices for activities such as lesson preparation and student assessment. The Department provides teachers with access to a suite of software tools for these tasks.

The Commonwealth Government’s Digital Education Revolution program provided teachers of secondary school students with laptops from 2009 to 2013. The Department’s evaluation of the Digital Education Revolution program found that teachers reported greater confidence with, and use of, ICT throughout the program.  
Providing desktop computers, laptops or tablets for teachers is now a school level decision and arrangements vary across schools. Each school must trade-off between allocating devices for students and teachers. Most other States and Territories provide all teachers with a laptop for use in and outside of the classroom or offer subsidised access to one.  

There is limited teacher professional learning in the use of ICT

The Department’s research has identified that professional learning is an important factor in how effectively teachers use ICT to enhance teaching and learning. Despite this, the Department provides few courses on using ICT in the classroom directly, and most of these are offered in Sydney. This limits accessibility for teachers outside of the metropolitan area. Schools we visited reported that the costs of courses and providing relief teachers limits the number of external courses or events that teachers attend, especially for rural and regional schools. Increasing the use of online learning would improve access for teachers in these areas.  

The Department is not adequately monitoring trends in professional learning in ICT or evaluating the overall effectiveness of courses. A recent upgrade to the professional learning system may provide the Department with better quality data to do this.

Greater monitoring and reporting on technology use in schools is required

The Local Schools, Local Decisions policy gives schools greater authority to make strategic decisions on the use of ICT appropriate to their local contexts. To support this, the Department needs to better monitor current trends, and identify emerging needs to determine future direction and how best to support schools.  

For example, the Department does not currently know how many devices are allocated to teachers or how many schools have implemented a student Bring Your Own Device scheme. This affects how schools are using ICT, and places demand on the network and the type of support the Department must provide. An assessment of the ICT maturity of schools would help the Department target its resources to schools requiring greater assistance with planning.

The Department does not regularly monitor or report on student capabilities with ICT. A national assessment found that the ICT literacy of a sample of Year 6 and Year 10 New South Wales students fell between 2011 and 2014. The fall was greater in New South Wales than in other States and Territories. Without more regular assessment or reporting, the reasons behind this fall and the distribution of student capabilities between schools will remain unknown. 

By July 2018, the Department of Education should:

  1. Review the Technology for Learning program and school ICT support resourcing to determine whether resourcing is adequate for modern school requirements.
     
  2. Develop a program to improve wireless networks in all NSW schools, for instance by expanding the Connecting Country Schools Program to all NSW schools.  
     
  3. Implement an assessment of school ‘ICT maturity’ and use this to target assistance to those schools requiring support with forward planning for ICT.
     
  4. Improve the use of evidence to inform plans and strategies, including:
    • more detailed monitoring of teacher and student access to and use of ICT
    • evaluating the impact of teacher professional learning on student outcomes 
    • further examining the links between ICT and student outcomes.
       
  5. Improve teacher access to devices for use outside of the classroom to improve how effectively they integrate ICT into teaching and learning.
     
  6. Improve teacher professional learning by providing more:
    • online learning opportunities for teachers in regional and remote areas
    • courses focused on pedagogy to make best use of ICT.
       
  7. Identify the ICT skills students need, and provide teaching resources to develop these skills and monitor their achievement.

Appendix One - Response from the Agency

Appendix Two - About the audit

Appendix Three - Performance auditing

 

Parliamentary reference - Report number #289 - released 6 July 2017 

Published

NorthConnex

Premier and Cabinet
Treasury
Transport
Compliance
Infrastructure
Internal controls and governance
Management and administration
Procurement

The processes used to assess NorthConnex adequately considered value for money for taxpayers.This report also found that the impact of tolling concessions on road users and the motorway network was consistent with policy objectives described in the 2012 NSW Long Term Transport Master Plan.

NorthConnex is a nine-kilometre tolled motorway tunnel between the M1 Pacific motorway at Wahroonga and the M2 Hills motorway at West Pennant Hills. The total cost for the project is $3.1 billion. NorthConnex will be funded through toll charges, and contributions from the NSW and Australian Governments of up to $405 million each. In January 2015, the NSW Roads Minister signed the final contracts for NorthConnex.

By December 2017, the Department of Premier and Cabinet should:

1. publish an updated ‘Unsolicited Proposals – Guide for Submission and Assessment’ which clarifies obligations with requirements in other NSW Government policies such as the NSW PPP guideline and Infrastructure Investor Assurance Framework. The update should require:

a) a business case to be prepared, and a business case gateway review completed, as part of the assessment of the detailed proposal (currently stage 2)

b) probity reports must be completed and considered before the decision to proceed to the next stage.
 

The Department of Premier and Cabinet and NSW Treasury should immediately:

2. improve record keeping to ensure compliance with the State Records Act 1998 and the NSW Government Standard on Records Management.

 

Appendix One - Response from Agency

Appendix Two - Governance Arrangements for NorthConnex

Appendix Three - About the Audit

 

Parliamentary reference - Report number #287 - released 8 June 2017

Published

Planning for school infrastructure

Education
Infrastructure
Management and administration
Project management

The Department of Education proposes to fundamentally reform school infrastructure planning and delivery to meet the future demand for student places, and to overcome chronic under-investment for much of the last decade. To do this, it will need to spend much more than it has been receiving to date.

The Department of Education (Department) must provide students with a place in a government school if parents desire it. Over the next 15 years, the student population in NSW Government and non-government schools is projected to grow by 21 per cent to nearly 1.5 million students. Over 80 per cent of this is expected to be in the Sydney metropolitan area.

Improving education outcomes of students is a NSW State Priority. Research shows that well designed and maintained facilities improve student learning outcomes. A strategic objective of the 2014 State Infrastructure Strategy Update is to ‘equip growing urban and regional populations with the modern schools and training infrastructure required to deliver educational service for a competitive, innovative economy’. 

This audit assessed whether the Department has a strategy and implementation model to ensure it has sufficient fit-for-purpose student learning spaces when and where needed.

 

Conclusion

For much of the last decade, there has been chronic under-investment in NSW government school infrastructure and deficiencies in asset planning. Many schools have more students than can be accommodated in existing classrooms, and demountables are widely used for extended periods. The condition of classrooms has been declining due to insufficient maintenance, and many are not configured to support contemporary and desired future learning and teaching methods. At the same time, the government school student population is predicted to grow further, particularly in Sydney.

In response to this challenging situation, the Department has recently developed a School Assets Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan) designed to accommodate the expected student population up to 2031. This is the first such plan for the Department. It is a good plan. It covers the issues we would expect and has benefited from expert input and independent validation of assumptions, proposed solutions, and the likely costs.  

The strategy embodied in the Plan includes elements that may be confronting for the community. To contain costs, the Department proposes several potentially controversial changes to the way schools are planned, designed, built, managed and funded. These include increasing the maximum number of students in new and redeveloped schools; stronger emphasis on redeveloping schools; smaller, more intensely developed sites; changing and enforcing school catchments; increased partnerships with the private sector and more recycling of school assets to deliver better facilities.

Even with these reforms, the estimated cost of infrastructure needed up to 2031 is significantly more than the Department has been receiving to date. Without the proposed reforms, the Department will need much more again. The Department’s funding estimates are conservative due to the scale of proposed reform, the radical change it represents, and the risks to implementation. At the time of the audit, the government had not committed to make available the funding needed to implement the Plan.

Even if the Department obtains additional funding, implementing such a major reform will be challenging. It will require effective collaboration between, and the support of, school communities, local government, potential private sector partners, the non-government schools sector and government agencies. Many risks will need to be mitigated, any of which could undermine the strategy and drive up costs.  

Further savings beyond those already identified would be possible through changing operational policies on matters such as class sizes, operating hours, and single-sex, selective, sports and performing arts schools. Any changes to such policies have implications beyond just infrastructure cost and are likely to be even more controversial.

Asset planning and investment for much of the last decade has been deficient

Over the last decade, there has been chronic under-investment in NSW Government school infrastructure. This has affected both new works and maintenance of existing assets. Until recently, the Department did not have a high-level, long-term school asset strategic plan. The Department had limited understanding of the funds needed over the long term to provide the necessary school infrastructure to meet educational needs of students economically. It had no robust method to determine whether priorities were correct and assess whether the funding split between building, upgrading and maintaining was appropriate.  

Permanent classrooms in 37 per cent of government schools are fully utilised, and 180 schools are operating beyond their permanent classroom capacity. The utilisation rates vary between regions and districts. Demountables are being used for extended periods to cater for permanent student population growth. A significant increase in the number of demountables at some schools decreased student access to amenities and open play spaces. 

The Department now has a Plan to meet future needs

The Department recently developed a Strategic Plan designed to ensure that there are sufficient fit-for-purpose places for students where and when required up to 2031. The Strategic Plan outlines the:

  • predicted demand for future learning spaces
  • condition of existing infrastructure and additional infrastructure and maintenance required
  • proposed new initiatives to deliver the required infrastructure economically
  • proposed new cluster planning model to determine priorities and initiatives to be implemented at the school level
  • funding needed to provide appropriate learning spaces where and when needed.

The Strategic Plan has been developed with the benefit of expert advice and has been reviewed extensively within the Department, by other key government agencies and experts. The review process examined the Strategic Plan’s assumptions, data quality, proposals and cost estimation approach. This process has increased assurance and improved the Strategic Plan, but has delayed implementation by approximately a year so far.

Many more learning spaces will be needed

The Strategic Plan identifies that over the next 15 years the student population in government schools will increase by 21 per cent and that the Department will need:

  • 7,200 additional classrooms and to upgrade many existing classrooms to meet future teaching and learning needs
  • to undertake much more planned maintenance, otherwise 40 per cent of existing government school buildings will be in such poor condition that learning outcomes could be compromised.

The Department proposes a new approach designed to minimise costs

Given the need for substantial additional infrastructure and maintenance, and underfunding over the last decade, the Department has sought to minimise costs while maintaining quality.

Initiatives proposed include an increase in the maximum number of students in new and redeveloped schools; a stronger emphasis on redeveloping existing schools; smaller, more intensely developed school sites; strengthening partnerships with the private sector to improve school assets; and school consolidation and sale of surplus land to reinvest in better facilities. We did not identify any additional options that could be proposed to make further cost saving under current operational policy settings.

The proposed new cluster planning model will assess schools in a region or district to identify the best way to deliver school assets to a cluster as a whole rather than individual schools. It will identify the most effective and efficient asset solution within a cluster of five to 15 schools.

It represents an improvement over the previous model which addressed infrastructure needs on a school-by-school basis. The initial focus of school cluster planning will be on areas of highest student growth.

The proposed new cluster planning model has potential to create efficiencies and economies of scale if implemented well. Cluster planning will determine which of the various initiatives should be implemented in the schools in the cluster. It recognises that solving enrolment trends in one school requires consideration of surrounding schools and seeks the optimum asset solution for identified schools.

Implementation will be a major challenge

Effective implementation will require good collaboration with other government agencies, non-government schools, the private sector and the community. The Department has been improving its consultation with other government agencies and the non-government school sector, and has developed models for collaborating with the community and private sector. The Strategic Plan proposes open access to information, which will be important for effective collaboration and partnerships.  

There are many risks to effective implementation, which could drive up costs. These include opposition from school communities, a reduction in the proportion of students educated in non-government schools, unexpected increases in land and construction costs, failure to sufficiently streamline the planning approval system or a blow-out in renovation costs in older schools.  

To provide and maintain the infrastructure needed up until 2031, the Department estimates it will need significantly more money than it receives now even if it implements its initiatives and cluster planning effectively. It would require much more again if it was to retain its current approach to planning and delivering school infrastructure.  

The current school infrastructure funding arrangement does not support effective long-term planning. A four-year commitment to education infrastructure funding does not provide the flexibility needed for the Department to manage its allocations and respond to changes in priorities or emerging challenges. The Health and Transport clusters receive a ten-year funding commitment, known as a capital planning limit.

Changing operational policies could increase school utilisation

Further significant cost savings are only likely if the Department changes some operational policies. Class size is a key determinant of the number of classrooms needed. Choice in school enrolment and the existence of single-sex, selective, sports or creative and performing arts schools all can lead to underutilisation of schools and classrooms because they are not accessible to all students.  

The Department of Education should:

1. regularly revisit and evaluate the Strategic Plan to keep it contemporary, refine it based on learnings, update cost estimates to reflect actual results, and respond to available funding

2. work with NSW Treasury to develop a framework for partnering with the private sector

3. align Total Asset Management plans with cluster plans as they are developed

4. closely consult and collaborate with communities on implementation of the Strategic Plan

5. continue to collaborate with key government agencies, local government, the non-government school sector and the private sector on implementation of the Strategic Plan

6. publish detailed information on the status of assets, current and projected enrolments, and planned school projects to support effective consultation and collaboration

7. seek a ten-year capital planning limit from NSW Treasury

8. advise the government on options to change operational policies and practices to reduce infrastructure requirements.

Appendix One - Response from the agency

Appendix Two - About the audit

Appendix Three - NSW school regions and districts

Appendix Four - School utilisation rate by district/region

Appendix Five - Single-sex, selective and specialist high schools in Sydney Region

 

Parliamentary reference - Report number #284 - released 4 May 2017 

Published

Building the readiness of the non-government sector for the NDIS

Community Services
Internal controls and governance
Management and administration
Project management
Risk
Service delivery
Shared services and collaboration
Workforce and capability

The Department of Family and Community Services has managed the risks of the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in New South Wales effectively by increasing the overall capacity of the non-government sector and investing in provider capability.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a major reform that aims to change the way disability support is provided and received. Responsibility for overseeing the system to support people with disability in New South Wales will transfer from the NSW Government to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), an independent statutory agency of the Australian Government. Eligible people with disability will receive individual funding from the NDIA and purchase support from their chosen service providers, rather than being referred to services funded or provided by government. The NSW Government will transfer all disability services it currently provides to the non-government sector.

Approximately 78,000 people received NSW Government-funded disability support in 2015–16 at a cost of around $3.3 billion. An estimated 142,000 people will have an individual NDIS support plan in New South Wales, with total funding rising to around $6.8 billion in 2018–19. NDIS trials began in New South Wales in 2013. The full scheme was introduced in July 2016 and is scheduled to be operating across the state by July 2018.

This audit assessed the effectiveness of the NSW Department of Family and Community Services' (the Department's) management of the risks of the NDIS transition in New South Wales. It focused on the Department's work to build the readiness of the non-government sector for the NDIS. To make this assessment, we asked whether:

  1. the Department supported the non-government sector to build capacity to meet the expected increase in demand under the NDIS
  2. the Department supported disability service providers in NSW to improve their capability to deliver NDIS services
  3. the Department's work to prepare for the NDIS has been coordinated with the Australian Government's NDIS readiness work.

In addition to the audit questions above, this audit identified principles governments should consider when building the capacity and capability of the non-government sector to deliver human services.

Conclusion

The Department of Family and Community Services has managed the risks of the transition to the NDIS in New South Wales effectively by increasing the overall capacity of the sector and investing in provider capability building initiatives. More work is needed to build the sector's capacity to provide services to people with more complex support needs and to help existing providers complete the transition to the NDIS successfully.

The Department expanded the capacity of the non-government sector over the past decade in a way that was consistent with NDIS objectives. The development of a national market and workforce for the NDIS is an Australian Government responsibility and the Department has supported the Australian Government's work. More targeted work will be needed to build the capacity of the non-government sector to provide services to people with the most complex support and access needs.

The Department invested in provider capability building by funding programs that were delivered in partnership with sector peak bodies. The larger programs were evaluated and received positive feedback, but many providers will need more support to transition to the NDIS. The overall impact of the programs on provider readiness for the NDIS is not clear because baseline information on provider capability was not collected and targets for improvement were not set.

The Department managed the transition coordination risks by establishing comprehensive governance arrangements, contributing to the Australian Government's sector development work through national policy coordination forums and sharing lessons from New South Wales.

Building the capacity of the non-government sector

The Department supported an increase in the capacity of non-government providers

The Department started building the capacity of the non-government sector before the NDIS was developed. This included moving services provided by government into the non‑government sector, funding early intervention and community-based disability support, and introducing some individual support packages. The Department checks that the business and operational systems of non-government disability providers are adequate. However, its understanding of the outcomes for people using the services is limited.

Service gaps are possible for people with more complex support or access needs

There are risks to the supply of services to people who have more complex support or access needs, including people who need specialist clinical support, people in remote areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and culturally and linguistically diverse communities. The Department has supported the NDIA's initial market development work and funded some programs to help providers build their capacity to support these groups.  However, there is a risk the market will not expand quickly enough to meet the increase in demand for services.

Sector sustainability depends on support from outside the disability services sector

The sustainability of funded disability services provided by the non-government sector depends on support from outside the sector. Most people with disability receive significant unpaid support from family members, so carers will play a key role in the sustainability of the NDIS. There are opportunities for organisations that do not provide specific disability services to contribute to sector sustainability by providing some NDIS services. To do this, many will need help to make their services more accessible and inclusive to people with disability.

Helping non-government providers develop their capability

The Department invested in capability building programs for providers

The Department has spent more than $30 million over six years on programs that aim to improve the capability of disability support providers. This work began before the NDIS was established and was adjusted to focus on NDIS readiness from December 2012. It was guided by an industry development strategy that was developed after consultation with the sector and delivered in partnership with sector peak bodies. This approach gave the sector some responsibility for developing its own capability, which is important because the sector will not receive support from the NSW Government after the transition to the NDIS.

The overall impact of the programs on the capability of providers is not clear

The overall effectiveness of the Department's spending on provider capability is not clear. The Department had some information on the general financial health and organisational capability of providers from previous industry development work. However, baseline information on provider capability was not collected before programs commenced and targets for improvements in provider capability were not set. Without this information, the Department cannot demonstrate clearly that the capability building programs it funded represent good value for money.

Most providers will need more support to transition to the NDIS effectively

In late 2015, the Department assessed the transition progress of providers in New South Wales. This assessment indicates almost one third of providers are highly likely to need additional assistance to transition to the NDIS successfully, with only 14 per cent unlikely to need further assistance. We conducted a survey of 299 providers in New South Wales in August 2016. Most reported that they feel they are on track to transition to the NDIS successfully. Sixty-two per cent said the Department-funded programs and resources they had used had improved their readiness for the NDIS. Fifty-four per cent said the changes made because of using these programs and resources had a lasting impact on their organisation.

Coordinating sector development

Governance systems and planning processes for the NDIS transition were established

The Department developed governance arrangements for the transition in New South Wales. It contributed actively to the development of national policy and strategy documents including a strategy for national market development.

The Department shared sector readiness lessons with the Australian Government

Two NDIS sector readiness programs funded by the NSW Government were later expanded to national programs through funding from the Australian Government. New South Wales only received around five per cent of the total Australian Government funding for NDIS sector readiness initiatives. A report by the Australian National Audit Office in 2016 found there was limited evidence of a strategic approach by the Australian Government when allocating this funding to states and territories.

The Department has monitored transition issues and mitigated these where possible

The Department has monitored administrative issues for providers, which have included the changes in funding arrangements and registering for the NDIS. It has taken action to mitigate these where possible, although some issues, such as the operation of NDIA administrative systems, are beyond its control.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

The NDIS is a fundamental change to the disability support system

The NDIS is a major reform that aims to make significant changes to the way disability support is provided and received. Under the NDIS, the administration of funding for disability support in New South Wales will transfer from the NSW Government to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), an independent statutory agency of the Australian Government. The NSW and Australian Governments will both contribute to funding the NDIS. The size of the disability services sector in New South Wales is expected to more than double when the NDIS is fully operational (Exhibit 1).

Exhibit 1: Estimated increase in the disability services sector under the NDIS
Measure of sector capacity Pre-NDIS (2015-16) NDIS (2018-19)
Funding for services $3.3 billion $6.8 billion
People receiving support 78,000 142,000
Workforce required 25,000-30,000 48,000-59,000
Number of providers 699 Determined by the market
Sources: NSW Government Budget Paper No.3, 2015–16; NDIS NSW Market Position Statement, March 2016; Department of Family and Community Services Funding Management System, 2015–16 (unpublished).

One of the main objectives of the NDIS is to increase the choice and control that people with disability have over the support they receive. Under the NDIS, people with disability receive individual funding packages which they can use to pay their chosen providers for the support they need, instead of being referred to services that are deemed appropriate for their needs. This is a fundamental change to the nature of disability support. Before the NDIS, people with disability were moved around the system according to decisions made by government or other organisations providing disability support. Under the NDIS, the funding will move around the system based on the choices people with disability make. The development of the new market for NDIS disability services is expected to take up to ten years because the changes to the system are so extensive.

In addition to increasing choice and control for participants, the NDIS aims to:

  • improve outcomes for people with disability by intervening early to help reduce the need for support later in life
  • increase integration by helping people with disability access mainstream government services such as health and education
  • increase the involvement of people with disability in the community by making it easier to access community services such as sports clubs and community groups.

The transition to the NDIS is underway

The transition to the NDIS is underway in most Australian states and territories, following trials over the last three years. In New South Wales, a trial site was established in the Hunter area in July 2013. Early roll out of the NDIS began in July 2015 for people aged under 18 in the Nepean Blue Mountains area. On 30 June 2016, about 7,800 people had an NDIS plan in the Hunter trial site and around 1,800 people had a plan in the Nepean Blue Mountains area.

The full roll out of the NDIS began in about half of New South Wales in July 2016. The NDIS will start operating in the rest of the state from July 2017 and the transition is scheduled to be completed by July 2018 (Exhibit 2).

For the rest of the transition, the Department of Family and Community Services should:

  1. Work with the Australian Government, NDIA and other NSW Government agencies to identify gaps and develop the capacity of specialist clinical services, focusing on regional and rural areas.
  2. Continue to implement projects to increase the number of organisations that can support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
  3. Target remaining capability building assistance to less prepared providers, including via one-to-one support and mentoring in identified areas of weakness.
  4. Continue working with the Australian Government and the NDIA to ensure lessons from sector capability programs are shared.

Principles for developing the non-government sector

  1. Commence work to increase the capacity of the non-government sector early to allow time for service capacity to be built in a sustainable way.
  2. Decide whether to increase the capacity of the sector by supporting existing providers to expand their operations, attracting new organisations from outside the existing provider group, or some combination of these.
  3. Tailor approaches to supporting groups that have additional support or access needs because of cultural or geographic factors.
  4. Define the desired outcomes for people using services and, where possible, include outcomes in service delivery contracts.
  5. Invest in the sector by partnering with sector peak bodies to deliver capability programs.
  6. Include one-to-one support and mentoring in capability building programs where possible to improve the targeting of support to the specific needs of providers.
  7. Collect baseline information on provider capability before commencing programs and build robust tracking and evaluation into their design.
  8. Establish whole-of-government governance arrangements to ensure roles, responsibilities and accountability for delivery are clear.

Appendix one - Response from the Department

Appendix two - Survey of disability service providers

Appendix three - About the audit

 

Parliamentary reference - Report number #280 - released 23 February 2017 

View our audit program
View audit program
EXPLORE
upcoming audits
Have your say
CONTRIBUTE