The Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford, released a report today examining the effectiveness of Service NSW’s handling of customers’ personal information to ensure its privacy. The audit found that Service NSW is not effectively handling personal customer and business information to ensure its privacy. Service NSW continues to use business processes that pose a risk to the privacy of personal information. This includes the routine ema

The Auditor‑General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford, released a report today examining procurement management in Local Government. The audit assessed the effectiveness of procurement management practices in six councils. All six councils had procurement management policies that were consistent with legislative requirements, but the audit found compliance gaps in some councils. The audit also identified opportunities for councils to address risks

This report analyses the results of our audits of financial statements of the agencies comprising the Stronger Communities cluster for the year ended 30 June 2020. The table below summarises our key observations. 1. Financial reporting Quality of financial reporting Unqualified audit opinions were issued for all agencies' 30 June 2020 financial statements. Compliance with financial reporting requirements The Treasury extended the s

This report analyses the results of our audits of financial statements of entities within the Regional NSW cluster for the year ended 30 June 2020. The table below summarises our key observations and recommendations. 1. Machinery of Government (MoG) changes Creation of Regional NSW cluster MoG changes on 2 April 2020 created the Department of Regional NSW (the Department). The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) staff em

This report analyses the results of our audits of financial statements of the Planning, Industry and Environment cluster agencies for the year ended 30 June 2020. The table below summarises our key observations. 1. Financial reporting Audit opinions There are 45 separate entities in the cluster. Unqualified audit opinions were issued for 38 cluster agencies' 30 June 2020 financial statements audits. Four financial statements audits are s

The Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford, released a report today titled Education 2020. This report focuses on key observations and findings from the most recent audits of agencies in the Education cluster. Unqualified audit opinions were issued for all cluster agencies’ financial statements. However, internal control deficiencies were identified across the cluster agencies, including deficiencies in the management of purchasing cards

The Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford today released her report on the findings and recommendations from the 2019–20 financial audits that relate to internal controls and governance at 40 of the largest agencies in the NSW public sector. The bushfire and flood emergencies and the COVID‑19 pandemic continue to have a significant impact on the people and public sector of New South Wales. The scale of the government response to these e

A report released today by the Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford found that select advertising campaigns conducted by Service NSW and the NSW Rural Fire Service met most requirements of the Government Advertising Act, regulations, Guidelines and other laws. However, the audit found that Service NSW inappropriately used its post campaign evaluation to measure sentiment towards and confidence in the NSW Government.   While agency anal

The Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford, released a report today examining credit card management in Local Government. The audit was in response to a letter from the then Minister for Local Government in November 2018. The audit assessed the effectiveness of credit card management practices in six councils, including in the areas of policies, procedures, compliance and monitoring. The audit found that all six councils had gaps in the

This report examines whether NSW Health effectively planned and delivered major capital works to meet the demand for health services in New South Wales. The report found that NSW Health has substantially expanded health infrastructure across New South Wales since 2015. However, the program was driven by Local Health District priorities without assessment of the State’s broader and future‑focussed health requirements. The report found that unclear decis