Reports
Actions for Improving Legal and Safe Driving Among Aboriginal People
Improving Legal and Safe Driving Among Aboriginal People
Government responses to improve legal and safe driving among Aboriginal people have had limited success reducing Aboriginal peoples’ over-representation in road accident fatalities, traffic-related offending and imprisonments. Parliamentary reference - Report number #238 - released 19 December 2013
Actions for Management of Casual Teachers
Management of Casual Teachers
Ten years ago, the then Department of Education and Training responded to concerns about classes without teachers by: increasing the number of teachers approved to teach casually giving temporary employment to extra teachers in hard-to-staff schools running a call centre that helped schools find casual teachers at short notice. These measures significantly improved the supply of casual teachers to schools in South Western and Western S
Actions for Cost of Alcohol Abuse to the NSW Government
Cost of Alcohol Abuse to the NSW Government
The NSW Government does not estimate or report the total cost of alcohol abuse. The Audit Office of New South Wales’ sponsored research estimates it costs the government over $1 billion a year, or around $416 from each NSW household. Parliamentary reference - Report number #235 - released 6 August 2013
Actions for Managing Gifts and Benefits
Managing Gifts and Benefits
Overall, the audited entities are managing some aspects of gifts and benefits effectively but other aspects require improvement. We found that all five entities had gifts and benefits policies that addressed some but not all of the attributes of a sound policy. All five have communicated their gifts and benefits policies to staff and external stakeholders, although in each case we identified opportunities to better communicate their policies.  
Actions for Sick Leave
Sick Leave
NSW public sector sick leave is higher than other States. The NSW public sector has the highest reported public sector sick leave in Australia. Public sector efforts to reduce sick leave over the last five years has seen a fall of a quarter of a day since 2004-05, less than its target of one day. On average, public sector workers take just over eight days sick leave annually. Recent surveys of public and private sector organisations show that sick leave
Actions for Severance Payments to Special Temporary Employees
Severance Payments to Special Temporary Employees
In reviewing both the severance pay guidelines and a sample of payments, we found the guidelines to be clear and all except two payments were made in accordance with them. In these two cases the severance payment was stipulated in the employment contract guaranteeing the STE a minimum of six months pay on termination, irrespective of the length of service. Parliamentary reference - Report number #201 - released 16 June 2010
Actions for Injury Management in the NSW Public Sector
Injury Management in the NSW Public Sector
We found that during Working Together, agencies reduced the impact of workplace injuries. Most of the results have been positive in both our sample agencies and the public sector, and savings have been achieved. Between 2005 and 2008, while the number of claims in the sample agencies remained at around 15,000, the average cost of claims reduced by around 22 per cent from $22,349 to $17,360. The incidence rate of claims for the sample agencies also decrea
Actions for Improving the Performance of Metropolitan Bus Services
Improving the Performance of Metropolitan Bus Services
The 2004 Review of Bus Services in NSW always envisaged that there would be a transition period as the new bus contracts were introduced. NSWTI has developed and implemented the new arrangements, and pursued a range of new initiatives including the network improvement program, strategic corridors and uniform bus fares and concessions. The new contracts provided for a performance management regime to hold operators accountable. But this is still being dev
Actions for Improving Road Safety: School Zones
Improving Road Safety: School Zones
Overall, speed cameras change driver behaviour and improve road safety. Fixed speed cameras reduce crashes and speeding. While the overall impact of speed cameras has been positive, 38 of the 141 fixed speed cameras need to be closely examined as they appear to have no significant road safety benefit. Other road safety measures may be needed for these sites. Parliamentary reference - Report number #197 - released 10 March 2010
Actions for Educating primary school students with disabilities
Educating primary school students with disabilities
Special education programs so far have been able to support schools to accommodate these students and as a result, we have an inclusive education system. Our concern is that as the number of students with disabilities increases, pressure will be placed on both funding and the capacity of schools to provide quality services. The Government’s special education initiative is a positive step towards addressing these problems. Nevertheless, other changes nee