The Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford, released her report today on State Finances for the year ended 30 June 2020. ‘I am pleased to once again report that I issued an unmodified audit opinion on the State’s consolidated financial statements,’ the Auditor-General said. The report acknowledges this has been a challenging year, with New South Wales impacted by natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. The State’s Budget Result, r

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 whether the Department of Communities and Justice had effective governance and partnership arrangements in place to deliver ‘Their Futures Matter’. Their Futures Matter was intended to place vulnerable children and families at the heart of services, and direct investment to where funding and programs deliver the greatest social and economic benefits. It was a f

This report outlines whether the Department of Customer Service (the department) has effective controls in place to ensure the integrity of data in the Births, Deaths and Marriages Register (the register), and to prevent unauthorised access and misuse. The audit found that the department has processes in place to ensure that the information entered in the register is accurate and that any changes to it are validated. Although there are controls in place

Periodically we review the extent to which agencies have implemented the recommendations they accept from our earlier audits. This gives Parliament and the public an update on the extent of progress made. Intellectual property (IP) can have value to the agency concerned and may have the potential for wider commercial use. Poor management of IP can impose risks, including the risk of lost opportunities. Because it is not ‘tangible’ like a building or pla

Periodically we review the extent to which agencies have implemented the recommendations they accept from our earlier audits. This gives Parliament and the public an update on the extent of progress made. Given the size of the NSW public sector, the potential for fraud could run into billions of dollars if not properly managed. It is an area of risk that warrants close and ongoing attention. Over the last decade, we have responded by issuing three perfo

There are many public inquiries and reviews into the government’s policy decisions and administration every year. Key sources of public inquiries and reviews include parliamentary committees, the Coroner, the Ombudsman, ICAC, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission and the Auditor-General. Other sources include statutory reviews of legislation, other reviews that the government has elected to make public and, more infrequently, special commissions of inqu

In 2017, the NSW Government announced a Regional Development Framework which provides a scaffold for better coordination, decision making and effort on the ground. The NSW Government recognised the need to be more strategic and better coordinated if it is to make a difference, particularly in addressing some of the serious issues facing regional NSW such as pockets of youth unemployment, social disadvantage, changing economic opportunities and increased

This audit will consider a selection of grants programs, and assess whether they are being effectively targeted, administered and delivered to achieve expected outcomes.

In response to the 2019-20 bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, the NSW Government released significant funds for a range of grant programs aimed at providing emergency support, recovery and economic stimulus across NSW. In 2020, the $750 million dollar Small Business Support Fund was set up to support small businesses and a number of grants rounds have been implemented. This audit will assess whether grants administered under the Small Business Support