Reports
Actions for Managing the health, safety and wellbeing of nurses and junior doctors in high demand hospital environments
Managing the health, safety and wellbeing of nurses and junior doctors in high demand hospital environments
The Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford, released a report today examining NSW Health’s management of health and safety risks to nurses and junior doctors in high demand hospital wards over the past five years, including during the first six months of the 2020 COVID-19 health emergency. The Auditor-General found that while NSW Health effectively managed most incidents and risks to the physical health and safety of hospital staff durin
Actions for Government advertising 2018-19 and 2019-20
Government advertising 2018-19 and 2019-20
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
Actions for Health capital works
Health capital works
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 foun
Actions for Their Futures Matter
Their Futures Matter
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
Actions for Funding enhancements for police technology
Funding enhancements for police technology
This report focuses on how the NSW Police Force managed a $100 million program to acquire new technology. The program invested in technologies intended to make police work safer and quicker. These included body-worn video (BWV) cameras, smart phone devices, mobile fingerprint scanners and hand-held drug testing devices. The audit found that while the NSW Police Force mostly managed the ‘Policing for Tomorrow’ program effectively, investment decisio
Actions for Destination NSW's support for major events
Destination NSW's support for major events
This report focuses on whether Destination NSW (DNSW) can demonstrate that its support for major events achieves value for money. The audit found that DNSW’s processes for assessing and evaluating the major events it funds are mostly effective, but its public reporting does not provide enough transparency. DNSW provides clear information to event organisers seeking funding and has a comprehensive methodology for conducting detailed event assessmen
Actions for Integrity of data in the Births, Deaths and Marriages Register
Integrity of data in the Births, Deaths and Marriages Register
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
Actions for Managing Hospital Waste
Managing Hospital Waste
In 1998 NSW Health developed Waste Management Guidelines to promote continuous improvement in waste management across the public health sector. Systematic implementation of the Guidelines was impeded in 1999- 2000 by resistance from the waste industry and transport workers. Since then, NSW Health has not actively promoted waste management in public hospitals. As a consequence Area Health Services (AHSs) and hospitals have developed separate and individua
Actions for Managing Grants
Managing Grants
In our view, the agencies we studied cannot be sure that the grants they allocate align with their corporate objectives, and that program outcomes are achieved. This is mainly due to problems with grant selection and the evaluation of results. It was good to see that most of the grants programs had funding objectives which were fairly clear. But we found problems across most programs which could affect the fair and equitable selection of grants, such as,
Actions for Electronic Procurement of Hospital Supplies
Electronic Procurement of Hospital Supplies
Reform of procurement in the NSW public health system is a huge, complex and difficult task. Much thought has been given to this reform. An immense amount of planning and preparatory work is required, and is apparent. In our opinion, at this time, the NSW public health system is making only limited progress towards achieving the economies in purchasing that its size and market dominance could deliver. While millions of dollars in savings are potentially