Reports
Actions for Internal Controls and Governance 2017
Internal Controls and Governance 2017
Agencies need to do more to address risks posed by information technology (IT). Effective internal controls and governance systems help agencies to operate efficiently and effectively and comply with relevant laws, standards and policies. We assessed how well agencies are implementing these systems, and highlighted opportunities for improvement. 1. Overall trends New and
Actions for Managing demand for ambulance services 2017
Managing demand for ambulance services 2017
NSW Ambulance has introduced several initiatives over the past decade to better manage the number of unnecessary ambulance responses and transports to hospital emergency departments. However, there is no overall strategy to guide the development of these initiatives nor do NSW Ambulance's data systems properly monitor their impact. As a result, the Audit Office was unable to assess whether NSW Ambulance's approach to managing demand is improving the effi
Actions for Health 2017
Health 2017
The following report highlights results of the financial audits of entities in the NSW health cluster. The report focuses on key observations and findings from the most recent audits of these entities. The report also includes a range of findings on service delivery. Overall, NSW Health is achieving most of their targets. Some local health districts are continuing to experience increased demand for their services and are finding it more difficult t
Actions for Planning and evaluating palliative care services in NSW
Planning and evaluating palliative care services in NSW
NSW Health’s approach to planning and evaluating palliative care is not effectively coordinated. There is no overall policy framework for palliative and end-of-life care, nor is there comprehensive monitoring and reporting on services and outcomes. Palliative care is an essential component of modern health care services and an increasingly important part of the wider health and social care s
Actions for Therapeutic programs in prisons
Therapeutic programs in prisons
Corrective Services NSW should ensure eligible prisoners receive timely programs to reduce the risk they will reoffend on release. This report found that in 2015−16, 75 per cent of prisoners who needed a prison-based therapeutic program did not receive one before the earliest date they could be released. Timely access to prison-based therapeutic programs can be a factor in parole refusal and can potentially exacerbate overcrowding in the prison sy
Actions for 2016 - An overview
2016 - An overview
This report focuses on key observations and findings from 2016 audits and highlights key areas of focus for financial and performance audits in 2017. The quality and timeliness of financial reporting continued to improve across the NSW public sector in 2016. Only one qualified audit opinion was issued and most agencies signed their financial statements on time. We found the Government’s cluster governance arrangements were unclear and inconsisten
Actions for Police Rostering
Police Rostering
Overall, the NSW Police Force (the Force) is not meeting its target for responding to urgent calls for assistance. Today, one in four complaints is about customer service. Victims of crime report issues including difficulties in contacting an officer and frustration at having to wait for an officer to return to duty to find out about their case. The timeliness of investigations is also at risk when follow-up is delayed. Seventy per cent of comm
Actions for Dealing with household burglaries
Dealing with household burglaries
The NSW Police Force has done well to maintain a downward trend in household burglaries in NSW since 2001. Police recognise the impact this crime has on the community’s perception of security and safety. Success has come from a continued focus on prevention and enforcement. However, there are other factors which have influenced this result. These include a rise in the rate and length of imprisonment, the heroin drought in 2001, increases in the number of
Actions for Readiness to respond: Follow-up audit
Readiness to respond: Follow-up audit
The Ambulance Service of New South Wales has substantially implemented the 28 recommendations of the 2001 audit report that it accepted. It has also introduced significant new initiatives to improve performance that were not part of the 2001 recommendations. It has made substantial changes to its organisation and operations to implement these changes. Many of the changes are still proceeding. The Service has addressed a key finding of the 2001 audit
Actions for Responding to homelessness
Responding to homelessness
Many projects, both Partnership Against Homelessness and by individual agencies, have shown good results or led to improvements. One example is helping mental health patients maintain stable housing. Another is providing street outreach services to homeless people in inner Sydney. Despite these efforts, we were unable to determine how well the government is responding to homelessness statewide. This is because there are no statewide performance measures