What the report is about The Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) (the Act) provides land rights over certain Crown land for Aboriginal Land Councils in NSW. If a claim is made over Crown land (land owned and managed by government) and meets other criteria under the Act, ownership of that land is to be transferred to the Aboriginal Land Council. This process is intended to provide compensation for the dispossession of land from Aboriginal people in N

What the report is about The report focuses on how effectively the Department of Customer Service (DCS) and Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) led reforms addressing the unsafe use of combustible external cladding on existing residential and public buildings. Nine local councils were included in the audit because they have responsibilities and powers needed to implement the NSW Government’s reforms. What we found After the June 2017 Grenfel

What the report is about This audit assessed nine agencies’ compliance with the NSW Cyber Security Policy (CSP) including whether, during the year to 30 June 2020, the participating agencies: met their reporting obligations under the CSP reported accurate self-assessments of their level of maturity implementing the CSP’s requirements including the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s (ACSC) Essential 8. What we found Key elements to strengthen cyber se

What the report is about This report examines the effectiveness of the Fast-tracked Assessment Program, administered by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) between April 2020 and October 2020.  The program aimed to support the construction industry during the COVID-19 crisis by accelerating the final assessment stages for planning proposals and development applications.  DPIE selected projects and planning proposals for fast tr

In February 2019 the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation launched the NSW Cyber Security Policy to ensure all NSW Government departments and public service agencies are managing cyber security risks to their information and systems. The policy mandates a number of requirements that are a minimum that all agencies must implement. In addition agencies must assess their level of cyber maturity. This audit will examine whether agencies are complyi

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

What the report is about This audit assessed how effectively Transport for NSW (TfNSW) and Sydney Trains identify and manage their cyber security risks. The NSW Cyber Security Policy (CSP) sets out 25 mandatory requirements for agencies, including implementing the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s Essential 8 strategies to mitigate cyber security incidents, and identifying the agency’s most vital systems, their ‘crown jewels’.  The audited agencies h

What the report is about The report examined whether NSW Treasury, Service NSW and the Department of Customer Service effectively administered grants programs funded under the $750 million Small Business Support Fund, including: $10,000 Small Business Support Grant $3,000 Small Business Recovery Grant. What we found The agencies effectively implemented the grants within required timeframes, reflecting the NSW Government’s decision to deliver urgent f

What the report is about The report examined whether Transport for NSW (TfNSW) and Infrastructure NSW (INSW) effectively assessed and justified major scope changes to the WestConnex project since 2014. What we found NSW Government decisions to fund WestConnex-related projects outside WestConnex's $16.812 billion budget have reduced transparency and understate the full cost of WestConnex. The NSW Government's decision to separate Sydney Gateway from W

The Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford, has today released a report on Transport for NSW’s (TfNSW) acquisition of 4–6 Grand Avenue in Camellia. This audit, which was requested on 17 November 2020 by the Hon. Andrew Constance MP, the Minister for Transport and Roads, examined: whether TfNSW conducted an effective process to purchase 4–6 Grand Avenue, Camellia whether TfNSW has effective processes and procedures to identify and acquir