On 9 September 2015, the Acting Auditor-General of New South Wales, Tony Whitfield, released a report on Sydney Metropolitan Bus Service Contracts.
 
All scheduled bus services in the Sydney metropolitan area are provided under contracts with the public and private operators. The contracts allow Transport for NSW (TfNSW) to determine what bus services are provided and to whom. This audit assessed the effectiveness of TfNSW’s design and management of these contracts.
 
Bus services provided under the Sydney Metropolitan Bus Service Contracts have largely been effective and efficient. Operators are mostly meeting their key performance indicators. Customer satisfaction is better than under the previous contracts and improving, patronage is increasing, and the unit costs of providing services are now lower than under the previous contracts. 
 
However, punctuality remains a problem. Private operators are mostly starting their trips on time, but rarely meeting their mid and end-of-trip targets. State Transit Authority’s (STA) punctuality is improving but is worse than private operators, and other areas of performance are generally below private operators.
 
The current situation is a substantial improvement over what we found in our 2010 audit on the previous contracts.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #258 - released 9 September 2015

We found the Commission to be performing well in delivering legal aid services. It has maintained and expanded services despite funding pressures and increasing demand. Overall, we found the Commission’s practices of making people aware of legal issues and its services to be comprehensive. Communication is via brochures, telephone and internet. We also found its processing of applications for legal aid to be sound.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #163 - released 13 December 2006

In this 2006 follow-up audit, we found that NSW Police had addressed most of the key areas for improvement we identified in 2003. The contact centre which operates the Police Assistance Line (PAL) is well managed, and has implemented several improvements since our 2003 audit. The centre’s speed in answering and handling PAL calls is better than in 2003. Caller satisfaction with PAL services is high, and NSW Police calculate it releases 200 police for frontline duty. The centre also receives around 4,000 enquiry calls each week further reducing the load on local police.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #161 - released 6 December 2006

The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) has improved the overall surface condition of State Roads in the last decade. Country road surfaces are now generally much better. Ride quality has improved and cracking has been reduced. The RTA has also achieved a substantial reduction in the number of structurally deficient bridges over the same period. 

Despite a significant increase in the State’s contribution to maintenance since 1999-2000, the RTA has deferred road rebuilding projects. The RTA is rebuilding at less than half its long term target, and has not met this target at any time this decade. The RTA has not identified how it will address deferred rebuilding, although it advises it is developing a new road network management plan which will address this.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #157 - released 16 August 2006

In recent years the department has significantly changed its approach to rehabilitating prisoners. It has introduced programs to address offending behaviour based on evidence of what works. It has also formed partnerships with other agencies to help reintegrate prisoners into the community. We believe the department is on the right path and should continue building on these initiatives.

Despite these efforts, almost one in two prisoners return to prison or community supervision within two years of release, which is similar to other states. Most of these return to prison. In our opinion there is a risk that the department releases prisoners who have not addressed their rehabilitation needs. The department appears to address immediate health and welfare concerns. But it does not formally assess the education and work needs of all prisoners.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #151 - released 24 May 2006

In the cases we examined, we found that agencies working together can improve services or results. However, the changes were not always as great as anticipated or had not reached maximum potential. Establishing the right governance framework and accountability requirements between partners at the start of the project is critical to success. And joint responsibility requires new funding and reporting arrangements to be developed.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #149 - released 22 March 2006

The Audit Office is of the opinion that the Department’s levels of regulatory activity in respect of road passenger transport regulation may have exceeded optimum levels. The Department’s current focus on processing activity limits the Department in achieving all of its desired outcomes. The Audit Office considers that a change in the approach to undertaking and managing road passenger transport regulatory activities would achieve better outcomes for the community and a better use of resources within the Department.

The Audit Office believes that while there is scope to make some improvements from procedural changes, such changes would not be sufficient to generate significant improvements.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #75 - released 6 September 2000

The Police Service is in the process of undertaking a wide range of information technology and systems developments that are expected to improve the Service’s capabilities to apply intelligence information to the deployment of staff at Local Area Commands (LACs). Implementation of the current phase is to take place over the next eighteen months. The Audit Office considers that the developments are timely and when fully implemented should significantly contribute to the Police Service’s ability to be more proactive and provide for better staff deployment.

The Audit Office is of the view that the impact of these developments on the efficiency and effectiveness of rostering and tasking at LACs would be further enhanced by attention to gaps in systems and to restrictive staff allocation practices.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #70 - released 31 January 2000