Hospitals, schools, public housing, roads, bridges, buses and trains are just some of the assets used by government in providing services to citizens.

The NSW Government’s asset base is impressive in size - with a value of around $167 billion and with government plans to spend around $8 billion acquiring or replacing assets in the current year. Another $2 billion is spent each year on maintenance.

Good asset management is very important to government; even a small efficiency gain in this area can provide significant returns. Good practice by those responsible for managing assets can improve reliability, extend asset life, save on maintenance costs and aid in identifying and disposing of unnecessary or non-performing assets.

Improving the NSW public sector’s approach to asset management has been on the reform agenda for at least a decade. Changes in practice have been accelerated more recently by integrating asset management policy with the budget process.

In this audit we examined NSW Treasury’s efforts to improve asset management practices in the public sector and the progress made by 3 agencies - the Department of Corrective Services, NSW Fire Brigades and the Powerhouse Museum - towards better managing their asset portfolios.

This report informs Parliament and the community on progress to date and what more needs to be done to ensure that agencies manage assets effectively and achieve best value.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #143 - released 12 October 2005

The regulatory framework introduced under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, along with other initiatives progressively being implemented by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), should enhance the overall effectiveness of environment protection in NSW. The Audit Office is of the opinion that the framework is consistent with best practice and once fully implemented, should contribute to the achievement of further improvements in the environmental performance of industry.

However while the legislative framework supports best practice in regulation and enforcement, there are a number of issues which limit the effectiveness of the reforms. Some of the problems, such as the quality of licences and the effectiveness of compliance activities, have been identified by the EPA and may be addressed through recent initiatives.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #82 - released 18 April 2001