Reports
Actions for Purchasing Hospital Supplies: Follow-up of 2002 Performance Audit
Purchasing Hospital Supplies: Follow-up of 2002 Performance Audit
Periodically we review the extent to which agencies have changed their practices as a result of our audits. This gives Parliament and the public an update on the extent of progress made. In this follow-up audit, we examine changes following our September 2002 report, to assess whether NSW Health has improved its buying of hospital supplies using electronic systems. NSW Health spends over $1.3 billion on hospital supplies. It is the largest expenditure
Actions for Coordination of Rescue Services
Coordination of Rescue Services
Nearly 11,000 rescues are carried out each year in New South Wales, the majority involving motor vehicle accidents. In metropolitan areas we have three emergency services providing general land rescue - NSW Police, the Ambulance Service and the NSW Fire Brigades. The two volunteer services, the State Emergency Service and the Volunteer Rescue Association, generally cover the remainder of the State. Rescue arrangements in NSW are different to all other
Actions for Follow-up of Performance Audit: Bus Maintenance and Bus Contracts
Follow-up of Performance Audit: Bus Maintenance and Bus Contracts
Periodically we review the extent to which agencies have implemented the recommendations they accepted from our earlier audits. This gives Parliament and the public an update on the extent of progress made. In this follow-up audit, we examine changes following our May 2002 report on how well the: State Transit Authority maintained its buses Ministry of Transport administered contracts for the provision of regular passenger bus services. P
Actions for Planning for Sydney's Water Needs
Planning for Sydney's Water Needs
Reliably supplying water to our State’s principal city, Sydney, is a major responsibility for the Government. The community has been made keenly aware in recent years that inflows have been decreasing, and that Sydney has been using more water than is available. In April 2005 the water in Sydney’s storages dropped to 41.5 per cent of their capacity – the lowest level since the construction of Warragamba dam in 1960. As Sydney continues to develop, it i
Actions for Managing Air Quality
Managing Air Quality
Air is fundamental to our existence. The quality of our air is a key issue for everyone. It directly affects our health. It also affects our environment, and can even affect our economy. And air pollution does not respect geo-political boundaries. Pollution produced locally may have regional and global implications. The substances which may pollute our air can interact in complex ways, which even the best scientists do not fully understand. Strategies
Actions for Follow-up of Performance Audit: Management of Intellectual Property
Follow-up of Performance Audit: Management of Intellectual Property
Periodically we review the extent to which agencies have implemented the recommendations they accept from our earlier audits. This gives Parliament and the public an update on the extent of progress made. Intellectual property (IP) can have value to the agency concerned and may have the potential for wider commercial use. Poor management of IP can impose risks, including the risk of lost opportunities. Because it is not ‘tangible’ like a building or pla
Actions for Follow-up of Performance Audit: Maintenance of Public Housing
Follow-up of Performance Audit: Maintenance of Public Housing
Periodically we review the extent to which agencies have implemented the recommendations they accepted from our earlier audits. This gives Parliament and the public an update on the extent of progress made. Maintaining public infrastructure – whether social or economic – is a topic that is attracting significant attention. In this follow-up audit, we examine changes following our April 2001 report on how well the Department of Housing managed its publi
Actions for Fraud Control: Current Progress and Future Directions
Fraud Control: Current Progress and Future Directions
Periodically we review the extent to which agencies have implemented the recommendations they accept from our earlier audits. This gives Parliament and the public an update on the extent of progress made. Given the size of the NSW public sector, the potential for fraud could run into billions of dollars if not properly managed. It is an area of risk that warrants close and ongoing attention. Over the last decade, we have responded by issuing three perfo
Actions for Outsourcing Information Technology
Outsourcing Information Technology
Agencies have managed the planning of outsourcing in a competent way. All agencies satisfactorily managed the contractual aspects of outsourcing. The Audit Office is of the opinion, however, that there is no objective evidence to demonstrate that agencies have achieved their goals in outsourcing IT. Most agencies had identified the current and expected costs and risks of outsourcing. Agencies were not able to demonstrate that the actual costs of outsourc
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