We recognise that Home and Community Care Services (HCS) operates in an increasingly difficult and changing environment. However, HCS does not have the capacity to meet these needs. Currently at least 50 per cent of those eligible to receive a service will miss out. Under the current system, there are inequities in service delivery. The ability to receive a service depends on when the applicant calls, where they live and if this coincides with service hours becoming available at the local HCS branch. In addition, applicants who miss out on a service may not automatically be referred to another provider. HCS needs to better manage both demand and expectations regarding access to the services it provides.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #127 - released 13 October 2004

We believe that school reports are an excellent concept. However, in their present form they are not an effective means of holding a school accountable. Successive performance audits by our Office have identified significant shortcomings in the reports. This is not so much the fault of the schools. The reporting content is largely optional. There is limited opportunity to compare performance. And the highly restrictive reporting protocols lead to reports which are not able to release important and relevant information.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #126 - released 15 September 2004

This audit follows our earlier studies on ambulance response times, on waiting times for elective (i.e. non-urgent) surgery and on the ‘Code Red’ status of hospital emergency departments. Those audits indicated that matching resources to the ever-increasing numbers of people seeking emergency treatment was certainly an issue, but not the only issue. We found that problems were also occurring at the ‘interface’ between different parts of the health system – when patients arrive in ambulances at emergency departments or when they need to be admitted from emergency departments to hospital wards.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #125 - released 28 July 2004

Overall, compliance with government policy was not high. In the agencies examined, the audit found problems similar to those identified in 2001 when we last examined fleet management practices. Business need was not always the determining factor in deciding the size and composition of fleets. In most cases the fleet profile reflected past practices or individual choice rather than business need.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #124 - released 30 June 2004

Managing reserves requires that judgements be made about the condition of natural and cultural heritage and decisions taken as to what is, at least, an acceptable standard. Reliable information is fundamental to these tasks and for monitoring success, continuous improvement and accountability. In our opinion the Service has yet to clarify what constitutes success in reserve management and develop an adequate information base to measure its success. Consequently the Service cannot reliably determine how well it conserves and protects our natural and cultural heritage. This is a common situation for like agencies.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #123 - released 16 June 2004

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) accepted all the recommendations in our 2001 audit report on Controlling and Reducing Pollution from Industry and has demonstrated leadership in addressing the issues raised. Most of the recommendations have now been fully or largely implemented. Major achievements include new measures to facilitate a more consistent approach to licensing, new risk assessment tools to assist in dealing with noncompliances and to identify priorities for its compliance audit activities and a new licensing information management system. In our view the EPA has a suitable framework with which to control the amount of pollutants discharged to the environment by industry.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #122 - released 12 May 2004