In reviewing both the severance pay guidelines and a sample of payments, we found the guidelines to be clear and all except two payments were made in accordance with them. In these two cases the severance payment was stipulated in the employment contract guaranteeing the STE a minimum of six months pay on termination, irrespective of the length of service.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #201 - released 16 June 2010

Fingerprints and DNA play a critical role in solving crime and serving justice, but DNA evidence can result in more arrests, more prosecutions and more convictions. We found that while police effectively prioritise fingerprint evidence, it could better manage the screening and analysis of both fingerprint and DNA evidence to reduce delays.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #195 - released 10 February 2010

In our opinion there are inadequacies in the current arrangements for detecting unauthorised driving. For example better information is needed on the extent of unlicensed driving. This may require giving the NSW Police power to conduct random licence and registration checks. In addition, there are technological and legal constraints to the efficient and effective detection of unauthorised driving.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #115 - released 4 September 2003

Freedom of Information (FOI) Coordinators and their staff were supportive of the legislation. However, the agencies examined can do considerably more to fully achieve the intentions of the Act. On the positive side, all three agencies had processes in place to handle requests and had made a number of changes to improve the effectiveness of the FOI process. Fees and charges had also been kept to a minimum. No processing fees were requested in the majority of cases, and if charged, were not unreasonable.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #114 - released 28 August 2003

We are of the opinion that overall, the Police Assistance Line (PAL) has contributed to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of NSW Police. Through civilianisation of call taking, NSW Police reports that the cost of handling a minor crime report has been reduced by 65 per cent, to around $21 per call. It is also estimated that PAL has contributed to the release of over 200 police to operational duties. There has also been an improvement in customer service since PAL commenced, with the average time taken to answer a call reduced from over two minutes to 42 seconds. However, performance is still outside NSW Police’s goal of answering 80 per cent of calls within 27 seconds. In addition, waiting time increased over the last six months of 2002.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #110 - released 5 June 2003

The Audit Office is of the opinion that the arrangements for the enforcement of parking are not as efficient and effective as they could be and should be reviewed. Accountability of the enforcement role needs to be improved. Currently there is minimal monitoring of the success or otherwise of the enforcement function.

There is a need to address and assign more closely the current responsibilities for enforcement arrangements between the Police Service and councils. There is also a need to articulate more clearly the objectives to be achieved from the legislation and their relative priorities.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #68 - released 24 November 1999

The Audit Office found no evidence that the Office of the Protective Commissioner (OPC) or the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) decisions in respect of cases reviewed were flawed, but areas needing improvement were identified. 

Currently there is no simple, inexpensive external appeal mechanism available to challenge or review decisions of OPC/OPG. Appeals are available to the Supreme Court. However, this seems to be widely regarded as intimidating, inappropriate to the nature of the matters involved, time consuming and expensive. The need for a simpler, quicker and more accessible external review mechanism is the most crucial issue identified by The Audit Office in this audit.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #66 - released 28 September 1999

The audit found that the court system in NSW does not possess a comprehensive management framework and, with some exception in relation to the District Court, there is a distinct lack of any reporting system in a management sense. There is little evidence of realistic objectives, forward plans, or clear definition of responsibilities for performance, and there have been few reviews of performance. There is no assessment of waiting time performance in relation to other measures of court performance.

Whilst it is recognised that the Attorney General’s Department and the courts have taken positive steps to improve court waiting times, The Audit Office considers that a more systematic approach is needed.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #65 - released 3 September 1999