Reports
Actions for Planning and Environment 2016
Planning and Environment 2016
Auditor-General, Margaret Crawford released a report on the planning and environment cluster today, concluding that the quality of financial reporting is improving. However, the cluster can improve its financial controls and governance framework.
Actions for Justice 2016
Justice 2016
Overcrowding in the NSW prison system continues to worsen along with the backlog of cases in the District Court, according to a report released by the New South Wales Auditor-General, Margaret Crawford on the annual financial statements audits in the Justice cluster.
Actions for Implementation of the NSW Government’s program evaluation initiative
Implementation of the NSW Government’s program evaluation initiative
The NSW Government’s ‘program evaluation initiative’, introduced to assess whether service delivery programs achieve expected outcomes and value for money, is largely ineffective according to a report released today by NSW Auditor-General, Margaret Crawford.
Government services, in areas such as public order and safety, health and education, are delivered by agencies through a variety of programs. In 2016–17, the NSW Government estimates that it will spend over $73 billion on programs to deliver services.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #277 - released 3 November 2016
Actions for Reintegrating young offenders into the community after detention
Reintegrating young offenders into the community after detention
Juvenile Justice prepares and assists young people to reintegrate into the community reasonably well, given the complex needs of young people in detention, according to a report released today by the NSW Auditor-General, Margaret Crawford.
Juvenile Justice has many processes and programs to identify and address young people’s needs while in detention and links them to relevant support services in the community. It still faces some significant barriers which make reintegration difficult. Some are within its control to fix, such as improving training and recreational activities available to young people in detention. Others relate to external factors, such as the capacity of other organisations to address their reintegration needs like housing, education and employment, and a young person’s period of detention.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #269 - released 28 April 2016
Actions for Performance frameworks in custodial centre operations
Performance frameworks in custodial centre operations
The effectiveness of Corrective Services NSW’s performance framework is limited because organisational key performance indicators (KPIs) do not cascade to public correctional centres, according to a report released today by the Acting New South Wales Auditor-General, Tony Whitfield.
'As a result, individual public correctional centres could not be assessed on how well they are contributing to overall Corrective Service objectives, and it is difficult to vary performance expectations in response to changing operating environments', said Mr Whitfield. 'Its commissioning and contestability project is designed to address these issues', he added.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #267 - released 3 March 2016
Actions for Volume Eight 2014 Focusing on Police and Justice (Law, Order and Emergency Services)
Volume Eight 2014 Focusing on Police and Justice (Law, Order and Emergency Services)
The quality of financial reporting in the cluster continues to improve with the number of reported misstatements identified during audit decreasing over the past five years. The audits resulted in unqualified audit opinions on the financial statements of all cluster agencies for the year ended 30 June 2014, with the exception of the State Emergency Service.
Actions for Volume Five 2014 Focusing on Electricity and Water
Volume Five 2014 Focusing on Electricity and Water
In 2013-14, the NSW Government electricity businesses generated $9 billion in revenue ($9.6 billion during 2012-13) and achieved a combined net profit after tax of $1.5 billion ($1.6 billion). The combined profit after tax for NSW Distributors was $1.2 billion in 2013-14 down from $1.3 billion in 2012-13. The Distributors’ revenues decreased by $205 million to $6.8 billion in 2013-14, largely due to lower consumption by customers associated with milder weather conditions, economic impacts, energy efficiency measures and an increase in the number of customers using solar energy.
Actions for Managing Contaminated Sites
Managing Contaminated Sites
NSW Government agencies with large landholdings need to better manage their contaminated sites.
When contaminated sites are reported to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) there are long delays in assessing the extent of contamination. The EPA also lacks the management controls to ensure that all significantly contaminated sites are actively monitored and key milestones for remediation are met.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #245 - released 10 July 2014
Actions for Effectiveness of the New Death and Disability Scheme
Effectiveness of the New Death and Disability Scheme
More NSW Police officers are returning to work after being injured and there are fewer medical discharges as a result of the new NSW Police death and disability scheme. The new scheme is also costing less and if early trends continue, costs may fall sufficiently to meet the government’s target.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #242 - released 22 May 2014
Actions for NSW State Emergency Service Management of Volunteers
NSW State Emergency Service Management of Volunteers
The SES needs to better understand the location, availability and skills of its volunteers so it can properly plan for emergency events. It needs to improve how it selects and retains the right volunteers and provide more up-to-date and focused training.
The SES has improved volunteer safety with injury claims falling by 40 per cent to 70 in the four years to 30 June 2013. The average cost of claims has fallen by 58 per cent to $3,547. The SES attributes this reduction to better equipment and work practices.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #240 - released 15 April 2014