Reports
Actions for Flood housing response
Flood housing response
What this report is aboutExtreme rainfall across eastern Australia in 2021 and 2022 led to a series of major flood events in New South Wales.This audit assessed how effectively the NSW Government provided emergency accommodation and temporary housing in response to the early 2022 Northern Rivers and late 2022 Central West flood events.Responsible agencies included in this audit were the Department of Communities and Justice, NSW Reconstruction Authority,
Actions for Planning and managing bushfire equipment
Planning and managing bushfire equipment
This audit assessed the effectiveness of the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) and local councils in planning and managing equipment for bushfire prevention, mitigation, and suppression. What we found The RFS has focused its fleet development activity on modernising and improving the safety of its firefighting fleet, and on the purchase of new firefighting aircraft. There is limited evidence that the RFS has undertaken strategic f
Actions for Government's acquisition of private property: Sydney Metro project
Government's acquisition of private property: Sydney Metro project
Sydney Metro is Australia’s largest public transport project. It requires the acquisition of many private properties, including residential and business properties. This audit assessed the effectiveness of the acquisition of private properties for the Sydney Metro project. The audited agencies were Sydney Metro, the Department of Planning and Environment (Valuer General NSW) and Transport for NSW (the Centre for Property Acquis
Actions for Development applications: assessment and determination stages
Development applications: assessment and determination stages
Local councils in New South Wales are responsible for assessing local and regional development applications. Most development applications are assessed and determined by council staff under delegated authority. However, some development applications must be referred to independent local planning panels or Sydney and regional planning panels for determination. Councils provide support to local planning panels. The Department of
Actions for Effectiveness of the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme
Effectiveness of the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme
This audit examined whether the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) and the Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) have effectively designed and implemented the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme (‘the Scheme’) to compensate for the loss of biodiversity due to development. Under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, the Scheme enables landholders to establish in-perpetuity Biodiversity Stewardship Agreements on sites to gene
Actions for Managing climate risks to assets and services
Managing climate risks to assets and services
This report assessed how effectively the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) and NSW Treasury have supported state agencies to manage climate risks to their assets and services. Climate risks that can impact on state agencies' assets and services include flooding, bushfires, and extreme temperatures. Impacts can include damage to transport, communications and energy infrastructure, increases in hospital admi
Actions for Fast-tracked Assessment Program
Fast-tracked Assessment Program
This report examines the effectiveness of the Fast-tracked Assessment Program, administered by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) between April 2020 and October 2020. The program aimed to support the construction industry during the COVID-19 crisis by accelerating the final assessment stages for planning proposals and development applications. DPIE selected projects and planning proposals f
Actions for Water management and regulation
Water management and regulation
Water regulation aims to achieve sustainable environmental, economic and social outcomes from the management of water resources, consistent with the Water Management Act 2000. Following recommendations from reviews into water theft, reforms were made to strengthen water regulation, compliance and enforcement – including the establishment of the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) in 2018. The Department of Planning and Environment shares responsibi
Actions for Waste levy and grants for waste infrastructure
Waste levy and grants for waste infrastructure
The Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford, released a report today that examined the effectiveness of the waste levy and grants for waste infrastructure in minimising the amount of waste sent to landfill and increasing recycling rates. The audit found that the waste levy has a positive impact on diverting waste from landfill. However, while the levy rates increase each year in line with the consumer price index, the EPA has not c
Actions for Governance and internal controls over local infrastructure contributions
Governance and internal controls over local infrastructure contributions
The Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford, released a report today on how well four councils managed their local infrastructure contributions during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 financial years. Local infrastructure contributions, also known as developer contributions, are collected from developers to pay for local infrastructure such as drainage, local roads, open space and community facilities. Controls over local infrastructure cont