Report highlights
Report highlights: Education 2023
What this report is about Results of the Education portfolio of agencies’ financial statements audits for the year ended 30 June 2023. What we found Unqualified audit opinions were issued for all Education portfolio agencies. An ‘other matter’ paragraph was included in the TAFE Commission’s independent auditor’s report as it did not have a delegation or sub-delegation from the Minister for Education and Early Learning to incur expenditure on grants from other portfolio agencies.
Report Highlights: Stronger Communities 2023
What this report is about Results of the Stronger Communities financial statement audits for the year ended 30 June 2023. What we found Unqualified audit opinions were issued on all completed Stronger Communities portfolio agencies. Machinery of government changes during the year returned the sports-related agencies to the Stronger Communities portfolio. Resilience NSW was abolished on 16 December 2022 with most of its functions transferred to the newly created NSW Reconstruction Authority.
Report highlights: Customer Service 2023
What this report is about Result of the Customer Service portfolio agencies' financial statement audits for the year ended 30 June 2023. What we found Unmodified audit opinions were issued for all completed 30 June 2023 financial statements audits of Customer Service portfolio agencies. Two audits are ongoing. What the key issues were The total number of misstatements in the financial statements and findings reported to management decreased compared to the prior year.
Report highlights: Regional, rural and remote education
What this report is about Students in rural and remote areas of NSW face greater challenges compared to their metropolitan peers. This report examined how the NSW Department of Education (the department) is ensuring that rural and remote students have access to the same quality of early childhood, school education, and skills pathways as metropolitan students.
Report highlights: State heritage assets
This audit assessed how effectively the Department of Planning and Environment (Heritage NSW) is overseeing and administering heritage assets of state significance. Heritage that is rare, exceptional or outstanding to New South Wales may be listed on the State Heritage Register under the Heritage Act 1977. This provides assets with legal recognition and protection. Places, buildings, works, relics, objects and precincts can be listed, whether in public or private ownership.
Report highlights: Management of the Critical Communications Enhancement Program
Effective radio communications are crucial to NSW's emergency services organisations. The Critical Communications Enhancement Program (CCEP) aims to deliver an enhanced public safety radio network to serve the five emergency services organisations (ESOs), as well as a range of other users. This report assesses whether the NSW Telco Authority is effectively managing the CCEP. What we found Where it has already been delivered (about 50% of the state), the enhanced network meets most of the requirements of ESOs.
Report highlights: Regulation of public native forestry
What this report is about The Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) is a state-owned corporation that manages over two million hectares of public native forests and plantations supplying timber to sawmills across NSW. The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is responsible for regulating the native forestry industry in NSW. FCNSW must comply with Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals (IFOAs), which set out rules for how timber harvesting may occur. Most harvesting is undertaken under the Coastal IFOA, which commenced in 2018.
Report highlights: Financial management and governance in MidCoast Council
Introduction The Auditor-General's financial and performance audits of local councils aim to improve financial management, governance and public accountability across the local government sector. Annual Local Government reports to Parliament have consistently highlighted risks and weaknesses across the sector in relation to financial management and governance. We will continue to focus on these matters as a priority area in our forward work program.
Report highlights: Local Government 2022
This report is about Results of the local government sector financial statement audits for the year ended 30 June 2022. What we found Unqualified audit opinions were issued for 83 councils, 11 joint organisations and nine county councils' financial statements. The financial audits for two councils and two joint organisations are in progress due to accounting issues.
Report highlights: Natural disasters
What this report is about This report draws together the financial impact of natural disasters on agencies integral to the response and impact of natural disasters during 2021–22. What we found Over the 2021–22 financial year $1.4 billion from a budget of $1.9 billion was spent by the NSW Government in response to natural disasters. Total expenses were less than the budget due to underspend in the following areas: