Our performance audits

What is a performance audit?

Performance audits are in-depth assessments of whether government entities are achieving effectiveness, efficiency and economy in the programs and services they deliver.

A performance audit may cover:

• the whole of an entity’s operations
• one particular entity activity
• an activity across a number of entities.

We report the results of these audits to the head of each entity, the responsible minister, the Treasurer and the NSW Parliament. We also publish our findings publicly on our website.

 

Choosing a topic

When selecting and scoping topics, we combine our own research with suggestions from parliamentarians, agency CEOs, councillors and members of the public. We aim to choose topics that reflect the interests of parliament in holding the government to account.

Our three-year program is published on our website and is reviewed annually to ensure it continues to address significant issues of interest to parliament, aligns with government priorities, and reflects contemporary thinking on public sector management.

 

This year’s performance audits

The following table details all the performance audit reports we tabled in parliament in 2016–17. A summary of each report, and the response provided by each auditee, can be found here. The future performance audit program is discussed here.

 

Entities audited	Performance audit report	Tabled in parliament
Department of Premier and Cabinet Department of Finance, Services and Innovation	Red Tape Reduction	25 August 2016
Department of Industry — Lands	Sale and Lease of Crown Land	8 September 2016
NSW Food Authority	Monitoring Food Safety Practices in Retail Food Businesses	15 September 2016
NSW Police Force Fire and Rescue NSW	Preventing and Managing Worker Injuries	13 October 2016
Department of Premier and Cabinet	Government Advertising 2015—16	27 October 2016
NSW Treasury Department of Premier and Cabinet Department of Industry, Skills and Regional Development Department of Justice Department of Planning and Environment	Implementation of the NSW Government’s Program Evaluation Initiative	3 November 2016
Transport for NSW	CBD and South East Light Rail Project	30 November 2016
Planning Assessment Commission (Independent Planning Commission)	Assessing Major Development Applications	19 January 2017
Department of Family and Community Services	Building the Readiness of the Non-Government Sector for the NDIS	23 February 2017
Transport for NSW Sydney Trains NSW Trains	Passenger Rail Punctuality	11 April 2017
Department of Education Transport for NSW Department of Industry	Contingent Workforce	27 April 2017
Department of Justice Corrective Services NSW	Therapeutic Programs in Prisons	3 May 2017
Department of Education	Planning for School Infrastructure	4 May 2017
Department of Planning and Environment	Mining Rehabilitation Security Deposits	11 May 2017
NSW Health	Medical Equipment Management in NSW Public Hospitals	25 May 2017
Department of Premier and Cabinet NSW Treasury Infrastructure NSW Roads and Maritime Services Transport for NSW	NorthConnex	8 June 2017
Roads and Maritime Services	Sydney Region Road Maintenance Contracts	15 June 2017