The Auditor-General of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

helps the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Eac ...

hold government

accountable Accountability, in terms of ethics and governance, is equated with answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As in an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the ...

for its use of public resources. The Auditor-General is responsible for

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...

s of NSW Government agencies, universities, and NSW local government, and also provides certain

assurance services Assurance service is an independent professional service, typically provided by Chartered Accountant, Chartered or Certified Public Accountants or Chartered Certified Accountants, with the goal of improving information or the context of informati ...

for Commonwealth grants and payments to the State under Commonwealth legislation. The Auditor-General is the head of the Audit Office of New South Wales (AONSW), a

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being Primary and secondary legislation, empowered or deleg ...

established under the ''Public Finance and Audit Act 1983'' to conduct audits for the Auditor-General. The Auditor-General is independent of the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

, and is accountable to the Parliament of New South Wales and regularly reports on the audits. Parliament promotes independence by ensuring the Auditor-General and AONSW are not compromised in their roles by: *providing that only Parliament, and not the executive government, can remove an Auditor-General *mandating the Auditor-General as auditor of public sector agencies *precluding the Auditor-General from providing non-audit and assurance services The Legislative Assembly Public Accounts Committee reviews the appointment of the Auditor-General, prior to the official appointment by the

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

The Audit Office of New South Wales

The vision of the Audit Office of New South Wales is ''Our insights inform and challenge government to improve outcomes for citizens''. AONSW is headquartered in the Darling Park office precinct in the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...

, and is a short walk from Town Hall station. AONSW comprises four branches: *Office of the Auditor-General *Financial Audit *Performance Audit *Corporate Services

Financial Audit and Performance Audit

The Financial Audit and Performance Audit branches conduct

financial Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

and

performance audit Performance audit refers to an independent examination of a program, function, operation or the management systems and procedures of a governmental or non-profit entity to assess whether the entity is achieving economy, efficiency and effectivenes ...

s, principally under the ''Public Finance and Audit Act 1983'' and the ''Corporations Act 2001'', and examines allegations of serious and substantial waste of public money under the ''Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994''. In 2016, the ''Local Government Act 1993'' expanded the Auditor-General's mandate to include financial and performance auditing of NSW local government. In 2016-17, AONSW completed 426 financial audits of NSW Government agencies and NSW universities, as well as seventeen performance audits. In 2017-18, this increased to 550 financial audits of NSW Government agencies, NSW universities and NSW local councils, and nineteen performance audits, as a result of the mandate to audit NSW local government. The full list of the financial audits and performance audits are included in Appendix Two and Appendix Five of the 2017-18 Annual Report. Some of the key NSW agencies audited include: *Department of Transport *

Roads & Maritime Services A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

* Ministry of Health *

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

* Department of Premier and Cabinet * Department of Customer Service which assumed the functions of the former Department of Finance, Services and Innovation after the 2019 state election *

Department of Planning, Industry and Environment The New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) is a department of the New South Wales Government, responsible for effective and sustainable planning to support the growth in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It makes plan ...

* Department of Family and Community Services * NSW Treasury

Office of the Auditor-General

The Office of the Auditor-General is responsible for audit quality and compliance with

Australian Auditing Standards Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

, and incorporates the Professional Service Branch responsible for governance matters and disclosures. It has developed a corporate governance model for the NSW public sector, the Governance Lighthouse, reflecting the eight core Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) Corporate Governance Principles across seventeen major points of good governance. The Governance Lighthouse provides practical advice and resources on implementing successful governance in the public sector.

Corporate Services

Corporate Services supports the service delivery branches of AONSW and comprises back-office functions including: *Finance *Communications and Business Support *Information Technology Support *Human Resources and Payroll *Learning and Development

Legislative Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC)

The Auditor-General and the Audit Office of New South Wales work closely with Legislative Assembly Public Accounts Committee. The committee was first established in 1902 to scrutinise the actions of the executive branch of government on behalf of the Legislative Assembly. The Public Accounts Committee has responsibilities under Part 4 of the ''Public Finance and Audit Act 1983'' to inquire into and report on activities of government that are reported in the Total State Sector Accounts and the accounts of the State's authorities. A key part of committee activity is following up aspects of the Auditor-General's Reports to Parliament. The committee may also receive referrals from ministers, the Legislative Assembly and the Auditor-General to undertake inquiries. The committee may also recommend improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of government activities.

History

For more than 185 years, the Audit Office of New South Wales has been assisting the Parliament of New South Wales hold government accountable for its use of public resources. This is done by reporting directly to Parliament on audits of government financial reports and performance. *1824 William Lithgow was appointed Colonial Auditor-General, to compile and examine the colony's accounts and report on government departments to the Governor. *1855The UK Constitution Act 1855 formalised government in New South Wales, and the Auditor-General made a political office and member of the government. *1856The Auditor-General ceased to be a political office. *1870Powers and duties of the Auditor-General first set in legislation, in the Audit Act 1870. *1902Audit Act 1902 prohibited the Auditor-General from being a member of the Executive Council or of parliament. *1929Audit (Amendment) Act 1929 changed the tenure of office of the Auditor-General from life to ceasing at 65. Position of Assistant Auditor-General created. *1984Public Finance and Audit Act 1983 established the Auditor-General's Office on 6 January 1984. *1989Auditor-General's Office declared a statutory body, allowing it to be both more independent and more commercial. *1991The Public Finance and Audit Act 1983 expanded the Auditor-General's role to include performance audits, limited tenure to seven years, and prevented acceptance of any other post in the NSW

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

. *2001Auditor-General's role expanded to reporting on issues of waste, probity and financial judgement. *2004Auditor-General given power to employ staff directly, and set wages and conditions. *2013Tenure of Auditor-General extended to eight years. *2016The ''Local Government Act 1993'' expanded the Auditor-General's mandate to include financial and performance auditing of local councils and council entities

List of Auditors-General of New South Wales

The following individuals have served as Auditors-General of New South Wales.

Margaret Crawford

Margaret Crawford commenced as the Auditor-General of New South Wales in April 2016. Crawford has over 20 years of experience as a senior executive across many large, complex public sector organisations - local, State and the Commonwealth governments - including the Victorian Department of Human Services, the Australian Taxation Office, the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority and Australia's largest local government, Brisbane City Council. Most recently, before joining the Audit Office, she held the position of Deputy Secretary at the NSW Department of Family and Community Services. Crawford has worked across a diverse range of sectors, including housing and homelessness, community and disability services, road transport policy and regulation, taxation administration and gaming regulation.

References

External links

Audit Office of New South Wales

Parliament of New South Wales

Public Accounts Committee

ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations

Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) Public Sector Governance - Better Practice Guide

GIPA Publications Guide
{{New South Wales Government Departments, state=collapsed Government of New South Wales 1824 establishments in Australia Government agencies established in 1824