Audits in progress
The following audits are in progress:
Environment and Sustainability Sector: Performance Reporting
The Department of Sustainability and
Environment, Parks Victoria and the Environment Protection
Authority use a range of public reports to externally communicate
how well their programs and activities are performing.
Public reports normally compare performance
against preselected performance measures and indicators or targets
of satisfactory performance, and include agency annual reports as
well as various forms of program and performance reporting.
The audit will determine the accuracy,
reliability and representation of program and performance reporting
in the environment and sustainability sector. It will examine
agency annual reports and a selection of other external performance
reports and their data sources.
The report is expected to be tabled by end of
June 2013.
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Flood Relief and Recovery
Between September 2010 and January 2011, Victoria
experienced extensive rainfall and subsequent flooding. The floods
caused damage to agriculture, businesses and residential dwellings,
community assets, transport infrastructure and the environment.
Initial estimates of the damage costs were around $1.1 billion.
This figure included the direct costs to the Victorian and
Commonwealth governments, agricultural losses, repair and
restoration costs, and other recovery measures.
Under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery
Arrangements, the Commonwealth Government supports states where
there has been a natural disaster. This support is typically
financial, and occurs through a combination of advance payments and
reimbursements. The Commonwealth Government advanced Victoria $500
million under this arrangement for a range of disaster relief and
recovery projects.
Victoria has established arrangements under a National
Partnership Agreement with the Commonwealth Government to repair,
replace or restore essential public assets, as well as support the
recovery of communities and local economies. This audit will assess
the effectiveness of the flood response and recovery arrangements
in achieving these outcomes, with a particular focus on community
relief and recovery programs
The report is expected to be tabled by the end of June 2013.
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Operating Water Infrastructure using Public Private
Partnerships
The Public Private Partnership (PPP) model can be an
effective way of delivering water infrastructure projects because
it draws on the strengths of the public and private sectors.
However, gaining value-for-money is reliant on the delivery of
services as intended and at the expected cost. It is also dependent
on having sound contracts and contract management arrangements
which give private operators continued incentive to perform at a
high level.
Typically, around half of the cost of
individual PPPs fund the operation of the facilities over the
lifespan of the partnership, which range from 10 to 25 years. The
operation of many of the facilities has been challenged in
recent years by both long-term drought and exceptional
flooding.
The audit will assess the operational
effectiveness of PPPs for water and wastewater treatment. It will
examine whether contracted services have been delivered as intended
and represent value-for-money, and whether contracts have been
managed effectively and are supported by sound governance.
The report is expected to be tabled by end of
August 2013.
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Developing Transport Infrastructure and Services for Population
Growth Areas
Melbourne’s population is growing rapidly and is expected to
reach over 5 million before 2030. Around 60 per cent of this
population growth will be in the outer Melbourne growth areas of
Cardinia, Casey, Hume, Melton, Mitchell, Whittlesea and
Wyndham.
Past and ongoing rapid population growth is creating a major
challenge for the state to provide the transport infrastructure and
services needed to sustainably support these growing
communities.
The audit will assess the effectiveness of agencies in planning
and delivering transport infrastructure and services for population
growth areas. It will consider whether planning for growth areas is
effective in identifying current and future transport needs, and
whether implementation and funding strategies support the timely
delivery of required transport infrastructure and services.
The report is expected to be tabled by
the end of August 2013.
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Asset Confiscation Scheme
The Asset Confiscation Scheme (the Scheme)
commenced in 1998, following the introduction of the
Confiscation Act 1997 (the Act). The main objectives of
the Act are to:
- deprive persons of proceeds of certain
offences and of ‘tainted’ property
- deter persons from engaging in criminal
activity
- disrupt criminal activity by preventing the
use of ‘tainted’ property for further criminal activity.
The Act establishes the processes for the
restraint and forfeiture of property that is tainted, or property
reasonably suspected to be tainted. The types of property that can
be restrained and forfeited under the Act are wide-ranging and
include household items, houses, land, share portfolios, jewellery,
motor cars and cash.
There are three key agencies that work
together to achieve the objectives of the Scheme: Victoria Police,
the Office of Public Prosecutions and the Asset Confiscation
Operations, which is part of the Department of Justice.
The audit will assess how effective, efficient
and economical the Scheme is in achieving the objectives of the
Confiscation Act 1997. To address this objective, the audit will
assess the arrangements in place to identify and restrain property,
the arrangements in place to manage and dispose of forfeited
property, and the Scheme’s governance arrangements.
The report is expected to be tabled by end of September
2013.
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Managing telecommunications usage and expenditure
Telecommunications services, in particular fixed line and mobile
phones, are essential to support the delivery of government
services. In 2011–12, total expenditure on fixed line and mobile
services through state arrangements was
significant—approximately $50 million.
Effectively managing this expenditure is critical to minimising
waste and achieving value for money. This requires:
- developing clear policies governing usage
- applying effective controls to prevent and
detect overcharging and inappropriate usage
- regularly reviewing usage and spend against
contracts to ensure value for money.
The audit will examine whether selected agencies are effectively
managing their telecommunications usage and expenditure.
The report is expected to be tabled by end of September 2013
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WOVG Information Security Management
Framework
The Victorian public sector is
heavily reliant on Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
to deliver services and to effectively manage its internal business
and activities. Emerging threats to information security pose an
escalating risk for ICT systems in the Victorian public sector.
Victoria has adopted
information security standards and guidelines for key departments
and agencies that align with the Australian Government’s
Information Security Management Framework. The responsibility for
this framework will move from the Department of Treasury and
Finance to the Department of State Development, Business and
Innovation from 1 July 2013.
The purpose of this audit is to
assess the effectiveness of ICT security policy, standards, as well
as data and system protections within the Victorian public sector.
This audit will: ·
- examine the existence and
appropriateness of information security policy direction and
guidance, for the protection of public sector ICT systems and
data
- examine whether selected
agencies have established effective information security policy,
standards and processes
- examine the effectiveness of
the role of central agencies in coordinating and monitoring
implementation of the framework
- test the effectiveness of the
controls in place in a number of departments and agencies.
This report is expected to be
tabled by the end of September 2013.
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Prevention and Management of Drug Use in Prisons
Drugs are a significant factor at all stages
of the criminal justice system, and the use of drugs is linked to
criminal activities and an increased risk of reoffending. In
addition, drug use by prisoners is linked to a range of negative
health outcomes, and some of these health outcomes may be
transferred to the broader community upon release.
While drug use in prisons can cause a range of
prison-specific issues, imprisonment also provides an opportunity
for prisoners to undergo rehabilitation, and deal with any drug
addictions they may have. Effectively preventing drugs from
entering prisons and managing prisoners’ drug use is therefore
important for the safe and orderly management of prisons, and to
rehabilitate prisoners with drug addictions to help break the cycle
of reoffending.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), through the
Victorian Prison Drug Strategy 2002, aims to 'prevent drugs
entering Victoria's prisons and to minimise the harm caused by
drugs to prison staff, prisoners and society.'
The audit will assess how effectively and
efficiently DOJ has prevented the supply of, demand for, and harm
caused by, drugs in prisons. This will include assessing how
effectively DOJ prevents drugs from entering the prison system and
detects drugs within prisons, identifies and treats prisoners with
drug issues and evaluates, monitors and reports
performance.
The report is expected to be tabled by end of October 2013.
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Implementation of the Strengthening Community Organisations
Action Plan
The not-for-profit (NFP) and community sector
plays an important role in providing a range of community services.
Victoria has around
140 000 community and NFP organisations that contribute to the
delivery of services, including health, education, aged care,
social services and sport and recreational activities. In 2008 the
government released the Strengthening Community Organisations
Action Plan aimed at improving the capacity and long-term
sustainability of the community sector.
The Office for the Community Sector (OCS) was
established to implement the action plan. The audit will assess how
effectively the OCS has implemented the action plan and the extent
to which expected outcomes have been achieved.
The report is expected to be tabled by the end
of October 2013.
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Clinical ICT Systems in the Victorian Public Health Sector
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems and
applications that are used to assist clinicians in the delivery of
patient care are commonly referred to as ‘clinical ICT
systems’.
The Department of Health implemented the $134.8 million
HealthSMART clinical systems program in four state health
services. Six other health services initially included in the
implementation plan did not receive the system. Outside the
HealthSMART program, some health services have managed to
implement their own clinical systems. This occurred before and
during the same period as when the HealthSMART program was
underway.
The audit will examine the effectiveness of a selection of the
clinical ICT systems that have been rolled out across the Victorian
public health sector, and determine whether intended benefits from
these investments are being realised. The audit will focus on the
four health services that received the HealthSMART
clinical system and four others who implemented their own
systems.
The report is expected to be tabled by the end of October
2013.
Implementation of the Government Risk
Management Framework
An important component of
public sector governance is the identification, assessment,
management and reporting of risks. It is therefore essential that a
risk management framework is in place to manage public sector risk
to best practice standard. Risk management should be embedded in
practices and processes in a way that is relevant, effective and
efficient, and should enable agencies to meet the Risk Management
Standard AS/NZS 31000:2009 as well as their obligations under the
Financial Management Act and the Victorian Government Risk
Management Framework.
This audit will examine the
government's risk management framework, and assess how effectively
it is being implemented to manage risk by assessing whether:
- the framework is sound and
provides clear and comprehensive information and instructions to
support good practice
- Department of Treasury and
Finance and Victorian Managed Insurance Authority provide adequate
support and guidance to agencies to implement and maintain
compliance with the framework
- agencies effectively acquit
their responsibilities under the framework.
This report is expected to be
tabled in October 2013.
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