Each year, the government sets targets for the sale of surplus land. If agencies meet their targets, they can access up to 10 per cent of the proceeds. This system aims to provide an incentive for agencies to release land for sale in a timely manner.

The sale of surplus government land provides a range of possible benefits, including:

For government to plan strategically and make good decisions about how to make the best use of surplus government land, it needs accurate information. Each year, departments report to DTF on their landholdings. As part of this process, agencies are required to:

• assess the utilisation status of their land assets
• identify any surplus sites
• justify the retention of each site.

This process does not apply to DoH and VicTrack, as they own and manage their own assets.

The need for governments to own land changes in response to population growth and shifting demand for public services. As needs change, government land may become surplus to requirements. The sale of public land generates significant revenue for government and attracts strong community interest. Over the past 10 financial years, the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) has sold 695 properties, generating over $928.7 million of sales revenue for the state.

Governments own land for a variety of public purposes, including for housing, health, education, police services, and for community activities, sport and recreation. Governments also own land to protect its environmental or heritage value in the form of national and state parks or reserves.

The need for government to own land changes over time, in response to demand for public services, population change or new policy priorities. As a result, there will always be some land that becomes surplus to government needs.

Ordered to be published

VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRINTER March 2018

PP No 380, Session 2014–18

Figure B1
Capability levels and descriptions based on COBIT 5 ISO/IEC 15504 capability levels

We have consulted with DEDJTR, DELWP, DHHS, DJR and Victoria Police, and we considered their views when reaching our audit conclusions. As required by section 16(3) of the Audit Act 1994, we gave a draft copy of this report, or relevant extracts, to those agencies and asked for their submissions and comments. We also provided a copy of the report to the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Responsibility for the accuracy, fairness and balance of those comments rests solely with the agency head.

Responses were received as follows:

In this part of the report, we assess whether Victoria Police can effectively recover its critical ICT systems and data if a disruption occurs.

Victoria Police's disaster recovery processes are not robust enough to effectively and efficiently recover all critical systems after a disruption. The agency currently only has capability to recover selected critical systems. Victoria Police needs to do additional work to further develop its disaster recovery processes and capabilities to minimise any loss of critical services in the event of a disruption.

In this part of the report, we assess whether DJR can effectively recover its critical ICT systems and data if a disruption occurs.

DJR's disaster recovery processes are not robust enough to effectively and efficiently recover all critical systems after a disruption. DJR currently only has capability to recover selected critical systems. The department needs to do additional work to further develop its disaster recovery processes and capabilities to minimise any loss of critical services in the event of a disruption.