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Victorian Auditor-General's Office: annual report 2015-16
No full textThe main body of the Annual Report contains our office’s report of operations and financial statements (including the opinion of the independent external auditor appointed by the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee). It also reports on:
our output performance measures as set out in the State Budget Papers
the achievement of our objectives as set out in our Strategic Plan 2015–16
the implementation of audits proposed as part of our Annual Plan 2015–16
the impact and value of our work across the public sector
activities we have undertaken in support of our staff development and wellbeing
Annual report 2014–15: auditing in the public interest
Full text linkThe Annual Report 2014–15 provides a summary of the performance of Victorian Auditor-General\u27s Office (VAGO) in 2014–15 in fulfilling our purpose to provide assurance to Parliament on the accountability and performance of Victoria’s public sector.
This year, our annual report is divided into two volumes. Volume 1 contains our report on operations and financial statements (including the opinion of the independent external auditor appointed by the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee). It also:
reports on our output performance measures as set in State Budget Papers
reports on the implementation of our Annual Plan 2014–15
reports on our increasing impact
reports on our organisation and people.
Volume 2 contains a summary of common findings from the 34 reports on our audits tabled in Parliament in 2014–15
Technical and further education institutes: 2014 audit snapshot
Full text linkThis report comments on the financial results, trends and risks arising from audits of TAFE financial and performance statements, and the financial statements of the 16 entities they control.
Summary
This report comments on the outcomes of the 2014 financial audits of the 12 technical and further education (TAFEs) institutes and their controlled entities. It also comments on performance reporting and risk management at the TAFEs, being two key areas of governance within TAFEs.
The TAFEs whose financial reports are complete and commented on in this report had a combined net deficit of 15.1 million in 2013.
Our indicators of financial sustainability risks show short-term challenges at six TAFEs, and longer-term risks emerging for the whole sector as spending on asset replacement and renewal is decreasing.
Victoria\u27s TAFEs have undergone a period of structural change since 2012 when the then government altered its funding model. The agility of TAFEs to respond to these changes and associated challenges has varied, and not all have responded in a timely and/or financially sustainable way.
While some steps have been taken by the sector to respond to the structural changes, bigger steps are needed by TAFE boards and the Department of Education & Training to turn around the financial decline within the sector
Bullying and harassment in the health sector
No full textOverview
This audit examined the effectiveness of the health sector in preventing and responding to inappropriate behaviour including bullying and harassment.
Inappropriate behaviour including bullying and harassment have significant consequences—for individuals, patients and health sector agencies. This audit focused on the effectiveness of the health sector in preventing and responding to inappropriate behaviour including bullying and harassment. This audit continues our focus on the occupational health and safety (OHS) of healthcare workers and the patients they treat given the hazardous OHS challenges that exist within the health sector.
Consistent with our earlier OHS audits, this audit found that insufficient priority and accountability is given to worker safety in the health sector. Health sector agencies are struggling to effectively manage or prevent bullying and harassment.
Staff consistently report that there is a culture of accepting OHS risk, and the controls in place are often ineffective and inconsistent. Sustained improvement in health sector safety culture will require senior management ensuring greater priority and accountability is given for staff safety.
This audit, along with the earlier OHS audits, found consistent shortcomings in the leadership of sector-wide agencies. The poor performance and variability in management practices of the health sector agencies highlights the need for stronger sector-wide leadership to support them to adopt better practice approaches to addressing inappropriate behaviour
Digital dashboard: status review of ICT projects and initiatives-phase 2
Full text linkOverview
Information and communications technology (ICT) is a significant enabler in the delivery of government programs and services. With government’s increasing reliance on ICT to deliver services and manage information, it is of critical importance that ICT projects are successfully implemented. However, VAGO’s April 2015 audit Digital Dashboard: Status Review of ICT Projects and Initiatives – Phase 1 confirmed that agencies and entities find planning and implementing ICT projects particularly complex and difficult. Many of these projects come in well over budget and are delivered much later than scheduled or, on occasion, are cancelled prior to completion. This second phase of the audit examined in greater detail six of the projects reported in Phase 1 to assess governance effectiveness and benefits realisation.
ICT projects in the Victorian Government should be more effectively planned and managed to avoid cost and schedule overruns. This audit confirms that ICT projects continue to show poor planning and implementation, resulting in significant delays and budget blowouts. Nevertheless, we saw some elements of better practice at the University of Melbourne and Yarra Valley Water which contributed to the completion of their respective ICT-enabled projects. While clearly defined governance arrangements do not necessarily guarantee a successful ICT project, agencies should work on developing a robust culture of active governance at the senior management level, to make informed decisions and to effectively engage with consultants and vendors. The challenges faced by agencies included in this audit are not unique. There are opportunities to learn from the experience of other similarly situated agencies, to better plan and implement effective ICT projects. Agencies would greatly benefit from revisiting and applying the lessons learned by others in the planning and implementation of their ICT projects. VAGO’s July 2008 better practice guide Investing Smarter in Public Sector ICT continues to be sound and relevant, and may be used as a starting point for managing ICT projects more effectively. 
Public safety on Victoria's train system
No full textPublic transport services, and in particular trains, play a significant role in the community. Passengers should feel safe as they use these services regardless of the time of day or night. The protective services officers (PSO) program was established to reduce crime and improve perceptions of safety on Melbourne’s train system.
 
Universities: 2015 audit snapshot
Full text linkThe university sector, comprised of the eight Victorian universities, generated a net surplus of $509.1 million for the year to 31 December 2015. This continues a strong financial result for the sector, which has generated similar surpluses in each of the past five years.
The sector has been assessed as a low financial sustainability risk. However, our financial sustainability review noted that the sector has emerging issues regarding longer-term capital renewal, which need to be reviewed and addressed by the universities.
Two universities, Deakin and Melbourne, have received modified audit opinions regarding their treatment of grant funding. These qualified opinions have been issued to both entities for nearly ten consecutive years. Parliament and the public can have confidence in the financial reports of the remaining six universities and fifty-one controlled entities, who received clear audit opinions for their 2015 financial reports.
We reviewed the governance frameworks in place at universities oversighting the awarding of qualifications to overseas-based international students. This review highlighted issues with the recognition, mitigation and management of reputational and other risks linked to these ventures. The universities are also not reviewing whether the expected benefits of these ventures are being achieved
High value high risk 2016–17: delivering HVHR projects
Full text linkOverview
Victoria\u27s total estimated investment in new and existing capital projects in the 2016–17 Budget Papers is 40 billion.
This is the third in a series of audits on the HVHR process. In June 2014, we tabled our first audit report in this series, Impact of Increased Scrutiny of High Value High Risk Projects. In August 2015, we tabled our second report, Applying the High Value High Risk Process to Unsolicited Proposals.
In this audit, we examined whether the HVHR process has been effectively updated and applied to provide sufficient and reliable assurance about the deliverability of HVHR projects. To do this, we examined whether agencies had implemented recommendations from our 2014 and 2015 HVHR audits. Using a sample of five HVHR projects in the delivery stage, we also tested whether the Department of Treasury & Finance\u27s oversight of HVHR projects had improved the implementation of HVHR projects by better identifying and addressing risks that threaten project deliverability.
The report includes three recommendations for the Department of Treasury & Finance
Managing Community Correction Orders
No full textA community correction order (CCO) is a sentence imposed by a court that allows offenders to complete their sentences in a community setting. Offenders on CCOs may have to comply with specific conditions imposed by the courts, such as mandatory drug or alcohol treatment, and significant restrictions such as curfews and judicial monitoring. In this audit, we examined how effectively Corrections Victoria (CV) manages CCOs.
We also looked at:
the Department of Health and Human Services to assess how well it coordinates court-ordered programs with CV
Victoria Police, to examine how well it exchanges information with CV about offenders on CCOs.
Twelve recommendations are made in this report for CV, and one each for Victoria Police and the Department of Health and Human Services
Meeting obligations to protect Ramsar wetlands
Full text linkOverview
Wetlands are a critical part of our natural environment and have environmental, cultural, social and economic value. The Ramsar Convention is an international intergovernmental treaty which provides a framework for the conservation and wise use of designated wetland ecosystems throughout the world. Australia is a signatory and has 65 Ramsar listed sites, 11 of which are in Victoria.
This audit reviewed how effectively Victoria’s Ramsar wetlands are managed and whether Victoria is meeting its national and international obligations. We reviewed the Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning (DELWP) and primary site managers—Melbourne Water and Parks Victoria—who all have a role in conserving and maintaining Victoria\u27s Ramsar sites. We also reviewed selected catchment management authorities.
The audit found there is limited evidence that all Ramsar sites are being effectively managed and protected from decline. There is also evidence of potential change in the ecological character of some sites and changes at other sites cannot be fully determined due to limitations such as a lack of data. Some projects have improved outcomes for Ramsar sites but these are not clearly linked to a Ramsar management plan.
The governance, coordination and oversight of the management of Ramsar sites must improve overall for Victoria to effectively meet its obligations. Monitoring the implementation of management plans also requires improvement. The recommendations are designed to improve gaps in governance, oversight, coordination and monitoring
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