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NSW councils need to improve reporting on service delivery: Auditor-General

By intouch * posted 06-02-2018 11:05

  

Councils need to improve how they communicate the efficiency and effectiveness of their services, a NSW Auditor-General’s report has concluded.

Auditor-General for New South Wales, Margaret Crawford, found that many councils in the state report activity, but do not report on outcomes in a way that would help their communities assess how well they are performing.

Review-concept-643956786_727x484.jpegMost councils also did not report on the cost of services, making it difficult for communities to see how efficiently they are being delivered. In addition, councils are not consistently publishing targets to demonstrate what they are striving for.

The report states: “In the 105 council annual reports we analysed, reporting on inputs and outputs was given much greater emphasis than reporting on service delivery efficiency and outcomes. Around 80% of reports included service input and output reporting. However, while inputs are frequently reported, cost is seldom reported as an input measure. The absence of this information means that most annual reports do not allow the community to assess how efficiently councils are delivering services.”

Only around a third of the reported activities that were analysed included information on service outcomes and less than 20% gave information on performance over time.

The report recommends the Office of Local Government (OLG), as the regulator of councils in New South Wales, issue additional guidance to councils.

It recommends OLG develop a performance measurement framework – with associated performance indicators – to support more transparent and informative reporting.

The report also recommends OLG work with NSW Government agencies to help streamline and consolidate local government reporting requirements.

The report is available here.
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