An audit of NSW public sector agencies has found ‘high risk’ deficiencies of governance relating to the management of councils, the administration of grants and payment systems, and conflicts of interest around Sydney Metro contractors.
The Auditor General’s Internal Controls and Governance 2023 report also found shortcomings in cybersecurity and management of information systems at NSW’s biggest agencies.
The auditor looked at cyber security, governance, and management of payroll and WHS in the state’s 25 biggest agencies, covering ten portfolios and representing more that 95 per cent of public sector expenditure.
Information systems and cyber security
The report released late last year finds more than 50 per cent of the agencies reviewed had failings in the way they managed access to their information systems, and more than a third had deficiencies when it came to privileged accounts.
The audit found 48 per cent of agencies are failing to review and validate access to IT systems and not one of the agencies looked at had met their cyber maturity…