Second Public Sector Performance Report
Report No 8 -
October 2005
This Second Public Sector Performance Report for 2005 brings to notice
legislative compliance and fi nancial management and control issues and
the results of a follow-up of a 2001 performance examination.
LEGISLATIVE
COMPLIANCE
Production, Transport and Disposal of Controlled Waste
Background
Significant quantities of controlled waste are produced, transported,
treated and disposed of in Western Australia each year. Controlled waste
has properties that make it a health or environmental hazard which must
be carefully managed.
The Department of Environment (DoE) is responsible
for tracking and managing the movement of controlled waste and does this
using its Controlled Waste Tracking System (CWTS). The CWTS is the first
on-line tracking system used in Australia.
The Water Corporation is one
of the major receivers of controlled waste through its Woodman Point
Tanker Receival Facility (TRF) and sewer network. The sewer network extends
over 9 000km with approximately 130 000 unlocked access chambers (manholes).
What the examination found...
- The Water Corporation’s
sewer network is vulnerable to illegal dumping of controlled waste
and both the Water Corporation and the DoE rely heavily on the public
to notify them of illegal dumping. However, over the past fi ve years
there has been only one identifi ed case of illegal dumping to sewer
from 165 reported incidents.
- The CWTS does not provide reliable data
about quantities and movement of controlled waste. It also does not
reconcile the amount of controlled waste generated with the amount
disposed. Consequently, we were unable to gain assurance about the
amount of controlled waste generated, transported and treated in Western
Australia.
- DoE has a
thorough and consistent approach to incident investigation and enforcement.
- Sewer blockages caused by fat and greasy controlled waste have increased
nearly threefold from 2000-01 to 2004-05. Nearly 50 per cent of these
blockages led to sewage overflows.
Regulation of Child Care Services
The community expects child care will occur in a safe and nurturing
environment. In 2005, an estimated 38 per cent of children up to six
years of age and 15 per cent of children up to 13 years utilised child
care services in Western Australia (WA). In total, more than 70 000
children are estimated to use child care each week.
With a few exceptions,
a person in WA who provides a child care service must be licensed under
the Community Services Act 1972. The legislation sets minimum acceptable
standards for the care of children by licensed providers. The Department
for Community Development (DCD) is responsible for licensing a child
care provider and making sure they meet the required standards.
What
the examination found...
- DCD
adequately assesses applications for new or renewed licences.
- DCD’s
assessment of the number and qualifi cation of staff at centres needs
improvement. Thirty one per cent of new centres were not checked within
six months of commencement. DCD also uses a staffi ng formula that
in 30 per cent of cases tested resulted in fewer staff than required
by regulation.
- Non-compliance by child care services with regulatory
requirements that constitute no immediate risk to the child is common.
The Department does not classify the signifi cance of each type of
breach in order to determine what levels of non-compliance constitutes
grounds for prosecution, suspension or revocation of a licence.
- DCD’s
investigation of complaints and allegations into child maltreatment
can be complex and take considerable time. Opportunity for improvement
was noted though we were unable to conclude on the reasonableness of
the time taken to complete investigations due to a lack of performance
measures. Testing showed:
- Complaints relating to matters such as health
and safety, child care activities and administration took on average
111 days to resolve.
- Forty
three per cent of investigations into child maltreatment allegations
took between 91 days and 231 days to resolve.
- The licensing database
should be improved to provide key information to management about
licensing operations such as the performance of licence holders
and the status of complaints being investigated.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
AND CONTROL
The Personnel and Payroll Processing Function at the
Department of Education and Training
Background
The Department
of Education and Training (DET), is Western Australia’s largest State Government employer with an annual
payroll that exceeds $1.4 billion. The Department has a diverse workforce
which in 2004 involved the cumulative employment of approximately 50
000 full-time, part-time and casual staff under 14 different awards,
across 990 sites. DET’s payroll requires the processing of an average
of 36 000 pays per fortnight.
What the examination found...
- DET undertakes
little monitoring and measurement of its personnel and payroll
function. Internal Audit involvement has been low, management reports
concerning the operation of the function are few and no measures have
been established to assess effi ciency or effectiveness.
- The turnover
rates of employees within DET’s personnel and payroll branch is very
high at over 60 per cent in 2004. Such a rate seriously affects the
corporate knowledge of the Branch and potentially, the reliability
of the payroll.
- Eighty nine per cent of sampled employees who commenced
with DET were put onto the payroll and paid promptly. The remainder
waited longer than our benchmark maximum of 23 days to be paid.
- In
the absence of reliable management reports our examination indicated
that 98 per cent of DET’s fortnightly
pays were correct. However, errors in variations to individual
pays do occur and this needs to be addressed by DET.
- A range of improvements
is needed to DET’s control environment to ensure the reliability of the
pay and leave entitlements.
FOLLOW-UP PERFORMANCE EXAMINATION
Life Matters:
Management of Deliberate Self- Harm in Young People
Background
This report follows up our November 2001 report Life Matters: Management
of Deliberate Self-Harm in Young People. That examination compared
the care given in hospital emergency departments and community health
services with medical guidelines.
What the examination found...
Overall,
the Department of Health (DoH) has made limited progress in addressing
our recommendations:
- Not
all patients presenting with deliberate self-harm at hospital
emergency departments receive psychiatric attention in accordance with
applicable guidelines. The DoH is increasing the number of mental health
clinicians to deal with this problem.
- The DoH does not actively monitor
compliance with the National Mental Health Standards and cannot demonstrate
that it has introduced minimum service specifi cations.
- Different
referral and collaborative care protocols have been implemented across
individual health services. This affects the effi ciency and effectiveness
of care.
- The
online clinical information system – PSOLIS – has not been
implemented to the extent that it can assist service planning
and monitoring.
- The DoH is currently developing an evaluation
framework for assessing progress in achieving State Mental
Health Strategy objectives.
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