Perth Arena

Perth Arena is planned to be a multi-purpose indoor sports and entertainment venue. It is currently under construction. Preliminary research is being undertaken. The key questions for the preliminary research include:

• Have the contract and project governance and management arrangements been soundly based and minimised risk to the state?
• What is the extent and what are the causes of any changes from the originally approved budget, project timeline and design of the Arena?
• Is a clear and robust strategy in place for the fit out and operation of the Arena?

Fiona Stanley Hospital

The Fiona Stanley Hospital is one of the largest infrastructure projects undertaken by the Western Australian Government. The hospital will be the major tertiary health facility in the south metropolitan area. It is currently under construction and we are undertaking a preliminary examination of the planning and management of the Fiona Stanley Project. Our preliminary lines of enquiry include:

• Have changes to the Fiona Stanley Hospital project specifications, timelines and costs been effectively managed?
• Does the Fiona Stanley Hospital project have appropriate governance arrangements in place and are they robust?
• Have the remaining risks to the Fiona Stanley Hospital project been identified and are arrangements in place to manage them?

Management of attractive assets

Government agencies own and control a substantial portfolio of assets including motor vehicles, computers, mobile phones, general office and specialised equipment. Although the threshold for capitalising assets has been lifted from $1,000 to $5,000 for accounting purposes, agencies still have a responsibility to keep track of their portable and attractive assets. The key questions for this examination include:

• Are agencies tracking their attractive assets and taking appropriate action if they identify problems?
• Are assets being disposed of appropriately?
• Can agencies improve the way they manage their attractive assets?

Management of payroll errors

The public sector employs more than 140 000 people and has an annual salaries bill of $7.6 billion. All agencies should have sound controls in place to detect, report and act in a timely manner on payroll errors. This examination is focusing on whether agencies:

• can accurately report the number and value of payroll under and over payments
• identify and appropriately resolve payroll errors in a timely manner
• take action to address the cause of payroll errors.

Registration of Medical Practitioners

The Medical Board of Western Australia is responsible for registering medical practitioners and providing accurate information to organisations wishing to verify the registration status of doctors or to employ overseas trained doctors. It is also responsible for assessing complaints and investigating disciplinary matters and competence. National legislation has recently been passed that will create National Health Practitioner Boards for the health professions, including medical practitioners. These are planned to take over from state and territory boards in June 2010. This examination focuses on the work of the current Board and will assess whether the Board has met its obligations to:

• make appropriate assessments and decisions in relation to the new and continued registration of medical practitioners and specialists
• maintain an accurate register
• promptly and properly investigate complaints
• take appropriate action if adverse findings are made in the assessment of applications or following hearings about complaints, disciplinary matters, competence and impairment.