Audit and assurance




The Natural Resources Commission Act 2003 requires us to undertake audits of plans and other natural resource management issues, as required by the Minister.

We have three audit functions under the Local Land Services Act 2013 to audit Local Land Services:

  • audits of LLS activities every five years (Section 24) – most recently completed in September 2024 on invasive species management
  • audits of the implementation of the LLS State strategic plan at intervals of not more than five years (Section 44) – most recently completed in September 2025
  • audits of the implementation of the 11 local strategic plans within three years (Section 54) - most recently completed in September 2025.

We also have a rolling program of audits under the Water Management Act 2000. We audit the implementation of water management plans within five years of their commencement to ascertain whether their provisions are being given effect to. This includes around 57 water sharing plans and 16 floodplain management plans. Auditees include the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and WaterNSW.

Our audits deliver accountability of service delivery, drive improved performance, and engender community and investor confidence in the audited organisation's activities.

Past audit reports are published in the Completed Work section of our website.

Review of progress towards implementing Section 10 Corrective Action Plan

We have provided the Minister for Water with a report on the review of the Department of Energy, Environment, Climate Change and Water’s progress towards implementing the Corrective Action Plan addressing the recommendations from the Section 10 review.

Section 10 of the Water Management Act 2000 requires the Minister to review the work and activities of the Department “for the purpose of determining whether the water management principles have been given effect to.”

Relevant water management principles include the specific water sharing principles in Section 5(3), which require that the water source and its dependent ecosystems and then basic land holder rights must be protected, and no other use may prejudice these two principles, as well as the general water management principles in Section 5(2) of the Act.

The Department, led by the Water Group, completed a Section 10 review in late 2023. In response to this review, the Department developed a Corrective Action Plan. The Minister for Water requested that the Department report annually to the Commission on the progress in implementing the Corrective Action Plan and that we report to the Minister on the adequacy of progress.

The Department provided us with the first annual progress report in October 2024, with additional supporting information provided through December 2024.

Our review indicates the Department has made limited progress in advancing the Corrective Action Plan actions. Considerable gaps remain in the Department’s ability to demonstrate that it has given effect to relevant water management principles. While some work was begun to address action items, the Department did not meet the timelines specified in the Corrective Action Plan, particularly related to the development of guidance documents and updated procedures and processes to demonstrate implementation of the water management principles.

Based on our review of progress, we have made five recommendations for advancing the Corrective Action Plan.

The Department has acknowledged our concerns including the delays in implementing the Corrective Action Plan. The Department and the Commission have received joint legal advice on implementation of the principles, which provides some clarity on the legal requirements that should be met when developing procedures that adhere with the Act requirements.

The Water Group has expressed a renewed commitment to ensure the Corrective Action Plan actions are progressed as a matter of urgency now that the legal advice has been received. Further, they have committed to a series of workshops with the Commission and the Conservation Programs, Heritage and Regulation to develop and document a decision-making process that will demonstrate how to implement the principles in practice.