Recently published audits

Recently published
Recently published
Audits underway
Audits underway
Upcoming audits
Upcoming audits
Completed audits
Completed audits
Audit approach
Audit approach

We have recently published audits of the following plans:

Audit of the implementation of the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Murray regulated water sharing plans

We have audited the implementation of three southern regulated water sharing plans:

  • Water Sharing Plan for the Lachlan Regulated River Water Source 2016 (version effective 27 June 2017)
  • Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source 2016 (version effective 6 July 2018)
  • Water Sharing Plan for the New South Wales Murray and Lower Darling Regulated Rivers Water Sources 2016 (version effective 21 June 2019)

While many of the provisions of the plans were implemented, we consider that on balance the provisions of the plans have not been given full effect in the first five years of implementation. The limited assurance audit conclusion is based on the procedures performed and the evidence obtained.

We found the following key aspects have been implemented:

  • airspace and flooding provisions were implemented
  • Available Water Determination (AWD) provisions were largely given effect
  • systems, processes and procedures were in place to support the implementation of provisions relating to the granting of access licences, management of access licences and approvals of water supply works
  • access licence dealing provisions were implemented
  • mandatory conditions on water access licences captured the majority of required provisions
  • non-mandatory amendments appear to have been managed appropriately
  • LTAAEL assessment and compliance processes commenced for the 2020-21 water year for the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee plans.

Some provisions have not been implemented in full. Key issues that were identified during the audit period include:

  • a lack of monitoring and evaluation against performance indicators and plan objectives
  • environmental flow targets, environmental water allowances and water quality allowances were not always met, credited or maintained in line with provisions of the plans
  • some system operation procedures were not established
  • compliance with long-term average annual extraction limits was not carried out every year
  • cases were identified of mandatory conditions missing on water access licences, water supply works and WaterNSW statements of approval.

The full list of findings and recommendations for the relevant agencies are available in the audit report.

Audit of the implementation of the Namoi valley floodplain management plans

We have audited the implementation of two floodplain management plans:

  • Floodplain Management Plan for the Upper Namoi Valley Floodplain 2019
  • Floodplain Management Plan for the Lower Namoi Valley Floodplain 2020

While many of the provisions of the plans were implemented, we consider that on balance the provisions of the plans have not been given full effect. The limited assurance audit conclusion is based on the procedures performed and the evidence obtained.

We found the following key aspects of the plans have been implemented:

  • systems and processes were typically in place to support the assessment and processing of flood work approvals
  • flood work applications were generally assessed and processed in accordance with the audited legislative requirements
  • planning has commenced to enable performance monitoring provisions to be implemented over the life of the plans
  • a register is in place to capture potential floodplain management plan amendments.

The key issues needing to be addressed include:

  • assessments of flood work applications against the criteria of the plans do not clearly document the management zones that are considered
  • systems do not allow multiple management zones to be recorded against a single flood work, and statements of approval list only one management zone for each flood work even where works span multiple zones
  • cumulative impact assessments for flood works in certain zones do not appear to have occurred and assessment templates do not explicitly demonstrate implementation of this plan requirement
  • flood work approvals do not consistently include all mandatory conditions required under Part 9 of the plans and approval holders have not been notified of all mandatory conditions.

The full list of findings and recommendations for the relevant agencies is available in the audit report.

Audit of the implementation of the Namoi, Gwydir and Macquarie regulated water sharing plans

We have audited the implementation of three northern regulated water sharing plans:

  • Upper Namoi and Lower Namoi Regulated River Water Sources 2016
  • Gwydir Regulated River Water Source 2016
  • Macquarie and Cudgegong Regulated Rivers Water Source 2016.

While many of the provisions of the plans were implemented, we consider that on balance the provisions of the plans have not been given full effect in the first five years of implementation. The limited assurance audit conclusion is based on the procedures performed and the evidence obtained.

We found the following key aspects have been implemented:

  • water access licences (WALs) and water supply work approvals were generally assessed and processed in accordance with legislative requirements
  • WAL management tools and processes were generally in place to manage WALs
  • dealings were undertaken in accordance with legislative requirements
  • Available water determinations (AWD) were made and generally applied to licences in accordance with legislative requirements
  • Long-term extraction limit (LTEL) assessment and compliance processes have commenced in the Gwydir and Macquarie.

The key issues needing to be addressed across the three plans are:

  • Prioritisation of water sharing needs to be undertaken in accordance with Section 5(3) in the Act. The environment and basic landholder rights have not been prioritised in relation to:
    • delivery of replenishment flows, which were not provided during drought in 2018-2019
    • planned environmental flows in the Namoi which were not always achieved and more recently were not able to be measured due to gauging issues
    • delivery of orders to general security whilst depleting essential supply account balances (practice of ‘borrowing’).
  • There needs to be rules to govern decision making in relation to rates of change of releases from water storages in all three plans, and grouping of orders in the Namoi and Gwydir. Release rates may adversely impact the environment, river banks and public safety.
  • Gaps in mandatory conditions should be addressed to support accountability for WAL holders to manage take within their allocation in accordance with Clause 56 in the Namoi plan and Clause 55 in the Gwydir and Macquarie plans.

The full list of findings, recommendations, observations and suggested actions for the relevant agencies are available in the audit report.

Audit of Barwon-Darling floodplain management plan

We have audited the implementation of the Floodplain Management Plan for the Barwon Darling Valley Floodplain 2017.

While many of the provisions of the plan are being implemented, we consider that on balance the provisions of the plan have not been given full effect in accordance with the Water Management Act 2000. The audit conclusion is based on the procedures performed and the evidence obtained.

We found the following positives:

  • the relevant organisations have administrative processes (systems and procedures) in place that in general align with legislative requirements to support plan implementation
  • flood works approvals were generally assessed in line with legislative requirements.

However, some exceptions were found, and the we recommended:

DPE-Water to:

  • lead the monitoring and evaluation of performance indicators
  • draft mandatory conditions
  • update the model to support cumulative impact assessment
  • formalise a process to duly consider amendments
  • include all relevant flood works in the approvals management system.

WaterNSW to:

  • identify approvals that are not currently in the approvals management system
  • re-issue Statements of Approval inclusive of mandatory conditions to approval holders.

The full recommendations and suggested actions for the relevant agencies are available in the audit report.