NSW Treasury's Consultation

We have shared draft policies for the Framework for Financial and Annual Reporting. These policies are based on feedback from the first consultation, you can read more about the consultation in our Consultation Paper - Financial and Annual Reporting Framework April 2024 (PDF 1.23MB). They aim to improve the financial and annual reporting processes for Government Sector Finance (GSF) agencies.

The policy papers provide a detailed framework to meet legislation for financial and annual reporting. They explain which agencies need to report and how they should format and present their reports. The proposed framework divides agencies into 3 groups, each with specific reporting rules.

We have resources which explain the framework and help with feedback:

• Overview of consultation and feedback questions – including Climate-related disclosures - phase 2 (PDF 169.45KB).
• Summary of changes to the framework for financial and annual reporting since the April 2024 consultation (PDF 152.48KB).
• Summary table of the agency groups and their reporting rules (PDF 89.83KB). 

Following is a list of the draft policies we shared during the consultation:

• TPG 00 - Framework for Financial and Annual reporting (PDF 1.22MB)
• TPG 01 - Group 1 Annual Report (PDF 638.23KB)
• TPG 02 - Group 2 Annual information statement (PDF 596.26KB)
• TPG 03 - Group 3 Financial information return (PDF 482.55KB)

Consultation timeline

Feedback for this consultation was due on Friday 14 February 2025, if you would like more information about this consultation email: legislation@treasury.nsw.gov.au

Purpose and Policy Scope

• Purpose: TPP20-08 sets minimum standards for risk management, internal audit, and Audit and Risk Committees (ARCs) of in-scope agencies.
• Application: The Accountable Authority for all GSF Agencies must have effective risk management and internal audit arrangements. The policy currently applies specifically to Accountable Authorities of agencies that produce Annual Reports. Agencies scope is subject to changes from consultation results.
• Supporting accountability: The policy aligns with the Government Sector Finance Act 2018, outlining effective systems for risk management, internal control, and assurance.
• Financial leadership: TPP20-08 supports strong financial leadership by:
  • enabling effective risk management practices
  • informing management through internal audit functions
  • providing relevant advice through independent ARCs

Known areas of interest

There is interest in making risk practices mandatory, similar to internal audit and ARCs. Also, stakeholders want clear information about ARC requirements and practices.

Resources

• Consultation Paper (PDF 576.58KB)
• TPP20-08: Internal Audit and Risk Management Policy (PDF 1.38MB)

Consultation timeline

The consultation began in July 2024 and closed 30 August 2024. 

If you would like more information about this consultation you can email: finpol@treasury.nsw.gov.au
 

The NSW Treasury is reviewing the 2021 COVID-19 Business Support Programs that were provided during the Delta lockdown (July to November 2021). These programs include:

• the COVID-19 Business Grant
• the 2021 JobSaver payment
• the COVID-19 Micro-business Grant.

John Pierce AO is leading this independent review to check if these programs were effective, efficient, and appropriate. The review will see if the programs were implemented as planned, provided good value for money, achieved their goals, and delivered the expected economic benefits. The lessons learned will help improve future policies.

The review will look at questions like:

• Were the COVID-19 Business Support program goals clear and well-targeted given the health and economic situation at the time?
• Did the programs help NSW businesses keep jobs and survive the COVID-19 restrictions?
• Did the programs balance the need for quick implementation with maintaining integrity during uncertain times?
• What should future programs look like if there is another pandemic in NSW?

Our evaluation

In 2021, the NSW Government provided financial Business Support Programs to help businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. The support package was about $10 billion* and involved several NSW Government agencies and the Australian Government.

A thorough evaluation of these support programs is being done to learn from them and improve future crisis responses, like for natural disasters or pandemics. This evaluation is in line with the NSW Government Evaluation Guidelines (TPG22-22) (PDF 9.31MB).

*includes Australian Government contribution to JobSaver.

Consultation timeline

The consultation was performed from late March 2024 to July 2024 and involved:

• in-person consultations, including roundtable discussions
• online business survey.

The final report is due for release during the first half of 2025.

Online Business Survey

NSW Treasury has engaged Taverner Research Group (Taverner) to manage the online survey.

The survey was open from late May to end of June 2024.

Data collected from the survey will be assessed and analysed to inform the program evaluation and be reported in the Evaluation Report.

Taverner is a NSW based, independent, privately owned market and social research agency. Taverner is certified to ISO 20252:2019, the international standard for Market and Social Research as well as a member of Australian Data and Insights Association (ADIA, formally AMSRO). In addition, all Project Directors and Project Managers working with Taverner Research Group are members of The Research Society. These certifications and memberships ensure that privacy, security and compliance with professional standards are at the forefront of all research work undertaken.

Any information provided to Taverner as part of this program evaluation will be analysed in aggregate. No information will be reported to NSW Treasury that could be traced to any single person or business. You can view Taverner’s privacy policy.

On 16 November 2023, the NSW Government announced its commitment to reform the way the state’s emergency services are funded. Three key objectives of the reform are:

1. Reduce insurance costs for households by spreading the levy across all property owners.
2. Protect pensioners and vulnerable members of the community.
3. Ensure a revenue-neutral model that sustainably funds our emergency services agencies.

This consultation paper (PDF 1.11MB) is the beginning of public consultations to inform the design, scope, features and transition arrangements for reforming the emergency services funding system.

Currently, NSW’s emergency services are funded by the Emergency Services Levy on insurance companies (73.7%), local governments (11.7%) and the State Government (14.6%). These fund the costs of Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Rural Fire Service and the NSW State Emergency Service.

Consultation timeline

This consultation was open for submissions until 5pm Wednesday 22 May 2024. The consultation is now closed, and we are reviewing what you told us.

Find out more about this consultation at Have your say.