Government Sector Audit Act 1983

In ForceNSW

Jurisdiction

New South Wales

Act Number

152 of 1983

Collection

act

Plain English Summary

7/10 complexity

What this law does, in plain terms

Mechanically, the Act creates and sets out how the Auditor‑General and the Audit Office of New South Wales operate. It: establishes the office of Auditor‑General (who is an independent officer of Parliament), sets the Auditor‑General’s appointment process and term (including a role for the Public Accounts Committee to veto a proposed appointment) (ss 27B, 28, 28A, 57A, sch 1); creates the Audit Office and gives the Auditor‑General power to appoint its staff and fix their employment terms (ss 33A–33D, 33F); and provides for a separate external auditor and regular independent reviews of the Audit Office (ss 47–48A).
The Act gives the Auditor‑General broad auditing powers over a defined group of public sector entities (called auditable entities), including government sector agencies defined under the Government Sector Finance Act, universities and other prescribed bodies (s 4; Div 2 definition in s 33H). Those powers include inspecting accounts and records, requiring production of documents, compelling people to give information or appear, and obtaining banking information from banks (ss 35–37). Audits may be financial (including audit of the Consolidated State Financial Statements) or performance audits that examine effectiveness, economy and compliance (ss 34, 38EA–38EB). The Auditor‑General may also conduct targeted audits such as modern slavery procurement audits of government agencies (ss 38F–38G).
Reporting and publication: the Act requires the Auditor‑General to prepare audit reports and to report to accountable authorities, responsible Ministers, the Treasurer and Parliament as required. There are structured processes for providing summaries of findings to entities before final reports are issued (ss 34, 38EB, 38EC, 49, 52–52B, 52A).

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Deep Dive

1,547 words · generated 05/05/2026

What it does

The Government Sector Audit Act 1983 (NSW) establishes the framework for the independent audit of government sector entities in New South Wales. It recognises the Auditor-General as an independent officer of Parliament, creates the Audit Office of New South Wales to support the Auditor-General's work, and provides the Auditor-General with functions including auditing the Consolidated State Financial Statements and the financial reports of all auditable entities.

The Act is organised in 5 Parts. Part 1 covers preliminary matters and definitions. Part 3 (there is no Part 2 in the current numbering) establishes the Auditor-General and Audit Office and defines audit functions. Part 4 establishes the Public Accounts Committee. Part 5 deals with miscellaneous matters. Schedules cover the Auditor-General's appointment, declaration, and transitional provisions.

Main concepts

Auditor-General (s 27B): An independent officer of Parliament. The Auditor-General has functions conferred by law including auditing financial reports, providing audit-related services to Parliament and Ministers, and reporting to Parliament. The Auditor-General is independent of the executive government.

Audit Office of New South Wales: Established by the Act to assist the Auditor-General. An independent body, separate from the public service.

Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Government Sector Audit Act 1983.

121

Official source available

Zoe has indexed the source text for search and analysis. Use the official register for the original document and download formats.

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Sourced from legislation.nsw.gov.au, CC BY 4.0.

Direct costs and who bears them: auditable entities can be required to pay sums to defray audit costs as decided by the Treasurer (s 35(6)). Audits requested by a Minister or Parliament may be defrayed from the funds of that requesting body as the Treasurer decides (s 27B(6A)). The Audit Office’s reviewer is remunerated from appropriations (s 48A(5)). These provisions concentrate decision‑making about cost recovery in the Treasurer and create potential direct expenses for audited entities.
Compliance burden: the Act gives authorised persons a compulsory and wide right of access to books, records and banking information (ss 36–37). Persons must comply with written requirements to produce documents or appear (s 36(3)–(5)), and failure can attract penalties (s 36(5) and s 37(2)). The access provisions override legal professional privilege and other secrecy duties for audit purposes (s 36(6)), while separate secrecy and confidentiality clauses impose limits on disclosure by audit staff (ss 38, 36A). These features create a clear statutory compliance obligation on auditable entities and their officers.
Bureaucratic discretion and control points: the Auditor‑General is given broad discretion to decide how to exercise functions and to delegate them to staff (s 27B(4), s 33G). The Treasurer can require audits (s 35(3)), decide cost recovery levels (ss 35(6), 27B(6A)) and, for some reporting decisions, the Treasurer may decide recipients where a single audit covers multiple entities (s 38EB(7)–(8)). The Premier has a certificate power to stop disclosure of confidential information proposed by the Auditor‑General (s 36A(2)(b)–(c)). These are specific levers that affect when and what information is published and who bears costs.
Effects on private contracting and enterprises: the Act authorises audits of related entities that receive government money and of performance of contracts where relevant to State purposes (ss 38A–38C, 38EA). The Auditor‑General may require banks to produce information about auditable entities (s 37). These powers allow scrutiny of public spending that flows into private provision chains, but the Act also limits audits of non‑State entities to the extent they relate to State purposes (s 38C(c), s 38D).
Opportunity cost and substitution effects: the Act permits a range of audit activity (financial audits, performance audits, modern slavery audits) (ss 34, 38EA, 38G). Time and resources used for one type of audit reduce capacity for others; the Act concentrates resource allocation choices with the Auditor‑General and, where relevant, the Treasurer (s 27B(4), s 27B(6A), s 35(3)).
Implementation risks and legal interactions: the Act cross‑references multiple other statutes (notably the Government Sector Finance Act 2018, Corporations Act and Modern Slavery Act) and delegates detail to regulations (s 4, s 4A, s 64). That creates dependence on regulatory instruments and other laws for scope, definitions and technical operation (s 4 definitions and s 4A re Corporations legislation). Several sections set out substantial discretion and exempt Audit Office staff from ordinary public sector employment rules (ss 33B–33C, 33F), which raises the practical importance of appointment and employment decisions by the Auditor‑General.

Practical examples

Scenario 1: Annual financial audit A NSW Government agency prepares its annual financial statements under the Government Sector Finance Act 2018. The Audit Office conducts its audit, reviews internal controls, and provides an audit opinion. If the agency has material errors in its accounts or breaches financial management requirements, the Auditor-General may qualify the opinion. The qualified report is tabled in Parliament. The Public Accounts Committee may then call the agency head to explain.

Scenario 2: Performance audit The Auditor-General decides to conduct a performance audit of a NSW Government program to assess value for money. The Auditor-General has regard to whether there has been wastage of public resources (section 27B(5)). The audit report criticises program management but specifically does not question the Government's policy objective of the program that limit (section 27B(6)) applies even if the Auditor-General believes the policy itself is misconceived.

Scenario 3: Ministerial audit request A Minister wants an audit of a particular government-owned corporation's IT procurement. Before making the request under section 27B(3)(c), the Minister must consult with the Auditor-General about the scope of the proposed service. Once the audit is conducted, the Minister reimburses the Auditor-General for costs.

Scenario 4: Auditor-General's independence tested A government agency objects that the Auditor-General's performance audit has strayed into questioning the merit of a Government-endorsed initiative. The Auditor-General must be able to demonstrate that the audit focused on probity, financial prudence, or resource efficiency (section 27B(5)) rather than the underlying policy choice (section 27B(6)). The distinction between auditing "implementation" and questioning "policy" is real but fact-sensitive. The Auditor-General should document the audit rationale carefully to withstand challenge.

Scenario 5: University audit The University of Sydney (a controlled entity within the meaning of the Government Sector Finance Act 2018) is an auditable entity under this Act. The Auditor-General audits the university's financial reports as part of the annual audit cycle. Any qualification of the university's financial statements is reported to Parliament, which places the matter on the public record.

The Act's audit framework, combined with the financial management obligations in the Government Sector Finance Act 2018, creates a comprehensive accountability system for NSW public resources across all levels of the government sector from central government agencies to statutory bodies, universities, and government-owned corporations.

Government Sector Audit Act 1983

Plain English Summary

Deep Dive

What it does

Main concepts

Current sections

Official source available

Who it affects

Key obligations

Powers and discretions

Penalties and enforcement

Process and timelines

Interactions with other law

Gotchas

Practical examples