NSW Audit Office - Financial Reports - 2004 - Volume 4 - Compliance Review of Overseas Travel

The Audit Office Of New South Wales

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• Publié par: Neseng
• Nombre de lectures: 35
• Langue: English

Extrait

Compliance Review of Overseas Travel

Officers in the public sector are sometimes required to travel overseas in the course of their duties. The Premier has asked Ministers to exercise the strictest economy in approving this travel. Significant benefits to the Minister’s own administration and/or the State, in general, should be demonstrated before approval is given. Ministers were asked to maintain a close interest in the extent of, and justification for, official travel overseas in their portfolios.

CONCLUSION The degree of compliance with all the necessary procedures and disclosures for when officers travel overseas in the agencies where the requirements are mandatory, could improve. (State Owned Corporations (SOCs) may use the policy as the basis for best practice - most achieved best practice.) The outcome in regard to disclosures of overseas travel in annual reports was satisfactory, although there were some omissions.

KEY FINDINGS

Overall, there has been a lack of compliance by agencies with the policy on overseas travel, particularly in regard to the existence of comprehensive policy documents; record keeping; and disclosure of details of travel in their annual reports.

RECOMMENDATIONS

We recommend that the policy on overseas travel be reissued to agencies to remind them of their responsibilities.

DETAILED FINDINGS

The findings presented below are from agencies that must follow the policy and from SOCs. The SOCs are identified in the table following. The annual reporting of overseas travel applies to all agencies.

Policy Documents

State Forests had overseas travel policy documents that, at the time of the audit, were not up-to- date with the requirements of the Premier’s Department. The Rail Infrastructure Corporation (RIC) was updating its policy documents at the time of the review because some policy areas were not covered. The policy documents in two offices within the Department of Commerce were also lacking. A whole of department travel policy is currently being prepared. Policy documents in all other agencies were adequate. Some agencies have simply adopted the Premier’s Department requirements as their policy.

Benefits of the Overseas Travel

The policy requires Ministers, before approving overseas travel by agency personnel, to decide that the travel is essential in that it will accrue benefits to the agency and/or the State. Requests prepared by individual agencies for officers to travel overseas must contain enough information to allow the Minister to make a well-informed decision. Essential information would include the objectives, scope and the expected benefits of the trip. The Minister should be told the destinations and organisations being visited.

The majority of agencies maintained detailed records setting out the need for officers to travel overseas and the benefits that should accrue to the agency and/or the State. In the Department of Commerce, however, the degree of information contained within the requests to travel varied.

Auditor-General’s Report to Parliament 2004 Volume Four

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Compliance Review of Overseas Travel

Central Record of Overseas Travel

Five agencies either do not maintain such a record or the record maintained lacks the details required. State Forests, RIC and Sydney Ports Corporation do not maintain a centralised record at all. The Roads and Traffic Authority record is not centralised, but despite this it was able to correctly collate information for its annual report. The Department of Agriculture claims that its general ledger account is its record, but that lacks most of the necessary detail as well.

Use of Contract Travel Agent

Agencies should use the Government contract when booking travel arrangements. In one instance, an officer of the Department of Commerce purchased air tickets from a private travel agent.

Annual Report Disclosures

The annual reporting legislation applicable to all agencies requires them to make disclosures regarding overseas travel undertaken in their annual report. Energy Australia and RIC made incorrect disclosures, in that details of some trips made were omitted from the report.

Travel Expenses

Our review also disclosed other instances at variance with policy. These included several instances where officers did not submit their expense claims within one month of returning from overseas. We also found instances in four agencies where minor errors were made in the calculation of travel expenses.

BACKGROUND Public service departments and other public sector organisations in a Minister’s portfolio must comply with many requirements when their officers undertake official travel, including travel overseas. The requirements are set out in a Premier’s Department Circular ‘Official Travel Consolidation of Guidelines’ issued in 1999. The circular suggests that the policy is a sound approach for SOCs and suggests that Ministers and boards adopt the procedures.

The Department requires, among other things, that each agency:

      

demonstrates that there are benefits to it and/or the State obtains the approval of the Minister ensures its officers travel economy class, except for executives who may travel business class maintains a centralised record of official overseas travel ensures that officers submit travel expenses within one month of their return uses the NSW Government contract for travel bookings ensures that travelling allowances claimed accord with rates advised by the Department.

The Personnel Handbook also provides information on overseas travel, but for officers in public service departments only. Much of what is stated in the handbook reiterates what is included in the Premier’s Department circular.

The Parliament, through its annual report legislation, also regulates that information about overseas travel undertaken by public sector employees must be disclosed by each agency in its annual report.

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Auditor-General’s Report to Parliament 2004 Volume Four

The agencies included in the review were:

Cabinet Office

Country Energy*

Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce

Department of Health

Energy Australia*

Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal

* State Owned Corporation

PREMIER’S DEPARTMENT RESPONSE

The Department has agreed to re-issue the policy.

Auditor-General’s Report to Parliament 2004 Volume Four

Compliance Review of Overseas Travel

Integral Energy* Rail Infrastructure Corporation* Roads and Traffic Authority State Forests Sydney Olympic Park Authority Sydney Ports Corporation* Transgrid*

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