An audit of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment’s implementation of the Regional Land Partnerships (RLP) Program has found it to be “partly effective”.
The RLP is a major component of Phase Two of the National Landcare Program, aiming to deliver national priority actions for the conservation of threatened species, ecological communities and heritage values, as well as supporting sustainable land management practices.
Auditor-General, Grant Hehir said progress had been made in establishing frameworks and processes to measure and report on the achievement of outcomes.
Mr Hehir said however the Department’s implementation had not yet met the intent of the Framework.
“The procurement processes supported the achievement of value for money, but the probity Framework developed for the RLP program could have been implemented more effectively,” he said.
“While Program requirements are adequately specified in services agreements and project work orders, management of service provider performance occurs through engagement activities that are not well-documented.”
Mr Hehir said it was not clear how many projects had established baseline data; the Department had not reported progress as required by the Framework; and the risks associated with demonstrating achievement of Program outcomes had not been managed effectively.
The Audit made four recommendations, all of which were agreed to by the Department.
The 72-page Regional Land Partnerships: Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment Audit Report can be accessed at this PS News link or online at this link.
The audit team was: Jennifer Myles, Se Eun Lee, Aden Pulford, Michael White and Corinne Horton.
