The administration of Government grants is to be made fairer and more transparent with greater accountability under new legislation.
Introducing the Government Sector Finance Amendment (Grants) Bill 2023, Special Minister of State, John Graham said the Bill would amend two separate Acts and amend one regulation to strengthen the system of grants in NSW.
“The legislative amendments will effectively codify the key principles of grants administration set out in the Grants Administration Guide,” Mr Graham said.
“The Bill will also amend the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 and the Government Information (Public Access) Regulation 2018 to make certain grants information ‘open access information’, which must be made publicly available unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of the information,” he said.
“And ministers will be required to ensure every grant they approve is an efficient, effective, economical and ethical use of money, and achieves value for money.”
Mr Graham said the Government Sector Finance Act 2018 (NSW) (the GSF Act) would be amended to require that a person who approves or declines a grant has regard to the seven key principles of grants administration (robust planning and design; collaboration and partnership; proportionality; outcomes orientation; achieving value for money; governance and accountability; and probity and transparency).
He said amendments to the GSF Act would also require that a minister must not approve a grant unless satisfied that the grant would be an efficient, effective, economical and ethical use of money, and that it achieved value for money.
“This package also includes provisions to ensure that for any future disaster relief grants, all grant details will be forwarded to the Auditor-General within three months from the date of approval,” the Minister said.
“This will allow timely auditing and improve public confidence in the process,” he said.
“Any fast-track disaster funding grants will be considered high risk grants under the grants framework and the Auditor-General would be required to conduct regular performance audits in relation to them.”
