Committee to investigate service delivery in regional NSW

A PARLIAMENTARY committee has launched an inquiry into the delivery of government-funded services in regional NSW.

The Committee on Investment, Industry and Regional Development will investigate the “oversight, management and accountability of service provision” in the state’s regions.

The Committee will look into issues such as:

● current performance measurements, accountability mechanisms, monitoring metrics, and reporting frameworks for services in regional NSW outsourced to third-party providers

● differences in government service delivery standards between metropolitan and regional areas

● options to improve monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the delivery of government funded services in regional NSW, with reference to the social justice and community sector

● the need to reform and develop legislative frameworks to improve government service delivery standards in regional NSW

Communities in regional NSW have poorer quality service provision and deal with a range of issues including community safety, family support and access to employment.

“We want to get to the bottom of some of these programs that are utilising taxpayer funds without delivering the objectives they say they are,” said Roy Butler MP, Committee Chair.

“Money is coming into these communities but sometimes the services simply aren’t delivered.

“If service providers are receiving government funding to deliver important programs then we must be clear about how these funds are spent and what the outcomes are.

“We need appropriate oversight and accountability mechanisms so communities in regional NSW receive the services they need.”

The Committee is inviting submissions from service providers, businesses, community organisations, government agencies and the public.

More information, including the inquiry’s terms of reference, and how to make a submission, is available on the Committee’s webpage.