Overview
To help ensure the quality of the 2024 State of the Environment (SoE) Report and give the public confidence in the material presented, the Commission implemented a range of quality assurance measures for the 2024 SoE Report.
Measures included engagement of key personnel in governance and decision-making roles as well as the engagement of qualified and reputable independent experts to author the technical content in the SoE Report.
There were also measures applied to the development of technical content for the SoE Report to ensure it was factual, interpreted reasonably, presented in the correct context, in a consistent format and accessible to a broad audience. This involved a multi-stage process commencing with a first pass review to ensure technical content met the Commission’s guidelines. This step was followed by a detailed data owner review by the parties that provided data. The SoE Report was also subject to review by the SoE Steering Committee, senior staff of the Commission, and all Commissioners.
Independent audit
As a further measure, the Commission engaged RSM Australia to provide an independent audit of the quality assurance processes undertaken by the Commission to prepare the 2024 SoE Report and provide an opinion on whether the technical content was prepared in line with the Commission’s procedures and guidelines.
The scope of the audit included an assessment of:
- the process used to appoint authors;
- processes used to ensure technical content was developed to a reasonable standard, namely the first pass review and data owner review;
- any instances of deviation to the above processes and whether reasonable alternative approaches were implemented; and
- any potential improvement opportunities for recommendation to the Commission in relation to its quality assurance processes.
Audit findings
In summary, the Audit Report found the Commission had processes and controls in place to ensure the technical content in the 2024 SoE Report was of an acceptable standard.
The Audit Report makes three recommendations for improvement in future reporting cycles. The recommendations to the Commission highlight opportunities to refine or strengthen quality controls around the engagement process for authors and the development process for technical content.
The Commission will take these findings into consideration as it completes its review of the 2024 SoE report and considers the approach for the next reporting cycle.
State of the Environment Audit Report 2024, RSM Australia (PDF, 229.3 KB)